Chapter 7

Liu Caixia’s face instantly flushed red.
“I… I just wanted you to have a taste.”

When it came to these things, Lin Yu was sharp as a tack. Just this morning, Brother Shen had said that her eyes had a problem—wasn’t that the truth? She looked all innocent like some delicate little flower, yet went around hooking people in. What use was a pretty face when her character was rotten? He himself wouldn’t look at her twice, and Brother Shen even less so.

So he said bluntly, “Comrade Liu, such precious things—you’d better keep them for yourself. And Brother Shen isn’t looking for a partner right now, so give up on that idea. I’ve seen you chatting and laughing plenty with Comrade Ma. Why don’t you give these to him instead?”

Liu Caixia froze. She hadn’t expected Lin Yu to have seen her talking with Ma Zhiming. Her face stiffened, then she forced a weak smile.
“Well, since he doesn’t want them, I’ll just head back.”

Before Lin Yu could respond, she quickly turned and walked toward the educated youth quarters.

She told herself she hadn’t done anything wrong. What, she wasn’t allowed to look around and choose? She was casting her net wide—whichever fish turned out bigger, that was the one she’d reel in.
And wasn’t it working out? At least someone else was helping her with the farm work.

Xie Beishen, for instance—his clothes alone screamed that he was a rich family’s young master. He was tall, handsome, and refined, though his striking looks carried a certain aloofness that warned strangers away. Every time she tried to approach him, he ignored her completely. That stung, but she recovered quickly. If he was untouchable, there were other options.

So she went to Ma Zhiming’s room. He looked cultured, scholarly, and refined. Once they returned to the city, he surely wouldn’t be any worse off. The fact he couldn’t handle much farm work didn’t mean a thing—she couldn’t either.

When they met, Liu Caixia lowered her gaze shyly.
“Brother Zhiming, I bought some pastries today, so I brought you some.”

Ma Zhiming had been sulking, but seeing the food instantly brightened his mood. He accepted it with a smile.
“Thanks, Caixia. Why don’t we eat them together?”

Liu Caixia glanced around nervously.
“Maybe we should go outside. If someone sees us here, it won’t look good.”

“Alright.”

The two of them slipped out of the educated youth compound, one after the other.

Meanwhile, Lin Yu returned to his room carrying the noodle soup. He told Xie Beishen everything that had just happened.

Xie Beishen, who had already overheard their conversation through the window earlier, calmly ate his noodles.
“Mm. Next time any woman comes looking for me, turn her away.”

Lin Yu nodded, then said, “Tomorrow I’ll trade with some villagers for more eggs. Today was the last of them, so I figured I might as well use them all up.”

Xie Beishen pulled fifty yuan and a stack of ration tickets from his pocket and set them on the table.
“Tomorrow, take half a day off and pick up a package for me at the post office. While you’re at it, buy some dishes from the state-run restaurant and bring them back.”

Lin Yu, mouth full of noodles, mumbled, “Brother Shen, I haven’t even spent what you gave me last time.”

“Take it,” Xie Beishen said firmly. “The double harvest is coming soon. We need to eat better now while we can. Buy more refined grains too. Once the busy season starts, it won’t be so easy to get leave.”

Lin Yu tucked the money away with a grin.
“Brother Shen, you even know that much, huh?”

Xie Beishen didn’t bother to reply. What kind of fool asked such obvious questions?

Meanwhile, at the Su household, Mother Su had specially killed a chicken that evening to nourish her daughter. Su Wanwan sipped the chicken soup. Though her mother’s cooking was nothing special, it tasted especially good tonight.

Su Heng, however, was puzzled.
“Dad, why didn’t you just assign that bastard to carry manure today?”

Father Su set down his chopsticks.
“With someone who can barely scrape together four work points a day, do you think he can endure the hardships of land reclamation? Cutting brush, digging out roots, moving rocks… It’s no simple matter to turn barren hillsides into farmland. Under the blazing sun, snakes and poisonous insects everywhere… And with Biaozi supervising, he won’t get a moment’s rest. Sooner or later, he’ll be carrying manure—but it has to be done step by step, so no one can accuse us of being unfair.”

He had to let his daughter vent her anger properly. That brat still dreamed of easy work? Delusional. Sending him to the farm for re-education was a must. Soon enough, carrying manure would feel like a luxury to him.

Su Heng nodded in admiration. His father really did know how to handle things. He quickly finished his food, put down his chopsticks, and said,
“I’m heading out for a bit. I’ll be back soon.”

He grabbed a burlap sack from home and a firewood stick from the kitchen, weighing it in his hand as he left. Taking a quiet, isolated path, he avoided the main roads until he reached the back of the educated youth compound, where he hid behind a large tree.

This was the path the educated youths used to reach the latrines. He’d beat that bastard so badly he’d never dare come here again—unless the coward didn’t need the toilet tonight.

He waited two whole hours, swatting away mosquitoes and growing angrier with every bite. Finally, his target appeared.

Seizing the chance, he yanked the sack over Ma Zhiming and swung the stick hard against his leg.

“Aahhh—who’s there?! Help! Save me!” Ma Zhiming screamed, collapsing to the ground.

But the compound was close by, so Su Heng moved fast and hit harder, raining blows across his body—everywhere but the head.

Ma Zhiming’s cries echoed, his body curling up as he begged for mercy.

Then Su Heng sprinted away into the trees. He couldn’t beat him too badly—if he couldn’t work the next day, that would draw suspicion. No, this was better—he could do it again every few days.

By then, people from the compound had rushed over. They found Ma Zhiming writhing inside the sack, wailing, “Murder! Murder!”

One of the educated youths pulled the sack off his head.

Gritting his teeth, Ma Zhiming looked around wildly.
“Who?! Who hit me? Step out!”

His roommates shook their heads.
“Comrade Ma, who on earth did you offend?”

Pain throbbed across his whole body, his face the only spot left untouched.

At that moment, Xie Beishen had just returned from bathing. At Ma Zhiming’s very first scream, he had gone to his window, his sharp eyes taking in the entire scene.

Lin Yu, having also heard the noise, rushed barefoot to the window.
“Hey, that figure looks familiar… Can’t place where I’ve seen him though. Brother Shen, do you know him?”

Xie Beishen narrowed his dark eyes. The face hadn’t been clear in the darkness, but the silhouette was unmistakable—it was the brother of that woman from last night.

A faint smile tugged at his lips. Things were getting more and more interesting. He lay back on his bed, hands behind his head. As he closed his eyes, the memory of that woman in the mountain pool came rushing back—the way she had clung to him, her wet, misty eyes gazing up as she leaned in to kiss him.

In his dream, he kissed her back—again and again, endlessly.

When dawn came, he washed his underpants hastily, ears still burning. Thank goodness he had insisted the mason install drying racks on the back window—otherwise, if those shorts hung outside in plain view, anyone who saw would understand immediately.

His heart was in turmoil. Never in his life had he dreamt something like that before. In the dream, she had been like a little temptress, making him lose control.

Lin Yu stretched when he woke, only to see Brother Shen crouched on the ground scrubbing his clothes, ears flushed crimson.
“Brother Shen, why are your ears red? What were you up to so early in the morning?”

Xie Beishen shot him a cold look.
“Go make breakfast.”

Lin Yu instantly sensed his bad mood and didn’t dare linger. He hurried off to cook.

Before work, everyone went to the tool shed first. Father Su had just picked up a basket when he saw Ma Zhiming hobbling toward him on one leg.