Chapter 006

The sun hung low in the western sky.

Out in the fields, Han Ting and the others were applying fertilizer to the wheat sprouts alongside the villagers.

As usual, Su Yun was working with Han Ting.

She held her nose with one hand and wielded a scoop with the other. Every time she splashed a ladle of manure, she’d rush back to the ridge and dry heave.

Working one-handed was already slow, and paired with her frequent breaks to catch her breath, she barely managed a few scoops the whole afternoon. With so little work done, her earned work points were naturally meager.

Eventually, Han Ting just told her to rest on the ridge.

Of course, Su Yun felt embarrassed doing nothing at all—after all, they were earning points as a team.

So she’d take a short break, then come back to splash on another token scoop—just for appearances.

This time, as she came back refreshed, Han Ting simply took the scoop from her hands.

He told her, “If you can’t do it, don’t force it. Listen to me—just go rest on the side. I’ll handle everything. If anyone has a problem with that, they can talk to me. Don’t worry about it.”

Su Yun covered her nose and said, “You’re always looking out for me… I feel bad about it.”

Han Ting suddenly leaned in close and whispered in her ear, “Then repay me with your heart.”

In broad daylight, surrounded by people, Su Yun blushed furiously and gave him a shove.

After that, she didn’t pretend anymore. She went straight to the ridge, held her stomach, and sat down with an exaggerated look of discomfort—making her retreat seem more justified.

But no matter how well she faked it, someone was bound to be upset.

Seeing her lounging on the ridge again, Li Qiao whispered to Chen Sisi, “Look at that—she’s back on the ridge again. How can she be so shameless?”

Chen Sisi glanced over at Su Yun and whispered back, “She’s holding her stomach. Maybe she’s really not feeling well. And with Han Ting protecting her like that… just let it go.”

Li Qiao still wasn’t happy but said no more. She bit back her annoyance and returned to work.

After watering a couple more rows, she suddenly remembered something. Squinting into the distance, she looked around and then asked Chen Sisi, “Hey, have you seen Lin Xiaohan and Chu Xia today? Did they skip work?”

Hearing this, Chen Sisi paused and looked around too.

After scanning the area, she said, “Seems like they’re not here.”

That was strange.

Those two had never missed a day of work before.

Curious, Li Qiao turned and called out to Aunt Wu nearby, “Auntie, have you seen Chu Xia and Lin Xiaohan? They didn’t even come back to the commune for lunch.”

Without stopping her work, Aunt Wu replied, “Comrades Lin and Chu won’t be working in the fields with us anymore. They’ve got other duties now.”

Li Qiao was intrigued. “What kind of duties?”

The other educated youth also paused, curious and turning their attention toward Aunt Wu.

Still working, Aunt Wu explained, “Our brigade plans to reopen the primary school. The secretary and the brigade leader had a meeting yesterday and chose Comrade Lin and Comrade Chu to be the teachers. They’ll be teaching the children from now on—with a proper salary. No more toiling in the fields for them.”

What?! That kind of opportunity actually existed?

Everyone was stunned—then quickly envious.

Li Qiao raised her voice and asked, “Why them?”

Aunt Wu smiled. “Why do you think?”

Caught off guard by the question, Li Qiao choked and swallowed hard, falling silent.

Gripping her manure scoop, she went back to work—but the fertilizer smelled even more unbearable than before.

---

Evening. After work.

On the way back to the commune.

The ten educated youths returned in three groups.

The five male youths walked ahead, Li Qiao, Chen Sisi, and Gu Yuzhu in the middle, and Han Ting with Su Yun trailing far behind.

Up front, Li Qiao grumbled, “Making Lin Xiaohan a teacher? What are they thinking? A two-faced guy like that—what kind of kids could he possibly teach? He’d ruin them.”

Gu Yuzhu added, “I think Tang Chu Xia’s even less suited. She’s so dull and stiff, like she has nothing going on upstairs. What kind of education could she possibly provide?”

Chen Sisi said, “But the villagers think they’re the best.”

Gu Yuzhu snorted, “Being good at farm work just means they’re suited to be farmers. How does that qualify them to be teachers? The whole system is messed up.”

That last sentence was dangerously subversive.

Li Qiao immediately reached out and covered Gu Yuzhu’s mouth.

In the rear.

Su Yun took a soft breath and said, “I really envy Chu Xia.”

Han Ting looked at her. “You want to be a teacher?”

Su Yun shot back, “Don’t you?”

Han Ting replied, “Of course not. Facing a bunch of brats every day, lecturing about morals and ideology? What’s fun about that?”

Su Yun said, “Even if it’s boring, it’s still easier than working in the fields.”

Han Ting thought for a moment, then said, “How about this—I’ll talk to Chu Xia tonight, get a clear picture of the situation. Maybe she can give you the opportunity instead. What do you think?”

Su Yun hesitated. “Wouldn’t that be too much?”

Han Ting smiled. “Why would it? I watched Chu Xia grow up—she’s not cut out to be a teacher. The job should go to someone like you—unsuited for field work but perfect for the classroom.”

Su Yun considered it, then said, “I really can’t handle all this rural labor. I’ve only managed thanks to your help these past days, but I can’t keep dragging everyone down. So… if you’re willing, then yes. Ask her for me. If she agrees, I’ll definitely find a way to repay her.”

Han Ting said bluntly, “You don’t need to worry about repaying me.”

Su Yun was once again moved and emotional. “I really have to thank you. When I first came to the countryside, I had no idea how I was going to survive. Thankfully, I met you.”

Han Ting replied, “Meeting me was the right call.”

Su Yun smiled, her eyes filled with affection as she glanced at Han Ting before turning to look elsewhere.

…

In the warm glow of the setting sun, Chu Xia stood in the courtyard, exhaling deeply.

She and Lin Xiaohan had spent another half-day cleaning, and they finally finished tidying up the entire school, inside and out.

Now, looking at the freshly cleaned campus, she felt physically exhausted, but inwardly, she was filled with satisfaction and joy.

Especially when she imagined children coming here to study every day—it made all the effort feel worthwhile.

Lin Xiaohan, on the other hand, didn’t seem to share her sentimental thoughts.

He walked straight out of the school gate without looking back and tossed a sentence over his shoulder: “Don’t forget to lock the gate.”

Chu Xia looked at him and responded, “Got it.”

After Lin Xiaohan left, Chu Xia finally relaxed.

She headed back into the classroom, stepped onto the podium, cleared her throat, and pretended the classroom was filled with students. She practiced changing her tone and expressions, trying to get a feel for how to act as a teacher.

Once she’d had her fill of pretend teaching, she left the school and headed back to the educated youth compound, her heart light. She walked against the backdrop of the last rays of sunset, her face glowing with joy.

When she returned to the compound, the others were gathered in the kitchen, chatting loudly over dinner.

Chu Xia knew she couldn’t just blend into that kind of atmosphere like air anymore. So instead of joining them, she went straight to the dormitory and took out three small white woven sacks.

She filled them with dried sorghum, corn, and sweet potato slices that had been laid out to dry.

Just as she was packing the sweet potatoes, she heard someone call from the kitchen—Chaozi’s voice.

“Chu Xia, you’re back?”

Chu Xia turned to see him standing outside the kitchen, having just finished eating.

She gave him a polite smile and responded casually, “Yeah.”

Chaozi asked, “I heard the brigade is reopening the primary school, and they picked you to be a teacher?”

It wasn’t a secret, but Chu Xia didn’t feel like showing off.

So she simply replied, “Mm-hmm, that’s right.”

Chaozi sounded envious. “Chu Xia, you really are lucky.”

Chu Xia just gave a faint smile and didn’t respond. She packed the last handful of sweet potato slices into the bag, put the sieve away, then grabbed a dry sorghum brush and carried the three sacks outside.

Just as Chu Xia left, the others finished their meal and came out of the kitchen.

Han Ting glanced around the courtyard and asked Chaozi, “I think I heard you talking to Chu Xia just now. Where is she?”

Chaozi answered, “She went out with some grain.”

Han Ting nodded. “Let’s wait for her to come back.”

Life in the countryside was tough, and there weren’t any machines for milling grain.

Every household in the Tanxi Brigade used stone mills to grind flour.

There was a communal mill for public use, though wealthier families might have one of their own.

Chu Xia didn’t want to trouble any villagers, so she naturally went to the brigade’s communal mill.

She was lucky today—when she arrived, no one else was there.

Usually, there was a queue because everyone needed flour for cooking.

Since she came alone and didn’t have much physical strength, she didn’t use the large millstone in the center of the room.

That one required a strong man or two or three weaker people working together.

Instead, Chu Xia chose a smaller, lighter millstone off to the side.

She brushed the stone clean with her sorghum brush, then poured the sorghum grains onto the top. As she pushed the millstone, she fed more grains into the opening.

The top stone spun with a low hum, and fine powder slowly seeped out from between the two stones.

Grinding flour this way was tiring and dull, so Chu Xia passed the time by softly humming a song.

She chose “Let Us Sway Twin Oars Together”—a song about rowing a boat in Beihai Park.