Chapter 14 – A Family in the Cowshed

Yu Jingjing returned to her seat. The train officer came over not only to commend her verbally but also to award her a certificate for bravery.

“Young comrade, you’re clever and quick-witted—very impressive.”

“Oh, not at all. Just a little trick, really.”

“If such a small trick is already this effective, you must be someone with great wisdom.”

“Besides my parents teaching me well, it’s thanks to the good education from the state.” Yu Jingjing replied modestly.

“Hahaha, you’re a fine comrade indeed.”

Gong Fanrui sat not far from Yu Jingjing. Seeing the officer praise her, she couldn’t help but curse inwardly—Her again!

For the next several hours, Yu Jingjing didn’t see Lu Yunxiao or Hu Dong again. It looked like she wasn’t getting her handkerchief back this time.

She hoped they would meet again soon—there would surely be another chance in the future.

What she didn’t know was that the two of them had already escorted Zhang Changzheng off the train from the rear carriage four or five hours ago.

After another day and night, the train arrived at Anshi Railway Station. As Yu Jingjing got off, she surprisingly saw that Gong Fanrui also got off with them. But Anshi was a big place, and with so many production teams, it wasn’t guaranteed that they’d be assigned to the same one.

Yet, fate loves to play tricks. As it turned out, they were assigned to the same production team. Besides the two of them, there were Zhao Yuan, Chen Mingxu, and two other male educated youths.

Their new destination was a team called the Willow Tree Brigade. The one who came to pick them up was the team leader, Lu Fengju.

Yu Jingjing had heard that most team leaders looked at educated youths with disdain, often sneering or scowling at them. But this team leader seemed kind and gentle, with no trace of dislike toward them.

The team leader greeted the new arrivals, “Put your luggage on the ox cart. You can ride on it too. Let’s head back to the brigade together.”

When getting on the cart, Gong Fanrui purposely avoided sitting with Yu Jingjing. Yu took a seat at the front, so Gong sat at the back. Yu Jingjing couldn’t be bothered—Not sitting next to her suits me just fine.

Less than half an hour later, they reached the outskirts of the village.

Yu Jingjing saw a row of dilapidated adobe houses built at the edge of the village. Rather than calling them houses, it would be more accurate to call them sheds—they looked like livestock pens.

These must be the village’s cowsheds.

From afar, someone could be seen standing at the entrance of one of the sheds.

She asked Captain Lu, “Uncle Team Leader, what are those houses over there?”

“They’re for detaining counterrevolutionaries. There are four of them in there.”

That was all the team leader said, and he didn’t elaborate further.

Yu Jingjing figured those people were probably wrongly accused. Fortunately, it wouldn’t be too long before their names would be cleared.

Although she wasn’t sure if she could avoid that place forever, she agreed on the surface: “I won’t go there.”

Inside the Cowshed

The dazed and confused Granny Mu stood at the cowshed entrance, watching the ox cart slowly disappear into the distance. Her feet twitched as if wanting to chase after it, but Grandpa Mu pulled her back.

“What are you doing, old woman? Don’t go running around. If you get lost, how will we find you? And don’t go near people you shouldn’t be near either.”

Granny Mu pouted and grunted, then pulled down a pair of underpants hanging from a jujube tree branch and shoved it onto Grandpa Mu’s head. Once it was on, she clapped her thighs and laughed, “Underwear hat, red shoes—you’re a big dummy, a big dummy!”

“You’re the dummy!” Grandpa Mu retorted, though he didn’t take the underwear off. As long as his wife was happy and didn’t wander off, what was a pair of underpants on his head anyway?

Their five-year-old grandson sitting on a stool nearby protested his grandpa’s words, “Grandpa, Grandma’s not a dummy. She’s not dumb—she’s adorably explosive!”

Grandpa Mu chuckled. “You little rascal—where’d you learn that from, ‘adorably explosive’? But looking at your grandma… she really is kinda cute.”

If their only daughter hadn’t gone missing decades ago, if his wife hadn’t gone mad, if they hadn’t been sent down like this—they could have been a happy family all together.

Just then, a girl carrying a bundle of firewood came in. Grandpa Mu quickly removed the underpants from his head.

Mu Zining placed the firewood in the kitchen and was about to start cooking when Grandpa Mu stopped her. “Ningning, take a break. Grandpa will make dinner. Why don’t you play with your grandma for a bit?”

Mu Dongdong tugged at Granny Mu and called to Mu Zining, “Sister, let’s play hide-and-seek with Grandma!”

Granny Mu immediately dashed off to hide. She had just hidden herself when her head popped out from behind the door, looking at Mu Dongdong and going, “Meow~”

Outside

The ox cart hadn’t yet reached the educated youth settlement when Yu Jingjing spotted several young people standing at the entrance — they must be the returning veteran educated youths.

Just then, several strong village men came rushing over to find the team leader.

At the front was a dark-skinned man in his forties, shouting, “Team Leader, something’s wrong! The old sow is giving birth, but the piglets won’t come out. What do we do?”

“What?” The team leader turned pale. “It’s a difficult birth? Go get the midwife to take a look!”

“She already did, but there’s nothing she can do! What now?”

Sweat immediately began to bead on the team leader’s forehead.

“Team Leader, you have to think of something. That sow’s our hope for meat this New Year — she can’t have anything happen to her!”

Gong Fanrui stood calm and composed. If it were a human giving birth, she’d step in without hesitation. But to help a pig give birth? That was the job of a veterinarian — not her.

Seeing how anxious everyone was, Yu Jingjing quickly said to the team leader, “Uncle Team Leader, I know how to handle this. Take me to the sow — I can help with the delivery.”

The team leader was overjoyed, not even thinking to question her. “That’s great! Little educated youth, we’re counting on you.”

“No trouble at all. Let’s hurry over.”

Gong Fanrui shot her a disdainful glance, her eyes full of contempt.

A mere veterinarian dared to treat her grandfather? If something ever happened to him, her family would never let Yu Jingjing off the hook.

Yu Jingjing hopped off the ox cart and turned to Zhao Yuan. “Yuanyuan, I’ll be right back.”

“I’ll go with you, Jingjing,” Chen Mingxu immediately got off too.

“What for? You don’t even know how to help deliver.”

Chen Mingxu was speechless. “Fine. We’ll wait for you here.”

The team leader told the educated youths to go on ahead into the settlement. Once Baoying’s situation was handled, he’d come back to arrange everything for them.

Yu Jingjing followed the team leader and a few other men. The group rushed ahead and soon arrived at the pigsty.

By visual estimation, Yu Jingjing could tell that sow’s bulging belly held at least eight or nine piglets — no wonder it was a difficult birth.

Without a moment’s hesitation, she rolled up her sleeves and had the others hold the sow down so she could examine it.

Clean water had already been prepared at the side. With the birth stalled, the only option was assisted delivery. Yu Jingjing massaged the sow’s belly, helping the piglets adjust their position for a smoother passage through the birth canal.

In less than half an hour, the first piglet was born. Another thirty minutes later, all the piglets had come out safely. They were neatly laid on the prepared pile of hay — eleven in total. The mother pig was also safe and sound.

Seeing both the mother and the piglets safe, the men burst into smiles. Some of them were even happier than if their own wives had given birth.

Yu Jingjing washed her hands and wiped the sweat off her forehead — it had been a tiring job.

“Team Leader, the sow and her piglets are stable for now. You’ll still need to take good care of them. I’ll head back to the settlement.”

“Oh, Comrade Yu, thank you so much!” The team leader was full of gratitude. “Don’t worry — this successful delivery counts toward your work points. I’ll make sure of it.”

“Great, thank you, Team Leader.”

“Comrade Yu, thank you! If it weren’t for you, we’d have been completely lost!”

“Comrade Yu is now a key figure in our production team! We’ve got to look out for her from now on!”

Yu Jingjing hadn’t expected that she’d pull off such a big “feat” on her first day here, instantly becoming one of the team’s most valued members.

“Oh, no need to be so polite. Since I’m now part of the team, it’s only right that I do my part. You guys watch over the sow — I’ll head back now.”

When she arrived back at the courtyard of the educated youth settlement, she saw a row of mud-brick houses on the north side — about six or seven rooms. Two male educated youths sat at the entrance to the left. When they spotted her, their eyes lingered on her as they checked her out.

She ignored them and turned to look at another room — there were female educated youths inside. That must be the girls’ dormitory.

Just as she approached the dorm, she heard voices from within.

“Some people just love showing off. They’ve got no real skills but still act like they’re so capable. All they want is to gain favor with the team cadres. I’ve seen plenty like that. Just watch — she’ll come back with her tail between her legs soon enough, having achieved nothing.”

“Don’t say that. Jingjing’s not that kind of person. If she said she could do it, she definitely can.”

“Heh, you close with her or something? We’ll see, won’t we?”