Chapter 108: Eating Ice Cream

The letter of gratitude was filled with sincere thanks toward the steel factory workers, every word imbued with genuine emotion. Combined with the announcer’s heartfelt reading, it moved tens of thousands.

Several of the steel factory’s cafeterias fell silent as the announcer read the letter aloud.

Only a few seconds after the reading finished did someone suddenly burst into applause and cheer.

“Well said! Our factory did a wonderful thing.”

“That’s right! When our farming brothers are in trouble, it’s only right for us workers to lend a hand.”

…

Naturally, Factory Director Hu and the other factory leaders witnessed this effect and were very satisfied—that was exactly what they were aiming for.

It could be said that the donation made to Zhoujiazhuang School was worth every penny.

In fact, it achieved three goals in one move.

First, it gave Zhou Yimin face. Second, it helped children and teachers who genuinely needed support. And finally, it greatly boosted morale among the factory workers.

It might even be a fourfold success.

If word of this got out, it would become a beautiful tale shared between the steel factory and Zhoujiazhuang School. If the story reached the public—or higher authorities—it would bring great benefits to the factory leadership.

It would raise their reputation—not just the reputation of the steel factory, but also their personal reputations as leaders.

And if their superiors took notice, it would definitely improve their chances for promotion.

“Factory Director, in my opinion, we should make this a tradition. Every year, we should donate to a school. Help ease the burden on our farming brothers,” said Director Ding.

After all, the factory’s resources didn’t belong to them personally—no need to feel heartache over it.

Using the factory’s resources to build their own reputations—what a deal, no matter how you looked at it.

Factory Director Hu and the others all agreed. Exactly! Good deeds like this must be repeated if they wanted to be seen by the higher-ups.

“Mm! I agree. Let’s discuss it in tomorrow’s meeting. Try to establish it as a long-standing tradition of our factory. We must fully implement the policy of worker-farmer cooperation…” Factory Director Hu, true to his title, had a way with words.

…

At the Siheyuan, Zhou Yimin treated the children to ice cream.

Though these kids lived in the city, they had never tasted ice cream this delicious. Usually, they only got popsicles—just frozen sugar water with a hint of sweetness.

Even so, popsicles were a huge favorite among children.

“This kind of popsicle must be really expensive, right?” some of the women in the courtyard couldn’t help but ask.

They didn’t know much and had never seen this kind before, but it was clearly something special. The outer layer—whatever it was—had the kids raving, and the white part inside seemed to be made of milk.

They all said that three White Rabbit milk candies were worth as much as a cup of milk, so wouldn’t this whole popsicle be equal to a full cup of milk?

Yimin sure was generous.

Zhou Yimin smiled. “I’m not sure. Haven’t seen it on the market. A friend gave it to me. It’s called xuegao—a bit like ice cream. Lao Mo’s Restaurant serves ice cream too.”

Just as he finished speaking, one little guy burst into tears—he had dropped a piece of his ice cream on the ground.

Hearing him cry, another kid across the way also dropped his, and his crying got even louder.

One of the parents immediately shouted, “Quick, pick it up and eat it!”

In the future, people would joke about the three-second rule: if it’s on the ground less than three seconds, it’s still clean. But in this era, never mind three seconds—even if a whole army of ants came for it, they’d be shooed away.

Eat it before it melts—otherwise, it’d be such a waste!

The parents all urged their kids to eat quickly and stop licking so slowly. If even a single drop fell, it broke their hearts—let alone a whole chunk.

That would be unbearable!

They figured this kind of xuegao was probably a special supply item, which was why it wasn’t available on the market.

And just now, Yimin had said it was a bit like ice cream. Ice cream from Lao Mo’s Restaurant! Most people couldn’t even get in the door, let alone eat it.

Their kids were only able to enjoy it because of Yimin.

In the end, everyone licked even the wooden sticks clean and still looked unsatisfied.

It was just too good.

Even Zhou Yimin couldn’t resist the charm of xuegao—let alone these little kids. It had them wrapped around its finger instantly.

The parents reminded their kids not to go talking about this outside.

Even though Yimin said the ice cream was a gift from a friend, who knew if it came from internal channels? If someone investigated, it might get people in trouble.

But Zhou Yimin didn’t care. They had already eaten it—who could investigate now? No phones to take photos for social media back then, and even private cameras were rare.

No evidence—so who’s gonna say anything?

Still, Zhou Yimin thought to himself: it’s safer in Zhoujiazhuang. You can eat all you want without worry.

The entire village was under his influence, tight as a steel drum. Strangers couldn’t just wander in. If Zhao Zhenguo hadn’t been led in by Luo Dapeng last time, he probably wouldn’t have even made it into the village.

Though the Siheyuan was full of friendly people, the courtyard was still too small. It couldn’t hide secrets very well.

So, for real feasts, it was still better to return to the village.

Here in the courtyard, eating well once in a while wasn’t a problem. After all, everyone knew that Zhou Yimin had received several awards. Having a few good meals wasn’t exactly a secret—what’s the harm?

…

That afternoon, Zhou Yimin rode his bike around town. When he returned, the basket behind his bike held 10 pounds of pork, five fish (each about 3 pounds), 5 pounds of eggs, one set of pig offal, and a pile of vegetables—green beans, tomatoes, and baby bok choy.

He stopped in front of Courtyard 55.

“Auntie, is Dazhong back?” Zhou Yimin asked the elderly woman sweeping at the entrance.

“Oh, it’s Yimin? Dazhong took leave and is home. His mother’s here too.”

The old woman beamed and glanced at all the food in Zhou Yimin’s basket.

“I’ll go call Dazhong.”

They had already been notified—tonight, Dazhong was treating the entire courtyard to dinner. Because of this, Zhou Dazhong’s mother and younger sister had come from their rural hometown.

His younger brother didn’t come, as he had to focus on school.

Their Siheyuan had a cook, and for this dinner, Zhou Dazhong had specially asked the chef uncle from the central courtyard to help out. Master Quan, as he was called, readily agreed.

After lunch, they’d just been waiting on Yimin to bring the ingredients.

When Zhou Dazhong’s mother and sister arrived at the courtyard and saw the house that belonged to her son (the eldest brother), they were overjoyed. A house in the city!

In traditional Chinese thinking, a home is the foundation of life.

If you don’t have a home, you can’t say you’ve settled down.

Houses and land—those are the assets Chinese people value most.

After arriving at the Siheyuan, Zhou Dazhong’s mother kept busy, cleaning every corner of the house until it sparkled, and chatted warmly with the women in the courtyard.

The other women, knowing the relationship between Zhou Dazhong and Zhou Yimin, didn’t look down on his mother for being from the countryside. Instead, they talked with her enthusiastically—offering to introduce girls to Dazhong, for instance.

They chatted up a storm.

(End of Chapter)