Chapter 27 A tall, dark blue figure stood silently...

Just then, the creaking sound of wheels came from afar.

Shu Ran saw a dilapidated donkey cart slowly approaching. The driver was a worker in his forties, Old Yang, who was in charge of transporting feed for the company.

Old Yang saw the mess on the ground and Shu Ran lying on the ground, and reined in the donkey cart: "Oh dear! Teacher Shu? What happened here?"

Shu Ran struggled to her feet from the mud, ignoring her disheveled appearance and aching back, and forced an extremely awkward smile: "Uncle Yang is alright, the bucket hoop broke, and the water spilled..."

Old Yang sighed, "This bucket is old and the hoops aren't strong enough. Other women can carry two and a half buckets of water, but you're carrying such a heavy load. Why don't you ask someone to help you?"

Shu Ran didn't respond. She walked to the donkey cart, reached into her pocket, and pulled out the pack of Snow Lotus cigarettes she had just bought.

She held out the bottle to Old Yang with both hands, a smile on her face: "Uncle Yang, please have a smoke. Where are you going? Could you give me a bucket of water on your way? Just one! Look at what I have..."

She pointed to the half-full bucket of water on the ground and the completely broken bucket, "I really can't carry any more. The dorm is still waiting for water."

Old Yang glanced at the snow lotus cigarette offered to him, then at Shu Ran's miserable appearance, and then remembered that this girl had just saved Li Dazhuang a few days ago.

He scratched the back of his head, but eventually took the pack of cigarettes and put it in his pocket.

"Sigh, it's fate that we met. I was just on my way to the donkey shed to get hay and fodder, and I was passing by the back of your dormitory." Old Yang jumped off the cart and walked to the bucket that was still relatively intact. "Your bucket is cracked too, it can't be used anymore. Here, pour the water into this empty feed bucket of mine, I'll take one back for you to tide you over. As for your broken bucket, you can ask the logistics department to see if they can fix it."

Shu Ran was almost moved to tears: "Thank you! Thank you so much, Uncle Yang!" She thanked him repeatedly.

Old Yang helped her pour the half-bucket of water into a relatively clean empty bucket on the donkey cart. Shu Ran then laboriously moved the completely broken bucket and another bucket to the corner of the donkey cart to avoid getting in the way.

"Come on up, sit on the side of the car," Old Yang said.

Shu Ran didn't try to be brave and climbed onto the donkey cart. Old Yang gave a shout, and the old donkey grunted twice and started moving.

She watched the water stains recede behind the car and the completely ruined bucket, her gaze slowly calming down. She had finally brought that bucket of water back.

However, her soaked clothes, the cracked empty bucket, and the sight of her riding back in a donkey cart will likely soon become new accusations in Zhou Qiaozhen's mouth and fodder for gossip among some people in the company.

She touched her empty pockets. The pack of cigarettes was worth it, but it also made her realize that in this land, sometimes you really have to pay a price to live comfortably.

*

Although Old Yang's donkey cart was slow, it gave Shu Ran time to catch her breath and tidy herself up. She wrung out the water from her soaked trousers as much as possible, patted the mud off her clothes, and tucked her disheveled hair behind her ears.

The pain in her lower back was still sharp, but her eyes remained calm and composed. She knew that Zhou Qiaozhen would never let this opportunity to kick her while she was down slip by.

Sure enough, just as the donkey cart turned the last corner leading to the dugouts of the female workers' dormitory area, Zhou Qiaozhen's figure could be seen in the distance.

She didn't wait at the dormitory entrance, but deliberately chose this relatively open intersection connecting several rows of dugouts. She was surrounded by two or three women who were usually close to her, chatting warmly.

Zhou Qiaozhen's voice was neither too loud nor too soft, just loud enough for anyone who approached to hear. It carried an exaggerated sense of regret, but her eyes were glancing in the direction the donkey cart had come from, full of schadenfreude. "She's a pampered young lady from the city, with delicate skin and tender flesh. How could she do such rough work? Making her carry water is like taking her life. She's practically broken the buckets!"

A woman nearby chimed in, "Exactly! I heard she has cuts on her hands and a back injury too. Isn't this just making things difficult for her?"

"Difficult?" Zhou Qiaozhen immediately retorted with righteous indignation, "What kind of talk is that? Labor is glorious! Look at Sister-in-law Li Dazhuang, she has young children at home, but she still carries water and cooks, doesn't she? Comrade Shu Ran has a special background, so she should perform even better! The bucket breaking was an accident, but this attitude... tsk tsk, I think she doesn't take this labor to heart at all! You didn't see the way she talked to me at the intersection of the company headquarters just now, she even talked back!"

She cleverly reversed some of the facts, twisting Shu Ran's response into a backtalk.

The donkey cart creaked as it approached.

Several women chatting at the intersection and Zhou Qiaozhen all looked over. When they saw Shu Ran, covered in mud, on the donkey cart, and the two obviously cracked buckets on the cart, their expressions varied. Some were just watching the spectacle, some felt a little sympathy, and some, influenced by Zhou Qiaozhen's words, showed a slight disdain.

Before the donkey cart had come to a complete stop, Shu Ran, ignoring her back pain, nimbly jumped off the shaft. She didn't look at Zhou Qiaozhen, but instead bowed deeply to Old Yang, her voice clear and sincere: "Uncle Yang, we really owe you a debt of gratitude today! This bucket of water saved our dormitory from an emergency! Thank you!"

Old Yang waved his hand: "It's on the way, no need to be so polite! Teacher Shu, you should go back and change your clothes, don't catch a cold!" He drove the donkey cart back towards the donkey shed.

Shu Ran then turned around, her gaze calmly sweeping over Zhou Qiaozhen and the women around her. Her disheveled appearance contrasted sharply with the public perception that Zhou Qiaozhen was deliberately creating—a "spoiled young lady escaping labor."

"Teacher Shu, what... what happened?" A slightly worried voice rang out. Shu Ran looked in the direction of the voice and saw that Zhang Guifen had also appeared under a tree a little further away, holding a child in her arms. She had obviously come over after hearing the commotion. There were also two or three family members who had just brought their children to school standing nearby, including Wang Cuihua, the tall, thin woman who had delivered the lime earlier.

Shu Ran smiled at Zhang Guifen and the parents of the new students, saying, "It's nothing, Sister Guifen, Sister Wang. It's just that the bucket is old and the hoops weren't strong enough. The hoops suddenly broke halfway there, the water spilled, and I fell. Luckily, I ran into Uncle Yang's donkey cart, which helped me bring back the remaining water." She pointed to the bucket on the donkey cart, "At least everyone had water to use at night."

Her explanation was simple and direct, without any hint of complaining or shirking responsibility; she simply stated the unexpected facts and her remedial measures.

Upon hearing this, Zhang Guifen immediately took two steps forward, her voice soft but protective: "Oh dear! The bucket is broken? That's really no fault of Teacher Shu! That old cypress bucket has been used for so many years, the hoops are all rotten! Teacher Shu, did you fall? Is your back injury serious?"

She turned to Zhou Qiaozhen and said, "Qiaozhen, look, this bucket broke by accident, and Teacher Shu didn't do it on purpose. She even found a way to get the water back. So... let's forget about the apology and all that."

Wang Cuihua chimed in, "Yes, Teacher Shu is so dedicated to teaching the children. My child is still talking about it when he gets home. This water-fetching incident... it was an accident, an accident!"

Zhou Qiaozhen hadn't expected Zhang Guifen and Wang Cuihua to stand up for Shu Ran, especially Zhang Guifen, who carried considerable weight among the company's families because of Li Dazhuang's affair. Her carefully crafted arguments seemed somewhat weak and unconvincing.

Her face was somewhat grim, and she said stiffly, "The bucket breaking was an accident, but the fact remains that the work wasn't completed! The dormitory water tank isn't even full yet! This is a matter of responsibility..."

“The responsibility lies with me.” Shu Ran calmly took over the conversation, looking frankly at Zhou Qiaozhen. “I used the bucket, and since it’s broken, I’ll go to logistics to see if it can be repaired or reported as damaged. As for the water tank not being full…” She paused, her tone firm, “Comrade Zhou Qiaozhen, please rest assured, I will go and fetch more water first thing tomorrow morning, and I will definitely fill the tank. This half-bucket is just for now. I’m sorry for delaying everyone’s water supply.”

Her statement acknowledged the consequences of the accident, took responsibility, and expressed remorse. She adopted a humble stance while maintaining a firm moral compass. This contrasts sharply with Zhou Qiaozhen's persistent and unwavering approach, highlighting the superiority of her position.

The women who had been brought by Zhou Qiaozhen to gossip all had shifty eyes, too embarrassed to say anything more, and awkwardly made excuses to disperse.

Zhou Qiaozhen felt like she'd punched a pillow. She glared at Shu Ran, then smacked Zhang Guifen and Wang Cuihua, squeezing out through gritted teeth, "Hmph! All talk and no action! Tomorrow? I'll see how you manage to fill the void!" With that, she turned and stormed off toward the dormitory.

Zhang Guifen and Wang Cuihua breathed a sigh of relief and quickly stepped forward to help Shu Ran carry the bucket of water. Shu Ran politely declined, saying, "Sister-in-law, Sister Wang, I can manage; it's just a few steps. Thank you." She nodded gratefully to them.

Zhang Guifen hesitated for a moment, but in the end, she held her child and watched with Wang Cuihua and the others see Shu Ran off as she carried water toward the dugout.

Just as Shu Ran bent down to lift the heavy bucket of water, her peripheral vision inadvertently swept towards the company headquarters. Dozens of meters away, a tall, dark blue figure stood quietly watching her.

It is Chen Yuanjiang.

He had been standing there for an unknown amount of time. The sunlight outlined his slightly hard facial features: his high, straight nose had an unusual sharpness, his eye sockets were deeper than those of ordinary Han Chinese, and his thick eyelashes cast a small shadow under his eyes, obscuring the color of his pupils.

Even from a distance, it's hard to hide the charm that combines Han Chinese aesthetics with exotic flair.

His gaze swept over her trouser legs, which were soaked and stuck to her calves, and finally landed on the swaying bucket.

Shu Ran quickly lowered her head to hide her panic, and with all her might, lifted the bucket and headed towards the dugout.

Everything that had just happened at the intersection had been observed by those sharp yet calm eyes.

What did he see? And what did he think?

Shu Ran gripped the handle of the water bucket tightly. Although the water-carrying task had temporarily come to an end, the ripples it left behind, and the unknown waves that followed, were probably only just beginning to spread.

She gripped the handle of the bucket tightly. The packet of snow lotus cigarettes she'd used to escape her predicament was now empty in her pocket. And ahead lay the dugout, thick with the silent smoke of battle, waiting for her.

A note from the author:

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