What a Huge Package

This program was produced by Tomato Listening. Episode 40: What a Huge Package!

After the Small Team Leader of Team Three came over and heard the whole story, he said to Li Daxiang, the little old man, "What kind of nonsense is your family pulling? You said you had to go home to cook before the work was finished. After cooking, you disappeared without a trace, then came to work in the middle of the night. Aren't you just making yourselves suffer?"

The Production Team Leader immediately understood that someone had been played. During the busy farming season, there were still people stirring up such pointless trouble. Furious, he said, "Why aren't you working? You brought this illness upon yourselves. You never work properly. Your leave today will cost you five work points."

The moment Li Daxiang heard that, he knew it meant he had worked half the day for nothing. He wanted to say something, but Aunt Li had suppressed him for twenty-three years. He had long become a tightly corked gourd and could not utter a word.

Everyone working in that patch of land had turned to look. The Production Team Leader felt too embarrassed to keep watching and said, "Enough, get back to work. What are you all staring at? Go tell your spouse that if they're still too sick to get out of bed tomorrow, another five work points will be deducted."

The little old man Li Daxiang's face wrinkled into a mass of folds.

Lin Yuzhu shot him a dark look and went back to work.

Lin Yuzhu did not expect much from Song Zhigao. As long as he did not work worse than she did, that was enough.

Yet she had never expected that a young man would be worse at farm work than a girl. After she finished picking up wheat, she still had to wait for him to slowly cut it, and she began to dislike him a little more.

As the sun gradually grew hotter, Lin Yuzhu wiped the sweat baked onto her face and kept shaking her head at Song Zhigao's back.

Song Zhigao perhaps felt embarrassed too. He even turned around and apologetically said to her, "Sister Lin, don't worry. Once I get more familiar with it, my speed will pick up right away."

Lin Yuzhu's mind was filled with the words "Sister Lin."

How depressing. She had finally returned to being sixteen, yet someone was still calling her sister. "Take your time. Don't cut your feet."

Lin Yuzhu said weakly.

This was no joke. Zhang Yanqiu had cut her foot yesterday, and she had not seen anyone give her a tetanus shot or anything. Better not rush him. Safety came first.

Hearing Lin Yuzhu say that, Song Zhigao secretly let out a breath. He had been extremely nervous just now. Seeing that Lin Yuzhu did not seem to hold it against him, he thought, Sister Lin wasn't like Sister Zhao said, was she?

That was why people needed patience.

After trailing behind young Song for an hour or two, Lin Yuzhu finally saw him begin to look the part. His wheat-cutting speed had increased, so she followed behind picking it up, piling it together, and then tying it into bundles—a task that required a little skill.

Wheat straw had limited flexibility. If she did not tie it properly, it would come apart and have to be tied again.

Lin Yuzhu only began to grasp the trick after tying several bundles.

After all that back-and-forth, she was covered in wheat awns, and her clothes were filthy with wheat dust. The sun was scorching, making her sweat continuously, and the wheat awns stuck to her skin. Lin Yuzhu could only endure it and did not dare wipe herself carelessly.

The more she wiped at the wheat dust all over her body, the worse it got. She truly did not want to suffer through this hardship a second time.

By the time work ended that morning, Lin Yuzhu was covered in wheat stalks and awns, with several stalks stuck in her hair.

Lin Yuzhu had thought Lin Jia had forgotten about her, but when she reached the entrance to the Educated Youth Dormitory, she heard someone call her name. The voice sounded somewhat familiar, yet she could not recall who it was.

Looking in that direction, she saw a man riding over on a bicycle with a huge package strapped behind him.

When the man stopped at the entrance to the Educated Youth Dormitory, Lin Yuzhu froze. He was an acquaintance. This guy had gone from being a sales clerk at the grain station to a postman? Had the old postman honorably retired?

"Lin Yuzhu?"

Shen Bojun only asked after seeing Lin Yuzhu stare at him for so long.

Lin Yuzhu nodded.

Shen Bojun stared at Lin Yuzhu pensively for a moment before quickly returning to normal.

Lin Yuzhu had not even noticed. "This package is yours."

After saying that, he unloaded it and handed it to her, then shouted toward the Educated Youth Dormitory, "Zhou Nan!"

Seeing the enormous package, Lin Yuzhu wanted to exclaim. Had Mother Lin mailed her entire household over?

Zhou Nan was washing up in the courtyard. Hearing someone call him, he walked out. Even Shen Bojun, another man, was startled by his looks.

"Zhou Nan? Comrade Zhou Nan?" Zhou Nan nodded.

After Shen Bojun handed him a letter, he watched Lin Yuzhu pick up the package. Her entire body vanished behind it, and he nearly could not hold back a laugh.

Zhou Nan looked over the envelope. It was from his family, but he was in no hurry to open it. He turned to see Lin Yuzhu struggling to carry the package and paused. In his cool voice, he asked, "Need help?"

"Yes. Who knows what Mother Lin packed in here? It's so heavy and big. It's really hard to carry."

Hearing the female educated youth's voice, Shen Bojun frowned. It sounded pleasant, yet he could not remember where he had heard it before. He did not leave right away, instead standing where he was and watching Zhou Nan lift the other side of the package.

The two carried the package into the courtyard together. The female educated youth's back also looked inexplicably familiar. Then Shen Bojun heard the male educated youth say, "I sorted out those newspapers. Come get them when you have time." "If you hadn't mentioned it, I would've forgotten. Thanks!"

That voice... Shen Bojun stared at Lin Yuzhu, pondering for a long while. He had definitely heard it before.

Li Xiangbei, who had just returned from the Summer Palace and was about to enter the courtyard, happened to glance at the postman. He had already taken a step forward but abruptly stopped, turned back to examine Shen Bojun twice, and asked, "Why are you here?"

Shen Bojun gave a slight nod and said nothing more.

Li Xiangbei seemed to realize something and forcibly changed the subject. "Comrade, is there anything for me?"

"At the Educated Youth Dormitory, only two comrades had letters and packages, and both have already collected them."

"Oh, all right. Comrade, take care on the road."

Shen Bojun nodded and rode away on his bicycle.

Wang Yang, who had returned two steps behind, also saw the postman. He hurriedly turned around but only caught sight of his back. He said to Li Xiangbei, "Old Shen became a postman again?"

Li Xiangbei's gaze was distant.

Only then did Wang Yang realize something. He looked around, and seeing no one nearby, let out a breath and muttered quietly, "Old Shen's job is really great. He's collecting two salaries."

"Hey, that's not right. He can even make money at the Black Market."

He muttered as he spoke, filled with envy.

"Watch your mouth. Don't let anything slip."

Li Xiangbei warned him.

"Come on, would I not know that? I'm only saying a couple words because no one's around!"

"Still, what was the Shen Family's younger uncle thinking, throwing someone into a place like this?"

"They became educated youth because they had no choice. But the Shen Family had read the situation early on. It wasn't easy to arrange a way out for the younger generation. I just don't know how they arranged for Old Shen to end up in this remote little place."

Li Xiangbei was silent for a long while. The Wang Family was showing signs of decline after all, and they could no longer obtain quite a bit of information. Wang Yang was not especially perceptive either. "I think the border is only a few hundred kilometers from here. Maybe they came far away to hide, just like us, so they wouldn't be affected."

Wang Yang instantly drooped. "Sigh, but they're still far better off than us. Who knows when we'll be able to go back?"

Li Xiangbei stared at the country road where Shen Bojun had already disappeared, unable to keep the melancholy from his heart. He was only two years younger, yet his life circumstances had fallen so far behind.

After Zhou Nan helped Lin Yuzhu place the package outside her door, he nodded at her and turned to leave.

Lin Yuzhu hurriedly thanked him. She noticed Zhao Xianglan carrying a basin to the back courtyard to pick vegetables, staring straight in their direction. Lin Yuzhu clicked her tongue. "Peach Blossom Stockade, oh, Peach Blossom Stockade."

Seeing the huge package, Wang Xiaomei's heart itched with curiosity. She came over in two or three steps and excitedly asked, "What's inside your package?"

Lin Yuzhu pushed her away. "Oh, hurry up and make your food. Don't stay here and get in the way."

With such a large package, it would not seem excessive if she took out a thing or two later, though she did not yet know what to take out. After washing all the wheat awns from her body, she felt much fresher.

She had not yet had time to open the package. First, she needed to light the fire, cook some porridge, and warm two steamed buns. Only after finishing that did she go to unpack it.

Opening the package, she pulled out a letter. Lin Yuzhu unfolded it first. It was still written by the eldest daughter of the Lin Family. She said that Mother Lin had specially made her a thicker quilt, as well as a cotton-padded jacket and trousers. There had been some cotton left over, so she had also made cotton gloves. Cotton shoes could not be made, so she was told to buy a ready-made pair in town and not be stingy. A girl's feet could not get cold.

There were cloth coupons in the envelope. She needed to keep them carefully and not lose them.

The eldest daughter next door had also bought some yarn and specially knitted her a pair of wool trousers. There was not much yarn, so when her work unit got more, she would fight to get some and knit Lin Yuzhu a sweater.

Besides those things, the package also contained some clothes she had previously worn through winter, all mailed over at once.

Mother Lin had specifically reminded her to carefully check the package over and make sure nothing was missing.

Seeing this, Lin Yuzhu wanted to say that even if something were missing, there would be no way to get it back. She thought so silently.

Mother Lin had specially saved up brown sugar coupons and bought her two bags of brown sugar. Winter was cold, so she should soak brown sugar with ginger in hot water whenever she could to ward off the chill. She was not to refuse to drink it.

Lin Yuzhu was speechless. It seemed that the original owner, like her, did not like brown sugar water.

The rest described the situation at home. Everything was normal, with one small setback: the eldest brother next door had failed yet another matchmaking meeting. This time, it was not because he disliked the other party. Rather, she thought he was too old. Since he still had not found a wife at his age, there must be some unspeakable secret.

Lin Yuzhu laughed. The wheel of fortune really did turn.

But then again, if she disliked his age, why go on a blind date with him? Would it not have been better to refuse from the start?

The things in the package basically matched what the letter listed. Apart from the bedding and cotton-padded jacket and trousers, the old autumn and winter clothes had arrived at just the right time. If Mother Lin had not mailed them over, Lin Yuzhu had planned to buy some in town.

In the countryside, clothes only needed to be wearable. This was not the time to dress up. Saving a sum of money made her heart feel delighted.

After taking everything out of the package and putting it away, she simply bought a bottle of Eight-Treasure Pickled Vegetables from her space and ate it with porridge and steamed buns. Mm, it was not bad. Lunch was dealt with, and she had even been thinking of resting for a while.

Just as she had expected, Wang Xiaomei came over to watch the excitement.

Lin Yuzhu pressed a hand to her forehead. Did one package really have such irresistible appeal?

Wang Xiaomei entered, looked at the neat and orderly room, curled her lips, and eagerly asked, "Your family mailed you a package?"