Su Tong glanced toward the hospital room door and saw a girl standing there wearing a floral-patterned cotton jacket, two braids hanging down her chest, and a knitted scarf wrapped around her neck.
The girl’s cotton jacket wasn’t like the loose, baggy styles commonly seen nowadays—it was neatly tailored with a fitted waist, making her appear slender and pretty at first glance.
Su Tong found the girl quite familiar. Racking her memory, she finally recalled who this person was.
They were indeed from the same village.
However, she was an Educated Youth who had been sent down to Yunshan Village, named Tian Qingrong. She was quite well-known among the Educated Youth, so even “Wu Tong” knew of her.
But it was merely knowing of her—they had never spoken, let alone been friends.
Although these Educated Youth had lived in the village for several years, they secretly looked down on country folk, especially someone like the original host who was quiet and “unlucky.”
After greeting Tian Qingrong, Sister Dong enthusiastically called out to Su Tong: “Comrade Xiao Wu, this is the young lady who came by earlier!”
Tian Qingrong had already walked in beaming, “Wu Tong, I heard you were hospitalized. I’ve been worried about you for so long! I came to the county on business today and made a special trip to see you. How are you recovering?”
Tian Qingrong’s tone was natural and familiar, full of concern—any observer would have thought they were friends.
Su Tong felt somewhat uncomfortable and surprised hearing this.
The original host usually had little interaction with villagers, even less with the Educated Youth.
Worried?
The two had never interacted before—why would she be worried?
She couldn’t figure out what this Educated Youth Tian was up to, but since the other had made a special trip to visit, she couldn’t be cold toward her.
“Educated Youth Tian! Thank you for coming to see me! I’m much better!” Su Tong forced a smile, curving her lips upward.
“Oh, you! Why so formal? Call me Sister Tian!” Tian Qingrong said while pulling over a stool by the bed and sitting down.
Nurse Xiao Li had already unwrapped the bandage around Su Tong’s head. Seeing Tian Qingrong sitting right in front, she hesitated before wrapping it back up.
She privately felt it wasn’t good for the young girl’s wound to be exposed like that in front of others.
But Tian Qingrong chimed in from the side:
“Hey—I’m just here to chat with Wu Tong. You should go ahead with the dressing change—don’t let me interfere!”
Nurse Xiao Li glanced at Su Tong, uncertain whether to proceed with the change or not, when Su Tong spoke up: “Nurse Xiao Li, sorry! Could you please come back a bit later?”
Nurse Xiao Li responded with an “Okay—” and turned to push the cart out of the room.
A flicker of discomfort crossed Tian Qingrong’s face, but she quickly smiled again, “Look at you! Still so shy! What’s wrong with letting Sister Tian see your wound? You’ve accomplished such a great deed—this wound is an honor!”
“Sis…ter Tian, please don’t say that. It was just a fluke—hardly an accomplishment!”
Su Tong struggled to call her “sister,” but the other was indeed several years older than the original host, so she didn’t want to offend her over a form of address.
After Tian Qingrong made small talk for a while and found the atmosphere genuinely awkward, she turned to shift the satchel she was carrying to the front. Pulling out two books, she handed them over, saying:
“I know you’ll be here for a while longer and was afraid you’d be bored, so I brought you a couple of books.”
Su Tong looked at the two books—one was How the Steel Was Tempered, the other was Red Crag. Both were already half-worn, with some pages mended by adhesive tape, yet pressed flat and smooth, clearly well-preserved by their owner.
These books were rare treasures nowadays. Educated Youth in the village who had read even one would boast about it endlessly, while those who hadn’t would rack their brains to borrow a copy. They were impossible to buy in bookstores.
Tian Qingrong was impressive to have produced two at once. Though Su Tong didn’t particularly value the books themselves, Tian Qingrong’s gesture left her increasingly puzzled.
Seeing Su Tong frozen in place, Tian Qingrong shoved the books into her hands. “Take them! I had someone mail these from the capital. Once you finish, I’ll swap them for others—I have more where these came from.”
Su Tong stared at Tian Qingrong, neither accepting nor refusing.
Growing impatient, Tian Qingrong grabbed her hand. “Don’t tell me you don’t like reading! I saw Brother Dongyang bring you books before.”
Su Tong narrowed her eyes. Brother Dongyang?
Xing Dongyang?
Had she ever seen Xing Dongyang give her books?
Xing Dongyang was the leading figure among the Educated Youth in the village. Not only was he handsome, but he was also capable and decisive, maintaining good relationships with village and town leaders. Rumor had it he even had connections at the county level.
Such a young man was not only admired by many female Educated Youth but also became the talk of the village girls whenever they exchanged a few words with him.
In the original host’s eyes, Xing Dongyang was an unattainable figure—she didn’t even dare to look him directly in the face.
But exceptions happen.
Yunshan Village nestled against Yun Mountain, which held countless natural treasures. When the allocated rations weren’t enough to fill their stomachs, everyone turned to the mountain for solutions.
The original host was often sent by Wang Guilan to forage for mountain delicacies like mushrooms and pine mushrooms. Once, while descending the mountain, she encountered Xing Dongyang, who had slipped and fallen from a low cliff.
With no one else around to help and no other options, she followed his instructions: retrieved a rope from his basket, which had fallen on the cliff, tied one end to a tree, and tossed the other end down. Xing Dongyang climbed up using the rope.
That was the first time Xing Dongyang interacted with the village’s so-called “Jinx,” whom everyone else avoided.
As a high school graduate, Xing Dongyang naturally dismissed superstitious beliefs. After the incident, he wanted to properly thank the girl who had lent a hand, but she would run away at the sight of him, too afraid to speak.
Knowing she had been forced to drop out after middle school, Xing Dongyang sympathized with her struggles and tried to lend her some books. But she refused them several times out of fear.
He soon realized it wasn’t that she didn’t want to read—she was just terrified of interacting with him. So, he began leaving books in her basket from a distance while she cut pigweed, allowing her to notice them without needing to speak. This time, she accepted.
Later, she would return the books and borrow new ones in the same silent manner.
It was Wu Dongling who accidentally discovered the original host secretly reading at home and, following the clues, learned that the books came from Xing Dongyang.
And thus, the seeds of calamity were sown…