Chapter 8

After running out a mile or so, Zhang Xuan found a quiet, sheltered spot, and seeing no one following him, he began to flip through the dictionary again.

This time, he flipped through it page by page, being extremely careful.

It didn’t disappoint him; there was money inside the dictionary, one, two, three... nine bills.

There were nine more at the back, all brand new hundred-yuan notes. If you added the one from before, it made a total of ten hundred-yuan bills.

Exactly 1000 yuan!

It was a huge sum of money in those days! Many families in the village wouldn’t save that much in a year.

Holding the 1000 yuan, Zhang Xuan fell silent, no longer as carefree as before. His gaze shifted to the dictionary, and he carefully tucked the money away. Then he started flipping through it again, this time even more slowly, starting from the front cover.

There was nothing at the front, nothing in the middle, and nothing at the back...

Wait!!!

There seemed to be some writing on a blank page in the second half? Blue ink?

He must not have been mistaken.

Zhang Xuan flipped back, slowing down even more.

It wasn’t an illusion; he found it on page 480, really written in blue ink.

There weren’t many words, just a few simple sentences: "Hello, Zhang Xuan. Happy New Year in advance! I heard you were sick. Are you feeling better? It’s so cold this year, take care of yourself."

At the end was a big circle with a smiley face.

That was all the message said.

Looking at the neat handwriting, Zhang Xuan was bewildered. He wasn’t familiar with this handwriting at all; it didn’t seem to be from anyone he knew.

Moreover, most of his close friends weren’t well-off and couldn’t afford to give such a large sum of money without leaving their names.

Of course, there was an exception: Du Shuangling.

Given Du Shuangling’s family background, with her father being the first person in town to own a private car, she could have saved up this much money.

But the handwriting was definitely not Du Shuangling’s, nor was it her best friends Yang Yongjian’s or Mi Jian’s.

After all, he had known Du Shuangling and Yang Yongjian for over seven years, and they had been classmates for a long time. He knew their personalities and backgrounds well.

And Yang Yongjian’s family was very poor! They lived in a remote mountain area, even poorer than his own family. It would be a miracle if they could come up with 1000 yuan.

As for Mi Jian, her family’s situation was a bit better. They lived in the city, her father was a sculptor, and her mother was a university teacher. 1000 yuan was a lot, but not so much for her.

However, his relationship with Mi Jian was the shallowest, having only known her for three years, and they didn’t talk much in private. They weren’t that close.

He guessed a few more people, but none of them seemed possible. Finally, Zhang Xuan gave up guessing, memorized the sender’s address in the provincial capital, and left it at that.

Having lived two lives, he was quite open-minded. If you gave me the money, I’ll use it. If I find out who you are in the future, I’ll repay you. If I can’t find out who you are and you don’t reveal yourself for any ulterior motives, then it’s fine. After all, I’m not a bad person; I’ll keep you in my heart and respect you silently.

After this shameless thought, Zhang Xuan put the dictionary back in the mail package and started wandering the streets.

Although he was wandering, he had a clear purpose.

First, he bought a pair of waterproof long leather gloves for his mother and elder sister. They were a bit expensive, costing 2 yuan each, but they had cotton lining, making them worth the price. It was really cold to pull pigweed and wash it with bare hands in winter, and he was worried and heartbroken just watching them.

Next, he bought some charcoal for himself.

His family was poor and didn’t have any charcoal. They usually gathered the ashes from burned wood in a firebox to keep warm, but this didn’t provide much heat and didn’t last long, usually extinguishing in less than half an hour, which was quite frustrating.

It was very cold in the middle of winter, and there were many charcoal vendors on the streets.

Zhang Xuan looked at several vendors but wasn’t satisfied with any of them. Some had watered-down charcoal, some had poorly burned charcoal, and some had charcoal that was too small.

After walking for a while, he finally found a satisfactory vendor at a crossroads. The vendor’s accent sounded like he was from Huai City.

Zhang Xuan asked, "Sir, where are you from?"

The old man smoking a cigarette replied, "Xupu."

Zhang Xuan asked, "How much is your charcoal?"

The old man answered, "15 yuan for 100 pounds."

The price was a bit high, but it was expected. After all, how could vendors make a living if they didn’t charge more on snowy days?

Zhang Xuan looked at the charcoal and was very satisfied. He wanted to buy 100 pounds, but it was snowing and there were no vehicles to take him back. Carrying it back by himself was unrealistic, so he said, "Can I buy a smaller amount?"

The old man asked, "How much do you want?"

Zhang Xuan thought for a moment and said, "40 pounds."

Then he immediately changed his mind, "That might be too heavy. The road is too far, and I can’t carry it back. Let’s start with 30 pounds."

The old man had seen this situation many times and smiled, saying it was fine, then started to pack the charcoal.

After buying the charcoal, Zhang Xuan went to a clothing store and bought a cotton jacket for his mother and elder sister. Then he went to a fabric store and bought a few yards of fabric, followed by two pairs of rubber shoes with thick soles.

Finally, he went to a meat stall and bought 2 pounds of top-quality beef and 2 pounds of mutton, to be used for the New Year.

He realized that if he didn’t buy these things, Comrade Ruan Xiuzhen wouldn’t be so extravagant. In the end, it would be his own stomach that would suffer. He couldn’t let that happen, so he had to buy them.

When he was buying, he was quite enthusiastic, but when he looked at what he had bought, he felt quite depressed. It seemed like he had bought too much, and he started to doubt whether he could carry it all back.

Should he return some of the items? As soon as this thought crossed his mind, he gave up. No, he couldn’t lose face like that.

He asked for a large urea bag from a杂货店 next to the Shimen station, packed everything in it, and looked at the road ahead, feeling a bit discouraged. But there was no turning back, so he gritted his teeth, took a deep breath, squatted down, and started walking with the bag on his back!

For the first two or three miles, Zhang Xuan walked easily, thinking he might have been scaring himself. It was only about 50 pounds, nothing to be afraid of!

In the middle, he climbed a long, gentle slope and rested once, feeling it was still manageable and he could keep going.

But the mountain road at the back was steep and long, and he had to grit his teeth and cry out in his heart to get through it. He lacked self-awareness and self-criticism, and his feet felt like they were filled with lead as he trudged through the snow.

Fortunately, when he was exhausted and about to sit on the ground, he met a neighbor, a 13-year-old fat kid playing with firecrackers by the river.

This fat kid had poor grades, no matter how hard he studied. He usually admired those with good grades, and when he saw Zhang Xuan, his enthusiasm soared.

Zhang Xuan said in a pretentious manner, "The things are a bit heavy, you might not be able to carry them. Don’t try to show off."

The fat kid lifted the bag, raised an eyebrow, gave a look of disdain, and carried the bag with one hand, walking briskly in the snow.

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