After the postal worker left, Lu Zhiyao looked at the pickup slip in her hand. The sender’s address was from the Southwestern Military Region, and she immediately guessed that it was something sent by her “elder brother” back home.
She tucked the slip into her storage space, then went inside. From the belongings the original owner had brought with her, she found an unopened tin of malted milk powder and a small bag of fruit candies. She also took out some mushrooms from her storage, pretending they had just been picked that day, and placed everything into the same basket she had used for gathering mushrooms. Carrying the basket, she headed to Captain Wang’s house.
“Captain Wang? Is Captain Wang home?”
“Who’s there?” Captain Wang’s wife, Liu Guifang, came out to answer the door.
When she saw Lu Zhiyao, she smiled in surprise.
“Oh, it’s Comrade Lu! Come in, come in. It’s getting late. What brings you here?”
To be honest, Aunt Liu hadn’t had the best impression of Lu Zhiyao before. But after observing her behavior over the past couple of days, she felt that the girl wasn’t nearly as unreasonable as she’d once thought.
“I’m sorry for bothering you and Captain Wang so late, Aunt Liu.”
Aunt Liu waved her hand dismissively. She and her husband were used to people coming by at all hours.
“So, Comrade Lu, what brings you here?” Captain Wang asked, his eyelids twitching involuntarily.
He still remembered how much trouble the girl had caused during her first few days in the village. Even though she’d been obedient and well-behaved lately, no longer throwing tantrums or making scenes, he couldn’t shake the feeling that she was up to something.
After all, old habits die hard.
Lu Zhiyao set the basket on the table in the main room before speaking.
“Captain Wang, the new educated youths will be arriving in a few days, won’t they?”
“That’s right. But what does that have to do with you coming here today?”
He looked puzzled.
In a few days, several new educated youths would indeed be assigned to the village. On top of that, a group of politically disgraced individuals would also be sent there and would have to be settled within the production brigade.
Honestly, he didn’t want to accept any of them.
Unfortunately, the neighboring brigades had all claimed they already had enough people, leaving Qingshan Brigade as the only one without new assignments. There was no choice but to accept them.
“I’d like to build a house of my own,” Lu Zhiyao said. “The educated youth dormitory is so small. It probably won’t have enough room for all the newcomers, and there’ll likely be more educated youths arriving in the future too, right?”
Captain Wang and Aunt Liu exchanged surprised glances.
Neither had expected her to propose building her own house.
“Comrade Lu… are you sure?”
“Yes, Captain Wang, I’m sure. As you know, I’m not used to sharing cramped quarters with other people. That little room can still fit two or three female educated youths, but I really don’t want to squeeze in with them.
“So I was wondering if there’s an existing house in the village that I could buy. Or perhaps I could rent a room for now while I hire people to build me a house. Once the new house is finished, I can move in.”
Captain Wang thought it over.
The new educated youths would arrive in only a few days. There wasn’t enough time to build a new house before then, and someone as pampered as Lu Zhiyao probably wouldn’t be interested in buying an old, rundown place.
He had been worrying about where to house the newcomers.
Now that someone was voluntarily giving up a bed in the dormitory, it couldn’t have worked out better.
“How about this? I’ll ask around and see if anyone has a spare room they can rent to you. You can stay there for the time being. Meanwhile, I’ll arrange for some of the able-bodied men in the brigade to help build your house.”
“Great! Thank you, Captain Wang.”
She pushed the basket toward him.
“Please accept this small gift.”
Captain Wang and Aunt Liu immediately tried to refuse.
“Oh, we couldn’t possibly…”
“It’s just some fresh things I gathered in the mountains this morning. Think of it as a small token of appreciation. And… I’d also like to apologize for everything I did before.
“I was foolish back then. I caused trouble everywhere I went, offended a lot of people, and made quite a fool of myself. But I’ve truly changed now. I won’t do those stupid things anymore.”
Lu Zhiyao silently congratulated herself for hiding the malted milk powder and fruit candies underneath the mushrooms.
Originally she’d done it to keep the mushrooms from being crushed.
Now it served another purpose—keeping Captain Wang from discovering the real gifts right away.
Seeing only a pile of freshly picked mushrooms beneath the cloth, Captain Wang accepted the basket.
At the same time, he inwardly criticized himself for still suspecting that Lu Zhiyao was planning to stir up trouble.
Only after she had left did the couple discover the malted milk powder and fruit candies hidden underneath.
“That child…” Aunt Liu sighed. “Forget it. Let’s look after her a little more from now on. What happened before wasn’t anything too outrageous. She was just a young girl who had only recently come to the countryside and wasn’t used to life here.”
The couple exchanged a glance before putting away the tin of malted milk powder.
Their eldest daughter-in-law was heavily pregnant, so it would make a good nutritional supplement for her. As for the fruit candies, they could divide them among the grandchildren.
The next day happened to be a rest day.
Lu Zhiyao had already planned to go into town anyway, and it would be the perfect opportunity to pick up the package her family had sent.
At five-thirty the following morning, Lu Zhiyao got up.
After jogging a few laps around the village, she grabbed a quick bite to eat before heading toward the village entrance with Hu Fang and He Li.
By the time they arrived, several villagers were already sitting on the ox cart.
Old Man Li, who drove the cart, had been waiting since early morning.
At six-thirty sharp, the ox cart set off toward town.
Centered around Lu Zhiyao was an obvious empty circle.
All the village women deliberately sat as far away from her as possible.
She had seemed perfectly normal these past few days, but who knew whether she’d suddenly lose her temper again?
Lu Zhiyao smiled awkwardly.
Fortunately, He Li and Hu Fang still sat beside her.
Everyone else kept glancing at her curiously, making it impossible to ignore.
She took a deep breath and addressed them.
“Aunts, I know I did many terrible things before. When I first arrived, I wasn’t used to life here and still believed I’d have a chance to return to the city.
“But now I understand the situation, and I’ve accepted it. From now on, I’ll work hard and won’t make trouble anymore. I’m sincerely sorry for everything I’ve done, and I hope you’ll forgive me.
“Aunt Li, I’m especially sorry for losing my temper with you a few days ago.”
Hearing her heartfelt apology, the women could all tell she was sincere.
They smiled and nodded.
Aunt Li shook her head.
“Comrade Lu, it’s good that you’ve come to understand. I’m not an educated person, so I can’t say anything fancy. Let’s leave the past behind. Just live well from now on.”
The other women chimed in one after another.
“That’s right.”
“Just work hard.”
“Our Qingshan Brigade is a good place.”
Of course, not everyone was so kind.
Aunt Zhao, in particular, could never resist saying something unpleasant.
“Oh my, the young lady from the city certainly knows how to talk. So after everything you’ve done, you just say a few nice words and everyone forgets about it? You people really are generous.”
Lu Zhiyao wasn’t about to let that slide.
She immediately put on a pitiful expression.
“Auntie, I’m only a teenage girl. I grew up being doted on by my parents. Suddenly leaving home and coming to such a strange place… of course it was hard for me to adjust.
“And everyone makes mistakes. Surely just because someone has made a mistake doesn’t mean they shouldn’t be given the chance to change?”
Aunt Li immediately spoke up.
“Exactly! She was raised like a precious daughter at home. It’s perfectly normal that she couldn’t adapt right away. Zhao Guihua, haven’t you ever made mistakes?”
“That’s right!”
“She’s just a young girl. What’s wrong with making a few mistakes?”
“As if you’ve never done anything wrong! Haven’t your own son and daughter ever made mistakes?”
“You spend all day flapping that mouth of yours. Is talking nonsense the only thing you’re good at?”
With only a few words from Lu Zhiyao, the other women all began criticizing Aunt Zhao on her behalf.
Beside her, He Li and Hu Fang secretly gave Lu Zhiyao a thumbs-up.
Almost everyone present had been on the receiving end of Aunt Zhao’s sharp tongue at one time or another.
It was the first time they’d ever seen someone leave Aunt Zhao completely speechless.
By then, Aunt Zhao was so furious that she couldn’t get a single word out.
In the end, she simply shut her mouth altogether.