First, it was the neat regular script that astonished Xi Muzhou, but what surprised him even more was yet to come.
Xi Muzhou stared at Qu Chuning for a long time. Had she really only attended one semester of junior high? Yet her literary skills suggested otherwise. The entire piece was not only fluent but also precise in word choice and phrasing. However, the writing style didn’t resemble news reporting—it read more like a story.
“What’s wrong? Is it not good enough? If it’s not, I can rewrite it!”
Xi Muzhou shook his head. “The piece is very fluent, and the events are clearly explained. It’s just that newspapers charge by the word…”
Before Xi Muzhou could finish, Qu Chuning immediately took the paper back and started counting. “Oh my, this is over 600 words? How much would that cost? No, no, I need to cut some out!”
Qu Chuning sat down again to rewrite. Xi Muzhou felt somewhat helpless. Standing behind her, he added, “You could try imitating the style of other news articles.”
That evening, after a quick wash, Qu Chuning went into her room. She was still deliberating, trying to condense the events into the fewest words possible while adopting the writing style she had seen in newspapers.
Xi Muzhou came in carrying a basin of water. Before Qu Chuning could react, he removed her shoes. She nearly kicked him in the face, but fortunately, he was tall.
“No, it’s fine! I can do it myself!”
Qu Chuning hurriedly took off her socks herself. The blistered areas were oozing and red. Xi Muzhou frowned. “Wait a moment!”
With that, he stood up and left the room.
Qu Chuning felt a bit embarrassed—it was just a few blisters, nothing serious in her opinion. They would heal on their own in a few days.
But seeing how attentive Xi Muzhou was to her, she felt a warmth in her heart.
Soon, Xi Muzhou returned with a bottle of mercurochrome. He applied the medicine to her feet and, while instructing her, looked directly into her eyes. “Avoid getting these wet for the next few days.”
Qu Chuning’s face flushed, and she nodded.
The next day at work, Qu Chuning began paying close attention to the articles in the newspaper. Lan Xia, noticing how intently she was reading, said to her, “Chuning, why don’t you find a seat to read comfortably?”
Qu Chuning pulled out a clarification notice from the newspaper and asked Lan Xia, “Sister-in-law, how much does it cost per word to publish a clarification like this?”
Lan Xia didn’t know why Qu Chuning was asking, but she answered anyway. “It usually depends on which newspaper you want to publish in. If it’s our county-level newspaper, it’s not too expensive—a few cents to about ten cents per word. But if it’s at a higher level, like municipal, provincial, or even national, the price goes up! The cost also depends on factors like the layout. Chuning, why are you asking about this?”
“No reason, just curious!”
Qu Chuning decided to use the county-level newspaper. She also planned to write a letter to her hometown, addressed to the village chief, and include some money, hoping he could broadcast it in the village. Since the Lin Family had bullied her first, she saw no reason to spare them any dignity.
Lan Xia didn’t think much of it. Since there wasn’t much work at the moment and Qu Chuning was still new and unfamiliar with many tasks, Lan Xia let her read the newspaper while she handled the binding work nearby.
"Lan Xia, what are you all doing? Hurry up, another truck of books has arrived!"
Shi Zhenzhen was always adept at social maneuvering. Having been sitting and chatting idly earlier, she immediately stood up when she saw someone arriving at the entrance. Originally intending to call for Qu Chuning, she instead spotted Lan Xia busy with bookbinding.
Lan Xia quickly set down her work and went to help.
Qu Chuning also heard the call. She put down the newspaper she was reading and hurried over to assist.
Printed papers delivered to their workshop required them to handle binding and trimming tasks.
When Shi Zhenzhen saw Qu Chuning approaching, she deliberately shoved Qu Chuning aside.
Qu Chuning rolled her eyes. Shi Zhenzhen, in her twenties, playing such childish games seemed utterly immature in Qu Chuning's eyes. She picked up a stack of papers weighing dozens of pounds and directly placed it on top of Shi Zhenzhen's pile, nearly causing Shi Zhenzhen to drop the stack she was holding.
"Qu Chuning, what are you doing?"
Qu Chuning tilted her head and asked, "Didn't you push me aside because you wanted this stack of papers?"
Shi Zhenzhen was left speechless. Unable to carry the heavy load, she could only slowly drag the stack inward.
In the afternoon, after finishing her own work, Shi Zhenzhen went to borrow newspapers from Director Hou. Noticing Qu Chuning had left, she considered ordering her around but instead spotted over ten newspapers on Qu Chuning's workstation. All shared a common feature: each page contained small boxed sections with public notices and missing person ads. She froze—why would Qu Chuning be reading these?
With Qu Chuning absent and Lan Xia nearby, Shi Zhenzhen's curiosity got the better of her, so she asked Lan Xia about it.
On the way home after work, Shi Zhenzhen glared at Qu Chuning walking ahead, carrying two books and a thick stack of newspapers. Grinding her teeth in frustration, she immediately complained to Lin Dongguo upon entering their room.
"Dongguo, what do you think she's reading those for? Could she possibly be trying to write on your behalf?"
Shi Zhenzhen's face was full of sarcasm: "We can't even be sure she recognizes all the characters, and she wants to get published in newspapers?"
Lin Dongguo's expression darkened: "Are you certain she's only reading those?"
"Absolutely, that's all she's looking at!"
Lin Dongguo sat down. The Political Commissar had visited him earlier that day about the same matter, advising him that as a man, he should make amends for his mistakes instead of feigning illness to avoid responsibility.
Lin Dongguo knew perfectly well someone must have informed the Political Commissar—otherwise how would anyone know he was pretending to be sick? It must have been Xi Muzhou. Yet he dared not confront Xi Muzhou directly; not even his current father-in-law could manage that.
"Zhenzhen, what did your father say when you visited last time? Is there really nothing he can do about Xi Muzhou?"
Shi Zhenzhen sighed: "Didn't I tell you already? What can my father do when someone's getting married? It's not like he can prevent the wedding." After a pause, she added: "Dongguo, my father said since this has come to light, it's actually good we're addressing hidden problems early. As for Xi Muzhou, my father specifically warned us to stay away from him!"
Lin Dongguo's face was filled with uncontrollable anger upon hearing this: "Why should we stay away from him? Who does he think he is? Just because he enlisted two years earlier than me?"
Lin Dongguo had military merits to his name—otherwise, he wouldn't have become a deputy battalion commander before the age of thirty. But he forgot that Xi Muzhou was even more formidable. Xi Muzhou alone had received two first-class merits, not to mention his other military honors.
A Zheng Tuan Ji (regimental level) officer in their early thirties—even looking across the entire nation, such individuals were few and far between!