In the dim mud-brick house, Shen Yao lay on an old wooden bed, staring at the yellowed canopy above her.
It had already been six days.
Just like that, she had become Shen Yao of Shenjia Village. She could feel pain, she could feel hunger. By now, she no longer dared hope it was all just a dream.
Faint voices drifted in from outside. Before long, Wang Yunzhi entered carrying a bowl of sweet potato rice and an enamel mug.
“Yaoyao, look what your father brought back.”
Carefully helping Shen Yao sit up, she held out the enamel mug as though presenting a treasure.
“Your father went to a meeting at the commune today and brought back some braised pork.”
The precious delicacy she spoke of turned out to be a mug containing only a layer of braised pork gravy at the bottom, with two small pieces of pork no bigger than fingertips floating inside.
Wang Yunzhi brought over the bowl of sweet potato rice and said,
“You couldn’t eat at noon, so I kept it warm for you. Mix it with the meat gravy while it’s still hot. It’ll smell wonderful.”
As she spoke, she placed the bowl on the wooden chest beside the bed. Tilting the mug, she scooped out two small spoonfuls of the dark, rich gravy and poured them evenly over the rice, stirring it well. Then she picked up one piece of pork and placed it in the bowl.
“You’ll eat two spoonfuls now. I’ll save the other two spoonfuls for your dinner tonight.”
Shen Yao had never imagined that she would one day be reduced to eating rice mixed with leftover gravy.
Although the original owner’s memories told her that even food touched by others’ chopsticks like this was considered a rare treat that only the families of production team officials could occasionally enjoy, Shen Yao had been the cherished legitimate daughter of the Marquis of Dingnan’s household. How could she possibly accept such fare?
At least, that was what she had thought.
But pride and dignity could not compete with five consecutive days of sweet potato porridge and sweet potato rice. The burning pain in her stomach, the sensation that her entire body had been hollowed out, had long since overwhelmed her reason.
She accepted the bowl and put a spoonful of rice mixed with gravy into her mouth.
The fragrance of the grains and meat sauce burst across her tongue, more delicious than any delicacy she had ever tasted.
As she ate, tears suddenly began to fall.
Seeing her daughter crying while eating rice mixed with meat gravy, Wang Yunzhi panicked.
“What’s wrong? Is your head dizzy? Does it hurt?”
Shen Yao shook her head and forced back her sobs.
“Mom, it’s delicious.”
She could not possibly say that she was crying from sadness while eating meat that most villagers tasted only a few times a year. Nor could she let anyone discover that she was not the real Shen Yao.
So she could only imitate Shen Yao’s usual manner of speaking and behavior.
That was right.
Shen Yao was simple-minded.
At seventeen years old, she possessed only the mentality of a five- or six-year-old child.
The real Shen Yao had suffered her injury after rolling down a mountain and striking her head against a rock.
As for her, she had died after crashing into an ornamental rock while protecting the Second Prince.
Neither accident should have been fatal.
She could not help wondering whether some strange connection existed between them. Had their souls somehow exchanged places?
If that were true, how heartbroken would her mother be upon discovering that she had become a fool?
When Wang Yunzhi learned that her daughter was crying because the food tasted good, she gently stroked Shen Yao’s head. The affection in her eyes nearly overflowed.
“In a few days it’ll be the double harvest season. After it’s over, the production team will slaughter a pig. Once the quota is handed over, the remaining half will be distributed to the strong laborers. Your father will definitely bring some back for you and Gangzi.”
Just as she mentioned Shen Gang, the boy came charging home noisily.
Hearing voices from his sister’s room, he walked straight in.
The moment he entered, his eyes landed on the bowl in Shen Yao’s hands. Only a little rice remained at the bottom, every grain of rice and sweet potato coated with a glossy brown sheen of oil.
Thirteen-year-old Shen Gang could not help swallowing loudly.
The persistent burning in Shen Yao’s stomach, which had tormented her for days, had already eased considerably after half a bowl of rice mixed with meat gravy.
As the elder sister, even if she was only a counterfeit one, she felt embarrassed eating such good food by herself.
She picked up the enamel mug from the wooden chest beside the bed. Half the gravy and one small piece of meat still remained inside.
Holding it out, she offered it to Shen Gang.
Before Shen Gang’s outstretched hand could reach the mug, Wang Yunzhi slapped the back of his hand.
“Your sister’s head injury hasn’t healed yet. This is for her dinner.”
Wang Yunzhi had only these two children.
Shen Yao was four years older than Shen Gang and was her first child. She and her husband had cherished her like the apple of their eye.
When Shen Yao was seven or eight years old, they discovered that something was wrong with her mental development. After crying for many days, Wang Yunzhi began carrying Shen Yao everywhere in search of treatment.
Whether it was doctors in the city, the county, or remote villages dozens of miles away, as long as she heard that someone possessed exceptional medical skill, she would carry Shen Yao there for an examination.
That life continued for more than a year.
Shen Yao consumed countless medicines, yet her intelligence showed no improvement. Instead, all the traditional herbal medicine left her increasingly listless, draining away the lively spirit she once possessed.
Only then did Wang Yunzhi finally abandon the idea of taking her daughter everywhere in search of a cure.
Because of their daughter’s condition, Wang Yunzhi and Shen Guozhong inevitably doted on Shen Yao more than on their younger son, Shen Gang.
Wang Yunzhi could not bear hearing anyone call Shen Yao a fool. Whenever an adult or child said such things in the beginning, she would first comfort Shen Yao, telling her, “Our Yaoyao isn’t stupid. Yaoyao is just more innocent than others, not as clever, that’s all.”
Afterward, she would visit the speaker’s family and sincerely ask them to be more considerate with their words and not hurt the child.
Shen Yao was the treasure of her heart, her very life. Her daughter’s mental impairment had caused her endless suffering. Whenever she spoke of it, her eyes would redden and tears would fall. Since she and her husband were both well-liked people, the villagers gradually stopped calling Shen Yao a fool. They also became stricter with their own children. Added to that, Shen Yao was as fair and lovely as carved jade, so the villagers tended to show her even more sympathy and affection.
Wang Yunzhi was not blindly biased toward Shen Yao either. The family had not eaten meat in a long time. Seeing the way her son looked at the food, her heart softened.
“When we eat tonight, you can share some with your sister. Don’t eat it now. This is precious stuff, it should be mixed with rice. If you eat it by itself, it’ll be a waste.”
Shen Gang had always been sensible and was willing to protect and give way to Shen Yao. Hearing his mother’s words, he nodded and did not reach for the enamel mug.
Outside, the whistle signaling the commune members to begin work sounded.
Wang Yunzhi put the mug into the kitchen cupboard and instructed Shen Gang to look after Shen Yao. She said the pigs had already been fed and that if Shen Yao was no longer dizzy, he should take her out for a walk that afternoon.
At his age, Shen Gang was full of energy, so he readily agreed.
Boys around Shen Gang’s age in the village were all expected to work in the fields and were considered half a laborer. Yet Shen Gang had never worked in the fields, all because of Shen Yao.
Though mentally impaired, Shen Yao was undeniably beautiful. Even the village production brigade leader had said that among all the villages within ten miles, there was no girl prettier than Shen Guozhong’s daughter. In private, everyone sighed over how unfortunate it was.
As Shen Yao grew older, her beauty only became more striking. Not only boys from their own village, but young men from neighboring villages would also wander around the Eighth Production Team of Shenjia Village during their free time after farm work.
It was not that they truly liked Shen Yao. After all, even if nobody openly said it, every local villager knew that she had the mind of a small child.
But Shen Yao was beautiful.
The young men might sneer at her for being foolish, yet in their hearts, who did not want to steal one more glance, and then another?
Wang Yunzhi feared that her daughter, ignorant of such matters, might be taken advantage of by someone with ill intentions. Since Shen Yao turned fifteen, the task she assigned to Shen Gang was to stay by his sister’s side at all times and protect her.
After Wang Yunzhi left, Shen Yao looked at the two or three spoonfuls of rice remaining in her bowl. Seeing how badly Shen Gang wanted it, she handed the bowl to him.
At first, Shen Gang refused. But when he saw his sister stubbornly holding out the bowl, he scratched his head and grinned.
“Big Sis, you’re the best. You should eat more of the meat gravy tonight.”
The burning pain that had tormented Shen Yao’s stomach for days had largely subsided. With her rational mind restored, the thought of that saliva-contaminated gravy made her shake her head repeatedly.
“You can have all of it tonight.”
Such generosity moved Shen Gang immensely.
After finishing the rice, he quickly washed the bowl and asked whether Shen Yao was still dizzy and whether she wanted to go out for a walk.
“Everyone’s picking peaches over at Daxi Beach today. Let’s go have a look later.”
Shen Yao thought about the place he mentioned and hesitated for a moment before nodding.
The injury on her head had actually stopped hurting long ago. She could not lie in bed forever. More importantly, she wanted to visit the place where the original Shen Yao had fallen.
What if…
What if she could go back?
Deep down, she still held onto a tiny sliver of hope.
Daxi was truly enormous, nearly a hundred meters wide. The Daxi Beach Shen Gang mentioned was the muddy flatland beside the stream, separated from the water by only a levee. Several years earlier, Shen Guozhong had led everyone in planting the area assigned to the Eighth Production Team with honey peach trees.
July was harvest season, and more than half the team members were gathered there, hurrying to pick the peaches before the upcoming double harvest period.
Most of the peaches would be sent to the township food station and sold for money. The profits would later become part of the dividends distributed to team members at the end of the year. A smaller portion would be shared among the team’s hundred-plus residents so everyone could have a taste.
For rural people, fruit was a rare luxury. The team guarded these peach trees with extreme vigilance. Ever since the fruit had begun to grow, four or five people had been watching the orchard day and night, afraid children would ruin the crop or thieves would steal the peaches.
As soon as the siblings reached the riverbank, Shen Yao discovered that the place was bustling with activity.
Young and old alike seemed to be gathered there.
Those assigned to work were busy picking peaches, while groups of six- and seven-year-old children who were not working darted around, staring at the peaches and swallowing enviously.
When they spotted Shen Yao and Shen Gang, the children called out from afar:
“Yaoyao! Brother Gangzi!”
They clearly regarded Shen Yao as a playmate their own age.
Leaning lazily against a peach tree and slacking off, Xu Xiangdong heard the children calling “Yaoyao.” Following the sound, he looked over and immediately brightened at the sight of Shen Yao in her white polka-dot blouse.
He nudged He Shi with his elbow and gestured toward her.
“It’s that girl. Haven’t seen her out for days. Do you think the mountains and rivers in the south really do produce prettier people? Even back in Beijing, I never saw a girl this lovely. Pretty face, great figure, and she has such a pure, natural air about her.”
He Shi’s gaze swept across the crowd. He let out a derisive laugh.
“Pure and natural?”
At Shen Gang’s age, he was exactly the sort of boy who could never sit still, always climbing mountains or splashing through rivers. Watching the team harvest peaches was only interesting for a moment. Since they could not even eat one right away, what was the point of standing around staring?
Thinking it would be better to do something more practical, he pulled Shen Yao along to borrow two bamboo scoop baskets and a bucket from a nearby house by the river. He boldly declared that he would catch fish in the stream and provide an extra dish for dinner.
Shen Yao was delighted.
The pampered young lady who had been cherished by her parents and older siblings all her life had suffered more in these six days than in all her previous years combined.
When she finally saw the so-called bamboo scoop baskets, she doubted whether such things could really catch fish. Still, she was more excited than skeptical.
Second Miss Shen had spent her former life feeding koi in ornamental lakes. Catching fish to eat was an entirely new experience.
The siblings crossed a levee more than two meters high and headed toward Daxi.
Meanwhile, Xu Xiangdong, who had been keeping an eye on Shen Yao all along, saw them leave. His eyes shifted thoughtfully, and he turned to He Shi.
“Let’s go over to the other side of the levee and take a break. Have a smoke.”
He Shi had no particular objection.
Neither of them had come to the countryside because they needed work points to survive. Nor were they interested in earning merit and advancing their futures in the south. They had simply grown tired of life in Beijing and of their fathers constantly managing every aspect of their lives, so they had come here to enjoy some peace and freedom.
The villagers were long accustomed to the educated youths being unenthusiastic about farm work. In any case, if they did poor work, their work points were worth even less than those of women and children. As long as they did not compete for the villagers’ grain rations and year-end dividends, no one minded much and simply pretended not to notice.
After crossing the river embankment and spotting Shen Yao by the stream not far away, He Shi finally realized that Xu Xiangdong’s true interest was not in taking a smoke break.
He frowned at Xu Xiangdong.
Xu Xiangdong chuckled, pulled a pack of cigarettes from his shirt pocket, and lit one for each of them.
“That girl’s quite interesting. When she likes someone, she’s completely open about it and doesn’t hide it at all. Yet her eyes are so clean, so innocent and pure, you can’t look away.”
He paused, then added,
“Too bad the one she likes is you. Are you really not interested? If you’re not, maybe I’ll try pursuing her.”
He Shi knew he was referring to the day their group of educated youths first arrived in Shenjia Village. Shen Yao had stared at him so intently that she seemed rooted to the spot. During the next two days, wherever he was assigned to work, she would follow.
Innocent and pure?
He scoffed inwardly.
As Xu Xiangdong spoke, his gaze remained fixed on Shen Yao. Holding an old bamboo scoop basket, she tilted her head as she watched her younger brother catch fish. She did not enter the water herself, only stood by the bank trying to learn from him.
Xu Xiangdong watched with obvious interest. Suddenly, he thought of something and said in surprise,
“She didn’t look for you at all today. She hasn’t even glanced this way once.”
He Shi thought that if she had any sense of shame left, she ought to stay at least twenty feet away from him. Not looking over here was the normal thing to do.
His eyes drifted toward her figure in the distance.
Though he could not clearly make out her features from so far away, even her silhouette alone, the way she tilted her head and shifted her body, somehow conveyed curiosity and vitality.
How strange.
After injuring her head, she had somehow become even more attractive.
No wonder Xu Xiangdong could not take his eyes off her without even having exchanged a single word.
For some reason, the thought irritated him.
He tossed away the cigarette he had only taken two puffs from, crushed it beneath his foot, and said,
“I’m leaving.”
Then he turned and walked in the opposite direction from where Shen Yao was standing.
Xu Xiangdong hurried after him, puzzled.
“Why leave? I was planning to go over there and take a look.”
He Shi shot him a cold glance.
“Control yourself. If you want to fool around, wait until you’re back in Beijing. Don’t get any ideas about village girls. If you really got involved, what then? Are you planning to marry one and bring her home?”
Xu Xiangdong looked embarrassed.
If he really dared marry a rural girl, his mother would probably break his legs.
The two of them did not return to the peach orchard by the stream. Instead, they headed back to their lodgings.