Chapter 39
◎Delicate and Smooth Red Bean Congee◎
“Why are your hands so cold?” In the hot and stuffy summer of June, the icy touch made Zhou Shunian shiver. “I’ll help you to the sofa to lie down for a while.”
“Don’t…” Tangtang clenched her teeth, unwilling to let Zhou Shunian touch her.
“Tangtang, Tangtang…” Su Juesheng’s voice came from outside the courtyard.
Tangtang clutched her lower abdomen, the pain so intense that even her fingers were cramping. A look of panic and helplessness flashed across her face, and tears welled up in her eyes. “Brother Shunian, please let my brother go back first.”
Feeling a warm flow gushing down, Tangtang’s peers had also started their periods. Her mother and her cousin Wani had both educated her about it. All girls would get their periods when they grew up. But she really didn’t expect her first period to be at Brother Shunian’s house, and under such embarrassing circumstances.
And it was so painful, like a cold iron clamp was fiercely twisting her lower abdomen.
Zhou Shunian turned around, trying his best to make his voice sound calm. “Alright, alright, I’ll go and tell your brother right now.”
Zhou Shunian said something to Su Juesheng in the courtyard, and Su Juesheng no longer asked her to go back with him. He just shouted into the house from the courtyard, “Tangtang, then I’ll go back first. I’ll have Brother Shunian bring you back later.”
After saying that, Su Juesheng left, looking back every three steps.
Zhou Shunian was also a little embarrassed. He went directly to the kitchen to find Wang Chunlan. “Mom, can you go and check on Tangtang? I think she’s on her period.”
“Oh my, then I’ll go and see the little girl right away.” Hearing this, Wang Chunlan wiped her dishwashing hands on her apron. “We don’t have any new sanitary pads at home. I heard Director Hou and the others say a few days ago that the county department store has a new product called sanitary napkins, which are for girls when they’re on their period. Go and help me buy two packs.”
“Alright, I’ll go right now.”
After saying that, Zhou Shunian pushed his bicycle out the door. The moonlight cast a mottled shadow of the locust trees on both sides of the road. By the time Zhou Shunian reached the department store, the salesclerks had already gotten off work. The door was closed but not yet locked. He kicked the kickstand of his bicycle to park it under the streetlight and went forward to knock on the door.
The salesclerk looked like she was cleaning, with a handkerchief covering her hair and a broom in her hand. “We’re closed!”
Zhou Shunian swallowed his throat. “I want to buy something. Please do me a favor.”
Hearing his words, the salesclerk rolled her eyes in annoyance but still moved aside to let him in.
Zhou Shunian scanned the counter but didn’t see any sanitary napkins. “I heard there’s a new product called sanitary napkins…”
His voice was not loud, but it was particularly clear in the quiet store.
The female salesclerk was amused. It was the first time she had seen a boy come to buy this kind of thing. A meaningful smile flashed across her face. “Oh, young man, what’s a big man like you buying this for? Are you buying it for some sweetheart of yours?”
“It’s for my sister. It’s not convenient for her to come, so she asked me to help her buy it. Please don’t make such jokes.” Zhou Shunian’s brows were tightly furrowed, and there was not a hint of a joke in his tone.
Seeing his serious expression, the salesclerk didn’t tease him anymore. She just turned around and rummaged in a cardboard box at the bottom of the shelf. After a while, she came out with a few packs of sanitary napkins in her hand. “We have them, but not many. They just arrived. See if these are okay?”
Zhou Shunian looked at them. The instructions were already written on the package, and they looked clean and hygienic. “Alright, I’ll take these packs.”
Zhou Shunian paid and left with a paper bag of sanitary napkins.
As the hot evening wind blew, he realized that he was soaked through. He kicked up the kickstand of his bicycle and rushed home.
…
“Drink this while it’s hot. You’ll feel better after drinking it.” Wang Chunlan brought a bowl of hot red bean congee.
Tangtang had already had a cup of brown sugar water, and the pain in her lower abdomen had eased a lot. She picked up a spoon and scooped a spoonful of red bean congee into her mouth. The delicate and smooth red bean congee had a light, sweet taste, and the unique soft texture of the red beans melted on her tongue.
The hot red bean congee slowly flowed down her throat into her stomach, spreading to her limbs, dispelling a trace of the discomfort and coldness in her body.
“Why are you so cold all over?” Wang Chunlan filled a hot water bottle used for warmth in the winter and stuffed it into her hand. She also draped a shirt over her and touched her cheek with concern. “You poor child must be suffering from poor health. Hurry up and hold this. Don’t touch cold water for the next few days.”
The hand that touched her cheek was rough and coarse, covered with thick calluses.
This hand must have made many pairs of shoe soles, gathered countless loads of firewood, washed countless clothes, and cooked countless meals.
Tangtang looked up, her gaze falling on the woman before her. Auntie Wang looked a few years older than her mother. Her face was a little thin, and she looked much thinner than the last time they met. Her skin was no longer smooth, and her eyes and forehead were covered with wrinkles, the ruthless ravages of time. Her eyes were slightly sunken, but they were as gentle as her mother’s.
Tangtang thought that Auntie Wang must have been a fiery and capable woman when she was young, with a pair of capable hands that kept the house in order. But time seemed to have been particularly unfair to her. Director Zhou and Auntie Wang looked like they were from two different generations when they stood together.
After Zhou Shunian returned, he had Wang Chunlan give the sanitary napkins he had bought to Tangtang.
Tangtang changed into a sanitary napkin according to the instructions on the package. Wang Chunlan wanted Tangtang to stay at her house for the night, but she had to take the bus back to the commune middle school at seven the next morning, and if she didn’t go back, Juesheng would be worried. So, she had to give up the idea.
After packing up her things, Tangtang said goodbye to Wang Chunlan. “Auntie, you can go back. Don’t see me off. Thank you for taking care of me today.”
“Don’t be so formal with Auntie. Come and play at our house again next time.” Wang Chunlan stood at the door, watching the two of them leave.
Zhou Shunian rode his bicycle to take Tangtang back to the guest house.
Under the dim streetlights, the moonlight sprinkled down. The summer night wind, carrying the sweet and cloying scent of locust trees, blew past their ears. Zhou Shunian’s Forever brand bicycle rolled over the bluestone road, the chain making a regular clicking sound.
Tangtang looked up at the young man’s neck. Fine beads of sweat trickled down his spine, leaving dark marks on the fabric of his shirt.
“Does your stomach still hurt?” Zhou Shunian asked her.
Tangtang clutched her stomach. “Much better.”
She was a little troubled. She had heard that this thing called a period came every month. She was worried that if it was as painful as this every time, how would she be able to go to class and work?
The outline of the guest house appeared ahead. Zhou Shunian slowed down. “We’re here.”
Tangtang jumped down from the back of the bike and pursed her lips. “Brother Shunian, thank you for taking me back. I’ve really troubled you and Auntie Wang today.”
Zhou Shunian patted her head, a clear smile on his face. “Don’t be so formal. You should go in and get some rest.”
…
The news of Tangtang and Juesheng participating in the district’s revolutionary storytelling competition spread throughout the entire Hongqi Commune. When they came home from school on Friday, after dinner, the courtyard of their house was crowded with villagers, and there were also some from neighboring villages. Their eyes were shining, all wanting to hear them talk about participating in the competition in the district.
For the villagers who were rooted in the land, being able to go to the county town for business was already a great thing, not to mention that these two children, in their teens, had gone to a big place like Xiangyang City and had to perform and tell stories in front of several thousand people.
Even Zhang Guixiang, who usually disdained to set foot in the courtyard of the Su family’s third branch, had come over. She occupied a long bench by herself, holding a handful of melon seeds, and would spit the shells on the ground while chatting.
The two children had never seen such a scene before. The children were promising, and Su Huimin and his wife were also happy. Yu Juanfang moved through the crowd, moving benches and serving tea, the pride in her eyes unconcealable.
“At that time, we were in class. The teacher suddenly called us to the office, pointed to a chubby middle-aged man, and said that this was the director of our county’s cultural center. He said that the storytelling program we had arranged was very good, and since the district was going to hold a revolutionary storytelling competition, he wanted my brother and me to sign up. At that time, we didn’t know what a storytelling competition was. After listening to the explanation, we were stunned for a long time, feeling as if we were scared silly.”
“We rehearsed at the county cultural center for two days, and on the third day, the director took us to the city. The competition was held in a particularly large auditorium, which was packed with people. On stage, our legs were shaking, and we could barely breathe. But when we started to say the first sentence, it felt as if there was nothing else in our minds. We only thought about telling the story well. The storytelling process was very smooth, and we even won a first-prize certificate. The director took the certificate to the cultural center and pasted it on the wall of honor.”
Su Juesheng was very proud. “This program was Tangtang’s idea. She combined storytelling and performance. I played Comrade Chen Geng, and she played the little Red Army soldier. There were solo storytellers and duo storytellers, but our program format of combining storytelling and situational interpretation was relatively unique.”
After Tangtang and Juesheng finished telling their personal experiences, they had to go and take a bath and do their homework. The villagers had heard something new and discussed it with satisfaction for a while. There were many women who had come to join in the fun, and some of them started to gossip.
“Eldest Brother’s wife, I haven’t seen your niece Chunni recently. Has she gone home?” one of the women asked, taking a sip of tea.
“Oh, my mother’s not feeling well recently, so she called her back to take care of her for a while.” Zhang Guixiang’s upper and lower lips smacked together, and a plump melon seed was cracked open. Then, with a spit, she spat the shell on the ground.
“Your niece’s marriage is not settled yet?” another woman asked in surprise. “I saw you asking around for suitable rural youths two years ago.”
“None of them were suitable.” Speaking of which, Zhang Guixiang was also annoyed. Although her niece was not very good-looking and was lazy, she insisted on finding someone from the city who ate commercial grain because she had attended junior high for a few years. Where was she going to find someone from the city who ate commercial grain for her?!
“Hey? I remember that the third sister-in-law’s family has a fifth brother? I think he’s not married yet. He looks to be in his early twenties, with thick eyebrows and big eyes, and a lot of strength. He’s a top-notch rural youth. Why not make a match and let the two young people meet?” a neighbor, Auntie Zhang, started to play matchmaker.
Hearing this, Zhang Guixiang sneered twice and stopped cracking melon seeds. “Auntie Zhang, I think you’re getting old and confused. What kind of situation is the third sister-in-law’s parents’ family in? They’re people who scrape a living from the mud. A toad wanting to eat swan meat. My niece would rather be a spinster for the rest of her life than to jump into that fire pit!”
Zhang Guixiang disliked the third branch’s family, and she also disliked their relatives.
Even if Yu Laowu worked his fingers to the bone for the rest of his life, he would never be able to reach her niece’s heel.
Yu Juanfang knew Zhang Guixiang’s character and didn’t need to get angry over her words. She smiled faintly. “Then you’d better watch your swan carefully. Don’t let its wings break before they’re fully grown and fall into some mud pit.”
She took a sip of tea, still with a smile on her face. “After all, those with their heads in the clouds will fall much harder than others.”
Zhang Guixiang sprang up from the long bench, and the melon seeds on her clothes scattered all over the ground. “You!”
“Then let’s just wait and see!” Zhang Guixiang angrily flicked her sleeves and left.