Face-conscious Xiangzhi, who would suffer for her vanity, slapped her chest and promised to eat Gu Wenshan.
Yeshanyinying was the spirit in the valley most knowledgeable about humans, because it was tall enough to overlook the distant mountain villages, and naturally understood many human principles.
Xiangzhi hastily crammed her study of human words and actions, taking three steps forward then looking back one step as she walked with human gait.
Outside the valley, gold spread everywhere.
As the old saying goes, one autumn rain brings one frost. After three days and three nights of heavy rain, the mountain air was cool, thin, and moist, waiting only for crisp autumn wind to blow away the dampness.
Xiangzhi was restless and agitated, the scent of the man who had drunk her flower dew was growing fainter and fainter, and as she searched, she heard a sound in the distance.
“Ah! You startled me!”
A young woman in a modified military uniform, catching sight of an absolutely stunning woman coming down from the mountain in old-society-style front-opening jackets, thought she had run into something strange.
She looked Xiangzhi over, and Xiangzhi also looked her over.
Cao Xiangqin opened her mouth and asked: “Comrade, are you from a village down the mountain?”
Xiangzhi followed her words: “Yes.”
Cao Xiangqin, seeing that Xiangzhi’s front-opening jacket was both old and dirty, had no idea it had been hanging on Yeshanyinying’s tree branch for years. She simply assumed the villagers had no cloth ration and wearing old-society clothes was unavoidable.
Cao Xiangqin wanted to escape from here, so she hurriedly said: “Can you do me a favor? Exchange clothes with me? My clothes are better than yours—”
“Sure,” said Xiangzhi, a spoiled flower, the old jacket was made of rough cotton and wore her skin raw. She was eager to have someone trade with her.
They each found an oak tree and hid behind it to exchange clothes.
Xiangzhi saw Cao Xiangqin braid her hair into double rope braids again, and also learned her technique, braiding quickly. When she finished and saw Cao Xiangqin fling her braid to her shoulder and wave her hand at Xiangzhi, Xiangzhi waved her hand back in a similarly proper fashion.
They should have each gone their separate ways, but Xiangzhi had not walked far, walking down the stone steps toward the foot of the mountain, when she suddenly heard the woman comrade from before calling her: “Hey, would you like to become a sent-down youth?”
Xiangzhi turned back in surprise, thinking that Cao Xiangqin had discovered she was a black household, and said nothing, pressing her lips together.
Cao Xiangqin’s eyes rolled, she hurried over and pulled Xiangzhi’s hand, and while marveling at the smooth, delicate skin on the back of her hand, she coaxed: “I am a sent-down youth coming to study, but I have found someone I love, so I cannot go to report to the brigade anymore. Being a sent-down youth is much better than being a peasant, and the state even provides subsidies. If you are willing to take my place and help me register, I will give you three yuan. Here, I’ll give you the bag too.”
Cao Xiangqin pulled out the fabric money pouch she had just packed away, and drew out several pieces of paper that Xiangzhi did not recognize, which should be the renminbi that Yeshanyinying had mentioned.
Xiangzhi said in a soft voice: “But this is not a permanent arrangement.”
Cao Xiangqin urged her anxiously: “I asked around, and the brigade has no photographs. You just go, sign your name and press your thumbprint, then stay at the sent-down youth station, and do whatever work is assigned. You get fed and housed.”
Xiangzhi saw that the clothes Cao Xiangqin wore were similar to those of the man from that day, guessed that he might be over there, and pretended to be easy to fool: “Go quickly and pursue your love, I am simply lending you a hand.”
Cao Xiangqin hastily wrote her own name on the ground and had Xiangzhi copy it twice. Village children don’t write well, and Cao Xiangqin did not take it seriously, after teaching Xiangzhi, she hastily climbed over mountains and crossed ridges to elope.
Xiangzhi lowered her head and touched the military jacket buttons, turning over and over in her mind “Cao Xiangqin, Cao Xiangqin,” then picked up the cloth bag that had come free and continued down the mountain.
As she walked, she felt something was not right.
According to what Yeshanyinying had said, everyone down the mountain had their own identity, which also involved the matter of class status, and for a little flower spirit, it was somewhat complicated.
But that could be dealt with later, what she needed to think about was why Cao Xiangqin, under such harsh social conditions, was willing to be a wanderer rather than keep her identity. It should not be a sudden kindness to a stranger, right?
Yeshanyinying had said to be wary of strangers. Xiangzhi sensed something was amiss.
She felt frustrated with herself for heeding Yeshanyinying’s words, grinding her teeth, wanting to take revenge on that stinking lecher, and when she ate him she would definitely chew slowly and carefully, make him intoxicated in indulgence—no, make him scream so loud no one would save him!
At the foot of the mountain was the county town station where sent-down youth transferred transportation.
Spirited young people sang revolutionary songs cheerfully, smiling brightly and openly.
They waited for trucks from the mountains to transport them to various sent-down youth brigades inside and outside the province, scattering to all corners of the country [1]scattering to all corners of the country (wu hu si hai, 五湖四海) Idiom, going their separate ways to all parts of the country jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_3398831_1_1').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_3398831_1_1', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top center', relative: true, offset: [-7, 0], });, unlikely to meet again in this lifetime.
Xiangzhi had a note in her pocket from Cao Xiangqin, but she could not read characters, and was hesitating when an older sister suddenly grabbed the note and pushed her toward the truck at the end of the line: “You’re on this truck, hurry up!”
Xiangzhi rode with the sent-down youth who had transferred from various places, and arrived at the brigade headquarters where she needed to report.
Just as Cao Xiangqin had said, after signing and pressing her seal with the line, she was quickly called by the squad leader to another line.
Sitting on the donkey cart, the five or six new sent-down youth around her were quietly watching Xiangzhi. They had arrived at the brigade before Xiangzhi to wait for assignments, but before Xiangzhi even arrived, news that “a fairy had come to the brigade” was already spreading like wildfire.
The girl sitting next to Xiangzhi was a sent-down youth who had come from a small county in northern Shaanxi. Her face still had a rosy glow swept by the wind. She quietly watched Xiangzhi’s features and truly found it astonishing.
What was even more surprising was that even though Xiangzhi had endured many days of travel to the assignment location, she was still different from the others, clean and neat, with a faint fragrance.
The little girl guessed that Comrade “Cao Xiangqin” must have come from a big city, either Beijing or Shanghai, otherwise how could she have such outstanding bearing?
She might even be a high school student who had worn brightly patterned dresses and gone to clubs, and this time responded to the call to go to the countryside to help with construction—truly a fine example.
Xiangzhi, who did not know many characters, did not know of the sensation she was causing. She listened carefully to the conversations of others, her legs learning from the opposite woman to press together tightly.
Entering the village, the surroundings were quite different from the mountains.
In front of low, squat houses, clothes of all kinds were drying, all in monotonous shades of blue-black and gray. Each household’s door was piled with firewood stacks and large cabbage. The loudspeaker hanging on the cement poles by the roadside was broadcasting the original soundtrack of “Tunnel Warfare” model operas.
Aunt Zhao, who cooked the communal meal, held a large piece of lard in her hands, and the passing villagers all straightened up and looked, their eyes lingering long on the lard.
“This is for the new sent-down youth to eat,” Aunt Zhao paused and said, “Tonight we will cook spicy pork skin in a communal pot for you.”
Pork skin counted as a meat dish, but the pork skin from the supply and marketing cooperative had the fatty parts scraped transparent, and even if cooked in a large pot, you might not get any oil.
Better than nothing.
Each time new sent-down youth arrived, they would be given some privileges, but after three to five days, the privileges would fade with physical labor.
In the era of communal meals, cultivated in the environment of poor and lower-middle peasants, only those who truly endured hardship and labored could get enough to eat. Because of the hardship, the enthusiasm of city children coming to the countryside would also be ground away, and their naturally diligent or lazy nature would be revealed.
Xiangzhi, not to mention doing labor, stood before the crude communal barracks and could not imagine this was the good place where you got fed and housed that Cao Xiangqin had spoken of.
She followed the example of the others, found a place to put down her luggage. The female sent-down youth washed their hands and faces, making the most of the time, while she sat on the communal barracks looking at them blankly.
To welcome their arrival, the village collective had taken pains with that evening’s meal. Not only was there oil, but they had also made an egg flower soup. Xiangzhi sniffed it and found the egg flower soup had a strong fishy smell, so she pushed the bowl to the side.
Next to her sat a chubby girl, a rare sight in these times. She swallowed her saliva and quietly asked Xiangzhi: “Comrade, aren’t you going to drink the egg flower soup?”
Although Xiangzhi was simple, she was not stupid, she pushed the egg flower soup to her and said, “You drink it.”
The chubby girl was immediately delighted and said earnestly: “I’m You Xiu, I won’t eat your food for nothing, tomorrow I’ll help you with the work.”
Conditions in the village were harsh, and you could not have egg flower soup at every meal.
Xiangzhi was about to introduce herself when the chubby girl said: “I know your name is Cao Xiangqin, everyone has been talking wildly about it, saying you’re prettier than the model opera stars.”
“Then everyone has good taste.”
As a flower, Xiangzhi was used to people praising her beauty, the nature of a flower was to be both beautiful and fragrant, and what everyone was saying was the truth.
And the facts proved that as long as she did not face men who killed people as easily as killing chicks, not only was she not intimidated, she was full of confidence and shining bright.
Xiangzhi’s egg flower soup at dinner was not wasted, You Xiu, from inside and outside, followed Xiangzhi around, unconsciously helping her block off two or three waves of male sent-down youth wanting to talk to her.
“This counts as having put on the bedding cover,” said You Xiu, taking the pillowcase that Xiangzhi was holding, simply thinking she was pampered at home and could not do labor, but though plump, she was nimble and helped spread the mattress.
Xiangzhi followed at her side, lending a hand, and carefully learning.
After tidying up the communal barracks, Xiangzhi and You Xiu went together to the front room to participate in the sent-down youth mobilization study meeting.
The squad leader spoke passionately, and when it was time for everyone to express their revolutionary thoughts, Xiangzhi repeated what she had memorized, word for word, and said a few empty phrases, the female sent-down youth did not react much, but the male sent-down youth eagerly started cheering and clapping, letting Xiangzhi get through it.
Coming out from the classroom in the front room, the row behind was where they rested. In the open space in the middle was a basketball court and a table tennis table, and though the facilities were old, they were fairly complete.
At this time, male sent-down youth with a basketball were already on the court calling for people to play.
As deep autumn arrived, they did not feel cold. There were no other activities in the village, and under the gaze of the female sent-down youth, they played vigorously and heatedly.
Among them was Jiang Lei, a young man in tire factory worker shorts who had been scoring consecutively and should have been about twenty-one or twenty-two. He wiped away sweat with the back of his hand, rejected one female sent-down youth’s handkerchief, and instead fixed his gaze on Xiangzhi.
He had never seen such a beautiful woman with skin like congealed fat, just as the rumors said, and even more beautiful than the rumors.
A palm-sized small face as if it had walked out of a painting. Every frown and smile brought radiance, and below a neck curved like a swan’s, rose full and turgid breasts. A slender waist you could span with two hands, long and straight legs, like a cluster of flames that invited endless daydreams, burning his heart and blood to a boil, unwilling to look away.
“Drink soda,” said Jiang Lei, his tone without the sense of asking, raising his chin and directly opening the bottle and handing it to Xiangzhi.
In full view of everyone, if Xiangzhi took this bottle of soda, it could be imagined that in the following sent-down youth life, she would be connected with him.
A male sent-down youth muttered quietly: “Fast worker.”
Jiang Lei believed he was good-looking, his parents and eldest brother all worked at the tire factory, and if he could return to the city, he could take over the position and continue working at Tire Factory No. 2.
With an urban hukou and grain ration in hand, these conditions made marriage negotiations in the countryside a piece of cake.
But Xiangzhi was not the “fish” for him, she was a picky flower.
She held her breath, not wanting to smell the sour sweat scent on Jiang Lei’s body, and found no appetite for him.
How was it that the other man had a scent from bone to skin that tempted her to eat him, while these men all reeked of staleness?
Xiangzhi understood what staleness meant—it meant spoiled, not to be eaten.
Jiang Lei held out the bottle for a long time and, seeing “Cao Xiangqin” made no response, listening to the other male sent-down youth playing basketball egging him on behind him, said in embarrassment and anger: “If you don’t want to drink, never mind.”
He reluctantly walked away, noticing there was another gaze fixed on her, while she was completely unaware.
That gaze made the man himself feel sticky, he quickly looked in the direction the feeling came from, and found there was no one there at all.
Surveillance? Jiang Lei’s first reaction was this. He quickly shook his head, scoffed once.
How could it be? Who would surveil a simple and naive little girl?
References[+]