Chapter 95 A Tacit Understanding
Since that misunderstanding, the relationship between Shu Ran and Chen Yuanjiang has fallen into a delicate state.
On the surface, everything seemed normal. Chen Yuanjiang continued his patrols as usual, occasionally passing by the school, his gaze habitually sweeping over the classrooms.
Shu Ran remained busy with teaching and literacy education, working in collaboration with Lin Xuezhou.
But some things are different now.
Shu Ran could sense that Chen Yuanjiang was deliberately avoiding being alone with her. Even when they did meet, his words were brief, and their eye contact was fleeting.
Shu Ran felt a little helpless, yet also somewhat amused. This man, who didn't even flinch in the face of enemy agents and border sandstorms, fled in panic at her casual question.
She wasn't in a hurry. Feelings can't be forced, especially for someone like Chen Yuanjiang who is thoughtful and has many concerns.
Shu Ran continued with her life as usual. She carefully kept this subtle feeling to herself, not letting it disturb her peace of mind. She knew exactly what she wanted; she had established herself in this land not through anyone's favor, but through the value she created and her irreplaceable work abilities.
Relationships can be a spice in life, but they should never be the center of attention. Her focus is on the career plans she has just begun to develop.
The positive effects of Deputy Political Commissar Lin's inspection are still ongoing. Beyond the supplies, even more valuable is the formal attention and resource allocation from the Division's Education Section. Director Sun clearly sees Qiming Primary School as a successful grassroots model and hopes to summarize and promote its experience.
One week later.
Although the steel plates and iron pens allocated by the division were useful, manual printing was a physically demanding job, especially pushing the ink rollers, which required considerable arm strength and skill.
Shu Ran printed materials for several days in a row, and her right wrist was sore and swollen. When she was grading homework in the evening, she had some difficulty holding the pen.
After school that day, she was rubbing her wrists and looking at the small stack of wax paper waiting to be printed on the table, feeling worried, when the classroom door was pushed open.
It is Chen Yuanjiang.
As if on a routine inspection, his gaze swept around the classroom before finally settling on Shu Ran's wrist-rubbing motion and the stack of wax paper.
Shu Ran looked up and saw him with some surprise, then lowered her hand: "Officer Chen."
Chen Yuanjiang grunted and walked in. His gaze lingered on her wrist for a moment before moving to the stack of wax paper and the ink roller beside it.
"Are there still so many unprinted?" he asked, his voice less distant than it had been a few days ago.
"Yeah, my wrist was a little weak, so I was a bit slow," Shu Ran said honestly, without trying to play the victim or complaining.
Chen Yuanjiang was silent for a few seconds, then walked to the table, picked up the heavy ink roller, and weighed it in his hand.
"That's not how you use it," he suddenly said. "You need to apply even force and maintain a steady speed. If you push it like that, it'll be a waste of energy and you won't get a good print."
Shu Ran raised an eyebrow at him: "Special Envoy Chen knows about this?"
Chen Yuanjiang didn't look at her; his gaze was focused on the ink rollers and wax paper. "I used to help print briefings at the division headquarters."
As he spoke, he began adjusting the position of the wax paper, then grasped the ink roller and demonstrated by pushing it. The movement was indeed smooth and even, producing clear, rich ink, significantly better than the results of Shu Ran Printing.
Shu Ran looked at it and sincerely praised, "It's really amazing."
Chen Yuanjiang didn't reply, continuing to push the ink roller again and again. The only sound in the classroom was the soft rustling of the ink roller cutting through the wax paper.
As Shu Ran watched his skillful movements, the little bit of resentment in her heart suddenly vanished.
She didn't disturb him, but sat quietly to the side organizing the printed papers, occasionally handing him a new sheet of wax paper.
The two didn't exchange many words, yet the atmosphere was no longer awkward. The afterglow of the setting sun cast their overlapping shadows onto the earthen wall.
When the last stencil was printed, Chen Yuanjiang put down the ink roller and naturally picked up a clean old cloth to wipe the ink off his hands.
Shu Ran handed over a damp towel: "Wipe yourself off, this is better than a dry cloth."
Chen Yuanjiang paused for a moment, took the towel, and said softly, "Thank you."
He wiped his hands, but his gaze involuntarily drifted towards Shu Ran. She was bending down, organizing the printed documents, the setting sun casting a halo around her.
At that moment, the classroom was quiet, and he could almost hear his own heartbeat.
Shu Ran seemed to notice his gaze and looked up to meet his eyes.
"Shu Ran," he suddenly called her name.
"Hmm?" Shu Ran responded, a thought flashing through her mind.
Chen Yuanjiang looked at her, seemingly having mustered a great deal of courage, before saying, "That night... please don't mind what I said."
He didn't specify which sentence, but both of them knew the meaning.
Shu Ran smiled at his earnest apology and said in a relaxed tone, "I've already forgotten. Besides, didn't you help me print so many documents? Consider it making up for what you did wrong."
Looking at the smile on her face, Chen Yuanjiang finally felt a little relieved.
His gaze fell on her wrist, which he had been massaging earlier. "You can call me for any kind of strenuous work in the future."
The words were still concise, but both of them understood the meaning behind them.
Shu Ran didn't refuse or act coy; she simply looked at him calmly and nodded, "Okay."
Chen Yuanjiang seemed to breathe a sigh of relief, and his whole body relaxed. He folded the clean towel and placed it on the table, saying in a low voice, "I'm leaving."
"Hmm." Shu Ran watched him walk to the door, then suddenly remembered something, "Chen Yuanjiang."
He immediately stopped and turned to look at her.
"Thank you." Shu Ran looked at him, her eyes clear and sincere. "Thank you for helping me print the documents, and thank you... for everything you did for me before."
Chen Yuanjiang's lips curled up slightly, and he turned and left without saying anything more.
Since then, Chen Yuanjiang seems to have returned to his previous frequency of appearances around the school, or even increased it. He no longer deliberately avoids contact with Shu Ran, and although he still doesn't talk much, the warmth in his eyes is clearly different.
*
After several autumn rains, the summer heat completely dissipated, and the company welcomed its brief autumn. The sky was higher, the clouds were lighter, and the wind carried the scent of grass and trees.
What's even more exciting than the weather changes is the new atmosphere in the livestock farm.
The effects of the division's resource allocation became apparent this autumn.
Most striking were the several rammed earth houses that stood on the open ground to the east of the company headquarters. The walls were thick, and the roofs were covered with freshly cut reeds and smoothed with mud. Although they were still mud houses, they were a world apart from the low dugouts.
This was built by the company using some building materials approved by higher authorities, with the workers using their spare time to tamp it down, one pound at a time. The plan is to give priority to distributing it to the few workers with the most housing difficulties and young married couples.
Every day after work, many people gather in front of those new houses to discuss them, their faces filled with envy and anticipation.
"Look at this wall, how thick it is! It will definitely be warm in winter!"
"I wish we could get a number too..."
Looking at the new house, Sister Wang's eyes revealed longing, but even more so, happiness for the company: "This is a great thing! With this as a start, our company's houses will become more and more decent in the future!"
The main dirt road in the company was also carefully repaired. Potholes were filled in, and the road surface was repeatedly compacted with stone rollers. Although it was still muddy on rainy days, it was much smoother to walk on on ordinary days.
The rows of small white poplar saplings planted on both sides of the road, though not yet able to provide shade, bring a vibrant touch of green to this earthy yellow landscape.
"If these trees grow, we'll have a shady spot in the summer!" Li Xiulan would always take a second look at the saplings when she passed by on her way to fetch water. Now, in addition to her work at the tofu shop, she was also more adept at helping Shu Ran manage the supplies for the literacy class, and she seemed much more confident.
Subtle improvements in the environment are gradually permeating the daily lives of the company.
At Qiming Elementary School, the children are now using new notebooks and pencils, no longer having to painstakingly erase and rewrite on the back of discarded report papers.
Shu Ran and Lin Xuezhou's teaching partnership became increasingly seamless. Under Shu Ran's guidance, the children in the basic class were already able to use words and construct sentences. Under Lin Xuezhou's systematic teaching, the advanced group not only mastered the basic knowledge more and more firmly, but even began to learn to write diaries and compositions.
In the crisp autumn air, Shu Ran sometimes moves her classes outdoors, letting the children sit under the shade of manicured roadside trees. Although the shadows cast by the saplings are still small, they provide adequate shade. Watching the adults busily engaged in the autumn harvest, the children learn about "harvesting every grain" and "hard work." Knowledge is thus integrated into their everyday lives.
Chen Yuanjiang's figure blended more and more naturally into the scene where Shu Ran was.
That evening, Shu Ran saw off the last child and was about to return to her dugout when she saw Chen Yuanjiang standing next to the row of newly planted poplar saplings, bending down to add soil to a sapling that was leaning slightly.
He moved very carefully, holding onto the slender tree trunk while tamping the surrounding soil down with his feet.
Shu Ran watched quietly. Only after he finished his work and straightened up did she walk over.
"Special Envoy Chen, are you done with your work?" she asked in a relaxed tone.
Chen Yuanjiang turned around at the sound of her voice, and when he saw it was her, his eyes softened slightly. He nodded and said, "Yes. This tree is a bit unstable; I'm afraid it won't withstand the wind."
"With you watching over them, they'll definitely grow well," Shu Ran said with a smile, handing over her handkerchief. "Wipe your sweat."
Chen Yuanjiang looked at the clean handkerchief, hesitated for a moment, and did not take it. Instead, he raised his hand and wiped his forehead with his sleeve: "No need, it's dirty."
Shu Ran didn't insist. She put away her handkerchief and stood beside him, looking at the row of small saplings.
"When these trees grow up, we can enjoy the shade here in the summer, and the children will have a place to play," Shu Ran said with anticipation.
"Mm." Chen Yuanjiang responded, his gaze fixed on the distance, where wisps of smoke rose from chimneys and the outline of the new house appeared in the twilight. "Things will only get better."
Shu Ran turned her head to look at him, and she suddenly felt that this autumn, not only was the environment of the company changing, but something was also quietly growing between her and this man.
“Yes,” she agreed softly, “it will get better and better.”
The two stood quietly for a while until the sun sank below the horizon. A cool evening breeze blew by, carrying the scent of freshly turned earth.
"Let's go back, it's getting windy," Chen Yuanjiang said in a low voice.
"Okay." Shu Ran nodded.
The two walked one after the other along the much smoother, repaired dirt road, heading towards the dugout.
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