Xu An had already boiled the water. Seeing Xu Ning approaching, he quickly carried the bowl over and placed it on the table, urging his sister to sit down and drink. “I’ve cooled it down; it’s not hot anymore. Sister, drink up quickly.”

Xu Ning looked at his emaciated frame. The ten-year-old looked like he was only seven or eight. His health had never been good, and the past six months in the countryside had been particularly tough on him. Seeing him like this made Xu Ning’s heart ache. She pulled him close and sat down with him. Xu An held the bowl to Xu Ning’s mouth and said, “Sister, drink the water. Dr. Han said you should drink more hot water.”

After Xu Ning had finished drinking, Xu An leaned close to her ear and whispered, “Sister, let’s go up the mountain to get some money and buy some eggs from the aunt in the village to help you recover.” Hearing Xu An’s words, Xu Ning was deeply moved. She hugged him tightly, choking up as she said, “Okay, let’s get the money and buy something good. We both need to take care of ourselves.”

Xu Ning had already tested it earlier; her space had followed her, so she used this opportunity to take out some items.

As the siblings continued their quiet conversation, Li Fengjiao and Lin Qiuhua came in carrying a basket of green beans. Upon seeing the siblings sitting there, they glared at them with intense hostility, their eyes full of malice. Xu Ning was not afraid of them. It was a good opportunity to establish her authority and let them know who was in charge.

Xu Ning picked up a nearby fire poker and tapped it on the ground a few times. Pointing at the two women, she said, “What, does your butt not hurt anymore? If it doesn’t, I don’t mind giving you both a little reminder.”

Seeing the two women scream and run out, Xu Ning snorted and chased after them, shouting, “Let me tell you, if you ever provoke us again, you’ll get beaten every time you show up. Also, the twenty eggs the village chief asked you to pay for, I want them by tonight. Otherwise…” Xu Ning tapped the fire poker on the ground a few more times. The two women who had run inside did not make a sound.

Turning back, Xu Ning saw Xu An looking at her with admiration. “Sister, you’re amazing,” he said. Xu Ning patted his head and said, “Little brother, I won’t let anyone bully you again.” As soon as the words left her mouth, Xu An’s tears began to fall, and he buried his face in Xu Ning’s arms, crying loudly. Xu Ning’s eyes also turned red.

Three male educated youths opened the door and came out, asking what had happened. Xu Ning replied, “It’s nothing.”

It was unclear whether the three male educated youths had heard her earlier words, but since they had only just come out, they had likely heard everything. Since no one had intervened when the siblings were being bullied, it was best to assume that nothing had happened. At least when she was in a dominant position, others did not interfere. She did not want to make enemies with everyone. Unless something unexpected occurred, she and her brother would likely stay here until the college entrance exams resumed, which was more than eight years away. Even if they could not become friends with everyone, it was better not to make too many enemies.

Xu Ning said to the three of them, “You guys go rest. We still have work to do in the afternoon.” They nodded and went back inside.

Xu Ning took her brother to the kitchen. She had steamed some dumplings in the morning, and each person was supposed to have two. Xu An, being younger, only had one, but Xu Ning always gave him a little extra. After eating the dumplings, the siblings headed to the mountain to retrieve the hidden money.

The original owner had hidden the money on the mountain because there was no safe place to keep it. It was too thick a wad to hide in summer clothes, which were thin and insufficient for concealment. The siblings had decided to bury it on the mountain and retrieve a bit whenever needed.

Now that Xu Ning had crossed over, she could store the money in her space. In the future, when she needed to take out food or other supplies, she could claim they were purchases.

Xu Ning had another idea. Today, she noticed a small vacant plot of land near the base of the Daqing Mountain behind the youth camp. Although it was small, it was well-positioned, with the steep Daqing Mountain at the back and a vegetable garden in front, separated from the camp by some distance. If she built a small door on the right side, she could enter and exit without passing through the main camp area. This way, she could live somewhat independently while still being part of the youth commune. It would make managing her own affairs much more convenient.

It was only 1969, and more educated youths would come to the countryside in the future. With more people, there would be more conflicts. Xu Ning only wanted to live a quiet life with her brother over the next eight years while waiting for the college entrance exams. Therefore, she needed to plan carefully.

After walking for about half an hour, the siblings reached a large tree. They looked around to make sure no one was watching before they began to dig. They uncovered the money and various notes wrapped in an oilcloth, which were the same as when they had come to the countryside. The money they had used over the past few months had been sent by Xu Ning’s elder brother, Xu Yang, who had joined the army last December. Although he only sent a few dozen yuan each month, he always sent six yuan to the siblings. They had not used much of this six yuan each month.

Xu Ning placed the money and notes into the basket she carried, which was actually a part of her space. Xu An asked, “Sister, should we take all of it?”

Xu Ning replied, “Yes, take it all back. It’s not safe to leave it here, and it’s troublesome to come back every time we need something. If someone sees us, we could lose everything.” Xu An agreed and nodded, saying, “Okay, I’ll do what you say.”

The siblings then went down the mountain to Uncle Dashuan’s house in the village to buy eggs. Uncle Dashuan had three sons and a daughter. Xu An was close to the youngest son, Jianmin, with whom he worked daily cutting pigweed. Uncle Dashuan and Aunt Dashuan were kind-hearted, and Xu Ning’s family usually bought their eggs from them.

When they arrived at the door, they saw Jianhua, the eldest son of Uncle Dashuan, coming out. Xu An called out, “Brother Jianhua!”

Chen Jianhua responded, “Oh, it’s Xu Ning and Xiao An. What brings you here?”

Xu An replied, “I’m looking for Aunt Dashuan.” Jianhua understood the situation and said, “She’s here. Go on in.” He then shouted into the house, “Mother, someone’s looking for you!”

Aunt Dashuan came out and, seeing the siblings, immediately asked, “Xu Ning, is your head alright? I was planning to visit you this afternoon after work. Why aren’t you resting? What are you doing here?”

Xu Ning smiled and said, “Auntie, I’m fine. Do you have any eggs? I’d like to buy some.”

“There are, there are. Wait a moment, I’ll get them for you,” Aunt Dashuan said as she brought out the basket of eggs for Xu Ning to see.

“Xu Ning, how many do you want?”

Xu Ning looked at the basket, which had eight or nine eggs, and told Aunt Dashuan, “I’ll take them all. Can you count them? I need to pay you.”

Aunt Dashuan counted and found there were nine eggs, priced at three fen each. Xu Ning counted out twenty-seven fen and gave it to Aunt Dashuan, but Aunt Dashuan only accepted twenty fen.

The two of them insisted on pushing the matter back and forth, but Aunt Dashuan eventually said, “Xu Ning, I was actually planning to visit you this evening. These two eggs are for you to help you recover. Next time you come to buy, I’ll charge you the full price.”

Seeing that she wouldn’t budge, Xu Ning stopped insisting. Knowing they would be in the same village and hoping to repay the favor in the future, she smiled and said, “Thank you, Auntie.”

Aunt Dashuan saw them to the door and said to Xu Ning, “Xu Ning, you can’t be so easygoing all the time. You worked all morning and earned the same amount of work points as an adult. After work, you still went to help them fetch water. You’re so young; how can you handle that? You should think about Xiao An too. He’s so small. If you tire yourself out or fall ill, what will happen to him?”

Xu Ning lowered her head and said, “I understand, Auntie. I won’t do this again. I’ve been disheartened this time. I used to think that living together in the same village, it wouldn’t matter if I did more work, but the more I did, the worse they treated us, using me and my brother as servants. I’ve decided that from now on, we’ll keep to ourselves. I’ll just focus on earning work points with Xiao An.”

Aunt Dashuan smiled and said, “Yes, that’s the right idea. Go home and rest. Don’t work for the next couple of days. Get your head healed up first.”

Xu Ning smiled and nodded, taking Xu An back to the youth camp. The place was empty, as everyone had probably gone to work.

Xu An went to the kitchen with the eggs and added water to the pot, intending to boil the eggs for Xu Ning.

Xu Ning told him to start the fire while she would cook the eggs, but Xu An insisted, “Sister, you go rest. I’ll cook them and bring them to you.”

Xu Ning asked him to cook four eggs, and Xu An added three more, washing them before putting them in the pot.

While Xu An was cooking the eggs, Xu Ning went to check the vacant plot behind the vegetable garden.

The more she looked, the better it seemed. The plot was about 30 square meters and could accommodate two rooms. Not far to the left, a small toilet could also be built. She planned to go to the city tomorrow and find an excuse to take out some items from her space.

With her plan for the city trip set, Xu Ning heard Xu An calling her from the kitchen, announcing that the eggs were ready. She headed to the kitchen, her stomach reminding her that it had been a long time since she had eaten a full meal. Hearing that the eggs were ready, she quickened her pace.

Upon entering the kitchen, she saw Xu An had already placed four eggs in a bowl. Seeing Xu Ning, he hurriedly urged her to sit down and eat. Xu Ning asked him to sit as well and took two eggs from the bowl to give to him, smiling as she said, “Eat up! We’ll each have two.”

Xu An placed the two eggs back into her bowl and said, “Sister, you eat them. I’m not hungry. It’s for you to get better.” He swallowed hard as he spoke, making Xu Ning feel both amused and heartbroken.

Xu Ning peeled the eggs and put them into Xu An’s mouth, saying, “If Xiao An doesn’t eat, then neither will I.”

In the end, Xu An ate one egg and insisted on saving the other one for Xu Ning to eat later in the evening.

Xu Ning couldn’t do much about it, so she decided to take the opportunity to go into the city tomorrow and retrieve some items from her space.

After Xu An finished eating, he went off to cut pigweed, which earned him two work points per day for four baskets of pigweed.

Xu Ning lay on the bed, closing her eyes and contemplating the future. She had looked in the mirror earlier; the original owner’s features were quite similar to hers, with a pair of eyes that sparkled when she smiled, much more attractive than her own previous vision of over 300 degrees. In this era, having good looks and coming from this family background wasn’t exactly advantageous. It seemed she would need to change her current appearance and personality.

Lost in thought, she dozed off. She only woke up when she heard voices outside. Opening the door, she saw that everyone had finished work. Xu An had just come out of the camp.

Seeing Xu Ning, Xu An ran over and asked, “Sister, does your head still hurt?” The question made Xu Ning realize just how much her wound was throbbing.

The pain in her wound soured her mood, and when she was in a bad mood, she wanted to find trouble. Naturally, she targeted those who caused her harm.

Ignoring Xu An’s concern, she grabbed the stick from the morning and approached Li Fengjiao, who was washing her face. With a stern look and narrowed eyes, she asked, “Have you prepared those twenty eggs?” Li Fengjiao, frightened, stammered, “I’ll go buy them as soon as I finish washing my face.”

Hearing this, Xu Ning cast a sidelong glance at her and went back into the room. Xu An followed her inside.

The three male educated youths exchanged glances but continued with their own tasks. Li Fengjiao and Lin Qiuhua both looked upset but said nothing. After washing her face, Li Fengjiao went out to buy the eggs, and Lin Qiuhua went to the kitchen to prepare dinner. The evening meal consisted of two dishes per person, with a bowl of stir-fried green beans. Everyone ate in silence, not a word spoken.

After dinner, Xu Ning and her brother chatted for a while outside before heading to their respective rooms to rest. Back in her room, Xu Ning saw that a small basket of eggs had been placed at her bed. She counted them—exactly twenty. Xu Ning snorted, thinking how useful this arrangement was, and smiled, relieved that she didn’t need to argue about it.

With a yawn, she lay down and went to sleep.