Ch. 14: Chapter 14: The Commune

After dinner, while it wasn’t quite dark yet, Zheng Zhong grabbed a basket and headed out to gather pig feed. Normally, the kids would handle this task early in the morning, shouting and running around. He preferred not to get involved in that mess.

The night was calm, though occasionally, he’d come across something. With his sharp hearing, he caught the name “Shen Qiao” being mentioned in the distance. He instinctively stopped, hid in a corner, and listened carefully to what was going on, his expression unchanged as he continued walking. No one could guess what he was really thinking.

In the following days, Shen Qiao worked alongside Zheng Zhong, which naturally stirred some gossip.

In the past, Zheng Zhong was known as the “golden boy” who was always assigned different partners, as the work was distributed evenly among the team. But now, for several days straight, he was paired with Shen Qiao. What did this mean?

Before long, someone went to the team leader to voice their concerns, and the most vocal about it was Zheng Zhong's mother, Li Hongjuan.

Li Hongjuan was well-known in Guangming Village. She had four children: her eldest son, Zheng Junfeng, who was the only one in the family to graduate from a technical school in the 60s and stay in the city with a city girl for a wife, living a much more comfortable life than most. The only blemish on the family was the youngest, Zheng Zhong.

Unlike his older brother, who was bright and sharp, Zheng Zhong had never been the most clever. He was only strong and good at farm work, which was an advantage in the countryside. Unfortunately, he often got into trouble. When he was around ten, he used his older brother's name to trick a young girl into a “prearranged marriage,” nearly ruining his brother’s future. This scandal caused the family to empty their pockets to settle things.

Since then, Zheng Zhong had been living on his own, though his mother still kept a close eye on him.

When Li Hongjuan went to see the team leader, she spoke carefully, “Our situation is different. It's inappropriate for men and women to be paired up like this. Zheng Zhong’s reputation is already not great, and if this continues, people will start talking about his future wife.”

She spoke so thoughtfully that anyone unaware of the situation would have praised her concern.

But Zheng Chongba, the team leader, had an inkling of what happened in the past. He sneered inwardly but kept a neutral expression as he replied, “We’re in the new society now. It’s about reasonable division of labor, not meddling in personal affairs.”

Li Hongjuan was well aware of Zheng Chongba’s disdain for her but didn’t mind. She was confident in her own position, speaking politely, “Shen Qiao isn’t in any difficult situation. What I’m saying is, Zheng Zhong should focus on helping people like Fifth Uncle more.”

Zheng Chongba’s temper wasn’t the best, and he bluntly responded, “I’ll handle things the way I see fit.”

Li Hongjuan returned home in frustration.

At home, her children were scattered. Her eldest, Zheng Yueping, was married far away; her second, Zheng Junfeng, worked in the county town; her third, Zheng Yuexiang, had married a fellow youth worker, Liu Panwen, and was living with her parents; and then there was Zheng Zhong, who had established his own household.

Zheng Yuexiang, now six years into marriage and with two children, was dependent on her parents more than her husband, who worked hard but didn’t earn much.

She noticed her mother’s mood and asked, “Why bother with the youngest? He won’t listen to us anyway.”

Li Hongjuan wasn’t pleased and snapped, “If I don’t intervene, something bad will happen to him.”

Zheng Yuexiang, perplexed, asked, “What’s going on?”

Li Hongjuan, with a serious expression, replied, “It’s that Shen Qiao. I can’t stand her. If she marries Zheng Zhong, it’ll be a disaster.”

Zheng Yuexiang was taken aback. “Are they getting married?”

Her mother seemed surprised at her lack of insight. “Well, why do you think Zheng Zhong is always paired up with her to work? Everyone knows it’s a good thing. I even checked the work points records—by the end of the year, they’ll be public for everyone to see.”

Recently, Shen Qiao had been getting eight work points per day, while others usually only received five. That was a big difference.

Zheng Yuexiang thought about it and muttered, “That girl is so pretty, maybe Zheng Zhong is finally coming around. But I doubt she’ll stay in the commune.”

Li Hongjuan, knowing the girl’s city background, wasn’t convinced. “She probably just wants to use him. If she wanted to, those city boys who’d given her attention would be much more valuable than some measly work points.”

Liu Panwen, who was also a youth worker, overheard the conversation. He and Shen Qiao had known each other since they both arrived in the commune, and he was more familiar with her than most. “Shen Qiao isn’t like that,” he said, defending her.

Several male youth workers from the city had already expressed interest in her, so if she wanted to use someone, they were far more useful than a few work points.

Zheng Yuexiang, slightly jealous, responded, “You seem to know a lot about her.”

But Liu Panwen, who ate at his wife’s family’s house and kept his opinions to himself, noticed the gossip surrounding Zheng Zhong and Shen Qiao.

The rumors were that something was definitely going on between them, but no one had concrete proof. They rarely interacted with others, and it seemed their relationship was still just a working partnership.

Shen Qiao knew what Zheng Zhong was thinking. He wanted an efficient partner who didn’t owe anyone favors, and she fit that role perfectly. So, she didn’t push for conversation. Instead, she simply offered him a piece of biscuit every day, always running off afterward.