Grandpa Han believed Tan You's words and didn't press the matter. The old man looked fierce, and in Han Tingting's memory, he was certainly not an easy person to get along with.
He was quick-tempered, just like Tan You's biological father, Tan Lin, and his first resort was violence. The worst incident was when he hung Han Tingting from a tree and beat her for stealing his money to buy snacks.
But after Han Tingting started junior high, he stopped hitting her. She figured he probably felt she was older and it was no longer appropriate to beat and scold her at the drop of a hat.
Perhaps because of the deep trauma Grandpa Han had inflicted on Han Tingting, Tan You was also cautious and timid around him, afraid he would be as volatile as Tan Lin.
The grandfather and granddaughter, strangers in a sense, finished their dinner in silence. Tan You took the initiative to wash the pot and dishes. Han Cunming, glad to be spared the chore, lay back comfortably in a recliner, picking his teeth.
After she finished cleaning up, Tan You didn't say anything either. She sat down at the dining table, carefully took out Han Tingting's math textbook and workbook, and began to haltingly work through the problems.
Han Cunming shot Tan You a sideways glance but ultimately said nothing. Tan You was grateful for the peace and quiet, mustering all her patience. She felt discouraged when she hit a difficult problem she couldn't solve, but what could she do? 'I can only overcome it on my own.'
She worked until the middle of the night before finally rubbing her wrists. Her plan was to finish ten pages; she had already done half, and she estimated she could finish the other half tomorrow.
Han Cunming had gone to bed long ago. He hadn't said a word about Tan You doing her homework in the main room. This was unlike Tan You's own grandmother, who would have a mountain of complaints if Tan You so much as turned on a light at night.
At six in the morning, Tan You got up right on time. She wanted to sleep in, but she was used to getting up at this hour for school. Besides, whenever she came home for vacation in the past, there seemed to be an endless amount of chores.
As she was making breakfast, Han Cunming pushed his door open, yawning. It was just the two of them, grandfather and granddaughter, living in the house. Han Tingting's family situation was quite tragic. Her parents had divorced years ago and both worked out of town. Neither wanted to take her, so Han Tingting could only stay behind in her old hometown.
Seeing Han Tingting preparing breakfast, Han Cunming said nothing, simply taking his enamel mug to the well to wash up. Tan You didn't speak to him either, mainly because she didn't know what to say to the old man.
She wasn't a silver-tongued person to begin with.
The two of them finished breakfast in silence. Han Cunming wiped his mouth, grabbed a hoe, and prepared to head to the fields. Before leaving, he gave Tan You five yuan and told her to go to the village to buy some meat.
Tan You took the five yuan. "Got it. I'll buy some tripe too."
Han Cunming waved his hand. "You figure it out."
Han Cunming left for the fields. Tan You didn't rush to clean up; instead, she took the money and went to the village to buy groceries. You had to be early when shopping for groceries, especially meat. If you were late, all the good cuts would be gone.
Just as she was wheeling her bicycle out of the house, a woman from next door suddenly called out to her. "Tingting, going grocery shopping? Can you bring back a fish for me?"
Tan You stopped and looked at her. Seeing the woman make no move, Tan You pressed her lips together. "Money."
The woman was taken aback. "Just front the money for me first. I'll pay you back later."
Tan You immediately straddled her bike. "I don't have any money."
"Hey!" The woman tried to call her back, but Tan You had already cycled out of sight, leaving her to stomp her foot in frustration. 'Han Tingting was never like this before. Why is she so dense today?'
Tan You had no idea someone was calling her dense. Of course, she really was a bit awkward and not very talkative, with even less understanding of social etiquette. She had only one thought: 'Trying to get money out of my pocket? Absolutely impossible.'
With this in mind, Tan You pedaled even faster, as if afraid someone was chasing after her.
After making a trip around the village, Tan You successfully bought the pork belly and tripe she wanted, spending all five yuan. None of this was new to her. Both she and Han Tingting had learned how to do all sorts of household chores from a young age.
When she returned from the market, the woman who had called out to her that morning was nowhere to be seen, not that Tan You cared. She knew who the woman was, but what did that have to do with her? 'No one expects a junior high schooler to socialize with adults.'
She set aside the ingredients for lunch and didn't remain idle, once again taking out the workbook she had half-finished the night before. Unfortunately, she had barely done a few problems when someone came looking for Han Tingting.
"Han Tingting, we're going fishing. You coming?" There were three boys in total. The one in the lead was about the same height as Han Tingting and had a fair, clean-cut look. He was Yang Shun, the son of the woman from that morning.
The other two boys with Yang Shun were named Han Peng and Han Wei. All three were carrying fishing rods and holding small buckets.
Tan You glanced at them, then lowered her head again. "Not going. I'm busy."
Yang Shun seemed surprised that Han Tingting, who had always gone along with him, wasn't following him today. In the past, she would have eagerly tagged along before he even finished speaking. 'What's gotten into her this time?'
Once Tan You said her piece, she was done. She didn't spare them another glance, just lowered her head and continued with her workbook.
Han Wei was more caustic. "With grades like yours, it doesn't matter how hard you study. You'll never get into a good high school."
Han Peng was more decent. He tugged on Han Wei's sleeve. "If she doesn't want to go, she doesn't have to. Why'd you have to say that?" Then, to Tan You, he said, "If we catch any fish later, I'll bring you a couple."
Tan You smiled. "No, thank you. If you catch any, you should take them home for yourselves."
Her mother, Cheng Wenhui, had been very strict with her, teaching her that it was best not to accept things from others. Even if you really wanted something, you had to trade something of equal value for it and never take advantage of anyone. Tan You had known this since she was a child.
Yang Shun twisted his lips. Seeing that Tan You was ignoring them, he snorted through his nose and led the other two boys away. Tan You didn't even look up, focusing only on her workbook.
After finishing the remaining five pages of the workbook, she saw that the grandfather clock in the living room showed it was already half past ten. Tan You went to the kitchen to light the stove and cook. In the countryside, farming families rarely used gas stoves, and the Han family was no exception.
Tan You was very skilled at starting a fire. While the braised pork belly simmered slowly over a low flame, she sat behind the stove, book in hand. She would periodically check the fire in the stove's chamber before lowering her head to memorize math formulas.
Tan You's cooking skills were just so-so; she could cook things through, but she was an expert at making braised pork belly. This was because it was her father, Tan Lin's, favorite dish, and he was also a picky eater.
He would complain if the meat was dry, tough, or if the seasoning wasn't delicate enough. Because she had studied it so intently, Tan You's skill at making this dish had improved by leaps and bounds.
In this cramped little village, everyone could smell what their neighbors were cooking. The aroma of braised pork belly was especially overpowering once it started wafting out.
Tan You had been sitting in the kitchen the whole time, so she had grown used to the smell and didn't think much of it. But the surrounding neighbors couldn't hold back, and one by one, they all started talking about it.