Chapter 8

After the big cabbage harvest in Xiaotang Village, they began digging sweet potatoes in the fields. Su Liuhe carried a basket, following behind, picking up the fallen sweet potatoes with a group of children. When she was exhausted after filling her basket, Gu Yiran would come around from the front and dump the sweet potatoes into a sack.

With division of labor and cooperation, the work wasn't tiring.

No matter how others saw it, she had effectively earned her work points.

Thick-skinned, then unbeatable in the world.

Moreover...

Su Liuhe saw in the distant responsibility field that the three Liu family men were also “working.” Though “working” meant sitting on the field ridge smoking, the squad leader dared not offend them and still awarded them work points.

Tsk tsk tsk.

Su Liuhe finally extended her disdain hierarchy.

Gu Yiran was at the top, the coriander mom and those older women above her, she was originally at the bottom, but now with the Liu family men slacking off, she had company.

After a day's work, Xiaotang Village distributed the winter reserves of cabbage and sweet potatoes to everyone.

Su Liuhe saw the row of cabbages under the eaves and the piles of sweet potatoes and felt that her blisters were not in vain!

Gu Yiran looked at her sitting on the kang, poking at her blisters with teary eyes, and felt a bit guilty.

Su Liuhe handed the cloth ration ticket to Gu Yiran, sitting on the edge of the kang, blowing on her tender palms, and said, “Go to the supply and marketing cooperative to buy some fine cotton fabric.”

Gu Yiran was about to go out to handle some business and asked, “What for?”

Su Liuhe replied, “To make you a cotton-padded jacket.”

Gu Yiran silently agreed and reached the door, saying, “Why don’t you make one for yourself? Just give me the cotton jacket you’re wearing.”

Su Liuhe hesitated, “Won’t it be ill-fitting?”

She didn’t know the cotton jacket was made to fit Gu Yiran’s figure; because there wasn’t enough cotton, it lacked sleeves.

Gu Yiran said, “Get some fine cotton fabric to make your cotton jacket, and give me this one. Just sew on the right cotton sleeves for me.”

Su Liuhe bit her lip and smiled, “That’s a bit embarrassing.”

Gu Yiran knew she was always pretending to be modest, but inside, he was very happy. He pressed down the corner of his lips and said, “I’ll buy it after I finish my business.”

Su Liuhe had another surprise planned for him and asked, “Then come back quickly. I have something to tell you.”

“Okay.”

Gu Yiran headed to the brigade's literacy class.

These days, he had been reviewing every detail of his past life. The officer had said something that left a deep impression:

“If you were literate, with your skills, you could have gone to military school and come out as an officer. Unfortunately, you’re illiterate and have to enlist as a recruit, wasting years climbing up.”

Gu Yiran didn’t want to be the lowly person everyone bullied this life; he wanted to rise higher, higher and higher.

Standing tall to avoid humiliation, and also to catch the hidden culprit who harmed him in his past life.

Maybe... he could also find his parents.

But perhaps... his parents really didn’t want him and hoped a wolf would eat him.

Gu Yiran arrived outside the literacy class. Some who had eaten dinner were already sitting outside waiting for class.

When the village first started the literacy class, no one wanted to attend. Later, when people heard that having education could lead to recommendation to the Workers' and Peasants' University, participation increased.

Mainly because the Workers' and Peasants' University didn't require work; students just sat in class every day and still earned work points and meal tickets. Whether they learned anything or not didn’t matter. So in the recent one or two years, the literacy class classrooms were almost full.

Gu Yiran wanted to wait for the literacy class teacher, Chen, the squad leader of the educated youth point, to ask how to join.

When Chen arrived for class, he had a cigarette tucked behind his ear and was not alone; two others followed—Liu Eldest and Liu Second.

Chen saw Gu Yiran and stopped, but before he could speak, Liu Eldest and Liu Second rushed forward to fight Gu Yiran.

There was a chair blocking the door; Gu Yiran didn’t hesitate and grabbed the wooden chair, swinging it at them.

Chen saw the teenager beat Liu Eldest and Liu Second into retreat and shouted, “No fighting allowed in the literacy class!”

Gu Yiran hesitated, and Liu Eldest and Liu Second ran aside cursing loudly.

“Get lost! Is this the place for dog bastard trash?” Liu Eldest was angry at being beaten and said, “You want to join the literacy class? Dream on! If I can't join, neither can you!”

Liu Second grabbed Chen’s collar, “If you dare accept him, I’ll burn down the literacy class!”

Chen was angry, gave them back the cigarette, and said, “I’ll say it again: the literacy class is not a fighting club. Those who fight and cause trouble absolutely cannot join.”

He was worried about how to reject the Liu brothers. They were usually thieves and troublemakers; if admitted, they would disrupt learning and bully other students and teachers.

Gu Yiran walked over and said to Chen, “Squad leader Chen, I promise not to fight anymore.”

Chen whispered, “You won’t fight? Can they not fight you?”

“No, it has to be a fight to the death.” Liu Second and Liu Eldest, like twins, proudly told Gu Yiran, “As long as we’re around, you won’t learn a single word!”

Gu Yiran saw many people closing in, all watching coldly, seemingly not wanting him to cause trouble for them.

Liu Eldest said, “Beg me! Beg me and I might let you in to learn a little. Otherwise, you’ll be illiterate forever!”

Gu Yiran tightly pressed his lips, eyes blazing with hatred. No matter what happened in his past life, he would never beg the Liu family for a single word.

Chen’s heart skipped a beat, afraid Gu Yiran would cause trouble. A cornered dog still fights hard.

He turned and asked the Liu brothers, “Can’t you stop fighting?”

Liu Eldest and Liu Second said in unison, “No! Fight to the death! Last time he even dared to hit my dad; I have to teach him a lesson!”

Chen helplessly told Gu Yiran, “See? It’s not that I don’t want you—”

Seeing this, Gu Yiran didn’t hesitate. He suppressed his infinite hatred and regret deep inside, took a reluctant last glance at the classroom, and walked out.

Only heaven knew how envious he was in his past life, dragging his crippled leg here and hearing the clear sound of reading.

Liu Eldest and Liu Second kept cursing behind him, but the words didn’t reach Gu Yiran’s ears.

Because he was already filled with disappointment.

Looks like he had to enlist as a recruit, missing better opportunities.

He just didn’t know if this life would be like the last—betrayed and run over by a car.

If that happened again, what would be the meaning of his life?

Gu Yiran felt that heaven was too cruel, letting him know everything but giving him no chance to change his path.

***

At home, Su Liuhe secretly put the overflowing chestnuts into the basket hanging from the beam. In the corner, an old wicker basket held half a basket of chestnuts.

At first, Gu Yiran asked where the chestnuts came from. She would stall, sometimes saying coriander mom gave them, sometimes that she picked them. After a while, Gu Yiran stopped asking.

Su Liuhe sat by the small stove roasting chestnuts, the occasional crisp popping sound breaking the silence.

She had figured out the pattern of the salted vegetable jar—on average, every twenty-four hours, the chestnuts increased; at other times, the amount remained the same.

The chestnuts’ skin-beautifying effects varied by person. Su Liuhe’s skin was naturally flawless and rosy; after eating these chestnuts for days, her skin was as tender as a peeled peach, with fine laugh lines and pores disappearing, giving her a natural smoothing effect.

Gu Yiran’s results weren’t as good; scars on his back still faintly showed. The tiny scars on his face from work had vanished, however.

Su Liuhe named this batch the “Skin-Beauty Chestnuts.”

Filling and good for skin—only those who eat them would know.

When the chestnuts were nearly done roasting, she got up and pulled out a small blackboard hidden behind a bamboo basket.

She had been so happy about Gu Yiran agreeing to take her into the city but then remembered that if he became a soldier, he couldn’t just casually bring someone into town.

There were military rules; at least a company commander rank was needed.

She didn’t want to spend her life facing the earth and back to the sky! She was tired of poverty and hardship; she wanted a better life! Her only joy here was going to the supply and marketing cooperative!

Going too often, people gossiped, calling her a spendthrift, saying she didn’t care about her own money.

She was really angry.

Last time, having promised to help Gu Yiran realize his dream, she asked coriander mom for a small blackboard, a box of chalk, a stack of textbooks, and a small steel ruler.

Coriander mom had stopped pestering her about her daughter’s marriage for a few days, but Su Liuhe was good at handling people.

Knowing coriander mom liked the fake collar she made last time, she simply gave the collar to coriander mom and in return got these unwanted teaching tools.

Seeing Su Liuhe’s needle-pricked fingers, coriander mom thought the gift was precious, and their relationship improved recently. Occasionally, coriander mom even brought over some snacks.

Now that the school had suspended classes, coriander mom repeatedly instructed Su Liuhe to teach secretly.

Su Liuhe placed the blackboard on a chair leaned against the wall. On it, she wrote in large characters “Lesson One,” then added pinyin below, planning to teach Gu Yiran step by step.

After all, she was a graduate student from a design institute; teaching a 1970s illiterate teenager was easy.

As long as he caught up in time to take the first college entrance exam, when everyone’s level wasn’t that high, with a decade of educational stagnation and many intellectuals who had been through turmoil still watching from the sidelines—some perhaps hadn’t even heard about the exam.

This was Gu Yiran’s best chance to rise above!

If he could smoothly get into military school, he would graduate as a company-level officer.

She would go to the city with him, easily find a city boyfriend, maybe even find an officer—hehe.

Gu Yiran reached home, rubbing his face.

Last time, he had snapped at Su Liuhe; she teased him about it often. Today, unable to attend the literacy class, he felt disappointed but didn’t want her to see.

But the moment he entered the house, he froze and couldn’t speak.

Su Liuhe waited until dark for Gu Yiran’s return. He hadn’t bought the fabric she asked for, though she had carefully planned how to make the jacket.

She sat cross-legged on the kang, holding the steel ruler, pointing at Gu Yiran, and asked, “Where did you go?”

Gu Yiran secretly pinched the back of his hand, realizing it wasn’t a dream.

The blackboard, chalk, and textbooks before him were real!

He croaked out, stammering, “I... I stayed in the mountains for a while.”

Su Liuhe worried he wouldn’t want to study. A big strong young man, full of ideas and rebellious, wasn’t easy to manage.

She tapped the steel ruler on the blackboard and said, “Do you know what I’m going to do?”

Gu Yiran didn’t dare answer, afraid of another disappointment. He quietly looked at Su Liuhe and whispered, “No.”

Su Liuhe sneered, “Still don’t know? Just pretending!”

She tapped the blackboard again, “From today on, I’ll teach you culture lessons every night. Do you know why I do this?”

Gu Yiran still didn’t know why she always helped him when he needed it: “I-I don’t know.”

Su Liuhe, thinking he was unwilling, said angrily, “I want you to win at the starting line!”

Whether you want to or not, you have to learn! You must learn!

Gu Yiran’s nose suddenly felt sour, his voice hoarse, “I want to learn.”