Chapter 58: Brother, You Finally Made It

"Buy another twenty pounds of rice. We still have white flour left." Rice was Lin Jingyue's favorite.
Southerners rarely eat wheat-based food.
Truly, it spoke of good family conditions—she didn't even blink at five pounds of meat coupons and twenty pounds of grain coupons.
"I have some at my place. If I run out, I'll get more from you," Jiang Xun replied without raising his head.
"Alright."
Lin Jingyue thought for a moment. "Forget buying meat, I still have rice here. I'll eat what I have first."
It was a joke—she had more than eighty thousand pounds of rice; she could eat it for a lifetime.
"By the way, when you go to town tomorrow, mail this for me." Remembering the finished short story, she got up and went inside to fetch it.
Zhou Yan looked on suspiciously. "...You've written another one?"
He knew Lin Jingyue had already sent out a piece last time.
"Yes, I need to make money," Lin Jingyue continued eating, speaking with little enthusiasm.
As if he believed her.
Would someone short of money indulge in such feasting?
After dinner, Zhou Yan was washing dishes. Jiang Xun and Lin Jingyue sat under the eaves, talking.
"I'm planning to call home tomorrow when I go to town," he said, looking at Lin Jingyue.
If one is courting, the family ought to know, or else, given his mother's temperament, she'd find him a match first.
She had always favored daughters over sons, resented him since childhood, and wished for a daughter—so much so her hair turned white from longing. Later, she began hoping he'd marry.
But marriage was still too early; Jingyue was only eighteen, there was time yet.
Lin Jingyue's lips twitched. "Isn't it a bit soon?"
She was hardly prepared to meet the parents.
"It's just to let them know about you," Jiang Xun said gently.
Lin Jingyue considered it—it wasn't a bad idea to make her existence known.
Jiang Xun's family was distinguished, perhaps surrounded by all sorts of neighbors, each with sisters. She had seen enough of such wealthy households in her previous life.
Her own parents were a product of arranged marriage. The elders of both families passed away, and the divorce was swift.
"Alright, do as you wish," Lin Jingyue nodded.
Jiang Xun's smile widened, reaching his eyes.
Lin Jingyue felt her face grow warm under his gaze, feigned composure, and stood up. "I'm going to continue my work. Don't disturb me."
She truly regarded writing as her vocation.

Immersed in it these past days, she suddenly realized she quite enjoyed writing.
Whether she would continue to study medicine or pursue literature in the future... that was a question.
Watching her slip instantly into her own world, Jiang Xun could only smile helplessly.
The next day, Jiang Xun took leave and rode his bicycle into town.
Lin Jingyue packed some food into her space, shouldered her basket, and headed up the mountain—balancing work and rest, gathering pigweed in the morning.
It was also a chance to exercise and breathe the mountain's fresh air.
At the foot of the mountain, seeing someone ahead, she paused.
Meeting Li Cuihua's reddened eyes, her gaze narrowed slightly. "Is something the matter?"
To intercept her on the only path up the mountain—she was here with intent.
Lin Jingyue glanced at Li Cuihua. The shy, smiling girl from their first meeting was now only a vague memory.
"Lin Jingyue, you've liked Jiang Xun for a long time, haven't you?" Li Cuihua's voice was hoarse.
Her eyes were misty with tears; Lin Jingyue couldn't see her expression, but could guess her meaning.
"It's none of your business."
"You know I like him, and you're my friend..."
"Enough!" Lin Jingyue raised her hand. "I didn't know—how could I, before you said it that day?"
She wasn't a worm in her stomach, after all.
"Besides, you liking Jiang Xun is your affair. You should go to him, not to me."
With that, Lin Jingyue walked around her and continued up the mountain.
Jiang Xun's admirers were his problem; she couldn't be bothered—too much trouble.
Li Cuihua stared in disbelief at Lin Jingyue's retreating figure. She was actually told to go to Jiang Xun herself?! Did Lin Jingyue care so little? Why was she with him, then?
"Cuihua, what are you doing here? I thought I heard you talking to someone just now," Aunt Liu called out as she passed by, craning her neck.
She could only see the back of someone carrying a basket—looked like Lin Jingyue.
"Was it Comrade Lin? Aren't you two good friends? What did you talk about? Why are you crying? Did Comrade Lin bully you? You can tell your father, let your brothers deal with her."
Aunt Liu's eyes held a hint of genuine concern.
She wanted Li Cuihua as her daughter-in-law.
"Aunt Liu, I'm fine," Li Cuihua knew well enough what Aunt Liu was up to. She was annoyed, but kept a sweet face. "The wind's just strong, it's nothing to do with Comrade Lin."
With that, she nodded and left.
Aunt Liu's eyes sparkled with gossip, and she hurried to the fields.

That evening, rumors spread that Lin Jingyue had bullied Li Cuihua. People said she was bold, daring even to bully the brigade leader's daughter.
Lin Jingyue rolled her eyes when she heard, paying no attention.
If Li Cuihua had been reduced to tears by her, others would surely avoid provoking her.
A week passed in the blink of an eye, August arrived, and Lin Jingyue had submitted three manuscripts.
Still, there was no response.
She wasn't anxious; she ate and drank as usual, and her relationship with Jiang Xun grew stronger by the day.
She gathered pigweed three days, loafed two, and the brigade leader turned a blind eye—after all, she didn't lack for food.
Lin Xinrou's health had nearly recovered, thanks to Qian Guihua not allowing her to idle.
After being admonished in front of the brigade, Qian Guihua kept quiet for a few days, but tormented Lin Xinrou even more in private.
She didn't skimp on food, but her cutting remarks never ceased for a day.
So, even with good food and care, Lin Xinrou's cheeks were sharper a week later.
Lin Jingyue caught sight of her once from afar—tsk, no trace of youthful vigor, all spirit gone.
One day, Lin Jingyue took leave, planning a trip to town.
She'd made a deal with Tian Yang but hadn't visited yet; he was probably waiting impatiently, and her little treasure trove could use a boost.
She inventoried what she could take: three wild pheasants, two wild rabbits—one for Old Huo, as always, and perhaps she could pick up some 'junk' while there.
She brought out five chickens and five ducks from her space, ten fish, but left the pigs untouched—she hadn't learned to butcher them yet.
As for rice, she took out two hundred pounds—it wasn't the rice she ate daily, but the lower-grade rice piled in the warehouse corner, which she'd only just discovered. This rice was slightly yellowed, but compared to the common rice of the era, it was quite decent.
She mixed in some sand and stones, as rice from this era often had such impurities.
Approaching town, Lin Jingyue slipped into the woods, stored her bicycle in her space, changed clothes, applied makeup, and entered the city.
In the black market, Tian Yang had waited nearly half a month without seeing Lin Jingyue or hearing of him in town.
He worried—could he have been caught?
What rotten luck that would be.
Just as he was sighing, he heard the distinctive three-long, two-short knock at the door. Thinking his friend had returned, he got up to open it.
"Hey, little brother, I knew you couldn't have been caught!"
Lin Jingyue: "?"