Chapter 009

Lin Xiaohan didn’t continue the conversation with Chu Xia.

He averted his gaze, finished his meal in a few quick bites, washed his bowl, grabbed his bag, and left.

Chu Xia didn’t linger either. She picked up her pace, finished her meal, and slung her backpack on her shoulders before heading out.

She followed behind Lin Xiaohan, walking in the same direction toward the school.

Once they arrived, Lin Xiaohan opened the gate and went straight into the office.

He sat down and pulled out a pen and paper from his bag, then began writing something in earnest.

Chu Xia took a seat at a desk nearby.

Thanks to her excellent eyesight, she glanced over and saw what he’d written at the top of his notebook: “Enrollment Notice.”

Chu Xia figured he was drafting an announcement to be read over the village’s loudspeaker system at the brigade office, informing everyone that Tanxi Primary School was reopening and encouraging them to enroll their children.

That was how student recruitment was usually done, but…

Chu Xia thought for a moment, then said, “That’s not going to work.”

Lin Xiaohan paused and looked at her, his expression less than friendly.

Chu Xia met his gaze and elaborated, “You won’t attract any students that way.”

Clearly, Lin Xiaohan didn’t take her words seriously.

He turned back and finished writing. Since it was a short announcement, he completed it quickly.

Then, with his notebook in hand, he left the office without a word.

Chu Xia didn’t follow him. After he left, she pulled out her own pen and paper, laid it on the desk, and began writing a letter home.

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Dear Mom and Dad,

It’s been almost a month since I left home. How have you been?

I miss you both every day. I often find myself wishing I could go home, even just for a moment.

I feel deeply guilty for insisting on joining the rural campaign against your wishes. I regret it, not because life here is unbearable, but because I now realize how much I must have hurt you.

Please don’t worry about me. I won’t stay out here forever. It’s only a matter of time before I come back to you. I’ll work hard to make that happen sooner, and when I do, I’ll make it up to you and be the daughter you deserve.

Life here isn’t too bad. I’m using this time to temper myself, to grow stronger…

Halfway through writing her letter, a sudden voice crackled from the village loudspeaker: “Hello? Hello?”

Chu Xia paused, pen in hand, and listened as Liang Youtian’s voice came through: “Attention all members, please stop what you’re doing and listen for a moment. Our brigade has decided to reopen the village primary school starting this year. Enrollment begins today, and there are no age restrictions. We ask that all parents bring their children to the school office to register. Again, please bring your children to the school office to register…”

Chu Xia didn’t pay much attention to it and went back to writing her letter.

Before she finished, Lin Xiaohan returned from the brigade office.

She looked up at the sound of footsteps, gave him a glance, then lowered her head and continued writing.

She had a lot to say to her parents and ended up filling two full pages.

After signing off with the date, she reread the letter from the beginning.

Finding nothing else to add, she tore out the two pages, folded them, put them back in her bag along with her notebook, and then rested her chin in her hands at the desk, slipping into idleness.

She knew no one was going to come to enroll, but she didn’t bother telling Lin Xiaohan.

After all, even if she said it a hundred times, he wouldn’t believe her. Better to let the facts speak for themselves.

For now, she was just going to take it easy, stay near him as much as possible, and absorb the “magnetic energy” he gave off.

Once his enrollment method failed, then she’d speak up.

So, Lin Xiaohan spent the entire morning sitting in the office waiting for students to register.

Chu Xia stayed nearby the whole time, not going anywhere.

As the sun climbed higher in the sky, still no one came. Lin Xiaohan’s breathing was clearly less calm than it had been earlier—he began exhaling louder and deeper.

Chu Xia figured it was about time. She looked at him and said, “I told you it wouldn’t work.”

Lin Xiaohan turned his head to her, still putting on that smug, indifferent face. “What do you know? Everyone’s out working. They don’t have time to come sign up.”

Chu Xia nodded with a look that said, “Okay, whatever you say.” “So… should we wait again after lunch?”

Lin Xiaohan ignored her, packed up his things, and walked off.

Chu Xia, of course, slung her bag over her shoulder and followed him out—but once outside the school gates, she made sure not to stick too close, trying to look like she wasn’t deliberately tailing him.

Back at the educated youth dormitory, the others hadn’t yet returned from the fields.

Lin Xiaohan started making lunch, and so did Chu Xia. He ate, and she sat down to eat too. Then he went to pump water and wash clothes in the courtyard, and she followed to do the same.

As he scrubbed his laundry, Lin Xiaohan glanced over at her.

Sensing his gaze, Chu Xia paused and looked back, feigning confusion as she asked, “Why are you staring at me like that?”

He shot back, “What are you trying to do?”

Chu Xia blinked, acting innocent. “I’m not trying to do anything.”

Lin Xiaohan stared at her.

Just yesterday, she’d been avoiding him like the plague—acting like she didn’t even want to exist on the same planet. And now she’d been within his line of sight all day. It was clearly off.

But when he looked into her eyes, he started second-guessing himself.

Among the dozen or so people at the dorm, Tang Chu Xia had always been the airhead. Ever since she was little, her brain had room for only one thing: Han Ting.

Sure, she seemed a bit sharper these past couple of days, but it still didn’t seem likely that she’d suddenly developed cunning.

Her eyes were so clear and transparent, like glass—there wasn’t a trace of calculation in them.

So Lin Xiaohan said nothing more, lowered his head, and went back to washing clothes.

Chu Xia quietly suppressed the smile that was creeping onto her lips and returned to her laundry too.

By the time they finished and stepped out of the courtyard, the others were just getting back from the fields.

Lin Xiaohan didn’t greet them, walking out like they didn’t even exist.

Chaozi and Guogai were about to say hi to Chu Xia—

But before they could, she deliberately avoided their eyes and, just like Lin Xiaohan, treated them like air, brushing past and walking out of the courtyard.

The two of them stared after her in confusion.

Guogai clicked his tongue. “What’s going on? Did Chu Xia forget who we are, or did becoming a teacher go straight to her head? She saw us and didn’t even blink.”

Han Ting, visibly annoyed, snapped, “Forget her.”

With that, the others stopped commenting and headed to the well to pump water. After washing their hands and shaking them dry, they all went into the kitchen.

Today it was the boys’ turn to cook, and they were making coarse grain porridge again.

They tossed grain and water into the pot, and Chaozi and Guogai squeezed into the stove alcove to build the fire while the rest sat around the table, chatting and waiting for the food to be ready.

Working the fields all morning had exhausted them.

Gu Yuzhu slumped, her face drained, voice full of complaint: “Coarse grain porridge again? It’s no better than pig feed. I’m going to puke if I have to eat one more bowl.”

It had only been four or five meals, and she was already fed up.

Before they had their own stove, they used to complain about never getting enough to eat at the villagers’ homes. Everyone had been eager to cook for themselves, thinking life would improve. But it turned out things only got worse.

At least at the villagers’ homes, even if the food wasn’t enough and still coarse, there were steamed buns and pickles, sometimes even a stir-fried dish. Now they had nothing but plain porridge that was hard to swallow.

Chaozi tossed in a handful of straw, and the fire flared up. “This is all we’ve got. Like it or not, we still have to eat—and keep working.”

When they’d come to the countryside, most of them didn’t bring much, either due to limited family resources or poor planning. Guys like Han Ting, Chaozi, and Guogai came with barely more than a few changes of clothes.

By now, all the snacks they brought were long gone.

No one had anything like pickled vegetables or canned food to improve the meals.

They all looked at each other and sighed helplessly.

Li Qiao thought for a moment, then suggested, “Why don’t we try steaming some buns? I saw that Lin Xiaohan and Chu Xia both steamed some. The grains taste better as steamed buns than as porridge.”

Gu Yuzhu looked at her and asked, “You know how to steam buns?”

Li Qiao shook her head, “I don’t know how to cook at all. I’ve never cooked at home. The only thing I can do is add water to make porridge. I can’t even cook rice properly—it always comes out undercooked.”

Gu Yuzhu glanced around at the others. Every one of them shook their head.

She sighed again. “None of us can cook—so what’s the point of even talking about it?”

Then Hu Yang, one of the male sent-down youths, spoke up: “Why don’t you all just learn? What kind of woman doesn’t know how to cook?”

Gu Yuzhu snapped back at him, “Why should we be the ones to learn? Can’t you learn to cook?”

Hu Yang retorted, “Seriously? You can’t even cook. How are you going to get married?”

Gu Yuzhu shot back, “Well, I sure as hell won’t be marrying you, so don’t worry about it!”

The two were about to argue again when Han Ting stepped in to stop them.

Everyone respected Han Ting, so they immediately quieted down.

After a pause, Han Ting said, “Here’s what we’ll do—after lunch, we’ll go ask the locals where we can get grain ground into flour and how to steam buns. The guys will carry the grain to get it ground, and once it’s flour, the girls can steam the buns. Sound fair?”

Everyone looked at one another.

Chaozi, by the stove, quickly agreed, “Brother Ting, if you say so, then that’s what we’ll do. We’ll follow your lead.”

The others also nodded in agreement. They all trusted Han Ting.

But for now, all they had was more coarse grain porridge.

Li Qiao suddenly had another idea and suggested, “Chu Xia steamed a whole bunch of buns that she hasn’t eaten yet. Why don’t we eat hers for this meal and steam new ones to pay her back later?”

Everyone thought that sounded like a good idea and turned to Han Ting to see what he’d say.

But Han Ting didn’t agree. After a moment of silence, he said, “Let’s just tough it out this time. She’s in a pretty prickly mood right now—not as generous and easygoing as before. If she decides to make a fuss, it’ll be a whole mess.”

Hearing that, Chen Sisi visibly deflated. Her back slumped forward like a shrimp curling up.

Guogai voiced what everyone was thinking, “Chu Xia’s being really weird. None of us offended her. Things were fine before. But ever since we started cooking separately, she suddenly turned cold on us. If this were a normal group effort, we wouldn’t be having all these issues.”

Still hunched over, Chen Sisi murmured, “You all keep saying she’s just being moody and will come around in a few days. But the way I see it, she’s dead set on cutting ties with us. I don’t know if she can hold out, but I feel like I’m about to break. Living like this is just too hard.”

Li Qiao gave her a quick pat and whispered, “Why are you boosting her morale and crushing our own? Every household has its own problems. We have ours, and I’m sure she has hers. When she runs into trouble and realizes she’s got no one to turn to, how long do you think she can keep up the tough act? We’ve got strength in numbers—what problem can’t we solve together? Don’t give up so easily.”

Chen Sisi quickly shut her mouth and stopped complaining.