Chapter 36: The Abandoned Infant on the Road

Li Youde pretended to be relaxed and nodded. “Yeah! I’m back. You guys go ahead and sleep, no need to wait for me.”

“Your mother was worried about you and couldn’t sleep,” said Li Youde’s father, smoking a cigarette.

His original plan was to work at the steel mill for two more years before passing the job on to his son. By then, his son would be looking for a wife, and having a stable job would make things much easier.

But plans couldn’t keep up with changes.

The family was struggling financially, and sometimes the pressure was overwhelming. He felt powerless to stop his son from taking risks at the black market. If his own arm hadn’t been injured, he would have put a stop to it for sure.

“Mom! Don’t worry, the black market is crowded with people!”

But how could Li’s mother not worry?

Selling goods on the black market was considered speculation and profiteering—an illegal act. If caught, one could be imprisoned. How could she not be afraid?

Then, Li Youde pulled out the 3 yuan and 90 cents he had just earned and handed it to his mother. “Mom, this is what I made tonight.”

Li’s father’s eyebrows twitched a few times when he saw the money.

That much?

In just one night?

If he made this amount every night, wouldn’t that mean over a hundred yuan in a month? His own salary was only around forty yuan now, previously close to fifty.

His son was earning more than twice his salary?

Li’s mother was also shocked.

However, she didn’t ask too many questions. If her son wasn’t saying anything, it meant he couldn’t say anything. There was no need to make things difficult for him.

She took the money but then stuffed 1 yuan and 90 cents back into her son’s hand, saying, “You’re not a child anymore. You should have some money on you. From now on, just give me half of what you earn, and I’ll save it for you to get married.”

Li’s father felt a little frustrated. Even if their son only handed over half, he’d still have more money left than his own salary.

Looks like from now on, if he wanted cigarettes, he’d have to ask his son for money.

He already had to turn in ninety percent of his salary, which wasn’t much to begin with, leaving very little for himself. These days, he had already switched to cheaper cigarettes.

“Alright, everyone go to sleep!” Li’s father said.

Lying in bed, Li Youde couldn’t sleep. Tonight’s earnings had a huge impact on him. He swore to himself that he would make sure his family lived a good life.

…

Dapeng returned home to find everyone asleep, so he quietly slipped into bed. As soon as he lay down, he felt a small bottle of medicated oil under his pillow.

There was no need to guess—it was definitely from his mother.

Every time he got injured in a fight, she would secretly place a bottle of medicated oil under his pillow.

Meanwhile, Zhou Yimin was counting his “savings.”

The 1,000 yuan that Old Zhou had left him had already been deposited into the store account, leaving about 600 yuan. Most of it had been spent on buying sweet potatoes and potatoes for Zhoujia Village and Shangshui Village.

Even though sweet potatoes and potatoes were cheap, they were bought in large quantities.

Recently, he had earned around 1,200 yuan from “purchasing” eggs, dried meat, wild boars, deer, and black bears for the steel mill. He had spent 200 yuan on house repairs for Master Gu, another 200 yuan on a wristwatch, and earned a 600 yuan bonus for installing a water pump.

Tonight, Li Youde and Dapeng had brought in another 260 yuan.

In total, he now had over 1,600 yuan.

But he was still far from the 10,000 yuan needed to upgrade the store—there was still a long way to go!

The next morning, Zhou Yimin checked the store’s 1-yuan section first.

Today’s refresh included 100 jin (50 kg) of chestnuts and 100 jin of cured duck.

Without hesitation, he spent 2 yuan to buy them instantly.

He wasn’t sure about the current price of chestnuts, but they were still a type of starchy food, probably similar to coarse grains. Cured duck might be cheaper than dried beef, since it had bones and wasn’t pure meat.

After some thought, he took out 80 jin of cured duck and placed it in the house, covering it up. This was for Li Youde and the others to take to the black market that night.

He had already told Li Youde and Dapeng that if there was stock, he would leave it in the house for them to pick up at night. If they didn’t see anything, it meant there was no stock that day, so they could take a break.

After setting aside the cured duck, Zhou Yimin went to the courtyard to brush his teeth and wash his face.

That’s when he overheard Second Aunt talking to someone about hearing a “mourning cat” crying last night, saying it was bad luck and all that.

Zhou Yimin broke into a cold sweat.

Mourning cat?

“You heard it too, Yimin?” Second Aunt turned to ask him.

Zhou Yimin quickly shook his head. “Nope, I’m a heavy sleeper.”

Second Aunt didn’t suspect anything. Young people usually slept soundly, often sleeping straight through the night. The same was true for people who were exhausted from work—they could sleep like a log, undisturbed even by thunder.

After freshening up, Zhou Yimin packed up some rewards from the factory, especially a certificate of merit from the Youth League.

The certificate featured a portrait of a great leader, two red flags, a yellow ribbon, and a five-pointed star in a circular frame. The design was solemn and dignified, with bright and vibrant colors dominated by red, yellow, and blue.

His grandfather would definitely be happy to see it.

He also brought along an enamel teacup and a thermos. He had extras at home, so he might as well take them to his grandparents.

In addition, he packed up the remaining 20 jin of cured duck and 20 jin of chestnuts.

After grabbing breakfast from a roadside stall, he set off for Zhoujia Village.

Halfway there, Zhou Yimin suddenly stopped.

On the roadside, he spotted an abandoned infant crying loudly.

There was no need to guess—it was most likely from a family that could no longer support another child.

Such a cruel fate!

Having lived in the 21st century, he couldn’t bring himself to just ignore it.

Parking his bicycle, Zhou Yimin walked back a dozen meters to the crying infant. It was a baby girl. Now he understood.

The infant was wrapped in a tattered cloth and placed in a basket.

After hesitating for a moment, he looked around but saw no one nearby.

“Hey! Is the baby’s family here? If you’re struggling, I can offer some help. I’m not lying,” Zhou Yimin called out, hoping to get a response.

Rather than taking the baby home, he’d rather give some food to the parents so they could keep and raise her. It would be much less troublesome.

However, no matter how much he shouted, there was no response.

Cursing the cruel times, Zhou Yimin had no choice but to pick up the baby girl. His head was pounding.

What he didn’t know was that after he left, a man with a haggard face peeked out from a nearby haystack.

It wasn’t that he was heartless. He already had three children, and his wife had died in childbirth. He simply couldn’t afford to raise this newborn daughter, so he had no choice but to abandon her.

When Zhou Yimin had called out earlier, he had almost rushed out.

But seeing the man had a bicycle—meaning he came from a well-off family—he decided to stay silent.

If his daughter followed someone like that, she might actually survive.

Watching the bicycle disappear into the distance, Chen Zhongcai trudged home.

Inside, his mother was wiping away tears while his three children sat beside their deceased mother’s body.

“Did you leave her?” his mother asked sorrowfully.

Chen Zhongcai nodded. “A man on a bicycle took her.”

“That’s good. That girl wasn’t meant to die.”

Though grief-stricken, she felt a small sense of relief.

A family with a bicycle was surely better off. They wouldn’t mind feeding one more child.

Besides, the man who took the baby had to be kindhearted.

To grow up in such a home—it was the little girl’s fortune, paid for with her mother’s life.

(End of Chapter)