The village brigade’s afternoon peace had been shattered recently by worry over Jiang Yue’s disappearance.
Tian Yougen had come to ask if anyone knew where Jiang Yue had gone.
His brows were knitted tightly together. “Educated Youth Wen, did Jiang tell you which brigade her relatives live in? It’s been two days already. She hasn’t come back and hasn’t even sent word through anyone. That girl is really making people worry.”
The fields were extremely busy these days, and Tian Yougen felt as though he needed eight hundred hands to keep up with all the work. He had little time to concern himself with anything else.
Since he had heard Jiang Yue had relatives nearby, he naturally assumed she had gone to stay with them. Otherwise, without a letter of introduction, the Red Guards patrolling at night would have caught her and sent her back.
After all, city-bred educated youths often struggled during their first farming season. It wasn’t unusual for them to find the work difficult.
But disappearing for several days without sending any message was another matter entirely.
Tian Yougen was scheduled to attend a commune meeting the next day. If Wen Ranran knew which brigade Jiang Yue’s relatives belonged to, he could ask that brigade’s leader and at least confirm that Jiang Yue was safe.
Unfortunately, he was destined to be disappointed.
Wen Ranran shook her head. “Jiang Yue never told me.”
In truth, she felt a little guilty saying that.
There had been so much going on lately that she had almost forgotten about Jiang Yue altogether.
The original Wen Ranran had indeed heard Jiang Yue mention having relatives nearby, but she had never learned which brigade they lived in.
Besides, even if she knew, she could only pretend not to.
She certainly couldn’t tell everyone that Jiang Yue hadn’t gone to visit relatives at all—she had been enjoying state-provided meals in detention.
Still, the situation seemed strange.
Logically, the police should have uncovered the truth behind the stolen pig incident fairly quickly. Why was the investigation taking so long? Why hadn’t Jiang Yue been released yet?
While Wen Ranran was pondering this, the ever-helpful Educated Youth Niu spoke up.
“I remember Jiang mentioning that her relatives live in Panmozi Brigade. They sometimes catch fish and take them into the county to trade. Team Leader, you can ask their brigade leader tomorrow.”
At least it was a useful lead.
Tian Yougen nodded. After telling the educated youths to get some rest, he headed home.
His wife, Liu Cuihua, was waiting at the door.
As soon as he returned, she followed him inside and asked anxiously, “Did you find out which brigade Jiang’s relatives belong to?”
She blamed herself somewhat.
The day Jiang Yue had come to request a letter of introduction, she hadn’t paid much attention. Who could have guessed the girl would fail to get the letter and then disappear?
If Jiang Yue was truly staying with relatives, that was fine. But what if something had happened to her?
As he removed his clothes, Tian Yougen replied, “Educated Youth Niu said it’s Panmozi Brigade. I’ll ask around at tomorrow’s meeting. Don’t worry about it. Is Jinbao asleep?”
They entered the room.
Little Tian Jinbao lay sprawled across the bed, drooling and sleeping soundly on his back.
Liu Cuihua pulled a blanket over his stomach.
“He must’ve been busy all day. The moment he got home, he fell asleep.”
Picking up his clean clothes to wash himself in the yard, Tian Yougen said, “Busy with anything is fine, as long as he stays away from the water.”
Back at the educated youth dormitory, the team leader’s visit had everyone worried about Jiang Yue’s safety.
In their eyes, Jiang Yue had always been hardworking and dependable, not the sort of person who would run away over a disagreement. Her two-day absence seemed genuinely odd.
Since Niu Yuanfang had been the last person to speak with Jiang Yue, everyone directed their questions at her.
“Educated Youth Niu, did Jiang Yue say anything before she left? Think carefully. There might be another clue.”
Niu Yuanfang was worried too.
She racked her brain so hard that her face turned red.
“Let me think… She cried the whole time that day. I went out to comfort her, and she just kept venting her frustrations. Later, as you all know, she suddenly started throwing another tantrum during dinner. I got annoyed and stopped paying attention to her. As for where she went, I honestly don’t know.”
Everyone scratched their heads in frustration.
Jiang Yue’s tears had started after a huge argument with Wen Ranran.
But everyone had witnessed that fight and knew Jiang Yue had been the one in the wrong.
Even though they were worried about her now, she had chosen to leave on her own.
And since she had likely gone to visit relatives anyway, there was no point blaming anyone else.
Even if something really had happened to her, the person most responsible would still be Jiang Yue herself.
Liu Changhai, the eldest and most respected among the educated youths, picked up his enamel washbasin and concluded,
“Let’s not scare ourselves. Didn’t Team Leader Tian say he’s attending a commune meeting tomorrow? Maybe we’ll have news about Jiang Yue then. Let’s wait and see.”
With no better ideas, everyone agreed and returned to their rooms.
Only Wen Ranran, who knew the truth, remained completely unconcerned.
The others worried about Jiang Yue, but Wen Ranran considered her time far too valuable to waste on irrelevant people.
Instead of thinking about Jiang Yue, she’d rather focus on how to transport all the things she planned to buy the next day.
There was a long shopping list waiting for her, including one particularly large item.
Maybe she could ask Lu Shi’an to take half an hour off work and use his bicycle to carry everything back.
By her calculations, Lu Shi’an should already have returned to the county by now.
She wondered whether his trip had gone smoothly.
Amid these scattered thoughts, she quickly drifted off to sleep.
When she woke the next morning, Lu Shi’an had already arrived.
In his hand was a paper-wrapped package containing steamed buns he had brought for her.
Several female educated youths nearby looked over enviously.
As Wen Ranran ate her buns, she told Lu Shi’an about her shopping plans.
“I’ll ask Team Leader Tian for some leave and come pick you up afterward,” Lu Shi’an said with a nod.
Soon everyone left for work.
After finishing a meat bun and drinking some water, Wen Ranran prepared to leave as well.
But instead of heading straight out, she deliberately took a detour to Wang Dafen’s house.
Standing beside the courtyard wall, she tossed several handfuls of dirt into Wang Dafen’s water vat.
The best way to deal with a bully was to be an even bigger bully.
Wasn’t Wang Dafen always trying to make her life miserable?
Then they could see who was better at disgusting the other.
Besides, she’d only be staying here for another two months at most.
After that, she could simply pack up and leave. What was there to worry about?
Having completed her little act of sabotage, Wen Ranran couldn’t hold back a villainous laugh, startling the neighbor’s chickens.
After calming herself down, she hurried toward the supply cooperative.
To make shopping easier for local residents, several nearby brigades had jointly established a supply cooperative located between their territories.
After replenishing herself with a few drops of spring water from her special space, Wen Ranran arrived without feeling particularly tired.
She was spending generously, and luck happened to be on her side.
A cast-iron cooking pot—a notoriously difficult item to obtain—had just arrived a few days earlier.
The sales clerk carried it out and said with a smile,
“You’re really lucky. This pot was originally reserved by someone preparing to set up a new household after getting married. They never came to pick it up, so management decided to put it back on sale. Otherwise, you’d be waiting at least another half month if you wanted a pot.”
Wen Ranran smiled and nodded.
For the first time, she truly understood just how scarce supplies were in this era.
Even a simple cooking pot had to be reserved in advance.
If that was the case, would she really be able to buy everything else she needed?