Chapter 3

He Xianqiu had nothing else to do. Once she finished handing out the candies, she went back to the dormitory.

She heard the sound of people moving things outside. She shifted around a bit, turned to lie on her side, and continued staring blankly.

After a while, the door opened. Yang Shuhua walked in and slammed the door shut with a loud bang.

He Xianqiu was startled. She frowned and said, “The door isn’t very sturdy. Next time, be careful. Also…” You scared me.

Before she could finish, Yang Shuhua interrupted her in a shrill voice. “What’s it to you? You called people to help you move things just now and didn’t include us.”

He Xianqiu wasn’t someone without a temper. She replied coldly, “You startled me. And besides, we’re not even close. Why would I have any reason to help you?”

She didn’t have any good impression of Yang Shuhua—just thought she was selfish, arrogant, and looked down on people from the countryside.

Zhou Hanmei sensed the situation was turning ugly and tried to mediate. “Alright, we all live in the same dorm. Comrade He, can’t you be a bit more understanding toward Comrade Yang? Don’t be so serious about it. Besides, you didn’t help us move things earlier, so she’s in a bad mood…”

He Xianqiu laughed when she heard this. So this was somehow her fault? They were trying to pin the blame on her?

“I asked them to help, and I gave each of them three White Rabbit candies. We’re not close. Why should I pay on your behalf? Are you finished moving your things? Otherwise, I could kindly go ask them for you—then you can pay them yourself.”

Zhou Hanmei was choked speechless. Three White Rabbit candies—that was too much. She couldn’t even bear to eat them herself, so how could she possibly give them to others?

Zhou Hanmei forced an awkward smile. “No need, we’re done moving.”

Yang Shuhua was shocked by He Xianqiu. She’d assumed He Xianqiu had such a good temper that she could bully her, but clearly, this woman was not an easy target.

The two of them didn’t dare provoke He Xianqiu any further and went back to their beds to rest.

He Xianqiu gave a cold snort. There really were all kinds of people here. Since coming, she’d really broadened her horizons. Just because the tiger hadn’t shown its claws, they’d thought she was a sick little kitten.

After that quarrel, the atmosphere grew chilly, but He Xianqiu didn’t feel anything in particular. She simply lay in bed, dazing out by herself.

In the afternoon, the other educated youths came back. He Xianqiu, having nothing else to do, left the dorm and walked to the kitchen.

Inside, Li Xiaoyan was stir-frying vegetables. He Xianqiu had never cooked before and decided to watch and learn.

Soon she discovered that cooking here was basically just boiling things until they were done—as long as they were edible, that was enough. There was hardly any skill involved.

They almost never put in any seasoning either. She noticed Li Xiaoyan had only added a single drop of oil and still looked as though it had pained her deeply.

Once the food was ready, Li Xiaoyan called out to everyone, “Dinner time!”

He Xianqiu stood by listening. She looked at the table: one cabbage soup and some stir-fried greens. And that was it.

She froze for a moment. So yesterday’s meal, which had minced meat, was already considered a luxury?

She then stared blankly again as Li Xiaoyan ladled corn porridge into everyone’s bowls. She asked curiously, “Dinner is porridge again?”

Li Xiaoyan gave her a small smile and whispered, “There isn’t much grain. We usually make porridge to stretch it.”

“I see,” He Xianqiu nodded, indicating she understood.

After that, the two didn’t say any more, just waited quietly for everyone to arrive so they could eat.

After a while, the other educated youths, having washed up, came into the kitchen.

Sitting on stools, everyone started their meal. He Xianqiu still split her porridge with Zhang Zhijuan and the others.

She then asked, “Comrade Zhang, our grain has arrived. So what’s the procedure? Do we all pool it together here at the educated youth spot to eat collectively?”

A newly arrived male educated youth frowned. “Pooling all the grain together doesn’t seem fair. Everyone earns different work points and gets different amounts…”

Zhang Zhijuan explained, “We don’t pool it. Male educated youths get a pound and a half per day, females get a pound. That covers lunch and dinner.”

He Xianqiu nodded. “Alright. Then I’ll bring my grain over later so I can repay what I ate today.”

No one said anything more. Once she’d eaten, He Xianqiu returned to the dorm, intending to wash the clothes she’d worn today.

But she’d just arrived in the village and didn’t know where to do laundry. She happened to see Zhang Zhijuan walk in, and her eyes lit up. She could ask someone who’d lived here for years.

“Comrade Zhang, I want to wash my clothes, but I don’t know where to go. Could you tell me?”

Zhang Zhijuan smiled. “I just finished bathing and was about to wash my clothes too. Want to come with me?”

“Sure,” He Xianqiu nodded.

She picked up the basin full of dirty clothes and followed Zhang Zhijuan to the riverbank.

As they walked, Zhang Zhijuan explained things, and He Xianqiu nodded along.

“We all come here to wash clothes. It’s too much trouble to carry water back.”

“It definitely is,” He Xianqiu agreed.

When they reached the river, they found a spot to set down their basins and squatted there casually to start washing.

He Xianqiu had never washed clothes before. She copied Zhang Zhijuan’s motions, scrubbing here and there until she’d gone over every inch.

It was her first time doing laundry, and by the end her hands were red and raw.

Maybe washing clothes together had brought them closer—on the way back, she’d already started calling Zhang Zhijuan “Zhijuan-jie.”

Before long, the two returned to the dorm. There wasn’t much to do in the countryside, so He Xianqiu lay on her bed and stared into space again. It wasn’t until the middle of the night that she finally drifted into a groggy sleep.

Morning.

He Xianqiu was still asleep. The bed was so hard that she’d tossed and turned for hours before she’d finally dozed off, but even then she hadn’t slept well—it was simply too uncomfortable.

The bed was narrow and hard, and she was genuinely afraid she’d roll off onto the floor, so she kept inching toward the wall.

While she was still dreaming, she suddenly heard Zhang Zhijuan calling her.

“Xianqiu, get up. The team leader is going to assign tasks today.”

He Xianqiu opened her eyes and mumbled, “Got it, Zhijuan-jie.”

She sat on the bed for a bit, then climbed down, grabbed her toiletries, and went to wash up.

Splashing her face with water finally woke her up completely. She saw that the other educated youths were already heading out, so she hurried to catch up.

When she arrived in the fields, the others dispersed to the plots they’d been assigned. She and a few other new arrivals stood listening to the production team leader, Lin Jianshe, hand out work.

“Comrade He, you’ll be responsible for the plot next to Comrade Zhang’s. Comrade Wei, you’ll handle this one…”

Once Lin Jianshe finished assigning everything, Yang Shuhua muttered, “This is too much work, and we don’t even know how to do it.”

Lin Jianshe wasn’t deaf. His expression darkened. “Comrade Yang, considering you’re all new and not yet accustomed, this is already less than usual. In a moment, the experienced educated youths will teach you.”

Yang Shuhua looked like she still wanted to argue, but when she saw the team leader’s face, she shut up. She wasn’t stupid enough to offend him.

He Xianqiu stood watching silently. She picked up the hoe assigned to her and walked to her plot.

The hoe was heavy, and her hands were soon sore, but she gritted her teeth and held on.

She looked at the untouched earth in front of her and felt completely lost, having no idea what to do. Zhang Zhijuan set down her hoe and came over to teach her.

He Xianqiu watched her lift the hoe and slam it into the soil, digging out a hole.

She imitated the motion but only made a tiny, shallow dent.

Puzzled, she asked, “Zhijuan-jie, I followed exactly what you did, but my hole doesn’t look right.”

Zhang Zhijuan covered her mouth, smiling. “Xianqiu, you’re not hitting it hard enough—of course the hole is small. You need to strike with more force to dig deeper.”

“Oh, I see,” He Xianqiu said, enlightened.

“Try again.”

He Xianqiu lifted the hoe and slammed it down hard. When she pulled it back, she saw a bigger hole and looked delighted.

“Zhijuan-jie, I did it!”

Once she learned how to dig, Zhang Zhijuan showed her how to place sweet potato seedlings in the holes and cover them with soil.

He Xianqiu thanked her, and Zhang Zhijuan went back to her own work.

He Xianqiu dug hole after hole, soon exhausted.

Squatting on the ground, she looked at the large expanse of soil and felt faint—she’d never finish this even if she worked all day.

It was June, and the heat was unbearable. She was hot and tired, and after planting a few seedlings, she had to rest.

So she worked a bit, rested a bit, and by noon she’d only cleared a small patch.

Suddenly, the whistle blew. Lin Jianshe called out, “Break time—two hours.”

Hearing that she could rest, He Xianqiu put down her hoe and found a shady spot to sit. She was completely drained.

She sat there staring blankly, no longer caring if the ground was dirty. She was too tired. So tired she just wanted to go home.

After a while, Zhang Zhijuan brought over a few hard black steamed buns. He Xianqiu thanked her and took them.

Though she’d snuck in some breaks, she was still starving after the whole morning.

She bit into one bun but couldn’t break it. She tried harder and managed to chew a piece slowly.

The buns were already tough, and after sitting all morning, they were practically as hard as rocks.

After eating one, she really couldn’t eat anymore—too hard, it killed her appetite.

She handed the other to Zhang Zhijuan. “Zhijuan-jie, I’m full. Do you want this one?”

Zhang Zhijuan was used to the hard buns. Though they were tough, they filled her stomach, and two weren’t even enough for her, so she gladly accepted.

He Xianqiu, now fed, wanted to go back to the dorm. She asked Zhang Zhijuan for the key.

“Zhijuan-jie, I want to head back for a bit. It’s too hot.”

She’d left in a hurry that morning and hadn’t brought her sun hat or long-sleeved shirt.

Zhang Zhijuan pulled out the key and handed it over. He Xianqiu took it and returned to the dorm.

She quickly opened her suitcase, pulled out a hat and shirt, and put them on.

Remembering she also had a ladies’ wristwatch, she took it out and put it on.

Since she still had time before going back to dig, she took out the pastries she’d brought.

When she tasted the osmanthus cake, she squinted in bliss. She stuffed a piece in her mouth, her cheeks bulging like a little hamster.

With no one else around, she relaxed and ate freely. When she was full, she rinsed her mouth and washed her face.

The cold water refreshed her, and she felt better.

After tidying up, she took the osmanthus cake she’d saved for Zhang Zhijuan and hummed a tune on the way back.

Knowing it was noon and the sun was hottest, she quickened her pace.

When she arrived, she handed the pastry box to Zhang Zhijuan.

“Zhijuan-jie, this is for you.”

Zhang Zhijuan looked at the pretty patterned box with the words “Osmanthus Cake” on it—clearly expensive. She waved her hand.

“You keep it for yourself. This must have cost a lot.”

“I already ate some. This is for you,” He Xianqiu insisted, putting the box into her hands.

Unable to refuse, Zhang Zhijuan accepted. As soon as she opened it, the fragrance of osmanthus wafted out. She took a bite and her eyes lit up.

Seeing she liked it, He Xianqiu said, “This cake is sweet but not cloying.”

Zhang Zhijuan had been kind to her, so of course she wanted to repay her.

But He Xianqiu hadn’t expected someone nearby to sneer sarcastically. “Some people really think they came to the countryside to enjoy themselves. Wearing hats and nice shirts, even a watch—like some rich young lady.”

He Xianqiu’s face darkened immediately. This was 1972—people were still criticizing landlords. The Cultural Revolution wasn’t over. Saying something like that could get her in real trouble.

She said coldly, “A rich young lady? You’re slandering the child of a soldier. Do you realize that’s a crime? If I went to the Public Security Bureau to report you, you’d be locked up for ten days at least.”

Yang Shuhua fell silent at once. She hadn’t known He Xianqiu came from a military family.

The bystanders were also intimidated. People respected and admired the children of soldiers. They started whispering:

“How could she insult a soldier’s child? Has she forgotten the People’s Army protects the country?”

“Exactly.”

Hearing them, Yang Shuhua’s face turned red.

Zhou Hanmei, who was on friendly terms with her, spoke up awkwardly, trying not to offend either side. “We’re all educated youths living together. Maybe you can both just back down a little…”

“Yes, yes—living together. Let’s all back down,” others chimed in.

He Xianqiu gave a cold laugh but didn’t say more. She went to sit down.

Always the same—people trying to smooth things over as if she was supposed to quietly accept being insulted.

But she knew it was pointless to keep arguing. If she kept snapping back, everyone would think she was petty.

Still, she couldn’t understand—she hadn’t offended anyone. So why did they keep targeting her?

From the start, Yang Shuhua had disliked her. He Xianqiu found it absurd. She hadn’t even done anything.

She probably didn’t realize—in some people’s eyes, being beautiful was already a sin.