Chapter 23

The seven- or eight-year-old boy that the woman was holding onto didn’t understand what He Xianqiu had said, nor why his mother was so afraid. But he wasn’t scared at all.

So he glared fiercely at He Xianqiu. “What’s it got to do with you? A money-losing wench only brings in some cash when she gets married. All the money in this family is mine—it can’t be given to that worthless girl.”

He Xianqiu was stunned by the boy’s words. Even though she had already heard plenty of outrageous things from him, she was still shocked.

A child of only seven or eight, raised in a family that valued sons over daughters, had already internalized the idea that women were nothing but burdens—born to work, and even when married off, they merely brought in a bit of money. He Xianqiu didn’t know how to describe her current feelings.

She felt conflicted. This kind of thinking was terrifying. And yet in the 1970s, it was widespread. Even decades later, deep-rooted patriarchal thinking still lingered.

But since she had come across it herself, He Xianqiu couldn’t just stand by and watch a ten-year-old girl be denied an education.

So she said coldly to the woman, “Are you sure you’re not going to let this child go to school? Do you know that’s against the law? Are you asking to be sent to a labor camp?”

The woman, hearing He Xianqiu’s words, still didn’t want to let her “money-losing” daughter study. But she was also afraid of being sent to labor reform, so she reluctantly said, “Fine.”

After that, she gave the girl a vicious glare and muttered “money-losing wench” under her breath.

When the girl heard that she could go to school, she broke into a smile through her tears. Seeing her like that, He Xianqiu suddenly felt a pang of sadness.

She gently asked, “Have you ever gone to school before?”

The girl looked up at her and slowly said, “No.”

After speaking, she seemed a little embarrassed and lowered her head.

He Xianqiu looked at her and said, “That’s alright. Would it be okay if you start from the first grade?”

The girl nodded. She was very grateful to this beautiful older sister—if not for her, her mother wouldn’t have agreed to let her go to school.

The woman gritted her teeth and went to pay the fee, her face twisted with pain as if she were parting with a piece of her soul. She looked like she thought she shouldn’t have to spend the money at all.

He Xianqiu registered the girl in the first-grade roster, then watched as the woman dragged the boy to the second-grade registration desk. When it came time to pay, she was more than happy to hand over the money—eager and without complaint.

Watching this unfold, He Xianqiu felt a mix of emotions. The woman had only agreed to let the girl go to school because of the pressure she’d applied. It wasn’t because she actually wanted to.

Even though He Xianqiu had managed to secure the girl a spot in school, she couldn’t feel happy—because she knew it was only a temporary victory.

She watched the woman walk away with the girl and felt a wave of melancholy.

The female teacher beside her noticed but said nothing in the end.

Afterward, He Xianqiu continued registering students with focus, though her heart no longer felt as light and joyful as when she first arrived.

By noon, the registration finally ended. He Xianqiu rolled her sore neck and stood up.

Not many students had signed up. From morning till noon, He Xianqiu had only registered eighteen first-grade students.

By midday, no more parents were coming to register. She figured most had already come—there weren’t many children in the brigade to begin with.

A while later, the principal walked out of the office and said to everyone, “Good work today. You can all rest now.”

Then Song Wenzhong came out and distributed teaching materials to everyone. When he reached He Xianqiu, he said, “Comrade He, we don’t have a teaching book for your subject. You’ll need to come up with your own materials for art lessons.”

He Xianqiu nodded to show she understood. Since there wasn’t anything else for the day, she returned to the educated youth compound.

Although she didn’t receive a teaching book, she still needed to prepare her lessons. She planned to draw a few sketches to use for class tomorrow.

She walked back to the compound at a leisurely pace. The other educated youths were still out doing farm work, so only she and Song Wenzhong were around.

Both of them were tired, so they returned to their dormitories to rest.

The dorm was quiet and empty. He Xianqiu had worked hard all morning and was exhausted. After washing up, she lay down on her bed and quickly fell asleep.

She was sleeping groggily when she heard some noise and quiet voices.

“Comrade He is still sleeping. Comrade Yang, keep your voice down.”

“Why should I keep my voice down? I came back tired as hell,” Yang Shuhua grumbled loudly.

He Xianqiu opened her eyes at the noise and propped herself up to look. Yang Shuhua noticed her gaze, let out a cold snort, and walked away.

He Xianqiu found it baffling and didn’t bother responding. She remembered her class tomorrow and rummaged through her suitcase, finding a notebook. Since there was no special drawing paper available, she’d have to use that for now.

She used her suitcase as a makeshift desk and began sketching in the notebook.

She focused intently as she drew five illustrations: a lively tiger, a clever and playful monkey, a bird seriously eating insects, a fluffy rabbit, and a deer drinking from a stream.

With only a pencil, she could only sketch in black and white—but even so, they were beautifully done.

Looking at the completed drawings, He Xianqiu felt satisfied. She looked forward to tomorrow’s lesson.

After carefully putting away the drawings, she noticed someone staring at her. She looked up and saw Sun Xiaoyan quickly turn her head away.

He Xianqiu frowned slightly at her, then lowered her head and tucked the drawings under the quilt at the foot of her bed.

It was already afternoon by now. The other educated youths had finished cooking and were calling everyone outside to eat.

Hearing the voices, He Xianqiu stepped outside and headed to the main hall. Perhaps because only two of the youths were chosen to be teachers, while the others were not, the atmosphere was a bit strange.

He Xianqiu could feel it, but she acted as though nothing was wrong. She didn’t say much as she ate, keeping to herself.

Anything she said now would only attract resentment. It was better to eat in silence. After all, there wasn’t much worth saying anyway.

After finishing her meal, she picked up her bowl and said to everyone, “I’m done eating. I’ll head back to the dorm.” The others simply nodded.

After she left, Yang Shuhua snorted. “So what if she became a teacher? Acting all smug.”

“Xianqiu must be really happy. After all, she’s the only female educated youth in the compound who got picked to be a teacher,” Zhao Yaling said sweetly.

Zhao Yaling felt extremely upset that He Xianqiu had been chosen while she wasn’t, so she chimed in with a passive-aggressive tone.

If He Xianqiu were there, she would’ve pointed out, Why not mention that another male educated youth was also selected? Why single me out? That would just show how petty and calculating Zhao Yaling really was.

After all, only two people from the compound had been chosen. The rest had to continue farming. Zhao Yaling’s remark was clearly aimed at turning the others against He Xianqiu.

Sun Xiaoyan heard what they said and didn’t comment, but from her expression, she seemed to agree. After all, a few days ago, when she had been pitiful and begged for the opportunity, He Xianqiu refused to give it to her.

Thinking of how hard her own life was, and how little sympathy He Xianqiu had shown, Sun Xiaoyan’s eyes darkened.