19
Malicious Inquiry
With one hand injured, Jiang Zhizhi had been enduring the difficulty of washing her hair. Recently, having built a good relationship with Yang Fengmei, she sweetly called her “Auntie” and asked her to help wash her hair.
After a few days of interaction, Yang Fengmei had grown quite fond of Jiang Zhizhi. The girl was young, appeared innocent and pretty, yet carried herself with steadiness. Her words revealed a sharp wit, and her sweet-talking nature made her quite endearing. Yang Fengmei genuinely liked her.
She readily agreed to Jiang Zhizhi’s request. After lunch, she boiled a pot of hot water and helped Jiang Zhizhi wash her hair.
There was no shampoo or hair wash available at the time. Yang Fengmei had gathered plenty of soapberries and used them to wash Jiang Zhizhi’s hair.
At first, Jiang Zhizhi was skeptical—could these really clean hair?
After washing, Yang Fengmei dried her hair with a towel. Jiang Zhizhi reached up and touched it, pleasantly surprised: “Auntie, this is amazing! My hair feels so much smoother.”
Yang Fengmei said proudly, “Of course! Most people don’t know how to use these. You have to soak them first—then your hair will shine after washing. You city folks like using hair pomade, right? Washing with this is even better than applying pomade.”
Jiang Zhizhi sat in the yard, drying her hair under the sun while chatting idly with Yang Fengmei.
When Chen Shuangyan arrived, she brought a pack of shrimp crisps from the capital—a bribe from Sun Xiaoyue meant for Yang Fengmei.
Entering the yard, she greeted Yang Fengmei warmly and handed her the shrimp crisps. Though she felt a pang of regret giving away so many sweets, she had secretly tucked a few into her pocket on the way.
Yang Fengmei glanced at the shrimp crisps and handed them back. “I won’t accept these. Keep them for yourself—they’re rare treats.”
Chen Shuangyan exclaimed, “Auntie, don’t worry! I’m not trying to bribe you with these. I’m just here for a visit. I have plenty more, and my parents will send me more when I run out.”
This was exactly what Sun Xiaoyue had taught her to say.
Jiang Zhizhi glanced at the shrimp crisps in Chen Shuangyan’s hand, then at Chen Shuangyan herself.
Earlier by the river, Chen Shuangyan had said she came to the countryside because her family had many children and she needed a good job to return to the city later. That suggested her family wasn’t well-off.
Besides, shrimp crisps weren’t something you could easily buy with just money or ration tickets—you needed connections.
How could someone from an ordinary worker’s family like Chen Shuangyan’s have more shrimp crisps than she could eat?
Jiang Zhizhi recalled seeing a full jar of shrimp crisps in the Jiang family’s living room!
Chen Shuangyan pushed the shrimp crisps back toward Yang Fengmei. “Auntie, please take them. Otherwise, I’ll feel too awkward to visit you again.”
Reluctantly, Yang Fengmei accepted them, though she remained wary of Chen Shuangyan. In her eyes, none of the women from the Educated Youth Housing were trustworthy.
Seeing that Yang Fengmei didn’t refuse again, Chen Shuangyan happily sat down and greeted Jiang Zhizhi: “Technician Jiang, your hair is so beautiful—and so long!”
Jiang Zhizhi’s hair cascaded down to her waist, jet-black like ink. Under the sunlight, it shimmered like fine black satin.
Chen Shuangyan praised her sincerely before making small talk with Yang Fengmei.
Jiang Zhizhi noticed that although Yang Fengmei seemed honest, she was quite shrewd. No matter what Chen Shuangyan asked, Yang Fengmei answered vaguely, even dismissively.
Chen Shuangyan didn’t mind and turned to Jiang Zhizhi: “Technician Jiang, how long has your arm been injured? If you ever need any help, you can come to the Educated Youth Housing to find me.”
Jiang Zhizhi thanked her: “Alright, if I run into any trouble, I’ll definitely trouble you.”
As they were talking, Old Liang came out of the house, shoes in hand, and glanced at Chen Shuangyan: “Do you need something, Educated Youth Chen?”
Chen Shuangyan quickly shook her head: “No, no, I just came to see Auntie.”
Old Liang nodded and said to Jiang Zhizhi: “I’ll take your blueprint to the commune to see the secretary now. I’m afraid I won’t be able to explain it clearly, but if the secretary is interested, I’ll bring you along later. Being able to divert the river water up here would be a tremendous achievement. The secretary should be interested.”
Before Jiang Zhizhi could respond, Old Liang was already mumbling to himself as he walked out, shouting for Liang Dazhuang to get up quickly and start the tractor.
Chen Shuangyan listened carefully, her eyes shifting thoughtfully. After Old Liang left, she asked Jiang Zhizhi curiously: “What blueprint? Are you thinking about how to divert the river water to the fields on the slope?”
Just as Jiang Zhizhi was about to speak, Yang Fengmei cut in: “Don’t go prying into things. If the technical details get leaked, you’ll be held responsible!”
Chen Shuangyan gave an awkward smile: “I was just curious. The river has plenty of water, but the slopes are completely dry. Farming there yields very little and is incredibly hard work.”
Yang Fengmei curled her lip: “It’s fine. Our ancestors have lived here for generations, and they all managed just fine.”
Feeling snubbed, Chen Shuangyan exchanged a few more awkward words before slinking away.
Yang Fengmei insincerely saw her to the gate and watched her walk away before turning back with a knowing look. She glanced at Jiang Zhizhi: “See? She came to fish for information.”
Jiang Zhizhi chuckled: “She came to ask whether their idea of using pipes to draw up water would be adopted.”
Yang Fengmei sat down with a slap on her thigh and pushed the shrimp crisp on the table: “Using this to test the waters. These people are full of schemes, just hoping to make a splash so the return-to-the-city quota will go to them.”
She snorted coldly: “With such petty tricks, they think they can put on an act in front of me.”
Jiang Zhizhi guessed that the idea hadn’t come from Chen Shuangyan but that someone had sent her to gather information. The shrimp crisp was probably from that person, too.
Thinking this, she asked Yang Fengmei: “How many return-to-the-city quotas are there each year?”
Yang Fengmei was quite knowledgeable: “There have been more in recent years—one or two annually. There are also recommendations for university, or if parents are ill, one can go back to visit and take a long leave. Dazhuang’s father has to approve it all. If he agrees, the commune won’t raise any objections.”
“So, they’re always trying to find ways to approach Dazhuang’s father. They’re full of schemes!”
…
After returning, Chen Shuangyan told Sun Xiaoyue what she had seen at the Liang family.
Sun Xiaoyue was stunned. She hadn’t expected Jiang Zhizhi to know how to draw blueprints? And to have a better method than hers? A method that people nowadays didn’t even understand.
The more she thought about it, the uglier her expression became. How could Jiang Zhizhi be better than her!
Chen Shuangyan was frightened by Sun Xiaoyue’s expression: “Xiaoyue, what’s wrong? It doesn’t matter if your idea wasn’t used… They just don’t have the vision…”
Sun Xiaoyue snapped out of it and forced a disappointed smile: “It’s fine, I’m just a little disheartened. Shuangyan, could you do me a favor?”
Chen Shuangyan immediately nodded: “Alright, just say whatever you need to.”
Sun Xiaoyue lowered her eyelids, concealing the venom in her eyes. Wasn’t Jiang Zhizhi living with the Liang family?
She had heard that Old Liang was lecherous, and Liang Dazhuang was at the age of youthful vigor—let Jiang Zhizhi experience the taste of these two men!!