Chapter 26: You Are Nothing But a Fraud

Zhou Dongmei and Zhao Dongkui couldn’t bring themselves to laugh at the little one’s words. In fact, they felt rather embarrassed and awkward. After all, White Rabbit candies and twisted fried dough were expensive treats, and neither of them had bought them. Now that the child was fixated on them, it was a bit awkward!

Seeing that it was getting late, Zhao Dongkui reached out and picked up the little one. “If you want candies and fried dough, let’s go home and have them. Daddy will sell them to you, all right?”

“No, we can’t. We don’t have money at home, we can’t afford them,” the little one replied, tilting her head. It was the plain truth, not exaggerated in the slightest.

At her words, Zhao Dongkui rubbed his forehead, momentarily at a loss for what to say. He considered being stern, but didn’t quite dare—after all, his father- and mother-in-law were right there, watching.

Liu Xing understood his brother-in-law’s feelings even better: he knew Zhao Dongkui cared about saving face. So he stepped forward and said, “Sis, Brother-in-law, if you have things to do, you should go ahead and head back. If the little one wants to stay, just let her; Mom will take good care of her.”

“Uh…” Zhao Dongkui looked at Liu Dongju.

“Don’t look at me,” Liu Dongju teased. “If your daughter doesn’t go home this time, she probably won’t want to go back ever again.”

“Why?” Zhao Dongkui was puzzled.

“Because here at my mother’s house, we have meat and bone broth. What about at your place?” Liu Dongju responded with a laugh. At her mother-in-law’s home, every meal was sweet potatoes, and when guests came, the women and children couldn’t even sit at the table. She was truly fed up.

“I…” Zhao Dongkui stammered, unable to reply. He truly owed his wife and daughter a great deal. But he couldn’t just go against his parents for his wife’s sake. It was a dilemma with no easy solution. So the best he could do was play dumb for now, and make it up to them when he had the means.

“Enough, enough! If you want to go home, don’t talk about these trivial matters,” Zhou Qiuxiang said, lifting the little one into her arms. “She’s not going home tonight, so when you need the ox next time, just come and get her. Don’t worry, she’ll have meat with every meal and won’t go hungry.”

“Mom,” Liu Dongju protested, a little unwilling. But in the end, she couldn’t win against Zhou Qiuxiang and had to leave with Zhao Dongkui.

Liu Xing watched the couple walk away. After speaking a few words to his mother, he went to bed early. He had to get up before dawn to buy river snails, and without enough rest, there would be no energy for the day ahead.

…

When he finally woke up, it was already past four in the afternoon. Liu Xing saw Gua Zi and the little one playing in the drying yard and decided not to disturb them. Instead, he went to the cowshed, led out the black calf, and ambled toward the river.

On the village road, he ran into Ma Lei, who was returning on his bicycle after selling river snails. The bamboo basket on the back was empty—proof enough that Ma Lei had made a good profit. Liu Xing didn’t ask about the price. After a casual chat, he continued on with the calf toward the river.

He hadn’t gone more than five meters when Ma Lei pedaled up behind him. “Brother, are you going into town tomorrow to sell river snails?”

“Yeah, my sister caught a lot today, and we have river crabs and lotus roots too,” Liu Xing replied honestly.

“Then take me with you. My mother must have caught plenty of river crabs today,” Ma Lei said, a little sheepishly.

“Sure! Aren’t you afraid I’ll steal your business?” Liu Xing laughed.

“What business is there to steal? River snails don’t sell well in the city at all. I sold just over ten kilos retail and still have a batch I haven’t been paid for,” Ma Lei said, suddenly discouraged. “You wouldn’t believe it, but if I hadn’t gone to Donghe Market and sold the snails to a wholesaler at fifteen cents a kilo, I might not even have made it home by now.”

“Really?” Liu Xing was surprised. He wanted to offer some consolation, but the words wouldn’t come. After all, he’d only managed to sell his snails the previous day thanks to Factory Director Li from Hengshui Distillery. Otherwise, he too might have ended up selling them for peanuts to the wholesalers.

“Do you think I’d lie to you?” Ma Lei laughed. “But all in all, it wasn’t bad. I sold about two hundred kilos for almost thirty yuan. My mother will be over the moon when I get back.”

“But I’m afraid there won’t be any river snails to catch soon,” Liu Xing said, nodding toward the riverbank.

Ma Lei looked over, his brow furrowing. With so many people combing the banks for snails, in three days’ time there wouldn’t be a shell left. Maybe it really was a good idea to learn bricklaying—at least it offered steady work, rain or shine.

“Hurry home and get some rest! I’ll wait for you at the village entrance tomorrow,” Liu Xing said, patting Ma Lei on the shoulder.

“Alright!” Ma Lei nodded, then suddenly grabbed Liu Xing’s arm. “By the way, did you see Yang Dajun come back?”

“No,” Liu Xing shook his head. He had no interest in the affairs of that old bachelor.

Ma Lei chuckled, “Then I guess he hasn’t. Around three o’clock, I saw him with a basket full of river snails—hadn’t sold a single one!”

“How come?” Liu Xing was puzzled.

“Isn’t it your fault? You tricked Yang Dajun into thinking he could sell the snails for fifty cents a kilo,” Ma Lei teased. “With that high price, he was never going to sell them.”

Liu Xing laughed too. “He brought that on himself—serves him right.”

“I think so too. Well, see you tomorrow at the village entrance,” Ma Lei said, and rode off.

Liu Xing watched Ma Lei’s figure disappear, then, coming back to himself, led the black calf toward the pine forest to the west. He had a hunch that if Yang Dajun came back, he’d probably come looking for trouble, so it was better to avoid the riverside and keep things peaceful.

What he didn’t expect was that, because of the heavy rains a few days earlier, the pine forest floor was covered with shiitake and oyster mushrooms. Both were edible and, if brought into the city, would fetch a good price. In the 1980s, after all, there were no specialized mushroom farms, nor did anyone know how to cultivate them.

However, transporting the mushrooms was a challenge. Shiitake were sturdy enough, but oyster mushrooms would crumble at the slightest touch. If they arrived at the market as mush, they wouldn’t sell for anything. Yet seeing so many mushrooms on the ground, Liu Xing couldn’t bring himself to leave them behind.

After weighing his options, he tied the black calf to a pine tree and hurried home to fetch some woven bags. When he returned to the pine forest, he had two little shadows trailing behind him—none other than Gua Zi and the little one. The two girls cheered when they saw the mushrooms scattered all over the ground.

Liu Xing quickly motioned for silence. “You two want to get us into trouble? If you shout and bring others over, these mushrooms won’t be ours anymore.”

“Right, we need to speak quietly,” Gua Zi said, shrinking her neck and helping to pick mushrooms.

The little one wasn’t idle either—she plucked a shiitake and popped it straight into her mouth. Finding it tasty, she sat down and started munching away.

Liu Xing was exasperated. “Little one, you can’t eat mushrooms raw! If you don’t behave, Uncle won’t buy you twisted dough or White Rabbit candies tomorrow.”

“Fine, I won’t eat them anymore, okay?” The little one knew Liu Xing wasn’t bluffing, so she quickly got up and began gathering mushrooms.

Still, Liu Xing didn’t quite trust her, so he turned to Gua Zi. “Sister, just keep an eye on the little one. Leave picking mushrooms to me.”

If they accidentally picked a poisonous mushroom, the consequences would be serious.

“Alright,” Gua Zi agreed, taking the little one aside to examine an anthill and keep an eye on the calf.

After an hour, the woven bag was full of shiitake and oyster mushrooms. Satisfied, Liu Xing slung the bag over his shoulder, led the black calf, and headed home. Gua Zi and the little one hurried after him.

By then the sun had already set, and the western sky was awash with crimson. Liu Xing glanced casually at the riverbank—everyone who’d been searching for snails had gone home. He smiled to himself, knowing that the Donghe Market would be flooded with snails tomorrow. If possible, he’d avoid selling there altogether; Hengshui Distillery would be a far better option.

Seeing that the little one and Gua Zi were lagging behind, he set down the bag, lifted both girls onto the calf’s back. It was the little one’s first time riding a cow—she was so nervous she clung tightly to Gua Zi’s waist.

But as the calf ambled along, she gradually relaxed, and Liu Xing also felt relieved.

The next moment, however, he froze. From the direction of the drying yard in front of their house, he could vaguely hear the sounds of an argument. He couldn’t quite make out who it was, but just in case, he hurried over with the calf and the bag.

Getting closer, he realized it was Yang Dajun, who’d failed to sell his snails and had come looking for trouble. Not finding Liu Xing at home, he’d started arguing with his mother instead. Hungry and empty-handed, Yang Dajun had lost his temper and quarreled with her. But it didn’t last long—Liu Ye had chased him off with a hoe.

By the time Liu Xing arrived at the drying yard with the calf, Yang Dajun was already gone. In his hasty retreat, he’d left behind a good number of river snails on the ground.

Liu Xing laughed and gave Liu Ye a thumbs-up. “Well done, Fourth Brother! If Yang Dajun tries to make trouble for us again, just drive him off with the hoe.”

“Of course! But, Third Brother, how did you manage to sell the snails in the city? It wasn’t just Yang Dajun—Zhang Mali and Yu Huajun’s families didn’t manage to sell theirs either,” Liu Ye said in surprise, setting down the hoe.

“That’s a secret for now,” Liu Xing replied, handing the woven bag to Liu Ye. After telling Gua Zi to take the little one inside, he led the calf back to the cowshed.

“What’s in here?” Liu Ye opened the bag, only to find it full of shiitake and oyster mushrooms. He stared in disbelief.

He couldn’t understand it. Why was it that whenever his third brother went out, he managed to find something valuable, while he himself never found anything? Comparing oneself to others, he thought ruefully, could be truly maddening.

…