Chapter 13: Can’t Rush It

After seeing off the brigade captain, Ye Xin tilted her head up and called to Shen Zhuo on the roof, “How many broken tiles do we have?”

Shen Zhuo had already checked everything. Across the three leaking rooms, there were six or seven spots causing trouble. Some were due to loose tiles, but five places had cracked ones. Each of those spots needed about two tiles. One particularly bad crack at the corner of the main room required an extra two tiles, and a few tiles on the eaves had been knocked down by the wind. Though they weren’t causing leaks, the uneven drainage was a problem, so they’d need a few more tiles for that.

After some quick calculations, he said, “About twenty tiles should do.”

Ye Xin nodded, “Let’s go with thirty, just to be safe.”

Shen Zhuo shook his head. “I’ve already overestimated. We don’t need that many.”

Ye Xin insisted, “It’s better to have extras. Next time something breaks, we can fix it right away instead of waiting.”

Realizing she had a point, Shen Zhuo didn’t argue.

Looking up at the clear blue sky, Ye Xin grew concerned. “You should come down. It’s sunny and dry these days, so maybe we could leave it open to air out the house? We can get the tiles tomorrow anyway.”

Shen Zhuo disagreed. “No, it might rain unexpectedly, and leaves from the mountain could fall inside.”

Ye Xin saw his reasoning. Living near the mountains made that a real possibility. “Alright, take your time then.”

Once Shen Zhuo finished fixing the loose tiles, Ye Xin held the ladder steady as he climbed down. After setting the ladder aside, Shen Zhuo went to wash his hands while Ye Xin went inside to grab some money. Unsure of how much they’d need, she took everything she had.

When she came back out, she asked, “Shall we head to the captain’s house now?”

Shen Zhuo squinted at the bright midday sun. “I can go on my own.”

Ye Xin replied, “We might need to pay in advance, so I’ll come too.”

Shen Zhuo hesitated, then said, “Fine, but you lead the way.”

Ye Xin laughed, “I’ve never been to the captain’s house. I don’t know the way either.”

With no other choice, the two set off together. By now, the sun was glaring down, scorching the earth. Since the production team wasn’t working today, everyone had the time to inspect and repair their own roofs. When they reached Li Jianbang’s house, they found several others there already.

Li Jianbang’s home consisted of two large rooms. The left side housed the kitchen and main hall, spacious and practical, with a side room for bathing and a toilet. The right side was the living quarters, divided into smaller rooms. Like most homes in the village, it was tightly packed against the neighboring houses—land was scarce, and buildings were crowded together.

Looking around, Ye Xin couldn’t help but think that Shen Zhuo’s house, nestled up against the mountain, was much nicer by comparison.

Their arrival drew some curious glances, but they pretended not to notice and headed toward the main hall on the left. The room was busy, filled with people chatting noisily.

Wu Lili, who had been gossiping with others, spotted them and walked over. “You two here to report your roof? How’s your place holding up?”

Shen Zhuo, not one for talking, left it to Ye Xin, who smiled and answered, “It’s not too bad. Just a few leaks here and there, nothing major. How’s your place?”

Wu Lili laughed, “Pretty much the same. A few small repairs, but it’s livable.” She gestured for them to go and register.

Li Jianbang was seated at a table with a pen and paper, recording each household’s needs. When he saw them, he got straight to the point, “The tile factory in Huangjia Village usually charges two cents per tile, but they’re giving our Fengshui Brigade a discount: one and a half cents each. How many do you need? You can pay now or wait until the tiles arrive.”

Hearing the tiles were so cheap, Ye Xin quickly replied, “We’ll take thirty tiles. We’ll pay now.”

Li Jianbang jotted it down in his notebook and said, “Thirty tiles will cost you forty-five cents.”

Ye Xin pulled out a one-yuan note and handed it over.

Li Jianbang accepted the money, gave her back fifty-five cents in change, and marked in his ledger that payment had been received.

Shen Zhuo, feeling uncomfortable, stood by awkwardly. Even though Li Jianbang hadn’t looked up from his writing, the other people in the room had noticed. They all knew Shen Zhuo was broke, that he couldn’t even afford to buy tiles to fix his own roof, and that Ye Xin had covered for him. He regretted coming along and wished he could disappear.

After the registration was done, Wu Lili saw them out, reminding them, “The team’s heading out tomorrow morning to buy the tiles. You should come by in the afternoon to pick them up.”

Ye Xin appreciated Wu Lili’s kindness and smiled, “Thank you for the reminder, Aunt Wu! Oh, by the way, do you have any garlic at home? Shen Zhuo’s garden doesn’t have any, and I was hoping to get some to plant.”

Wu Lili immediately responded, “You should’ve said something sooner! I don’t have much else, but garlic and scallions I’ve got plenty. Come on, I’ll dig some up for you right now!” With that, she led Ye Xin to her vegetable garden.

Shen Zhuo, feeling it would be rude to leave, quietly followed behind.

Liu Hongxia teased, “Ye Xin, you’ve been glued to Shen Zhuo lately. Wherever he goes, you follow!”

Without missing a beat, Ye Xin retorted, “He’s my fiancé. If I don’t follow him, who should I follow?”

Liu Hongxia wasn’t expecting such a sharp response and was momentarily stunned.

Zheng Wenwen glanced between Ye Xin and Shen Zhuo before saying, “Ye Xin, can we talk for a moment?”

Ye Xin frowned. Hadn’t they fallen out long ago? What was left to talk about?

Even Liu Hongxia looked puzzled.

Seeing that Zheng Wenwen had already walked a few steps away, Ye Xin hesitated for a moment but figured there was nothing to fear. She followed and asked, “What do you want to say?”

Zheng Wenwen didn’t beat around the bush. “Have you really decided to marry Shen Zhuo?”

Ye Xin raised an eyebrow. “What if I have? And what if I haven’t?”

Zheng Wenwen paused, frowning at her. “I’ve noticed you’ve changed a lot recently. You’ve become more diligent. That’s why I’m talking to you now. If you were still like before, I wouldn’t have bothered.”

Ye Xin shrugged. “Then don’t bother now.” She turned to leave.

“Wait,” Zheng Wenwen quickly called after her, noting that Ye Xin’s temper hadn’t changed much. “Have you thought this through? If you marry Shen Zhuo, you’ll have a hard time getting back to the city. Do you really want to spend your whole life farming and not return to the city?”

Ye Xin shot back, “Is there some new policy allowing us to return to the city?”

“No,” Zheng Wenwen admitted, though with a glimmer of hope. “But eventually, there will be. We’re city-educated youths. Sooner or later, we’ll return.”

Ye Xin gave her a long, thoughtful look.

Among the female educated youths, Ye Xin was petite, Jiang Jingyu was delicate and pretty, Liu Hongxia was robust, Wang Xiaowei was tall, and Zheng Wenwen was of average height and looks. But she had an air of sharpness and competence, like a modern urban professional with a high-paying job.

Of course, Ye Xin didn’t plan to spend her life farming in the countryside.

She had already experienced how grueling rural work was, and how tough life in the countryside could be. The house walls were crumbling, cooking filled the room with smoke, bathing meant washing up inside a room, and mud clung to your shoes whenever you stepped outside. Sometimes, it all got so overwhelming that she felt like crying.

It was hard—harder than she had imagined. More than anything, she wanted to return to the clean, convenient city life.

But the tides of history were too strong for one person to fight.

The policies were what they were, and she had no choice but to endure it. She would press forward, planting crops, cooking meals, and making sure she survived.

Coming from the future, Ye Xin knew the policies. In the next few years, the opportunities to return to the city would be extremely limited. She wasn’t planning to compete for the scarce slots in universities for workers, peasants, and soldiers, or for factory jobs. Her real chance would come in 1977 when the national college entrance exam was reinstated. That’s when she would leave the countryside—by getting into college.

But now it was only 1970. She had at least seven or eight more years of hardship ahead.

She couldn’t rush it. All she could do was be patient, survive, and save up money. That way, when the time came, she could leave in the best shape and as quickly as possible.

For now, all she could say was, “Let’s wait and see what the policy says.”

Zheng Wenwen frowned. “What’s your plan, really? If you still want to go back to the city, you shouldn’t get married. Once you marry, it’ll be hard to leave, especially if you have kids. Not only will you hurt Shen Zhuo and the child, but you’ll have a hard time finding your place in the city again.”

Ye Xin’s expression turned strange. “You’re thinking way too far ahead. Shen Zhuo and I are only engaged; we’re not even adults yet. Marriage and kids are a long way off.”

Zheng Wenwen continued, “That may be true, but in a few years, you’ll both be adults. Won’t you get married then? I think you should break off the engagement now and move back to the educated youth dormitory. Don’t waste Shen Zhuo’s time, and take care of yourself too.”

She paused and sighed, “I’ve seen some youths give in to the hardships of rural life, getting married early just to have some comfort. But in doing that, they ruin their future.”

Ye Xin sighed as well.

But I don’t want to move back to the dorm…

Rural life was hard enough. If she didn’t even have a room of her own, if she had to deal with people constantly watching her while she struggled emotionally, she’d fall apart!

She forced a smile. “I’m exactly the kind of youth you’re talking about—one who can’t handle the hardship and has ‘given in.’ Don’t waste your breath on me. I’m not moving back. As for me and Shen Zhuo, we’ll figure it out. We won’t hurt each other, and we won’t ruin anyone’s future.”

Zheng Wenwen frowned deeply, clearly unsure of what to make of her.

Ye Xin smiled again. “I know you mean well, and that’s why you’re saying all this. The others have probably already given up trying to convince me. So, thank you.”

Zheng Wenwen replied, “You really have changed a lot. You were never this polite before.”

Ye Xin chuckled helplessly, then turned and walked away with Shen Zhuo.

Liu Hongxia immediately asked Zheng Wenwen, “What did you talk about?”

Zheng Wenwen sighed, “What else? I tried to talk some sense into her.”

Liu Hongxia scoffed. “Good luck with that! She’s as stubborn as ever.”

Zheng Wenwen was thoughtful. “I didn’t manage to change her mind, but she seems pretty clear-headed. She doesn’t really need my advice.”

Liu Hongxia snorted, “Clear-headed? Please. She’s just confused. She’ll regret this one day!”

Meanwhile, Shen Zhuo, walking beside Ye Xin, was curious about what had been said. She had been unusually quiet ever since the conversation, and that was unlike her. He glanced back at her, but she was simply walking with her head down, lost in thought.

Still, he wasn’t the type to pry. He said nothing.