Chapter 26 The sales clerk gave her a surprised look...
Shu Ran recalled Chen Yuanjiang's businesslike yet implicitly supportive words as she walked along the dirt road leading to the dormitory. She pondered how to refine the evaluation criteria for the Young Pioneers and how to explain to the children the less exciting news that "the red scarf needs to wait for approval from higher authorities."
Just as we rounded the corner of the row of adobe houses at the company headquarters, we saw Zhou Qiaozhen slip out of Zhao Weidong's office.
Zhou Qiaozhen's face was expressionless, but her eyes were full of smugness and coldness. She had obviously seen Shu Ran as well, paused for a moment, and then walked straight over.
The two bumped into each other in the middle of the dusty road.
Zhou Qiaozhen stopped, crossed her arms, and raised her chin to look at Shu Ran: "Oh, Comrade Shu Ran, you're such a busy person! In the middle of the day, instead of teaching the kids in the classroom or staying in the dormitory, you're going around visiting other people's homes?" She deliberately emphasized the words "visiting other people's homes".
Shu Ran stopped, her brows furrowing slightly. She didn't want to get entangled, especially not to cause trouble at the entrance of the company department, and simply asked, "Zhou Qiaozhen, is there something you need?"
"Something wrong? Of course something's wrong!" Zhou Qiaozhen's voice seemed to attract someone's attention from the mud-brick house next door, who then peeked out and retreated.
"The water tank in the dorm is empty! It's your turn to fetch water! What time is it? Do you want everyone to eat dry cornbread tonight, or do you want everyone to act like a capitalist lady and wash their faces with face cream?!"
Shu Ran felt a chill run down her spine, knowing that she was referring to the soap and face cream she had given out last night.
Her voice remained steady: "I understand. What about Sister Wang and Xiulan? What happened to them today..."
"Them?" Zhou Qiaozhen scoffed, interrupting Shu Ran. "Sister Wang went to the battalion clinic to get medicine. Li Xiulan? The tofu shop in the sideline production team is rushing to finish its work and they're short-handed, so I had their squad leader temporarily transfer her over to help! Today, this water supply is all up to you, the people's teacher! What? You want someone to replace you? Comrade Shu Ran, this is the Production and Construction Corps, we value self-reliance! You want special treatment? To have someone else do your work?"
Shu Ran's heart sank. Sister Wang and Li Xiulan were both sent away at the same time? What a coincidence! Zhou Qiaozhen had timed this perfectly, intending to isolate and leave her helpless. Looking at the undisguised malice in Zhou Qiaozhen's eyes, she knew the other woman wanted to see her humiliated and embarrassed, hoping to leave her with grounds for accusations of "avoiding labor" or "a bourgeois young lady who can't endure hardship."
Seeing Shu Ran's silence, Zhou Qiaozhen assumed she was scared and became even more arrogant. She took a step closer, exuding a self-righteous sense of justice: "Shu Ran, don't think I don't know what you're thinking! Just because you studied at a teachers' college a few days ago, you think you're superior because you can fool the leaders? Bah! Let me tell you, I have impeccable revolutionary credentials! I hate parasites like you the most! What's wrong with asking you to fetch water? Labor is the most glorious thing! This is your chance to reform! Don't be ungrateful!"
She spoke quickly and urgently, with a sense of superiority. She straightened her back, as if she were the embodiment of justice.
Shu Ran listened quietly, a sudden realization dawning on her. So that's how it is. It wasn't just jealousy of a possible spot on the propaganda team, nor was it just disapproval of her pampered upbringing and background; the deeper reason was probably…
She remembered the information that Sister Wang had once told her.
Shu Ran raised her eyes, her gaze sharp as she looked into Zhou Qiaozhen's eyes: "Comrade Zhou Qiaozhen, I understand your belief in the glory of labor. I will fetch the water; I will never shirk my responsibilities. However," she paused, her tone carrying a hint of understanding, "your hostility towards me is probably not just because of my family's past social class, nor is it simply because I used a little soap, is it?"
Zhou Qiaozhen's heart skipped a beat under her gaze, and she instinctively wanted to retort, "What nonsense are you talking about..."
“I heard,” Shu Ran interrupted her, her words slow but clear, “that your uncle is Company Commander Hao of the Eighth Company?”
Seeing Zhou Qiaozhen's face turn pale instantly, Shu Ran knew she had guessed correctly. "You're an educated youth who came to stay with your uncle. To avoid suspicion, your uncle arranged for you to be assigned to our livestock company, a brother company. Originally, your uncle wanted to help you pull some strings to get a position as a primary school teacher in the company, right?"
Zhou Qiaozhen unconsciously tightened her arms around her, she hadn't expected Shu Ran to know all this!
"It's a pity," Shu Ran's voice carried a hint of cruelty, reopening Zhou Qiaozhen's deepest wound, "I came. I was parachuted into this position. You must have thought back then that I got in through connections, even more powerful than your uncle, which is why you couldn't compete with me, right?"
"Shut up!" Zhou Qiaozhen's voice was somewhat out of control, her eyes were panicked and fierce.
"And then?" Shu Ran continued calmly, without backing down, "Then you realize that I didn't rely on any special connections at all. You realize that Officer Chen supported me because I genuinely understand teaching; I'm a proper teacher trainee. You realize that I can quiet those mischievous kids down, teach them to read and sing, and establish this primary school..."
"Stop talking!" Zhou Qiaozhen interrupted abruptly, her chest heaving violently, her face filled with nothing but jealousy and hatred.
Shu Ran's words were like a knife, peeling away her carefully concealed pride and excuses, revealing the unbearable truth beneath.
She couldn't compete, not only because her connections weren't strong enough, but also because she herself was inadequate! Her junior high school education, which she was so proud of, paled in comparison to those who were actually teachers! This was more painful for her than a simple defeat; it shattered her pitiful self-esteem and completely broke her.
She stared intently at Shu Ran, her eyes blazing with a desire to devour her whole. Her voice was hoarse with jealousy and humiliation: "Shu Ran! What are you so smug about?! Yes! You're a teacher's college student! You're amazing! You're high and mighty! So what?! In this Gobi Desert, in this production and construction corps, what good is just being a teacher?! Your class background is bad! You're just a spoiled young lady who needs reform! You wait! Let's see how long you can be so smug! You'll have to carry this water today, whether you like it or not! Let's see how long your spoiled brat attitude lasts! If you don't fill the tank, or if you delay everyone's water supply, you'll be making a self-criticism at the company meeting!"
She practically yelled her last few words, then, filled with rage and resentment, she rushed towards the women's dormitory without looking back, her back view radiating the swagger and pathetic demeanor of a loser.
Shu Ran stood there, watching Zhou Qiaozhen's retreating figure, which was almost a complete rout. She felt no sense of victory, only a heavy heart.
So that's where the root of the problem lies. A deep-seated resentment born from the disillusionment of selfish desires. She knew that Zhou Qiaozhen's hostility wouldn't dissipate; it would only intensify now that her facade had been completely ripped away.
She knew that with her physical condition, carrying a full vat of water was almost an impossible task; falling halfway or not being able to carry it at all were the most likely outcomes. But she couldn't not go.
We must prepare for the worst.
Instead of heading straight to the well, Shu Ran turned and walked towards the supply and marketing cooperative in the center of the company. The sales clerk was still listless. Shu Ran's gaze quickly swept across the shelves and landed on a cardboard box in the corner.
"Comrade, could you please bring me a pack of Snow Lotus cigarettes?" Shu Ran said. This is a local Xinjiang cigarette brand, a staple for many of the veteran smokers in the company.
The sales clerk glanced at her with surprise, seemingly not understanding why this seemingly delicate young woman wanted to buy cigarettes, but still took a pack out of the box and handed it to her.
Shu Ran paid and carefully tucked the flat cigarette pack into her pocket. In case she really couldn't carry it all or something went wrong, she might be able to get a "take a can on my way" offer from a worker driving a donkey cart or horse-drawn carriage.
The well is located in a low-lying area about one kilometer west of the company headquarters. Rather than a well, it is more like a water storage pit simply built of stones and dug deep. Some people also call it a water storage dam.
There, water from a distant canal and some seeping shallow groundwater converged. Two wooden stakes stood beside the well, upon which rested a well-worn carrying pole—a communal water-carrying tool.
Shu Ran walked to the well and put down the two cypress buckets that the company had issued to her. She first picked up the communal wooden bucket hanging on the stake, which was lighter than the cypress bucket. She tied a long hemp rope to it, and laboriously turned the creaking wooden wheel to slowly lower the bucket into the water. After filling the bucket with water, she gritted her teeth and slowly turned it up.
She poured water from the communal bucket into her own cypress bucket. She repeated this process, filling four buckets before barely filling both buckets to about seven or eight tenths full. This was already the maximum weight her body could currently bear. Any full, and she wouldn't even be able to stand up.
Shu Ran picked up the elmwood carrying pole. It had iron hooks at both ends. She bent down and hooked the hooks onto the handles of two heavy water buckets. This simple action already made her back ache. She took a deep breath, slightly bent her knees, and simultaneously used her waist, abdomen, and arms to push off, "Hey!"
The bucket lifted off the ground, but the force that nearly crushed her spine instantly struck. Her vision went black, and she staggered before barely managing to regain her balance. She forced herself to take her first step.
The salt flats were uneven, riddled with pebbles and potholes. The heavy wooden barrel swayed violently with each step she took, splashing water that soaked her trousers and shoes.
She had walked less than 500 meters when the pain in her back became almost unbearable. Just then, she stepped on a loose stone.
Shu Ran's body suddenly tilted to the side. In order to maintain her balance, she subconsciously twisted her waist to try to steady the bucket.
There was a crisp "crack" sound.
It wasn't her bones; it was the old bamboo hoops near the bottom of the cypress bucket on the left that broke.
With the barrel walls no longer restrained, well water spilled onto the saline ground, creating a small patch of white mist that quickly seeped into the soil, leaving only a large wet stain.
The cypress barrel lay tilted to one side, its walls cracked, completely ruined.
Shu Ran was thrown forward by the huge inertia, and the bucket on her right also crashed heavily to the ground, spilling out a small portion of the water.
She knelt face down in the mud, ignoring the pain, her mind filled with thoughts of: "It's over... the water's spilled, and the bucket's broken..."
A note from the author:
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