Su Tong glanced toward the entrance of the ward and saw a girl standing there, wearing a floral cotton jacket. Two braids hung down in front of her chest, and a wool scarf was tied around her neck.
Unlike the oversized padded jackets commonly seen nowadays, this girl’s coat was neatly tailored—it even had a cinched waist. At a glance, she looked slender and striking.
Su Tong found her somewhat familiar. After searching through the original host’s memories, she finally remembered who she was.
She was from the same village.
However, she was an educated youth who had been sent down to Yunshan Village. Her name was Tian Qingrong, and she was quite well-known among the educated youths, so even “Wu Tong” knew of her.
But that was all—just knowing of her. They had never spoken, let alone been friends.
These educated youths had lived in the village for several years, but deep down they looked down on the rural villagers. Especially someone like the original host, who was quiet, withdrawn, and considered “ill-omened.”
After finishing her greeting with Tian Qingrong, Nurse Dong Dajie warmly called out to Su Tong, “Comrade Xiao Wu, this is the girl who came by earlier!”
Tian Qingrong walked in with a bright smile. “Wu Tong, I heard you were hospitalized and have been worried for a long time. I just happened to be in the county today, so I came by to see you. How are you recovering?”
Her tone was natural and familiar, full of concern—any outsider would think the two were close friends.
But Su Tong felt uncomfortable and slightly surprised.
The original host rarely interacted with villagers, and even less with the educated youths.
Worried?
They had never even spoken before—why would she be worried?
She couldn’t tell what Tian Qingrong was planning, but since the girl had come specifically to visit, she couldn’t be cold toward her.
“So it’s Comrade Tian. Thank you for coming to see me. I’m much better now,” Su Tong said, forcing a small smile.
“Oh, come on! That’s too formal!” Tian Qingrong said as she pulled a chair over to the bedside. “Call me Sister Tian!”
Nurse Xiao Li had just removed the gauze from Su Tong’s head. Seeing Tian Qingrong sit down, she hesitated, then wrapped the bandage back up again.
She personally felt it wasn’t appropriate for others to see the girl’s wound so directly.
But Tian Qingrong said quickly, “Oh, I’m just here to chat with Wu Tong. Don’t let me disturb you—do your dressings as needed!”
Nurse Xiao Li looked at Su Tong, hesitating again about whether to continue. Su Tong said, “Nurse Xiao Li, sorry about that. Could you come back a bit later?”
“Alright,” Nurse Xiao Li replied and pushed her trolley out.
A flicker of awkwardness passed across Tian Qingrong’s face, but she quickly smiled again. “Look at you, still being shy! What’s wrong with showing me your injury? You’ve done such a big good deed—this wound is practically a badge of honor!”
“Sister Tian… please don’t say that. I just happened to stumble into it. It’s not really anything like a contribution,” Su Tong said.
She still couldn’t quite bring herself to call her “sister,” but the other woman was clearly several years older, so she didn’t want to embarrass her over a title.
Tian Qingrong chatted casually for a while, and when the atmosphere remained somewhat stiff, she shifted her shoulder bag forward and pulled out two books.
“I know you’ll be in the hospital for a while and might get bored, so I brought you these to read.”
Su Tong looked down.
One was How the Steel Was Tempered, the other Red Crag. Both were worn and slightly old, some pages even patched with tape, but they had been kept very flat—clearly well cared for by their owner.
These were extremely rare books at the time. Educated youths in the village would proudly talk for days if they had read even one. Many people couldn’t even find a copy to borrow, let alone buy one from a bookstore.
Yet Tian Qingrong had brought out two at once.
Su Tong didn’t particularly care about the books, but this gesture made her even more uncertain about the woman’s intentions.
Seeing her hesitate, Tian Qingrong directly pushed the books into her hands. “Take them! I had someone send them from Beijing. When you finish, I’ll bring you more—I have plenty more at home.”
Su Tong looked at her without responding.
Tian Qingrong grew anxious and grabbed her hand. “Don’t tell me you don’t like reading—I’ve seen Dongyang-ge bring you books before!”
Su Tong narrowed her eyes slightly.
Dongyang-ge?
Xing Dongyang?
She had seen him bring her books?
Xing Dongyang was the leader among the educated youths in the village. He was handsome, capable, decisive, and well-connected with both village and township officials. It was said he even had influence in the county.
He was the object of admiration for many female educated youths, and even village girls felt proud just to exchange a few words with him.
To the original host, he was an unreachable figure—someone she didn’t even dare look directly at.
Yet things were not so simple.
Yunshan Village lay at the foot of Yunshan Mountain, which was rich in resources. When grain quotas weren’t enough to feed themselves, people would go into the mountains to find food.
The original host was often sent by Wang Guilan to gather wild mushrooms and other forest produce. On one such trip, she happened to encounter Xing Dongyang after he had slipped off a low cliff.
There was no one else nearby to help, and she had no other choice. Under his instructions, she found a rope in his fallen basket, tied one end to a tree, and threw the other down the cliff. Xing Dongyang climbed up using it.
That was the first time he had interacted with her—the “ill-omened girl” everyone avoided.
Xing Dongyang, being a high school graduate, naturally did not believe in superstition. Afterward, he wanted to properly thank her, but the girl ran away as soon as she saw him and didn’t dare speak a word.
Knowing she had dropped out after middle school, he felt pity for her and wanted to give her some books to read.
But every time he tried, she refused to accept them.
Later, he realized she wasn’t unwilling to read—she was simply afraid of interacting with him. So he began quietly placing books into her basket when she was cutting pig grass, letting her receive them without face-to-face contact.
This time, she finally accepted.
Afterward, she would return the books the same way and borrow new ones.
Wu Dongling had once accidentally discovered the original host secretly reading at home. Following the trail, she found out that the books came from Xing Dongyang.
And that was what planted the seed of disaster…