Following the flow of the crowded crowd, the four of them carried their bundles and luggage as they got off the vehicle.
Taking a deep breath, the air outside felt incredibly fresh. The ride had almost made Lin Erxia nauseous—the roads nowadays were all built by individual villages, full of bumps and potholes.
Lin Hongying was already waiting at the exit, with a pedal-powered tricycle beside her. When she spotted them, she quickly waved.
“Big Brother, Third Brother, Erxia, Xiaozhu—over here!”
Lin Yongshun saw her too. Hugging the luggage, he jogged a couple of steps forward and tossed it into the back compartment, panting heavily.
Lin Yongfeng, on the other hand, was practically buried under everything he was carrying—you could barely see him. Lin Hongying hurried over to take some of the load and carefully placed it onto the tricycle. Only then did Lin Yongfeng finally breathe a sigh of relief and wipe the sweat from his face.
“Alright, let’s go register at the school first. We’ll take a look around, then come to my place for a meal. I already asked around—you don’t have classes today. If you’re staying in the dorms, just come back this afternoon.”
Lin Erxia and Lin Zhuer nodded obediently.
“Oh, I almost forgot!” Lin Hongying clapped her hands. “These are new clothes I made for you two. You’re in high school now—how can you not have at least one new outfit?”
She handed them each a small bag hanging from the handlebars.
“Try them on when you get back. If they don’t fit, come find your aunt—I’ll take you to get them altered.”
As she spoke, she patted Lin Erxia lightly on the back.
“Alright, let’s get moving before it gets even hotter.”
It was already close to ten o’clock, and the temperature had begun to rise. Even sitting in the vehicle earlier had felt stifling.
Lin Erxia took the initiative to push the tricycle from the front, while Lin Zhuer pushed from behind. Lin Hongying and the others walked behind them, chatting, occasionally pointing out directions.
Along the way, there weren’t many people on the street. Lin Erxia noticed a few young men wearing red armbands. They looked only two or three years older than her.
Each of them stood with hands behind their backs, scanning their surroundings. The few pedestrians who passed by quickly avoided them. Lin Erxia glanced in their direction a few times.
From behind, Lin Hongying lowered her voice. “Erxia, don’t look over there. Keep walking.”
Lin Erxia stopped being curious. The five of them quickened their pace slightly and left the area. Once they were farther away, Lin Zhuer couldn’t help asking:
“Aunt, who were those people? Why is everyone afraid of them?”
“Just remember—they’re not good people. If you run into them, stay as far away as possible.” Lin Hongying didn’t explain further, but her expression was serious.
Lin Zhuer nodded nervously. “I understand, Aunt. I’ll stay far away.”
Lin Hongying finally relaxed a bit. “People like us aren’t really their concern, so you don’t need to be too scared. Just keep your distance normally.”
Both Lin Zhuer and Lin Erxia nodded. Lin Erxia could guess a little—after all, she knew some history—but she said nothing and had no desire to get involved.
Pingyao No.1 High School was located in the southeast of Pingyao County, not too far from the station. After pushing their things for about half an hour, they arrived.
Although it was the only high school in the county, the campus wasn’t large.
After submitting their admission notices, letters of introduction, and paying tuition and boarding fees—ten yuan per semester—they completed registration. Someone then led them to the dormitories while briefly explaining the layout.
To the west was a large field, now overgrown with weeds. Beside it stood two rows of long buildings, each divided into four sections, with fairly wide spacing between them.
All were single-story old brick-and-tile houses. On the walls were red slogans such as: “We must be modest and prudent, guard against arrogance and rashness, and wholeheartedly serve the people.”
However, time had faded the white lettering, and graffiti had been added over the years.
The southernmost building was the teaching block. The two middle rows were the boys’ dormitories, and the northernmost row was for girls.
The two rows were divided by grade—one for first-year students, the other for second-year—so they wouldn’t interfere with each other.
Although the girls’ dorms were a bit farther away, they were closer to the cafeteria, which was located at the northwest corner, directly north of the field.
The dorm rooms weren’t four- or six-person rooms, but ten-person ones.
Lin Erxia and Lin Zhuer weren’t in the same class—Lin Erxia was in Class 3 of the first year, while Lin Zhuer was in Class 2.
Their dorm rooms, however, were next to each other.
While Lin Yongshun waited outside, Lin Erxia entered her dorm. Three people were already tidying up, and two beds had already been made.
She felt a bit relieved—they had bunk beds. If it had been one large shared platform bed, it would have been much harder to get used to.
There were five bunk beds. Two were placed tightly against each wall, and the last one stood in the innermost middle, next to the bed on the west side. The passageway near the front was fairly wide, but inside it narrowed to just enough space for one person to pass.
On either side of the door stood tall cabinets, divided into small compartments by wooden boards.
The compartments were labeled from one to eight—likely for storing personal belongings.
Without hesitation, Lin Erxia chose the upper bunk of a bed positioned alone on the inner right side.
Looking at the dusty bed board, she asked a girl on the lower bunk nearby. The girl wore a brand-new white patterned long-sleeve shirt, her twin braids swinging as she moved, revealing a neat forehead.
“Hello, where can I get water?”
The girl had nearly finished wiping her bed. She stood up and stretched her back.
“Hi. The water taps are in front of the second-year dorms to the east. There were quite a few people there earlier. If you need it urgently, you can use mine—I’ve already finished cleaning, and the water isn’t too dirty.”
Lin Erxia glanced at it—it was true. She hadn’t even brought a basin and was wondering what to do. Seeing how kind the girl was, she quickly thanked her.
“Thank you so much. My name is Lin Erxia, Class 3, first year.”
The girl smiled generously. “What a coincidence—we’re in the same class. I’m Xu Ru.”
The other two girls turned around as well and introduced themselves with smiles.
“We’re in the same class too. I’m Xie Qinglan.”
“I’m Xie Xiaolian. Qinglan and I are from the same village.”
Xie Qinglan was tall with wheat-colored skin, flashing a bright white smile when she spoke.
Xie Xiaolian, standing beside her, was smaller and fairer, though the freckles on her face stood out more.
Lin Erxia greeted them warmly, “Hello, hello.”
They hadn’t finished unpacking, so they turned back to continue chatting while working.
Xu Ru even helped Lin Erxia. After thanking her, Lin Erxia wiped the bed once with a rag, then, when the water turned pitch black, borrowed Xu Ru’s basin to fetch clean water and wiped it again.
The two helped each other make their beds and then stored their belongings in the small cabinets.
Lin Erxia asked, “There are ten beds—why only eight cabinets?”
Xu Ru smiled. “Because the girls’ dorms are rarely full. Each room usually has only seven or eight people.”
Lin Erxia understood. In rural areas, it wasn’t common for girls to attend high school—traditional preference for sons was still widespread.
In their village, the number of girls who had attended high school could be counted on one hand.
Naturally, this led to a significant gender imbalance among students.
Xu Ru had also noticed that although Lin Erxia dressed simply—honestly, even poorly compared to others—she still insisted on attending high school. That alone gave Xu Ru a very favorable impression of her.
Lin Yongshun waited idly outside.
After thanking Xu Ru and saying goodbye to Xie Qinglan and Xie Xiaolian, Lin Erxia went out to find him and also checked on Lin Zhuer. With their aunt’s help, she was probably almost done as well.
Afterward, they carried their grain to the cafeteria to exchange for food coupons—what kind of grain you brought determined what kind of coupons you received.
Seeing that Lin Zhuer had half rice and half white flour, Lin Erxia couldn’t help but feel a surge of envy. Even Lin Yongshun couldn’t resist clicking his tongue.
These things were rare not only in the countryside but even in the cafeteria—the kitchen staff couldn’t help but glance at Lin Zhuer a few extra times.
Lin Yongfeng explained, “Dad, Mom, and Xiao Jie were worried Zhuer wouldn’t adapt, so they exchanged some white flour and rice for this month.”
Lin Erxia decided that out of sight was out of mind. Holding her own corn-and-sorghum food coupons, she walked out first.
On the way, Lin Zhuer felt a bit embarrassed and quietly told Lin Erxia she could trade her some of her coupons.
Lin Erxia refused. If Chen Shi and the others found out, her life in high school would become anything but peaceful.
Novel by Zhu Lin Luo Yu