On the other side, Lu Chengming rode his bicycle home from work, thinking about his two friends who had planned to ambush Chen Lishu that morning and wondering about the outcome. He tapped his toe on the ground, turned the bike, and headed directly to one of their houses. When he heard that the person had been out all day and hadn't returned, he glanced at his watch, it was already past six in the afternoon.
In a hurry to get home for dinner, Lu Chengming didn't think much of it. He rode his bicycle all the way home. Just as he reached the entrance of the alley, he felt something was wrong with his bicycle's wheel; it felt heavy. After getting off, he pressed the tire and found it completely flat. Knowing it had been punctured, he cursed under his breath, propped up his bicycle, and crouched down to examine it carefully.
At that time, a bicycle was a significant possession for any household, and everyone cherished it. A punctured tire was even more upsetting. As Lu Chengming was carefully inspecting the situation, he suddenly heard footsteps behind him and, thinking it was just passersby, paid no attention.
As the footsteps approached, Lu Chengming suddenly felt a sharp pain in the back of his head, followed by darkness. He instantly lost consciousness.
When he woke up, it was pitch black all around. The only sounds he could hear were the rushing of water hitting the bank and the rustling of leaves as the wind blew through the branches.
Lu Chengming was submerged in icy water, unsure how long he had been there. His entire body was frozen and numb.
He vaguely felt he was by the river. Panic seized him, and he struggled, only to discover his hands and feet were bound, making him unable to move. Instead, his struggles caused him to choke on dirty water, filling his mouth and nose.
"Cough, cough! Help! Someone, help me—"
Lu Chengming began to shout frantically. After an unknown amount of time, he was finally discovered by someone finishing their night shift, rescued, and then sent to the hospital.
Zhao Hong, returning home from work and finding Lu Chengming absent, was already accustomed to it. She assumed he had gone out drinking with friends and didn't think much of it. However, in the middle of the night, the house door was suddenly pounded on, alarming the entire family.
Upon learning that Lu Chengming was in the hospital, Zhao Hong and Lu's mother, in a panic, quickly got dressed and rushed to the hospital.
"...The river is almost frozen this time of year. Although he's not seriously injured, he was immersed in ice water for too long. It's unlikely he'll be able to have children in the future."
Hearing the doctor's words, Zhao Hong's legs gave out, her eyes rolled back, and she fainted.
...
In mid-November, the provincial capital experienced its first snowfall of the winter. The soft, drifting snowflakes soon coated the ground in white.
The sky was overcast. Although the classroom was heated, the sudden drop in temperature made everyone feel a bit uncomfortable.
"Alright, that's all for today's lesson. Class dismissed."
After speaking, the teacher glanced at the students in the audience. Seeing that no one seemed to have any questions, he picked up his books and left the classroom.
"Lishu, it's too cold. The cotton in this padded jacket I'm wearing has been used for two years and doesn't keep me warm at all. Could you go to the street with me later? I heard there's someone who takes custom orders for padded clothes just behind our school."
Chen Lishu nodded, "Okay, I need to buy some cotton too."
This winter seemed colder than usual. Chen Liyuan's padded coat was also old, and their school used a stove for heating, so it would definitely be colder.
As the two were packing their bags to leave, they suddenly saw Sun Ling standing on the podium. Zhang Xue couldn't help but grumble, "Nothing good ever comes of it."
Indeed, Sun Ling called out to the departing students and then announced, "The school is holding a New Year's Eve party this year. Our class needs to prepare a talent show. Everyone should think about what they want to perform in the next few days and report it to me."
"What about those who don't have any talents?"
A male student below interjected.
Sun Ling glanced at him, her gaze landing on Chen Lishu. Recalling the matter of the naval shirt, she said pointedly, "Everyone must participate. If you say you don't have talents and therefore don't have to report, then others will follow suit, and no one will participate. Besides, if you don't have talents, don't you have a mouth? Reciting poetry is also fine. Everyone should sign up enthusiastically. Finally, a few outstanding performances will be selected by collective vote and then reported to the department."
Chen Lishu didn't even lift her eyelids, pretending not to hear.
"Also, if a program is selected, participating students will definitely need costumes and props. Our class cadres have discussed it, and each person will contribute five yuan for class expenses. If there's any leftover, it will be kept as funding for future collective activities. Please stay a little longer after class to hand in the money to the class monitor."
This time, Sun Ling was smarter and handed the task of collecting money directly to the class monitor.
The class monitor, Yao Bin, was a bit stunned. When the class cadres discussed it earlier, they had only agreed to collect two yuan per person, but Sun Ling had directly stated five.
"I told you nothing good ever comes of it, right? She's always showing off how demanding she is." After handing in their money, Zhang Xue grumbled discontentedly.
Chen Lishu smiled and comforted her, "It's okay, everyone is paying. Let her fuss if she wants to."
Soon, the two took a bus to the commercial street.
Cotton production was not high this year, so cotton was quite expensive. A pound of cotton cost one yuan and twenty-five cents, and cotton coupons were also required.
Each person's annual cotton coupon allowance was fixed. A family would have to save for a year to make a padded garment for one person.
Although Zhang Xue was not short of money, she only had enough cotton coupons to buy one pound of cotton, so she could only make a pair of padded trousers for now.
As a soldier, Gu Xingdong had a more lenient cotton coupon allowance. Chen Lishu bought two pounds of cotton and spent another two yuan and twenty cents on fabric for the inside of the padded garment.
The saleswoman quickly scribbled a few lines on paper, clipped the money and coupons together with a large iron clip on a wire, and then with a strong swing, the clip slid rapidly towards a counter in the center of the store.
In less than two minutes, the clip whizzed back, holding the change and vouchers.
As the two were about to leave with the fabric and change, they suddenly heard a woman's sharp scream from not far away, followed by harsh curses.
"Where did this wild child come from, you filthy beggar? You plague-ridden thing! Do you know how much this new dress of mine cost? You couldn't afford it even if you sold yourself! Where are your parents? Hurry up and call them out, or this won't end today!"
As the woman's curses continued, a crowd quickly gathered. When Chen Lishu and Zhang Xue arrived, they saw a woman angrily shaking a small boy by his collar. The boy was filthy, his face flushed red, tears welling in his eyes, and he meekly looked at the woman loudly cursing him, remaining silent.
"This child often begs in this area. He usually doesn't enter the department store, but I guess he came in to take shelter because it's so cold. When he was leaving, he accidentally bumped into that woman, who insisted her clothes were stained and demanded compensation."
"Are you mute or something? Why are you staring at me like that? Believe it or not, I'll dig your eyeballs out. You little bastard, is this a place you should be?"
The woman's new wool coat had been soiled by this grubby child, making her feel extremely disgusted. She raised her hand to slap the child's face.