Chapter 67 – Leaves That Big?

The old village secretary knew every household in Zhoujia Village like the back of his hand—how many people, how many kids, their ages, and genders.

He started by giving each child currently attending school a deworm candy.

Zhou Zhigao and his daughter, both teachers at the village school, were delighted to see that the school canteen’s food supplies were fully stocked.

Although Zhou Yimin and the old secretary had promised this would happen, until the grain actually arrived, there had always been uncertainty. They had been uneasy deep down.

Now, the skies above the school had “cleared.”

At least for the next few months, they didn’t need to worry about the children’s food situation and could focus on teaching.

In addition, Zhou Yimin had also brought back pagoda candies for the village children, which brought joy to the father and daughter.

Judging from all this, Zhou Yimin clearly placed great importance on the children of the village and cared deeply about the school. He would be a strong pillar of support for them, which deeply reassured Zhou Zhigao and his daughter.

“Yimin, and you too, comrade, have some water!” Zhou Zhigao greeted Zhou Yimin and Luo Dapeng with a smile.

Given the school’s current conditions, hot water was the best they could offer.

Zhou Yimin had also emphasized that students should drink only hot water and avoid raw water. Because of this, Zhou Zhigao had brought the only thermos from home to the school.

He also made it a point to remind students daily to drink hot water and to maintain proper hygiene.

Zhou Zhigao fully supported this approach.

As one of the few educated people in the village, he naturally understood the importance of hygiene and diet.

“Mr. Zhou, thank you! Just call me Dapeng. I’m a close buddy of Yimin’s,” said Dapeng, accepting the carved wooden cup without any complaints.

To prepare cups and bowls for the students, Zhou Yimin had specifically asked Dachun’s family to help craft a batch of wooden cups and bowls.

After finishing their water, Zhou Yimin said to Zhou Zhigao, “Brother Zhigao, I won’t sit down. If the school needs anything, just come to me. Don’t be shy.”

“Alright, thank you so much, Yimin,” Zhou Zhigao said with heartfelt gratitude.

This wasn’t just helping the village kids—it was helping his own family.

Two teachers and a cook from the same household—three jobs in total! All of them were directly or indirectly tied to Zhou Yimin.

“Come on, let’s go to my place for a feast,” Zhou Yimin said to Luo Dapeng.

There were still things in the back of the tricycle to take home, including a whole stalk of bananas and 10 jin of lamb.

Hearing this, Dapeng was intrigued and followed closely.

When they arrived, Dapeng greeted Zhou Yimin’s grandparents as “Grandpa” and “Grandma” too. He wasn’t shy at all and didn’t treat himself like an outsider.

The old couple was overjoyed.

Knowing this was their grandson’s sworn brother from the city, they welcomed him warmly. Grandma even wanted to bring out the remaining apples to treat Dapeng.

“Grandma, I brought back bananas! Let everyone have a taste,” Zhou Yimin quickly said.

“Oh! Bananas? I haven’t eaten those in years,” the old man said nostalgically.

Zhou Yimin and Luo Dapeng were both surprised. The old man had eaten bananas before?

After all, bananas were mostly found in the far south. Up here in the north, most people hadn’t even seen one, let alone tasted one.

The old man shared a story from his past.

“Your grandaunt married into the south. In the first few years after she got married, we still kept in touch. I even visited once. There were banana trees right next to their house, and the leaves were this big.” The old man stretched out his hands to demonstrate.

Luo Dapeng widened his eyes. “Leaves that big?”

He couldn’t imagine what kind of tree would need such massive leaves. He briefly suspected the old man was exaggerating, but had no proof.

Seeing Dapeng’s doubt, Zhou Yimin explained, “They really are that big. Some leaves in the south are so huge they can kill someone if they fall.”

He wasn’t exaggerating—he’d often seen news in his past life about king coconut trees shedding massive leaves that injured people. Those falling leaves could weigh dozens of pounds. Not a joke at all.

What surprised Zhou Yimin, though, was that he had a grandaunt who had married into the south.

Well, alright then.

Since even Yimin said so, Dapeng no longer doubted it. He simply marveled at the world—he had never imagined such massive leaves could exist.

“Here, one for each of you. That’s plenty.” Zhou Yimin handed out bananas.

Lai Cai and Lai Fang were almost frozen like statues, staring longingly.

The two little ones had never seen a banana before, let alone eaten one. They didn’t even know how to eat it. When they got one, they just bit into it, since that shiny yellow peel looked so tempting.

Luo Dapeng quickly stopped them. “Hey now, watch your big bro Dapeng. This is how you eat it.”

Lai Cai and Lai Fang’s eyes squinted in delight as they tasted it.

“So yummy!”

The bootlicker Lai Cai added, “It’s only this delicious because Big Bro brought it.”

Third Aunt took a tiny bite, planning to save the rest. It was such a precious treat—how could she just eat it all? What a waste!

“Third Aunt, don’t save it. Once a banana’s peeled, it doesn’t keep,” Zhou Yimin reminded her when he saw what she was doing.

No wonder Grandma always said she was like a wild boar that couldn’t eat fine grain.

Whenever there was something good to eat, she always felt she didn’t deserve it. Eating it felt like a waste.

In truth, this reflected the mindset of many women in China during that era. Whenever there was good food, they’d always prioritize the working husband and growing kids. They rarely thought about themselves.

Zhou Yimin asked the old man, “Grandpa, about that grandaunt you mentioned earlier—what happened after that? Did you lose contact? Which province in the south?”

The old man recalled, “We lost touch. I had your dad write a few letters, but there was never a reply. I don’t know what happened. She got married in Guangdong—really far. You had to take the train for days and nights to get there.”

If it weren’t so far, they might’ve been able to go and check in person.

Truthfully, the old man had considered the worst-case scenario—he just didn’t want to say it aloud.

“When I have time, I’ll go look for her,” Zhou Yimin said.

It was clear that Grandpa had been very close to that grandaunt. Otherwise, he wouldn’t look so worried.

“Okay. When you have the chance, go visit her on Grandpa’s behalf,” the old man said with a forced smile.

Just consider it his obedient grandson trying to comfort him.

“I’ll first ask around and try to get some news,” Zhou Yimin promised.

Luo Dapeng chimed in to reassure the old man. “Grandpa, don’t worry. Yimin’s buddy is really amazing—he can get anything done. Seriously. Look, even these bananas are from the south, right?”

That convinced the old man.

Yes! Bananas came from the south. If they could get those, it meant they had connections down there. Getting some information shouldn’t be a problem.

A glimmer of hope sparked in his heart. He quickly gave his grandson the full address.

Zhou Yimin wrote it down.

Fulfilling one of Grandpa’s wishes—of course he had to put in the effort.

“Alright then, you all sit. I’ll go cook. Lai Cai, done eating? Go start the fire.” Zhou Yimin called out.

Seeing Lai Cai scraping the inside of the banana peel with his teeth, Yimin was speechless.

Lai Cai quickly dropped the peel. “Big Bro, I’m done!”

And off he ran to the kitchen, afraid someone else might steal his chance to light the fire.

(End of chapter)