Yunyi didn’t answer directly but asked instead, "Auntie, does the commune’s grocery store sell metal water buckets?"
Before Wang Lanhua could answer, the old man driving the cart in front of them, Old Man Suo, joined in, "Girl, there aren’t any in the commune. I went there yesterday and heard someone asking about it. If you want one, you’ll have to go to the county."
Old Man Suo wasn’t typically helpful. However, after bringing a water jar back for Yunyi the day before, he had been treated to freshly steamed mixed-flour buns. Yunyi had given him five, which left him quite content.
Yunyi quickly expressed her gratitude, "Thank you for the reminder, Grandpa. I’ll go straight to the county then."
When they reached the commune, quite a few people got off. Old Man Suo shouted to those disembarking, "We’ll leave at four in the afternoon from here. If you’re late, we won’t wait for you."
By the time they arrived at the county town, it was already after nine o’clock. Old Man Suo repeated his warning, "We’ll return to the village at three in the afternoon. If you’re late, you’ll have to find your own way back."
Yunyi went her separate way from the others and headed straight to the department store. It cost her sixteen yuan and six industrial coupons to finally purchase the buckets. No wonder Aunt Lanhua had advised her to borrow one at first—it really wasn’t cheap.
Since she had to work every day, it wasn’t easy to get to the county town. So, she went on a thorough shopping spree, buying everything she needed until all her coupons were used up. Only then did she stop.
After leaving the department store, she found a secluded spot. She then transferred the other items, which she had temporarily placed inside one of the buckets, into her space. She didn’t want to draw too much attention and be targeted.
Carrying the two buckets, she walked towards where the ox carts were parked. As she passed by the county Youth Office, the place was in chaos.
Because a Jiefang truck was parked on the street, the remaining path was very narrow. Carrying her buckets, Yunyi sidestepped carefully, afraid of brushing against other pedestrians. Just as she was passing by the truck, she was startled by a sharp scream. Looking up quickly, she saw a girl falling from the vehicle. It all happened in an instant. Disregarding everything else, Yunyi threw her two buckets aside and lunged forward, just managing to catch the falling girl.
Then from the truck came an angry roar, "Ye Wenjuan, how could you push someone off the truck?"
"Exactly, what’s wrong with you? With so many people on the truck, it’s inevitable to bump into each other. She already apologized. Why can’t you let it go when you’re supposedly in the right?" Google seaʀᴄh n̷o̷v̷e̷l̷f̷i̷r̷e̷.net
"Zijia, are you hurt?"
"Ye Wenjuan, if anything had happened to Zijia, I would kill you!"
"Ye Wenjuan, she just accidentally stepped on your foot, and you pushed her off the truck! You are truly vicious."
Ye Wenjuan had also been quite scared at first. But seeing Wei Zijia caught by someone, she retorted with renewed boldness, "Her foot didn’t land on *your* feet, so of course *you all* don’t know how painful it is! Besides, I just bought these shoes from the department store, and her step ruined the leather surface. Can’t I even get angry now?"
"You can be angry, but you can’t just push someone off the truck. It’s lucky someone caught Wei Zijia. What if something serious had happened? Could you take responsibility?"
"I didn’t do it on purpose. It’s her fault for not standing steady."
"Ye Wenjuan, if you spout off one more time, I’ll go up there and slap you to death! You’re truly disgusting. It’s just a pair of leather shoes, yet you’re acting so utterly classless."
After that threat, Ye Wenjuan didn’t dare say anything more. She hadn’t expected so many people to protect Wei Zijia. Fearing they would target her next, she quickly grabbed her luggage and tried to squeeze toward Ye Wenhui.
But Ye Wenhui wasn’t about to let her succeed. "Ye Wenjuan, don’t squeeze over here. What if you accidentally step on someone else? Do you want them to push you off the truck too?"