That afternoon, Wang Ying continued her training at the health station. Dr. Wei still treated her kindly, and the other candidates had more or less gotten used to being outshined by her.
Wang Ying looked around, a little surprised not to see Zhao Di.
Sun Ertao, now the person in the training class who got along best with Wang Ying, explained, “Zhao Di’s not coming anymore.”
“She’s hooked up with someone at the commune and doesn’t care about the few cents we’re making here.”
Sun Ertao had to admit Zhao Di was cunning. She had initially tried to compete for the barefoot doctor position by scheming relentlessly—crying at the team leader’s house, getting educated youth to tutor her, and claiming she could read.
But within just a few days of training, Wang Ying had utterly outclassed her, making her feel humiliated.
Not that it mattered much—out of five candidates, four had been crushed by Wang Ying, so they were all in the same boat. Sun Ertao had gotten used to it. Wang Ying would surely qualify in the end, and since each team sent only one candidate, there was no need to compete with her.
The other four could fight it out among themselves.
So Zhao Di should’ve been targeting someone like her.
But unexpectedly, Zhao Di had come to the commune not for training but to snag a man.
In just a few days, she had hooked up with a widower from the commune who had a child. Without hesitation, she decided to quit training and planned to marry him.
Wang Ying couldn’t help but gape: “Married?”
They had only known each other for a few days, and now she was ready to get married?
Sun Ertao sounded a bit bitter. She felt that becoming a stepmother wasn’t a great life, but Zhao Di had leapt from a rural team to the commune. It kind of looked impressive.
She felt conflicted—unsure whether she should be envious.
“She still hasn’t returned your pencil stub, right?”
Wang Ying: “Nope.”
She didn’t really care, but such a small detail made her dislike Zhao Di.
Sun Ertao curled her lip: “She’s always been like that.”
She would cry to borrow something but never return it without a fuss.
Wang Ying shrugged: “Whatever.”
Just a passerby. They might never see each other again.
The rest of the training went by uneventfully that afternoon, but when Wang Ying was heading home, she spotted someone she hadn’t seen in a long time.
Wang Yaozong was standing on the street corner of the commune. A cigarette dangled from his fingers, and he was surrounded by a few young men with slick, disreputable looks. The group huddled together, and whenever a young woman passed by, they would whistle lewdly.
Sun Ertao was a bit scared. She clutched Wang Ying’s arm and didn’t dare walk past them.
Wang Ying quietly observed Wang Yaozong. Compared to when he’d been arrested during the New Year, he even looked like he’d put on weight. He puffed away on his cigarette as if he didn’t have a care in the world. It was as if the arguments Wang Ying had heard through the wall about money were from someone else’s family.
Wang Ying shook her head. Wang Yongshun had a bit of cunning, but no real wisdom.
That chicken-stealing incident should’ve been enough to scare him straight, but he still couldn’t keep his son in check.
Now look—Wang Yaozong had fallen in with a gang of hooligans, and trouble was only a matter of time.
But Wang Ying had no intention of helping Wang Yongshun rein in his son. Why should she? When the original host had been around, this cousin had bullied her mercilessly—making her wash his clothes and do chores. Why should she lift a finger?
Today, in the city, she had found a new lead that could finally uncover the truth about her mother’s death. Her feelings toward her uncle’s family were now colder than ever.
“Come on, I’ll take you with me.”
Wang Ying pulled Sun Ertao along, walking confidently past Wang Yaozong and his crew.
Wang Yaozong took a deep drag of his cigarette and stared at Wang Ying’s back, his eyes dark and sullen.
One of the young punks nearby stared after Wang Ying until she disappeared, then said reluctantly, “That girl’s really good-looking. I wonder which team she’s from. Should I go try to hook her?”
He might be a scoundrel, but he was still from the commune. Picking up a pretty, shallow village girl should be easy.
His inflated self-confidence was quickly shattered by Wang Yaozong’s comment: “She’s married.”
The punk clicked his tongue, visibly disappointed: “Such a pretty one, and she married into the countryside.”
If only he’d come to the commune earlier, he might’ve had a shot.
Wang Yaozong blew out a smoke ring. “That woman’s got issues.”
The young man beside him widened his eyes. “No way, right? She looked totally fine to me! Wasn’t she riding a bike just now?”
Wang Yaozong was feeling increasingly agitated. The more he thought about it, the more he believed that all the bad luck in his family had started because of Wang Ying.
If Wang Ying hadn’t stirred up trouble at home, his dad wouldn’t have rushed to arrange a marriage for her. If there hadn’t been that matchmaking, they wouldn’t have met Zhao Jun. And if Zhao Jun hadn’t come into the picture, his second sister wouldn’t have become obsessed with marrying him. Then their family wouldn’t have had to repay Xu Shuang and wouldn’t be scraping together money all the time. He himself wouldn’t have lost the 80 yuan at home, nor been forced to steal a chicken just to eat.
Wang Yaozong no longer blamed anyone else—he believed all the misfortune in his family stemmed from Wang Ying.
She was a jinx, plain and simple.
She had managed to curse both her parents to death—obviously, she was bad luck. And just look at what she’d done to his family now. He couldn’t even go to school anymore.
Wang Yaozong smoked the cigarette to the end, then said viciously, “Forget her. Bad luck. Let’s talk about tonight’s job.”
That’s right—Wang Yaozong wasn’t just squandering the family’s money anymore; he had found himself a “career.”
After reflecting on his previous failures, Wang Yaozong concluded that his mistake had been stealing only in his own brigade—that was why he kept getting caught. Plus, Li Chunjuan and Wang Yongshun weren’t clever or flexible enough; they were dragging him down.
So now, he had teamed up with a group of other petty thieves. They operated in the commune and nearby brigades, carrying out small-time thefts.
They never took much—just a chicken or a dog at a time. This made it easier to hide and split up the spoils in a quiet spot. They didn’t dare to steal money, fearing that would draw too much attention. If they got caught with cash, the consequences would be serious—possibly several years in jail.
But today was different. Wang Yaozong had made a connection. The man was generous, handing him two yuan on the spot. He said he had a money-making opportunity, just needed some manpower.
Wang Yaozong was tempted and now wanted to recruit his buddies.
The young men were interested but hesitant—none of them wanted to take the lead. They were afraid of this new man’s true intentions—maybe he was going to make them do something seriously dangerous.
Wang Yaozong scoffed. “Come on. How much trouble can you get into in our commune? That guy said we’re just helping move some stuff. Once it’s done, he’s gone—what could they even pin on us?”
He pulled out all the stops to persuade them. The man had said he’d pay Wang Yaozong for each person he brought in.
Wang Yaozong was desperate for money now—his eyes practically glowed green with greed—so he wasn’t going to miss out.
“Besides, the guy guaranteed it’s safe. Worst case, we just go home and pretend we were never there. No one can prove anything.”
With Wang Yaozong’s aggressive persuasion and the lure of cash, he finally convinced three others to join.
He was quite pleased with himself. So what if Wang Ying was doing well? He wasn’t doing too bad either. One day, he’d kick Wang Ying out for good. That house her mother left behind should’ve been his all along.
—
Meanwhile, Wang Ying returned home and added the 650 yuan she had received today to her savings. To prevent rats from chewing it, she had even mixed a bit of rodent repellent into the jar where she stored the money.
The once-small jar was now stuffed full of banknotes—it warmed her heart just to look at it.
She counted it again and again, finally confirming it totaled 1,015 yuan.
With that much, not only could she buy Old Lady Xu’s sewing machine, she could even pick up a radio.
Just as Wang Ying was happily hugging her money jar inside the house, she suddenly heard someone calling outside.
“Doctor Wang Ying? Are you home?”
She assumed it was someone coming for a consultation, but when she opened the door—
It was the educated youth Bai Ling, standing in the courtyard, looking around.
When she saw Wang Ying come out, Bai Ling’s face lit up with a smile.
“Doctor Wang Ying, I picked these up in the mountains today. I heard you’ve been collecting medicinal herbs, so I brought them over for you.”
Wang Ying had indeed started this initiative recently. She didn’t need to go up the mountain for herbs as often anymore. In the past, some villagers would gather herbs while out and about, then sell them to the barefoot doctor for a bit of extra cash.
It wasn’t a huge profit, but for the locals, every little bit helped.
Wang Ying had two motivations: to benefit the community and to give herself a solid reason to make occasional trips to town. So recently, she had spread the word that she was buying herbs.
She glanced over Bai Ling’s offerings—they were clearly gathered with care. The herbs still had roots attached, looked fresh and green, were sorted by type, and tied with red string.
Bai Ling held them out to her. “Please take a look—can you use these?”
Wang Ying asked, “You recognize medicinal herbs?”
Bai Ling put on a modest, shy expression. “Just a little.”
In truth, she didn’t know anything. She had learned about these specific herbs from asking around recently, and it was Jiang Lei who actually went up the mountain and dug them up.
Wang Ying accepted the herbs, calculated the value, and determined it came to 1 yuan and 47 cents. She went into the house to get the money and gave it to Bai Ling.
Bai Ling pushed it back adamantly. “No, no, that’s not necessary! Doctor Wang Ying, I just found these casually while out. It didn’t take any effort—you can keep them.”
Wang Ying became even more suspicious. When she’d gone in to fetch the money earlier, Bai Ling hadn’t objected. But now she was making a show of refusing?
Wang Ying ignored her protests and stuffed the money into her hand. “Business is business. I’m sending these to the hospital in town, and the pricing needs to be correct.”
Bai Ling took the money, but her expression didn’t look too pleased.
She had planned it all out: use this opportunity to say some flattering words while pretending to be modest, and then casually probe Wang Ying for information. But Wang Ying’s straightforward, business-like response—clearly drawing a line—left her feeling very shut down.
Bai Ling took a deep breath. “Doctor Wang Ying, do you not like me…”
Wang Ying: “No.”
It was true. At most, she didn’t understand some people or didn’t want to deal with them. If she had to say she disliked someone, Bai Ling didn’t even make the list.
Bai Ling stammered, “Then… it must be because of Jiang Lei, right? I have to explain about that…”
Wang Ying cut her off. “Comrade Bai, I feel the same way about you, Jiang Lei, and every other educated youth. I have no particular preference. There’s no need to explain your relationship with Comrade Jiang to me. If you have something to say, just say it.”
Isn’t beating around the bush exhausting?
Bai Ling bit her lower lip and paused for a moment before asking, “Doctor Wang Ying, don’t you have three empty rooms at your old house? Could we move in and stay there?”
Wang Ying: ???
Bai Ling continued, “We educated youth could share rooms. Right now, we’re scattered all over the place—it’s not convenient. I think before the educated youth station is repaired, it would be better for us to live together. Everyone in the commune says your family is doing well. I know this request is a bit too much…”
Wang Ying: “If you know it’s too much, then don’t ask.”
She stood up to see her off. “Comrade Bai, I find you very strange. You come to my house talking about your arrangements—have you even spoken with your team leader Yang Hong? Can you make decisions for all the educated youth? Or for the team leader? You suddenly come here and say all this nonsense—don’t you think it’s out of line?”
“You even know I have empty rooms? You’ve done your research, haven’t you? That’s my mother-in-law’s house. Even though she’s living with me now, that’s still her house. What’s stored there and who lives there isn’t for you to decide.”
Wang Ying shoved her toward the door. “Absolutely absurd.”
Caught off guard by Wang Ying’s outburst, Bai Ling looked pitiful and wronged. She didn’t dare knock on the door again and dragged her feet back to Wu Guihua’s house.
What had she said that was wrong? It was true—Madam Xu had agreed to take in two educated youth, but in fact, her house was spacious.
Right now, the room where Zhang Ping and Jiang Li lived was bright and roomy, enough to hold three or four more people.
Bai Ling regretted it deeply. She had hesitated back then and missed the chance to move into the Xu household, something she now bitterly regretted.
Although the Xu family only provided basic coarse food, living under the same roof was still better than sharing a room with random villagers.
Bai Ling hadn’t spoken to Yang Hong, but she still believed her idea was right.
Madam Xu had already offered one room. Why couldn’t the other three accommodate more? Of course, they could.
Bai Ling thought it over again and again, and decided to approach Wang Ying first to pave the way. She figured that once she made it a done deal, she could bring it up to Yang Hong. That way, she’d appear considerate and win some popularity.
But Wang Ying had thrown her out the moment she got to the point, with no intention of agreeing.
Bai Ling angrily kicked a clump of dirt on the ground.
She was currently living at Wu Guihua’s house, squeezed on a kang bed with Wu Guihua’s daughter and another educated youth. They tightened their belts just to eat, and she didn’t get a single benefit.
Unlike at the educated youth station—on the first day, when she said she had no appetite, several educated youth made her a separate bowl of noodles. Even if it was coarse, it was something.
At Wu Guihua’s house, it was thin porridge three times a day.
The more Bai Ling thought about it, the more bitter she felt.
Now that her special treatment was gone, and with Wu Guihua not being someone to go easy on people, she was constantly told that her weak body was just from being idle. “Do more work, and you’ll be fine.” Even the dishes had to be washed on rotation.
Bai Ling didn’t want to wash dishes. She just wanted the educated youth to live together again—it would make it easier for her to “maneuver.”
Her downcast figure caught Jiang Lei’s eye. He dropped what he was doing and hurried over.
“Comrade Bai, what’s wrong?”
These days, in order to keep a public distance, Bai Ling had made Jiang Lei address her as “Comrade Bai.”
“Did Wang Ying bully you?”
Bai Ling bit her lip. “It’s my own fault…”
Jiang Lei was about to say more, but Bai Ling quietly said, “It’s nothing, Comrade Jiang. Thank you for your concern.”
Jiang Lei: “Don’t say that. Look at you—you’ve gotten thinner. You must not be eating well.”
His heart burned with passion. “I’ll take leave tomorrow and go to town to buy you a chicken leg.”
He still had a few dozen yuan, his emergency fund for this rural assignment. But Jiang Lei figured it was worth it to spend it on Bai Ling. After all, they were bound to be married someday.
Bai Ling looked shy. “Wouldn’t that be too much trouble?”
Jiang Lei felt emboldened. “Not at all! I’ll go tomorrow morning!”
After a few token refusals, Bai Ling finally gave in with a sweet thank you.
But… Jiang Lei never made it to town the next day.
Because the Seventh Production Brigade was suddenly visited by a group from the Revolutionary Committee and the Public Security Bureau. Everyone in the brigade was terrified, afraid of being implicated.
Even Jiang Lei, hot-headed as he was, knew this wasn’t the time to leave the brigade. If those people thought he was trying to escape, he’d be in serious trouble.
The Revolutionary Committee didn’t mince words. They stopped a commune member and asked, “Comrade, we’re looking for Wang Yongshun’s house. Can you point the way?”
The villager, trembling, gave directions, and the Revolutionary Committee knocked hard on the door.
“Wang Yongshun, Li Chunjuan, your son Wang Yaozong is suspected of involvement in a serious theft and robbery case. Please come with us for investigation.”
