Chapter 11: Touch-and-go

The next day, at three in the morning.  

Just as the sky began to lighten, Zhao Feng quietly left the house, walked several miles to the woods, picked up a bundle of dry firewood, tied it up, and hid it.  

Then he went to the riverbank, gathered a basket of willow sprouts, and carried the firewood back.  

By six thirty, smoke was rising from every household in the village.  

The educated youth point was in the southeast corner of the village. Zhao Feng took a detour from outside the village and, seeing Zhuang Lan carrying a shoulder pole and two empty buckets, hurried over.  

“Don’t move, I’ll do it.” Zhao Feng put down the firewood and the basket of wild vegetables, reaching out to take the pole.  

Zhuang Lan dodged his hand, refusing, “No need.”  

Zhao Feng insisted, “Heavy work should be done by men. How can women do this kind of work?”  

“You have your younger brother to inherit the family job; how can a daughter do it?”  

It was as if Zhuang Lan heard her parents’ words from before going to the countryside. She stubbornly gripped the pole tighter, “Whatever a man can do, I can do too. I’ll carry it myself.”  

“Since I’m here, fetching water is my job.” Zhao Feng firmly took the pole and buckets, and before she could respond, strode away.  

With his long legs, Zhao Feng quickly outpaced Zhuang Lan, who only managed two steps before falling farther behind and had to stop.  

Zhao Feng turned back and pointed to the firewood on the ground, “That’s for you. You’re a female educated youth—don’t go collecting firewood outside the village alone. It’s not safe.”  

“I…”  

Zhuang Lan was about to refuse, but he was already too far away, so she swallowed her words.  

She looked at the bundle of firewood, unwilling to accept it.  

But Zhao Feng’s basket and firewood were conspicuously placed in the middle of the yard, so Zhuang Lan decided to move them outside to avoid other educated youth seeing them.  

Just as she squatted down and touched the firewood, Zhao Feng’s voice suddenly rang out again, “Don’t move. I’ll handle it when I’m back from fetching water.”  

Zhuang Lan was startled, her eyes full of confusion: Didn’t you leave?  

Zhao Feng scratched his head and really left this time.  

The communal well was in the courtyard of the team committee. Remembering what his second sister said, Zhao Feng deliberately detoured to his own family’s well to fetch water.  

One round trip took about ten minutes.  

Zhao Feng went back and forth three times. After emptying the last two buckets, the water tank was full. He then looked at Zhuang Lan eagerly, “Any other work?”  

By this time, other educated youth were stirring.  

Zhuang Lan didn’t want anyone to see and, feeling both anxious and embarrassed, said, “No, today’s just an exception. Yesterday, another female educated youth and I used up all the water. Usually, it’s the male educated youth who fetch the water.”  

Yesterday, Su Limei wanted to boil water for a bath, and she also bathed, so the tank was completely emptied.  

Su Limei naturally suggested asking the male educated youth to fetch water, but Zhuang Lan couldn’t feel at ease with that.  

Besides, among the four male educated youth, she didn’t like the attentiveness of the senior ones. Fu Hang, the new one, was clearly from a well-off intellectual family, and she didn’t feel comfortable asking him, let alone always asking another male educated youth for help.  

There was also noise from the female educated youths’ room. Zhuang Lan hurriedly urged, “You should go. There’s really nothing else for you to do.”  

Zhao Feng glanced to the side and looked a bit disappointed, but he didn’t say anything.  

He left the basket and firewood at the courtyard gate, not looking at the firewood. He grabbed half of the willow sprouts from the basket, placed them on the ground, and turned to leave.  

Zhuang Lan saw this, bit her lip, and called out, “Wait.”  

Zhao Feng turned around abruptly, his eyes seemingly glowing.  

Zhuang Lan choked for a moment and told him to go behind the willow tree to talk.  

Zhao Feng happily followed her.  

Once they reached a spot where they wouldn’t be seen, Zhuang Lan stopped, pinched the seam of her pants, took several deep breaths, and spoke, “I misunderstood you before. I’m sorry.”  

Zhao Feng grinned foolishly, “It’s fine.” 

After Zhuang Lan started speaking, it became much easier to continue, “I’ve also heard about how your second sister gave her job to your elder sister. No matter what, it was wrong of me to have prejudices without knowing anything. I owe you an apology.”  

Her attitude toward him was noticeably softer, and Zhao Feng wouldn’t blame her. His heart bubbled with joy.  

Grumble—  

Zhuang Lan looked at his stomach in surprise, “You…”  

Zhao Feng’s face turned bright red, and he took a big step back. “Uh, Zhuang Zhiqing, if you need anything in the future, you can call me. I… I…”  

His mind was buzzing uncontrollably as he rolled up his sleeves, revealing strong arms, and slapped his firm muscles, “I’ve got strength and can do anything.”  

Zhuang Lan’s mouth opened slightly, her ears heating up, and she dared not look at him.  

Realizing what he had just done, Zhao Feng didn’t even dare to say goodbye, grabbing his basket and running off as if chased by a wild beast.  

Affected by him, Zhuang Lan also inexplicably felt guilty and quickly turned to leave the area.  

—  

Zhao Ke, who didn’t need to attend school or work at fixed times, moved at a much slower pace than usual.  

Breakfast was still kept warm in the pot—leftover fish soup from the previous day soaked with corn cakes, along with wild vegetables she had picked to dip in sauce.  

Zhao Ke, with her greedy appetite, made do with the meal, but her mind was filled with fantasies of the braised pork her elder sister made, the braised pork in the factory canteen, and the cumin lamb at the state-run restaurant…  

The only downside to returning to the village was the poor food.  

It wasn’t that she disliked Comrade Yu Xiulan’s cooking skills; her own cooking was worse. She just resented her thrifty mother for making everything so bland.  

Not only Zhao Feng missed their elder sister, but Zhao Ke missed her too. While missing her, she wondered if she should head to the mountains to find something to satisfy her craving…  

“Zhao Ke! Are you home?”  

It was Zhao Yunyun’s voice.  

“I’m here. Come in.”  

Zhao Ke threw the bowls into the basin and stuck her head out of the kitchen door. When Zhao Yunyun entered, she went back to washing dishes.  

“Guess who I just saw?” Zhao Yunyun looked eager to share.  

Without lifting her head, Zhao Ke asked, “Who?”  

“Zhao Feng!” Zhao Yunyun said excitedly, “Guess where I saw him?”  

A place worth guessing…  

Zhao Ke: “The educated youth point?”  

Zhao Yunyun’s excitement instantly cooled, and she lost interest in continuing.  

For now, Zhao Ke couldn’t do anything to her silly brother, so she quietly provoked and observed. If the relationship between the male and female leads developed further, and Zhao Feng showed any sign of mischief, she’d give him a real beating.  

“But why did you see Zhao Feng?”  

Zhao Yunyun hesitated, “Uh… well… that…”  

“Chasing butterflies again? Finished your book already?”  

She had only read four pages.  

Zhao Yunyun’s mind worked fast, thinking of how to perfectly divert from this dampening question.  

Creak—  

The sound of the front door opening.  

And footsteps.  

Zhao Yunyun breathed a sigh of relief, heading toward the door, “Is Zhao Feng back?”  

“Yun Jie?” Zhao Feng’s face was still flushed. He tried to act nonchalant, “Are you looking for my Er Jie?”  

Zhao Ke emerged from the kitchen, her gaze moving from his face to his hands.  

Under her gaze, Zhao Feng nervously raised the basket, forcing a stiff smile, “Er Jie, I picked this especially for you.”  

Both Zhao Ke and Zhao Yunyun’s expressions synced: Let’s see how he lies now.  

Unable to hold on, Zhao Feng hurriedly fled back into the house.  

Zhao Yunyun clicked her tongue twice and muttered to Zhao Ke, “The younger brother grows beyond the elder sister’s control,” as a jab for the earlier embarrassment.  

Zhao Ke didn’t respond, wiped her hands dry, and went back to her room.  

Zhao Yunyun grabbed her, “Come with me.”  

Zhao Ke didn’t struggle and followed her lead, “Where are we going?”  

“Just come with me.”  

A few minutes later— 

Zhao Ke glanced at the wooden sign beside her, which read “Zhao Village Production Team Primary School,” then turned around to leave.

“Don’t!” Zhao Yunyun grabbed her arm and pulled her inside. “Know yourself and your enemy, and you’ll be invincible in a hundred battles. Let’s see how that Hu guy is teaching.”

“There’s nothing to see. The members will judge for themselves.”

Zhao Yunyun ignored her and kept pulling her inside.

Zhao Ke couldn’t resist and eventually stepped through the gate.

The two walked to the first- and second-grade classroom and peered through the window.

Hu Hezhi stood on the podium, holding a book and sternly scanning the students. A student turned his head and was immediately reprimanded.

Then, Hu Hezhi turned his head and noticed Zhao Ke and Zhao Yunyun outside the window. His eyes flashed with pride, and he continued teaching, his voice noticeably louder than before.

After watching for a while, Zhao Yunyun whispered to Zhao Ke, “So strict.”

Zhao Ke stepped back a little before saying, “The members probably want the teacher to be strict. The production team school doesn’t have high standards for teachers. At least being strict can keep the students in line.”

“Not necessarily.” Zhao Yunyun, worried she might be in a bad mood, noticed a hopscotch drawing on the playground and excitedly said, “Let’s play hopscotch! It’s been a long time.”

Since they were already there, playing for a bit wouldn’t hurt.

Eighteen-year-old Zhao Ke picked up a stone and began hopping with Zhao Yunyun, who was genuinely eighteen.

In the fourth- and fifth-grade classroom, Teacher Wu saw the two happily playing hopscotch during a break in her lesson and smiled before returning to her teaching.

Meanwhile, in the first- and second-grade classroom, Hu Hezhi was deliberately leaving the door open and speaking loudly while teaching.

A boy in the second-grade section was playing with an eraser as he wrote.

Suddenly, he clutched his throat with his left hand and kept tapping his deskmate.

His deskmate, a girl terrified of Hu Hezhi, thought he was trying to talk to her. She didn’t dare move or respond.

The boy pulled her arm harder, making choking sounds.

The girl finally looked at him cautiously, blinking in confusion.

On the podium, Hu Hezhi noticed their small movements and scolded, “If you’re not paying attention, get out!”

The boy gripped his throat with both hands, coughing but unable to expel anything. His face turned bright red, then slightly blue.

The girl, frightened, started crying and stammered, “Teacher! Wuuu… Teacher…”

The boy’s face was smeared with tears and snot as he looked pleadingly at the substitute teacher.

Hu Hezhi finally realized something was wrong, panicked, took two steps forward, then hesitated in the aisle.

He was afraid of an accident, afraid of being held accountable if he mishandled it.

On the playground, Zhao Ke paused mid-hop, hearing the crying. She balanced on one foot and tilted her head to listen.

Zhao Yunyun heard it too and looked at Zhao Ke.

After exchanging glances, Zhao Ke took the lead toward the classroom, and Zhao Yunyun followed.

Inside, the classroom was in chaos. Several children were crying in fear.

Zhao Ke scanned the room and quickly located the boy with the blue face.

“Oh no! Is he choking?” Zhao Yunyun exclaimed in shock.

The boy’s teary eyes looked toward the door, unable to make a sound.

Zhao Ke strode forward and shoved Hu Hezhi aside.

Hu Hezhi hit his hip on the desk, cried out in pain, and yelled, “Zhao Ke!”

Zhao Yunyun followed, shouting, “Move, move!” and pushed the obstructing Hu Hezhi again.

He hit the desk corner again, clutching his hip in pain, bending over.

Ignoring his outcry, Zhao Ke reached the children’s desk, grabbed the choking boy, and pulled him against her chest. She placed her fist just above his navel and pressed firmly and rapidly.

Outside, Principal Gu and Teacher Wu rushed over, anxiously asking, “How is he?!”

Cough!

A small eraser flew out of the boy’s mouth, followed by hoarse crying.

“It’s out! It’s out!” Zhao Yunyun cheered excitedly.

Principal Gu and Teacher Wu sighed in relief upon hearing that.

Only Hu Hezhi, clutching his hip and stomach, couldn’t smile.