Bai Xueying was now four months pregnant, her belly already beginning to show. Being a doctor herself, she naturally understood her own condition, so she screamed at the top of her lungs for her husband to save her.
Shen Qiuqiu stood at the door, watching the drama unfold. Gu Zhouye came out of their room and put a coat over her shoulders.
Xiao Yi rushed to pull Bai Xueying to her feet, while Lin Dazhi brought a few male educated youths to restrain Wang Lixia.
Bai Xueying ended up bedridden for nearly half a month, barely managing to keep the pregnancy stable.
After all these incidents in the Qingshantun educated youth production brigade, the original awards and evaluations were canceled by the higher-ups.
Only the title of Advanced Educated Youth remained — and it was said that Xiao Yi had begged and pleaded, going through tremendous effort, just to keep that spot.
He had also been playing cards for days with some of the male educated youths who weren’t doing their fair share of work.
These days, Shen Qiuqiu often went hunting with Gu Zhouye. Her marksmanship was getting better and better, and she had managed to save up quite a few work points.
With the New Year approaching, Shen Qiuqiu thought about taking a trip to town with Gu Zhouye to buy some New Year’s supplies.
Zhoushui County, the closest town to Qingshantun, had many government offices but not many shops selling goods. Baizhai Town, a bit farther away from Qingshantun, was actually more bustling.
Shen Qiuqiu wanted to take Gu Zhouye, but he had been seconded to work at the forestry station.
With no other choice, Shen Qiuqiu dragged Ding Rui along instead.
Ding Rui, in turn, brought her close friend Zhou Qian — Song Qiang’s girlfriend.
Before, Zhou Qian had always been close to Bai Xueying, but after everything Bai Xueying had done lately, many of the female educated youths in the village were starting to see her true colors.
The three of them sat on a drafty, rickety vehicle, excitedly gossiping about recent events.
Zhou Qian was from the local town and knew more than the others. She whispered in their ears, “I heard that some workers from factories in the city have started selling things on their own.”
Shen Qiuqiu was surprised.
“Garment factories?”
Zhou Qian nodded and continued, “A lot of workplaces are saying that next year, policies for applying to return home might loosen up. I think next year, chances are we’ll be going back. It’s just a matter of sooner or later.”
Ding Rui added, “Everyone knows we’ll all eventually get to go back. The main thing is securing a spot. There are only so many good jobs. If you go back and don’t have a job, and there’s no space in the house — that’s the real problem.”
Ding Rui’s older brother was married with four children. If she went back now, she’d probably have to sleep in the kitchen.
Shen Qiuqiu was in a similar situation. Her brother was married with a child, her younger brother was dating, and her older sister came back to stay at the family home from time to time. Their house only had two rooms, and her younger brother was currently sleeping in the living room. If Shen Qiuqiu went back, there would truly be nowhere for her to live.
Zhou Qian continued, “That’s why Xiao Yi is in such a hurry. The sooner he gets back, the sooner he gets a job, the sooner he gets an apartment. I heard his maternal grandfather is very influential.”
Ding Rui gossiped further, “They’re counting on that Advanced Educated Youth title. But who knows how it’ll turn out in the end?”
Zhou Qian glanced at Shen Qiuqiu, as if hesitating whether to say what came next. Shen Qiuqiu smiled and waved her hand.
“It’s okay. Just say what’s on your mind.”
At that moment, the old, beat-up vehicle was bouncing and jolting along the road. Shen Qiuqiu stared at Zhou Qian. Zhou Qian spoke.
“Qiuqiu, you need to think carefully. A man with Gu Zhouye’s background — even if he can go back to the city, he won’t have a place to live. He might even have to stay at your place.”
Shen Qiuqiu smiled awkwardly.
“We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it. I believe in him.”
Zhou Qian didn’t say anything more. She looked at Ding Rui and then said earnestly, “Ding Rui, look at us — we both have partners. You’re not getting any younger. You need to hurry up, or things will be really hard for you.”
Here we go — this one’s a real busybody. Ding Rui smiled and said, “Yeah, who can compare to you? Song Qiang’s family has a house, so you’ll have a place to live as soon as you marry him.”
Proud of her situation, Zhou Qian said with a smile, “Their place is only two rooms, but his parents said we can move right in after we get married.”
Ding Rui couldn’t help but look at her with a bit of envy. If Ding Rui went back home herself, she’d definitely have nowhere to live. Her older brother and sister-in-law would probably want to marry her off as soon as possible.
Outside, the snow had stopped and the sun had come out. The sunlight streamed through the windows, warming everyone. Shen Qiuqiu had things on her mind and soon fell asleep.
When she woke up, they had arrived at their destination.
Ding Rui pulled Shen Qiuqiu and Zhou Qian off the bus. Baizhai Town’s bus station was bustling — Shen Qiuqiu could hardly believe it.
Snack vendors were everywhere, and many shops had opened along the streets.
Ding Rui whispered in Shen Qiuqiu’s ear, “I heard that a lot of people in the city have started doing their own business. It’s fine.”
Shen Qiuqiu nodded. After sitting on the bus for so long, her back hurt and she was hungry. The three of them bought three big steamed buns to tide themselves over.
When women go shopping, the first thing they look for is clothes.
They walked hand in hand to a clothing store. A style of dress from Hong Kong had recently become very popular — bright in color but very form-fitting. Women with good figures would put it on and instantly show off an hourglass shape.
Shen Qiuqiu had assumed no one really wore them, but after walking around for a while, she saw many city women dressed exactly like that.
Red was the most popular. Ding Rui and Zhou Qian stood in front of one of those dresses, unable to move their feet.
Ding Rui shook her head and sighed, “Back in the capital, I used to chase fashion too.”
Zhou Qian looked at the price tag and gasped.
“Over a hundred yuan? This dress costs over a hundred yuan!”
A teacher’s monthly salary was only about thirty yuan. This one dress would cost three or four months’ wages.
Shen Qiuqiu shook her head.
“Forget it. Let’s go.”
Shen Qiuqiu tried to pull them away, but then she spotted two familiar figures in the crowd.
Song Qiang was holding Wang Lixia’s hand — Wang Lixia wearing a trendy dress — as they haggled with a street vendor.
Shen Qiuqiu couldn’t help but look at Ding Rui. Ding Rui looked at Zhou Qian.
Just as Shen Qiuqiu was about to stop her, Zhou Qian had already charged forward. Zhou Qian was a southern girl, small in stature, but her voice was anything but.
“You adulterous pair! I’ll beat you to death!”
Zhou Qian spotted a pot of scalding hot tea eggs nearby and, without thinking, picked it up to throw at them.
Ding Rui reacted first and grabbed Zhou Qian. Shen Qiuqiu wrapped her arms around Zhou Qian’s waist. The innocent vendor quickly snatched his pot back.
Wang Lixia cowered in fear behind Song Qiang.
Zhou Qian burst into tears, clutching Song Qiang’s collar tightly.
“Song Qiang, you heartless bastard!”