Chapter 59: An Eye-Opener

One afternoon, Caiyun received a letter. Upon opening it, she saw it was from Yuqiang.

Mom,

We have arrived safely at our destination along the way, please do not worry.

We reached Dongchu on the evening of our departure. There were far too many people at the railway station, and it took us two days to finally squeeze onto a train. The crowds on the train were beyond description—people were packed beneath the seats, up on the luggage racks, and inside the restrooms. There was practically no space left between anyone, and taking a deep breath was exceedingly difficult.

Once we reached our destination, we visited Tiananmen Square, the Military Museum, the Summer Palace, and other places.

When I first stood in Tiananmen Square and looked at the magnificent architecture surrounding it, my heart was filled with awe. Facing the colossal portrait of Chairman Mao on the gate tower, the stirring emotion inside me was indescribable, and I truly shed tears. This is the sacred land we have yearned for since childhood, the place where the red sun rises—how grand, how divine! I took a photograph here and have enclosed it with this letter; be sure to keep it safe.

My favorite place was the Military Museum. It houses numerous documents, photographs, and artifacts from the First and Second Revolutionary Civil Wars, the Counter-Encirclement Campaigns, the Red Army's Long March, the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, and the War of Liberation. Not only did this broaden my knowledge of history, military affairs, and weaponry, but it also gave me a deep understanding of many battle operations and the heroic deeds of our figures.

Please tell Xiaomei that I am doing very well, do not worry.

Yuqiang

After Yuqiang and his companions returned to Dongchu from the capital, they initially intended to conclude this "traveling companion journey," but several classmates strongly insisted on visiting Nanjing and Shanghai.

To keep everyone happy, Yuqiang had no choice but to agree to their request.

The southbound train was much like the northbound one—a veritable sea of humanity and overcrowded to the extreme. These people, just like Yuqiang and his group, were "linked together in strings" as Red Guards.

Upon arriving in Nanjing, they toured scenic spots such as the Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum and Xuanwu Lake, and sampled the local snacks at the Confucius Temple.

When they reached Shanghai, they happened to catch overcast and rainy weather, so they didn't venture far and instead confined their activities to the Nanjing Road area. The major department stores were dazzling with an array of goods, but with their purses pinched tight, they could only feast their eyes.

The streets and alleys here, just like those in the capital, were plastered everywhere with "large-character proclamations" marked with red crosses.

In the evening, they went to the Bund. The night view here was breathtakingly beautiful, thronged with bustling tourists. Everyone was captivated by the stunning scenery, feeling that the trip had truly been worthwhile.

It wasn't until late December that they officially brought this so-called "traveling companion journey" to a close.

Spanning a travel period of nearly forty days, Yuqiang lived up to expectations. He meticulously organized the journey and overcame numerous hardships; although they got separated several times, in the end, not a single person fell behind, and everyone returned safely.

As soon as Yuqiang arrived home, the villagers came running over to ask all sorts of questions. Yuqiang spoke endlessly about their travel experiences, growing more and more excited as he tried to share everything he had seen and heard without holding anything back.

The very first question Caiyun asked Yuqiang—and the one everyone cared about most—brought an excited grin to his face as he told his mother, "I saw it!"

Yulan asked, "You went to so many places, what was the most delicious thing you ate?"

"The most delicious thing was Fuliiji Braised Chicken. We heard on the train that Fuliiji Braised Chicken is famous nationwide, costing eighty cents each. Our hearts were itching with temptation, so my classmates and I pooled our money—four cents each—and bought six chickens, one for every two people. It truly lived up to its reputation and left a lingering aftertaste; everyone said they had never tasted anything so good in their lives."

Yulan asked next, "Brother, did you buy anything for me?"

"I'm sorry, I ran out of money and didn't buy a thing. I will definitely buy you something next time."

"Then did you buy anything for Xiaomei?"

"No, neither."

"Weren't your train rides, food, and lodging all free? How could you run out of money?"

"It's not the same. Some places were free, but other places weren't like that."

When Teacher Yang heard that Yuqiang was back, he also rushed over to ask him, "How does it feel to have been to a big city?"

Yuqiang replied, "It really opened my eyes. I had never been to a big city before; I was just like Granny Liu entering the Grand View Garden, finding everything novel. The buildings were towering high, making it impossible to tell east from west. The streets were swarming with an endless stream of people and a continuous procession of all kinds of vehicles—it was extraordinarily bustling."

Teacher Yang continued to ask, "Having traveled to so many places, what are your reflections?"

"The ancients said it is better to travel ten thousand miles than to read ten thousand books. Going out this time truly broadened my horizons, increased my knowledge, and subjected me to tempering and trials. I suddenly feel that I have matured a great deal."

"You probably also saw quite a few things with contemporary characteristics, right?"

"Far too many to put into words!"

In the evening, Yuqiang went to find Xiaomei and gave her a handkerchief, a small mirror, and some milk candies and biscuits. Xiaomei was too embarrassed to accept them, and it wasn't until Yunfeng spoke up that she finally took them.

"Thank you, Brother Qiang!" Xiaomei said to Yuqiang with a blushing face.

"This handkerchief is something I bought for you in Nanjing; many people in the city use them."

Hiding in the backyard of Wang Honglei's house, Yulan heard this and was so furious that tears nearly welled up in her eyes. The moment she returned home, she complained to her mother, "Mom, my brother is a liar. He bought lots of things for Xiaomei."

"How do you know?"

"I just knew he wasn't telling the truth. When he went out, I followed him the whole way, and as a result, I caught him."

"That's not right of you. He is your brother; you shouldn't do such a thing."

"You're just being partial! You're not scolding him, but you're scolding me. He's the one who shouldn't have done this."

Before long, Yuqiang came back, and Yulan immediately demanded, "Brother, where have you been?"

"I went to see Xiaomei."

"Let me ask you again, did you buy things for Xiaomei?"

Caiyun quickly cut into the conversation, "Yulan, what are you doing? Xiaomei is his fiancée, it's completely normal for him to buy her a few things. Why on earth would you follow your brother around?"

Realizing his cover had been blown, Yuqiang quickly apologized to Yulan, "I'm sorry, I did buy her things. I originally wanted to buy three sets of everything—one for you, one for Yujun, and one for Xiaomei. But just as we were about to come back, one of my classmates fell ill, and I spent all the money, which is why both you and Yujun were wronged."

"If your classmate fell ill, why did you have to spend your money?"

"He didn't have any money, and since I was the leader of the group, I had no choice but to step in and help him resolve it."

Caiyun asked, "What kind of illness did your classmate catch?"

"Diarrhea. At first, he didn't pay attention to it, thinking he could tough it out, but later it got worse and worse—he was going more than a dozen times a night."

"Could it be that he ate something unclean?"

"It doesn't seem like it. We all ate the exact same food, and everyone else was fine."

"Why did he have it so severely?"

"We don't know either. After two days of nonstop diarrhea, I rushed him to the hospital. The doctor said he was suffering from severe dehydration. After giving him an intravenous drip, the doctor prescribed some medicine and we came back."

"How much did it cost?"

"A little over eight yuan."

"That money should be paid by him."

"It certainly should be. Let's see if he voluntarily pays it back."

"If he doesn't pay it back voluntarily, go ask him for it. There's nothing embarrassing about that."

"I know."

Caiyun had been rather busy lately. She discovered that the two market towns of Tangling and Sanlong were basically unmanaged, with people selling all sorts of things on the market. Caiyun's peanuts could sell for five or six yuan a day, and the several dozen pounds of peanuts at home sold out in no time, totaling over seventy yuan.

With some capital in hand, Caiyun's mind immediately became active. She bought some unshelled peanuts and wheat flour from the market again. During the day, she continued to go to the market to sell peanuts, and at night, she headed to the gambling dens to sell food.

Since it was the agricultural offseason, there were plenty of people at the gambling dens. People frequently played through the night, and with no one cracking down on gambling anymore, it was very safe.

Right next door to Wang Hongbiao's house lived only an elderly man surnamed Zhao, whom everyone called the Old Bachelor. Now nearing sixty, his house stood empty. The old man was lonely and voluntarily invited everyone over to his place to gamble. Those who won money would tip him a small handling fee depending on their mood. The old man didn't have money to gamble himself, but he loved watching it, often watching straight through the entire night.

The old man had a total of five rooms—three in the front and two in the back, directly connected to each other. The area of the two back rooms was about the same as the three front rooms, and they were completely empty. The gambling den was set up right in there, with two large tables forming two gambling circles.

Caiyun tracked down the old man and proposed selling food there, offering him fifty cents every night as a site fee. The old man readily agreed.

Caiyun generally entered the venue after ten o'clock at night, primarily selling dumplings and peanuts. The dumplings were wrapped and boiled on the spot; Caiyun was responsible for mixing the filling and rolling out the wrappers, while Yulan was responsible for wrapping them.

People who were winning money were in high spirits and didn't care if things were a bit more expensive. Peanuts sold for ten cents per liang at the market, but here they sold for fifteen cents. The dumplings had tofu fillings; at a restaurant, they usually cost about five cents each, but the ones Caiyun made were slightly larger—four to a bowl, priced at ten cents each. A single night could bring in seven to eight yuan, yielding a net profit of over three yuan.

Working in the production team, Caiyun and Yulan could only earn sixteen and a half work-points each per day. With one work-point day—meaning ten work-points—worth only nine cents, they only made sixteen cents total. A single night's income at the gambling den was equivalent to twenty days' worth of work-points for the two of them. To encourage Yulan, every night late into the night, Caiyun would reward Yulan with two dumplings to eat, along with a handful of peanuts, and even promised to make her a new pair of cotton-padded trousers the coming winter.