“My brother hasn’t come back yet. Why are you looking for him?”
“Hello, my name is Su Qingyue. I just came from the capital, and I’d like to go to the county town.”
“Alright. I’ll tell my brother when he gets back.”
Not long after Su Qingyue and Zhuangzhuang left, Yuan Guang drove the ox cart back into the village with Pei Huaiye.
The two of them had enlisted together. After being discharged, they entered the Xichuan Criminal Investigation Unit side by side.
Because they often carried out confidential missions, they disguised their identities in Shuangshui Production Brigade. Pei Huaiye posed as a Level-Two technician at the county machinery factory, driving an ox cart to work every day, while Yuan Guang pretended to be a traveling doctor from the city.
The two frequently drove the ox cart around to “treat patients,” which conveniently allowed them to travel between the countryside and the county town.
“We’re home, Brother Pei. Your injuries are pretty serious—you need to stay in bed and rest.”
Pei Huaiye had already changed into a dark blue coarse-cloth outfit. Even so, it couldn’t hide his sharp, handsome features.
“Alright. I know.”
When Pei Huaimei saw her elder brother return, she ran over with a smile.
“Su Qingyue just came looking for you to take a ride, but you weren’t here.”
Pei Huaiye exchanged a glance with Yuan Guang. Both of them immediately recalled the rude and overbearing “Su Qingyue” from the train.
Pei Huaiye’s sword-like brows knit together, disdain filling his eyes.
“Su Qingyue? Not giving her a ride.”
Pei Huaimei stamped her foot in frustration.
“Brother, do you know how beautiful she is?! I’ve never seen such a fresh, delicate beauty!”
“What’s it got to do with me?”
Pei Huaimei shook her head angrily at this hopeless brother.
He wouldn’t earn money, wasn’t interested in beautiful women either. His demobilization allowance only got him an ox cart. He worked as a Level-Two fitter at the machinery factory, earning just twenty-eight yuan a month.
Absolutely no ambition. No wonder their parents didn’t favor him!
Pei Huaimei slung a bamboo basket over her back and stormed off. When she reached the Su family’s gate, she shouted inside,
“My brother’s back. Go ask him yourself.”
After taking his medicine, Pei Huaiye fell into a deep sleep, his dreams uncomfortably heated.
A soft, delicate body nestled obediently in his arms—sometimes acting coquettish, sometimes crying softly.
Breaths and low moans wove together into a beautiful net, tightly ensnaring Pei Huaiye and making him unwilling to wake.
A loud knocking interrupted the dreamlike intimacy.
Outside, Su Qingyue’s voice sounded.
“Comrade Pei, hello. I’m Su Qingyue. May I ask—”
Pei Huaiye’s head was heavy and muddled. He didn’t clearly hear the voice outside—only felt anger at being forcibly awakened.
“Get lost!”
His mind was still full of the enchanting woman from his dream, and his hand instinctively reached downward again.
……
Su Qingyue shook her head in confusion. Little Zhuangzhuang scrunched up his face angrily.
“Auntie, he’s got such a bad temper! He’s a big bad guy!”
Yuan Guang wandered over to the brigade’s threshing ground and exaggeratedly retold the story of “Su Qingyue’s” rudeness on the train in front of Captain Xiang.
Thinking of Su Qingyue’s graceful and generous appearance, Captain Xiang frowned.
“She doesn’t look like that kind of person.”
“You can’t judge a person by appearances! The end-of-year evaluation for Advanced Production Brigades is coming up. Many of these educated youths are from the city—we can’t let them develop capitalist tendencies and corrupt the others!”
After pondering for a while, Captain Xiang first went to the educated youth compound to give the city youths a warning.
Then he went to the Su household to do some ideological work with Su Qingyue.
“You young people who’ve just returned from the city must set an example and take the lead in building up the countryside.”
Su Mingqiang tactfully suggested letting his daughter rest for a few days first.
Captain Xiang Jianming was displeased.
“The educated youth compound is starting work tomorrow. If Su Qingyue doesn’t go, your family will earn fewer work points. When the grain is distributed, what will you use to feed the family?”
Su Qianqian stopped her father and elder brother, smiling brightly.
“Captain Xiang, I’ll go work in the fields tomorrow.”
Captain Xiang smiled in satisfaction and finally left.
Before dawn the next day, the village loudspeaker crackled to life.
Su Qingyue sat up groggily. Su Qingxi looked at her second sister’s tender, tofu-like face and grinned as she reached over to pinch it.
“Sis, get up and eat.”
After playfully tussling with her little sister, Su Qingyue ate cornmeal porridge with her family and then headed to the fields.
Captain Xiang assigned a sloped plot to the educated youths and Su Qingyue for land clearing. Su Qingyue’s plot was the worst—full of rocks and tall weeds.
“Sis, why did the captain give you land like this?” Su Qingxi fumed.
Li Zilan was also puzzled. “Forget it. Let’s finish our work quickly and then help Qingyue later.”
Su Qianqian and Zhou Wenfang had been sulking about having to work so early, but when they saw that Su Qingyue’s task was even harder than theirs, they immediately felt better.
The summer sun rose early. Su Qingyue tied a headscarf around her head to block the scorching heat.
Sweat soon soaked her bangs. Her delicate face was fair with a rosy flush, her eyes bright and clear as if washed with water.
Though part of her face was hidden by the scarf, her exposed wrists and neck were pale and tender. With her good figure—curves exactly where they should be—every movement made her beauty stand out unmistakably.
Among the women, she was strikingly eye-catching.
Many people began stealing glances at Su Qingyue. Several men’s gazes turned lecherous. When some wives noticed their husbands nearly staring holes through her, they turned their resentment toward Su Qingyue, cursing her as a seductress.
Su Qingyue herself was unaware of these filthy thoughts. After swinging the hoe for a while, her palms turned red and sore. She rested briefly, then continued weeding.
So this was how hard her family’s life had been.
Thinking of this, she felt even more strongly that she needed to go to the county town to find a job. Relying on work points to improve the family’s situation was simply too difficult.
After work ended, Dai Xiaohong and Li Yun returned to the educated youth compound and prepared a meal—cornmeal porridge, a plate of stir-fried wild vegetables, and a plate of scrambled eggs.
The food was actually quite decent.
But Zhou Wenfang frowned in disgust.
“No meat?!”
Li Yun snapped back,
“The captain said it clearly—we’re here to build the countryside, not to enjoy ourselves!”
Su Qianqian smoothed things over.
“Didn’t everyone get a fifty-jin bag of grain? We can take out some white flour to cook for now. Once the autumn harvest comes and grain is distributed, it’ll balance out.”
Dai Xiaohong’s face flushed red.
“I’m not eating it. My fine rice and white flour are for sending back home.”
Several male educated youths were too busy wolfing down their food to speak. Su Qianqian noticed that Shen Xunbao hadn’t shown up.
That night, she secretly went to the kitchen and used her own white flour to make a bowl of noodles for Shen Xunbao.
……
For three consecutive days, Su Qingyue was assigned the worst land to clear. Several blisters formed on her tender white hands, and her wrists swelled as well.
Su Mingqiang slammed his enamel mug heavily onto the table.
“You’re not going to work tomorrow. Our Su family isn’t short of food.”
Su Qingwu also advised her,
“Qingyue, go to the county town tomorrow. Pick up your package while you’re there. You’re educated—see if there’s any work you can do.”
“Then Dad, come with me. I’ll take you to have your back checked.”
Su Mingqiang waved his hand, refusing no matter how much they tried to persuade him.
Before dawn the next day, Su Qingyue paid five fen and boarded the bus to the county town.
Early that morning, Pei Huaiye drove his ox cart to the county to change his bandages—the wound on his body had already scabbed over. Just after he parked the cart, the bus passed by in front of him.
He casually glanced at the window—and froze instantly.
The girl by the window had eyes like autumn water, red lips, and white teeth. Wasn’t she the note girl he had been thinking about day and night?!
His body reacted before his mind. Pei Huaiye leapt off the ox cart and chased after the bus at full speed.
Like a ferocious leopard, he ran without stopping—even when his wound split open and blood seeped out.
After entering the city, traffic filled the streets. Several vehicles stopped at the bus station. Su Qingyue first went to the restroom, then, after asking for directions, headed toward the post office.
Pei Huaiye ran to the bus station, panting heavily, frantically searching for that slender figure—but she was nowhere to be found.
His heart sank straight to the bottom. His eyes darkened frighteningly.
He rushed out of the station and looked around—then his gaze locked onto something.
That girl was walking toward the post office!
Pei Huaiye crossed the road and strode straight to the post office entrance, just in time to hear the girl ask softly,
“Is there still a package for Su Qianqian?”
Pei Huaiye let out a relieved smile.
So her name was Su Qianqian.