ITBBS Chapter 21

Over the next two days, Shen Yao went to the two counties closest to Jiang City. She made a few transactions of supplies there, exchanged them for a few hundred yuan in cash, and then prepared to return to the village.

However, before heading home, she delivered another batch of supplies to the old fox. Since she had already accepted his things, she couldn’t just abandon him.

Shen Yao rode the bicycle slowly back home. The sun felt warm on her body, and even the scenery along the way looked much nicer.

When she reached the entrance of the village, it was already three o’clock in the afternoon. The village was still quite lively at this time, with many people sitting outside basking in the sun and gossiping.

Because there were so many people around, someone quickly spotted Shen Yao.

“Oh, Yao Girl is back from town!”

“Yao Girl, what did you buy? Your basket can’t even hold it all.” A group of older women quickly surrounded Shen Yao.

Shen Yao smiled politely at everyone. “Not much. It’s almost New Year’s, so I bought some New Year’s supplies. Besides, my ration tickets were about to expire. There is no point in keeping them.”

“Yao Girl, how can you possibly use so many things all by yourself?”

“It’s not just for me. Some of it I brought for Auntie’s family.” Shen Yao knew what these people were really after, and she didn’t want to get involved.

“Yao Yao, Yao Yao, you’re back!”

Just then, Shen Qiu came dashing over. The moment she heard Yao Yao was back, she had rushed out. With no one to play with these past few days, she had been bored to death.

Shen Yao watched Shen Qiu running towards her. Truly a woman like the wind. She was blunt and straightforward, without a hint of pretentiousness. She liked dealing with people like Shen Qiu.

Shen Yao broke into a smile and teased her, “Sister Xiao¹little Qiu, after a few days apart, are you missing me like crazy?”

“Who misses you? You’re overthinking it.” Shen Qiu hadn’t expected this girl to become so sweet-tongued and even more full of herself after just a few days.

“Aunt Yao Yao, Aunt Yao Yao!” The two little radish heads appeared in front of Shen Yao, tugging at her clothes.

Shen Yao looked down at the two little ones and smiled at them. “Hu Zi²Tiger Cub/Child or Little Tiger; a nickname given to children, usually boys, to express a desire for them to be strong, brave, and lively, Tie Dan³Iron Egg, a nickname often given to young boys in China. The name implies a wish for the child to be healthy, strong, resilient, and durable, much like a piece of iron, and to ward off evil spirits, come on, let’s go home with Aunt.”

After greeting the surrounding women, Shen Yao led the two little ones and Shen Qiu out of the crowd.

“Pah, that wretched girl. How come she didn’t get kidnapped by traffickers after being out for so many days?” Not far from the crowd, Ye Cailian watched Shen Yao return with so many things, cursing her inwardly.

These past few days at home had been a nightmare for her. She didn’t know what happened, but her parents suddenly went mad, screaming and cursing at everyone, rummaging through everything, smashing things, and even hitting her for no reason.

Seeing Shen Yao back and doing so well twisted her heart. It was all that idiot’s fault. If Shen Yao hadn’t suddenly changed, she wouldn’t be in such a sorry state.

If Shen Yao could hear her thoughts, she would probably toss her straight into the river to rinse out her brain.

Along the way, Shen Yao listened to Shen Qiu talking animatedly. She really didn’t know where the girl found so much to chat about, but having a friend like her around made life quite interesting.

“Sister Xiao Qiu, let’s talk in the courtyard.” Shen Yao opened the gate and let everyone inside.

She first pushed the bicycle into the main room, then put her basket away inside. She took out some candies and pastries before heading back outside.

Shen Yao saw the two little ones sweeping the yard and thought that this kind of childhood was really good. “Hu Zi, Tie Dan, come and have some candy!”

“Aunt Yao Yao, we’ll be done soon!” Tie Dan saw that his older brother hadn’t gone over, so he kept sweeping.

Shen Yao watched the two persistent little ones and shook her head. She felt like Shen Qiu was exploiting child labor.

“Sister Xiao Qiu, you’re sitting around resting while making the two little ones sweep the yard. Don’t you feel any guilt?”

Shen Qiu didn’t care about that. Boys needed to be trained from a young age so that when they grew up, they would know how to help with housework.

“They sweep at home too. Besides, Hu Zi is already seven, old enough to do chores. During the autumn harvest, even five-year-old kids work in the fields for work points.”

After seeing the two little ones wash their hands before running over, Shen Yao gave each of them a handful of milk candies, tucked some into their pockets, and patted their heads.

“All right, go play. Remember to share some with your little sister when you get home, okay?”

“Okay! Thank you, Aunt Yao Yao.” The two little ones finished speaking and ran home to hide their candy.

“Yao Yao, is the city fun?” Shen Qiu had studied in the county town but had never been to the city. She wondered what it was like.

Shen Yao looked at Shen Qiu’s eager expression and remembered that they were both in their final year of high school. How great it would be if they could take the college entrance exam together. “Sister Qiu, have you thought about what you want to do after graduating from high school?”

Shen Qiu slumped onto the table with a troubled look. “I don’t know either. My grades are only in the middle to lower range. I don’t even know if I can get into a factory job, since there aren’t many positions right now.”

“Sister Xiao Qiu, I’m planning to take the college entrance exam. You should too. Then we can study in the same place and keep each other company.”

Shen Yao really liked this girl and wanted to give her a hand. University graduates were far more sought-after than high school graduates. There were still six months left. If she studied hard and Shen Yao helped her with tutoring, getting into university would definitely be possible.

Shen Qiu stared at Shen Yao in surprise. She couldn’t believe this girl dared to think so big. With her terrible grades, she could get into university? She didn’t have any confidence herself. “Yao Yao, with your good grades, you’ll definitely get in, but my grades just aren’t good enough.”

“There are still six months. If you come here to study with me every day, you’ll definitely be fine by then. Just think about it, university is so much better than high school. Since you have the chance, why not go for it?”

Shen Qiu felt tempted. If she pushed herself hard, and with a top student like Shen Yao helping her, maybe it could really happen.

Besides, she wouldn’t feel comfortable letting Shen Yao go far away alone. What if someone bullied her? Then there would be no one to protect her.

“Alright then, let’s work hard together! Even if we can’t get into the same university, at least we can be in the same city.” She felt that listening to Yao Yao was definitely the right choice.

Because of this decision to stick close to Shen Yao’s side, Shen Qiu would become Shen Yao’s most capable assistant many years later.

Shen Yao smiled happily. She felt this girl had a fighting spirit. Her future would be bright. “Okay, let’s work hard together!”

The two sisters chatted in the courtyard for two hours. Seeing that it was getting late and thinking that Yao Yao must be tired, Shen Qiu decided to let her rest. They could catch up again tomorrow.

“Yao Yao, I’m going home now. I’ll come back tomorrow.”

“Wait for me.”

Shen Yao quickly ran inside, brought out the things she had prepared earlier, and stuffed them into Shen Qiu’s arms. “Take these. Inside are gifts for you and Uncle and Auntie. You can’t refuse.”

What else could Shen Qiu say? She could only take the things and go home.