Chapter 106: Helping Each Other

Chapter 106: Chapter 106: Helping Each Other

Aunt Zhao led Old Wu over to Su Wan.

She then told Su Wan the reason for his visit.

Old Wu rubbed his hands together and asked expectantly, "Comrade Su Wan, I heard from Sister Zhao that you’re very good at drawing portraits. My child went missing many years ago. Could you help me draw a portrait of them?"

"Don’t worry, I’ll pay." Afraid she would refuse, Old Wu scrambled to pull a cloth pouch wallet from his pocket, from which he took out several small bills.

Judging by how worn they were, it was clear they had been folded many times and were rarely spent.

"Uncle Wu, I can’t guarantee my drawing will meet your expectations, and I’m not sure what to charge..."

Before Su Wan could finish her sentence, Uncle Wu quickly pressed the money into her hand.

"It’s fine if you don’t know, Comrade Su Wan, because I do! I once hired a student from North America to draw a portrait. He drew one for me for one yuan, but unfortunately, my little grandson ripped it to shreds. That’s why I want to have another one made."

Aunt Zhao wasn’t as reserved as Su Wan. She immediately countered, "Sir, why don’t you just go back to that student?"

Uncle Wu huffed, his eyes widening. "Because Comrade Su Wan’s drawings are better, of course! If I can spend my one yuan on a more lifelike portrait, why would I buy an inferior one? Besides, this is much more convenient."

Su Wan fell silent. ’Uncle Wu’s reasoning is so down-to-earth,’ she thought. ’Everyone is frugal these days.’

"Alright then, but our Wanwan can’t guarantee it’ll be as lifelike as the portrait she did of my daughter." Aunt Zhao still felt responsible for bringing this trouble to Su Wan.

’Even though he said he’d pay, Wanwan is pregnant, and drawing is exhausting. Most importantly, what if he changes his mind and refuses to take it once she’s done?’

’These old folks can get so stingy sometimes, always looking for things to nitpick. If he rejects the finished portrait, all of Wanwan’s hard work will have been for nothing, won’t it?’

’But if she doesn’t do it, she’ll offend their neighbors.’

As these thoughts raced through her mind, Aunt Zhao gave her a look filled with self-reproach.

Su Wan understood her expression and reached out to gently pat her shoulder. ’After all, who could have predicted this would happen?’

"Uncle Wu, as you can see, I’m quite far along in my pregnancy. One portrait will take me at least three to five days. If you can wait, I’m happy to help you out as a neighbor. Just don’t mind me being slow. I won’t accept any money—it’s not a big deal. I have to report to the university in a week anyway, so it’s a rare chance for me to be helpful."

"You keep the money. I trust you. Slow is fine, it’s not like I’m short on time."

"I can tell you’re helping an old man like me out of the goodness of your heart."

Uncle Wu was adamant about paying and didn’t try to rush her.

In the end, Su Wan agreed.

True to her word, she didn’t rush to finish, drawing a little bit each day and showing Uncle Wu the progress.

Lu Zhengchuan had already returned to his unit for military drills.

Su Jue had been busy with his business lately. He would eat breakfast and leave just after six in the morning, taking his lunch with him.

In the evening, Zhang Shun would return to pick up a boxed dinner. With Aunt Zhao helping to cook, his venture selling soda and sunflower seeds near the movie theater was going smoothly. He worked until eight or nine every night before coming home.

Everything at home was proceeding smoothly.

In the meantime, Su Wan went to visit Professor Wang for an academic discussion.

When she returned in the afternoon, her bicycle was loaded with a large stack of books.

She happened to run into Uncle Wu, who was just arriving for his daily visit to check on her progress.

"Well now, if it isn’t Comrade Su Wan! That’s a lot of books. Think you can read them all?" Uncle Wu asked, stroking one of the covers with fascination.

Su Wan parked her bicycle.

Hearing their voices, Aunt Zhao hurried out to help carry the books. "Wanwan," she asked, "are all of these going in your room?"

"Yes," Su Wan nodded, explaining, "The professor gave me these. I have to find the time to read them all."

Uncle Wu saw the titles on the covers and read them aloud, "*Modern Physics*, *Thyristors*, *Fundamentals of Electronic Technology*..."

"Oh, so it’s these kinds of books! Comrade Su Wan, I have quite a few like this at my house. Do you want them?"

Hearing this, Su Wan’s interest was piqued. "Uncle Wu, are your books on physics too?"

"Yes, not only physics but others too. Nowadays, we mostly just use them to prop up wobbly tables. If you don’t mind them being worn out, I can go grab them for you to look at."

Su Wan was tempted. She knew that due to the intellectual vacuum of the last ten or twenty years, especially after the university entrance exams were abolished, many people had their books destroyed. The only reason she was borrowing from Professor Wang was that these books were from his private collection.

She had searched for them before but couldn’t find any.

Even Professor Wang had lamented that many out-of-print books were now impossible to find.

That’s why Su Wan was thrilled at the mere mention of books, no matter their condition.

Aunt Zhao saw the look on her face and immediately rolled up her sleeves. "Brother Wu, let’s go! I’ll come with you to your house and help you carry the books over."

"Wanwan, you just stay here and sort out these books. You need to rest, too."

"You’re pregnant, so don’t wear yourself out walking too much. You don’t want to upset the baby."

Su Wan was indeed feeling a bit tired, so she heard the advice and nodded in agreement.

Uncle Wu then enthusiastically led Aunt Zhao to his home.

Su Wan went into the living room. Seeing the empty space beside the wooden sofa, she thought she could go to the scrap yard, buy some shelves, and build a simple bookcase. It would be perfect for holding the books.

Her desk in the bedroom was placed by the window, and two rows of books were already stacked on the side against the wall. Piling them any higher risked them toppling over.

Su Wan picked up the thermos and mixed herself a glass of protein powder.

Professor Wang’s household was rather frugal, and lunch had been mostly vegetable dishes. She had been too embarrassed to take meat away from the old couple, so she had mostly just eaten rice to fill her stomach.

Her appetite had soared since she became pregnant, at least doubling from what it used to be.

She was afraid that if she didn’t eat enough, she wouldn’t be able to take it and might faint at Professor Wang’s house. The couple was elderly, and an incident like that would surely give them a terrible fright.

After drinking the protein shake, Su Wan felt much better. ’I really do need to eat more,’ she thought.

Just as Su Wan finished her drink, she heard the voices of Aunt Zhao and Uncle Wu at the door.

Their voices were full of vigor.

Su Wan stepped outside and was surprised to see the two of them pushing a tricycle completely loaded with books.

"So many?" Su Wan was astonished.

Aunt Zhao wiped the sweat from her forehead. "The other families in the courtyard gave some too," she said. "They said they had no use for them and were just using them as kindling. When they heard you wanted books, Wanwan, they all brought them out."

"Oh..." Su Wan had been living here for a while but hadn’t interacted much with everyone. They usually just nodded and greeted each other when they passed by.

She never imagined her neighbors were this kind.

Her surprise grew when, in the pile of books, Su Wan found *University Physics* by Mr. Li. It was an out-of-print edition—the very book Professor Wang was always talking about. Because it was so old and had never been reprinted, the third volume was now incredibly difficult to find.

To think she would stumble upon it here today.

"Uncle Wu, thank you so much! I really need all of these books." A smile Su Wan couldn’t suppress spread across her face.

Uncle Wu smiled and waved his hand dismissively. "If I’d known you wanted these, I would’ve brought them over ages ago. It’s good as long as you can make use of them."