Chapter 22

After returning to the military compound, Su Ye wrote two letters. In the 1960s, doing this kind of “speculation” required not only caution but also a legitimate justification.

One letter was addressed to the local newspaper, and the other to the principal.

In the letter to the newspaper, Su Ye described how a group of children, through their own hard work, used their spare time to earn money and support classmates in need.

Good deeds must be acknowledged. Doing good things in secret, with no one knowing, would only leave one vulnerable if trouble arose. Who would stand up for them then?

Su Ye was not the type to stay quiet.

Su Ye personally delivered the letters to the newspaper’s office.

The local newspaper was very interested in receiving the letter about the good deed. The newspaper reserved several pages to promote this “service to the people” and “learning from Lei Feng” story. After receiving the letter, the editor was deep in thought.

Reporter Xia read the letter and said enthusiastically, “This is a meaningful story! I’ll contact this Teacher Su and ask if they’d be willing to do an interview.”

Typically, the “good deeds” and “advanced spirit” columns featured stories like students returning lost money, workers voluntarily working overtime to meet quotas, or comrades who risked their lives to protect collective property. But supporting underprivileged students? That was a first.

In these times, going to school was a difficult thing. Thanks to government support, tuition fees for high schools, technical schools, and universities were waived, and students received a 10 yuan monthly stipend for meals. The society’s attention was focused on these three areas, yet the education of young children was often overlooked.

In fact, the children who faced the hardest conditions often didn’t even finish primary or middle school.

Soon, Su Ye received an invitation for an interview from the reporter. They scheduled it for the weekend.

—

Weekend

Su Ye sacrificed her time to “improve” her life in the suburbs and accompanied the students on a home visit tour. The children were curious about the arrival of Reporter Xia.

Reporter Xia, holding the camera, smiled and said, “Today, Lao Xia is from the newspaper. I’ll be joining you and your teacher for the visits.”

Their first stop was Ma Jianguo’s house.

Ma Jianguo’s family lived in an old, cramped building. Both of his parents had passed away, and his elderly grandparents could only make ends meet by picking up some tailoring work at the alley. The family was struggling. Last year, his grandfather fell ill, which worsened the already difficult situation. Understanding the hardship, Ma Jianguo dropped out of school and returned home to do odd jobs to help support the family.

When they offered to fund Ma Jianguo’s return to school, his grandparents couldn’t believe it. Su Ye reassured them, even pulling out fifteen large black ten yuan notes right on the spot.

“Look, this is the money we earned. We’ll make sure he has the chance to study. If he finishes middle school and gets into high school or a technical school, he’ll have a future, won’t he?”

“Once he finishes technical school, he won’t have to work so hard. He’ll get state-provided food and a state salary. How great is that!”

The two elderly people burst into tears, sobbing like children.

Su Ye couldn’t bear to watch and turned her head away. Reporter Xia took photos of Ma Jianguo’s less-than-10-square-meter, dilapidated home and one of him pulling a cart full of rubble to exchange for money.

Next, Su Ye and the group went to Qian Xiaohe’s house.

Qian Xiaohe’s parents were in the process of arranging a marriage for their daughter. When they heard about the offer for her to return to school, they shook their heads in opposition. The family had too many children, and there was not enough food. Qian Xiaohe’s father wanted to exchange her for fifty kilograms of grain.

“Teacher, we have three children in our family. If we support them all, we won’t have enough food!” Qian Xiaohe’s mother said. “Her brother says his wife also needs money…”

Her drunkard father, stumbling, raised a hand and said, “You want her to go to school? Fine, give me this much grain, and I’ll let her go.”

Su Ye couldn’t help but complain internally. In such tough times, who could afford to pull out so much grain all at once?

A sack of grain was enough to sell a living girl—how chilling that thought was.

The students listened in silence, their hearts aching for Qian Xiaohe. They looked at Su Ye with concern.

Su Ye said seriously, “Comrade, you probably don’t understand the laws of China. Women under 18 can’t get married. Xiaohe is only 15 years old, what you’re doing is illegal.”

Reporter Xia nodded in agreement and added, “I work at the newspaper. If this is really happening, I’ll report it responsibly. After that, when it comes to your work, allowances, and evaluations for recognition, the leaders will have to consider it.”

Qian Xiaohe’s father, someone who relied on the state’s ^[1]“iron rice bowl” refers to a job or position that provides lifelong security and stability, often with guaranteed benefits and little risk of losing the job. It originated in China, where … Continue readingiron rice bowl, finally softened when he heard this.

He took out his anger on his daughter, shouting at her, “What are you standing there for? Go work! If you’re not getting married, you’re going to work tomorrow and earn money!”

Yang Xue looked at Su Ye, her eyes filled with pleading. “Teacher Su, please help Xiaohe!”

Yang Xue also came from a large family, but her father never forced her to drop out of school. Instead, he worked hard, running around to pay for her education. In comparison, Xiaohe was so unfortunate.

Qian Xiaohe had already dropped out of school last year. She wasn’t Su Ye’s student, but Su Ye couldn’t just stand by when she saw such things happening.

Su Ye pulled Qian Xiaohe aside, bent down, and said seriously, “Your parents can’t be relied on, so from now on, you must think more about your future. Listen to your teacher: girls must study, education is the way out. You should go back to school on Monday. We’ll take care of the tuition and textbooks for you.”

Xiaohe was deeply moved, tears streaming down her face. “Th-thank you, Teacher!”

The students also stepped forward, each saying something in support. “Don’t worry, Xiaohe! We have Teacher Su here!”

“Xiaohe, come and learn to fix watches with us! We’ll teach you. We’ve earned money recently, don’t be afraid, we’re not short of money!”

“Xiaohe, you must listen to Teacher Su and come to school on Monday.”

As they walked toward the third dropout classmate’s home, everyone was anxious, their hearts filled with mixed emotions.

Su Ye insisted on taking them to visit each of the students’ homes. Families like Qian Xiaohe’s were rare, but there were many more families in difficult situations, like Ma Jianguo’s…

Su Ye deeply understood the concept of “poverty“—one family was poorer than the next. Not to mention studying, even survival was a challenge.

As the sun set, they had completed ten home visits, convincing most of the classmates to return to school.

The students of Class 1, Grade 3, gathered at the school gate, looking at their science teacher with deep affection. “Teacher, we’ll work hard to refurbish the watches!”

“I’ve realized my purpose, and I’m willing to work hard for them!”

Su Ye’s heart warmed as she listened. She patted the children’s heads, smiling all the way as she said, “Go home now! Don’t worry about this. Just follow the teacher’s lead! Go home and do your homework if you need to, or play if you want. Don’t dwell on today’s events. You’re still young, so don’t think too much. Thanks for everything today. See you!”

The students laughed heartily. They truly loved Teacher Su! After hearing her words, they let go of their burdens and returned to their happy selves.

Even though Teacher Su wasn’t very old, being with her made them feel safe, as if they didn’t need to worry about anything.

Su Ye smiled warmly as she watched the children leave, but she felt a little embarrassed inside.

Her initial idea had been driven by a desire to earn more food, based on her own career. But after seeing the innocent faces of the students today and glancing at her “granary,” where she had unwittingly gained an extra ten pounds of rice, she thought—being able to earn food while helping others didn’t seem so bad after all.

Reporter Xia was the last to say goodbye. “Thank you, Teacher Su, for providing the newspaper with such valuable information. If there’s a chance, I’d love to write a feature on your ‘watch repairs’.”

Su Ye quickly responded, “It would be our honor. If you’d like to interview us again, just come to the teacher’s office at No. 1 High School next time.”

—

After parting with them, Su Ye took another set of clothes and shoes out of her backpack, changing her appearance.

Back in her student days, Su Ye had been quite wild—she’d mixed in the world of anime and even the voice actor scene. Changing her look was no problem.

She took a scarf to cover her hair, glued some rabbit fur to her eyebrows, and used a small mirror to lightly touch up her face with charcoal. She covered half of her face with the scarf, put on a pair of old gloves, and finally picked up a stick from the street. Hunched over, she dressed up as an old woman and walked down the street.

Su Ye didn’t go to the black market but instead wandered to a certain street and stopped.

Su Ye, with her sharp eyes, spotted the middle-class woman who had bought her egg noodles. The woman was wearing black leather shoes, carrying a black leather bag, and dressed simply yet with an air of authority, looking very much like a dedicated public servant who had been through a long day of work.

“Comrade, would you like to buy some rice?”

Su Ye, hunched over and trembling, called out to the woman. She stretched out her hand and said, “I have 50 jin (about 25 kg), three yuan and fifty cents per jin. Once it’s sold, I’ll leave.”

Fifty jin of rice!

Upon hearing this, Ms. Fang’s heart skipped a beat, and she could no longer walk.

What did fifty jin of rice mean? With that much rice, she wouldn’t have to worry about running out of fine food for an entire year. Normally, getting a single jin of rice was hard enough. The last time Ms. Fang managed to get some rich flour for the New Year, she had to beg everyone and use all her connections just to scrape together two jin.

Ms. Fang, not looking sideways, slowly walked into a dim alley.

“Where would you get so much rice?” she asked suspiciously.

The old woman’s voice was hoarse as she replied, “Give me the money, and you’ll get it right away. My nephew will bring it over.”

“It’s guaranteed to be safe. It’s from our own production team in the mountains.”

At this moment, Ms. Fang’s emotions were a whirlwind of excitement, doubt, and caution. In the darkness, her mind was in a fierce internal battle.

After a long pause, she said, “I don’t have that much money on me right now. Wait a moment, I’ll go home and gather some.”

“Half an hour, I’ll be right back,” she added, grabbing Su Ye’s hand. “Don’t sell it to anyone else. I have the money. I’ll take all of it!”

After saying that, Ms. Fang turned and ran.

She returned home and rummaged through her old things to find the money, but could only scrape together 125 yuan. Then, she dug out her passbook, but realized she didn’t have time to go to the bank. So, Ms. Fang knocked urgently on her colleague’s door.

“I was thinking of buying a bicycle, but I’m a little short on money. Can you lend me thirty yuan?” she said eagerly.

Thirty yuan was only half a month’s salary. Since they were neighbors and colleagues, and Ms. Fang was trustworthy, the woman handed her three large black bills. Ms. Fang repeated the process, running to two more homes. Finally, she gathered 175 yuan.

She held the thick wad of cash in her hand, each bill warm and hot to the touch.

If she really managed to buy 50 jin of rice, this trip would have been worth it!

On the other side, in the narrow alley,

Su Ye was sitting on a stone slab, casually crossing her legs. She checked the time, and when it was right, she retrieved the 50 jin of rice.

The rice was packed tightly in a burlap sack. She opened it slightly and sniffed—there was a fragrant aroma. Unfortunately, this rice was not meant to be all hers.

The barrage of comments exploded: ‘She’s here! She’s here! She brought a wad of large black tens!’

‘Streamer, quickly stop crossing your legs, you’re about to give it away! Haha, this is so funny, selling something like you’re stealing!’

‘Also, streamer, quickly fix your eyebrows, they’re uneven! Haha, I’m laughing so loud!’

Su Ye turned off the comments, not wanting to see the playful teasing from these people who seemed to thrive on causing chaos. She took out a small mirror, quickly adjusted her appearance, and once satisfied, stood up with the cane.

Su Ye had too much rice. Selling it in small batches of two or three jin would probably wear her out, running around all the time. Since she knew she’d be getting more rice in the future, frequent trips to the black market weren’t ideal—it would attract too much attention. But selling a large amount at once would definitely catch the police’s attention, so Su Ye carefully disguised herself.

Ms. Fang opened the bag, and a faint rice fragrance wafted out. She felt so happy she almost couldn’t breathe.

This was top-quality rice. Normally, ordinary rice on the black market would sell for four yuan per jin, but she bought it for only three yuan and fifty cents, and she even got 50 jin! Ms. Fang clutched her chest, just to stop herself from fainting from joy.

This was such a relief. 50 jin of fine grain meant she wouldn’t have to worry about food for a whole month—even if she stayed up all night for a month, she wouldn’t have been able to buy this much rice.

She calmed herself down, carefully inspected the bag, flipping it over several times, but found no sand mixed in. Only then did she feel at ease.

Ms. Fang handed over the money, and before she knew it, the old woman was gone.

Ms. Fang was both amused and exasperated—^[2]“her courage was as small as a mouse’s” means that the person was very timid, easily scared, or lacked the courage to take risks or face difficult situations. It compares her … Continue readingher courage was as small as a mouse’s. With satisfaction, she hoisted the 50 jin of rice onto her back, joyfully but reluctantly carrying it home.

Whenever someone saw Ms. Fang, they would ask, “What’s that? Is it heavy? Do you want me to help carry it?”

Ms. Fang wiped the sweat from her brow and replied cheerfully, “It’s not heavy at all, just a bag of dirt, planning to grow some vegetables.”

Indeed, she had some soil at home and planned to grow her own vegetables. These days, food is hard to come by. If you didn’t come up with ways to manage it, relying solely on the state to solve the food problem wasn’t going to work.

—

After changing her appearance, Su Ye wandered around for a while before finally returning to the military compound.

Once home, she counted her money—seventeen large black tens and five one-yuan red bills. The banknotes still had a faint warmth to them, feeling pleasantly warm to the touch, each one carrying a sense of security.

The more she counted, the clearer her mind became. This was her first bucket of gold, her very own little treasury. With it, things would be much easier in the future.

Her students could earn money, and so could she.

After counting the money, Su Ye tucked it into the cabinet and locked it with two locks.

She tied a strand of hair around the locks, tying a knot around it. If Gu Xiangqian dared to open the cabinet, the hair would snap, and Su Ye would definitely know.

Su Ye started preparing dinner. She exchanged one jin of pork belly for two jins of old duck meat and a block of duck blood. Once she had the duck meat, she chopped it into pieces, blanched them in water, and used slices of ginger and white wine to remove the odor.

When she added the wine, she couldn’t help but sniff the fragrance. It smelled so good! This made her recall the expensive liquor she had bought last time, which had a taste comparable to Feitian Moutai. Only in this era did Su Ye dare to indulge in a little luxury with a good drink.

She poured in two spoonfuls of wine, then added jujubes and mushrooms, letting the duck soup simmer slowly. She boiled it over high heat for half an hour, then turned it to low heat and added the sliced duck blood.

The fragrance gradually filled the air, so tempting it could make anyone’s appetite stir!

Gu Xiangqian had made four buckwheat steamed buns and was on his way home when he caught the delicious aroma of the meat before even entering the door.

Su Ye looked back and saw Gu Xiangqian returning. His clothes were covered in dirt and grime, completely soaked with sweat. Even his hair was dripping with sweat, running down his face. He took off his dirty outer jacket, revealing a cotton vest underneath.

The kind of white coat that old men usually wear, but on him, it looked almost sensual. The fabric clung to his muscles, outlining every well-defined abdominal muscle. Su Ye stole a glance and felt as if her soul was stolen.

If she weren’t so nutritionally deprived, she would’ve probably had a nosebleed. She cursed herself inwardly.

Since the last time, Su Ye had completely let go. Live for today, drink for today, and the meat was right there waiting to be eaten. Why not eat it when it’s ready?

Su Ye gave Gu Xiangqian a look, “Go take a shower and then come have some soup. I caught the duck today.”

Gu Xiangqian wiped the sweat off his forehead, surprised when his wife leaned in and kissed him, then nipped at his neck. His eyes darkened suddenly. He gently touched her hair and went to get clean clothes before heading to the bathroom.