Chapter 4

Shen Jianzhen was spiritually gifted when it came to studying, but in everyday life, she was like an idiot.

She was often kicked out of the classroom by teachers because she was dirty—her body was dirty, her schoolbag was dirty, even her desk was dirty. But even just listening to lessons from outside the door, she still scored 100 on every test.

Her home life was a mess. When asked to cook, she would stuff the stove full of firewood so tightly that no air could get in, and the fire wouldn’t start.

One time, her father asked her to cook rice. She lit an oil lamp in the stove. After an hour, not only was the rice uncooked, even the pot wasn’t warm.

Shen Dalin asked her what was going on. She said, “I wanted to see if cooking rice was just a matter of lighting a fire and waiting long enough for it to cook.”

Before Shen Dalin could say anything, Wu Xiaohong dragged Shen Jianzhen to the front yard and gave her a beating with the sole of a shoe.

She hit her so hard the whole village came out to watch the spectacle. Still, Shen Jianzhen was unrepentant: “I did light a fire. I just don’t know why the rice didn’t cook.”

Everyone said she was wrong, but no one could clearly explain why she was wrong.

Shen Erlin, who had attended junior high, said that while cooking involves fire and so does lighting an oil lamp, the fire from cooking uses a bunch of kindling and produces strong heat, while an oil lamp gives off very little heat—no matter how long it burns, it can’t cook rice.

Only then did Shen Jianzhen nod thoughtfully, as if she finally understood.

There was another time Shen Jianzhen lit a fire in the yard.

The neighbor saw it and shouted, “What, you don’t want these houses anymore?”

She was smacked a few more times, and she muttered, “You all said everything grows because of sunlight. But this tree in the yard doesn’t get any sun. Sunlight is warm, and so is fire. I lit a fire to give the tree some sunlight.”

Listen to that—makes you laugh to death, doesn’t it? Giving a tree sunlight with fire!

But this “fool” and “dummy” breezed through school all the same. She split her time between chores and studying, and never once repeated a grade! During the high school entrance exam, she scored so well that a top-tier school recruited her.

Then in high school, she again scored high and was admitted to a prestigious university.

Shen Dalin once wanted her to stop studying and go work in a factory. But her homeroom teacher came to their house and told him: “Your daughter would be hopeless on an assembly line. She’s too clumsy—people would hate her. But she’s different when it comes to studying. Some people are just born to find their path through education.”

Shen Dalin was an orphan and had grown up without any parental love, so he tended to be independent and put himself first. But he still loved his children.

Especially Shen Jianzhen—every teacher she ever had said she was exceptionally bright. So Shen Dalin thought it over and agreed to let her keep studying.

Even when she reached junior high, she was still a mess—wearing the same clothes for an entire season. Her teacher would give her old clothes to wear and tell her to wash her hair and bathe.

The more she studied, the more composed she became. Her job was far away, so she only came home once or twice a year, and they rarely saw each other.

When they did meet, Shen Jianzhen was still warm and friendly—just like when she was little. Except now she looked completely polished, like a proper city woman with real presence. Shen Dalin was fifty and already slightly hunched, but Shen Jianzhen still stood straight as a rod.

She dressed well too, with no trace of the sloppy girl she used to be.

So, why not go ask Shen Jianzhen what to do?

Once the thought crossed her mind, Zhang Hongying acted.

She finished making porridge, let it simmer with the fire off, and ran across to the east side of the river to find Shen Jianzhen.

Their homes were separated by just a small river. If they happened to be washing rice or laundry at the river at the same time, they could talk face to face.

Li Xiaofang called out from behind her, “Aren’t you going to eat some porridge before heading out?”

Zhang Hongying shouted back, “I’ll eat when I get back.”

Shen Jianzhen didn’t do chores, so she had lots of free time. When she wasn’t in school, she came looking for Zhang Hongying several times a day. Zhang Hongying, on the other hand, was always working hard—like a donkey. She never had time to visit Shen Jianzhen. Even when Shen Jianzhen came to her, she could only talk in snatches between chores.

Zhang Hongying suddenly felt all that praise from others wasn’t worth a penny.

When she arrived at Shen Jianzhen’s house, Wu Xiaohong said she was still sleeping.

Zhang Hongying walked right in without ceremony. Shen Jianzhen, dark-skinned and skinny, was still asleep.

Zhang Hongying called her name twice and woke her up.

Shen Jianzhen quickly started getting dressed while chatting: “This might be the first time you’ve come to find me. You finally got a day off from chores?”

Zhang Hongying said, “Yeah, with the heavy snow, there’s no farm work today.

I’m going to study at Lijia Village School next year. But my mom says maybe I shouldn’t go. I came to ask your opinion.”

Shen Jianzhen thought for a moment and said, “The old monk in our village says studying is the best. Once you learn knowledge, it stays in your mind. No one can take it from you. Other things—those are not guaranteed.”

Zhang Hongying said gloomily, “But I just can’t learn—Chinese, math, I can’t do any of it.”

Shen Jianzhen comforted her: “When you get to junior high, there’ll be English, physics, chemistry—and even harder math like geometry. All harder than Chinese and math.”

Zhang Hongying was speechless. Was that supposed to be comforting?

But Shen Jianzhen was her only close friend, and the smartest person she knew. So she asked her, “If I don’t go to school, what should I do?”

Shen Jianzhen thought for a bit: “Studying is one way to learn knowledge, but there are other ways too.

Boys who don’t study often become carpenters, masons, or painters. Some learn to fix bicycles.

I have a cousin who even went to learn to repair radios.

It’s harder for girls to do those kinds of work—requires more strength. But you could learn tailoring or hairdressing. Once you master it, it’s your skill. That’s pretty good too.

Why not try one of those?”

Zhang Hongying thought that made sense.

She knew herself—carpenters could go work in renovation companies, but fixing bicycles and radios would become obsolete. Even TV repair only lasted maybe twenty years—then people just replaced broken TVs instead of fixing them.

She didn’t want to be a hairdresser either. There was a woman in the commune who cut hair, and though her business was good, people gossiped that she was flirting with men. No matter how she tried to defend herself, everyone believed her popularity meant something shady was going on.

Zhang Hongying didn’t want to deal with that kind of judgment.

But Shen Jianzhen pulled out a few pin-up posters: “Look, these women are so beautiful. Their hairstyles must have been done by professional stylists.”

Zhang Hongying looked at the tiny posters, about an inch big. Yes, the women were beautiful. But she worried, “I don’t even know where to go to learn.”

Shen Jianzhen suggested, “Ask your mom to help you find out. Adults know more people—they’ll figure something out.

If you can’t learn hairdressing, then learn tailoring.

I saw you embroidering when you were five or six, and you knit sweaters and scarves faster than the grown-ups.

Learning to make clothes suits you too.”

Zhang Hongying fully agreed.

She had worked in a silk-reeling factory until it shut down, and ended up with not a single penny to her name.

But if she learned a skill—even if her family took all her wages—her ability would still be hers.