1987 My Era

Chapter 13, Becoming a Rat on the Street
The tenth day, early morning.

There was a drizzle in the mountains and fields. This was the second rain of the new year, and it kept falling drop by drop all morning.

No one had the heart to appreciate this lingering beauty. Tian Run'e was standing under the eaves feeling upset. There was a market in the town today, and she was thinking of selling two loads of rice to raise tuition for her second daughter and Manzai.

Just after seven o'clock, seeing that the rain had eased a little, she decided not to wait any longer and neatly wrapped the urea bag containing rice with white plastic. She then handed a bamboo hat and a raincoat to Li Heng.

He ordered, "Manzai, it looks like the rain won't stop any time soon, let's go."

She was afraid that if she went too late, she would not be able to sell the rice. Her face was full of worry and she was extremely anxious.

"it is good."

In response, Li Heng put on his hat, draped his raincoat over his shoulders, then bent down, picked up a load of rice, and walked in the rain.

This load of rice was weighed and found to weigh 105 jin.

Under normal circumstances, since he came from a rural background, he wouldn't have cared much about it. Being strong and fit, he could reach the town after only resting five times in the 10-mile journey.

But today's dirt road was so difficult to walk on, full of potholes and mud. Not long after I walked out the door, I was covered in mud. The Liberation shoes on my feet were covered in mud, and no trace of the army green color could be seen.

The muddy road was slippery and he almost fell into the paddy fields below twice on the downhill section. He was so scared that he broke out in a cold sweat and cursed in his heart.

Damn this horrible weather, I’m so scared.

Tian Run'e also carried a load of rice, over 80 kilograms, and followed behind.

Due to health reasons, Li Jianguo was unable to carry heavy responsibilities and did not come. He simply stayed at home to help Li Lan feed the cows and pigs.

Seeing an old man pushing a cart overtaking him, he was immediately envious. Look at him, he is so clean, even on rainy days he still stubbornly holds a pipe in his mouth, blowing out smoke rings every few steps, looking very comfortable.

Not long after, two horses caught up from behind, and then a bicycle passed by.

The bicycle was ridden by a middle-aged man with a fat boy on the back seat. When they waded through the puddle, water splashed all over him, including on his head and in his mouth.

Seeing Li Heng's miserable appearance, the fat boy pointed at him happily and laughed.

Laugh at your sister! Riding a bicycle in this weather, you are so showy, you will fall to death later.

Alas, Li Heng's eyes turned red, and he felt that he was becoming more and more useless.

"Li Heng, Li Heng..."

Just when he felt a little pain in his right shoulder and shifted the carrying pole to his left shoulder, he heard a rumbling sound from behind.

There were shouts amid the roar.

It's a walk-behind tractor.

The driver was Zhang Zhiyong, who was beaming with joy, attracting many eyes along the way, looking very impressive. He felt more impressive than driving a Mercedes-Benz or BMW in later generations.

The fool suddenly braked, jumped out of the car, waved his right hand vigorously, and shouted to Tian Run'e: "Auntie Tian, ​​get in the car!"

Tian Run'e looked at the packed carriage and said, "It seems there is no room left. Zhiyong, you go ahead and don't worry about us. We will be there soon."

"Who said there's no room? There is room, look at me."

Zhang Zhiyong ignored Tian Run'e's obstruction, turned around and shouted towards the truck: "We've gone more than halfway. I won't charge anyone who gets off now. Is anyone getting off?" "Are you serious?" asked an elderly woman.

"Sixth Aunt, this isn't the first time you've ridden in my car. You keep spitting and spitting." Zhang Zhiyong patted his chest.

This was indeed effective. Several people who usually loved to take advantage of others jumped out of the car and left immediately.

Zhang Zhiyong helped the mother and son put the rice into the truck bed and said to Tian Run'e, "Auntie Tian, ​​you go sit in the front. There's another one running away in front."

The front refers to the area next to the driver's seat, where one person can sit on either side.

The rain had gotten much heavier now. Tian Run'e hesitated for a moment and went to the front.

Li Heng, who had a good relationship with the Zhang family, was not so polite and rolled over to the back fight.

The truck bed was full of people, all young wives and old ladies from the village, and a few old men.

His hat and raincoat were all wet, and he was afraid of getting others wet, so he stood in the corner.

When he bent down to adjust his shoelaces, he suddenly found a girl staring at him.

The girl was about 16 years old and pretty. Li Heng felt that her face was familiar. It took him a while to remember that her name was Yang Juan, the only daughter of the village women's director.

The two had met in their previous life. She happened to be the class teacher when her daughter was in high school at Yali Middle School in Changshi.

My daughter likes the other person very much and says that the head teacher is very nice to her and often invites her to dinner at home.

Thinking of the past, Li Heng subconsciously smiled and greeted: "Yang Juan, long time no see."

Seeing him take the initiative to talk to her, Yang Juan's face inexplicably flushed. After a while, she asked in a low voice: "Do you know my name?"

No wonder she was so surprised.

Because Lao Li's family was at the entrance of the village, and their family was at the brigade headquarters, nearly a mile apart, and the two families were not in the same grade, it was naturally a bit surprising to be called out by name directly, and at the same time, she felt inexplicably happy.

Li Heng replied: "Of course I know. If I remember correctly, you and Chen Zitong were classmates in elementary school, right?"

Just as Yang Juan's eyes flickered and she was about to reply, the women's director next to her suddenly stretched out her right hand and pulled her daughter behind her back.

The director of the women's department said to him half-seriously, "Li Heng, if you want to chat, go talk to your aunt. Juanzi is timid and has never seen the world. Don't scare her."

As soon as these words were spoken, the whole truck was filled with malicious laughter.

Some even said to the director of women's affairs, "Your daughter Juanzi is pretty, so you should be careful, or she will become the second Chen Zijin."

Hearing this, Yang Juan lowered her head and looked at her toes. In an instant, her face turned redder than a monkey's butt.

Li Heng died of anger. It turned out that half a year had passed but his reputation was still the same. Everyone regarded him as Ximen Qing.

He truly felt the deep malice from this world. He and Chen Zijin were clearly Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai, who loved each other, but how come it became the Jin Ping Mei version when it was spread out?

This thief, God is so unfair. I am wronged. Why does he want to be struck by lightning?
Faced with more than a dozen gossipers who had no point in making sense, Li Heng knew he was no match for them and wisely pretended not to hear them.

(End of this chapter)