Chapter 17: Chapter 16: A Swarm of Flies

“And what if I don’t want to answer?”

’These people must have a screw loose,’ Xue Yue thought.

Seeing Xue Yue about to leave, Meng Weijie took a step forward. “Comrade, we mean well. Don’t misunderstand.”

Xue Yue scoffed. “Misunderstand what? My husband is over there chopping wood. You want to go explain it to him?”

Meng Weijie froze at her words and gave an awkward laugh.

“Uh, I was just making conversation.”

Xue Yue snorted. ’The nerve of this guy, with a face like that, to come bothering me.’

As they watched Xue Yue walk away, someone finally asked, “Is that comrade from this village? How come I’ve never seen her before?”

“Didn’t the accountant’s third son get married a couple of days ago? That must be her.”

Gu Yuwei turned to Li Jie. “Li Jie, how do you know?”

The other educated youths also looked at Li Jie.

Li Jie rolled her eyes inwardly and said, “I heard the accountant’s third son got married two days ago. Not only is his wife ten years younger than him, but she’s also the prettiest girl for miles around.”

Gu Yuwei bit her lip as she stared in the direction Xue Yue had gone, her eyes full of hurt.

Li Jie glanced at Gu Yuwei, her own eyes filled with scorn.

Gu Yuwei always used her good family background and pretty face to her advantage. She’d hand out snacks to win people over, then order them to do her work for her. After Li Jie had refused, Gu Yuwei led the others in isolating her.

The others didn’t know, but Li Jie had seen Gu Yuwei sneaking off to see the accountant’s third son, He Lang, on several occasions.

Still, she had to admit, Gu Yuwei had good taste. He Lang was incredibly handsome. What a pity he was married now.

Tsk, tsk.

He Lang watched Xue Yue walk toward them with a displeased expression and put down the firewood in his hands.

“What’s wrong?”

Xue Yue set down her bundle of wood and snorted. “I ran into a swarm of flies, buzzing and driving me crazy. They were dressed up all proper, but they don’t talk or act like decent human beings.”

He Lang wasn’t sure who she was talking about, but He Nan said to him, “It must be those educated youths from the village.”

He Lang knew of them. For the past few years, a few had been trickling in every year, and some had left as well. His dad had told him before that the educated youths were a handful and were always stirring up trouble.

“Did they bully you?” He Lang asked Xue Yue.

Xue Yue waved her hand. “No, they just said some unpleasant things. One of the male comrades even offered to help me gather firewood, but then he just stood there without moving. Isn’t that ridiculous?”

He Nan laughed. “He probably saw how pretty you are, sister-in-law. You know how men are!”

He Lang said nothing, but his eyes darkened.

“Stay away from them from now on. That group is trouble.”

Xue Yue nodded. “I know.”

Back home that evening, Xue Yue prepared all the shepherd’s purse she had picked. She set a little aside to scramble with wild eggs and planned to use the rest to make steamed buns the next day.

Making steamed buns required preparing the dough the night before. You had to add the starter and let it rise overnight before steaming them the next day.

For dinner, she reheated the leftover potato and ribs from lunch, stir-fried the shepherd’s purse with wild eggs, and made a mushroom soup.

She also had He Lang take a bowl of mushroom soup to the main house.

“He Lang, you don’t have to bring something for your father and me at every meal.”

He Lang smiled. “Mom, you should tell my wife that. She’s the one thinking of you, so you should just accept it!”

Mrs. He said to Mr. He with satisfaction, “Hey, look at us. It’s like we’re already living the good life in retirement. He Lang’s wife is a good one. When I think about it, that five hundred yuan was money well spent. And I think He Lang seems quite happy, too.”

Mr. He sipped the mushroom soup, the savory flavor making him narrow his eyes in pleasure. “From now on, just make sure you take good care of He Lang and his wife.”

Seeing the look on his face, Mrs. He said testily, “You’d better save some for me!”

Gao Cuiyun watched He Lang carry a bowl into the main house and come out empty-handed. She muttered under her breath, “A whole family of gluttons, all they know is how to eat. Hmph. Heartless. They know to send some to Mom and Dad, but don’t think to send any to Second Brother and Second Sister-in-law. Ungrateful wretches.”

That night, as they were going to sleep, Xue Yue said to He Lang, “I want to go see my brother tomorrow.”

“Okay, but I have something to do in town tomorrow, so I can’t go with you.”

“It’s fine, just go do what you need to do. Don’t worry about me. I can go by myself.”

He Lang felt a strange sense of discomfort at her eager reply.

The next morning, the first thing Xue Yue did after getting up was check the dough she’d left to rise. It was a yellowish basin of cornmeal and white flour.

Then she started steaming the buns.

After a busy morning, the buns were finally out of the steamer.

Xue Yue picked out four for Mr. He and Mrs. He and took them over, also mentioning that she was going to her family’s home for the day and would be back in the afternoon.

Mrs. He nodded, telling her that she didn’t need to ask for permission for such things in the future; she could just go whenever she wanted.

Xue Yue saw the three children playing in the courtyard.

She smiled and called out, “Little Chen, Xiao Yang, Tuanzi, come over here.”

The three children turned to look at Xue Yue and ran over together.

“Third Aunt, did you call us?”

Xue Yue smiled. “Yes, Third Aunt made some buns. Do you want one?”

“Yes!” the three of them answered in unison.

They hadn’t forgotten the ribs their grandmother had secretly given them yesterday. They had been so fragrant they’d almost swallowed their own tongues.

Xue Yue gave one to each of them, adding a warning, “Be careful, it’s hot!”

The three children each held a bun, their eyes full of happy surprise.

“Thank you, Third Aunt,” Little Chen said, a little shyly.

Xue Yue patted Little Chen’s head. “You’re welcome. Go on, eat.”

After breakfast, He Lang left. Xue Yue packed eight or nine buns in a basket and headed to her family’s home.

When she got there, Xue Xingzhou was just having breakfast.

Seeing Xue Yue come in, Xue Xingzhou stood up.

“Yue’er, what are you doing back here?”

Xue Yue looked at Xue Xingzhou’s breakfast: a bowl of water and a few plain cornmeal buns.

“Brother, is this all you’re eating?”

Xue Xingzhou rubbed the tip of his nose and said guiltily, “I’m just making do for breakfast. I’ll cook a proper lunch.”

A little angry, Xue Yue took the buns out of her basket. “Hurry up and eat. They’re still warm.”

Xue Xingzhou glanced at Xue Yue’s expression and nodded. “Okay.”

He had to admit, the buns were delicious. Even though they weren’t made with pure white flour, they were still incredibly fragrant.

Xue Yue glanced at the newly built courtyard wall.

And the firewood piled in the corner.

“You went up the mountain?”

Xue Xingzhou nodded. “To get some firewood.”

Xue Yue didn’t say anything. She went inside to take a look; the room was actually clean.

When she came out, she saw that five buns had already disappeared into her brother’s stomach.

Xue Yue sighed. “Brother, have you been eating properly at all?”

Xue Xingzhou raised his hands in surrender. “I promise, I really have been eating. It’s just… it’s just that my cooking isn’t very good. Your buns are too delicious.”

Xue Yue sat down helplessly. “Brother, I think you should hurry up and find me a sister-in-law.”

Xue Xingzhou laughed.

“What are you laughing at? I’m being serious!”

“I just think you’ve become a different person since you got married. You’ve turned into a little nag.”

Xue Yue paused. “Have I really changed that much?”

“Mhm, you seem much more mature.”

Xue Yue propped her chin on her hand. “Maybe I just suddenly realized how fragile people are. It’s better to enjoy the life you have now. Otherwise, if you just suddenly die one day, what a waste it would be.”

Hearing Xue Yue’s words, Xue Xingzhou couldn’t help but think of his own past life. ’I died so suddenly, without leaving a single word. Did I have any regrets?’

’The answer, of course, was yes.’

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