“Alright…” Just as Lin Shiyao was wondering which peaches to pick, Lin Zhengxi called her over.
He simply wouldn’t let her climb up to pick. Instead, he told her to stand under the tree and collect the peaches he tossed down into the basket. It suited her just fine—she didn’t want to stand in the sun anyway. The bumpy ride earlier had already drained her energy, so this was a good chance to rest.
After about an hour, they had filled a whole basket. They didn’t dare pick too many—on one hand, it would be hard to carry back; on the other, peaches didn’t keep well. After picking enough for themselves, they helped the villagers pick the rest.
While Lin Shiyao was packing peaches, she looked up and saw a little girl about seven or eight years old standing shyly by a tree, watching her.
The girl wore ill-fitting clothes. The sleeves were too short, and the fabric was patched over and over. Her skin was dark from long hours in the sun.
But her eyes were clear and bright, staring straight at Lin Shiyao.
Lin Shiyao glanced around. Aside from their group, she didn’t see any adults nearby.
“Hello, little friend. Why are you here by yourself?” she asked gently.
As she spoke, she took two pieces of candy from her pocket and handed them to the girl. The little girl timidly accepted them.
The colorful candy wrappers shimmered in her hands. She held them tightly, reluctant to eat them, and carefully tucked them into her pocket.
“Thank you, big sister.” She had never eaten candy before. She had only heard the village chief’s grandson, Dazhu, say that candy was sweet and delicious.
“Why aren’t you eating them?” Lin Shiyao asked.
“Big sister, I want to take them home and share with my younger brother and sister. They’ve never had candy either,” the girl said shyly, lowering her head. Her hand pressed tightly against her pocket, afraid Lin Shiyao might take them back.
Lin Shiyao didn’t quite know what she was feeling—just a sour, bittersweet ache. Was this little girl a reflection of most rural girls of this era?
At her age, in the twenty-first century, she would probably still be acting spoiled in her parents’ arms. But here she was, so sensible. She clearly wanted to eat the candy herself—Lin Shiyao even saw her swallow—but she held back to share with her siblings.
It wasn’t that Lin Shiyao was overflowing with saintly compassion. She just felt that girls in this era had it hard. Judging by her clothes, this girl was likely born into a family that favored boys over girls.
“What’s your name?” Lin Shiyao asked.
“Big sister, my name is Wang Daya.”
Even her name sounded careless and perfunctory. Her parents clearly didn’t value daughters much. Lin Shiyao thought about her own parents and felt fortunate. She hadn’t been reborn into a poor family that preferred sons. If she had started with a disastrous setup, she wasn’t sure she could have accepted it.
“Why are you here?”
“I’m cutting pig grass over there.” She pointed not far away. “I saw you and came to take a look. Big sister, are you picking peaches?”
“Yes. The older brothers and I came to pick peaches. The peaches here are very delicious.”
“Big sister, are you from the city? Is the city nice? You’re so pretty. I want to grow up to look like you.” She often heard adults say the city was wonderful. Everyone wanted to move there and eat state-supplied grain. She had never been.
She felt even the educated youth in the village weren’t as pretty as this sister—and those educated youth always looked down on them, acting arrogant every day.
“Of course. Then you need to eat well and sleep well so you can grow up properly, okay?”
At the mention of eating more, Wang Daya’s confidence faded.
“But Grandma won’t let me eat much. She says I’m a debt collector.”
“What about your parents?”
“Dad fell off the mountain last year and hurt his leg. He can’t walk. Mom has to work in the fields, and I have to take care of my younger brother and sister.”
“I see…” That truly was difficult. Lin Shiyao didn’t know how to comfort her.
“Big sister, thank you for the candy. Will you come again?” Wang Daya didn’t know if this beautiful sister would return.
“I don’t know. Maybe I will, maybe I won’t.” She really didn’t know.
“Big sister, I’m going home now.”
“Okay. Goodbye.”
“Goodbye, big sister.”
The child was very polite. Lin Shiyao felt fond of her. If she ever had the chance to come again, she would visit her.
The sun was too harsh, so Lin Shiyao simply sat under the tree and watched the others pick.
Lin Zhengxi had noticed earlier that she was talking to a dirty little child. Out of the corner of his eye, he kept watching. When he saw the girl leave, he felt relieved and continued picking with his friends. They had picked enough for themselves; now they were helping the villagers.
The sun had begun to set, and they still needed time to get back. Everyone packed up the peaches they were taking home. After calling the village chief and paying with money and ration coupons, they left the orchard.
Lin Zhengxi slung the basket over his back, not letting Lin Shiyao carry it. She really couldn’t have carried it anyway. Yun Ling was the same—her brother Yun Feng wouldn’t let her carry anything either.
So the two girls linked arms and walked behind the boys. Yun Ling chattered like a little sparrow, and Lin Shiyao chimed in.
Back at Cao Xu’s house, they transferred the peaches from the basket into the sacks they had brought. It was more convenient to secure them onto the back seats of the bicycles that way.
Since Lin Shiyao was riding on Lin Zhengxi’s bike, there was no room on the back seat for peaches. So they placed the sack across the front bar, hanging the peaches on either side. And just like that, the group rode back in a lively procession.
Lin Zhengxi first sent Lin Shiyao home. When they arrived, her parents and younger brother were already there.
“Dad, Mom, I’m back.”
“Yaoyao’s back!” Her parents quickly came out. Behind her stood Lin Zhengxi, carrying a sack on his shoulder.
“You picked so many?” her mother asked. Her father had already heard about the peach-picking trip when he came home from work, so he wasn’t surprised.
“Not that many, Auntie. They’re just big in size. They’ll be gone in a few days,” Lin Zhengxi replied.
“Alright, alright. Zhengxi, you’ve worked hard. You had to look after Yaoyao and carry everything too,” her mother said warmly, treating him like her own son. The cousins had always been close, always thinking of each other when they had something good.
“Mom, I’m so tired,” Lin Shiyao said, leaning naturally against her mother’s arm and acting spoiled.
“Zhengxi carried everything. What are you tired for?” her mother said, tapping her forehead lightly.
“Oh, you don’t know how bumpy that road was. My backside went numb!” she continued to pout.
“You’re so delicate,” her mother laughed, enjoying her daughter’s affection.
Her father watched the mother and daughter with a smile. Lin Zhengbin pulled Lin Zhengxi aside to hear stories about the countryside. The family atmosphere was warm and loving.
Her father invited Lin Zhengxi to stay for dinner, and he didn’t stand on ceremony. The two families were close—whichever house the children were at, they would always be kept for a meal.
It was the most fulfilling day Lin Shiyao had experienced since coming to this world. After washing up, she went to bed—she had work tomorrow.