Chapter 2: Returning Home to Visit Grandpa and Grandma

Zhou Yimin rode his bicycle out and stopped in front of a shop selling steamed buns.

The bicycle was something his stingy old dad had left behind, so he really couldn’t blame Old Zhou for anything. In Zhou Yimin’s situation, even if he just lay flat and did nothing, he wouldn’t have to worry.

He ordered ten buns and a bowl of soy milk.

There was no way he could finish all ten buns—back in these days, buns were quite substantial. But that was fine; whatever he couldn’t eat, he would just store in his shop’s backpack, where even the heat would be preserved.

After eating his fill, he started heading toward the outskirts of town, thinking about what to bring back for his grandparents.

Zhou Yimin dismissed the original owner’s plan to bring his grandparents to the city. When times got rough in the future, the countryside would actually be safer. Besides, the countryside was also a fallback option for him.

The original owner had wanted to bring the elderly couple to the city simply to prevent them from suffering hardship in the village.

But if he frequently traveled to the countryside and brought supplies for them, he could achieve the same goal.

Moreover, the elderly were used to rural life—they might not even be happy in the city.

He decided to bring ten pounds each of the flour and eggs he had managed to snag at a flash sale today.

Zhou Yimin also wanted to get some meat.

Checking the shop, he saw that pork, beef, and mutton were all available. Fatty pork was cheap, only 0.2 yuan per pound, while pork belly was more expensive at 0.8 yuan per pound.

He personally couldn’t stomach fatty pork—it made him nauseous. But people in these times loved fatty meat because it produced more oil.

After some thought, he spent 1 yuan to buy five pounds of fatty pork, planning to render it into lard at his grandparents’ place, and also got five pounds of pork belly.

Following the memories in his mind, Zhou Yimin pedaled for over two hours and finally arrived at Zhoujia Village.

Along the way, he saw too many people struggling in hardship. He didn’t dare to look too closely, afraid that his heart would soften.

Right now, the entire country was in a similar state, and he was powerless to change it. He couldn’t save too many people. At the moment, he just wanted to live well himself and take care of those around him who were worth helping.

Just before entering the village, he took out the items he had prepared and placed them in the shopping basket on his bicycle.

“Yimin, back to visit your great-uncle and great-aunt again?” A voice suddenly called out from not far away.

Zhou Yimin turned his head and saw a few young men about his age moving stones.

The speaker was someone he knew—a cousin’s son, whose formal name was Zhou Dafu, but everyone called him Wangcai. Although they were of a similar age, Wangcai had to call him ‘Uncle.’

“Wangcai, is that how you address your elders? Do you want me to ask my cousin about this?” Zhou Yimin wasn’t actually upset; he was just teasing him.

Zhou Dafu was frustrated—he was a whole generation lower for no reason.

But he still obediently called out, “Uncle.”

“Not making you call me that for nothing. Come over here!” Zhou Yimin waved him over and took out a pack of Da Qianmen cigarettes.

Many people didn’t know that Da Qianmen cigarettes originally belonged to British American Tobacco. It wasn’t until 1952 that they were nationalized through a transfer agreement.

At the time, Da Qianmen was considered one of the better cigarettes, costing 0.35 yuan per pack.

For comparison, “Qinjian” brand cigarettes were only 0.08 yuan per pack, “Dajianshe” was 0.24 yuan, and “Yingchun” was 0.28 yuan.

Of course, “Zhonghua” was the most expensive.

Seeing the cigarettes, Wangcai instantly forgot his frustration and ran over excitedly.

“Uncle!”

This time, he called out ‘Uncle’ naturally and willingly.

Since the pack was almost empty anyway, Zhou Yimin handed the whole thing to him, making Wangcai so happy he nearly lost his mind.

As Zhou Yimin continued walking into the village, the other young men crowded around Wangcai. “Wangcai, give me one.”

Wangcai rolled his eyes. “What are you thinking? Be glad if I let you take a couple of puffs.”

Wanting a whole cigarette? Dream on!

This was Da Qianmen! To the rural folks, it was a ‘cadre cigarette’—something the average person couldn’t afford. Even the village secretary only smoked “Qinjian” or “Jingji” cigarettes.

Wangcai lit one up, and the group took turns taking a couple of puffs each. The rest, he carefully stored away—it would be useful for showing off later.

The dire situation in the countryside was even worse than Zhou Yimin had imagined. He even saw a few children gnawing on grass roots, their faces yellow and emaciated from hunger.

Zhou Yimin couldn’t bear it and called them over.

At the same time, he bought a few pounds of peanuts from the shop—he couldn’t exactly hand them raw eggs, and the leftover buns weren’t enough to share.

“Do you know who I am?”

The children in front of him looked like little beggars, dressed in tattered clothes and severely malnourished. One little girl had timid eyes.

A bold little boy raised his hand. “I know! You’re Sixteenth Grandpa!”

Zhou Yimin looked over. The kid even had snot running down his face, and he suddenly inhaled sharply—gulp—swallowing it right down.

Damn! Zhou Yimin felt his scalp tingle.

He was sixteenth in the family hierarchy, so any grandchild of one of his cousins would indeed call him ‘Sixteenth Grandpa.’

“Alright, line up properly. No pushing.”

The little ones were smart. They knew he was about to give out food, so they all lined up obediently, their faces full of excitement and anticipation.

In the distance, some adults were watching.

“Yimin is back.”

“Yimin is still the best—eating commodity grain in the city.”

“Yimin is about the right age for marriage now. I have a cousin’s niece who’s quite pretty.”

“Give it up! We all know what you’re thinking. Yimin will definitely marry a city girl.”

…

Zhou Yimin had no idea that the village women had already started scheming, trying to set him up with a match.

When the little ones in front of him had lined up properly, Zhou Yimin took out a cloth bag from the shopping basket. Inside were peanuts. He reached in and grabbed a large handful.

“Use your clothes to hold them.”

This handful was so large that the little ones couldn’t hold it even with both hands.

“Thank you, Sixteenth Grandpa!”

The child quickly opened their clothes to catch the peanuts.

“It’s my turn! It’s my turn! Thank you, Sixteenth Grandpa!”

…

After distributing to all the children, there were still plenty left. Zhou Yimin put the remaining peanuts back into the shopping basket to take home for his grandfather to roast and enjoy with wine.

The children who received the peanuts ran off to find their parents, excitedly telling them that Sixteenth Grandpa had given them some.

This made the other kids in the village, who hadn’t received any, incredibly envious. They regretted not running into Sixteenth Grandpa.

Even though it was just a handful of peanuts, for children who ate wild vegetables every day, it was already a rare and precious treat.

When Zhou Yimin returned to his grandparents’ house, he saw his grandfather in the yard under the jujube tree, tinkering with a farming tool. His grandmother seemed to be out.

“Grandpa, I’m back,” Zhou Yimin called out.

The old man suddenly turned his head and looked toward the entrance.

Seeing that it was his eldest grandson, his wrinkled face immediately softened into a smile.

“Yimin! Come inside quickly. Are you thirsty? Hungry? I’ll call your grandma back to cook something for you.” The old man put down the farm tool in his hand.

Zhou Yimin quickly waved his hands. “Grandpa, I’ve already eaten! Look, I brought something back for you and Grandma. From now on, you both should eat and drink well. I can take care of you now!”

Hearing the words “I can take care of you now” nearly brought tears to the old man’s eyes.

“Good, good, good! Our Yimin has made something of himself.”

(End of chapter)