When the sun tilted westward, the end-of-work bell rang again. In the afternoon she had completed sixty percent of her quota and earned four work points. The entire day totaled seven work points—fifty-six cents in wages.
Dragging her exhausted body back to the dorm, Lin Wan collapsed onto the kang bed, not even having the strength to move a finger.
Outside the window came the sounds of villagers returning home—laughter after work, children’s chatter, barking dogs. Smoke rose in thin curls from cooking fires, carrying the smell of meals through the air. Though most were simple, coarse foods, they represented the warmth of each household.
Suddenly, she understood something with striking clarity:
In this era, in this place, it was too difficult to survive alone.
To take root, she had to become part of it.
And the most direct way to become part of it—was marriage.
The thought grew clearer and clearer in her mind. Not impulse, but cold, rational calculation based on reality. If she married a local man, she would have family support, a house, a kang bed to sleep on, and someone to share the labor. More importantly, she would gain identity—no longer an outsider.
And if the other party came from a good family, such as…
The brigade leader’s family.
..
At the same time, the Lu family home.
Dinner was laid out: a basin of potato-and-green-bean stew, a basket of cornmeal cakes, and a small dish of pickled vegetables. Lu Guangcai sat at the head of the table while his wife Wang Xiulan served rice. Their eldest son Lu Xiangjun had already married and moved out, but he was here tonight. The youngest son, Lu Zhanye, sat lower at the table, eating in silence.
“How are those educated youths today?” Wang Xiulan asked.
“Not bad,” Lu Guangcai said, picking up a piece of potato. “They’re honest enough, just not good at work. They’ll need training.”
Lu Xiangjun added, “The female educated youth from Beijing, Lin Wan—the one you mentioned—earned three work points in the morning and four in the afternoon. Her hands were blistered, but she didn’t say a word.”
Wang Xiulan looked up. “Is she the one who climbed off the tractor so nimbly?”
“Yeah.” Lu Xiangjun glanced at his younger brother. “I think she’s steady-minded, not spoiled. Just physically weak—farm work will be hard for her.”
Lu Zhanye had been silent the whole time, eating. He was twenty-two, already considered late for marriage in the village. Tall, broad-shouldered, his skin a deep bronze from years of outdoor labor. His features were sharp, his gaze deep-set; when he wasn’t speaking, he carried a cool, restrained air.
“Xiao Ye,” Lu Xiangjun suddenly asked, “what do you think of that girl?”
Lu Zhanye paused. “What do you mean?”
“Marriage proposal,” Lu Xiangjun said directly. “You’re already twenty-two. If you don’t settle down soon, you’ll really become an old bachelor. All those girls you’ve been introduced to—you haven’t liked any of them. This Lin Wan is from the city, educated, seems decent…”
“Brother,” Lu Zhanye cut him off calmly. “She’s an educated youth. She’ll go back to the city sooner or later.”
“That’s not certain,” Lu Guangcai said suddenly. “Policies change every year. Who knows what the future holds? Besides, our brigade isn’t bad. If she settles here, she won’t be wronged.”
Wang Xiulan looked at her youngest son. “Maybe… we should observe her a bit more? I think that girl, even if she’s not strong at work, has clear eyes. She doesn’t seem scheming.”
Lu Zhanye didn’t respond. He kept eating.
This wasn’t the first time this topic had come up in the Lu family. Over the years, many had tried to introduce him to potential matches—local girls, neighboring villages, even city girls through relatives. He had refused all of them.
It wasn’t pickiness. He simply knew what he wanted.
Not someone delicate and incapable of work. Not someone restless, always thinking too much and drifting in mind.
He wanted someone steady, someone who could live an honest life, someone who could understand him—understand those “side jobs” he could never openly mention.
This Lin Wan…
Lu Zhanye recalled the figure he had seen at the threshing ground during the day. Small and thin, carrying a pickaxe, her hands wrapped in cloth strips, striking the frozen earth again and again. Clumsy movements, but she never stopped.
She wasn’t spoiled.
But that was all.
A city educated youth—how long could she endure life in the countryside? Could she accept a man like him, who farmed during the day and went out at night… to handle other “work”?
“We’ll see,” he finally said, standing up after finishing his meal. “I’m done eating.”
He walked out of the house.
Outside, night had fallen. The stars were bright, scattered densely across the sky—far clearer than anything seen in the city. Dogs barked in the distance, and somewhere a child was crying.
Lu Zhanye lit a cigarette and leaned against the courtyard wall.
He thought of the cloth-wrapped hand he had seen that day. Blood had seeped through the fabric, but her grip on the pickaxe never changed.
She could endure hardship.
But endurance alone wasn’t enough.
What he needed was a partner—someone who could walk alongside him. And such a person was rare.
The cigarette tip flickered in the darkness. He exhaled, watching the smoke disperse into the cold air.
We’ll see.
If she could truly take root here, if she wasn’t one of those educated youths who only thought about returning to the city…
Maybe it could work.
..
In the educated youth dorm, Lin Wan soaked her feet in hot water.
The soreness in her body eased slightly. She leaned against the edge of the kang bed and looked out at the night sky.
Seven work points. Fifty-six cents.
That was the full result of her first day of labor.
She thought of her previous life in Northeast China, how much a day’s wage could buy. Here, after exhausting labor, it wasn’t even enough to buy a pound of sugar.
She had to change things.
The idea of marriage became clearer—not blind dependence, but a strategic choice grounded in reality. Marry a suitable local man, gain identity and protection, then use her knowledge and ability to improve life, even… do small business on the side.
In this era, private business wasn’t allowed—but there were always gaps.
Like the black market.
She knew it existed: exchanging grain coupons, industrial tickets, scarce goods. Risky, but profitable.
If she could find someone… with connections… to cooperate with.
Lu Zhanye’s figure flashed through her mind. She had only glimpsed him from afar at the field. Tall, quiet, standing out in the crowd. People said he was the brigade leader’s younger son, already twenty-two and unmarried—an “odd one” in the village, not rushing into marriage, always busy with something no one quite understood.
But no one said he was useless. On the contrary, the Lu family held high prestige in the village.
If…
Lin Wan shook her head and temporarily set the bold thought aside.
First, she needed to secure her footing. At least make the Lu family notice her.
She had to show her value—not just as a worker, but as someone intelligent, capable of managing a household, and able to survive in this era.
Tomorrow she still had to work.
When she lay down, her palms still ached. But her mind was no longer lost.
The black soil was cold, but fertile. If she found the right method, she could take root here and grow.
And marriage… might just be the pickaxe that could break open the frozen ground.
Outside the window, a light in the Lu family’s house was still on. Lu Zhanye finished his last cigarette and turned back inside.
On this ordinary northeastern night, the trajectories of two lives quietly moved one inch closer together.