Who?!

When Qiao Jiuru heard this, her hands only paused for a moment.

She glanced at her husband, then continued swinging the hoe.

Just that one glance, and Su Huaiyuan understood his wife’s meaning. So, he hurriedly continued speaking.

“Ah-Ru, I think it’s Cai Qingwen, an old schoolmate from when I was in America. He’s from Haishi. Oh right, when we got married, I even wrote to him, and he came to attend our wedding.”

Su Huaiyuan quickly described him in more detail, hoping to jog her memory.

Clang.

Qiao Jiuru’s swinging hoe suddenly stopped.

Cai Qingwen?! She actually did remember this person.

Her impression of him came from when she was already in her seventies — when this man, in his old age, came back from overseas specifically to take his wife’s ashes home.

Passing through Jing City, he remembered his old schoolmate, Su Huaiyuan, and made a special visit to bid farewell.

But at that time, Su Huaiyuan had already passed away, so she was the one who met him.

Cai Qingwen never expected that his old friend had been gone for years, and when he learned about the tragic fate of Su Huaiyuan’s family, the elderly Cai had wept bitterly, full of grief.

He also shared his own story with Qiao Jiuru.

Much like the Su family, Cai Qingwen and his wife were also reported by others.

After being denounced, their son and daughter-in-law not only identified them but immediately cut off all ties.

The couple, hit by this double blow, were angry, hurt, and helpless.

Besides their son, they had a younger daughter.

She had just graduated high school and worked for half a year, but after her parents got into trouble, her work unit also dismissed her.

Cai Qingwen’s daughter refused to sever ties with her parents.

With no job, she eventually had no choice but to go to the countryside.

Shortly after the couple was sent down to the countryside, their daughter Cai Min broke off with her older brother’s family and left for Guangdong Province to join the rural reeducation program.

“Cai Qingwen’s wife died in the third year of being sent down. I heard it was due to illness and lack of treatment. In the end, only he persisted until they could return to Haishi.”

“Less than a year after returning to Haishi, Cai Qingwen took his daughter and their returned property and emigrated to the U.S.”

“By the late 1990s, he came back just once to take his wife’s ashes away. After that, he had no more attachments here and never returned.”

Remembering the meeting she had with Cai Qingwen, Qiao Jiuru felt a sour ache in her heart.

But honestly, Cai’s family fared much better than theirs — at least they were still alive.

“Old Cai is truly loyal and sentimental.”

Su Huaiyuan wiped his eyes.

He hadn’t expected that Cai Qingwen would still remember him after all these years.

It really touched his heart.

Qiao Jiuru nodded, though she was surprised — she hadn’t known that Cai Qingwen and his wife had been sent to Baigou Village.

Back then, she had only listened to his story and hadn’t asked any questions.

After all, she was barely surviving herself, like a walking corpse — how could she spare the energy to care about others?

Being sent to Baigou Village was already better than many other places, but illness was something no ordinary person could control.

There was no one to blame.

“Did you see his wife this morning?”

“Doesn’t seem like it. I only saw him alone, and he didn’t talk to anyone.”

When his wife asked about Cai Qingwen’s wife, Su Huaiyuan thought carefully and then shook his head. The two female comrades they saw didn’t seem like his old classmate’s wife.

“Let’s just keep an eye out. If Cai Qingwen comes to find us, we’ll help each other out. If he doesn’t seek us out or doesn’t want contact, then we’ll just act like we don’t know each other.”

Qiao Jiuru thought about it and decided this was the best approach.

If they had the ability and conditions, she was willing to lend a hand.

“All right, you should go back and eat.”

It was getting late; other families had probably already eaten and were resting, while they were still digging in the fields. Qiao Jiuru hurriedly urged him.

Of course, Su Huaiyuan listened to everything his wife said. Whatever Ah-Ru decided was what they would do. She was the one in charge.

“Ah-Ru, after I eat, I’ll come right back. We’ve slept enough at night, so it’s fine if we don’t sleep during the day.”

In their space (referring to their secret supply space), they had eaten and rested well. They couldn’t afford to slack off now — they couldn’t leave any handle for others to grab onto.

“That works.”

Qiao Jiuru also remembered that they were well-rested at night in the space, so even if they worked hard and tired during the day, it wasn’t a big deal. She agreed.

“Don’t forget to put ointment on Xiao Ze’s hands.”

“Got it.”

Su Huaiyuan hurried back, but halfway there, he ran into his son, who had eaten, rested, and was carrying a hoe.

“Dad, where’s Mom?!”

“She’s still in the field. Come home with me first so we can put ointment on your hands before you keep working.”

Su Huaiyuan told his son to go home first for the ointment.

Su Ze didn’t think too much of it — he assumed his parents had asked Uncle Jiu for it — so he followed back home to apply the ointment before returning to work.

It was his first time in the fields, his first time doing farm work.

It was tiring, painful, and hard on his hands, but Su Ze never thought about giving up. If his father could endure it, why couldn’t he?

Besides, this was just the beginning.

This kind of work was what they’d be doing day after day, month after month, year after year. The sooner he adapted, the less bitter it would feel.

Most importantly, Su Ze also thought of the educated youth — they were doing the same heavy labor as them, only their identities were different.

So at this moment, Su Ze’s mindset was peaceful. He wasn’t resentful, wasn’t complaining, wasn’t discouraged, and certainly wasn’t giving up.

Before long, he had applied the ointment.

His hands no longer burned painfully like before — now they felt cool and soothing, no longer hurting.

In a good mood, Su Ze rushed back to the field to work overtime.

From afar, he saw his mother, confidently and skillfully digging the land with powerful strokes, and he was completely stunned.

It seemed… his mother knew everything.

It seemed like she was amazing at whatever she did.