“Director Zhao, please take a look at this.” The publicity officer placed the newspaper on the deputy director’s desk. He wanted to say more, but remembering his position, he kept silent in the end.
Deputy Director Zhao glanced at the newspaper, then at the man in front of him. His eyes showed a trace of pain. He waved his hand for him to leave, then turned back to the newspaper, staring blankly as though lost in thought.
Yang Dai naturally knew nothing of what was happening at the county factory.
At that moment, she was sitting on a stool, listening to the brigade leader explain the focus of this round of publicity.
In truth, it was the same as the labor essay theme in the newspaper: glorifying the laboring people.
“As for the slogans, Qingguo and the others have already thought of some. But no one has done the drawings, so the space is still blank. You can discuss with Zhu Qingguo and decide what kind of illustrations would be appropriate.”
“This matter, I’ll leave to you. Do it well. If we manage to rank high, the commune will award us.” The brigade leader rambled on, though his words carried a note of doubt about Yang Dai’s abilities.
But since there was no better option, he had no choice but to let her try.
“Qingguo is the head of our joint propaganda team. Just go to the primary school and find him.” The brigade leader still had other matters to attend to and didn’t have time to linger.
The propaganda assignment would last a full month. Yang Dai felt there was no rush, especially since it was obvious the brigade leader had hurriedly recruited her without even informing Zhu Qingguo.
She figured she could wait a day or two, until the brigade leader spoke to him properly, and then show up.
But Mother Yang thought otherwise.
“If the brigade leader trusted you with something this important, you must do it well. There’s nothing pressing at home anyway. Hurry to the school and find Zhu Qingguo.” While she spoke, she pushed her daughter out the door, locking it behind her with the newspaper still in her hand.
“You hurry along. I’ll go have a word with some people too.” Muttering, Mother Yang straightened her hair and carried the newspaper to a neighbor’s house.
When Yang Dai arrived at the brigade’s primary school, she found Zhu Qingguo speaking quietly with the principal in the office.
“Comrade Yang Dai, what brings you here?” The principal still remembered her and warmly invited her to sit down.
During both the written test and the teaching demonstration, Yang Dai had performed very well—no less capable than Xia Ziqing or Zhu Qingguo. In fact, if it had been up to him, the principal would have preferred to choose Yang Dai.
After all, she was from Huangzhuang Brigade. But aside from him, none of the teachers at the school liked her.
Already an old man, the principal preferred to concern himself only with school affairs. Seeing the teachers oppose Yang Dai’s hiring, he didn’t push it further. After all, in work, ability was important, but so was getting along with colleagues.
Still, despite all the gossip he had heard about her, he kept a good impression and treated her with courtesy.
“The brigade leader asked me to come.” Yang Dai looked toward Zhu Qingguo. He hadn’t spoken, but it was obvious from his expression that he disliked her and even looked down on her.
Without the newspaper as proof, she could only be brief.
“You really can draw?” Zhu Qingguo’s brows furrowed, his tone full of doubt.
“Why don’t you try chalk on the blackboard first? Drawing on paper isn’t the same as on a wall. Let’s test it out.” The principal handed her half a box of chalk, stepping forward himself.
Zhu Qingguo glanced at the principal, then at Yang Dai. Though suspicion still lingered in his eyes, he stepped out from behind his desk. “If you need anything, just say so. But when we start painting on the wall later, we’ll have to use whitewash. The smell won’t be pleasant, so prepare yourself.”
Yang Dai just smiled, keeping her eyes on the principal.
“Draw some people. We can’t have a propaganda wall without people.” The principal’s impression of her was improving, his voice growing kinder.
Yang Dai accepted the chalk, walked to the blackboard, and began sketching.
Zhu Qingguo stood right behind her—not so much to help as to supervise.
She didn’t mind. She simply focused on her task.
She had agreed for two reasons: first, the brigade leader promised a reward; second, she still cared about her reputation.
As the legitimate daughter of a noble household, she had once been celebrated in the capital, praised by all.
After crossing into this life, her reputation had plummeted. Outwardly she pretended not to mind, claiming she and the “original” were different people.
But deep down she cared desperately, seizing every opportunity to cleanse her name.
At first, she was clumsy with the chalk, erasing and redrawing repeatedly. Zhu Qingguo almost opened his mouth several times to accuse her of wasting resources, but each time the principal stopped him.
In the past, the principal himself had handled such propaganda drawings.
But after an illness early in the year, he couldn’t exert himself. The brigade leader had tried several replacements, none satisfactory.
Seeing Yang Dai’s illustration in the newspaper, naturally he wanted her to take over.
After a few tries, Yang Dai grew more comfortable and began a proper composition: waves of wheat swaying in the wind, men and women laboring together, each face full of contentment.
“Excellent, excellent! I knew I wasn’t wrong about you!” The principal clapped his hands.
Even Zhu Qingguo’s critical gaze softened into admiration. “I didn’t expect you to be this good.”
“This is exactly the theme we need. How about we start painting the wall the day after tomorrow?” Zhu Qingguo held himself to high standards in both his teaching and his propaganda work.
He had expected this project to end in mediocrity and poor ranking for the commune.
But with Yang Dai’s sudden talent, he almost wished she could start immediately, so inspectors could see sooner.
Still, mindful of her reputation, he set the schedule a day later to give her a buffer.
“I’ll follow Comrade Qingguo’s arrangement.” Yang Dai agreed.
Once the time was set, she didn’t linger—she had to get home for lunch.
“Comrade Yang Dai.” At the doorway, Zhu Qingguo hurried after her. “I apologize for my earlier rudeness. I shouldn’t have judged you only by your reputation. Forgive me, Comrade Yang Dai.”
His gesture stunned her for a moment. Then she smiled. “It’s fine, Comrade Zhu.”
“You’re even better than I imagined.”
A man who could admit his mistakes and apologize publicly—such setbacks were temporary. With opportunity, he would surely soar to the skies.
His open apology was met with her open acceptance. Both treated it as nothing unusual.
But it startled Wang Lixia, who had just stepped out of her classroom.
She had competed with Yang Dai for years, never bowing her head. To her, yielding was unthinkable.
In her eyes, the school was her turf. Yang Dai could never win. Especially since Yang Dai, who once disdained their brigade and boasted of marrying into the city, had ended up with a man like Han Lin—a good-for-nothing. That alone was enough for Wang Lixia to feel superior for a lifetime.
Yet before she could unleash her taunts, she heard Zhu Qingguo apologizing to Yang Dai. She nearly dropped her book in shock.
Zhu Qingguo hadn’t been teaching long, but his reputation preceded him. At school, constantly by the principal’s side, he already felt like the second-in-command.
And such a man apologized to Yang Dai?
Wang Lixia felt the world had turned upside down. She quickly changed direction, avoiding them altogether.
Yang Dai didn’t notice. She was in a hurry to get home.
The midday sun was blazing, and she wanted no part of it.
Her lunch was simple, eaten alone, followed by a nap.
When she awoke, she reviewed the propaganda materials Zhu Qingguo had given her and considered visiting the other brigades’ propaganda walls for ideas—since the drawings needed to match the slogans.
“Yang Dai! Are you home?” Her mother’s knock came at the door.
“I heard you were given an important job by the brigade leader? If you do it well, you’ll earn full work points?” Mother Yang burst out before even stepping inside. “They say the work isn’t heavy, just that you’ll have to travel among the five brigades?”
After Yang Dai confirmed it, her mother laughed with joy and wheeled a bicycle into the yard.
“The brigade leader trusts you—do your best! You can use the family’s bicycle for now.” With that, she rushed off again.
Yang Dai was left staring at the bicycle in silence.
She had assumed Han Lin had ridden it to the county these past two days with his father. But clearly, it had stayed home.
So he had walked all the way?
For a moment, she thought perhaps Han Lin had it worse than her.
But once she climbed on and rode, that thought vanished.
If Han Lin had taken it, then she would’ve been forced to travel on foot among the five brigades. That would have been the real misery.
With the bicycle, she didn’t linger at home. She changed clothes and set out again, returning later than Han Lin that evening.
By the time she walked in, he had already cooked dinner and was waiting for her.
He had stopped by his mother’s first and heard about Yang Dai’s new assignment.
Before he could congratulate her, Yang Dai asked, “Do we still have time to visit the county hospital?”
Their plan these days had been to check on that mother and child.
But now, with both busy, it was hard to arrange.
“I managed to visit today. The mother and child have already been discharged.”