Shen Guozhong and Wang Yunzhi indulged Shen Yao greatly.
More specifically, if Shen Yao wanted something and they were capable of providing it, they would almost always agree.
For example, carrying a kerosene lamp to the educated youth compound to play around.
Yes, play around.
Other people at least had the excuse of going there to study. As for Shen Yao, what could she possibly learn? Letting her run over there was really just wasting kerosene.
Shen Guozhong did not see it that way.
His daughter was already in her condition. As long as she was happy, seeing her cheerful made him happy too. Besides, even if his daughter could not learn, his son certainly could. And if all else failed, listening to the educated youths tell stories was not bad either.
He had Wang Yunzhi grab a small handful of home-roasted pumpkin seeds and told Shen Gang, “Bring along any homework you don’t know how to do. You can ask the educated youths to teach you. Sometimes they tell stories in their rooms too. If your sister gets bored during the literacy class, take her over there to listen. Put the pumpkin seeds on the table and share them with the educated youths.”
Wang Yunzhi did more than grab a handful of roasted pumpkin seeds. She also took out two pieces of candy that Educated Youth Song had given them a few days earlier. One went to Shen Gang. The other she unwrapped herself and popped directly into Shen Yao’s mouth.
Smiling, she asked, “Is it good?”
Even though Shen Yao had eaten countless delicacies in her life, she had never tasted candy quite like this. It was sweet and silky, without the unpleasant gamey taste that milk often carried.
The slight sparkle in her daughter’s eyes told Wang Yunzhi immediately that she liked it.
Sure enough, the girl smiled, her eyes and brows curving as she nodded and said it was delicious.
To Wang Yunzhi, that smile was sweeter than the candy itself, the kind of sweetness that reached straight into her heart.
Without a second thought, she said, “I’ll save the rest for you too. They’re all yours. Your brother’s a man, men don’t eat sweets.”
Shen Gang, the so-called man, had just unwrapped his candy and popped it into his mouth when his mother casually decided his taste preferences for him.
The candy melted on his tongue. It was a thousand times richer and tastier than the sweet aroma he had smelled through the wrapper before.
With the candy in his mouth, Shen Gang felt his heart crack into pieces.
Who said men didn’t like sweets?
His mother really knew how to pick a moment. Just when he was experiencing pure happiness, she landed such a ruthless blow.
Seeing his expression, Shen Guozhong laughed and smacked the back of his head.
“Look at you.”
Shen Gang had probably been tricked by his mother since childhood, so he only sulked for a moment. The candy was delicious, but tasting one was enough. How could he compete with his sister for treats?
That level of awareness clearly demonstrated the success of Comrade Wang Yunzhi’s education.
After packing away the small handful of pumpkin seeds, he rolled up his workbook and stuffed it into his trouser pocket. Carrying two small stools in one hand, he had Shen Yao carry the unlit kerosene lamp, and together they headed for the educated youth compound.
The original Shen Yao had never gone there at night, so Shen Yao herself knew little about the place. Upon arriving, she discovered there were quite a lot of people there.
There were no children like Shen Gang. Everyone present was a young man or woman around seventeen or eighteen, some even in their early twenties. There were more than twenty people in total.
It was easy to distinguish the educated youths from the villagers by their clothing, appearance, and bearing.
Among those twenty-odd people, more than a dozen were educated youths who had arrived in several waves during 1968 and 1969.
The so-called educated youth compound had originally been the Shen clan ancestral hall. During the early days of the political movements, rebels had smashed the stone lions at the entrance and destroyed the ancestral tablets inside. The compound had then been left vacant.
Later, when large numbers of educated youths were sent to the countryside to support rural development, the spacious ancestral hall with its brick-and-tile buildings became housing for the first groups of educated youths. Once it could no longer accommodate everyone, later arrivals had to be assigned lodging by the individual production teams.
More villagers gradually arrived for the literacy class.
The teacher that evening was someone both siblings knew well. The taste of milk candy still lingered in their mouths.
It was Educated Youth Song from their Eighth Production Team.
A literacy class, Shen Yao had originally assumed she would find it boring. She had never intended to take the imperial examinations, but her family had still hired tutors to educate her. She certainly did not need literacy lessons. She was only curious about Educated Youth Song’s teaching.
However, once the lesson began, she discovered that she actually could not recognize all the characters being taught.
Several of the characters Educated Youth Song wrote were different from the writing system used in her own world. They had far fewer strokes.
As a result, she stayed.
For every character he taught, she studied it several times and committed it to memory.
By the end of a single lesson, she had already grasped the pattern.
The writing system here had been simplified. Although she had never learned it before, she could correctly guess seven or eight out of every ten characters she encountered.
Shen Gang had originally assumed he would have to accompany his sister to the side room to listen to stories, but seeing that she sat through the entire lesson quite attentively, he could only stay and attend the class with her.
Shen Yao did things however she pleased. Shen Gang found nothing strange about it, and the villagers simply assumed she enjoyed joining in the fun.
But when Xu Xiangdong saw the scene, it struck him as highly unusual.
Team leader Shen Guozhong was literate. Could he possibly not recognize the basic characters taught in a literacy class? Why would Shen Yao need to carry a kerosene lamp all the way here just to learn how to read?
His thoughts immediately wandered, and he began wondering whether Shen Yao had taken a liking to Song Jincheng. He was about to go over and strike up a conversation when a Tianjin educated youth dragged him into the room where the educated youths were holding a small gathering.
By the time the literacy class ended, Song Jincheng was surrounded by several female students asking questions. Seeing that, Shen Gang decided not to squeeze forward with his homework.
The gathering in the educated youths’ room had not yet ended. It had simply shifted from a storytelling session to a talent show. One male educated youth was playing the harmonica. Quite a crowd had gathered inside and outside the room to watch, not just educated youths, but village youths as well.
The young men and women sat separately, clearly divided, yet every glance, every smile, every small movement carried a powerful attraction.
How could Shen Yao, who had been attending poetry gatherings, tea parties, and flower-viewing events hosted by noble households since she was twelve or thirteen, fail to see what was going on?
No wonder these people still had the energy for entertainment after a full day of farm work. For young men and women in the prime of life, this was naturally one of the most popular activities. All those budding romantic feelings were hidden beneath the poetry, songs, and performances.
Shen Gang leaned over and whispered, “Sis, the stories are finished. The educated youths know all sorts of things. Harmonica, flute, poetry recitals. Do you want to watch?”
Shen Yao thought to herself that these were all things she had long since grown tired of. If there was no opportunity to hear about life in the city, she would rather go home early and sleep.
The siblings gathered their things and headed home.
When Song Jincheng finally escaped from the circle of “diligent” students surrounding him and looked back, Shen Yao and Shen Gang were nowhere to be seen.
He had been quite surprised that Shen Yao attended the literacy class.
Unlike He Shi and Xu Xiangdong, who had only recently arrived, Song Jincheng had already spent several months in Shen Family Village. He knew about Shen Yao’s condition.
In fact, not long after Shen Yao left, Xu Xiangdong learned the truth as well.
One of the female educated youths had noticed Shen Yao peeking into the room and quietly mocked her to a companion, saying that a fool attending a literacy class clearly had ulterior motives. She was probably there because of Song Jincheng.
The news hit Xu Xiangdong like a thunderbolt.
A fool?
That beautiful, spirited girl?
He simply could not believe it.
Yet when he asked one of the male educated youths beside him, the answer was yes.
Before the gathering even ended, he hurried back to tell He Shi.
To his surprise, He Shi was not shocked at all.
He had learned about it even earlier.
What did make him frown, however, was hearing that Shen Yao had gone to Song Jincheng’s class.
A little fool like her, what lesson could she possibly understand?
Then he thought about how she had spent every day hovering around him just a week ago.
Suddenly, a thought flashed through his mind.
Could this little fool have fallen for Song Jincheng?
During their recent encounters, she had treated him completely differently. She did not even spare him a second glance anymore, as though she had entirely forgotten how she used to follow him around everywhere and how she had climbed into his bed in the middle of the night.
Back when he thought she was calculating and manipulative, all he felt was disgust.
After learning she was simply a fool, that disgust gradually faded away.
But now, hearing that she was chasing after Song Jincheng instead, and imagining that she liked Song Jincheng, he inexplicably felt annoyed.
As if she had touched his life and then casually tossed him aside.
Damn it.
Why did it feel as though he had been seduced and abandoned?
And by a little fool, no less.
This was ridiculous.
Xu Xiangdong had no idea that a random thought had completely soured He Shi’s mood.
After lamenting the beauty’s misfortune for a while, he continued chatting about the talented female educated youths at the compound.
Finally, he asked, “How about we go over there tomorrow night and join the fun? Staying on this side of the river, eating dinner and then going straight to sleep, isn’t that boring?”
Stretching his legs across the foot of the bed, He Shi gave him a cool glance.
“Go there for what? To listen to them talk about life and ideals? Do you have ideals, or do I?”
Xu Xiangdong cursed inwardly.
Who the hell cared about life and ideals?
What I want to look at are the people talking about ideals.
Of course, he only dared think that.
Calling himself “your old man” in front of He Shi was asking for a beating. He Shi would gladly use his fists to remind him who was really in charge.
The two had grown up together in the same residential compound. Their friendship had been forged through countless fights.
Deep down, Xu Xiangdong was genuinely afraid of He Shi.
Back at the Shen family’s courtyard, Shen Yao fetched water and prepared to wash up before bed.
Standing beside her, Shen Gang touched the roasted pumpkin seeds that still sat untouched in his pocket and said,
“Sis, let’s go to the educated youth compound again tomorrow. We don’t have to listen to lessons. How about we go hear the educated youths tell stories?”
Shen Yao glanced at him.
Only a single kerosene lamp lit the house, and its weak glow barely reached the courtyard. Even so, she could see his eyes shining with excitement.
So he liked listening to stories.
Poor boy. He had patiently sat through an entire literacy lesson just to keep her company.
Smiling, she nodded.
After washing her face, she poured out the water and fetched another basin for Shen Gang.
He blinked in surprise.
“You already washed this morning. Why wash again at night? Sis, since when did you become so particular?”
Shen Yao’s heart tightened, but she maintained the same innocent expression as always.
“It’s hot.”
Shen Gang thought that made sense.
Everyone had been sweating all day.
He wrung out a towel and wiped himself down as well.
The next day was another bright, sunny one.
He Shi and Xu Xiangdong spent a token two hours wandering around the fields before returning to their room to play cards and nap for the rest of the afternoon.
There was one advantage to living on this side of the mountain. With so many trees, it was noticeably cooler than the village proper.
After dinner at Shen Laoliu’s house that evening, Xu Xiangdong enthusiastically took a bath, changed into clean clothes, and carefully combed his hair until it gleamed with pomade.
As soon as he stepped outside, he saw He Shi sitting nearby.
A cigarette hung between his fingers, and one foot rested on an empty chair.
He Shi looked him over.
“Did you use half a bottle of hair oil?”
Xu Xiangdong adjusted his neatly parted hair and said,
“Girls these days talk about simplicity and hard work, but what they actually like is this sort of thing. Refined and handsome.”
He Shi could not appreciate his greasy, fragrant version of handsome.
Dropping his foot from the chair, he stood up, shoved his hands into his trouser pockets, and started walking ahead. With his height and long legs, he moved quickly.
Xu Xiangdong hurried after him.
“Where are you going?”
Without turning around, He Shi answered casually,
“Just finished eating. Going for a walk.”
Then he casually crossed the bridge.
And casually walked all the way to the educated youth compound.
Xu Xiangdong: “…”
So now he had ideals again?