"What's in the letter? Did your family write to scold you for being gone so long?" Wu Zheng leaned in curiously, hooking his shoulder to peek, but Gu Xingdong quickly folded the letter and placed it on the table.
Wu Zheng: "Are we being so stingy with each other given our relationship?"
Gu Xingdong raised an eyebrow. His long brows almost slanted into his temples, giving him a look of stern handsomeness. He smiled dismissively, "Then shall I be more generous?"
Wu Zheng suddenly had a bad feeling.
"No need, no need, it was my mouth that spoke carelessly, I'm leaving first." Wu Zheng said, quickly heading for the door. But he was still a step too late.
"You'll join the twenty-kilometer weighted cross-country run this afternoon."
A faint voice came from behind him, and Wu Zheng let out a wail.
Gu Xingdong gently scraped his brow twice until he heard the door close.
His family had arranged a marriage for him.
His eyes half-lowered, his gaze fell back on the letter on the table.
The letter was from his younger sister, Gu Xingping. She was only in primary school when he left, and now she was in junior high.
The letter was three pages long. Apart from the beginning, which reported that everything was fine at home, the remaining two and a half pages were all about praising his 'third sister-in-law'.
It said she had resolutely married him, who was widely believed to be 'already dead', disregarding societal norms. It described her as the most beautiful, intelligent, and best cook she had ever met.
How many people could a young girl like her have met? However, from the lines of the letter, it was clear that his younger sister and the whole family liked this woman very much.
This made him somewhat curious. What kind of woman could make his whole family praise her so highly?
Chen Lishu, who had successfully piqued Gu Xingdong's interest, was completely unaware of this. She didn't even know what Gu Xingping's letter said.
She was currently struggling with a question in a book. The book was borrowed from her paternal aunt Gu Xingping's fifth-grade textbook.
Due to poor family conditions and the need to take care of her younger sisters, she had to drop out of school after completing fifth grade. Moreover, having been away from studies for so long in her previous life, she had forgotten most of what she had learned.
Just as she was about to take the book to Gu Xingping's room to ask, the clock in Gu Xingmin's room next door chimed. Listening carefully, she realized it was already eleven o'clock at night. She had to go to work tomorrow. Chen Lishu thought for a moment, clipped a bookmark to mark the page, and decided to ask tomorrow when she had time. Then, she got up and went back to bed.
The next day, as soon as the rooster crowed for the first time, Chen Lishu's eyes fluttered open. She was accustomed to reciting a passage of text every morning before joining everyone at the production team.
Since no one was there to teach her, she had to resort to this most rudimentary method of learning. Her mind was clear in the morning, so she could memorize a passage and then ponder it repeatedly while working.
After finally reciting several passages and a classical poem, she heard movement from the outer room and quickly tidied her books before pushing open the door.
Her eldest sister-in-law, Zhang Qin, and her mother-in-law, Li Xiulan, were preparing to cook. Chen Lishu also went to help.
Today, the production team was starting to sow seeds. After breakfast, the family went to the team headquarters to wait for the team leader to assign tasks.
Chen Lishu was assigned to the second team, responsible for working with another person to transport seeds to the fields. When she clearly saw her partner, Chen Lishu froze.
The person in front of her was none other than Xu Ning, a sent-down youth who had been the only one from their village to be admitted to university in her previous life.
Due to her peculiar family circumstances, Xu Ning had a rather reclusive personality, and many of the sent-down youths didn't speak to her.
Later, after she married Lu Chengming, she learned that although Xu Ning's family was from the provincial capital, they had a mother with a mental illness, and her brother seemed to have the intelligence of a six or seven-year-old due to an illness in childhood. She was the second child, with younger siblings below her.
When she was sent down to the countryside, the factory, out of consideration for her family's circumstances, gave her an extra employee quota. She gave it to her elder brother.
Everyone called her foolish. Some even cruelly said her family had a "fool's root" and it was contagious.
Chen Lishu looked at the frail and slender woman in front of her and smiled kindly, "My name is Chen Lishu."
Xu Ning hadn't expected her to speak to her. Her mouth slightly parted, and her eyes were filled with astonishment.
Chen Lishu smiled again.
Xu Ning's face turned red, "My name is Xu Ning."
Her voice was not loud, but Chen Lishu still heard it.
"It will be difficult for us to carry a sack of this size such a long distance, so why don't we pour some into the baskets first? We'll make up for the lost time with more trips," Chen Lishu suggested, patting the sack, which was as thick as her waist.
The sacks contained seeds mixed with fertilizer. They were unloaded by the team's horse-drawn cart at the edge of the field. Then, people carried the sacks one by one to the fields, while another group poured the seeds out into baskets to be scattered little by little.
The front row dug holes, the back row planted seeds, and finally, the soil was covered. The division of labor was clear, and there was a comparison between teams. If a team fell behind, they would be ridiculed.
Hearing her suggestion, Xu Ning's eyes flickered. Knowing that Chen Lishu was deliberately taking care of her, she pursed her lips and nodded.
The two first poured some of the seeds into the baskets, then tied up the sacks, and walked towards the center of the field one after another.
Because the fields were ridged, walking in the furrows was already difficult. Moreover, carrying half a sack of seeds in their hands, they almost fell several times.
The day passed laboriously, and the two of them got to know each other.
On the following two days, Xu Ning occasionally heard Chen Lishu reciting something and couldn't help but ask, "Are you memorizing your lessons?"
Chen Lishu nodded. Feeling a bit ashamed in front of her, who was a future university student, she said, "Conditions were poor before, and now that I want to learn but don't know where to start, I have to memorize lessons."
Xu Ning thought for a moment and said, "Just memorizing lessons won't be very effective. For Chinese, you should read more books and take notes, and for math, you need to do more practice problems."
Chen Lishu gave a wry smile, "I can't even solve the problems in the textbook, let alone have the energy to do other problems."
Her paternal aunt Gu Xingping, who went to school, also had homework to do when she returned. The time she could spare to answer questions was limited.
"If you trust me, you can copy down the problems you don't understand, and I'll explain them to you when I have time." Xu Ning was very willing to help someone like Chen Lishu, who was so diligent even after getting married.
"Can you really?"
Seeing Xu Ning nod, Chen Lishu's clear, apricot-shaped eyes shone even brighter.
"Thank you, thank you, Comrade Xu Ning, for being willing to help me." Chen Lishu was so excited she didn't know what to say.
This opportunity was too precious for her. For someone with such a poor foundation, learning on her own versus having someone teach her made a world of difference.
Xu Ning hadn't thought much of it at first. Being treated this way made her a little embarrassed. However, she also found it a bit amusing and even thought the girl opposite her was a little cute.
...
With a "rumble," the first spring thunderclap sounded, and Qingshan Village welcomed its first spring rain.
Because of the rain, everyone had to stay indoors to avoid it. Chen Lishu looked at the many hairpins she had accumulated and decided to make a trip to town.