Acting 

Meng Yuanzheng paused briefly without saying anything. He grabbed her arm, tucked it under the blanket, and even patted her head. “Sleep. I’ll watch over you.” 

Lin Miaoyin took her hand out again, touching the back of his hand. It was only about 20 degrees at night, and he was wearing a vest with a jacket, so the back of his hand felt cool. 

“If we’re sleeping, let’s sleep together. It’s not like we haven’t shared a bed before.” 

Meng Yuanzheng… they had shared a bed, but never the same blanket. 

“If you’re not going to sleep, that’s fine. But you need to cover yourself with the blanket. Your hands are cold.” She shifted to the side to make space for him. 

“Hurry up. If you don’t listen, next time I’ll do the night watch alone and not let you come.” She then gave him a threatening look. 

Meng Yuanzheng smiled, took off his shoes, and crawled into the blanket, keeping a fist’s distance between them. 

Only then did Lin Miaoyin feel satisfied and fall asleep. 

When she woke up from the light above her head, Meng Yuanzheng had already gone home, leaving her a note. She glanced at the time—it was 6:30 in the morning. 

She put on her shoes, rolled up the blanket and bamboo mat, and when she got home, Meng Yuanzheng was making breakfast. 

After she washed up, Meng Yuanzheng’s egg noodles were already on the table. 

The white noodles were served with an oddly shaped, almost heart-shaped fried egg, minced meat, pickled vegetables, and green water spinach, making Lin Miaoyin’s eyes light up. 

Looking at Meng Yuanzheng’s bowl, there was no egg, and the pickled vegetables were half of what she had. 

He stirred the pickled vegetables slowly and said, “You’ve been working hard, so you need something good. I’ll make fish soup for you tonight. Yesterday, Chengren’s younger brother caught some small fish and gave us a few.” 

Seeing Lin Miaoyin looking at him with gratitude, he smiled. “Hurry up and eat. The noodles will clump together.” 

After finishing the noodles quickly, Lin Miaoyin went out. 

A few busy days passed. On the weekend, Lin Miaoyin took Meng Yuanzheng into the county to get his cast removed. This time, no one else went with them. Afterward, they delivered the design drafts to the two aunties. 

There were two things that made Lin Miaoyin very happy this time. 

First, Meng Yuanzheng’s leg had recovered well. He no longer needed crutches and could walk slowly on his own. 

Second, the skirt she had designed was selling extremely well on the black market. 

Then, the two of them went to have their photos taken. 

The photographer at the photo studio was excited to see such a good-looking customer and was very dedicated, taking a lot of pictures, both solo and together. Thankfully, wedding-style photo shoots hadn’t become a thing yet. 

Otherwise, if the photographer had asked them to move closer, look into each other’s eyes more deeply, and told the young man to hold her tighter… 

Would she burst out laughing on the spot or just run away? 

They couldn’t take the photos home that day and would have to return later to pick them up. After that, they went to the black market to buy a lot of meat, vegetables, and other items. 

On the bus back, after getting off at the commune, Lin Miaoyin was preparing to ask if there were any bull carts heading to Houtouwan or nearby. 

Meng Yuanzheng couldn’t walk long distances, so they had taken a bull cart when they came. 

Before they had walked two steps, a loud noise came from the front. A young man appeared on a tractor, looking very confident. 

His hair was slicked back in the latest style, shiny and neatly combed. He wore a leather jacket and polished leather shoes, sitting high up on the tractor. 

He recognized Lin Miaoyin, but she didn’t recognize him. 

“Miaoyin?” 

The man called out. 

Lin Miaoyin stopped and looked up at him, puzzled. “Who are you?” 

“I’m Zhao Shengli! Don’t you remember me?” 

The man broke into a big smile and jumped down from the tractor, leaning one elbow on it, striking what he thought was a very cool pose. 

“We used to sit together in class as kids. You really have a bad memory.” 

Lin Miaoyin tried hard to match his face with someone from her memories. 

Zhao Shengli continued, “When we were kids, we played house. You were the father, and I was the mother. Ring a bell now?” 

Meng Yuanzheng: ???? 

He walked over and looked at Zhao Shengli unfavorably. “This is…” 

“Ah, this must be your husband. I heard from my mother that you married an educated youth. Your man’s quite handsome. Come on, have a cigarette.” 

Zhao Shengli enthusiastically pulled out a cigarette, putting one in his own mouth and offering one to Meng Yuanzheng. 

Meng Yuanzheng quickly refused. “Thank you, I don’t smoke.” 

Lin Miaoyin finally remembered him. “Zhao Ergou, is that you? You should have said your nickname first. I didn’t recognize your full name at all.” 

Zhao Shengli… 

“Are you heading to Houtouwan? Come on, I’ll give you a ride.” 

Lin Miaoyin sized up his tractor and laughed. “Looks like you’re doing well. You’ve even got a tractor now.” 

“Not really. This is from our team. I work as a worker in the county. How could I afford a tractor with just a few dozen yuan a month?” Zhao Shengli still had the cigarette in his mouth as he urged them, “So are you coming or not? I’m just heading back, can take you with me.” 

“Thank you, Ergou.” 

Lin Miaoyin pulled Meng Yuanzheng forward, but he hesitated because the tractor’s rear bed was high, and his right leg was still weak, making it difficult to climb. 

“If you keep calling me Ergou, I’ll just leave you halfway. What’s wrong? Why aren’t you getting on?” Zhao Shengli said. 

“He’s still recovering from a leg injury and can’t put any strength into it,” Lin Miaoyin replied. 

Only then did Zhao Shengli remember that the person in front of him was the hero who had appeared in the newspaper. He immediately became respectful. 

“Ah, I completely forgot your man was injured. Let me help you,” he said. 

He stepped forward, grabbed Meng Yuanzheng’s thigh, and lifted him up. 

Meng Yuanzheng was forced to lean his upper body on the cargo bed, then Zhao Shengli gave him a push from behind, and he fell right into the vehicle. 

Meng Yuanzheng felt deeply humiliated. 

He sat up and reached out to pull Lin Miaoyin up. 

Zhao Shengli started the tractor with a rumble and they set off, chatting about this and that along the way. 

Lin Miaoyin suddenly noticed that Zhao Shengli’s pants were made of denim. 

Denim became popular in Mainland China in the 1980s, and Zhao Shengli was just an ordinary worker in the county. How did he get denim pants? 

She had seen denim fabric in the hands of two older women, but it was rare and not widely accepted by the public. 

It was somewhat more popular in coastal areas. 

Looking at Zhao Shengli’s appearance, he was quite fashionable. Could it be that he was secretly one of them? 

But right now, she couldn’t be sure and didn’t dare to ask directly. She only took note of where he lives. Zhao Shengli had invited her to visit him in the county next time for a meal. 

They got off at the intersection outside Houtouwan, and after bidding farewell to Zhao Shengli, they each headed home. 

… 

By the time all the rice was harvested and stored, it was already early September. 

Recently, Lin Miaoyin had been feeling a little down because a major historical turning point was approaching. 

The weather had been gloomy for several days, giving off the feeling of an impending storm. 

That afternoon, everyone suddenly heard the broadcast from the team. 

“Our great leader… has passed away.” 

When the broadcast came, everyone stopped. Some couldn’t react immediately, while others were in disbelief. Soon, sobbing sounds began, growing louder until the cries filled the air. 

The whole world seemed to be shrouded in sorrow. 

Lin Miaoyin closed the door, sat down heavily, and the same news came through the radio. 

She looked out the window; dark clouds covered the sky, and the room felt dim and oppressive. 

Meng Yuanzheng sat at the desk, quietly reading a book. 

She walked over, sat beside him, and leaned her head on his arm. 

Meng Yuanzheng put down the book, lowered his head, and asked softly, “Are you scared?” 

Lin Miaoyin shook her head. “No.” 

What was there to fear? She only sighed, realizing that in her past life, she had lived in modern society. It was only here that she could truly feel the strong respect and admiration that a nation and people could have for a great leader. 

After a while, heavy rain began to fall. The air turned cooler, and Meng Yuanzheng found a jacket for her to wear. 

The rain lasted through the day and night. 

Everyone had been on a long break, not working for many days. After nearly a month, the team decided to put on a play to praise and pass on the revolutionary spirit, with a performance scheduled for New Year’s Day. 

The sad atmosphere gradually lightened, and the villagers who enjoyed the excitement all signed up to participate. 

Since they were going to put on a play, someone had to be selected as the director. After a vote, a female educated youth named He Tian was chosen. Her parents had been part of an art troupe when they were young, and she had some knowledge from being exposed to it. 

Then they needed to choose the male and female leads. 

Although the play was about praising the revolutionary spirit, it used a small-scale approach, and the plot roughly went like this: During the revolutionary period, a young couple faced an invasion of their country. The man decided to enlist in the army, leaving behind his newlywed wife, who was pregnant. 

After he left, she gave birth to a son. Not long after, she heard that her husband had died in battle. 

She was devastated, vowing to avenge her husband’s death. She joined the Communist Party and continued to live with her son at home, becoming a special intelligence agent. 

When her son was two years old, one night, a man arrived. It was her husband, who had supposedly died in battle! 

Through their conversation, she learned that her husband hadn’t died but had become a traitor. 

The man wanted to take her and their son to live a better life. Despite the emotional turmoil inside her, she pretended to agree and followed him to the puppet army’s residence. There, she secretly sent valuable information to the Party. 

But soon, she was discovered. The man questioned her about her actions, and she replied, “I’m Chinese. I would rather die than be a traitor!” 

She said a lot of heartfelt words that made people reflect. This part of the story perfectly highlighted revolutionary spirit and patriotism. 

The man felt guilty and lowered his guard. Just then, the woman suddenly attacked and killed him with a knife. 

Before dying, the husband said, “I know I can’t be a traitor, but I just wanted to give you and our son a better life.” 

The woman cried and said a few more words. 

In the end, the door was broken open, and a group of Japanese soldiers rushed in. 

It was a heartbreaking story, but the audience loved it. 

There weren’t many actors needed, just the male and female leads, plus a few minor roles. 

So, who would play the leads? 

At the very least, the actors had to look decent, be educated (since they had to memorize lines), and appear righteous and heroic—not timid or weak. 

There were many suitable candidates for the female lead, including the new female educated youths. But what about the male lead? 

He Tian looked at a group of men who were sunburned black from harvesting rice and shook her head. 

“The female lead can be a bit darker, since she’s just a village woman, but the male lead can’t be. He’s a traitor, so he needs to look fair, like someone who eats well and lives a good life.” 

Everyone turned their eyes toward Lin Miaoyin and her husband, who were quietly watching the scene from the corner. 

“Someone who looks like they live a good life, someone fair-skinned, isn’t that Meng Yuanzheng?” 

He Tian nodded, feeling that Meng Yuanzheng was perfect for the male lead. However, his wife wouldn’t do. She had only attended school for three years and couldn’t read many characters. She definitely couldn’t play the female lead. 

So who should play the female lead? 

She looked at a few of the new female educated youths…