Early morning.
Sunlight bathed the earth, and birdsong drifted in from outside.
Zhao Yi had just gotten up, preparing to head out for work.
"Eldest."
His mother Li Daju's voice called from the doorway.
"Yeah."
Zhao Yi responded.
"Come here, I need to talk to you about something."
Li Daju's voice came from the entrance.
Zhao Yi got up, dressed, and walked outside.
He saw his mother Li Daju standing not far away, as if she had something to discuss with him but didn't want his wife Zhang Jing to hear.
As Zhao Yi approached, Li Daju handed him a boiled egg. Puzzled, Zhao Yi knew eggs in their household were meant to be sold for money. Except for one boiled egg each during the Dragon Boat Festival, they only got to eat one on someone's birthday.
Today wasn't any special occasion—what was his mother up to?
Zhao Yi shook his head.
"Mom, you should eat it yourself. You probably haven't had a decent meal during these busy harvest days."
Zhao Yi declined Li Daju's gesture.
"Take it when it's given. I only boiled one egg for you—no one else got one."
Li Daju said with a cheerful laugh.
Seeing his mother suddenly act like a different person, Zhao Yi was baffled. Usually, Li Daju wouldn't show such concern. He currently had no job and hadn't promised to send money for his siblings' schooling. He couldn't figure out what she was plotting.
However, Li Daju's gentle tone didn't seem like she was looking for a confrontation.
"Mom, if you have something to say, just say it. Keep the egg for yourself."
Instead of taking the egg, Zhao Yi got straight to the point.
"You're always like this, child. Would I ever harm you? Hurry up and eat it. You've been exhausted from the double rush harvest lately. Since you've set up your own household, you don't keep hens, so you probably haven't had eggs. Have this to nourish yourself."
Li Daju chuckled.
Unable to refuse further, Zhao Yi reluctantly accepted the egg.
"Let me ask you something—was it that girl Zhang Jing who couldn't stand my nagging and pushed you to separate?"
Li Daju looked at Zhao Yi, trying to detect any hint in his eyes.
"No, we just wanted to live independently. It's not good to always be under one roof. If you two ever argued, who would I side with? This way is better—no disputes when we're apart."
Zhao Yi shook his head.
Zhang Jing's nature was to endure silently, deferring to Zhao Yi in all matters, big or small. She would never have initiated the separation.
Seeing no evasion in Zhao Yi's eyes, Li Daju knew he wasn't lying. It seemed her son had learned to prioritize himself after marriage—unwilling to earn Work Points for his younger siblings, afraid others might take advantage.
"Well, since you eat fish every day, remember your father when you have extra."
After saying this, Li Daju turned and walked home. Learning that the separation was Zhao Yi's idea, she felt an inexplicable hint of joy—though just a sliver. Mostly, she worried about the children's schooling: with the family's limited income, supporting three students at once was impossible. The issue of grain rations alone was a major hurdle—without working in the village, there'd be no rations, leaving only their two laborers to scrimp and save.
But supporting five mouths with just two laborers was still very difficult. Now, hoping for help from the eldest son and his wife was completely impossible.
Just saying a few words about Zhang Jing had made the eldest son insist on dividing the household. If they tried to take food from their rations to support the others in the future, it would surely lead to huge arguments.
Zhao Yi had just walked back into the house.
"Husband, what did Mother want with you?"
Zhang Jing asked curiously.
"Aside from asking who suggested dividing the household, she was craving fish. I guess they smelled us cooking fish tonight."
Zhao Yi smiled slightly as he replied.
"Should we send a portion to Mother when we get fish in the future?"
Zhang Jing looked at Zhao Yi and asked.
"We'll see later. My father isn't even home now, so he wouldn't get to eat it anyway. When he returns, if we have extra, we can send one over for them to taste."
Zhao Yi thought for a moment before answering.
Hearing this, Zhang Jing didn't know what else to say.
After breakfast, Zhao Yi and Zhang Jing hurried to the Team Headquarters. These days, there wasn't much real work in the fields—everyone was just putting in time. Wangou Village had no shortage of water, so there was no need to repair irrigation canals. As for supporting construction projects, it was summer, and heavy rain could come at any time. This wasn't the season to go assist other communes.
If the canals encountered a rainstorm, flooding could break out at any moment. Usually, they would go help for a month or so after autumn ended.
After a day of labor in the fields, everyone prepared to head home at dusk.
"Female workers, head back now. Male workers, come with me into the mountains—a Zhiqing comrade who was herding cattle has gone missing."
Li Dequan arrived in the fields, announced this loudly, and then hurried toward the mountains.
Zhao Yi had no choice but to follow the others into the mountains to search.
"What happened?"
Zhao Yi asked the person next to him.
"It's that Zhiqing named Su Hong. She managed to dig herself into a ditch while digging, and she cut her own leg while harvesting wheat. The team leader had no choice but to assign her to herd cattle and tend to the livestock. Now, the cattle have returned to the cowshed on their own, but no one knows where she is."
"The team leader from the Educated Youth Compound came to ask the village for help finding her. It'll be dark soon, and the mountains are dangerous."
Hearing this, Zhao Yi immediately remembered who it was. However, he hadn't had much contact with her in his previous life. This Zhiqing was quite famous in Wangou Village—notorious as a walking disaster.
After this incident, Li Dequan wouldn't dare let her herd cattle anymore. She'd probably be transferred to help at the pig farm.
She was the first person ever to shovel pig manure and end up falling into the manure pit herself.
After that, she never had to work in the fields again. She just spent a few yuan each month to buy rations and helped the commune run Literacy Classes, teaching a few characters to those who wanted to learn.
Before long, the group found this Zhiqing, Su Hong. The girl's eyes were red from crying.
"I thought the cattle had all run away. I didn't dare go back, so I had to keep searching in the mountains."
Su Hong looked at Li Dequan and choked out her explanation.
"Those cattle know their own way back. Couldn't you have returned to the village first to ask? What would we have done if something had happened to you? Alright, go back and rest now. I'll assign you other work tomorrow."
Li Dequan was so angry he was practically bristling, but he couldn't bring himself to scold her too harshly.
Seeing that Su Hong had been found, everyone started heading back to the village. Along the way, they chatted and laughed, all amused by how foolish the girl was.
Zhao Yi remembered that this girl's family was quite wealthy. She had stayed in the village for nearly six or seven years, and every month her family sent packages, money, and ration coupons. Moreover, every year during the New Year, they even sent fare for her to return home.
But these matters had nothing to do with Zhao Yi.
"Darling, have you found that Zhiqing comrade? There are quite a few wolves in the mountains."
Zhang Jing quickly asked Zhao Yi, worried that staying overnight in the mountains could easily lead to an accident.
"Found him, he's just wandering around on the cattle-grazing slope."
Zhao Yi nodded.