Chapter 16

Ye Huan couldn’t tell if Xu Aixiang had slept at all that night. In the morning, Xu Aixiang looked utterly exhausted, her face pale as a vegetable, with dark circles under her eyes.

Gao Qinggui, who lived in the adjacent room, exclaimed in surprise, “Aixiang, what did you do last night? Look at those dark circles—did you not sleep at all?”

Xu Aixiang hadn’t slept a wink. She’d spent the entire night running to the toilet, first to pee, then with diarrhea, and by morning, she was completely drained.

If she hadn’t been afraid of being laughed at the next morning, she might have even taken Ye Huan’s suggestion—moving a stool into the toilet and spending the night there. At least that would’ve been better than running back and forth all night.

Xu Aixiang dared not tell the truth. Just as she was scrambling for an excuse, Ye Huan bluntly revealed it: “She ate too much Watermelon Sauce yesterday and kept drinking water—first hot water, then cold when the hot ran out. That gave her diarrhea, and she spent the whole night running to the toilet, keeping me awake.”

She gorges herself to death and then blames her mother for making the Watermelon Sauce too salty?

Even Ye Huan, with her usually mild temperament, couldn’t tolerate such nonsense.

Xu Aixiang was furious. Ye Huan might’ve been awake at first, but only to laugh at her. Later, she must have fallen asleep like a pig—so soundly that even thunder wouldn’t have woken her.

Xu Aixiang stubbornly denied it. “I didn’t…”

The straightforward Comrade Yao Yujuan delivered the final blow. “You definitely had diarrhea. I’m a heavy sleeper, but you woke me up several times last night. I opened my eyes to see you shuffling out in your slippers, clutching your stomach.”

That sealed it. Xu Aixiang’s face flushed with embarrassment. Her stomach was still cramping painfully, and she couldn’t eat. She turned and retreated to her room.

Ye Huan paid her no mind. After finishing breakfast, she told Lian Yanmei she was heading to the farm gate.

…..

The bus to town was mostly filled with women.

Xu Guochao’s wife, Chen Feng’e, was also taking her child to town that day.

Xu Guochao had two siblings: an older brother and a younger sister. He was the middle child. His brother worked at the cigarette factory in Qingshi Town, and their mother usually lived with him there.

His sister had married and moved to Siping City. Recently, the old woman had gone to visit her daughter for an extended stay. Yesterday, Xu Guochao heard from Li Mingjie that his mother had returned, so he immediately told his wife.

Chen Feng’e, who hadn’t seen her mother-in-law in a while, decided to take her child to town to visit her.

She knew nearly everyone on the farm. Seeing Ye Huan’s unfamiliar face, she asked, “You’re one of the new educated youths, right?”

Ye Huan nodded.

“What’s your name?”

“Ye Huan.”

“I thought so—you don’t look silly at all.” Chen Feng’e turned to chat with the woman beside her. “I heard a new girl arrived yesterday. When Quan Gui drove the tractor to pick people up, she refused the ride and insisted on walking herself. Took the wrong road and was missing until nightfall! Scared Lao Xu half to death. They sent the tractor out to look for her and found her at Xiaohan Village. Isn’t that silly? How do you even end up at Xiaohan Village ?”

The woman beside her thought she was talking about Ye Huan and tugged her sleeve, subtly gesturing toward Ye Huan with her chin.

Sure, they weren’t particularly fond of the educated youths, but calling someone “silly” to their face—especially a young women—was still a bit much.

“No, not her,” Chen Feng’e clarified. “It was another one. She arrived in Commander Gu’s vehicle yesterday.”

She turned to Ye Huan for confirmation. “You came in Commander Gu’s vehicle, right?”

“Yes,” Ye Huan replied. “Fang Hui went to pick him up, and another person and I hitched a ride.”

Gu Cheng was a legendary figure in both the military and the farm, far more captivating than Yao Yujuan. The women’s conversation immediately shifted to Gu Cheng.

“Commander Gu must be home visiting his family, right?”

“Maybe he’s back to find a wife.”

“He’s not young anymore, and still single?”

“I haven’t heard anything about him having one.”

“My sister-in-law came over last time and immediately took a liking to him. Kept pestering me to match her niece with him. But I didn’t dare—just look at him, clearly not from an ordinary family. No way he’d be interested in someone from our backwater village.”

“You never know. Maybe they’d hit it off.”

“Come on, with his looks and status, he must have high standards. Old Xu told me he’s had plenty of marriage prospects, but he hasn’t shown interest in any of them. If he had, his kids would probably be old enough to buy soy sauce by now.”

“I heard he’s super strict when training the troops. Even the female soldiers are scared of him.”

“Strict training is good—it produces good soldiers. That commander from the second battalion is way too soft. I don’t like him.”

“Didn’t his wife come join him at the beginning of the year? Sun Yuzhen, who lives next door, says they argue constantly.”

“That’s right. I heard she was notorious for her temper back in their hometown—argued with half the village!”

“If he didn’t have such a good temper, they’d never get along. Two hotheads would clash.”

“She just takes advantage of his good nature. If he had a temper, he’d have beaten her into submission long ago.”

…..

Their chatter drifted further and further off-topic.

The old ox pulling the flatbed cart walked slowly, munching on roadside grass now and then, just like Fang Hui had described.

Aside from Liu Quangui’s tractor, this ox was the farm’s most prized possession. Zhao Wu treated it like his own child—more precious than his own children. He never rushed it, letting it do as it pleased.

Everyone was used to it. After all, there was no urgent business. They figured it would get to town when it got there, and the journey was a perfect chance to catch up on the latest gossip.

The women gossiped non-stop, and Ye Huan listened intently. Their stories ranged from the military to the farm, and from the farm to the town.

A mother-in-law had abused her daughter-in-law, prompting the girl’s family to storm the house and smash everything. The mother-in-law hid in the outhouse for an entire day, afraid to show her face.

A father, blinded by greed, refused to let his son attend military academy—even though the boy had been accepted—because he wanted him to return home and support the family as the eldest son.

A girl unwilling to accept an arranged marriage ran to the Women’s Federation to report her parents…

There wasn’t a single scandal they didn’t know. Their stories were more captivating than any opera, and Ye Huan listened with rapt attention.

A jeep approached from behind, resembling the one Fang Hui had driven yesterday. Ye Huan wondered if Gu Cheng was at the wheel.

Perhaps to avoid startling the ox, the jeep slowed down well in advance and crept forward.

Zhao Wu steered the cart to the side of the road to let it pass.

The jeep’s window faced Ye Huan directly. She saw Gu Cheng driving, the only occupant.

She figured he’d just drive past, but to her surprise, he stopped and rolled down the window.

“Comrade Ye,” he called out.

Ye Huan blinked. “?”

Chen Feng nudged her. “Commander Gu is calling you, Old Zhao. Stop the ox cart and let Comrade Ye get off.”

The cart was moving so slowly that Ye Huan didn’t even have to wait—it was practically crawling. She jumped down and walked over. “Commander Gu, what is it?”

“Get in. This is faster.”

What luck! Ye Huan yanked open the door and climbed in, waving goodbye to Zhao Wu. “Master Zhao, I’m riding with him. Don’t wait for me.”

Gu Cheng started the engine, and the jeep smoothly accelerated, quickly leaving the oxcart behind.

“Commander Gu, are you going to town for work?”

“Mm, Heading to the Armed Forces Department to discuss this year’s militia training. What brings you to town?”

“If you ever want to call your family, just let me know. The base has a civilian line—much easier than going all the way to town.”

Technically, calls from the base’s civilian line weren’t free, but it didn’t matter. He could just put it on his tab.

That was way more convenient than the town post office. Ye Huan beamed and thanked him. “Great! Thank you, Commander Gu.”

“Just call me Gu…” He stopped mid-sentence, slamming on the brakes.

Caught off guard, Ye Huan’s head lurched toward the windshield.

Gu Cheng reacted swiftly. Gripping the wheel with one hand, he instinctively reached out with the other, stopping her forehead just before it hit the glass. Ye Huan pressed his palm against the windshield with a muffled thud.

Thanks to his palm, she didn’t get hurt, but Gu Cheng’s hand had taken the brunt of it.

He quickly pulled over, and Ye Huan asked anxiously, “Commander Gu, is your hand okay?”

Gu Cheng first checked her forehead. Seeing only a faint red mark, he relaxed. He flexed his wrist. “It’s fine. Stay here—I’ll check outside.”

He stepped out. Something had darted across the road, prompting the sudden stop.

Gu Cheng investigated and found a wild rabbit lying beneath the front wheel. It must’ve panicked and collided with the vehicle.

Not wanting to frighten Ye Huan, he tossed the bloody rabbit under the back seat.

Ye Huan asked, “Commander Gu, what did we hit just now?”

“A wild rabbit. And just call me Gu Cheng—from gu in ‘look back’ and cheng in ‘journey ahead.’”

Ye Huan grinned. “Sure. Then don’t call me Comrade Ye anymore either—just Ye Huan. Ye as in leaf, Huan as in joy.”

Gu Cheng’s lips curved ever so slightly. “Okay.”

…..

They soon reached town. Gu Cheng drove straight to the post office, opened the car door for Ye Huan, and waited until she entered the building before driving off.

The post office was small. When Ye Huan entered, only one staff member was inside, sewing packages with a needle and thread.

Ye Huan approached her. “Comrade, I need to make a long-distance call.”

“Where to?”

“Nanzhou.”