Chapter Seventeen: The Blame Falls from the Sky

“Second Brother, next time you can wait until your little sister starves to death before you come!”
Ignoring Chen Rong’s sarcastic tone, Chen Liang looked around at the students nibbling on wild vegetable buns or dark cornbread, his expression complicated.
“Little sister, keep a low profile and eat discreetly. Otherwise, this doesn’t look good.”
Chen Rong wasn’t foolish; she knew her brother meant well. “Oh, I’m not stupid, do I need you to tell me these things?”
“As long as you understand. Oh, tomorrow I have something to do, so I won’t bring lunch,” Chen Liang said, already planning to meet Teacher Xiaoyu and having no time to look after his sister, so he gave her advance notice.
“Got it. Ride slowly on your way home, Second Brother.” Chen Rong wasn’t ungrateful; just having improved meals for two days was enough for her.
As he was about to leave, Chen Liang couldn’t help but show off, “Little sister, when you come home on Sunday, there’ll probably be a feast!”
“Why would there be a feast? Second Brother, are you hiding something from me?” Chen Rong looked puzzled.
“Hehe! Little aunt, I know!” The little traitor, Chen Hong, didn’t let Chen Liang show off and blurted it out, “Little aunt, Second Uncle is getting married!”
“What? Which girl is so reckless as to marry you?” Chen Rong was moved. She knew better than anyone what kind of person her second brother was. Yet there was a girl brave enough to marry him? Wasn’t she afraid he’d punch her and leave her whimpering for half a day?
“Ha! Alright, now you know. I’m off!” Chen Liang didn’t argue, whisking Chen Hong away, their laughter trailing behind.
When they got home, Chen Hong was busy currying favor with her mother using the jasmine-scented mutton tallow honey soap Chen Liang had just given her. After all, her mother was at the top of the food chain, and good things should be offered up. Maybe, if she ever got into trouble, her mother might spare her for the sake of the soap.
Though the odds were slim, it was something to hope for—who knows, maybe luck would strike!
With the family all present, Chen Liang announced his plan to go register his marriage, which delighted everyone.
“Ah! Son, come here! Take this money, and after you get the marriage certificate tomorrow, take the girl out for a proper day,” his mother said, quickly handing over three large bills and a pile of ration tickets. For a first date, he couldn’t come up short—what would the girl think if he didn’t bring enough money?
Some girls might not care if he’s generous, but the more calculating ones might suspect, “Oh! So your family intends to get something for nothing?”
The Chen family couldn’t afford to lose face like that!
Then, his eldest brother and sister-in-law each contributed a large bill. Their younger brother (little uncle) treated their daughter so well, and now he was about to register his marriage with his sister-in-law. As the older siblings, they couldn’t let the occasion pass without showing some support.
Though the family hadn’t split up, their parents were open-minded. The ration tickets were fixed quantities—just enough, and splitting them up wasn’t cost-effective. Plus, both parents had salaries and could supplement the household expenses, so they kept things together.
In these times, getting any refined grain was difficult. The monthly adult ration was thirty-two pounds, with twenty-five pounds of coarse grains like cornmeal and sorghum, and only seven pounds of refined grains—two of rice, five of flour, barely enough for a big eater for two days!
And as for the tickets, it was even more outrageous. For everything, you needed tickets—even to bathe at the bathhouse, without a ticket, you weren’t allowed in.
But their children’s own earnings were never questioned by their parents. So, for the eldest brother and sister-in-law’s private stash, giving Chen Liang two large bills was nothing—barely worth mentioning!
Though Chen Liang had access to supplies thanks to the supermarket, he hadn’t yet managed to turn them into cash, so he was still short on money.
And since these were heartfelt gifts from his closest family, Chen Liang accepted them without fuss. At worst, once he was successful, he’d take care of them in return—no need to overthink things among family!
That night, his sister-in-law specifically washed her hands and face with the mutton tallow honey soap offered by little Chen Hong. The fragrant scent stirred up the eldest brother’s wild side, forcing Chen Liang to endure half the night listening to the creaking of the bed.
Usually, little Chen Hong slept with their grandmother at night.
Damn it, tomorrow morning I’ll chop up that wretched bed for firewood, Chen Liang vowed, kept awake by the noise.
“Maybe I should try Five Dragons Embrace the Pillar myself?” No, not that desperate yet, but Chen Liang resolved to step up his pursuit of Teacher Xiaoyu—the plan to save himself from singlehood was urgent!
Who knows how much time passed before Chen Liang, half-asleep, was woken early by his exhausted-looking elder brother, calling him to breakfast.
With dark circles under his eyes, Chen Liang stumbled through his morning routine, only coming to life after splashing his face with cold water.

Returning to the room, he saw his sister-in-law, face aglow and cheerful, setting out the bowls and chopsticks. Chen Liang buried himself in his food, and once he’d filled his belly to about seventy percent, he muttered “I’m full” and made his escape.
He grabbed his small shoulder bag hanging by the bed, tucked in the household registration book and the money tickets, and rode out on the bicycle his father had specially left for him.
At the doorway, his elder brother stopped him mysteriously, “Little brother, um, do you have any other scented soap?”
Chen Liang was puzzled by his brother’s hesitant demeanor. “Big brother, didn’t you just give a soap to little Hong last night?”
Chen Liang, usually careless, suddenly froze—not possible, big brother!
“That scented soap, did sister-in-law use it last night?” Chen Liang, ever shrewd, caught on immediately.
Just a few words were enough for someone who’d gone undercover for ten years undetected.
“Yeah! After little Hong used it last night, I thought it smelled great and wanted to buy more.” Little Hong was the sister-in-law, and Honghong was the padded jacket. If you hadn’t unconsciously revealed your nature just now, I’d never have guessed you could be so secretly playful, big brother! What a name!
So you spent half the night awake because of that scented soap?
I really underestimated you, my dear big brother!
Damn it, last night I blamed the creaking on the bed, but now a huge black pot has dropped straight onto my head.
You blame the bed, but now you’ve firmly pinned the blame back on me.