Chapter 29 "Someone's following me?" Shu Ran asked, her voice trembling...
“Comrade Zhou Wenbin,” Shu Ran put down her chopsticks and looked directly at him, “Thank you for your kindness. However, I am now a teacher at Qiming Elementary School, and the children need my care. As for returning to Shanghai… I have a bad class background and dare not implicate you or your family’s connections. You can find your own way. I will find my own path myself.”
Her refusal was crisp and decisive, without any hesitation or lofty slogans like "taking root in the frontier and dedicating her youth." The reason was simple: she didn't believe your empty promises and didn't want to risk her own life.
Zhou Wenbin's expression froze instantly, turning extremely ugly. He hadn't expected Shu Ran to refuse so decisively.
"Hey, what are you talking about so seriously?" A clear voice interrupted. Xu Junjun, carrying a lunchbox, sat down next to Shu Ran with a smile, naturally squeezing Shu Ran closer to her, separating her from Zhou Wenbin. "Technician Zhou, are you imparting your agricultural science knowledge to our teacher Shu again?"
Her words were half-joking and half-deceptive, but her eyes were scrutinizing Zhou Wenbin.
Zhou Wenbin's face darkened further. He forced a smile and said, "Medical Officer Xu is joking. We were just chatting. You guys eat, I'll go get back to work." He picked up his almost untouched lunchbox and practically fled.
Watching Zhou Wenbin walk away, Xu Junjun's smile faded. She leaned closer to Shu Ran and whispered, "Did he tell you about the way back to Shanghai again?"
Shu Ran nodded, scooped up a spoonful of the bland vegetable soup and put it in her mouth; it had almost no flavor.
"Hmph, I knew it." Xu Junjun curled her lips, with the knowing and disdain of someone who had been there before. "A lot of people have been working on this behind the scenes lately. The temptation to go back to the city is too great, I can understand. But there are quite a few like him who are using this as a pretext to take advantage of girls."
Her tone became more serious, "Shu Ran, let me tell you, you absolutely mustn't believe his nonsense. I heard that there was a silly girl in the Third Company who believed some well-connected male educated youth, and the result... sigh, she lost everything, including her money and reputation. That guy has long since disappeared to who knows where!"
Shu Ran felt a chill run down her spine. Xu Junjun's words confirmed her suspicions. In this extraordinary era, the obsession with returning to the city was enough to drive some to desperate measures, and enough to turn others into wolves. She was thankful that she had remained clear-headed.
Shu Ran said softly, "I know what's important. It's just... when I hear the word 'go back,' my heart still skips a beat." This was the truth in her heart.
Xu Junjun nodded understandingly and patted her arm as a gesture of comfort. Then, as if remembering something, she frowned slightly: "By the way, I have something to tell you. Today I went to the company headquarters to deliver the medicine consumption list, and I overheard Company Commander Ma and Director Zhao having a meeting. It seemed like someone mentioned that we need to strengthen company management recently, especially... in terms of ideology and discipline."
She paused, lowering her voice even further: "It seemed they also mentioned being wary of a certain kind of ideological resurgence, and suggested some inappropriate items and strange clothes?" She gave Shu Ran a meaningful look. "From the tone of their conversation, it sounded like someone had specifically sent a message. You... be careful lately. Zhou Qiaozhen got the short end of the stick from you today, and who knows what underhanded tricks she might pull."
Not coming home late at night! Shu Ran's heart sank. Zhou Qiaozhen acted so quickly? Was she trying to pin a huge accusation on her, or even implicate her in other matters?
A thought flashed through my mind like lightning.
"Jun Jun!" Shu Ran put down her spoon, her tone urgent. "Do you have any books? Hygiene, first aid, or... agricultural knowledge, anything will do! Old ones are fine too!"
Xu Junjun was taken aback: "A book? What do you need that for? It's hard to find these days."
"I need it urgently!" Shu Ran's eyes were earnest. "I'm thinking of broadening the children's knowledge, and... also enriching myself. You know, I've practically worn out all my stuff. If you have any, I can borrow it for a few days! I promise I'll take good care of it and return it to you immediately after I'm done!"
Although Xu Junjun was a little suspicious of Shu Ran's urgency, she saw that Shu Ran's expression did not seem to be fake. After thinking for a moment, she said, "I have two books in my dormitory. One is 'The Barefoot Doctor's Handbook,' and the other is an agricultural technology booklet about how to grow cotton and prevent and control pests and diseases. They were distributed during training sessions before. Do you want to see them?"
"Yes! I want them all!" Shu Ran nodded immediately. "That's great! Jun Jun, you're a lifesaver! After we finish eating, I'll go to your dorm with you to get them, okay?"
Xu Junjun was amused by her: "Alright, alright, look how anxious you are. Let's go get it together after we finish eating."
“By the way,” Xu Junjun finished the last bite of her rice, leaned close to Shu Ran’s ear, and whispered in a voice only the two of them could hear, “When it’s completely dark and everyone has turned off the lights, let’s meet at the usual place. I’ll bring a basin, a towel, and soap to come and ‘change your dressing.’”
Shu Ran nodded knowingly. The two young women exchanged a knowing glance.
As the noise in the cafeteria gradually subsided, Shu Ran and Xu Junjun exchanged a glance and stood up in tacit agreement.
Xu Junjun led Shu Ran across the dirt road of the company and headed towards the dugout where the medic and several female educated youths lived together.
Xu Junjun's dugout was slightly larger and more tidy than Shu Ran's, and it was filled with a faint smell of disinfectant and herbs.
Lifting the curtain and going inside, I saw two young women sitting around a small wooden table covered with old newspapers. One was mending clothes, the other was reading old newspapers, and the third was tidying up a pile of dried dandelions.
"Jun Jun is back?" The girl mending clothes looked up, saw Shu Ran, and gave her a kind smile. "Teacher Shu is here too? Come in and sit down."
"Xiaoling, Hongmei," Xu Junjun greeted them one by one, her tone familiar, "Shuran wants to borrow two books to read, I brought her to get them."
"Teacher Shu wants to read books? That's great!" Xiaoling, who was reading the newspaper, put it down and said enthusiastically, "Books are rare here, we only have a few *** and agricultural technology manuals. Junjun has more professional books."
Hongmei, who was arranging the herbs, looked up and smiled, "Teacher Shu, please sit down. It's a small space, don't mind."
Shu Ran quickly said, "I'm sorry to bother you, I'll just grab a book and leave."
She sensed an atmosphere completely different from her dormitory, lacking the oppressive atmosphere brought by Zhou Qiaozhen and filled with the relatively simple goodwill among young educated youth.
Xu Junjun dragged an old wooden box from under her bunk, opened it, and inside, besides medicine and gauze, were several books.
She took out two books: one was a dark green-covered "Barefoot Doctor's Manual" with rough, thick paper; the other two were thin, yellowish-brown booklets with "Saline-Alkali Soil Improvement" and "Key Points of Cotton Planting Techniques" printed on their covers, respectively.
"Here, these are the few books. Take a look at them first." Xu Junjun handed them to Shu Ran.
Shu Ran accepted the book as if it were a precious treasure, and thanked her repeatedly: "Thank you so much, Jun Jun! I'll return it as soon as I've finished reading it!" She carefully held the book in her arms.
After a few more brief pleasantries, Shu Ran took her leave. Back in the dormitory, Sister Wang and Li Xiulan were already lying down, snoring softly. Zhou Qiaozhen wasn't there; she was probably still visiting other people in the company.
She quietly climbed onto her bunk and, in the dark, opened her camphor wood chest. After rummaging around for a while, she quietly took her canvas bag and went to the company headquarters.
The offices next to the tool shed and classroom were all dark; the cadres had long since gone home.
She arrived at the classroom and, by the faint moonlight streaming through the window, quickly opened her handbag. She took out the silk nightgown, wrapped it tightly in an old piece of homespun cloth, and placed it at the very bottom of the mud-brick teacher's desk.
She wrapped the face cream and the remaining soap in oil paper and hid them in a dusty, broken earthenware jar in the corner of the classroom.
Back in the dormitory, Sister Wang and Li Xiulan were already lying down, snoring softly. Zhou Qiaozhen remained motionless with her back to the door, it was unclear whether she was asleep or not.
She quietly climbed onto her bunk, lay down fully clothed, closed her eyes, and waited for the night to fall.
Only when three even breaths echoed from inside the dugout did Shu Ran quietly get up. She picked up the small basin and towel she had prepared and slipped out.
Xu Junjun was already waiting in the shadows of the corner where they had agreed to meet. The two of them crouched down and crept towards the tamarisk bushes.
The two walked very carefully, trying not to make a sound. When they were still several dozen meters away from the spring, Xu Junjun suddenly grabbed Shu Ran's arm with great force.
"Wait!" Xu Junjun's voice was very low. She listened intently, her face appearing somewhat pale in the moonlight.
Shu Ran's heart leaped into her throat, and she held her breath. Besides the sound of the wind and the wailing of the red willows, she seemed to catch something unusual—not far behind her, there seemed to be extremely faint, intermittent footsteps.
"Is someone following me?" Shu Ran asked in a low voice, a cold sweat instantly breaking out on her back. Had Zhou Qiaozhen's "not coming home late at night" rumor already attracted so many busybodies so quickly?
Xu Junjun nodded nervously and pointed to a denser shadow behind her: "Hide inside!"
The two quickly ducked down and hid behind a particularly dense clump of red willows, pressing themselves tightly against the cold sand. Xu Junjun's palms were icy cold and covered in sweat.
The footsteps seemed to pause for a moment, as if searching for direction. Then, a blurry dark figure appeared on the path they had just walked, furtively looking around as if trying to figure out where they had gone.
Shu Ran could clearly hear her own heartbeat and Xu Junjun's breathing.
The dark figure lingered for several minutes, but finding no trace of them, mumbled a curse under its breath. Finally, it gave up the search and left dejectedly.
Only when they were sure the footsteps had completely disappeared did the two dare to breathe heavily, still shaken.
"That scared me to death..." Xu Junjun patted her chest, her voice still trembling, "It must have been Zhou Qiaozhen who spread those words! I don't know which idle bastard was thinking of!"
Shu Ran was still shaken, a chill running down her spine. She looked towards the spring, her expression grave: "We can't bathe tonight, it's too dangerous."
What if that person hasn't gone far, or there are other people around?
The two cautiously approached the spring. In the moonlight, Shu Ran's heart sank even further.
The rate at which water seeps out from that small leak point has noticeably slowed down.
"The water... seems to be running low?" Xu Junjun noticed as well, her voice filled with worry.
Shu Ran squatted down and dipped her finger in the water. "Hmm, it seems this water source is unstable." This discovery weighed heavily on her heart. The secret she relied on to maintain a semblance of cleanliness was so fragile.
The two dared not linger, hastily filled a meager half-basin with water in an enamel basin, and prepared to leave.
Just as I stepped out of the tamarisk bushes, a tall figure stood quietly on a hillside not far ahead, the moonlight outlining his dark blue military uniform and his stern profile.
Chen Yuanjiang!
He had clearly seen them too, his gaze sweeping over the enamel basins in their hands and their wet hands, his eyes scrutinizing them.
Shu Ran and Xu Junjun froze on the spot, their scalps tingling. Oh no! Why did they have to run into him of all times!
A note from the author:
----------------------
Hey everyone, let me see your hands in the comments section! [cheering emojis] [cheering emojis] [cheering emojis]
Hey there, friends! Please add this to your favorites! [clapping][clapping][clapping]
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
