Meng Yan's Transformation

Chapter 567 Reunion with Cousin

The distant town of Jin County is now in sight, its buildings shimmering in the morning light, stretching like scattered gold on a mountaintop.

Zhan Mengyan lightly touched the brake pads, feeling the scorching heat travel through her fingertips. This heat didn't come from friction, but from the flame in her chest that had finally broken free of its restraints. She quietly gazed at the horizon, letting her breath and heartbeat slowly return to normal in the silence. Yang Debao, far behind her, was not just a specific person, but also the self that had always hesitated in doubt. At this moment, the distant mountains and the morning light witnessed: the boundary between key high schools and ordinary high schools was about to be crushed.

Bathed in the glow of the sunset, Zhan Mengyan stepped into the gate of Jin County High School and placed her bicycle in the school's designated bicycle shed for teachers.

"Stop right there, Zhan Mengyan! You skipped evening self-study again last night! Where have you been? You're only back this early this morning!"

As Zhang Xincheng spoke, he handed two books and two lesson preparation notebooks to Zhan Mengyan.

"I went home last night to deliver the letter of introduction for the transfer of food rations. How did you know I didn't attend evening self-study class?"

As Zhan Mengyan spoke, she took the book that Zhang Xincheng handed her.

“I went to bring you your books during evening self-study yesterday and you weren’t there. You… how could you be so disobedient?! Didn’t we agree that I would walk you home alone at night? It’s not safe for a girl like you to walk alone at night, Zhan Mengyan! You’re getting bolder and bolder…”

Zhang Xincheng suddenly stopped speaking, his chest heaving violently.

"This is a one-time exception! You are not allowed to walk alone at night again."

Zhang Xincheng took a deep breath, each word seemingly grinding between his teeth, "If you absolutely must go home tonight, you must let me know."

"I know. I just wanted you to prepare for the college entrance exam, since time is tight."

Zhan Mengyan offered a soft defense.

"No matter how tight the time is, nothing is more important than your safety!"

Zhang Xincheng suddenly raised his voice, as if startled by himself. He turned his face away, the morning light reflecting off the reddened corners of his eyes.

The air seemed to freeze for a moment. Zhang Xincheng turned around. "Last night I was thinking, what if something really happened to you..." The words caught in his throat, turning into a heavy sigh. At that moment, his shoulders slumped as if his spine had been ripped away.

"You haven't had breakfast yet, have you? Here you go! Now that your food rations have been changed, you can have a hot meal at school too, which is really great."

As Zhang Xincheng spoke, he took out a paper package containing two steamed buns from his pocket, stuffed it into Zhan Mengyan's hand, and turned to walk towards his own class.

Zhan Mengyan put the books into her schoolbag, holding a warm steamed bun in her hand, her heart filled with mixed feelings.

Zhan Mengyan ate one steamed bun for breakfast and one steamed bun for lunch. She drank a bellyful of tap water for dinner.

“Where should I stay tonight? My great-aunt’s house is too dilapidated to live in, so she’s staying in Lingdong Village. Maybe I should stay somewhere else for a few more days.”

Zhan Mengyan was thinking about the accommodation issue when she walked out of the classroom.

"Sister Mengyan!"

As Zhan Yue spoke, she waved to Zhan Mengyan from a corner of the corridor.

"Sister Yue'er, what brings you here?"

As Zhan Mengyan spoke, she stepped forward and took Zhan Yue's hand. A surge of joy welled up in her heart, almost overwhelming the two of them.

Zhan Mengyan jumped up like a child, only realizing her lapse in composure when her classmates gave her strange looks.

"Mengyan, keep your voice down! Come with me!"

As Zhan Yue spoke, she pulled Zhan Mengyan along and quickly walked out of the teaching building.

"What's wrong? Why are you in such a hurry?"

As Zhan Mengyan spoke, she mechanically followed Zhan Yue.

“I just received a notice today that the county cannery has new manual work available. Let’s go pick hawthorn seeds together after self-study. After we finish, we can go back to school together. I’ll ask Teacher Zhu, who manages the dorms, for the key to the side gate. We can go to my dormitory through the side gate. Our dorms are all large communal sleeping areas, and I happen to be right next to the wall. We can share a bunk. You don’t have a place to stay. It’s too hard for a girl to run to the dormitory every night after self-study. If it were me, I wouldn’t have the courage to ride my bike at night like you. I really admire your courage and boldness in running to the dormitory.”

As Zhan Yue spoke, she looked at Zhan Mengyan with excitement.

"Thank you, Sister Yue'er, for thinking of me when there's work that pays. You're a lifesaver! You appeared when I needed help the most. I don't have to run errands for the next few days, and I can even earn money. That's wonderful!"

As Zhan Mengyan spoke, she quickly grasped Zhan Yue's hand and smiled happily.

"Mengyan, why are you being so polite with me? We're family, why are you talking like family?"

As Zhan Yue spoke, she patted Zhan Mengyan's shoulder like an older sister.

Zhan Yue was short, so Zhan Mengyan quickly pulled her under her arm.

The two sisters walked briskly along the dimly lit street toward the cannery in Jin County, chatting and laughing happily along the way.

The air was filled with the sweet aroma of sugar water mixed with fruit acid, and the piles of hawthorns on the open ground at the east gate of the cannery area gleamed with a dark red luster under the moonlight.

In a corner of the open-air warehouse, a 30-watt incandescent light bulb swayed in the night wind, casting an elongated shadow of a person about to collect hawthorn seeds.

Zhan Yue found two low wooden stumps and carefully placed them on top of torn cardboard.

Zhan Yue handed Zhan Mengyan coarse cloth gloves, and the two put them on. They then received a special iron skewer from the workshop director—a thin iron rod with a hook at the top, a special tool for scooping out hawthorn seeds.

Zhan Mengyan picked up a hawthorn, and with a flick of her wrist, she hooked out the first seed, precisely preparing to pierce it from the stem with an iron skewer.

Dark red juice flowed between their fingers, and soon dark brown patches formed on the sisters' coarse cloth gloves.

Zhan Yue's movements were more skillful than Zhan Mengyan's. Zhan Yue inserted and removed the iron skewer three times into the cavity of the fruit pit, and five hawthorn seeds fell intact into the basin at her feet with a crisp clinking sound. She had been doing this for three years—starting from the summer vacation after junior high school, she would come here to work as a temporary worker during the peak season for fruit processing at the cannery.

As the night wind picks up, Zhan Yue will step aside to shield Zhan Mengyan from the wind.

The two invented a silent counting method: every hundred stones they collected, Zhan Mengyan would throw a pebble into a dilapidated tin basin. The sound of the pebbles colliding mingled with the distant roar of machinery.

The hawthorn seeds in the basin at my feet gradually piled up into a small mountain.

Zhan Mengyan became sluggish due to drowsiness, and Zhan Yue would gently tell her about the interesting things that happened in class during the day.

As the clock struck one in the morning, the workshop director began to tally the results.

In front of Zhan Yue and Zhan Mengyan were four full bowls of hawthorns with the seeds removed, and their fingertips were already white and wrinkled from the sourness of the fruit.

When settling the bill, the accountant counted the crumpled banknotes three times—it was thirteen yuan and six jiao.

The two of them received an average of six yuan and eight jiao.

"Perfect timing, I can finally buy an English textbook analysis book!"

As Zhan Mengyan spoke, she excitedly waved the money in front of Zhan Yue.