Tian Youfu felt it was a pity, but he didn’t push. He had long noticed that ever since Wang Ying got married, she’d become more determined. She wasn’t the type to easily change her mind.
So, the spot that was left open became like an apple hanging over everyone’s head.
The spot could be given to an educated youth; there was no requirement that it had to go to a commune member.
Bai Ling was extremely anxious. She wanted both opportunities—the university and the teaching job.
She wanted them both but knew that competing for either would be difficult.
To be a primary school teacher required a certain level of knowledge. Though she believed she was capable, among the educated youth, she wasn’t the top in terms of academics. She had graduated from junior high, but several others had finished high school. One or two had even regularly written articles for newspapers while in school, and recently had been actively submitting articles to Wu Guihua.
Her chances were slim.
As for the university spot—Bai Ling knew her reputation wasn’t great.
That spot would be decided by a vote among the production team’s leaders, and unfortunately, she had already offended Wu Guihua. Her relationship with Wang Ying, the unofficial barefoot doctor, was also poor.
Then there was Jiang Lei. Ever since Bai Ling embarrassed him during the wheat harvest, Jiang Lei had turned cold toward her, barely glancing at her now.
Jiang Lei had stayed at the accountant’s house, and Bai Ling was deeply worried he might have said bad things about her.
All things considered, Bai Ling realized she had pitifully few votes she could count on.
She mechanically bit her fingernails, her eyes darting around.
Ever since the wheat harvest, she’d been having a rough time—her skin had tanned, her waist had slimmed. But she had made some progress: she and Yu Pengcheng were more than just friends now—just one step away from making it official.
Bai Ling wanted to find a way, ideally to secure the university spot. After graduating, she’d have a stable job. Even if she couldn’t return to the city, she could land a decent government job in the commune.
Still, she planned to pursue both opportunities. If she couldn’t get into the university, at least the teaching job could be a fallback.
With this plan in mind, she turned and went looking for Yu Pengcheng.
Yu Pengcheng wasn’t interested in either opportunity. He had a little secret he hadn’t told anyone, and his heart was in turmoil.
When he saw Bai Ling coming over, he quickly put away a letter from home and started chatting with her.
It didn’t take long for Bai Ling to steer the conversation toward the university spot and the teacher position.
“Pengcheng, I don’t have the best health. I can’t keep up with everyone in the fields. If I could get into the Workers, Peasants, and Soldiers University, that would be great. After graduation, I could get a job, and then… the two of us could…”
Bai Ling feigned shyness and hinted at a deeper relationship.
But Yu Pengcheng frowned and said, “Comrade Bai, how can you think that way? We came to the countryside to help build it. Sure, the labor is hard, but that’s exactly why we need to face it! When things get tough, think of the Long March! When you’re tired, think of our revolutionary predecessors! We live in peaceful times now—we’re already very fortunate. If you can’t bear a little hardship, then you’re just running away, no matter where you go…”
Bai Ling was growing increasingly irritated with Yu Pengcheng. He never stopped spouting lofty ideals.
All that talk about hardship being character-building—if he truly believed that, why did he sneak off to eat better food? Why didn’t he work harder and stop slacking off?
The only thing tough about him was his mouth.
After getting lectured by Yu Pengcheng, Bai Ling didn’t even bring up the money she had wanted to borrow to pull some strings.
She figured if she had mentioned it, Yu Pengcheng would’ve nagged her until her ears fell off.
Feeling frustrated, she stepped outside and spotted Jiang Lei carrying laundry to wash.
She quickly ran up to him. “Comrade Jiang, do you need help?”
Since she couldn’t count on Yu Pengcheng, she had to find another way.
She knew Jiang Lei didn’t have money, but he had one strength—he was excellent at math.
Back in school, he flunked most subjects but consistently scored high in math.
Bai Ling wanted him to tutor her in math. Competition in Chinese was too fierce, but she still had a chance with math.
She was the exact opposite—she struggled badly with math. Jiang Lei was her only hope now.
Jiang Lei acted like he didn’t hear her. He just carried his basin and walked off. No matter how sweetly Bai Ling spoke, he wouldn’t budge.
Bai Ling got so angry, she blurted out without thinking: “Jiang Lei, I never imagined you’d be this kind of person! So what if I turned you down? Do you really have to be this petty?”
Jiang Lei let out a cold laugh. “Don’t try to make it sound so nice. Aren’t you just coming to me because you want me to do something for you? If everything was going well for you, you’d be saying I’m just like an older brother to you… Stop pretending!”
It was the first time Bai Ling had been so humiliated by Jiang Lei, and she was a little upset. “Am I not just telling the truth? Isn’t this all because I wouldn’t be with you, and now you’re taking revenge on me? Otherwise, why wouldn’t you help tutor me? You’re just holding a grudge! Jiang Lei, can’t you learn a bit from Yu Pengcheng? Be more generous and broad-minded? Why do you have to be so petty?”
Bai Ling looked angry, but she hadn’t lost her cunning. Why did she deliberately bring up Yu Pengcheng to Jiang Lei? Wasn’t it just to spark some competition between them? If they didn’t compete, how could she make herself seem more desirable?
Lately, Jiang Lei had, for some reason, stopped pestering her. If he had continued to pursue her, she might have already secured Yu Pengcheng by now.
Men are all the same—if they don’t feel like they’re competing, they lose interest.
Jiang Lei seemed to be moved by her words. He lowered his head and didn’t say a word. Bai Ling quickly added, “Jiang Lei, please help me. Right now, you’re the only one I can rely on. Only you can help me.”
After a long pause, Jiang Lei finally seemed to come to his senses and muttered, “Wait a few days, when everyone has some free time, we’ll talk about it.”
Bai Ling felt a surge of triumph. She knew it—she had never failed when it came to Jiang Lei!
“Then thank you so much.”
She turned and walked away. Now that she had what she wanted, she didn’t bother to keep humoring Jiang Lei.
What she didn’t know was that after she left, Jiang Lei gave a mocking smile behind her back.
The production team continued its enthusiastic discussions about the village elementary school. It was expected to open next spring, and they planned to select the teacher this winter. As the villagers chatted about the educated youth, November finally arrived.
With the arrival of November, the weather turned much colder. The production team entered the stage of preparing for the winter.
Grinding soybeans, trading for dried vegetables, slaughtering pigs and dividing the pork, going into the mountains to hunt wild boars…
One thing after another—it was all work.
Last year, Wang Ying had just arrived in this world and got married soon after, so preparing for winter had been a chaotic rush. This year was much calmer. She made a list and went with Xu Shuang on several trips to the county town, and finally managed to gather everything they needed.
One day, Tian Youfu came by.
“What? The production team wants to buy a radio too?”
Tian Youfu nodded. “This year, the price of apples and dates went up a bit. I think buying a radio would be great—like the one at your house, a big box. We can put it in the meeting hall. When people get tired of meetings, they can at least listen to the radio.”
Wang Ying was, of course, happy about this. Old Lady Xu treated her family’s radio like a treasure. People were allowed to come and listen, but if anyone expected her to carry it around, not a chance—she was terrified it would get broken.
If the production team had its own radio, that would be perfect, and the Xu family’s doorstep wouldn’t be crowded every day.
Wang Ying didn’t have to work hard to find the same vendor—Zhang San—who had sold her the radio. She bargained again and got the price down to thirty-two yuan, successfully bringing back a new assembled radio.
It was like New Year’s at the production team. Radios were no longer a novelty, but this one belonged to the whole team! In other words, it belonged to every single one of them!
The joy carried on and reached a peak on the day before the pork was to be divided.
“Oh my heavens, how on earth was this pig raised?! How can it be so fat!”
