Chương 4: Chapter 4: Leave of Absence
Yun Yuzhi whispered, "I bet she's been dragged off to Captain Xia's place for a meal, she's practically the Xia Family's future daughter-in-law now." After saying this, she saw Lu Jingqiu heading inside and added, "I had a talk with Jingqiu today. Jingqiu said she's come to terms with it and won't pester Gao Shu anymore."
"Really?" Li Yinger asked in surprise, then with a note of doubt, "She's not just agreeing to please you, is she? She chased him all the way from the city to here, for two years... No, they're childhood sweethearts."
"I think this time she's truly given up. She sounded a bit heartbroken when she spoke, even mentioned missing her parents. She said she wants to go back and see them after the farm work is done, she looked so pitiful."
Li Yinger breathed a sigh of relief, "Well, she can't exactly be happy after a breakup. That day she ran out and didn't come back until midnight, must have cried for a long time, and the next day, her eyes were still severely swollen from a high fever."
Actually, Li Yinger deeply sympathized with Lu Jingqiu. After all, it was sincere for someone to chase another from the city to the countryside. She somewhat disliked Gao Shu for his coldheartedness.
Yun Yuzhi knew it too, but both were concerned about Lu Jingqiu and didn't want to say anything that might make her feel awkward, "It's good she's letting go. Gao Shu is great, but his heart and mind are filled with Xia Lin."
Lu Jingqiu had no idea about the conversation happening outside. Once back in her room, she quickly rummaged through her small trunk, which held over a hundred yuan, and some cloth coupons and grain coupons, as well as brown sugar, malted milk, and milk—gifts sent by her parents and aunt.
They were worried she might be wronged here.
If only she hadn't spent so carelessly, she thought, she might have saved quite a bit of money.
Her parents doted on their only daughter fiercely, fearing she'd melt in their mouths, or fall from their hands. They both had decent salaries and spent their earnings on their daughter.
Having just one daughter was rare for the times. It wasn't that her parents didn't want more children; her father was unable to have more after an injury from the battlefield. Gradually, her parents gave up trying. Her father had no desire for a son over a daughter and always cherished her.
Yet, she failed to be a dutiful daughter, running off to the countryside for a man. In a letter from her aunt, she learned her mother cried a whole day and night, both angry at her disobedience and worried she might be bullied in the countryside, even her tough father's eyes reddened with worry.
Her uncle and aunt, who lived in the same complex, had no daughters—only two boys—so they were quite close and also treated her like their own daughter.
Her eldest cousin joined the military, and her second cousin worked as well, with four workers in the family. Her aunt, working as a head chef in a state-owned restaurant, got plenty of tasty food and sent many treats for the last two years.
She gave a lot to Gao Shu, but sadly, he avoided her, and in the end, Li Qian got them.
Now, thinking about her goodness lining someone else's stomach, she regretted it painfully, kicking herself for being so foolish.
Lu Jingqiu tidied up her things and took out a can of malted milk and a pound of brown sugar, planning to visit Captain Xia's home in a few days to ask for leave to visit her family.
As she finished up, Yun Yuzhi and Li Yinger came in. Li Yinger saw what Lu Jingqiu was holding and thought they were meant for Gao Shu, her expression one of exasperation, "You're not going to give these to Gao Shu as a wedding gift, are you?"
Lu Jingqiu actually regretted not getting to know them sooner. Sister Yuzhi, from the capital with several siblings, had a straight-shooting personality and was one of the most senior amongst the educated youth. Lu Jingqiu and another sister had come to the countryside, and everyone called her Sister Yuzhi.
Li Yinger arrived a year earlier and lived not too far away, also coming from a well-off family and being articulate, she was hired as a teacher at a primary school within a year.
When she had first arrived, Lu Jingqiu was rather spoiled and insensitive, which offended many. Hence, the two of them hardly spoke to her, not to mention Li Qian's duplicity left them even less inclined to like her.
Had it not been for the incident a while back where Li Qian had swindled their money, they probably wouldn't have paid much attention to her.
Though they didn't get all their money back, gaining two close friends wasn't bad either.
"I won't be as blind as before," declared Lu Jingqiu confidently, "The way I, Lu Jingqiu, like someone is open and aboveboard. It's fine to pursue someone before they're married, but now that they're about to get married, I certainly won't shamelessly become the third party. I concede defeat to Gao Shu, and there's nothing shameful about that."
It had been the same in her previous life, except for the time when she found out about Gao Shu's marriage to Xia Lin and got into a fight with Xia Lin. After that, she ran up to the mountains to play missing, and then many things happened. Until their divorce, she never interfered in their marriage.
Li Yinger said, "That's right, there's no shame in that. I would look down on anyone who tries to ruin their marriage. Jingqiu, although you were a bit willful before, you still had a sense of propriety in what you did."
Lu Jingqiu smiled, somewhat embarrassed, "Thank you for being willing to be my friends, I was before..."
Yun Yuzhi quickly interrupted her with a smile, "The past is the past. Who hasn't been seventeen or eighteen and made mistakes? We all grow from ignorance, and being able to change is our greatest progress."
Li Yinger nodded, "Yeah, right, you didn't do anything wrong, don't feel bad about yourself."
Lu Jingqiu felt the same, who hadn't been young once? She hadn't done anything outrageously against heaven and morality—just badmouthed Xia Lin at the Educated Youth Spot, went up to argue with her to assert her own "sovereignty", and warned her to stay away from Gao Shu.
In front of Gao Shu, she accused Xia Lin of being too close with the riff-raff in the village.
But it was true that Xia Lin hung around with those no-goods, and she had indeed heard those slackers confessing their liking for Xia Lin.
Of course, there had been a misunderstanding between the two because of a slacker, but after that was cleared up, they were as close as anything. Now, looking back, she felt like a jumping clown, making a spectacle of herself for others' amusement.
"I've got these and was thinking of visiting Captain Xia's house to ask for leave," she said. "Do you think he would agree to let me go back at a time like this?"
Yun Yuzhi and Li Yinger also hesitated; after all, it was a busy period.
Adding to that, Captain Xia was Xia Lin's father; Captain Xia knew about the several times Li Jingqiu had argued with Xia Lin and, being someone who doted on his daughter the most, he had even assigned the toughest tasks to Li Jingqiu as a lesson.
And the whole Ten-miles Village knew she liked Gao Shu.
Xia Lin liked Gao Shu too, and her biggest worry was that Captain Xia wouldn't grant her leave because of his daughter.
Yun Yuzhi said, "Try asking first; if Captain Xia doesn't approve, then we'll think of something else."
Li Yinger suggested, "I think you should wait until the wheat harvest is over before you go. A few days won't make a difference."
Lu Jingqiu nodded and then put her things away again.
Everyone hurried to take a break now, because they'd have to work through the night soon.
Chương 5: Chapter 5: The Village Chief's Dilemma
The Educated Youth Spot currently has five male "educated youths" and three female "educated youths", with the Educated Youth Team Leader being from the same year as Yun Yuzhi. Those who returned to the city went back, and those who started families did so, no longer living at the Educated Youth Spot.
The team leader's name is Zhang Yumin, who had been here for five years. When he first came, he was around seventeen or eighteen, and now he's already twenty-three or twenty-four.
He liked Yun Yuzhi, and though people said they were lovers none of them had made it explicit. To say they weren't, however, wouldn't make sense either; he was good to her, and she was good to him, and they treated each other almost like a married couple.
Lu Jingqiu never asked, but Li Yinger knew that Yun Yuzhi was afraid of settling down here; once you start a family, it feels like putting down roots, and she still wanted to return to the city.
But indeed, they had reached the age to marry, and if they delayed a few more years, it would be difficult to have children. So both were very confused, and neither had broached this barrier between them.
Speaking of which, apart from Zhang Yumin, Li Qing—who was also an educated youth—liked Li Yinger too. Li Qing and Li Yinger taught at the same primary school.
Unfortunately, Li Yinger was not interested in Li Qing; she found him too dull, someone who just grinned foolishly all day and wasn't her type at all.
Lu Jingqiu thought that Li Qing was quite decent, certainly better than the slick Zhang Shuo, who always hovered around when there was something to gain with a fawning smile, but disappeared at the first sign of trouble.
No one at the Educated Youth Spot liked him; he and Li Qian recently squabbled over a spot to return to the city. Had it not been for the team leader and others holding him back, he would have dared to hit a woman.
There was also Shen Mu on the same team, who came from the same place as Yun Yuzhi. He and Gao Shu had similar temperaments, and the two of them got along quite well.
The task for these few educated youths tonight was to help the villagers with threshing and winnowing the harvest.
When they arrived at the site, Lu Jingqiu could see Gao Shu and Xia Lin from a distance, illuminated by the light.
Xia Lin whispered something into Gao Shu's ear that elicited a broad grin from him.
For all these years, Jingqiu had never seen Gao Shu smile at her like that, not even in her previous life when she had taken care of his child and been by his side for so many years; it had never happened.
So, no matter how hard you try, if someone doesn't like you, they will never see what's in your heart.
The thought of how much she had given to this man in her previous life only to end up with nothing, made her heart ache uncontrollably.
Zhang Yumin, from afar, saw Gao Shu and greeted him with a smile.
Only then did Xia Lin turn her head to look their way, and her eyes met Lu Jingqiu's.
The two of them had just had a fight a few days ago; Xia Lin's face bore a scratch from Lu Jingqiu, and Lu Jingqiu's hair had been pulled out by Xia Lin. That day at the foot of the mountain, both were like shrews, and it wouldn't have ended without Yun Yuzhi breaking them apart; it could have been endless and deadly.
For some reason, Lu Jingqiu felt she could perceive the complexity in Xia Lin's eyes—confusion, jealousy, schadenfreude, and even something else that she couldn't fathom at the moment.
As Lu Jingqiu was trying to discern Xia Lin's thoughts, Xia Lin's mind had already drifted far away. She had many secrets that she couldn't speak of; nor did she want to.
Fearing that she might cling to him again, Gao Shu glanced at her and, seeing her gaze was not on him, he quickly looked away and said to Zhang Yumin, "The team leader said it may rain the day after tomorrow night, so we should gather the harvest overnight.
They've already organized the villagers to get to the fields. After we finish here and clear the place, it won't delay them from continuing."
Zhang Shuo frowned and said, "Does this mean we'll be working in two shifts without stopping?"
Gao Shu nodded without speaking.
The faces of the few people instantly turned sullen. They hadn't expected to have to gather the wheat, but now it looked like they would have to work overtime to get it done.
A few hours of sleep, and then it would be back to work.
Observing the abundance of work before them, Lu Jingqiu also felt somewhat intimidated; apart from a few experienced villagers, only the educated youths were left on the field.
There was no choice, even if it was exhausting, they had to endure it.
Fortunately, a few of the male comrades took care of them and only assigned them the responsibility for the wheat at the edges.
They weren't needed for the winnowing, but when it came to bagging, they couldn't be spared.
They worked in pairs, Yun Yuzhi and Zhang Yumin were a team, Gao Shu and Xia Lin went without saying, Li Yinger and Li Qing, though both teachers, had to participate in this busy farming period. Li Yinger had wanted to be Jingqiu's partner, but she ended up being followed by Li Qing's goofy smile, refusing to leave her side.
Jingqiu didn't want to be a third wheel, so she quickly gave up her spot, and as she turned around, she saw Zhang Shuo nearby. Just as she was about to join him, he darted off as if fleeing, toward a young and strong villager.
Watching everyone busily bagging, Jingqiu stood to the side feeling somewhat awkward.
After all, she had lived many years in her previous life, so this bit of embarrassment was nothing to her; if there was no partner, she would work alone.
Just as she was getting ready to use the scoop to fill the bags by herself, before her hand even touched the scoop, Shen Mu grabbed it first and then coldly said to her, "Hold the bag properly."
"Oh, alright, alright."
Jingqiu was quite happy to have someone as her partner, and she quickly smiled and held the bag open carefully.
They were busily filling bags with the crop, and in the fields, villagers had already started transporting wheat to their location.
Throughout the work period, Xia Lin frequently looked over to their side. Normally, she wouldn't even glance her way.
It was usually Jingqiu who was picking on her, but these past few days she had been quiet, and now Xia Lin was acting out of character.
"Ah Shu, look, Jingqiu and Shen Mu make quite a good team," Xia Lin suddenly said out of the blue during the heat of the work.
Not only did Jingqiu and Shen Mu pause in surprise, but even Gao Shu was taken aback with confusion.
Jingqiu didn't understand why Xia Lin would say something like that, but subconsciously knew she wasn't saying it to be kind.
She retorted with her head raised, "Holding a bag and filling it with grain is something a three-year-old child could do. Aren't our groups all doing the same? Could it be that Comrade Xia doesn't know how to hold a bag, that you two don't work well together?"
No sooner had she finished speaking, Gao Shu frowned and said, "Jingqiu, that's not what Xia Lin meant. Don't make a problem when there's none."
Hearing his defense, a wave of grievance instantly surged in Jingqiu's heart, and she responded with a downcast look and a displeased tone, "Am I the one causing trouble out of nothing?"
Even if she was to let go, after all, he was the man she had pursued for a lifetime, and hearing him defend Xia Lin without hesitation still hurt.
However, this time Xia Lin was not actually targeting Jingqiu, but after hearing Gao Shu's defense, she didn't explain and instead shyly lowered her head and laughed.
The small incident faded in the ensuing busyness.
Approximately two hours later, they finished cleaning up the site and were about to head back.
Xia Lin suddenly pulled Li Yinger aside and whispered a few words to her.
Xia Lin and Jingqiu were love rivals, but because Xia Lin was the daughter of the Educated Youth Team Leader, she got along quite well with the comrades at the Educated Youth Spot. Plus, with her sweet and gentle demeanor and soft voice, she was extremely popular in the village.
Jingqiu didn't want to witness Gao Shu and Xia Lin's public displays of affection, so as soon as the work was finished, she left with her tools.
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