13
Old Man Zhou Xiye
Seeing how simple and gullible Liang Dazhuang was, Jiang Zhizhi curved her lips into a faint smile, her eyes filled with sorrow. “My family arranged a marriage for me. The man is much older and has a history of domestic violence. His previous wife was beaten to death by him. I’m terrified, so I don’t want to go back.”
Liang Dazhuang completely believed her. Wife-beating was common in the village, and there had been cases where women were beaten to death without any consequences.
While he considered it a normal occurrence, he felt it was wrong and unacceptable when it happened to Jiang Zhizhi.
Frowning, he looked at her arm and asked, “Did your family break your arm because you refused to comply?”
Jiang Zhizhi was taken aback. Not only was Liang Dazhuang gullible, but he also had quite an imagination. Blinking her eyes, she let them glisten with tears, looking pitiful. “Well… never mind. No matter what, they’re still my family. I can’t commit such an unfilial act. I could only run far away.”
Liang Dazhuang clenched his fists, visibly angry. “Don’t worry, you can stay in our village. Later, I’ll ask my dad to pull some strings for you.”
Jiang Zhizhi nodded, though she knew Old Liang wouldn’t be as easily fooled as his son. She needed to come up with a plan. This place was remote enough—she could live peacefully here for a couple of years!
In two years, when everything returned to normal, she could finally do what she wanted.
…
That evening, Old Liang arranged for Jiang Zhizhi to sleep on the kang in the east room. He warmly told her that if she needed anything, she could call them—they lived in the west room.
Liang Dazhuang stayed in the small side room to the west.
After a simple wash, though exhausted, Jiang Zhizhi lay on the kang unable to sleep. The village had no electricity yet, and once darkness fell, everything was pitch black.
Lying on the kang, she stared at the dark ceiling, calculating how she could help the village so that Old Liang would see her as indispensable and willingly ask her to stay.
Being in an unfamiliar place, Jiang Zhizhi didn’t dare sleep too soundly. She dozed off fitfully and was awakened by the rooster crowing three times. Faint light seeped through the window, and noises came from the yard, followed by the ringing of the brigade’s bell, calling everyone to work.
Unable to fall back asleep, Jiang Zhizhi got up. Yang Fengmei and Old Liang had already gone to the fields.
Liang Dazhuang was washing his face in the yard. Surprised to see Jiang Zhizhi, he said, “Comrade Jiang, did we wake you? You can sleep a bit longer. My mom will cook when we return from the morning work. You can get up then.”
Jiang Zhizhi found it strange. “Why aren’t you going?”
Liang Dazhuang grinned. “I don’t have to go today. Later, I need to pick up the educated youth. By the way, if you’re free, you can take a stroll and see our village. I’m sure you’ll like it here.”
As he spoke, he wiped his face with his hand, ran to the stove, grabbed a fire poker, and crouched to dig out two charred potatoes from the ashes. Smiling at Jiang Zhizhi, he said, “Comrade Jiang, if you’re hungry, you can have a potato. I buried them last night—they’re still warm.”
Jiang Zhizhi declined, “No, thank you. I’m not hungry yet.”
Liang Dazhuang let out an “oh,” then knocked the potatoes on the ground, peeled them, and took big bites, not minding the black smudges all over his mouth and face.
Watching him eat, Jiang Zhizhi asked, “Do you not have a well for drinking water here?”
Liang Dazhuang pointed outside: “There’s a well at the village entrance and another behind the village, but with the drought these past two years, water’s been scarce. We have to ration it daily.”
Jiang Zhizhi asked curiously, “Isn’t there a river nearby?”
Liang Dazhuang nodded: “There is a river about a mile away. When the well water runs low, we fetch water from there.”
Jiang Zhizhi expressed surprise: “Why not channel the river water here?”
Liang Dazhuang shook his head firmly: “Impossible. Our land is higher – the river water can’t flow uphill.”
Jiang Zhizhi fell silent, a realization dawning – she might have found a way to stay in this village!
…
After finishing two potatoes and washing his face, Liang Dazhuang drove the tractor to town to pick up educated youth. He warmly told Jiang Zhizhi she could explore the area and just follow the workers back for meals when she saw them returning from work.
Watching Liang Dazhuang hurry off, Jiang Zhizhi washed up and considered doing laundry, but thinking about water scarcity, decided to first inquire about the river’s location. After organizing her belongings, she went out to survey the surroundings.
Meanwhile, Sun Xiaoyue had just disembarked from the train. To her delight, she spotted Jiang Donghua immediately upon exiting the station. Noticing two other girls standing with him – likely fellow educated youth – she straightened her clothes and nervously smoothed her hair before approaching.
Before she could greet Jiang Donghua, a dark-skinned, sturdy young man interrupted: “Are you the educated youth assigned to Qingquan Village?”
Jiang Donghua, fair-skinned and bespectacled, adjusted his glasses politely and smiled at Liang Dazhuang: “Yes, we’re headed to Qingquan Village.”
Liang Dazhuang waved his hand: “Good, hop on the tractor. I’ll get you back in time for dinner at the Educated Youth Housing.”
Hearing Jiang Donghua confirm their destination, Sun Xiaoyue’s joy intensified. The rebirth effect was real – they were indeed assigned to the same location!
Her attempted greeting was again interrupted by Liang Dazhuang urging everyone onto the tractor. With no opportunity for conversation, they embarked on a jolting ride back to the village.
The violent bouncing left Sun Xiaoyue feeling utterly disoriented and nauseous, unable to speak. The other three fared no better – even Jiang Donghua clung white-knuckled to the tractor rails, his face pale with strain.
Upon reaching their destination, Liang Dazhuang announced: “We’re here. Get off quickly. Your quarters are ready – sort out the room assignments yourselves.”
Stumbling off while clutching her stomach, Sun Xiaoyue dry-heaved by the roadside. When she looked up, a slender figure flashed past and disappeared into an alleyway.
Her eyes widened in shock. Was she seeing things? That looked exactly like Jiang Zhizhi!
But that couldn’t be – Jiang Zhizhi had gone to find Zhou Xiye. She shouldn’t be in this village.
Yet she felt certain she hadn’t mistaken the figure.
Puzzled, Sun Xiaoyue turned to watch Jiang Donghua helping the other two girls with their luggage. She resolved that regardless of whether it was Jiang Zhizhi, she must prevent any interaction between them this lifetime.
Liang Dazhuang called impatiently: “Hurry up! I need to return the tractor.”
Sun Xiaoyue snapped irritably: “Your driving made me sick to my stomach! Can’t I have a moment to recover?”
Liang Dazhuang was also unconvinced: “You don’t look like a city girl either, so why are you acting so delicate? If you can’t even handle this little hardship, how are you going to manage farm work?”
Sun Xiaoyue’s face turned even greener from his retort. What she hated most was people saying she didn’t seem like a city person!
Fuming with resentment, she went to get her luggage. When she reached for the bedroll, Jiang Donghua gave her a hand: “Coming to the countryside means enduring hardships. Otherwise, what would be the purpose of us coming here?”