Chapter 41 The Best Candidate

Huang Xiuhong’s face turned ugly. She glared at the closed curtain and let out a snort before turning back into her room with her bowl.
“What’s there to be smug about?” Huang Xiuhong said under her breath.

Inside the room, she began to eat, fuming.
“That’s what happens when you try to warm someone’s cold rear with your kindness.” Han Fangju sneered. “We may not have been selected, but some people are afraid even if they are — they’re just there to be a backdrop. Who would pay attention to a withered leaf when there’s a beautiful flower nearby?”

Huang Xiuhong was already mad after losing face. This made her even more furious. She put down her bowl, turned toward Han Fangju, and scolded, “Who are you to laugh at me? You’re not even a withered leaf — you’re a rotten root, something people find disgusting at first sight.”
This struck a raw spot in Han Fangju. Furious, she raised her voice, “Huang Xiuhong, you’ve gone too far.”
“That’s me — I’m going too far. So what?”
The two fell into a heated exchange of words, then a physical scuffle. In a rage, Han Fangju hurled her bowl directly at Huang Xiuhong’s face. Huang Xiuhong screamed, “Ah — I’m bleeding.”
Han Fangju paused in shock, but Huang Xiuhong rushed toward her, wild with rage. “I’m going to fight you to the death.”

Originally, when her face got injured, Han Fangju felt a bit guilty, but when Huang Xiuhong lunged forward, that guilt disappeared, and she fought back. “I didn’t do it on purpose.”
“That doesn’t matter — I’m going to destroy you.”
The two fell into a brawl. The other two women just stood there, weakly calling, “Don’t fight… how can you go on a blind date if you’re injured?” This made both of them even angrier — one mad that she hadn’t been selected, the other worried about her injured face — adding to the chaos. The entire dorm fell into an uproar.

Song Nanting, meanwhile, was looking through the small window and saw the two wrestling and shouting. Some of the male educated youths also came out and stood in the courtyard, not offering to break up the fight but instead openly placing bets on who would win.
Guan Hongbo said to Song Nanting, “Comrade Song, aren’t you going in to break them up? After all, you’re all women, it might be convenient for you.”
Song Nanting glanced back at him with a half-smile. “But I’m not close with them, and they made it clear I shouldn’t step into their room. Besides… you’re the team leader — if you aren’t going in, why should I?”
Having said that, Song Nanting turned back into her room, locked the door, and went into her space to take a nice bath.

After washing up and preparing for rest, there was a knock at her door, and someone called her name.
“Who is it?”
“It’s me, Liu Rong.”
Song Nanting didn’t have much of an impression of Liu Rong — of the four women, Liu Rong was the quietest. She put on her clothes, got down from the kang, opened the door, and asked, “What’s the matter?”
Liu Rong pressed her lips together, reluctantly stating in a low voice, “I wanted to ask if you have any purple potion — iodine or something. The two of them are injured and we have nothing to disinfect their wounds after all this time in the countryside.”
She sighed quietly. “So I came to you.”

Song Nanting shook her head. “Sorry, I didn’t bring that kind of thing with me.”
Liu Rong nodded in understanding. “Alright… thank you anyway. I’ll go ask someone else.”
Before turning to leave, Liu Rong added quietly, “They’re not bad people — try not to take it to heart.”
This was the second time someone had said this. The first was from Han Fangju.
Song Nanting nodded. “Got it.”
Then she closed the door.

Inside, Song Nanting furrowed her brows. To be frank, she was not afraid of people like Han Fangju or Huang Xiuhong — if it came to a showdown, a physical fight would soon make them back down. But a person who stayed silent and kept a low profile, yet successfully kept a place for herself in their group, was a different story. Clearly, Liu Rong was not someone to be underestimated. So Song Nanting decided it was safest to be vigilant.

She put away her valuables in her space and kept only ordinary, useful items in plain view. Without a mattress, it was hard to keep warm, so she decided to simply sleep in her big bed in the space instead.

The following day, Song Nanting learned that it wasn’t just the educated youth who would attend the blind date — there would also be many outstanding local women, each with their own appeal.
Huang Xiuhong, who had been selected, was somewhat proud and eager to show off the news. Meanwhile, Han Fangju and another woman fell into a foul mood. The two fought with Huang Xiuhong again — adding new injuries on top of the old ones — yet neither of them dared to bring the matter to Deng Xiuxiu’s attention, for fear their places would be forfeited.
Liu Rong remained on the side, mediating without really intervening, looking at Song Nanting with a helpless expression. “I tried to persuade them, but I couldn’t make them listen.”
Song Nanting just smiled faintly and stayed silent.

That evening, the team leader’s grandson came to find Song Nanting, stating someone wanted to exchange cotton with her in a barter.
When it came to swapping cotton, Han Fangju said, “Aren’t you engaged in speculative activity this time?”
Song Nanting just smiled. “Then you can go and report me to the team leader. We’re not buying or selling — we’re exchanging. Look carefully to see if there’s a violation.”
While speculative activity was prohibited after the revolution, barter was a longstanding tradition in the countryside. Song Nanting was new here and hadn’t gotten a proper set of bedding yet, so bartering for cotton was completely reasonable.

Huang Xiuhong and Han Fangju had another fight today, causing their group to break up.
Huang Xiuhong stood at the doorway, sneering, “Don’t accuse someone without understanding what’s really going on. If you want to report me, just go ahead.”
“Hmph.”
Han Fangju turned back into the room. She knew that the team leader held the ultimate power here — if she went to report, the team leader would simply bring her back and send her to a labor farm instead.

Song Nanting stayed out of their conflict and went with the team leader’s grandson to his home.
When she arrived, she was surprised to find quite a crowd there.
Deng Xiuxiu was sitting there alongside a woman in her forties, while the team leader’s wife kept them company.
When Deng Xiuxiu saw Song Nanting, she smiled and said, “Comrade Chen, you’re here.”