Chapter 17: Ten Bucks to Come Over

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After Duan Chengliang’s heartfelt encouragement, Qin Huairu finally mustered the courage to turn around and head to the central courtyard to ask Jia Zhang’s family for money.

But she was suddenly pulled back by Duan Chengliang.

Qin Huairu was momentarily stunned, her face flushing red; she thought Duan Chengliang was about to do something else.

Unexpectedly, Duan Chengliang just used his finger to wipe the soup traces from the corner of her mouth. “Sister Qin, there’s still some soup on your lips. You have to remember, when you go, don’t reveal that you’ve already eaten your fill. You must act like you’re still hungry.”

This caught Qin Huairu off guard. When she left the house, her steps became somewhat hurried and awkward, which made Duan Chengliang worry about how well she would perform later.

Qin Huairu left.

While waiting for the outcome, Duan Chengliang tidied up the room, putting some important household items into his space—things like the grain book, the provisions ledger, the few tickets and certificates he still held, his bank fixed deposit slip, and the property deed.

In his memory, Duan Chengliang’s eldest uncle had worked early on with the original owner of the steel mill, Lou Bancheng, providing much assistance in forging technology.

So, before liberation, the family settled in the city through introductions arranged by Lou Bancheng, and they managed to buy three rooms in the east wing of the large courtyard. Now, these had passed into Duan Chengliang’s hands.

Looking back, he realized his uncle had helped him a lot—not only giving him a home in Beijing and a Beijing household registration but also, through his own efforts, securing a stable "iron rice bowl" job as a coal yard loader, a position that ensured steady income regardless of drought or flood.

Upon reflection, it could be said that through his uncle’s efforts, three vague wishes—perhaps promises made by the old blacksmith—were fulfilled.

Duan Chengliang glanced at the property deed, sighed, gave it a flick, and then placed it back into the iron box inside his space.

He decided to take a morning off from the coal yard tomorrow to withdraw money from the bank to buy ribbonfish. As for pork, it might not be available by then, but if it was, he would definitely buy a piece worth one yuan.

After finishing his preparations, Duan Chengliang even stepped out near the central hall to listen keenly for any disturbances from Qin Huairu’s family. If a conflict broke out, he wanted to be ready to back her up.

Such matters—if one finally gathered courage but failed without timely support—would be very discouraging. It would be difficult to summon such resolve again next time.

However, the central courtyard remained quiet, and there was no unusual commotion from Qin Huairu’s family.

Duan Chengliang felt uneasy. Could it be that the confident Qin Huairu he had seen earlier lost heart once home, never daring to bring up the matter and quietly gave up?

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After more than half an hour, the door of Qin Huairu’s house was pushed open. She emerged and quickly walked toward the central hall.

Duan Chengliang hurriedly turned back to his room; some things were easier to discuss indoors than standing in the yard.

He listened outside and heard footsteps at his door. He opened it. Qin Huairu hesitated briefly, then entered.

Seeing the smile on her face, Duan Chengliang instantly understood—the negotiation had succeeded and money was coming.

Still, he asked, “How did it go? Did they give it?”

Qin Huairu nodded. She pressed her lips tightly, then unexpectedly stepped forward and kissed Duan Chengliang on the cheek.

Despite some shyness, she was clearly delighted as she said, “If you hadn’t analyzed things and encouraged me, I wouldn’t have known how to negotiate with her like that.”

She then took out two five-yuan notes—ten yuan in total—and handed them to Duan Chengliang without hesitation. “Here, I got ten yuan. Please help me buy food.”

Duan Chengliang didn’t refuse but only took one five-yuan note, smiling. “Five yuan is enough to buy what you need. How much do you want me to buy for you at once? By the way, I didn’t hear any noise from your side—was she that easy to deal with?”

Qin Huairu carefully put the remaining five yuan into her pocket and shook her head with a smile. “Of course not. She was definitely reluctant at first, but I just used your words with my own tone to talk to her. Unexpectedly, though she was initially furious and ready to yell, she suddenly fell silent. I then showed a firm attitude as you advised, and after a while, she agreed to give five yuan. I said it wasn’t enough. After persisting a bit, she increased it to ten. But she said it was a loan, that once Dongxu got paid, she’d gradually repay her. I didn’t say much and ignored her.”

Duan Chengliang smiled and nodded. “Right, that’s the way. Don’t say too much, just get the money first. At least this is an unprecedented change. You’ll gradually understand how things will go in the future. Then, once it becomes a habit, she won’t have the final say.”

Since Jia Zhang’s family and Banggeng were still hungry, Qin Huairu urged Duan Chengliang to hurry and buy the food.

Duan Chengliang shamelessly earned a few more warm kisses before leaving the room, telling Qin Huairu to wait in his room.

His dealings with Qin Huairu were also a process of habit becoming second nature.

Duan Chengliang only took a short walk and returned to his door, carrying a small cloth bag weighing about five jin (2.5 kg) of millet flour and holding two ribbonfish in his hand.

What Xu Damao had said to Qin Huairu earlier proved true—Duan Chengliang was thrifty and good at managing grain, always having some surplus. So even though it was nearly the end of the month, he still had about twenty jin of millet flour left in his flour jar.

This was after he had traveled here and initially had not adjusted his diet, eating heartily, leaving just this much.

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When Duan Chengliang entered the room and closed the door, Qin Huairu, looking at the weighty cloth bag in his hand, suddenly teared up.

Actually, she had been restless and anxious while waiting alone in the house.

At this time, having money without tickets meant you couldn’t buy anything. So she had given Duan Chengliang five yuan to buy grain for her, and she had been biting her nails in worry.

Now that she saw the food brought back, her excitement was hard to contain.

Duan Chengliang smiled and raised the cloth bag. “Sister Qin, time was tight today, so I only managed to get five jin. Because there were no tickets, the price was almost doubled. This millet flour was priced at fifteen cents per jin. Look, what else did I bring you?”

Only then did Qin Huairu notice the two ribbonfish he was holding, and she was startled.

Duan Chengliang laughed at her expression and quickly explained the report from the People’s Daily and gave a brief description of how to cook the fish and its taste, helping Qin Huairu see the ribbonfish in a more normal light.

“You say this fish is very nutritious and tastes good? Are you sure?”

Duan Chengliang nodded. “People in Beijing don’t know this fish yet, but once it becomes familiar, it will be more and more popular and become a delicacy on Beijing tables. When you cook it, add a little aged vinegar—it smells wonderful when stewed. It has few bones, is very nutritious, and good for Banggeng’s health. Also, it goes well with rice. I bought two—one for your family, and I’ll eat one later to boost my own health.”

Hearing Duan Chengliang say he wanted to nourish himself, Qin Huairu blushed again and gave him a playful glare.

However, seeing his certainty, she no longer doubted and asked in detail about how to handle and cook the ribbonfish.

Finally, she asked, “This fish costs only twenty-six cents per jin?”

“Yeah, because few people know about it, supply exceeds demand, so it’s cheap. Try it today and see if you like it. If you do, I’ll go to the market tomorrow to get more. I haven’t given you the remaining three yuan and one dime yet—I’ll try to exchange it for more food for you first.”