Su Yunyi returned home in a daze.
After washing up and lying in bed, Su Yunyi still couldn’t understand why she was so sensitive to Xiao Ze’s attitude, and what it meant that Xiao Ze had held her hand all night. Thinking that they had to sleep in the same bed again tonight, Su Yunyi wanted to bury her head in the ground.
When Xiao Ze got into bed, he saw the woman’s ostrich-like posture of avoidance, with only a section of her fair, tender neck exposed.
He found it amusing and rescued Su Yunyi’s head from the quilt.
“Silly woman, if you suffocate yourself, I’ll be a widower.”
Su Yunyi, who had just been pulled out from under the quilt, had a flushed face and slightly trembling eyelashes. In Xiao Ze’s eyes, she looked cute and innocent, yet with a hint of fragility, making him want to tease her.
However, thinking of his task for the night, he simply ruffled her hair, “Get up and lock the door. I’m going up the mountain.”
Upon hearing this, Su Yunyi suddenly sprang up from the bed, “You’re going up the mountain in the middle of the night? It’s too dangerous. Can’t you go during the day?”
Xiao Ze answered while packing his tools.
Last time, the tools were not suitable, and he broke a few roots. He had been preparing tools for the past few days, wanting to dig up more to exchange for money before anyone else discovered it.
There were too many expenses at home, and he didn’t want to repeat the mistakes of his previous life.
“You were right the other day. If we suddenly show off our wealth, many people will be watching us. I know what I’m doing. I’ll be back soon. You go to sleep first.”
Su Yunyi had already rolled out of bed and put on her shoes, “I’ll go with you. It’s good to have someone to look out for. You’ve worked hard to earn money and bought me good food, I can’t let you go on an adventure alone.”
On the surface, Xiao Ze remained impassive, but inside, a warm current flowed through him. He tried his best to control his emotions, but the warmth in his eyes could not be hidden.
“Don’t cause trouble for me. If you go, I’ll have to be distracted taking care of you.”
After saying that, he slung his backpack over his shoulder, grabbed his flashlight, and left without looking back.
Su Yunyi lay in bed, her mind in turmoil. The image of Xiao Ze shuttling alone through the dark mountain kept replaying in her mind. She closed her eyes, trying to calm down, but her thoughts kept drifting back to him.
All night, Su Yunyi was in a state of semi-sleep. Several times when the wind blew, she thought Xiao Ze had returned. It wasn’t until dawn gradually broke, and a faint light seeped in from the horizon, that she heard the sound of the door.
She rolled out of bed and rushed to the door, “Xiao Ze, is that you?”
Hearing the woman’s worried voice, Xiao Ze felt a strange feeling surge in his heart. He responded in a low voice, “Yes, open the door.”
Xiao Ze poked his head out to take a look, closed the door, and quickly walked into the house. After putting down his backpack, he turned and went out to wash his hands and face.
His back was soaked with sweat, showing a deep gray color. His trouser legs were splattered with mud, making his figure appear tall and imposing.
Seeing that he had returned safely, Su Yunyi was suddenly overcome with sleepiness. Listening to the sound of the man washing outside, she lay in bed and slowly closed her eyes.
She felt someone nudge her. Su Yunyi groggily opened her eyes. Xiao Ze, already changed into clean clothes, was standing by the bed. Seeing that she was awake, the man lifted the curtain and walked out.
Su Yunyi washed up and even applied the Snow Cream she brought from the city. She tied her hair into a high ponytail. While eating potatoes, she walked towards the village entrance with Xiao Ze, who was carrying his backpack.
When they reached the donkey cart, a pair of similarly looking twins were already sitting on the cart, along with a woman with very fair skin and some freckles on her face. It was just her and another child who were missing. The older brother driving the donkey saw Xiao Ze standing beside Su Yunyi with his backpack and couldn’t help but tease, “What’s this, Xiao Laosan? Are you following your wife to the commune?”
Xiao Ze responded indifferently, “Yes, I’ve already spoken to the captain. She’s never been to the commune before, so I’m sending her off and will buy some things on the way.”
The words were quite affectionate, making Zhou Yuan’s wife on the cart blush. However, Su Yunyi knew he wanted to sell the things he dug up last night. Su Yunyi also pretended not to know, smiled shyly, climbed onto the cart, and sat down. Soon, a sturdy-looking little girl was sent onto the cart.
The few people introduced themselves to each other. It turned out that Zhou Yuan’s wife was named Zhou Yuan’s, also a local from Dahe Village. The twins were called Ding Ding and Dang Dang, and there was another girl named Daya.
The donkey cart started its journey with a clatter. The ride was bumpy, and by the time Su Yunyi felt like she was about to shake out all the potatoes she had eaten that morning, the donkey cart arrived at its destination, the commune’s assembly hall.
Su Yunyi jumped off the cart with a pale face. Xiao Ze also took his backpack off the cart and said to Su Yunyi, “You rehearse well here. I’ll come find you after I’m done with my business, and we’ll go home together.”
Entering the commune’s office compound, one could vaguely discern that half was the commune’s office area and the other half was the living quarters for the commune cadres and staff. The two areas were connected, forming a circle with office buildings, the assembly hall, staff and cadre dormitories, and a guesthouse. The rest were open spaces, with some eucalyptus trees and a large banyan tree growing there.
Su Yunyi led the few little ones towards the assembly hall.
As soon as they reached the entrance, the sound of rehearsal music could be heard.
A table was placed on the stage, with a tape recorder on it playing a song Su Yunyi had never heard before. The children sat on the ground, listening intently to the music and clapping their hands to the rhythm.
Not far away, a teacher in a blue cloth shirt was explaining the content of the program to the children.
Seeing them enter, a female comrade with a short, ear-length haircut enthusiastically ran up to them and asked, “Hello, comrades. I am Wang Mei, an official from the commune’s cultural troupe. May I ask which team you are representatives from?”
Zhou Yuan’s wife took out the proof documents given to her by the team leader from her bag and handed them to the female official in front of her, “Comrade, we are from Brigade’s.”
The female official glanced at them, assigned the children to the group of children sitting on the stage, and led Su Yunyi and Zhou Yuan’s wife to a room nearby.
In the spacious room, more than a dozen young men and women were already rehearsing. Official Wang Mei led them to a well-proportioned, thick-browed, and big-eyed girl.
“Xiaomei, these are the representatives sent by Dahe Commune. Please guide them.”
As soon as she finished speaking, the rehearsing crowd stopped, and their gazes focused on Zhou Yuan’s wife and Su Yunyi.
Zhou Yuan’s wife awkwardly tugged at the hem of her clothes, twisting her hands together.
“Everyone, let’s welcome the two comrades from Brigade’s!”
Sparse applause could be heard.
Official Wang Mei smiled with satisfaction, patted the girl named Xiaomei on the shoulder twice, and turned to leave the small rehearsal room.
As soon as Official Wang left, a very discordant scoff came from the crowd.
“Is Brigade’s out of people? Why did they send a fat person to dance?”
It was a young girl who looked young, with innocent and naive eyebrows, but she spoke with sharp and harsh words.