The book had a very uplifting title—The Pitiful Girl of the 1970s Climbs Step by Step—and at first glance, the story seemed inspiring. It followed Tian Huini, a poor female educated youth who, through relentless effort, improved her life and achieved upward social mobility.  

Honestly, she could understand the drive to claw one’s way up—who wouldn’t want a better life?  

—As long as it wasn’t done by stepping on her head.

The protagonist, Tian Huini, was born into an impoverished and deeply patriarchal family. But unlike the original host, who endured hardship in hopes of winning her parents’ approval, Tian Huini learned early on to disguise her intentions and scheme subtly to compete with her sisters for the family’s meager resources.  

After being sent to the countryside, it took her only half a year to become one of the leaders among the educated youth. But this brought her only trivial benefits—rural farmwork was backbreaking, her pockets were empty, and winter supplies were still pitifully scarce despite the year being half over. These were the real mountains weighing her down.  

Coincidentally, around this time, the original host—a capable but affection-starved girl—was also sent to the countryside. With just a few sweet words, Tian Huini charmed her into seeing her as her best friend. The original host did her chores, washed her clothes, and after a few more hints, even gave up half her rations. Of course, the book didn’t phrase it that way—it called it the closeness of friendship.  

But Tian Huini still had no money—there was no helping that. The original host was just as broke and couldn’t assist her.  

Then, by chance, the original host caught the eye of the village party secretary, who began harassing her. Of course, she refused—the man was old, ugly, and had more nose hair than head hair. But one day, while gathering wild vegetables in the mountains to supplement Tian Huini’s meals, she was dragged into a cornfield.  

By the time Tian Huini realized something was wrong and rushed over, it was already too late. She could only take the original host back to the educated youth dormitory to rest.  

The incident left the original host deeply traumatized. She wandered around in a daze until one day, while washing clothes by the river with Tian Huini, she slipped and fell in.  

The village party secretary, mistaking her fall for a suicide attempt, grew afraid the scandal would blow up. When Tian Huini confronted him, he gave her 150 yuan as hush money for both of them.  

Claiming she didn’t want to “trigger the original host’s bad memories,” Tian Huini kept the money instead of giving it to her. She promised to spend it on nourishing food for her—but after buying meat twice, the matter quietly died.  

From then on, Tian Huini’s life took off. Once counting every grain of rice, she now dined out, stocked up on supplies, and traded on the black market. When the college entrance exams were reinstated, she quit labor to prepare full-time, successfully got into university, and eventually married into a wealthy family, living a life of glamour and success.  

And the original host? Though she was rescued after falling into the river, her white clothes clung to her body, drawing stares. In the conservative yet gossip-loving countryside, she became the center of salacious rumors, with local ruffians constantly making lewd remarks at her.  

Unable to endure it, she gave up entirely. During her year-end visit home, she took the initiative to marry Director Ma—leading to the tragedies that followed in her life.  

Damn it, the female lead climbed up alright—but by stomping her into the mud!

Hold on—who’s the pitiful one here?! That backstabbing female lead was no pitiful girl—she was a black-hearted lotus!  

Song Ruan was filled with despair. The thought of having to coexist with such a scheming creature in the future made her resentment skyrocket.

Just then, Tian Huini walked over and reached out to her, speaking in a gentle and considerate tone:  

“Hello, comrade. My name is Tian Huini, and I’m in charge of the female educated youth here. You must be exhausted from the long journey—come on in.”

Song Ruan couldn’t help but flash a fake smile before lowering her head, feigning shyness: 

“Oh my, comrade, you’re too kind! I am tired from the trip, but how could I possibly trouble you to carry my luggage for me?” 

Pretending not to notice Tian Huini’s intention to shake hands, she instead plopped her heavy baggage right into the outstretched arms—conveniently swapping out the lightweight clothes inside for a chopping block and several large thermoses filled to the brim with water (courtesy of the Song family’s heartfelt generosity). 

“Thank you so much,” she said bashfully. “Just help me bring this inside, and I’ll handle the rest myself. You’re such a warm and helpful comrade!”

Tian Huini’s arms immediately sagged under the weight, her whole body nearly toppling forward before she barely managed to steady herself. Then she heard Song Ruan’s shameless words and froze in disbelief.  

But with such high praise already heaped upon her, she couldn’t refuse. Forcing a stiff smile, she replied:  

“No problem, no problem. Come on in.” 

She had no idea what was stuffed inside that bundle, but it was absurdly heavy. Staggering slightly, she turned to hurry inside and put it down—

—Only for Song Ruan to grab her. 

Clutching Tian Huini’s arm, she loudly praised:

“The moment I saw you, I felt an instant connection! You must be the kind of comrade Lei Feng spoke of—always eager to help others, treating fellow comrades with the warmth of spring!”

While keeping an eye on Tian Huini’s expression (which suggested she still had some strength left), Song Ruan quickly ordered her system:  

“Quick, quick! Toss in a couple of the bricks I dug up earlier!” 

Tian Huini’s arms suddenly sagged again. Was it her imagination, or was the luggage getting even heavier?  

Beads of sweat formed at her temples as she gritted her teeth and forced another smile:  

“Let me just… put this down for you first.” 

Without waiting for Song Ruan’s response, she yanked herself free and strode toward the house with unsteady steps.  

Han Zhenzhen, seeing this, immediately called out:  

“Hey, can you help me with my luggage too? I’m exhausted from the trip!”  

Tian Huini’s foot caught mid-step, nearly tripping. 

Song Ruan, noticing this, quickly shouted:  

“Be careful, comrade! There’s a thermos in my bag—it’ll break if you drop it!” 

Tian Huini’s back was turned to them, her face twisting in silent fury.  

Song Ruan darted ahead, while Xiang Hongying—unable to stop her—turned her frustration on Han Zhenzhen instead:  

“You should handle your own business! Why are you bothering Comrade Tian to carry your things?”  

“Ugh, could you be any more annoying?” Han Zhenzhen rolled her eyes. “If you’re too selfish to help, fine—but don’t stop others from following Lei Feng’s example and doing good deeds!”  

“What did you just say? Who’s selfish?!” Xiang Hongying’s face flushed red. “Fine! Put your stuff down—I’ll carry it for you!”

Han Zhenzhen lifted her chin defiantly.  

“I don’t want your help! I want Comrade Tian to carry it—she’s nice, and I like her!”  

Tian Huini, who had just finished hauling Song Ruan’s backbreaking luggage, staggered out—only to hear those words. Her vision nearly went black. 

Han Zhenzhen had already scampered over, clinging to her arm and whining:  

“Comrade Tian, you’re the real Lei Feng! Pleeease help me with mine!”  

Song Ruan chimed in sweetly, heaping on the praise: 

“Comrade Tian is such a kind and helpful soul—I’m sure she’d be happy to assist.”  

Thanks. Thanks for that. 

Trapped by their flattery, Tian Huini could only force a smile uglier than a grimace. 

“…Fine.”

Liu Yongqiang, observing the verbal daggers flying between them, concluded that none of these women were pushovers. He turned to the two male educated youth instead.  

“I’ll show you two to your room first—it’s already set up. We’ll go over everything else during dinner.” 

“Sounds good,” said Lin Xinping, who had endured scolding the entire trip and was desperate to escape the battlefield. He grabbed his luggage and hurried off.  

Li Bing, who had been cluelessly oblivious the whole time, quickly followed.  

Left to her own devices, Song Ruan plopped down onto a chair under the eaves, crossing her legs and watching with amusement as Tian Huini trudged back and forth, hauling their belongings inside. 

Han Zhenzhen, seeing her relaxed posture, trotted over eagerly.  

“Scooch over—let me sit too!”  

Song Ruan slid aside just enough to make some room—then, before Han Zhenzhen could complain, declared: 

“My butt’s big. Deal with it.” 

Han Zhenzhen, who had been about to demand more space, choked. Her face twisted between outrage and embarrassment before settling on the latter.  

“Y-You—how can a girl say something so… so shameless?!”  

Song Ruan did feel a flicker of awkwardness—but seeing Han Zhenzhen blush even harder than her, she relaxed again, slouching lazily.  

“What, you want me to lie? I figured you wouldn’t believe me if I said it was small.”  

(Truthfully, this body wasn’t well-endowed—years of near-starvation under the Song family had left her scrawny as a twig—but it wasn’t like Han Zhenzhen would dare inspect closely anyway.)  

“Ugh, you’re still talking about it?!” 

Sure enough, Han Zhenzhen jerked her gaze away as if burned, her ears turning crimson. She perched awkwardly on the edge of the chair, fidgeting like a bashful newlywed.  

Song Ruan whistled internally at her system: 

“Y’know what, System? Being a shameless rogue is kinda fun.”  

System: Sometimes I really want to call the police.  

Meanwhile, Tian Huini—drenched in sweat and panting from hauling their luggage—finally finished. She turned around, only to see the two troublemakers cozily squeezed onto a single chair, watching her like landlords eyeing a peasant, foremen supervising laborers, or spectators gawking at a circus act.  

Her vision swam. 

After all my backbreaking labor… you two are just sitting there, perfectly content?!

With a strained smile, Tian Huini approached them. “The others haven’t returned from work yet, so let me explain how things work here at the educated youth outpost.”

“Originally, there were six male educated youths and four female ones. Not long ago, one of the female youths got married and moved out, so now we have six male and three female members. With your arrival, that makes eight male and six female educated youths.”

“However, we only have three heated kang-bedrooms here. Originally, there was one for male youths, one for female youths, and one empty room. But now one room can’t fit eight grown men, so the empty room has been given to them. That means all six of us women will share one room.”

Hearing this, Han Zhenzhen pouted unhappily but remained silent.

“To our right is the kitchen, which has a partitioned bathing area. The room at the very end is the firewood shed, which also stores miscellaneous items. The outhouse is behind the building.”

“We’ve already prepared your spaces. You can choose your spots.” She led them into the room.

The room wasn’t large—a low-ceilinged earthen structure that felt oppressive upon entering. The kang bed on the right took up nearly half the space. On the left stood a cabinet, while opposite the window sat a square table piled with the luggage Tian Huini had just carried in for them. Xiang Hongying had already placed her belongings against the wall, leaving only a narrow pathway down the middle.

Near the center of the kang, closer to the interior, stood a square pillar-like chimney flue connecting to the roof. Beside it were a kang table and a kang cabinet, with several neatly folded quilts stacked on top, dividing the kang into one larger and one smaller section.

The outer, larger section already had three bedding rolls, with one space left empty near the chimney flue. The inner smaller section was completely vacant.

Tian Huini pointed to the empty space in the larger section: “One more person can sleep here. The spot next to it is mine, and the inner section can fit two people.”

She was about to suggest Song Ruan share the larger section with her when she looked up to find Song Ruan had already, without hesitation, placed her belongings on the far end of the inner kang.

“I’ll sleep here,” Song Ruan declared.

Han Zhenzhen glanced between Song Ruan and Tian Huini, then promptly claimed the other spot in the inner section. Despite Song Ruan’s somewhat roguish behavior, for some reason she instinctively trusted her more than that gentle Comrade Tian.

As for that Xiang Hongying—ugh! She was just insane!!

Xiang Hongying was slower but unfazed, casually dragging her things to the front of the kang.

“Comrade Tian, from now on we’ll be comrades fighting side by side! Let us heed Chairman Mao’s call and work together to contribute to rural development!” she declared passionately, extending her hand for a handshake.

Tian Huini forced a smile as she shook hands, but her gaze involuntarily followed Song Ruan’s figure as the girl busied herself cleaning and organizing.

Was this how Song Ruan had behaved in her previous life?

—

Dear readers,

I’d love to hear your thoughts on the translation so far! Are you enjoying the story? If you think there’s anything that can be improved or if the translation doesn’t feel smooth enough, or if the language feels too stiff, please feel free to let me know. Your feedback is truly appreciated!