CHAPTER 13: Dry Mouth

Fu Mobai.

Why was she thinking of him?

Su Yuan quickly pulled her thoughts back, refusing to let them wander.

Up ahead, a long stretch of railway came into view, just as a train was about to pass. The cart had to stop, and the “ding-ding-ding” of the warning bell rang sharply in their ears.

A bicycle was parked beside the horse cart, its rider also waiting for the train. With nothing else to do, the cyclist turned his head, first glancing at Su Yuan and Shen Qing, then grinning as he asked Jiang Song, “Is this the new educated youth in our village? Where are you all headed?”

At the sight of this man, Jiang Song’s brows knitted tight. Through gritted teeth, he replied, “Where we’re going is none of your business. Best not to mess with me.”

“Hey?! What’s with that attitude? You Jiang family folks really know how to hold a grudge!”

The two glared at each other, tension sparking in the air.

Just then, the train rumbled into view, the deep hong-long hong-long growing louder and closer, the ground beneath their feet trembling as if the sound shook right into their chests.

Su Yuan quietly studied the cyclist. He was young, dressed in a white shirt and black trousers—looked like an educated youth himself. But why did Jiang Song hate him so much?

As the train passed, the crossing barrier slowly lifted. Jiang Song ignored the man entirely and urged the cart forward.

The cyclist, seeing this, only dared to mutter a few curses under his breath before hopping on his bike and pedaling away.

Shen Qing couldn’t hold back her curiosity. “Comrade Jiang, who was that? Do you two have a feud?”

Keeping his eyes on the road, Jiang Song didn’t answer until some time later. “His name’s Fang Desheng. He’s no good. You’d better stay far away from him.”

“Mm-hmm! I’ll definitely stay far, far away!” Shen Qing nodded quickly—she had no desire to bring trouble on herself.

Su Yuan searched through her memories from the past few days but found that Jiang Song had never mentioned Fang Desheng or any gossip about the Fang family. Maybe their relationship isn’t as simple as it looks on the surface…

Before long, they reached town. She and Shen Qing got off in front of the supply and marketing cooperative, while Jiang Song went to the school to see his younger sister.

For the upcoming military–civilian gala, Shen Qing wanted to buy a pair of white shoes—her old pair had yellowed, and they wouldn’t look good on stage.

Su Yuan didn’t buy anything herself, just accompanied her friend.

Besides the shoes, Shen Qing also bought a hair ornament, snow cream, and a full jin of fruit candy, spending freely without hesitation.

After their shopping, the two of them turned right out of the store and found a small stall that repaired fountain pens. Su Yuan handed her broken pen to the repairman.

He only gave it a glance before saying, “You’d better take it back. I don’t have a nib for that one.”

The unexpected answer stunned Su Yuan. She quickly asked, “Then do you know where I can get it replaced?”

“That brand’s nib can only be replaced in the city. Small places like ours can’t fix it.”

“I see. Thank you.”

Disappointed, Su Yuan tucked the pen back into her shoulder bag.

Seeing her mood, Shen Qing’s eyes lit with an idea. “Don’t be too upset. When we go to Qingshan City for the National Day gala, we can fix it while we’re there.”

From Baiyun Village, there was only one bus to Qingshan City each week, and you needed an introduction letter from the village to travel.

With the autumn harvest coming soon, getting leave wouldn’t be easy. After some thought, Su Yuan decided she’d better join the gala after all.

Otherwise, she might have to wait until winter to get the pen fixed…

Before heading back to the village, they stopped at the post office.

It was the weekend, so the place was crowded. You had to queue to collect a package. While they waited, Shen Qing remembered the scene by the train tracks earlier and chuckled.

“I don’t know why, but Jiang Song’s face keeps popping into my head. He looked so manly just now, all fierce like that!”

“…”

Hearing this, an image of a handsome face also surfaced in Su Yuan’s mind. She quickly shook it off and changed the subject. “The package you’re picking up—did you send it before coming to the countryside?”

“Yes. My mom was worried I’d get cold, so she went all over trading for cotton and made me a thick quilt and mattress. She knew I couldn’t carry them myself, so she mailed them here.”

Shen Qing’s parents both worked in a state-run factory. Even with many children in the family, they treated her no differently from the others. Talking about their care filled her face with pride and happiness.

Seeing that, Su Yuan couldn’t help wondering—what kind of people were her own biological parents?

Meanwhile, in the capital.

Zhang Lanjun sat on the sofa, frowning, lost in thought.

Wen Yan had just come in from outside. Seeing her like that, she walked over curiously. “Mom, what’s wrong? Who’s upset you now?”

As if spotting a savior, Zhang Lanjun straightened immediately. “Yan-zi, I’ve been craving those walnut crisps from West City. Could you go buy some for me?”

She reached for money, but Wen Yan quickly waved it off. “Mom, I have something important to do. No time. Why not ask Xiao Xue? She’s got nothing better to do—she’ll definitely run the errand for you.”

At the mention of Zhao Xiaoxue, Zhang Lanjun’s expression darkened.

“That girl—who knows what she’s busy with? She’s never home, never helps with chores. I end up doing everything myself, as if I owe her something.”

In the past, Su Yuan would have kept the house spotless and gone to West City to buy her favorite walnut crisps without complaint. Now, all of that is gone.

Seeing the resentment on her face, Wen Yan laughed. “Mom, there’s no such thing as a grudge between a real mother and daughter. You’d better get used to it—what else can you do?”

Zhang Lanjun wasn’t blind to her schadenfreude. Her chest tightened, her breath catching in frustration.

….

Time flew, and in the blink of an eye, half a month had passed.

Aside from Su Yuan and Shen Qing, another girl from the village, Yang Xiaohong, was also joining the gala.

Everyone else preferred to earn work points rather than volunteer.

The neighboring village had four participants—one more than theirs. The rehearsals were set to be held in the neighboring village’s committee office, a half-hour’s walk from Baiyun Village.

Compared to farm labor, that short walk was nothing.

Led by Yang Xiaohong, they took a winding shortcut to the venue. Inside the committee office, four young women were already waiting.

One of them lit up at the sight of Su Yuan. “Comrade Su, we finally meet again!”

Su Yuan took a closer look—it was Feng Shumiao. They had hit it off instantly on the train, and meeting again now felt like reuniting with an old friend after years apart.

At that moment, the village’s Women’s Committee director raised her voice,
“Alright everyone, quiet down! National Day is only a few days away, so let’s finalize our program!”

Whether it would be a group song or a dance would be decided by a vote.

Compared to dancing, singing in a chorus was much easier, so almost everyone chose the group song.
Not wanting to drag anyone down, Su Yuan raised her right hand and confessed,
“Leader, I’m tone-deaf. I might hold everyone back.”

The Women’s Director turned to her, frowned, and asked,
“You’re the military wife, aren’t you?”

Su Yuan blinked, feeling a little guilty, and hummed in confirmation.

“That’s fine. Being tone-deaf isn’t a big problem. Just open and close your mouth on stage. With the audience so far away, no one will notice.”

“…”

Since the leader said so, Su Yuan pressed her lips together and had no more objections.

In the end, the song chosen for the chorus was The Waves of Honghu Lake.

Su Yuan was very familiar with this song—she’d practiced it countless times at the piano before, and had even played it together with Fu Mobai.

When the familiar melody began, she only mouthed the words without making a sound, afraid she’d disrupt the others’ performance.

And so, the days passed. Every three to five days, they would gather to practice. Sometimes, they’d meet privately to rehearse, chat, and exchange gossip from neighboring villages.

One day, after a practice session, they sat under the big banyan tree in front of the village committee office, eating popsicles.

Su Yuan turned to Yang Xiaohong and asked,
“Do you know Fang Desheng? What kind of person is he?”

Yang Xiaohong’s face changed instantly.
“Why? Did he harass you?”

“No, I just heard someone mention him.”

“That’s good…”

Yang Xiaohong let out a long sigh of relief and warned her,
“If you see him, don’t get involved with him. He’s not a good person.”

“Did Fang Desheng do something bad?”

Yang Xiaohong hesitated for a moment, then pulled Su Yuan aside and whispered,
“I’ll tell you, but you can’t let anyone know I said it.”

“Alright, I won’t.”

The two locked eyes, a silent agreement of trust passing between them.

What followed was a sad story.

Six years ago, the prettiest girl in the village was Jiang Xue, Jiang Song’s cousin. Many suitors had come knocking at her door.

But Jiang Xue’s greatest wish was to be admitted into a military art troupe and become an outstanding female soldier.

For some unknown reason, she ended up dating Fang Desheng, which shocked everyone—especially her family, who absolutely couldn’t accept it.

At the time, Fang Desheng was a good-for-nothing loafer. Apart from coming from a decent family, he had nothing going for him.

Perhaps because she put all her energy into that relationship, Jiang Xue stopped talking about joining the art troupe. The following year, she didn’t sign up for the military-civilian gala, while Fang Erya successfully got in. That hit Jiang Xue hard, and she became gloomy and withdrawn.

Not long after, rumors spread in the village that Fang Desheng was having an affair with a widow. When Jiang Xue found out, she caused a huge scene, and in a moment of despair, she took her own life.

Her parents were devastated. They confronted the Fang family every day, and the village cadres’ persuasion was useless. Eventually, it was “proven” that the affair with the widow was just a rumor, and instead Jiang Xue was labeled petty and narrow-minded.

The Jiang parents fell gravely ill from grief and anger, moved to the neighboring village, and never came back.

To this day, the Jiang and Fang families remain bitter enemies.

Also, not everyone in the village believed the so-called “investigation results,” which is why Fang Desheng, now twenty-six, still couldn’t find a wife.

After hearing the whole story, Su Yuan felt deeply conflicted. She finally understood Jiang Song’s silent rage the day they went to town.

If it were her, she might have wanted to beat the man to death.

“What’s the relationship between Fang Erya and Fang Desheng?”

“They’re real siblings. Ever since Fang Erya left, she hasn’t returned to the village for five years. But the Fang family doesn’t seem to resent her—they seem to keep in touch by letter.”

Su Yuan frowned slightly. She felt there was some kind of connection here, but couldn’t quite piece it together.

By evening, they were back at the Jiang household.

Jiang Song was sitting in the courtyard, helping his sister with her homework. He hadn’t gone to school for long, so many of the questions were completely beyond him.

But in order to maintain his elder brother’s authority, he could only pretend to know.

“Ge, do you even know how to do this? It’s been ten minutes and you still haven’t solved it.”

Jiang Yuan pouted, clearly dissatisfied.

Jiang Song rubbed his nose in embarrassment. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Su Yuan and immediately stood up to ask for help.
“Comrade Su, you’re just in time! Come help me figure this one out—it’s too hard.”

Su Yuan laughed as she walked over, sitting down beside Jiang Yuan.

The night breeze carried the scent of jasmine.

She took the book and asked gently,
“Which one are you stuck on?”

Jiang Yuan, a face-value snob, stared at her beautiful face and immediately lost her earlier sass, becoming obedient as a kitten.

She pointed at a whole page.
“Jie, I don’t know how to do any of these. Can you explain them all to me?”

“??”

Looking at the questions, Su Yuan couldn’t help but ask,
“Were you not paying attention in class?”

Trying to make a good impression on the pretty jie, Jiang Yuan quickly explained,
“Our math teacher suddenly got sick, so we don’t have anyone teaching us. We’ve been studying on our own—it’s normal I can’t do them.”

Su Yuan was silent for a moment, then comforted her softly,
“If you don’t understand something, you can just ask me. I’m always free.”

Seeing that she was beautiful, kind, and capable, Jiang Yuan’s eyes lit up. She suddenly said,
“Jie, you’re so smart—why don’t you come be our math teacher?”