Northeast: My Absurd Woman

Chapter 70 Meeting an Old Acquaintance

At this point, Yang Wuni's face turned as red as rouge; this was the most embarrassing thing for her.

"Yang Wuni, won't your parents let you come home for dinner?"

Dr. Qiu pursed his lips and asked, somewhat disbelievingly.

"Well... it's not that we're not allowed to eat all the time, it's just that there isn't enough food at home."

I have several nephews and nieces, all of whom are younger than me.

I can eat so much that I can eat enough for several of them for a whole day.

They can only eat their fill if I don't go home for meals.

Besides, I've gotten used to living on the streets, begging for food.

Sometimes my brother and Du Qiu take the food they bake home for my nephew and niece, and they envy me.

Later, Xiao Ge and Du Qiu Ge stopped letting me be with them.

I've grown up, and I'm too ashamed to go begging for food anymore, so life has started to get tough.

I don't know how to grill food, and I don't dare to catch anything with fur on it.

I tried eating raw foods, such as raw potatoes and raw corn.

I eat raw beets, raw sorghum grains—anything that grows in the ground and can fill my stomach.

After the autumn harvest, it won't work anymore; the production team will keep a close watch, and you won't be able to steal anything.

I went to the river to catch fish to eat—small fish, loaches, one bite at a time.

When you put them in your mouth, they just burrow into your throat.

I dared not chew it; I couldn't stand the bloody taste inside the fish's belly.

The hardest time is winter, when there's not much to eat and it's cold.

If I really had no other choice, I would look for people who had potato cellars in their gardens.

While the family wasn't looking, they jumped into their potato cellar and stole a large meal, enough to last them for several days.

Yang Wuni spoke with great enthusiasm, showing no sign of sadness.

Perhaps she's gotten used to it; as long as she's full, she's happy.

"Yang Wuni, have you been eating live fish quite often these past few years?"

Dr. Qiu found the key point, crossed out everything he had written, and left only the words "eat live fish" in large characters.

"Dr. Qiu, I've been eating this for the past few years, and I only don't feel like I'm stealing when I eat live fish."

Stealing from others makes you feel guilty and anxious, but eating live fish makes you feel perfectly justified.

Yang Wuni raised her voice and deliberately explained the benefits of eating live fish.

"Yang Wuni, I'll apply for a subsidy for you in a bit, so you can eat and eat normally."

We can't eat live fish anymore; their bellies are full of worms.

Your belly is so big, it's from eating live fish.

Dr. Qiu looked at Yang Wuni with a mixture of reproach and heartache.

"Dr. Qiu, I don't eat live fish anymore. My husband treats me very well."

Ever since I married him, he always lets me eat first whenever he has something to eat.

He told me he wouldn't let me go hungry anymore.

Yang Wuni had a blissful expression on her face, grinning and squinting her eyes into slits.

"Yang Wuni, from now on none of us will go hungry."

As long as you two are willing to work hard, you won't lack food or drink.

Having witnessed the vicissitudes of life, Dr. Qiu was not particularly moved by Yang Wuni's suffering.

However, as she turned to leave, she couldn't help but tear up.

She wasn't crying because of the suffering Yang Wuni had endured, but because this little woman was smiling so sweetly.

Completely unaware of their own suffering, they appear to others as if the sky has fallen.

"Dean Zhang, could you please help us figure out a way to get this person's subsidy?"

As long as it doesn't violate principles, the more you apply, the better.

In the dean's office, Dr. Qiu pleaded with the vice dean to help Yang Wuni apply for subsidies.

"Qiu Li, let me tell you, the worst thing in our line of work is to have an excessive amount of sympathy."

You help this person today, and you want to help that person tomorrow.

The person who came to the hospital for treatment isn't pitiful, but can you really help them?

I'm making an exception for you today, but you'd better be more careful in the future.

If you continue like this, then you'll be the only one who can sit in my position as dean.

Although the vice president's words were harsh, he stamped the paper that Dr. Qiu was holding.

"Yang Wuni, as long as you receive treatment at the hospital, the hospital will give you a subsidy of two yuan and seven fen per day."

Dr. Qiu immediately shared the good news with Yang Wuni.

Yang Wuni had just taken her medicine, and her face was contorted with stomach pain.

Hearing that they could get a subsidy of 2.7 yuan, they immediately perked up.

My backache is gone, my stomachache is gone, and I'm staring at Dr. Qiu.

The disbelief in your eyes will burst forth from your very eyes.

"Yang Wuni, don't disbelieve me. I'll write you a note in a bit, and you can go to the finance department to collect your money."

With this money, you can stay here and get your illness treated without worry.

Dr. Qiu hurriedly returned to his office and wrote a note for Yang Wuni.

Here, that's your two dollars and seventy cents for today.

Dr. Qiu handed the note to Yang Wuni, and he was even happier than Yang Wuni.

Zhang Changyao left the health center and walked to the grain depot to find Wang Jianjie.

Lu Shi told him that Wang Jianjie was not at the grain depot; the kid had gone to a big city to do business.

Zhang Changyao looked at the donkey meat in his hand, hardened his heart, put it on Lu Shi's dining table, and turned to leave.

"Zhang Changyao, I don't want this donkey meat. Take it away from me right now."

Or I can take you to find my niece; she's the cashier at the grain depot.

"As long as my niece agrees, you can pick any job you want in this grain depot."

Old man Lu Shi couldn't stand seeing others like this, so he came up with another idea for Zhang Changyao.

"Uncle, is your niece a boy or a girl? Please take me to see her; I can't go empty-handed."

Should I go to the convenience store now and buy her a pack of cigarettes or some snacks?

Upon hearing Lu Shi's words, Zhang Changyao immediately turned around and fawned over Lu Shi.

"Zhang Changyao, you're so happy you've lost your mind. You don't even know my niece is a boy, not a girl."

"Don't you have donkey meat? That's rarer and more useful than anything else."

Lu Shi picked up the donkey meat from the table and stuffed it back into Zhang Changyao's hand.

Grabbing Zhang Changyao's arm, he led him into a row of houses to the west of the grain depot.

A very thin woman was sitting in the office at the very back of the row of houses.

The woman was writing something with her head down when she was interrupted by the sound of two people walking in.

He couldn't help but look up at Lu Shi and Zhang Changyao.

The thin woman had long, flowing hair with bangs, and large, watery eyes.

She had a high nose bridge, a small mouth, and skin as white as the paper in her hand.

"Xiao Qiu, is there any work at our grain depot right now?"

My buddy's looking for some odd jobs, could you ask around for him?

Lu Shi pulled Zhang Changyao closer to him, wanting the woman named Xiao Qiu to get a better look at him.

"Zhang Changyao, what are you doing here? Weren't you supposed to be going to work in the mine with your father?"

The thin woman, surprisingly recognizing Zhang Changyao, asked him with a hint of mockery.

"Lin Qiu, I... I went to the mine, but I was sent back after only a few days."

They said I wasn't good at manual labor and they didn't need me.

Why am I not the type to do manual labor? Ask your uncle.

I was carrying heavy loads here a while ago, and the guys I worked with all admired me.