Chapter 24

After He Xianqiu returned to the dormitory, she gathered her clothes to get ready for a bath.

She sighed—boiling water for a bath was quite a hassle, but if she didn’t do it, there would be no hot water to wash with.

She glanced out the window. It was already late; the sun had set, and the sky was wrapped in a gray veil.

He Xianqiu put her clothes in a bag and carried her thermos to the kitchen. At this hour, the kitchen was empty. She squatted down to start the fire and heat water.

Sitting beside the small stove, she occasionally added firewood. As she sat there, she gradually nodded off.

When the water was finally hot, she poured it into her thermos and went to bathe.

Meanwhile, back in the dormitory, Sun Xiaoyan had returned. She looked at the empty room and fixed her gaze on He Xianqiu’s bed, her eyes darkening.

She walked to He Xianqiu’s bed and stood there for a few seconds. Then she reached under the blanket and took out the five completed drawings.

When she pulled out the papers, she also accidentally tugged out the little pouch He Xianqiu had placed there before going to bathe.

Sun Xiaoyan stared at the delicate, pretty pouch for several seconds. In the end, she couldn’t resist opening it. Inside were many ration coupons and cash notes. She took twenty yuan and a few soap coupons.

Sun Xiaoyan thought to herself: There’s so much in here—He Xianqiu probably won’t even notice.

Then she tucked the drawings into her clothes, quietly slipped out of the dormitory, and glanced around. Seeing no one nearby, she quickly left the educated youth compound.

She only stopped once she’d reached a secluded spot. Looking at the beautifully drawn pictures, jealousy surged wildly in her chest. Why should He Xianqiu be the one to become a teacher while she was not?

Her family background is so good—why couldn’t she just give this position to me? Sun Xiaoyan thought bitterly. Since you are so heartless, don’t blame me for being unjust.

She tore the five drawings to shreds with fierce motions, as though she were destroying He Xianqiu herself.

When all the papers were in tatters, so ruined they could never be pieced back together, she felt an inexplicable satisfaction.

Then she buried the scraps in a shallow pit and stomped on them before returning to the compound.

When He Xianqiu came back from her bath and returned to the dorm, the other female educated youths had also returned.

She walked straight to her bed and noticed the blanket was sticking out a little. She had a nagging sense that something wasn’t right but couldn’t pinpoint what.

She dried her hair and sat on the bed. Just then, she heard a noise and looked up toward the door—it was Sun Xiaoyan coming back and closing it.

He Xianqiu lifted her gaze just as Sun Xiaoyan came in, and their eyes met. Sun Xiaoyan’s expression was a little unnatural; her gaze flickered evasively.

He Xianqiu thought it was strange but couldn’t figure out exactly why, so she didn’t pursue it.

To be honest, she felt some disgust toward Sun Xiaoyan. She had never met someone like her—someone who tried to morally blackmail others and still acted as if it were perfectly justified.

He Xianqiu felt the compound was full of hidden currents. On the surface, everyone seemed harmonious, but privately, everyone had their own schemes.

If she could move out, she would have been the first to do so—without hesitation. But the Qinggang Brigade only had these facilities. There was nowhere else to go, and the brigade members weren’t especially fond of the educated youths.

She could more or less understand why the villagers disliked them. From their perspective, the educated youths were either “helping build the countryside,” or, less charitably, “here to consume their grain.” Even if the youths worked the fields, they still acted proud, looked down on farmers, and always seemed troublesome.

He Xianqiu thought their situation wasn’t exactly terrible—but it wasn’t good either. Still, the compound had to stick together; otherwise, when the villagers came to cause trouble, a lone person could never hold out.

After thinking it over, she felt tired and lay down to sleep.

Since coming to the 1970s, He Xianqiu had been going to bed earlier and earlier. She was slowly getting used to this new rhythm.

She slept soundly—probably because she no longer had to do farm labor, so her body wasn’t so exhausted.

In the morning, sunlight shone through the window, casting a faint glow into the dim dormitory.

He Xianqiu opened her eyes and sat on her bed for a moment. Once she felt fully awake, she got up.

The other girls were also awake, so she didn’t have to move around quietly or tiptoe.

She picked up her toiletries to wash up. After she finished, she came back to the dorm to tidy her things. One by one, the others left.

It was still early to go to the school, so He Xianqiu wasn’t in a rush. She leisurely applied snow cream to her face.

When she finished, she lifted her blanket to retrieve the drawings she’d prepared yesterday—but they were gone. She froze.

She was sure she had put them under the blanket. She never misremembered things like this. Realizing someone must have taken them, she felt a surge of anger.

Who took my drawings? she wondered. Was it Yang Shuhua, who always found fault with me? Or Zhao Yaling, who never got along with me? Or Sun Xiaoyan, with whom I’d had a falling out?

Those were the illustrations she’d prepared to use in class today. Now there was nothing left—only her little pouch still under the blanket.

It had been too dark last night to notice that the drawings were missing.

Suddenly, a thought struck her. She remembered how Sun Xiaoyan’s gaze had been so evasive when they made eye contact the previous evening. Sun Xiaoyan had both motive and opportunity.

He Xianqiu wondered whether she’d stolen anything else, so she checked the pouch. Inside, she discovered twenty yuan and several soap coupons were gone.

She hadn’t expected that she would even take money. But by now, everyone had already gone out to work, so she could only suppress her anger and head to the school.

Her class hadn’t started yet, so she hurried to the office to draw replacement illustrations.

Since everything was gone, she had no choice but to make up for it.

There were four periods in the morning. He Xianqiu’s class was the third. She carried the freshly drawn pictures into the classroom.

The classroom was built of packed earth. The blackboard was just a small slab, and there were a dozen or so rickety desks and benches.

Standing at the lectern, she watched the children sitting there, all staring up at her.

She looked at the dozen little faces and smiled gently. “Hello, children. I’m your art teacher. You can call me Teacher He. Now, when the teacher walks in, do you know what you should do?”

The children looked at one another, confused.

One bold child raised a hand and said curiously, “Teacher, we don’t know.”

He Xianqiu smiled kindly. “When you see the teacher come in, you should stand up and greet the teacher, alright?”

The children all nodded, finally understanding.

She looked at the boy who had spoken up. His eyes were bright, unafraid.

“What’s your name?” she asked him.

He scratched his head and answered, “Teacher, my name is Wu Yuming.”

He Xianqiu nodded. “Alright, Wu Yuming. Could you lead everyone in standing up?”

His eyes sparkled. “Okay!”

She stepped out to demonstrate, then came back in. As soon as she entered, Wu Yuming called, “Stand up!”

The children all rose to their feet and chorused, “Hello, Teacher!”

Hearing their tender voices, He Xianqiu’s eyes curved with a smile, and her lips lifted. She replied warmly, “Hello, students. Please sit.”

She began the lesson. She held up her new drawings and stuck them to the blackboard so everyone could see.

The children looked up at the pictures of little animals and let out amazed “Wows.”

One of the bolder children asked how to draw them, and He Xianqiu patiently explained.

The animals were a bit too complicated, so she drew some simple flowers on the blackboard and had them practice.

She was gentle with the children—unlike other teachers who droned on until everyone was sleepy, she told little stories and guided them patiently.

They loved art class. Even when the bell rang, they were reluctant to see her go.

In the afternoon, she had another class. Since the school was some distance from the compound, she stayed through lunch, eating a few pastries she’d brought.

After her afternoon lesson, she packed up her things, bid her colleagues goodbye, and walked home.

Today, she had been very happy. The children were adorable, and her lessons had gone well.

But when she remembered that someone in the dorm had stolen her prepared drawings, twenty yuan, and several soap coupons, her good mood vanished.

Carrying her bag, she returned to the compound. The others were already back, sitting in the main room chatting.

He Xianqiu put her bag down in her dorm, then came back into the hall. She looked at everyone and said solemnly, “Excuse me. I need to say something.”

The others fell silent, sensing her seriousness. Someone asked,

“Comrade He, what is it?”

She fixed her gaze on them and spoke clearly:

“This morning I discovered that twenty yuan, five soap coupons, and the five drawings I’d prepared for class were stolen.”

Everyone was stunned.

“Twenty yuan and five soap coupons—that’s not a small amount!”

“Comrade He, are you sure they’re really missing? Could you look again?”

He Xianqiu heard the doubt and responded firmly, “I kept them in my pouch. I know exactly what was in there. It must have happened last night, here in the dorm.”

She looked around, her tone steady and deliberate.

“Whoever did it, if you have any sense, you’d better return the money, the coupons, and my drawings. Otherwise, I’ll have no choice but to report it to the police. This isn’t a trivial matter.”

Hearing she was ready to report them, everyone grew nervous.

“Reporting to the police isn’t a good idea,” someone said hastily. “It would make the whole compound look bad. Can’t we settle this privately?”

He Xianqiu smiled faintly. “I’d also prefer to handle this privately. But if no one owns up, I will have to report it. Twenty yuan and ration coupons aren’t small things. Wouldn’t you agree?”

Hearing her calm, reasonable words, no one spoke again.

As she spoke, she kept her eyes on the people she suspected.

She caught Sun Xiaoyan’s flustered, guilty expression—and in that instant, He Xianqiu understood.