Wang Ying was still half-asleep and thought she was dreaming. Drowsily, she muttered, “What collapsed?”
Xu Shuang frowned—anyone woken from sleep like that would be irritated. But he became fully alert almost immediately and shook Wang Ying a few times.
When Wang Ying heard the shouting outside again, saying that the educated youth dorm had collapsed, she quickly got up.
The two of them got dressed, and as soon as they opened the door, they immediately understood why.
It was hailing outside.
Although the hailstones were small now, the ground was still covered with ones the size of eggs. It was already the third lunar month—wheat had been sown in the fields, and the sprouts had already come up. And yet such heavy hail was falling now.
Wang Ying instantly realized the severity of the situation, and Xu Shuang’s expression turned serious as well.
There was no umbrella in the house. Xu Shuang handed Wang Ying a thin wooden board, which was originally used indoors to lay clothes on—but they couldn’t afford to care about that now.
Wang Ying held the board over her head and headed out. The person who had been knocking on the door was a commune member. When he saw Wang Ying come out, he anxiously said, “It’s not just one place in the brigade that collapsed—the educated youth dorm was hit the worst. The brigade leader and the Party secretary are already there. They said two of the educated youth got trapped inside. They’ve been pulled out now, but they need you to check on them.”
With that, he hurried off again: “The captain told me to check all the houses in the brigade. I’m heading to the next one!”
Wang Ying picked up her medical kit and was about to leave when Xu Shuang found another, slightly thicker board and said, “You go on ahead. I’ll check the back hill area.”
Wang Ying nodded—she had been about to bring that up. Qian Juhua and Cheng Shufen were both living in old houses. If something happened to them…
“You don’t have to worry about me. I’ll stop by to check on my mom first on the way. If Juhua’s sister-in-law needs help, give her a hand. If anyone’s hurt, come get me right away.”
The two of them quickly split up. Wang Ying ran toward Old Lady Xu’s house first.
Fortunately, the old woman was already awake—being older, she didn’t sleep deeply, and had heard the noise outside. The houses at the Xu family compound were intact. A few tiles had broken off the old structure, but the old lady lived in a brick house, so it wasn’t a big problem.
Wang Ying felt somewhat relieved. She told Old Lady Xu to stay indoors, then continued on toward the educated youth dorm, still holding the board above her head.
There were quite a few people at the dorm already, most of them looking just like Wang Ying—standing outside, each holding a board over their heads.
Of the original seven rooms, two hadn’t collapsed, but no one dared to go inside. They were all afraid the rest of the building might cave in and trap someone underneath.
As soon as Wang Ying arrived, both Tian Youfu and Song Dagui visibly breathed a sigh of relief.
This sudden hailstorm had really taken everyone by surprise. The crops in the fields, the tiles on the rooftops, even the livestock—every aspect tugged at people’s hearts. But as long as no one was hurt, everything else was a minor issue.
“Wang Ying, hurry and take a look. Jiang Lei’s arm was crushed, and Yu Pengcheng hasn’t woken up yet.”
Wang Ying quickly went to check Yu Pengcheng first. Beside her, Jiang Lei was shouting, “My arm’s broken! My arm’s broken! Check me first!”
Wang Ying had no time for pleasantries. She snapped, “Shut up!”
She examined Yu Pengcheng first and soon let out a breath of relief. “He’s fine—just knocked out, with only some external injuries. Move him somewhere else, and apply medicine once he wakes up.”
Jiang Lei, although furious after being shouted at by Wang Ying, was in too much pain and too afraid of permanent damage to retaliate. With no choice but to bear it, he sulked quietly to the side.
Wang Ying didn’t bother with him. After a quick check of his arm, she said, “It’s dislocated.”
Seeing that the hail had stopped and rain was falling instead, Wang Ying suggested, “Let’s move them to the meeting hall. Yu Pengcheng’s wounds need to be protected from infection.”
Hearing it was just a dislocation, Jiang Lei felt much more at ease. He wanted to ask Wang Ying to pop his arm back in, but seeing how busy she was getting Yu Pengcheng moved, he held his tongue, fearing another scolding. He obediently followed the others to the meeting hall.
Once Tian Youfu was sure no one was critically injured, he headed toward the village. “Wang Ying, stay and help the Party Secretary. I’ll check if there are any other injured and bring them over if needed.”
Wang Ying wiped the rain from her face. “Alright.”
Song Dagui instructed the other educated youth to move in small groups, helping get Yu Pengcheng and Jiang Lei settled in the meeting room.
Wang Ying handed a bottle of alcohol disinfectant to a male educated youth. “Clean Yu Pengcheng’s wounds. Make sure there are no foreign objects before disinfecting with alcohol. If anyone else is injured, do the same.”
The young people, having had their house collapse in the middle of the night during a hailstorm, were terrified. A few of the girls were still hugging each other and crying.
The male youth took the alcohol, and Wang Ying finally had a moment to fix Jiang Lei’s arm.
With a quick and practiced motion, she gave it a sharp pull, and Jiang Lei felt only a flash of pain before his joint popped back in place.
Wang Ying let go. “Your arm’s fine now. Just be careful not to strain it in the next few days.”
Her swift treatment left Jiang Lei speechless. He still remembered questioning her capabilities on the day he arrived. Though no one had time to call him out, he himself felt deeply embarrassed.
Wang Ying didn’t care about his discomfort. She was busy checking pulses and diagnosing injuries. Even a small hailstone could be painful if it hit the head directly.
Several of the female educated youth, crying, asked Wang Ying to check them, saying they’d been struck on the head.
Wang Ying examined them one by one. When she came to the girl named Bai Ling, she noticed her coughing a few times while covering her mouth. But after checking her pulse, Wang Ying gave her a meaningful look.
This Bai Ling didn’t seem like someone who could faint from low blood sugar.
Just take tonight, for instance: the other educated youth had either been frightened, injured, or exhausted from their first full day of field labor. Almost all of them had some issue. But this Bai Ling had no injuries at all and was in excellent health.
That look from Wang Ying made Bai Ling squirm a little, but she still asked sweetly, “Doctor, is Jiang Lei alright?”
Wang Ying pointed to Jiang Lei, who was sitting dejectedly off to the side. “He’s awake. Ask him yourself.”
She didn’t care what kind of games this delicate, lantern-thin girl was playing—her job was to treat people.
After settling the educated youth, Tian Youfu returned with a child who had been struck on the head.
“It’s better than I expected. Besides the educated youth dorm, only a few households had part of their roofs cave in. The rest just lost a few tiles.”
Tian Youfu sighed heavily. He had not only checked each house for injured people but had also visited the fields.
Their brigade had sown wheat early, and the sprouts were just starting to emerge. This hailstorm had completely destroyed them.
But, as luck would have it, they still had time—it wasn’t too late to replant.
The problem was with the villagers’ cabbages, radishes, and such. Most of those had already sprouted, and now they were all ruined. The seeds had gone to waste, and it meant a tight spring and summer ahead.
Wang Ying consoled him, “As long as no one was hurt, that’s a blessing.”
Tian Youfu instinctively reached for his pipe but didn’t find it. He then remembered he’d rushed out in a hurry and had left it at home.
“Sigh, I guess that’s the only way to look at it.”
That’s how it was for old farmers—they lived at the mercy of the weather. If the heavens didn’t favor you with a meal, you’d go hungry.
That’s why so many people were desperate to leave for the cities. Life might still be hard there, but at least there was stability no matter the weather.
Tian Youfu told the educated youth to take advantage of the break in the rain to go back and salvage what hadn’t been crushed under the collapsed house. He also asked the male youth to put tables and benches together to get through the night.
Wang Ying didn’t have a watch, but she estimated it was already around 4 a.m. Everyone was exhausted. Even the usually rebellious Jiang Lei was too drained to make a fuss, slumped over in a corner.
Just as Tian Youfu was organizing tasks, he suddenly jolted. “The pigs!”
He had been focused on checking people at the brigade building and had forgotten about the pigs that Qian Juhua raised!
Wang Ying said, “It’s alright. Xu Shuang went to check. If anything had happened, he would’ve come back already.”
Still, Tian Youfu wasn’t reassured. Those six pigs and two sheep—aside from their monetary value—were an important asset for the brigade. He immediately got up to go check on them.
At this moment, Xu Shuang came in. He was soaked, and his bangs were hanging down limply.
“No need to go,” he said. “The pigsty and sheep pen are both fine. It’s just the shed that got smashed up a bit—we’ll patch it up later.”
As he spoke, Xu Shuang gave Wang Ying a slight nod. Wang Ying, seeing this, was reassured. It seemed there wasn’t any major problem over at Cheng Shufen’s place.
After a night of toil, Wang Ying was also exhausted. Xu Shuang pulled her along to head back. The road was difficult to walk, so Xu Shuang carried Wang Ying on his back.
Back at home, he washed Wang Ying’s face while she was still fast asleep. Only then did the two of them fall asleep in each other’s arms.
Early the next morning, almost all the commune members had gathered at the threshing ground, waiting for the Party Secretary and the brigade leader to give instructions.
The fields were still covered with a layer of hailstones. Saying “go to the fields” — to which fields?
Some of the older members, who remembered the harsh times of hunger in earlier years, broke down crying when they saw the state of the crops.
When Xu Shuang and Wang Ying arrived, they were met with exactly this scene. It was like everyone had been put under a spell. The educated youths huddled together, the commune members grouped in twos and threes—no one was in a good mood.
Tian Youfu had dark circles under his eyes; he hadn’t slept the entire night. He took advantage of the night to visit the nearby communes. The situation in the neighboring Fourth and Fifth Brigades wasn’t any better. A few of them got together to compare notes, and every single one had suffered significant losses.
Even the commune headquarters, which should have been deserted at night, was brightly lit.
The commune leaders were so busy their feet barely touched the ground. After listening to Tian Youfu’s report, they brushed it aside, saying the Seventh Brigade was actually one of the least affected. Other brigades had even seen fatalities. They told him to go back and wait for further notice.
Wait for notice?
Tian Youfu was deeply anxious. The spring seedlings had been ruined—how could he be in the mood to wait? By the time the results came back, it might already be too late for spring planting.
After returning, Tian Youfu discussed things with Song Dagui. In the end, they made a firm decision.
“Today, we go to the fields as usual. Throw out any hailstones that haven’t melted, and then estimate how much needs to be replanted.”
Tian Youfu decided to tackle the most urgent issue first—plant the spring crops! If they didn’t plant now, they’d face famine in the fall.
The commune members had been nervous, but with Tian Youfu’s firm leadership and clear direction, everyone began to calm down.
No matter what, life had to go on. Fortunately, the hail had come at a time when replanting was still possible. If it had hit in June or July, right before the wheat harvest, they would have ended up with nothing at all.
After calming the unrest among the commune members, Tian Youfu turned to deal with the matter of the educated youths.
“Here’s the situation: because the educated youth housing is too old and damaged, it’s no longer habitable. So now, we have sixteen educated youths who need to stay in commune members’ homes. Anyone willing to host, please raise your hand.”
