Chapter Forty-Three: Words in Vain

Village Chief Zhao said, “You think I don’t know? Every time I bring back new educated youths, the villagers complain about me the next day.”

“They say I’m blind and can’t pick people, always bringing back useless ones who can’t work.”

“But aren’t all those young folks from the city the same? And it’s not like I have the right to choose anyway.”

“This time, both of you have to make the trip too. The blame can’t always fall on me alone.”

Captain Liang took the pipe from his mouth and tapped it against the bench leg, then relit it and took a slow drag. Seeing this, Village Chief Zhao turned his gaze to Accountant Zhang.

Accountant Zhang flipped through the account book and hurriedly said, “Uncle Zhao, there’s not much grain left in our village’s warehouse.”

“There’s still more than a month before the autumn harvest, and by this time every year, the villagers’ grain stores are almost gone.”

“I reckon it won’t be long before people come to the committee to borrow grain. If they don’t eat enough before the harvest, they’ll have no strength.”

“If they have no strength, they can’t earn work points; without work points, there’s no money or food. No money or food means the villagers will come looking for trouble.”

“So I want to say, no matter how many new educated youths come this time, the grain they get in advance must be strictly limited.”

“We can’t allocate too much of our grain to the newcomers. If the villagers can’t borrow enough, there’s bound to be trouble.”

Village Chief Zhao took a fierce drag on his pipe. Yes, the autumn harvest was coming soon, and with all the work and the physical demands, food had to keep up. Without enough to eat, people wouldn’t have the strength to work. So, around this time each year, villagers would come to borrow grain. The educated youths ate plenty but did not contribute much labor. With this in mind, he put away his pipe.

“I’ll go talk to the educated youth office to reason with them. At the very least, they should assign our brigade two fewer educated youths.”

Meanwhile, Han Li and the other new and old educated youths were still unaware that more newcomers were on their way. They were still working in the fields, oblivious to the changes that were about to upend their relatively peaceful lives.

When the afternoon shift ended, Han Li planned to go into the mountains to use his space to bring back the remaining tree trunks. Since one had already been brought out in broad daylight, the rest would not draw much attention.

However, as he was leaving the house with his basket, Sun Yong, the male team leader for the educated youths, called out to him.

“Comrade Han, wait a moment. The village chief told me that a group of new educated youths will arrive soon. We need to prepare, and as is customary, we’re expected to make a welcome meal for the newcomers so everyone can get acquainted. Even though you three have moved out of the educated youth compound, you’re still part of the group. What do you think?”

Han Li looked at the team leader, recalling the embarrassment they had faced during their own welcome meal. Was this really necessary, to repeat the same awkward ritual? He felt a flash of contempt for them.

Still, in the eyes of the villagers, all the educated youths were one group, and it would be unwise to set himself apart.

“I’ll follow your arrangement, Team Leader Sun. Just let me know how much grain you need me to contribute, but I won’t be able to help with the cooking.”

Seeing Han Li agree, Sun Yong smiled.

“The girls will take care of the cooking. We’ll decide on the amount of grain once we know exactly how many are coming. You can give it another day.”

As they settled things, Jiang Xiaoli emerged from Hao Hongmin’s courtyard, followed by Hao Hongmin and Yang Xiuying, who had just seen her out. Apparently, their side had come to an agreement as well.

They greeted each other, and Sun Yong and Jiang Xiaoli, the two team leaders, headed back to the educated youth compound.

Yang Xiuying asked, “Han Li, where are you off to?”

“I was going to collect some firewood in the mountains, but now I’ll have to go pick up some stones by the river instead.”

“Stones? What for?”

“I want to lay a path in the courtyard. Otherwise, it’s too difficult to walk when it rains or snows.”

“Han Li, you’re so thoughtful. Hongmin, why don’t we go collect stones too?”

Hao Hongmin took her arm and said, “Han Li, you go take care of your own tasks. We still have things to do and will need to help cook at the compound soon.”

Han Li nodded and walked toward the river. Meanwhile, Hao Hongmin pulled Yang Xiuying into the yard and handed her a shovel.

“Let’s dig out the yard first, otherwise it’ll be hard to plant vegetables.”

Yang Xiuying said, “Han Li said he’d help us clear the yard. Should we call him over?”

A hint of hesitation flashed across Hao Hongmin’s face, then she grew serious.

“We’d better do these things ourselves. From now on, we should keep some distance from Han Li.”

“Why?”

“Because I heard people in the village are already gossiping about us. If we hadn’t always stuck together as three, who knows what rumors might have spread?”

“These people are unbelievable. We just went to the county with Han Li twice to buy things.”

“In any case, we should be more careful from now on—unless you want to start something with Han Li yourself.”

“You’re the one who wants to be with Han Li. I remember last time you even gave him a tissue to wipe his hands.”

“His hands were all greasy at the time. If he wiped them on his clothes, the stains wouldn’t come out. If I didn’t give him a tissue, should I have offered my handkerchief instead?”

“I don’t buy it. How do you know Han Li didn’t have a handkerchief in his pocket? What if he just hadn’t pulled it out yet?”

“Ah... Yang Xiuying, are you teasing me? Go to hell!”

Quick as lightning, Hao Hongmin grabbed Yang Xiuying’s ticklish spot, eventually forcing her to agree to a whole list of unfair terms.

Catching her breath, Yang Xiuying asked, “Hongmin, do you think we can hold out until our families find us jobs?”

“Didn’t we already agree we would? Why bring it up again?”

“I’m just worried. What will we do about chopping wood, carrying water, or grinding flour? If we ask others for help, won’t there be even more gossip?”

Hao Hongmin sighed gently. “If we ever need help, we’ll ask Han Li. I’d rather trust him than anyone else, especially since the three of us met on the train.”

“Exactly. I think you must have misheard the gossip—or you’re just overthinking it. If three people working together is enough to stir up talk, people must have filthy minds.”

“It’s hard to read others’ hearts; you never know what they’re thinking. Come on, let’s get back to digging.”

In this unfamiliar countryside, there were many things women simply couldn’t manage alone.

When it came to fetching water, you could carry only half a bucket, but you couldn’t grind flour with just half a millstone. If seeking help from others led to gossip, why not ask the person they knew best—Han Li?

At least Han Li was tall, strong, and good-looking, and his family background matched theirs.

So, in the end, things circled back to where they started. But what the two of them truly felt in their hearts remained a mystery to anyone else.