Rise of the Wasteland Chapter 98 - Oranges

Chapter 98        Oranges

Although Aunty Zhang said that she needed to rush back home to cook, she was only willing to leave after talking to Zhou Qingfeng for over an hour. Zhou Qingfeng was sending the old woman to a cab. All of a sudden, they heard a crisp voice coming from the roadside. It seemed like someone was selling oranges.

“Aunty Zhang, you hardly come by. But, I don’t have anything special for you. How about some oranges?” Zhou Qingfeng was trying to return politeness with politeness.

However, when they approached the orange stall, Zhou Qingfeng yelled in astonishment, “Sister Yuan, is that you?”

Yuan Mei set up her orange stall with just a few pieces of wood and she was standing in her stall. Half her body was covered by the shadow of the tree.

The young woman was coy when she heard Zhou Qingfeng’s voice. After quite some time, she finally said, “Young Zhou, do you want some oranges? I guarantee that they’re sweet, it’s only three… three yuan and fifty cents per pound.”

The oranges from other stalls were sold for at least four yuan and fifty cents. Some imported oranges were even sold at six to seven dollars, hence, her oranges were extremely cheap.

However, Zhou Qingfeng did not see Guo Jiaming when he looked at his surroundings. He straightened his face and said, “There are almost no pedestrians on this street and many hooligans usually like to cause trouble here. Don’t you think that it’s a bit too dangerous for a woman like you to set up a stall here? Why don’t you set up your stall at the night market? Have you lost your mind?”

The young woman was extremely afraid of Zhou Qingfeng. She took a few steps backward and said cowardly, “There are also hooligans causing trouble over there. Moreover, they will shake the stall keepers down to extort money. I’ve spent all of my savings on this orange stall, so, that’s why I can’t afford to set up a stall at the night market.”

Zhou Qingfeng then looked at her oranges once again. All her oranges looked good and it seemed like she had carefully selected those oranges from the farm before selling them, “You’re already so poor to the extent that you have to set up a stall and sell oranges. What about your man? Isn’t he supposed to be accompanying you? Where the hell is he?”

The young woman lowered her head and refused to talk to him. She only spoke when Zhou Qingfeng forced her to do so for several times, “He’s watching television in the house.”

“What the f*ck?” Zhou Qingfeng instantly snapped when he heard what she said. He had never seen a woman trying her best to earn money for the expenses of the house, while the man just watched television in the house. He turned around. He instantly had the urge to beat this disgrace to all mankind.

“Don’t…. Don’t… Young Zhou, please don’t act blindly,” the young woman instantly chased him when she saw his angry expression. She managed to pull his arm and said, “Young Zhou, please don’t act blindly. I won’t be able to live on with dignity anymore if you were to make mountains out of molehills.”

“Dignity? You won’t need dignity when you’re already living in such conditions.”

Zhou Qingfeng yelled at her furiously, “Why don’t you divorce him? Why do you insist on following that useless piece of sh*t? Don’t you feel tired? Even I feel tired for you.”

The young woman could only cry as she kept shaking her head. She kept dragging Zhou Qingfeng in the effort to prevent him to leave. She kept begging him, “Please don’t act blindly.”

Aunty Zhang, who had only been standing by the side all that time, finally decided to meddle, “Young Zhou, you better stop interfering with their lives. After all, it’s their own lives. Are you telling me that you’re going to make a big deal out of this and then just leave?”

After giving advice to Zhou Qingfeng, Aunty Zhang turned around and she gave advice to the young woman too, “Xiao Yuan, do you remember me? I’m Aunty Zhang! I watched you grow up and I’m a close friend of your parents. I think that out of respect, you, too, should be calling me, ‘Aunty’.”

The young woman followed what she said and called her ‘Aunty’. Instantly, the young woman’s voice ignited a great guffaw from Aunty Zhang. Aunty Zhang then threw a few glances at both Zhou Qingfeng and the young woman. It seemed like the old woman already had a plan inside her mind.

Zhou Qingfeng walked back to the orange stalls. He touched his pocket, took out about three hundred yuan and said, “I’ll buy all of your oranges. Could you sell them to me at a cheaper price? I think my money should be enough for them.”

There was at most seventy to eighty pounds of oranges in her stall and they should cost around three hundred yuan with the price of three yuan and fifty cents per pound. After hesitating for quite a while, the young woman said, “You don’t need to pay me that much money. Also, what are you going to do with so many oranges? They’ll rot anyway if you store them for too long.”

“Can’t I just have a big appetite?” Zhou Qingfeng put down his three hundred yuan and took a few plastic bags from her stall. He then loaded all the oranges into seven or eight plastic bags and gave two bags to Aunty Zhang. He took the rest for himself.

Zhou Qingfeng even gave the ramen and braised beef, which was originally supposed to be his supper, to the young woman before leaving. He roared, “I’m pretty sure that you haven’t had your dinner yet. I’ll leave the supper for you. It’s already nine o’clock at night and it’s not safe around here. Go home now and you mustn't leave your house again.”

Zhou Qingfeng left the place, but instead, Aunty Zhang, who should have been rushing back home to cook, did not leave. She walked towards the young woman and said, “Well, well, don’t cry. Young Zhou is actually a kind-hearted man. He’s doing this all because of you.”

The young woman stared at her empty stall. She then looked at the three hundred yuan in her hand. Subconsciously, she wiped her tears and said, “I didn't cry. I know Young Zhou is a kindhearted man, but he always liked to scold me. I’m so scared of him.”

“There’s no harm scaring you though. Perhaps, he likes you.” Aunty Zhang said and laughed.

The young woman was shocked and she hastily denied, “Aunty, you shouldn’t be talking nonsense. I’ve been married for several years and I’ve never been in touch with Young Zhou. I don’t really mind it, but you shouldn't be slandering his reputation.”

Aunty Zhang changed the topic. She continued smiling at the young woman and said, “Xiao Yuan, what actually happened between you and the young fellow? If you really can’t stand him anymore, why not just divorce him? You really shouldn't be tormenting yourself.”

At first, the young woman sighed and shook her head as she did not want to tell anyone about it. She only decided to talk after being forced by the old woman. She cried, “I’m pregnant. I’m already twenty-eight and I really want this baby. I don’t want my baby to be born without a father!”

Aunty Zhang felt sad too when the young woman finally talked about it. Two of them sat by the roadside and they burst into tears.

Meanwhile, Zhou Qingfeng took a few bags of oranges as he reached his house. He saw that the door of his neighbor’s house was still covered by a newspaper. The sound of war could be heard from his neighbor’s house, but, he did not know what program Guo Jiaming was actually watching at that moment.

Zhou Qingfeng gazed at the hole in his neighbor’s house door. He then saw the television light flashing through the glass windows. He felt so angry that he wanted to kill him. However, after he entered his own house and put down the few bags of oranges, he received a call from Aunty Zhang.

Ninety-percent of their conversation was gossip. Aunty Zhang then asked Zhou Qingfeng before hanging up the phone, “You’ve fallen in love with another person’s wife, right?”

“No way, aunty. You’re just overthinking. I helped Sister Yuan only because I felt that she was pitiful. There was no other meaning,” Zhou Qingfeng denied what the old woman said. But, he, too, did not know why he insisted on helping the young woman.

In the past, Zhou Qingfeng usually would not give a damn if he were to encounter this kind of problem - he was having troubles in his own life too. Hence, he had no spare time to care about the affairs of other people. However, after muddling in the Wasteland for ten days, the morality that used to restrain him was greatly diminished. He began to act on his emotions.

“As an old woman, I’m pretty sure I know what you’re thinking.” Aunty Zhang did not argue with Zhou Qingfeng’s denial. But, she refused to believe him. She then praised Yuan Mei for her good personality.

After hanging up the phone, Zhou Qingfeng was too lazy to even think about the young woman. She was willing to live with dignity even though she was facing difficulties. He did not know how to help her. He then went to bed and slept.

On the next day, Zhou Qingfeng still had nothing to do. He idled the morning away and then went out for lunch in the afternoon. When he switched his computer on at night, a message suddenly appeared on his screen, ‘You’ll be returning to the Wasteland within twenty-four hours. You can bring some low-value supplies along.’

Chapter end