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墨書 Inktalez
After the Wheat Break, July was fast approaching. Once the final exams were over, Hu Ruoyun had officially advanced from Freshman Year of High School to Sophomore Year.
In the second year, students were required to choose their majors, and the four classes were reorganized into liberal arts and sciences. Most students opted for science, leaving only Hu Ruoyun and about forty others in the liberal arts track, which placed them in Class One of Sophomore Year, with their homeroom teacher still being Mr. Wang Hongjian.
By the way, the school beauty, Wang Bingbing, also chose liberal arts and became Hu Ruoyun's classmate.
The sixth day of the sixth month in the Lunar Calendar marked the Ancient Fair in Gaoqiao Town, which featured three consecutive days of grand performances. During this time, all primary and secondary schools in Gaoqiao Town were closed. The seventh day of June was the Spring Festival, which was also the liveliest day of all.
As per tradition, Hu Ruoyun's grandmother, grandfather, uncle, aunt, along with her cousin and younger female cousin from Second Aunt's family, would come over to join in the festivities. Her parents would bring along Xiao Hu and Xiao Feng to enjoy the lively atmosphere. Of course, Hu Ruoyun would also go over to partake in the feast.
At this moment, the happiest ones were undoubtedly the children. They paid no attention to what was being sung on stage by performers with painted faces; instead, they busied themselves weaving through the crowd. Parents would at least give them fifty cents or a dollar to spend freely—what immense joy and happiness that was!
Cotton candy, creamy ice pops, millet cake, caramelized rice sugar, candied hawthorn… they wanted to try everything; street performers selling traditional games or renting out comic books, those who had pet parrots for fortune-telling, vendors selling colorful paper windmills… every single stall captivated the children and kept them lingering.
Aunt and Uncle had long prepared a feast with plenty of food—meat and fish, as well as dried tofu, boiled peanuts, fried shrimp, salted duck eggs glistening with butter—and large bottles of soda and trendy beer…
The men sat at one table while the women gathered at another. The adults' dishes were served on plates with eight dishes per table. The children had their own table where all the dishes were combined into a large bowl for sharing.
Three tables were set up in Third Aunt's newly built five-room house.
These five new rooms were made of blue bricks all the way to the top without a single wooden beam or rafter; instead, over two thousand yuan was spent on prefabricated concrete panels from a factory in the county. The floor wasn't just regular cement but was covered with shiny and colorful tiles. With these two features alone, this house stood out in all of Gaoqiao Town. Of course, when everything was added up, it cost over twenty thousand yuan; no wonder Third Aunt had borrowed money from relatives in her maternal family.
The food was excellent and the drinks were fine; it should have been a joyful occasion for family members to gather at home. However, Hu Ruoyun felt that Third Aunt seemed off; her smile appeared forced and Uncle looked absent-minded.
Hu Ruoyun could tell that her grandmother, grandfather, mother, aunt, and Second Aunt noticed it too. The atmosphere at dinner felt somewhat awkward; her father and Uncle's playful banter was cautious. The children at their table—Xiao Hu, Xiao Feng, Chunsheng, Chuncao—along with Cousin Chun Jie and younger female cousin Chunxiu from Second Aunt's family also suppressed their voices and chewed quietly; it was quite uncomfortable.
Even though they were guests here, Aunt did not spare Sister-in-law any leniency. With a smile on her face but sharp words laced within: “Meixia, among us four sisters you’re the only one who married into town. Not only do you have land but also several storefronts for business; you’re living quite well! This time our father is here too; your brother and sister are all here—why do you look so miserable? Are you afraid we’ll ask you to pay us back or something?”
The honest Uncle along with her father and Second Uncle-in-law froze with their raised glasses. Grandfather and Uncle’s expressions changed as well; Uncle shot an angry glance at his wife: “It’s supposed to be a lively gathering—what nonsense are you spouting?”
Unexpectedly, Third Aunt burst into tears, choking on a bun and unable to say a word.
Grandma stood up and said, "Everyone be quiet, let Meixia speak for herself!"
Then she turned to her youngest daughter, "Why are you crying? Everyone here is family. If something's bothering you, just say it. Don't blame your sister-in-law for being harsh; seeing you like this makes me feel bad too!"
Third Aunt shifted from wailing to sobbing, "Oh my, we can't go on living like this!"
She then stammered and hesitantly explained the situation.
In recent years, Gaoqiao Town had been trying to develop itself. They first launched the "White Project," encouraging villagers to build plastic greenhouses for vegetable cultivation. With the leadership of village officials, it had been quite successful. Not long after spring began, cucumbers and zucchinis were harvested from the greenhouses, which was indeed a pleasing sight.
However, while growing vegetables was easy, selling them became a major issue. The market in Annan County was limited and couldn't absorb such a large output. Transporting them to Jinan City posed another problem—there was uncertainty about the market conditions there and whether nearby rural areas also had greenhouses. Even if they could sell them there, the long-distance transport of over 200 miles became a challenge.
Selling locally meant prices wouldn't rise; selling at low prices meant not only would they not make a profit, but they wouldn't even recover their investments in bamboo poles, plastic sheets, and straw mats used for building the greenhouses.
The "White Project" ended with most farmers incurring losses.
The town leaders seemed eager to achieve quick results and recently introduced a new plan: transforming the Gaoqiao Town market into a "modern commercial street."
The Town Government sent a small van equipped with loudspeakers that repeatedly broadcasted the regulations and requirements for the commercial street renovation:
All storefronts facing the street must be renovated within three months according to the style specified by the Village. Building materials must be purchased from designated suppliers, and construction must be carried out by appointed contractors to create two-story buildings.
Regardless of when or what materials were used for existing structures, any that did not conform to the specified style would be demolished and rebuilt.
Foundations that were not completed by the deadline would be confiscated by the town and sold to wealthy individuals capable of constructing new homes. The Town would allocate another plot of land for rebuilding without adherence to the specified style, severing any connection between the original owners and their former properties!
But right now, not to mention building a house, even constructing three brick houses would require a family's lifetime savings.
The house belonging to Third Aunt was just completed, replacing the original brick and wood structure with steel, cement, and prefabricated panels. They even extravagantly laid floor tiles, which not only drained the family's savings but also forced them to borrow heavily from relatives in the Maternal Family. However, the design did not meet the Town's requirements and faced the risk of being torn down and rebuilt. At this moment, aside from being in debt, where would they find any money?
But if they couldn't build it properly, the new house would be torn down, and they wouldn't be able to keep the foundation!
Could they just endure it?
The Town Comprehensive Management Office sent a large group of people every day, urging them in an unrefined manner to demolish the house.
How could they live like this?
After hearing Third Aunt's plight, several families were left speechless, their mouths agape in shock.
This situation would be unbearable for anyone!
Once they regained their composure, all that remained was sympathy for Third Aunt's family. Even Aunt sighed deeply along with them.
Third Aunt also heard that the designated building material supplier for the Town was the Mayor's Brother-in-law. Not only were the materials subpar, but the prices were also significantly higher than those in the market. The designated contractor was a makeshift team formed by the Secretary's Uncle and the Secretary's cousin... who knows if that's true or not.
Now, on both sides of the town market, countless families were struggling desperately.
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