Font Size:
After enjoying a delicious braised fish dinner, Ye Xin headed into her space to dig out a fish pond. This was no small task!
She decided to place the pond beside the rice fields, right behind her wooden cabin, to facilitate water drainage. However, after walking around the area, she realized it was much larger than she anticipated. Digging it all by herself with a shovel would take forever!
“If only I had an excavator,” she thought, imagining how quickly the job could be done. But then she remembered that even if she had one, it wouldn’t fit in her space!
“Alright, let’s just do it myself,” she decided. To save some effort, she planned to dig just a trench around the perimeter instead of a full pond. It would create a small water reservoir for fish, and given that she didn’t have many fish to start with, a trench would suffice. She could always expand it later as her fish collection grew.
“Step by step, right?” she reasoned. “I don’t need to exhaust myself over this.”
After a bit of digging, Ye Xin realized that even digging a whole trench was too tiring. “Why not split the area in half and just dig a trench around one side? That should be enough,” she thought. She could plant lotus roots in the other half later and enjoy the flowers.
With this delightful decision made, she embraced a laid-back approach to her work, focusing on freedom, joy, and happiness!
After digging half of the trench, Ye Xin felt exhausted. Tossing aside her shovel, she made her way to the watermelon patch, eager to check on her melons.
Since planting the watermelons after returning from the county, it had been over thirty days, and her patch had flourished into a vibrant green sea of melons. Each one was swelling like a balloon, growing bigger by the day.
Feeling the round, plump watermelons, Ye Xin guessed that some of them were ripe. “I’ve got to pick one to eat today!” she declared.
Squatting down, she carefully inspected each melon. She knocked on some, patted others, weighing each in her hands. After checking several, she finally settled on the biggest, juiciest one. With a swift punch, she smashed it open, revealing its sweet, juicy red flesh inside.
“Wow, it’s definitely ripe!” she exclaimed, sitting right there on the ground to start munching on her watermelon.
Despite its thick skin, a few seeds, and the fact that it wasn’t as sweet as the seedless, sugar-rich varieties of the future, she relished every bite. After all, it was her own labor’s fruit—how could it not taste sweet?
Plus, since she had the entire watermelon to herself, she could indulge in just the middle, the sweetest part, tossing aside the rest without a second thought.
Finishing one whole watermelon, she let out a satisfied burp. She wandered to the creek to wash her hands, and as she looked back at her bountiful watermelon patch, she fell into deep thought.
With so many watermelons, there was no way she could eat them all. Selling them felt a bit too conspicuous, and they were heavy, making them a hassle to carry. “Ah, I really should’ve planted them in batches!” she lamented.
She briefly considered taking one to Shen Zhuo but found it hard to explain. In the end, Ye Xin shook her head. “Forget it! I’ll just enjoy them myself, savoring the sweetest parts and letting the rest decompose into nutrients for the soil. That’s my style!”
That said, when she saw Shen Zhuo the next day, a twinge of guilt crept in for indulging in her little secret.
Shen Zhuo, noticing her unusual demeanor, reassured her, “Don’t worry, I already have a suspect in mind and will be careful. You just rest at home.”
Ye Xin could only wave her hand in response, suppressing her guilt. “Alright, you take care. I’ll wait for you to come back for dinner!”
With fewer tasks in the team lately, Ye Xin decided to take a break from work altogether and spent the day digging her fish pond—well, technically a trench.
In the morning, she dug for a while, took a lunch break to enjoy a watermelon, and then dug some more in the afternoon before heading back to prepare dinner.
When Shen Zhuo returned that evening, instead of discussing his training session, he brought up something else. “I just got back and was called by the team leader to talk about tomorrow’s profit-sharing…”
Ye Xin perked up immediately at the mention of profit-sharing. “Oh right, the payout is happening tomorrow!”
Shen Zhuo continued, “I told the team leader you can collect my share for me.”
Her face broke into a wide grin. “Great!”
The profit-sharing day was bustling with excitement. No one was working; everyone was eager to get in line early. Since it was just about collecting money and didn’t require any hard labor, Ye Xin wasn’t in a rush. Instead, she took her time, dug a bit more in her trench, and only leisurely made her way down the slope after lunch.
To her surprise, when she arrived, the line was still incredibly long, and it looked like nothing had progressed. “What’s going on?” she wondered, a bit dazed.
At that moment, she spotted Wang Xiaowei, who was also taking her time to arrive. Seeing Ye Xin’s puzzled expression, she approached her and explained, “The money hasn’t been retrieved yet. We’ll have to wait a bit longer.”
Ye Xin was astonished. “It hasn’t been retrieved yet?”
Wang Youwei shrugged nonchalantly. “The team’s money is usually kept at the credit union for safety. The team leader and the deputy leader went to the town this morning to get it back.”
He glanced at the long line, shaking his head. “I told them not to rush, but they couldn’t help themselves and came out early to line up. They wasted their whole morning standing around.”
Currently, only Wang Xiaowei and Wang Youwei had just arrived. Having been settled in the countryside for a while, they were the most experienced and oldest in the Fengshui Brigade’s youth team. They were used to the annual processes and were in no hurry.
Even though it was still early, they figured they might as well wait since they were already here. After all, it wouldn’t be long before the money would be retrieved.
The weather was nice that day, so standing in the winter sun, chatting, was not so bad after all.
Ye Xin joined them at the back of the line and noticed some people had gotten hungry and were taking turns going home to eat. Others had brought stools and were munching on sunflower seeds, creating a lively atmosphere.
As they stood together, the three began to chat.
Wang Xiaowei asked Ye Xin, “Have you calculated your profit share yet?”
Ye Xin shook her head in confusion. “Do I need to calculate it myself? How do I do that? I thought it was like the grain distribution—when it’s our turn, the accountant would figure it out for us.”
Wang Youwei shook his head, “That’s the problem with being inexperienced.”
Wang Xiaowei explained, “The accountant will indeed do the calculations, but it’s good to know your own share as well. It’s not as complicated as the grain distribution system. A couple of days ago, they posted the public notice that this year, each work point is worth 1.8 cents. Since you live on the upper slope, you probably didn’t notice. You should calculate yours now.”
Ye Xin quickly did the math in her head. She had earned just over 1,200 work points, so at 1.8 cents per point, that meant…
Her eyes widened. “Huh? Just over 22 yuan!”
Wang Xiaowei hadn’t expected her to blurt it out. Most people kept that information to themselves. Seeing Ye Xin’s disappointed expression, she tried to comfort her. “You just arrived this year, and it’s normal to have lower earnings while you get used to the farm work. I only made a little over 50 yuan this year, which is considered average.”
Ye Xin felt a bit disheartened, realizing that her “average” was more than double what she had earned.
But this was a system that rewarded hard work, tangible fruits of labor, so there was really no reason to envy anyone. Besides, she had other sources of income and wasn’t relying solely on this year’s profit share to get by.
Ye Xin quickly adjusted her expression, smiling brightly as she exclaimed, “Sister Xiaowei, you’re amazing! I need to learn from you next year!”
Seeing the enthusiasm from both women, Wang Youwei felt there was no reason to hide his own results. “I made a little over 50 yuan, about four or five more than Xiaowei. Not too bad.”
This gave Ye Xin a clearer picture of everyone’s earnings. Wang Xiaowei and Wang Youwei were diligent and steady workers who rarely took time off. They didn’t manage to max out their work points every day, averaging about eight work points a day. This reflected the general performance level of most team members.
It seemed most people earned around 50 to 60 yuan, while those who were the strongest and worked full days could get upwards of 60 yuan. On the other hand, weaker women, young children, or those who had other commitments probably earned around 30 yuan. As for her own lazy efforts, she only racked up a little over 20 yuan.
Understanding this left her with a sigh.
Even for the hardest-working and strongest members of the team, earning a little over 60 yuan after a whole year was incredibly low—work points simply didn’t hold much value. The root of the issue lay in their current poverty; making money was an uphill battle.
“Here they come! They’re finally back!”
“I see them! They’re finally here!”
“Oh wow, we waited a long time for this!”
As she pondered, the crowd suddenly erupted in excitement—the team leader and others had finally returned. Ye Xin craned her neck to get a better look. Besides Team Leader Li Xingguo and Deputy Leader Li Jianbang, six or seven burly men accompanied them. It seemed they had brought along some strong guys as escorts, likely to deter anyone who might try to rob them on the way back. These days, theft during money transport was not uncommon.
The three of them felt a rush of energy. Even though they were usually laid-back, getting paid once a year was enough to stir some excitement.
Once the money was back, they began distributing it. The calculations were straightforward, and the line began to inch forward.
However, Ye Xin and her friends were at the back of the line, so they still had to wait a bit longer. They continued their conversation to pass the time.
Wang Youwei, typically quiet and unassuming, found it rare to chat with Ye Xin, but now that they were together, he seized the opportunity. “I heard you guys bought bricks? What’s the situation? Fill me in; I’d like to know more.”
Even though she had explained it before, Ye Xin patiently elaborated, “We bought them from Huangjia Village. Their tile factory expanded in October and became a brick factory, selling red bricks for three cents each.”
Wang Youwei asked, “Are the bricks sturdy? Red bricks aren’t commonly used in the village; most people use yellow clay bricks.”
Ye Xin replied, “They’re decent. After being delivered, we hardly found any damaged ones. We mainly used them to build a bathing area. Now that it’s up, we haven’t noticed any weaknesses—it’s quite sturdy. If it weren’t for the water usage, we wouldn’t even have needed red bricks.”
Wang Youwei nodded thoughtfully. “How big is the bathing area? How many bricks and tiles did you use? I’m not prying; I just want to get an idea of how much it costs to build a place. If it’s convenient for you to share, great; if not, no pressure.”
Ye Xin found his directness refreshing and laughed, “What’s inconvenient about it? We’re all comrades here.”
So she detailed the dimensions of the bathing area, how many bricks and tiles they had used, the amount of cement, and the costs for the workers who delivered the bricks and the mason they hired.
Since this wasn’t a secret, she felt no need to hide it. Many in the village would be curious anyway, and sharing her story would likely spark discussions. After all, even though times were tough and the situation unstable, things were evolving. In the future, using red bricks instead of yellow clay for building would become more common. Rather than keeping it under wraps, it was better to be open about it—who knew, she might even benefit from the increased interest.
Her voice was clear and melodious, her logic easy to follow, making it simple for everyone to understand. Not only were the two fellow youth attentive, but a few others in the line ahead were also listening intently.
The group around them listened intently, nodding in understanding as Ye Xin shared her insights.
Wang Youwei, clearly appreciative, replied, “Thank you for that. I had no idea what to expect before. But hearing you break down the materials and the costs one by one gives me a much clearer picture. I’ve learned a lot.”
With a smile, Ye Xin waved off his gratitude and took the opportunity to learn more about this still unfamiliar comrade. “Brother Youwei, where are you from, and when did you come down here?”
At this, Wang Youwei shook his head with a sigh. “I’m from the northern Shaanxi region, quite a distance from here. I came here in ’63; it’s almost been eight years now. But I wasn’t one of the first; there were still a couple of other youth with me back then. They all left during the student movement, when the nationwide tours began… They urged me to join them, but I felt it wasn’t the right time, so I stayed behind.”
Ye Xin nodded, understanding that he was referring to a tumultuous period. “So, you’ve really put down roots here, being one of the older youth in the area.”
Wang Youwei sighed again. “What else can I do? After so many years, there’s been no news about returning to the city. I guess I’ll be here for life.”
He looked a bit worn, nearing thirty, with a receding hairline and a disheveled appearance that hinted at a life hard-lived. The faint scent of smoke lingered around him. Although Ye Xin wasn’t fond of the smell, she found his personality quite agreeable; he seemed to be the calm and steady type.
Perhaps the years spent in the countryside had dimmed his hopes of returning to the city, leaving him a bit dispirited and resembling a weary worker.
Ye Xin felt a pang of empathy for him.
As they continued their conversation, the line inched forward, finally bringing them to the front. Wang Xiaowei and Wang Youwei urged her, the new arrival, to go first. Gratefully, Ye Xin stepped up, stated her name, and after the accountant checked the ledger, she received her little over 22 yuan in dividends.
Next, she called out Shen Zhuo’s name.
Since the team leader had already checked with Shen Zhuo beforehand, everything went smoothly, and she successfully collected his share. Shen Zhuo had missed some work earlier in the year due to his father’s accident but had managed to catch up a bit later on. Overall, he accumulated about 2,400 work points, earning over 43 yuan—almost double what Ye Xin received.
After collecting the money, Ye Xin waved goodbye to Wang Xiaowei and Wang Youwei, heading back up the slope.
When Shen Zhuo returned home that evening, she proudly presented the cash to him. “Here’s your dividend—over 40 yuan! Not too shabby.”
He glanced at the money and replied, “You keep it; I still have some cash on me.”
Ye Xin shook her head, “I just wanted to show you! Of course, I’m keeping it! I’ve spent quite a bit already, and I don’t have much left.”
Shen Zhuo quickly insisted, “Then you should use it to buy something nice.”
Seeing his earnestness, Ye Xin accepted without hesitation, tucking the money away.