Chapter 30

When Song Chunzhi was mentioned, Gu Huaishan’s usually cold and stern face showed a trace of unease. Although they hadn’t known each other for long, he had actually dreamed of her. Song Chunzhi’s delicate and lively figure became clearer in his mind, and he couldn’t help rubbing his fingers. It seemed what she said was true; he really was a bit dangerous.

“Commander Gu…”

Yu Ming called out, only to find Gu Huaishan lost in thought. The usual coldness on his face was replaced by a faint smile, which shocked Yu Ming. In his impression, Gu Huaishan was always serious, aloof, and proud. And now, he was actually smiling? And zoning out?

“Commander Gu, Xiao Yu is calling you…”

The doctor nudged Gu Huaishan and pointed at Yu Ming, who was lying on the bed. With a teasing look, he added, “Xiao Gu, who were you thinking about just now? Was it someone special?”

“Ah… No, no.”

Gu Huaishan lifted his eyes to glance at the doctor. Hearing the joke, he quickly denied it. Still, a faint trace of panic flashed deep in his usually calm eyes.

“I was just thinking about official matters.”

“Commander Gu, I heard you’re close to the girl who saved me. Could you describe her for me? She saved my life. Once I recover, I really want to thank her properly.”

Though Yu Ming had multiple fractures, his ability to speak hadn’t been affected. Several people had told him that the one who carried him up from the bottom of the cliff was a young woman. His curiosity only grew.

“Then wait until you’ve recovered to thank her.”

Gu Huaishan had spent the whole morning busy and had only come by to check on Yu Ming’s condition. He didn’t expect that the moment the guy regained his senses, he would start asking about Song Chunzhi. Who was the idiot that told him he and Song Chunzhi were close? And now, this guy wanted him, a man, to describe a girl to another man? The nerve of him.

“Dr. Zhang, why does Commander Gu look kind of angry?”

Yu Ming stared at Gu Huaishan’s cold back with a puzzled look, then turned to ask the doctor beside him. He felt more and more that Gu Huaishan was hard to get along with. He had just smiled, and now he was giving him the cold shoulder.

Dr. Zhang glanced in the direction Gu Huaishan had left, then looked at Yu Ming and couldn’t help but chuckle. He then said, “Don’t ask Commander Gu about the girl who saved you. He’s not going to tell you. If you really want to thank her, wait until you’re better and go thank her yourself.”

Based on Gu Huaishan’s unusual behavior yesterday and how he acted particularly close to that girl, Dr. Zhang strongly suspected that Gu Huaishan had feelings for her. Yu Ming, that clueless fool, was trying to ask a man about the girl he liked. Of course he wouldn’t get a warm response.

Li Shanhong returned home full of worry. She found her eldest daughter with red eyes holding the wailing younger sister. The house was in complete disarray. Her heart sank, and she rushed over.

After checking the two children and finding no new injuries, she touched their foreheads. Seeing that the younger one no longer had a fever, she finally let out a sigh of relief.

“Mom, Dad took all the money…”

The older girl handed the younger one over to Li Shanhong and sobbed loudly. As soon as their mother had gone to work, their father woke up. He kept yelling that the house was haunted, smashed everything, and even took all the money hidden under the table.

“That bastard! That was the money for your sister’s treatment…”

Li Shanhong gritted her teeth in anger. Looking at the little one crying in her arms, her heart ached even more. How could she have married such a man? He either hit her or cursed her. That money had been forced into her hands by Song Chunzhi specifically for the child’s treatment. Song Dapo was nothing short of a beast.

“Honghong, are you alright?”

Suddenly, a man climbed over the west wall and rushed in. When he saw Li Shanhong’s tear-streaked face and bruises, he was filled with worry and concern.

“You… what are you doing here?”

Hearing his voice, Li Shanhong was shocked. She quickly placed the little girl back into the older girl’s arms, pushed the children inside the house, and shut the door behind them. Then she turned around and questioned the man.

“Are you crazy? How could you come here?”

“Honghong, I’m sorry. This morning my mother locked me in the house and wouldn’t let me leave. I had no other choice. What happened to your face? Did that bastard Song Dapo hit you? I’m going to deal with him…”

The man stared at Li Shanhong with deep affection and explained sincerely. When he saw the injuries on her face, he grew furious and threatened to confront Song Dapo. He and Li Shanhong had grown up together. If not for Song Dapo, she would have been his wife long ago.

“Wu Youcai, you must’ve heard about what happened in the brigade today. From now on, we shouldn’t see each other anymore. It’s better for both of us.”

Li Shanhong looked at Wu Youcai and spoke calmly. After returning empty-handed in the morning, she realized she couldn’t rely on anyone. Neither Song Dapo nor Wu Youcai could be depended on. After saying that, she turned and went inside, leaning against the door as tears streamed silently down her cheeks.

“Honghong…”

Wu Youcai wasn’t about to accept what Li Shanhong said. Even if something had happened today in Xishan Village, his feelings for Honghong were sincere and pure, unlike the others like Song Xingguo. Standing in front of the tightly shut door, he called out her name, but there was no response for a long time.

Meanwhile, Song Chunzhi had bundled up the herbs she dried earlier with hemp rope and packed them into a burlap sack. Since no one was home, she sat down to study middle school language arts. The more she read, the more she realized how much knowledge she’d fallen behind on. If she still dreamed of going to university in this lifetime, she’d definitely need someone to teach her, otherwise it would remain a foolish fantasy.

Very few people in her village truly valued studying. Most of the kids who went to school only treated it as play, barely learning anything.

The educated youths in the village were from big cities and had studied much more. But she didn’t know them well, and wasn’t sure they’d be willing to help. Due to the local customs, the male and female educated youths kept their distance from the villagers and didn’t interact much.

“Forget it. I’ll just study on my own first. If I really can’t figure something out, I’ll ask someone later.”

A faint trace of worry crossed Song Chunzhi’s youthful face as she sighed. Just as she was about to pick up her pen, she heard someone calling her name from the front gate. She walked over in confusion and opened the door to find it was Grandma Sun, the village chief’s wife. She quickly greeted her with a smile.

“Grandma Sun, please come in and have some water. Cool off a bit…”

“Chunzhi, I won’t go in. I just came to tell you a couple things.”

Despite her words, Song Chunzhi noticed the sweat on Grandma Sun’s brow and rushed to the kitchen to fetch her a bowl of cool boiled water. Her eyes sparkled with a warm, respectful smile.

“You really are such a thoughtful child…”

Grandma Sun took the water without hesitation and drank it all in one go, wiping the sweat from her forehead. Looking at Song Chunzhi with a kind expression, she continued:

“Chunzhi, don’t take your father’s situation too hard. I know you’re a good kid. Since your arm is hurt and you can’t work right now, and it’s harvest time and we need all the help we can get, I spoke with your third granduncle and arranged for you to be a scorekeeper.”

“You’re good at working the fields, so you can teach those unruly educated youths. Otherwise, they barely earn any work points, and when it comes time to divide the grain, the brigade has to subsidize them or they’ll starve.”

As she spoke, Grandma Sun looked at Song Chunzhi with even more affection in her cloudy old eyes. Unlike the rest of the Song family, she believed this girl had something special. She was capable and likable. As for the village gossip, Grandma Sun didn’t believe for a second that Chunzhi was involved with the educated youths. This girl had a clear and sensible head on her shoulders.

“Scorekeeper…?”

Song Chunzhi murmured to herself, her heart filled with joy. She had just been wondering how to get closer to the educated youths, and now she’d be assigned to track their work points and teach them how to farm. What a perfect opportunity to ask them for help with her studies!

Besides, wheat harvest only lasted ten days to two weeks. It wouldn’t disrupt her learning much. Though it meant she wouldn’t be able to go treasure hunting in the mountains for a while, she still agreed without hesitation.

“Thank you, Grandma Sun! I’m happy to do it. I’ll make sure to teach them properly.”

“Great. Just head over tomorrow morning. Your third granduncle already has everything arranged.”

Grandma Sun left satisfied. As the village chief’s wife, she had to set an example by working just like everyone else. She was only taking a quick break to mix malted milk powder for her grandson when she stopped by to speak with Chunzhi.

A scorekeeper!

Song Chunzhi had never even dared to dream of such a thing. Scorekeepers were appointed by the commune and held highly coveted positions. The work was light and didn’t involve manual labor.

There were only a few scorekeepers in their brigade. One of them, Song Zhiqing, had even attended high school and had relatives working at the commune. That alone showed how competitive the role was.

For such a good opportunity to come her way, especially right after her father, Song Xingguo, had gotten into trouble, it had to be because of the commendation she received from the garrison.

Suddenly, she remembered how Yu Ming had called her a “fairy” in the hospital ward. Her worry grew. She had covered it up by claiming he was frightened, but what if Yu Ming remembered something? After all, she had changed his fate.

She gathered some of the wild fruits she’d picked on the mountain the day before, packed them in a cloth bag, and made her way to the military garrison. After all, she was the one who had saved Yu Ming. It was only right for her to check on him.

“The village girl’s here again. Must be because Commander Gu has real pull.”

Sentinel Xiao Tian spotted Song Chunzhi from afar and joked to the sentry beside him. But when Song Chunzhi opened her mouth and said she wanted to visit Yu Ming, his expression changed.

“You’re not here for Commander Gu today?”

“Commander Gu?”

Song Chunzhi widened her almond-shaped eyes and blinked in confusion. “Why would I be looking for Commander Gu? I don’t know him well. I’m here to visit Yu Ming. How is he doing?”

Xiao Tian looked at her skeptically. She had come in several times with Commander Gu himself. How could she not be close with him? Still, at her question, his eyes shifted.

“We’re just guards. We don’t really know what’s going on inside…”

“Commander Gu is coming. You might as well ask him yourself.”

Just then, Xiao Tian saw Gu Huaishan approaching with a group of soldiers. He immediately stood straight and saluted, then called out loudly, “Commander Gu! Someone’s here to see you!”

…

A look of exasperation flashed across Song Chunzhi’s face. When did I say I came to see Gu Huaishan? She’d just said they weren’t close. That Xiao Tian was really something.

Feeling the eyes of everyone turning toward her, her cheeks flushed, and even her little ears turned red.

“Song Chunzhi, you’re here to see me?”