In the evening, at the educated youth quarters.
After a busy day in the fields, their clothes were soaked with sweat, dirt, and plant sap. Ye Qiu threw her dirty clothes into a basin and called out to the other female youths, “I’m going to the river to do laundry. Are you all going?”
Exhausted after a day of labor, the others didn’t even want to move their fingers. Qu Tong, in particular, lay listlessly on her bed; she had used up all her energy and spirit running to the Jiang family when they clocked off. She waved her hand weakly in refusal, “I’m exhausted. I’m not going. If you want to go, go yourself.”
The other two female youths also declined her invitation. Only Gu Shu, the oldest among them, nodded. “I’ll go with you, and I’ll drop by the school to see Old Li on the way.”
Gu Shu was one of the earliest educated youths to move to the countryside. Last year, she married Li Jiajun, who was also an educated youth. However, because the educated youth quarters were spacious, they hadn’t moved out yet. Now that four new youths had arrived, the couple was discussing asking the brigade leader to approve a plot of land so they could move out and have their own independent space.
Ye Qiu acknowledged this, picked up her basin, and walked out of the room with Gu Shu.
“Sister Shu, where is the village primary school?”
“I don’t know what the previous brigade leader was thinking, building the primary school right next to the river at the entrance of the village,” Gu Shu complained. “The children in the school run to the riverbank as soon as class ends, and they won’t come back even when called. It’s a good thing the water isn’t deep, otherwise, how dangerous would it be!”
“The primary school is that close to the small river?” Ye Qiu asked in surprise. “We met the brigade leader when we arrived, and he doesn’t look like someone who doesn’t plan things out.”
Gu Shu shook her head and clarified, “Zhao Ze was only elected brigade leader last year; before that, someone else held the position.”
Ye Qiu suddenly realized and nodded in understanding.
The two chatted idly along the way, and before long, they arrived at the riverbank. Gu Shu went off to the school after settling her affairs, carrying her thick clothes.
Because everyone had been busy working in the fields all day, and with the bright moonlight, many women had gathered at the river to wash clothes. As soon as Ye Qiu arrived, she saw several people exchanging glances.
“Is this the educated youth who managed to keep Qian Feng speechless this afternoon?”
The person who spoke looked incredulous. Looking at Ye Qiu’s delicate and refined appearance, she didn’t look like someone who could tame Qian Feng.
“Could that be a lie? I saw it myself. When they finished work, Old Qian was holding her waist; you could tell she was exhausted. This little educated youth is not simple.”
“I know. This is what Teacher Gu said—don’t judge a book by its cover.”
“You remembered it wrong; it’s ‘don’t judge a person by their appearance’!”
…
Although she couldn’t hear what the women were saying, from the looks they kept throwing her way, Ye Qiu knew she was most likely the center of their gossip.
Consider it her contribution to adding some joy to the lives of the rural people, Ye Qiu thought, keeping her head down and scrubbing her clothes hard.
Even though she had been slacking off all day and hadn’t done much work, she had effectively spent the whole afternoon in the fields, and her clothes were in a sorry state. She started to miss washing machines.
As she struggled with the laundry, the women’s topic shifted to someone else.
Ye Qiu was oblivious until a small figure walked over and squatted beside her to wash clothes.
Ye Qiu looked at the little girl beside her in surprise. She looked to be only six or seven years old. Due to a lack of nutrition, she was thin as a rail, holding a huge basin that made her sway back and forth; anyone who saw her couldn’t help but feel worried.
Ye Qiu didn’t consider herself someone with excessive sympathy, but as an adult, she stood up and took the basin from the stranger’s hands.
“Wash here. It’s safer on this side.”
The little girl timidly looked up at her, her voice as thin as a mosquito’s hum: “Th-thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”
After placing the basin in a safe spot, Ye Qiu squatted back down to wash her own clothes.
The little girl also squatted silently beside her, quietly scrubbing a large basin of dirty clothes.
After finishing, Ye Qiu stood up and stretched her stiff waist. It really wasn’t easy living in this era anywhere.
Feeling her stiff waist ease up, Ye Qiu lowered her eyes to observe the little girl squatting at her feet.
The river water was icy, turning the girl’s hands into red, swollen radishes. Tiny cracks were visible on her small hands, and as the evening breeze blew, the little girl’s frail body shivered.
Sighing, Ye Qiu chose to give in to her soft heart. She squatted back down and said to the girl, “I’ll help you wash a few pieces.”
She was an adult, after all. Seeing such a tragic sight of the “flower of the motherland,” she would help where she could.
Hearing her voice, Zhao Dilai looked up at the kind educated youth, her ink-black eyes round and wide, revealing a hint of childlike cuteness.
“Are your parents home?”
Zhao Dilai shook her head and whispered, “They are at home.”
Seeing Zhao Dilai didn’t react, Ye Qiu crouched down again and looked at the dirty clothes in the girl’s basin. There were two sets of adult clothes, but besides those, they were all little boy’s clothes. Although they were patched, they were much better than the “beggar rags” Zhao Dilai was wearing.
Picking up a piece of clothing at random, Ye Qiu began scrubbing fiercely, venting all her frustration into the garment.
Zhao Dilai didn’t know the kind sister had a fierce expression while washing, and she shrank back, wanting to take the clothes back.
Ye Qiu dodged her thin, claw-like hands and lectured, “You wash the clothes in your own basin.”
Zhao Dilai stuttered, “B-but the clothes are my family’s.”
Ye Qiu sighed deeply. “It’s fine. I have nothing to do anyway; I’ll help you wash a few. Don’t worry about it.”
“Thank you, sister.” Zhao Dilai bowed her head in gratitude, her tone choked with emotion.
Ye Qiu pretended not to hear. Her abilities were limited; she could only do small things to ease her own conscience.
By the time Gu Shu came to find her, the clothes were almost done and just needed to be rinsed.
Ye Qiu shook the water droplets off her hands. “I’m heading back. Go home early, and be safe on your way.”
As she walked toward Gu Shu, Ye Qiu faintly heard the little girl’s thanks behind her.
“I’m finished. Let’s go back.”
Gu Shu glanced at the little girl still squatting by the river and sighed. “Was that Zhao Dilai just now?”
“I don’t know; I didn’t ask her name.”
Gu Shu said firmly, “It could only be her family that would let a child come to the river to wash clothes in the middle of the night.”
Ye Qiu asked curiously, “What’s the situation?”
“Zhao Dilai’s mother passed away during childbirth. Her father remarried less than two years later,” Gu Shu explained patiently. “Her stepmother brought a boy with her, only a couple of years older than her. Their lives are like heaven and earth. Why else do they say a child without a mother is like a blade of grass?”
Ye Qiu said sarcastically, “If the birth mother is gone, the birth father is as good as dead too.”
Gu Shu sighed, “Who’s to say not? Late at night, what kind of family would feel safe letting a child come to the river to wash clothes? Even if the water isn’t deep and there are people around, it’s still dangerous!”
Both were outsiders; neither could be the little girl’s savior, so they could only sigh.