Early the next morning, Xiang Wenshan was fast asleep when the sound of a gong startled her awake.
Song Tao, one of the older educated youths, sat up and called out to the three newcomers who were still lying down, “Get up and wash up. We’ll be heading out to work soon.”
Wenshan frowned and unwillingly sat up.
She had stayed up late the night before, thinking about all sorts of things. Now she was exhausted. The moment she remembered she had to go out to do farm work, she felt like life had lost all hope.
What time even was it?
She glanced out the window. The sky had only just begun to lighten.
Xiang Wenhui yawned, rubbed her eyes, then climbed out of bed with surprising excitement.
Seeing her sister still dazed, she urged, “Sis, sis! Get up! We’re going to work!”
Wenshan stared at her energetic little sister while getting dressed. How was this girl so full of spirit? After two days of real farm labor, she’d wilt for sure.
After washing up, everyone gathered for breakfast, which another older educated youth had prepared.
It was simple: corn porridge and steamed corn buns.
The moment Wenshan saw the food, her throat seemed to ache in advance.
“Sis, come sit and eat!”
She could only sit down, looking utterly resigned as she sipped the porridge.
They had to work until noon—starting at five-thirty and not returning until twelve. That was a long stretch without food. She wouldn’t survive on an empty stomach.
Just as she raised the bowl to her lips, the gong sounded again.
Yesterday, Feng Jianshe had explained it clearly: the gong would ring three times, ten minutes apart. The first time meant get up. The second, eat. The third, head out to work.
“Eat quickly. Ten minutes left.”
Sun Lijuan—the one who cooked—finished her porridge in a few gulps and stuffed her corn bun into her pocket.
“You all eat slowly. I’ll wash the pot first.”
Wenshan was stunned at her speed. Gritting her teeth, she shut her eyes and forced the porridge down her throat.
After finishing, her mouth felt unpleasant and her throat uncomfortable. As for the corn bun, she copied Sun and tucked it into her pocket.
It was late March. The wheat was still green; harvest wouldn’t come for another two months.
Most of the strong villagers were dredging and digging river channels. The elderly and children were weeding. Another group was turning the soil and raking it fine, preparing to plant sweet potatoes next month.
Considering that the four educated youths were new—and that the farm work wasn’t too intense right now—the brigade leader assigned them lighter tasks.
They were sent to weed alongside the elderly and children.
Worried that these city kids wouldn’t even recognize weeds, he arranged for two aunties to guide them.
The brigade leader’s wife greeted them with a broad smile. “I’ll teach the two Comrade Xiangs. The other two can go with Cuihua.”
“Alright. Teach them well,” the brigade leader said before leaving with his hands behind his back.
Wang Cuihua shot Jinhua a glance, then cheerfully beckoned the other two educated youths over.
Jinhua turned to the Xiang sisters. “This whole patch here is weeds. Once they’re cleared, the land will be turned for sweet potatoes.”
The sisters nodded.
Jinhua demonstrated how to pull weeds properly. If the stem snapped, they had to dig out the roots as well.
After showing them twice, she let them try on their own.
Wenshan knew she was strong—but she was definitely not cut out for this kind of work.
She glanced at her sister, who struggled and tugged for ages before finally yanking out a clump of barnyard grass.
“Oh my, Comrade Xiao Xiang,” Jinhua teased, “you look petite, but your ambition’s big! Picking the biggest ones to pull. Just go one by one and pull the smaller weeds on the ground.”
Wenhui grinned. “Got it, Auntie.”
Then she looked at her sister with a pitiful pout, holding out her hands. Her pale fingers were stained green from grass and smeared with mud.
Wenshan sighed. Farm work meant getting dirty—it was unavoidable.
“When we go back at noon, wash up. You pull the small ones. I’ll handle the big ones.”
Wenhui shook her head. “It’s okay, sis. I can do it.” And she bent down to wrestle with another clump.
Wenshan sighed again. This girl really didn’t know her limits.
By the end of the day, her hands would be ruined.
The brigade leader’s wife watched Wenhui’s boundless energy and shook her head with a smile. She’d wilt soon enough. All the educated youths were like this at first—everything seemed novel and interesting. But once the real labor began, they quickly lost their enthusiasm.
After working for most of the morning, Wenshan’s back ached and her legs felt sore. The worst part was all the bending and squatting.
She pounded her legs lightly and noticed many villagers chatting casually while working.
An idea sparked.
She glanced at Jinhua and asked quietly, “Aunt Jinhua, can I ask you something?”
Her hands never stopped moving as she spoke.
“What is it?” Jinhua asked casually.
“About… someone in the brigade who fell into the water. Someone called Old Fifth?”
Jinhua abruptly turned her head toward Wenshan, disbelief written all over her face.
Even Wenhui looked stunned. Her sister usually showed zero interest in anything—what was this?
Seeing everyone staring at her, Wenshan forced a smile. Maybe it was her aloof face that made this seem strange.
“I’m just curious. I heard people talking about him yesterday.”
Jinhua quickly recovered and laughed. “No need to explain. We’re all the same. That’s good. When there’s nothing else to do, we just chat to pass the time. Talking while working makes the hours go by faster.”
At first, she’d thought Comrade Xiang looked hard to approach. Who would’ve guessed she understood these unspoken social rules? And she even liked gossip.
Liking gossip was good. It made people closer.
“Alright then,” Jinhua said with a grin. “We’ll work and talk at the same time. Let me tell you…”
“Go on, tell us!”
Hearing this, Xiang Wenhui tightened her grip on the grass in her hand, ears pricked up, fully prepared to listen.
Then the woman began:
“This Song Lao-Wu used to be a real workhorse. He earned ten work points a day. Even when he had a fever, he still managed to earn full points.
There are a lot of people in his family—seven siblings in total.
His younger brother is Yu Zhaodi’s precious treasure, and the younger sister is also doted on.
The other older brothers and sisters are all married, and he’s the only one still single. He’s always been especially diligent with his work.
But about a week ago, after a group of young men finished hauling mud, they were filthy and sweating all over, so they went down to the river to bathe.
For some reason, while washing up, Song Lao-Wu might have gotten a leg cramp—or maybe something in the water tangled around him—and he suddenly sank under.
His older brother was there with him. When he couldn’t see him anymore and noticed bubbles rising from the water, everyone panicked. Several of them jumped in and dragged him back up.
He had swallowed a bellyful of water. They gave him some medicine too. When he woke up the next day… he had changed.
Now he only earns three work points a day. Once he finishes earning them, he leaves.
And he’s still like that. You probably saw yesterday—his mother, Yu Zhaodi, was chasing him all over the brigade with a broom again.”
After hearing all this, Xiang Wenshan had a strong feeling… there was something going on here.