Chapter 5: Going to the Toilet in the Middle of the Night

"Oh, it’s for the Asian Games donation!" Wang Xiaojuan’s expression changed in an instant. "Well, we have to donate something. This is a good cause that brings glory to the country."

She turned to her husband, who was reading the newspaper, and said, "Old Li, you donate ten yuan."

Li Dawei sighed helplessly, took out the money, and dropped it into the shoebox in his son’s hands.

"Thanks, Dad!" Li Jianjun bowed solemnly, then walked over to Li Manjun and her sister, who were washing dishes.

Li Lijun dodged away quickly, shaking the water off her hands as she said, "My class has a donation quota too, I’ve already donated!"

"Mom, Dad, I’m heading to school now. The repeat class starts evening study hall half an hour early!"

Before the words had even faded, she was gone.

Li Manjun had once seen news reports about people across the country donating to support the hosting of the Asian Games.

As someone with a strong sense of national pride, she said readily to Li Jianjun

"Wash the dishes, and I’ll donate one yuan."

Knowing that her eldest sister was currently unemployed and had no income, one yuan was already a significant amount. Li Jianjun was satisfied.

"Just wash the dishes."

"Don't tell me a big guy like you doesn't know how to wash dishes," Li Manjun said, surprised.

Li Jianjun had indeed never washed dishes at home. Just as he was about to agree, Wang Xiaojuan waved her hands, shooing him away like a fly.

"Go, go, go, go to your study hall. Mom will wash the dishes for you; just have your sister give you the money."

"Mom, that’s not right..." Li Jianjun felt a bit embarrassed.

Wang Xiaojuan laughed and said there was nothing to be embarrassed about, taking the opportunity to praise her son for being sensible and knowing how to help with chores, which made Li Jianjun feel incredibly guilty.

"Sis, th-then I’m heading to school."

Li Manjun watched speechlessly as her mother rolled up her sleeves to wash the dishes, then dropped a yuan into Li Jianjun’s shoebox.

The two yuan she had just earned had been cut in half. But for the sake of the country, she wouldn't complain!

"Dad, this won't do. Once Jianjun goes to high school and lives in the dorms, he won't have any independence or self-care skills at all." Before entering the house, Li Manjun didn't forget to give Li Dawei a reminder.

She said this sincerely. It was fortunate that Li Jianjun had good genes and was a simple-minded kid; otherwise, there was no telling what kind of lawless brat he would have been spoiled into.

Since she was now a part of this family, Li Manjun wouldn't just stand by and watch her younger siblings go down the wrong path.

Li Dawei looked up from his newspaper at her, a bit surprised, then nodded.

"Go get some rest. I'll talk to your mother."

Seeing that her father had taken it to heart, Li Manjun felt a sense of relief.

Wang Xiaojuan finished the dishes, shook the water off her hands, and walked in, glancing at the closed door of the side bedroom. "What were you two just talking about? What do you need to tell me?"

Li Dawei knew his daughter's suggestion was sound, but he couldn't say it directly to his wife's temper; otherwise, she would surely have a hundred reasons to refute him.

He brushed it off: "Nothing much."

Wang Xiaojuan didn't believe him. She shot her husband a look and got up to knock on Li Manjun’s bedroom door. "Don't you forget what I told you during the day. Auntie Wu is coming to our house for lunch tomorrow. You must be home, you hear me?"

Inside the room, Li Manjun rolled her eyes helplessly. "...I know!"

"As long as you know. I'm doing this for your own good. Good young men are hard to find these days; we have to be more proactive than others to seize the opportunity, you know?"

Li Manjun hummed in agreement from inside the room. Thinking she had listened, Wang Xiaojuan finally left.

At nine in the evening, the town middle school finished evening study hall. Li Lijun and Li Jianjun clattered around the courtyard washing up, making a racket for ten minutes before finally retreating to their rooms to quiet down.

In this era without mobile phones or the internet, Li Manjun felt the nights were exceptionally long. She fell asleep while mulling over things about the nineties.

Li Lijun made quite a bit of noise entering the room and tossed and turned for a while before falling asleep.

Li Manjun was woken up by the noise, and once the room was quiet again, she drifted back into a deep sleep.

Unexpectedly, in the middle of the night, she was shaken awake by Li Lijun.

"Sis, Sis, do you need to use the bathroom?"

Li Manjun thought it was already dawn. She opened her eyes, but outside the window, it was pitch black.

"What is it?" Li Manjun’s voice was still raspy, and she wasn't fully awake.

"Sis, come with me to the bathroom." Seeing her sister was awake, Li Lijun handed her a flashlight.

At the mention of it, Li Manjun felt a bit of an urge herself. She nodded, put on her slippers, and the sisters opened the courtyard door. Guided by the flashlight, they walked shoulder-to-shoulder to the nearby public restroom.

Li Manjun had almost never seen a night this dark, especially since this was a large town; there were no streetlights at night.

Looking up, she could clearly see the stars filling the sky, twinkling—a clarity and abundance she had never seen in the big city.

Accompanied by the starry sky, the sisters finished at the restroom and headed home, guided by the flashlight.

A breeze blew in the night, and Li Lijun immediately grabbed her sister’s arm tightly in fear. Her paranoid behavior made Li Manjun feel scared too.

Their pace accelerated from a normal walk until they finally dashed into the house in one breath and ran back to their room.

Going to the bathroom in the middle of the night was truly thrilling and exciting!

Before falling asleep, Li Lijun said, "If I had known, I wouldn't have thrown away that old chamber pot."

Drowsiness washed over Li Manjun, and she gave a perfunctory hum before sleeping until dawn.

This time, Li Manjun didn't laze in bed. Knowing she had to return for lunch, she cherished the morning hours.

She left the house at the same time Li Lijun and Li Jianjun did.

Li Manjun bought three yuan worth of white sugar and waited near Liu Yan’s house, watching the adults leave before going inside to make the maltose syrup with Liu Yan.

Liu Yan had four siblings—three younger brothers and one younger sister. To take care of her younger siblings and cook for them, Liu Yan had stayed home.

Her parents were originally clerks at a department store, but now that the company had folded, they used their layoff subsidies to rent a counter in the old department store building to run a small business.

They could earn some money, but with five children, the financial pressure was immense.

The second brother hadn't passed the high school entrance exam, and at his age, he couldn't find a suitable job. Liu Yan’s parents arranged for him to learn auto repair from a master in town.

And so, while the whole family was busy with the shop or school, he was still lazing in bed.

As soon as he got up, he saw Li Manjun and the others boiling the syrup and curiously asked what they were doing.

Li Manjun figured she wouldn't have time in the afternoon, and this "Second Brother Liu" was the perfect candidate for manual labor.

She asked him, "Aren't you going to your master's today?"

At the mention of this, Liu Yan got angry. "He broke someone's tractor, and the master had to pay a huge sum in damages. He said he couldn't afford an apprentice like him and kicked him out!"

Liu Cheng tried to cover his sister's mouth, but Liu Yan slapped his hand away. "Get lost, don't block me and Sister Manjun from doing big things!"

"What big things?" Liu Cheng pressed.

Li Manjun asked him with a smile if he wanted to join in, and Liu Cheng nodded frantically.

Liu Yan said disdainfully, "Don't bring him along; he's more trouble than he's worth."

Li Manjun explained that she had to go home for lunch and wouldn't be free in the afternoon, so Liu Yan finally agreed to take her brother along.

When Liu Cheng saw that they could collect several toothpaste tubes for just a little bit of syrup, his eyes lit up as if he had discovered a new continent. He started shouting with even more rhythm than Li Manjun.

By noon, he waved his hand, telling Li Manjun to go home without worry and leave the rest to him.

"Those villages haven't seen anyone in weeks; we'll definitely be able to collect a lot of toothpaste tubes!" Before leaving, Liu Cheng patted his chest confidently, promising to help Li Manjun trade all the syrup.

Seeing that he had performed well in the morning, Li Manjun reminded Liu Yan to stay safe while visiting the villages, then headed home for lunch.

Oh no, she was heading home for a blind date!

(End of chapter)