Chapter 9

After the brigade leader brought Secretary Song from the commune to the proposed elementary school site, Secretary Song clapped his hands on the spot and decided: starting tomorrow, people would bring usable desks, chairs, and blackboards from town. Once the basic facilities were in place, an experienced teacher would be hired as the principal.

The brigade leader was overjoyed. He hadn’t expected things to move this quickly. After chatting with Secretary Song for a while, the latter, who had taken time out of his busy schedule to inspect Qinggang Brigade, left to return to work at the commune.

The brigade leader saw him off and then rushed back to the fields where everyone was working, his face beaming with happiness.

He Xianqiu was working absentmindedly in the fields when she suddenly heard the brigade leader’s joyful voice:

“Secretary Song said people will bring desks, chairs, and other essentials from town tomorrow. We’ll also hire an experienced teacher to serve as principal. Anyone with a high school diploma can take an exam to apply for a teaching position.”

As soon as He Xianqiu heard this, she was ecstatic. She could apply to be an English teacher—or if there wasn’t an English class, then a Chinese teacher.

Others who had a high school education were also very happy. Being a teacher was a respected profession. It meant no farm work and high work points.

Since hearing the news, He Xianqiu had been over the moon. Being a teacher would offer her more freedom and less physical exhaustion. She was eagerly looking forward to it.

Motivated by this, she threw herself into her work with more energy than usual.

The morning flew by. Everyone had worked especially hard today. Though tired, He Xianqiu felt fulfilled.

She found a spot to sit and ate a corn bun mixed with egg.

But to her, the corn bun was still too hard, so she usually brought some snacks from home. Others watched her eat her osmanthus cake, which smelled fragrant even from afar, and suddenly their own coarse black buns and corn buns lost all appeal.

Some of the village aunties even thought to themselves, If only she could marry into our family… Sure, she was delicate and pampered, but once she married in, she’d have to obey, and all her money and food would become theirs.

If He Xianqiu had known what they were thinking, she probably would’ve scolded them on the spot.
What kind of people are these? They look down on her, but still want her money? What, do they think she’s some stray cat or dog that just anyone can take?

But unaware of their thoughts, He Xianqiu continued relaxing in the shade of a large tree, eating her osmanthus cake and occasionally taking sips from her water flask.

Once full, she sat under the tree, hugging her knees and resting with her eyes closed.

Faintly, she heard someone calling her name. She opened her eyes and saw the female operator at the brigade phone booth waving at her. She stood up and asked:

“Is something the matter?”

“There’s a phone call for you.”

The woman looked at her haughtily, then turned and walked away.

He Xianqiu followed her to the phone booth. The woman vacated the space for her and went off for a walk.

He Xianqiu picked up the receiver. “Hello, who’s speaking?”

“You child, are you still mad at your family? You’ve been away so long and haven’t called once. Mama has been so worried about you.”

A familiar voice came through the line, and He Xianqiu froze. It sounded exactly like her mother.

The woman, hearing no response, called again, “Qiuqiu, are you listening to Mama?”

Her voice was so gentle. He Xianqiu pressed her lips together, paused for a moment, then softly said, “Yes, I’m listening, Mama.”

As soon as she said it, her eyes turned red. She suddenly felt overwhelmed with sadness. The original character’s mother sounded just like her own. She had been here for a while now and missed her family terribly.

Hearing that familiar voice, she felt like all the strength she had been holding onto finally had something to lean on.

“Qiuqiu, you went so far away, and your family has no idea how you’re doing. We’ve all been so worried. Honestly… what’s so good about that boy anyway? Sigh… Forget it. No point talking about unhappy things.”

The woman sounded both heartbroken and a little angry. She was upset that her daughter had left for the countryside because of a boy who didn’t love her—without even consulting her family.

He Xianqiu understood how the original character’s parents must have felt. And she genuinely liked this woman on the phone. She felt inexplicably close to her because she sounded so much like her own mother—the tone, the voice, everything.

“Mama, I’m doing really well here now. Also, I don’t like Chen Changping anymore.”

He Xianqiu hesitated slightly when she first called her “Mama,” thinking this was the original character’s mother. But by the second time, she felt at peace with it.

“You really don’t like him anymore?” the woman asked, still a bit doubtful.

“Really, I don’t. I’ve come to realize he has so many flaws,” He Xianqiu said firmly.

“That’s good. There are plenty of better young men out there. You’ve matured a bit since going away, Qiuqiu. Mama is very pleased.”

“Qiuqiu, we’ve sent you some things—your favorite foods. There’s money tucked in the envelope lining, some bedding too. It’ll start getting cold in a few months, so we’re getting ready early.”

“Mama, I still have lots of money and ration coupons. You don’t need to send me anything.”

“It’s fine. Between my writing and salary, I earn over three to four hundred yuan a month, and your father earns even more. Just use the money when you need it. If it runs out, just ask Mama. But remember—don’t flash it around. Keep yourself safe.”

“Got it, Mama.” He Xianqiu couldn’t help but laugh through her tears.

“Oh, and Mama—do my high school books still exist? If they do, could you send them all to me? It’s so boring out here in the countryside.”

“Okay.”

They chatted for a while longer, but eventually it was time for the afternoon shift, and her mother had to hang up. He Xianqiu didn’t want the call to end either.

The more they talked, the more He Xianqiu felt that this mother really was her mother. She looked exactly like the original character, after all.

When the call ended, the phone operator checked the duration.

“That’s one yuan, three jiao, and seven fen.”

He Xianqiu took two yuan from her coin purse and handed it over. The operator gave her change.

“Thank you.”

Although the operator had seemed proud and aloof at first, her actual attitude was quite decent.

She nodded, “No need.”

For the first time, He Xianqiu felt like she wasn’t just an outsider in this world. Until now, she had always thought the people in this book were just two-dimensional characters.

But suddenly, they felt real—flesh and blood.

She used to think, I’m not the original character, I don’t have her memories. How should I treat her family in the future?

But now… she thought maybe the original character’s family really was her family. They were just too similar. Once she got back to the capital and saw them in person, she’d know for sure.

She glanced at her watch—fifteen minutes left until the afternoon work began.

She picked up her pace. The afternoon sun was blazing, so bright she couldn’t open her eyes.

He Xianqiu shaded her eyes with one hand so the sun wouldn’t blind her, allowing her to see the road ahead clearly.

As she walked, her lips curled upward. Not even the sun could hide her joy.

She was so giddy it was as if the surprise had knocked her senseless.

She walked with a light spring in her step, humming a tune. Along the way, she saw the boy who had helped carry her pot before. Seeing him made her happy—she still didn’t know his name.

Maybe it was because he was handsome and had helped her before, but He Xianqiu felt a bit of fondness for him. He seemed like a strange but quiet younger brother.

She walked over and said cheerfully, “We meet again!”

He glanced at her and nodded.

“Hey, are you heading back to work? Thanks again for helping me last time.”

“No need. You already thanked me then.” His voice was a little hoarse, as if he hadn’t spoken in a long time.

“I’ve seen you a few times now but still don’t know your name. I’m He Xianqiu—Xian as in envy, Qiu as in autumn.”

He paused for a moment. “You can call me Ji Laosan.”

“Alright.”

After that, they had nothing else to talk about. He was so quiet that He Xianqiu lost interest in continuing the conversation.

They walked together for a while, but it wasn’t awkward. When they neared the work area, he suggested she go ahead first. She understood—if they arrived together, gossip would spread through the brigade like wildfire.

After all, the women in the brigade—young or old—were infamous for their gossiping. Once the rumors started, they would spiral out of control.

So she walked ahead, and he followed a few hundred meters behind.

Back in the fields, they each resumed working. He Xianqiu glanced over—he was seriously planting sweet potatoes, very hardworking.

In comparison, she felt like a slacker. But it wasn’t her fault—before transmigrating, she had come from a privileged background, and so had the original character. Neither had ever done hard labor.

Although she had learned some skills, physical labor was truly exhausting. After a whole day of toil, all she got was a few work points.

She could only rest occasionally, to reduce her fatigue, and then keep going under the blazing summer sun. On a good day, she earned two work points.

Sixty per month, around three hundred in six months, and a bit over six hundred in a year. If she had to survive on that alone, she wasn’t sure she could even feed herself.

Luckily, she still had money and ration coupons. Otherwise, life in the countryside would be miserable.

Maybe it was because the commune leaders had come to inspect today, but everyone worked extra hard. They even finished early—around 4 p.m.

He Xianqiu had done more today than the day before, but she was also more exhausted. She felt like collapsing, but for the sake of appearances, she found a place to sit.

The tally clerk began recording work points and calling out results:

“Li Goudan, seven work points. Wang Tiedan, eight. Chen Cuihua, six. Ji Laosan, full work points…”

He Xianqiu was stunned to hear that—full work points! That was incredible. It was no easy feat to get full points in this era, and it was the same boy she had chatted with earlier.

When she heard her own result—three points, one more than the day before—she was already thrilled. At least it was her hard-earned result.

As she continued listening to the clerk, waiting to hear her name and leave, she finally stood up to go.

But just a few steps away, a stranger grabbed her wrist. She frowned and tried to pry the hand off with her other hand, but the woman’s grip was too strong.

The woman dragged her over to the clerk, and He Xianqiu stumbled along unwillingly.

Being dragged like that made her expression darken. She was starting to get angry.

“Why are you grabbing me?”

But the woman ignored her and complained bitterly to the clerk, “I did so much work and only got six points. But this educated youth, He, only gets three? She works like she’s about to die any minute—how does she get three points?”

Her voice was sharp and piercing, her face full of fury as she pointed accusingly at the clerk.

He Xianqiu’s ears rang from the shrill complaint. She was utterly furious.

If you have a problem, take it up with them. Why drag me into it?
Completely unreasonable!