Not far from the village entrance was a narrow wooden bridge. Beneath it flowed a rushing river, filled with countless small stones.
The village secretary’s daughter worked as a teacher in another village, so it was convenient for her to come home occasionally. Su Yu stood nervously on the opposite side of the bridge.
She couldn’t let anyone discover her “good intentions.”
After a while, she saw a young woman riding over on a bicycle. She wore her hair in braids and had on a goose-yellow floral blouse.
The bicycle had a large headlight mounted on the front, and it looked expensive. With one glance, Su Yu could tell that the village secretary’s daughter had grown up pampered and well cared for.
As she rode, she hummed cheerfully.
“The duty of the Party is the duty of the people. I am happy to contribute…”
Just as she was singing enthusiastically, she stopped in front of the wooden bridge and frowned at the sight before her.
“How am I supposed to get across? This bicycle is brand new. I can’t bear to let it get scratched.”
In the end, the young woman came up with what she thought was a good solution—she would carry the bicycle across the bridge.
Standing on a nearby hill, Su Yu felt her heart leap into her throat. Crossing the bridge alone wasn’t difficult.
But carrying a bicycle made things far more dangerous.
Just as she was about to step forward to help, she suddenly realized she couldn’t move at all.
Her legs felt as if they had been filled with cement. Su Yu’s eyes widened as she watched the village secretary’s daughter step onto the bridge.
She gripped the bicycle with difficulty. Su Yu immediately sensed something was wrong. Even if her legs had gone numb, they shouldn’t be like this.
“001, why can’t I move?”
This was yet another ridiculous rule.
Su Yu felt that 001 was completely useless. She had to figure everything out by herself.
“Then what’s the point of having you? Aren’t you my system? You already said she’d fall into the river, yet you’re not letting me save her.”
She only heard a buzzing sound before 001 disappeared again.
Su Yu could only sigh.
The next moment, a scream rang out beside her.
When she looked up, she saw the bicycle hanging sideways on the wooden bridge, while a torn piece of fabric fluttered from the railing.
Seeing this, Su Yu immediately stood up.
“I can move again.”
She waved her hands in surprise.
Then she hurried down a field embankment nearby.
The village secretary’s daughter was lying flat on a large rock.
There were traces of blood nearby.
Su Yu was startled. She hadn’t expected the situation to be so serious.
When she got closer, she discovered that the young woman’s eyes were still open, bloodshot and wide.
The pain was so intense that her eyelids twitched constantly, as did her fingers.
“Are you okay? Come on, I’ll carry you to the clinic.”
Su Yu crouched down and hoisted the young woman onto her back with difficulty.
The village secretary’s daughter weighed at least one hundred and twenty pounds.
With her long limbs, an adult man could have carried her easily. But when Su Yu first stood up, she nearly collapsed from dizziness.
She shook her head hard and continued toward the clinic with the young woman on her back.
The clinic doctor was shocked when he saw the village secretary’s daughter.
“My goodness! What happened? Hurry, get her inside!”
He immediately supported her back and entered the clinic together with Su Yu.
Su Yu was preparing lunch at home.
The weather was beautiful, and she planned to cook the remaining sweet potatoes in the house.
She would slice them into thin pieces and dry them in the sun. They were filling and easy to preserve.
Knock, knock, knock…
A curtain hung over the glass panel on the door.
Su Yu peeked toward the entrance, unsure who was outside. Afraid it might be Su Jianguo, she quickly put down her kitchen knife and went to the door.
“Who is it?”
As soon as someone responded from inside, a bearded man outside answered immediately.
“I’m the village secretary. I’d like to see Su Yu. Is she home?”
Hearing that, Su Yu quickly wiped the grease from her hands and opened the door.
The village secretary stood there with a broad smile. He was carrying two large bags and looked delighted to see her.
“Comrade Su, you’ve been difficult to find! Since you saved my daughter, you should’ve stayed and waited. Why did you leave by yourself? Doing good deeds without leaving your name behind?”
As he spoke, he enthusiastically carried the bags inside and set them on the floor of the main room.
Su Yu quickly picked up a kettle, poured him a cup of hot water, and handed it to him.
“Leader Xia, what are you talking about? I didn’t save anyone.”
She couldn’t reveal that she knew the village secretary’s daughter, especially since the two had never met before.
The village secretary accepted the steaming cup of tea and took a sip.
“Mmm. This green tea is excellent. Comrade Tang brought it back, didn’t he?”
His eyes carried a hint of kindness.
Seeing this, Su Yu nodded.
“Yes. Tang Chen has been doing well in the team. The captain said this was a reward for his hard work.”
From the expression on the village secretary’s face, it was obvious he thought highly of Tang Chen.
“Comrade Su, actually, I should’ve come yesterday, but I had some matters to deal with. Do you remember the girl you saved three days ago?”
Su Yu pretended to be confused before suddenly acting as if she had remembered.
“Oh, that girl! I happened to be wandering around a few days ago and accidentally helped someone. I was wondering how she’s doing now.”
It had to be said that Su Yu’s acting was flawless.
After hearing her words, gratitude filled the village secretary’s eyes.
“Comrade Su, thank you so much. That girl is my daughter. She teaches outside the village. Sigh… it’s all that bicycle’s fault.”
Su Yu noticed the large patches on his pants and the traces of glue on his rubber shoes. Her gaze darkened slightly.
“Half a year ago, Xiaolian insisted on buying a bicycle. How could I afford one? But she kept pestering me. In the end, I scraped together eighty yuan from everywhere and bought her a good one. Who would’ve thought it would lead to something like this?”
The more he spoke, the more regretful he became.
He was nearly in tears.
He still hadn’t paid back all the money he borrowed, and now his daughter’s leg was fractured.
“I’m such a useless village secretary. My wife ran away, and I couldn’t even take proper care of my daughter.”
Seeing that he was about to start recounting all of his old troubles, Su Yu quickly changed the subject.
“So the girl I saved was Leader Xia’s daughter. Leader Xia, you really don’t need to come and thank me specially. It was just a small thing done in passing.”