Li Baoling sat in a meditative silence once more. She needed a moment to digest everything; she truly couldn’t handle a blow this massive.
“By the way, Baoling, on my way back, I heard people talking about you and the Brigade Captain’s son. Don’t forget to explain it to Brother Xiangyang later so he doesn’t misunderstand,” Zhang Lihua said, sounding somewhat annoyed. She didn’t understand why Li Baoling had changed so much after falling into the water.
She probably hasn’t recovered yet, Zhang Lihua told herself, deciding not to argue. After all, Baoling would still be useful later.
“Explain it to him? Who the hell does Shen Xiangyang think he is!”
Hearing Zhang Lihua’s “kind” advice only made Li Baoling angrier. What, was she not allowed to be rescued after falling into a river?
Furthermore, when she eventually sought out Shen Xiangyang, it would be for one reason only: money. She was going to get back every cent he had taken from her.
“Baoling, what is wrong with you?” Zhang Lihua looked at her, panicked. She had a gut feeling that something major was about to happen.
“I fell into the water once, and the water in my brain finally drained out. You’ll understand eventually.” Hearing noises in the yard, Li Baoling stopped talking.
Looking out the window, she saw people trickling into the courtyard. These were likely the other educated youths returning from work.
One man stood out—he was handsome with fair skin, refined features, and quite tall, nearly 1.8 meters. No one around him could match his looks.
Suddenly, he looked toward the window. Seeing Li Baoling staring at him, a flash of pleasant surprise crossed his eyes, and he gave her a smile.
If Li Baoling guessed correctly, this was the male lead. It was a shame someone with a face like that didn’t spend his time on honest work, instead relying on underhanded schemes every day.
“Baoling, Brother Xiangyang is looking at you.” Zhang Lihua felt a pang of jealousy. Seeing Li Baoling staring back at him made her feel even worse.
She knew it—everything Li Baoling just said was nonsense.
Other youths in the yard also noticed the “affectionate” gaze between the two, and some began to whisper jokes.
However, one female youth looked displeased. Li Baoling didn’t have to guess—this was definitely one of Shen Xiangyang’s admirers.
Sure enough, as soon as the girl entered the room, she lashed out at Li Baoling: “When did you wake up, Li Baoling? Why didn’t you go to work? You’re avoiding labor!”
Geng Jiajia was furious. She had finally managed to walk back with Shen Xiangyang today, and they were laughing and talking until they entered the gate. The moment they arrived, Shen Xiangyang had eyes only for Li Baoling. Why!
Li Baoling glanced at her, feeling no obligation to answer.
“You!” Geng Jiajia stamped her foot in frustration before remembering something. “It’s your turn to cook today. Don’t even think about slacking off!”
Before Li Baoling could speak, Zhang Lihua chimed in: “Sister Baoling just woke up; she shouldn’t get out of bed. I’ll do it for her. It’s just one meal. Sister Baoling, you stay lying down. I’ll bring it to you when I’m done.”
“Brown-noser!”
Geng Jiajia cursed and was about to say more when the girl next to her tugged her arm, telling her not to go too far. When Li Baoling had been pulled from the river, her face was deathly pale; she couldn’t have been faking it.
Li Baoling remained silent. She wasn’t about to stop Zhang Lihua. If she hadn’t done so much of Zhang Lihua’s work, she wouldn’t have fallen into the river in the first place. It was only right for Lihua to help now.
“Li Baoling, are you alright now?” Bai Xiujuan, the girl who had pulled Geng Jiajia away, asked.
Seeing that her concern was genuine, Li Baoling replied, “Much better, thank you.”
A short while later, everyone went out to eat.
Having been in bed for nearly two days, Li Baoling’s stomach was growling. Just as she was anticipating what was for dinner, Zhang Lihua brought her a bowl of dark, murky mush.
“What… is this?” Li Baoling didn’t want to open her eyes, hoping it was a hallucination.
“Wild vegetable porridge. There are plenty of wild vegetables this time of year. We picked these together, remember?” Zhang Lihua explained.
Li Baoling remembered. The educated youths weren’t good at farm work, so their daily work points were pitifully low. If their families sent supplies, their meals improved—like Geng Jiajia and Bai Xiujuan, who were from the city and had been assigned here specifically through connections, so they had the best conditions.
The others basically had to survive on what they earned. Their families were often poor to begin with, let alone able to send packages. Some were even expected to send things back home. To survive, they had to forage; digging for wild vegetables was a skill they learned from the locals.
“Hurry and eat. Everyone knows you’re sick, so your bowl has the most rice.” Zhang Lihua glanced at Li Baoling’s bowl and then her own, unable to hide her envy.
Seeing that look, Li Baoling didn’t have time for sorrow. She took the bowl and started eating.
Fortunately, it didn’t taste strange. It was just a handful of wild vegetables boiled with rice—so bland it could make one weep. After half a bowl, Li Baoling felt a bit more energetic, but she was still hungry.
While Zhang Lihua was out washing dishes, Li Baoling pulled out her small chest from the end of the bed. She fished out a pack of biscuits she had stolen from her sister-in-law before leaving for the countryside. She hadn’t been able to bring herself to eat them until now.
After eating four biscuits, she felt significantly better.
The others eventually trickled back into the room after finishing their meals. As expected, seven people shared this room.
On the opposite bunk were the two earliest arrivals, Zhao Jingjing and Fang Yuehua. They were quiet and rarely interacted with the others. On Li Baoling’s side, Wang Xiuxiu was in the middle, Geng Jiajia and Bai Xiujuan were by the wall, and she and Zhang Lihua were near the door.
Since they were paired up with people they already knew, Wang Xiuxiu usually hung out with Zhao Jingjing and Fang Yuehua; the three of them got along well.
Among the remaining four, Geng Jiajia had the most prominent personality. Because she liked Shen Xiangyang, she constantly targeted Li Baoling. Bai Xiujuan usually acted as the mediator, while Zhang Lihua would secretly fan the flames, leading to every interaction ending on a bad note.
Fortunately, they hadn’t been there long, so the conflicts were still relatively minor.
Once she felt strong enough, Li Baoling climbed out of bed, grabbed her toiletries from the table, and went outside to wash up.
What she really wanted was a bath. After lying in bed for so long, she felt smelly, and the weather was getting hotter. But since she had just woken up, she decided to endure it for now.
As she was pouring water from a ladle into her cup, Geng Jiajia approached and said pointedly, “Why are you brushing your teeth so late at night? It’s not easy for us to carry water back; you can’t just waste it all.”
Li Baoling then realized that most of them didn’t brush their teeth at night—some didn’t have the habit, and others did it to save water. Water had to be fetched from a well in the center of the village, and since they lived at the west end, it was a major inconvenience.
“I didn’t even brush this morning. Why are you so obsessed with me? If I didn’t know better, I’d think you were saving water, but it’s obvious you’re just targeting me because you like Shen Xiangyang!”
Wait, how did she know I like Shen Xiangyang? Geng Jiajia hadn’t expected Li Baoling to be so direct and was momentarily speechless.
Hearing his name, Shen Xiangyang walked over and asked what was happening.
“Baoling, how are you feeling? Are you still uncomfortable?” Shen Xiangyang asked with concern.
“I’m fine. Actually, I was looking for you. You borrowed quite a bit of money and food stamps from me recently—when are you going to pay me back?” After that meager dinner, Li Baoling no longer saw a handsome face when she looked at him; she saw a deadbeat debtor.
Shen Xiangyang froze, thinking he had misheard. “What did you say?”
“I said you need to pay me back, buddy.” Seeing his constipated expression, she raised her voice: “No way… you weren’t planning on paying me back, were you? When you borrowed it, you said you’d return it as soon as you had it. You can’t go back on your word, can you?”
“I fell into a river yesterday. When I woke up today, I wanted to buy something to nourish myself, but I reached into my pocket and didn’t have a single cent. Then I remembered—I lent it all to you.”
“When can you pay it back?”
Shen Xiangyang heard her loud and clear this time, and his face turned dark. Did Li Baoling get water in her brain? She likes me, so why is she asking for money?
But he couldn’t ask that out loud. Seeing everyone staring at him in surprise, he could only say, “I don’t have it on me right now. Let me save up, and I’ll definitely give it to you when I have it.”
“How long is ‘when’? We haven’t been here long, and you’ve borrowed from me three times. It adds up to over thirty yuan and several pounds of food stamps. Hurry up. If I knew you were like this, I never would have lent it to you,” Li Baoling said, confronting him head-on.
Shen Xiangyang had no idea life in the countryside would be so hard. Not only was the work grueling, but he never had enough to eat. If Li Baoling hadn’t been “subsidizing” him, he would have starved long ago. He had even planned to ask her for more—since she had worked for two years, she surely had savings—but he hadn’t expected this move.
Before Shen Xiangyang could speak, Geng Jiajia, annoyed by Li Baoling’s aggression, chimed in: “How can you be like this? It’s just thirty yuan and a few stamps. I’ll pay it on Brother Xiangyang’s behalf!”
Geng Jiajia went inside to get her money, and even Bai Xiujuan couldn’t stop her. However, she came back out almost immediately.
“What is it?” Li Baoling looked at her.
Geng Jiajia stammered, “I… I spent a lot this month. Once I write to my family and they send more, I’ll pay you back immediately.”
“No need. If I borrowed it, I will be the one to pay it back,” Shen Xiangyang said, finding some backbone. “I just thought that since we were new to the countryside and didn’t have much money, and since you said you had some, I’d borrow a little to get through. I didn’t realize you were in such a rush. I’ll write to my family as well and get it to you as soon as possible.”
“Alright then. You two better hurry; I’m waiting to eat,” Li Baoling replied. She didn’t care who paid, as long as the money ended up in her hands.
She went back inside, leaving the others in the yard looking at each other in confusion. No one understood why Li Baoling had suddenly changed.
Doesn’t she like Shen Xiangyang? Zhang Lihua was the most bewildered, but when she tried to ask, she found that Li Baoling had already closed her eyes.
Li Baoling wasn’t going to give Zhang Lihua a chance to annoy her. She needed to plan her next steps.
However, she didn’t realize that while dinner had been a blow, bedtime would be even worse.
One roommate ground her teeth, another snored, and Zhang Lihua talked in her sleep right next to her ear. Between the sudden noises and the constant activity, how was she supposed to sleep? Li Baoling already suffered from a sleep disorder; she needed total darkness and absolute silence.
In this environment, she didn’t know how she would survive.
God, just strike me with another bolt of lightning and kill me. I can’t take this misery!
Everyone else slept soundly, except for Li Baoling, who only managed a tiny nap and spent the rest of the time staring at the ceiling until dawn.
“Your complexion still isn’t good. Why don’t you ask the Brigade Captain for another day off?” Bai Xiujuan asked, seeing that Li Baoling was struggling even to stand up.
“Could I trouble you to request the leave for me?” Li Baoling planned to do exactly that.
Bai Xiujuan glanced at her. Usually, Li Baoling would ask Zhang Lihua for such things. Regardless, since she asked for help, Bai Xiujuan agreed.
Li Baoling felt relieved. she wouldn’t ask Zhang Lihua; that girl would probably find a way to make her look bad behind her back.
Zhang Lihua, who had been waiting at the door, saw that Baoling wasn’t coming out and went in to find her. When she heard the “bad news,” she was devastated. She had already done two days of work by herself; if Li Baoling didn’t help her today, she’d be exhausted to death.
But Li Baoling gave her no chance to speak and went back to sleep. She needed to catch up on her rest!
By the time she woke up again, it was noon. The others were noisy as they returned from work, and Geng Jiajia and Zhang Lihua were intentionally banging things around to prevent her from sleeping.
However, Li Baoling felt much better after her morning nap. Before the two could start with their sarcastic remarks, she got up and headed outside to walk around. Her body felt soft from lying down for too long.
Everyone was busy eating and resting, so the paths were empty—perfect for her to scout the surroundings.
As she walked, she found herself back at the river where she had been pulled out. Just as she was contemplating whether jumping back in would send her home, she heard a loud “Plop!”
Damn it! Someone just jumped into the river right in front of me!