Chapter 9 The calluses on his palms
Chapter Nine: The Calluses on His Palms
The most lively celebration day of the Torch Festival arrived as scheduled, and the farm was closed for a day and a half.
Lin Su had been looking forward to the Torch Festival for a long time. She had made an appointment with everyone to first stroll around the market, then go to the bonfire party after dark, and finally walk back together afterward.
After breakfast, Lin Su got dressed in her dormitory. Sun Xiaoqing pushed open the door and said, "I just ran into Xu Yaodong. He said the factory manager is going to the sugar factory, and the tractor has gone to haul coal again, so we have to walk to the commune."
After saying that, he looked at Lin Su and said, "You look quite good in this outfit."
Lin Su had her hair styled in two neat braids. She wore a white shirt, a high-waisted plaid skirt that accentuated her slender waist, and black buckled cloth shoes, a staple of the era. She smiled and said, "I just threw these together; they're all old clothes I brought with me."
Actually, it was a dress that the original owner's mother wore when she was young; her stepmother would never buy her a new dress.
"It looks good," she said, then thought for a moment, "I'll change into a dress for the big holiday too."
Lin Su asked worriedly, "Won't it be safe for us to walk back at night?"
"It's very safe. The streets are full of people, and everyone is carrying a torch, like they're on patrol."
The road from the commune to the farm is a main road, about five or six kilometers long, and takes about an hour to walk.
Lin Su said, "Then let's not get separated."
After getting ready, the group of girls chattered and walked toward the farm gate.
Zhou Yunqi was chatting with Deputy Director Guo, and Xu Yaodong was also nearby. Hearing the commotion, Zhou Yunqi looked up at the girls.
Lin Su stood in the crowd. Because of her fair skin and the fact that she hadn't been exposed to the sun much, she was very eye-catching. What was even more remarkable was her quiet and elegant temperament, like a fresh lily.
Seeing that their gazes seemed to be on her, Lin Su pursed her lips shyly and hid behind them.
Several girls greeted them warmly: "Farm manager, deputy farm manager."
Deputy Director Guo asked, "Going to the market?"
"Yes, I'll be attending the Torch Festival party tonight."
Zhou Yunqi said in a low voice, "Be careful on the road."
Everyone said goodbye and left the farm with smiles on their faces.
Xu Yaodong remarked from the side, "Xiao Lin looks so beautiful when she's dressed up. I bet she'll dance at the bonfire party too. I asked her last time if she could dance, and she said she could dance a little."
Zhou Yunqi: "..."
Xu Yaodong then asked, "Boss, after we finish our business, are we going to the Torch Festival?"
Zhou Yunqi walked towards the car: "We'll talk about it later."
In the afternoon, Zhou Yunqi walked out of the office carrying a paper bag. Xu Yaodong was chatting with someone in the factory yard. Zhou Yunqi turned his head towards him and said, "Let's go."
Xu Yaodong: "Back to the farm?"
"no."
"Where are we going?"
Zhou Yunqi didn't reply, and placed the paper bag in the middle of the seat.
Xu Yaodong looked at the bag curiously. Inside was a can of Pu'er tea, a gift from someone, and a notebook.
He couldn't help but open his eyes wide: "Is this a sketch drawn by Kobayashi?"
"Um."
"Boss, what are you doing with this?"
"it works."
Xu Yaodong noticed that his boss was acting strangely today, as if he was hiding something.
Having followed him for a long time, he knew that he wouldn't say what he didn't want to say. However, Xu Yaodong always felt that he seemed to be in a bad mood and somewhat restless these past two days, which was out of character for the usually calm and composed man.
As the car passed the farm, he didn't turn in but drove straight ahead. Xu Yaodong asked again, "Boss, are we going to the commune?"
Zhou Yunqi finally said, "Let's go sit with the principal of the central primary school."
We're actually going to see the principal? But what's the purpose of seeing the principal? Does the school also need to purchase sugar as a benefit for teachers?
The central primary school was not far from the commune market. The car was parked at the school gate, and Zhou Yunqi instructed, "Go to the market and find her first. After I see the principal, I will meet you at the commune restaurant."
"She" refers to Lin Su?
Xu Yaodong was completely bewildered.
Yes, who else could it be but her?
Xu Yaodong stroked his chin as he walked toward the market.
Lately, the boss seems to be bothered by Xiaolin, complaining that she didn't listen to him and wanted to go back to work on the farm, saying she brought trouble upon herself. But the day they ate tofu pudding, they seemed perfectly normal. He even saw Xiaolin cheerfully walking out of his office, and when he went closer, he could sense that the boss was very happy…
-
Lin Su stayed with everyone and accompanied them to the post office to mail their letters.
She noticed that everyone else had letters to send, but she didn't.
There was nothing to say to her stepmother and stepsister. The original owner was constantly ill, and she didn't even have enough money for medicine to keep her alive, so she didn't send a single penny back home, unlike some other educated youth who could save a dozen yuan a month to send home to help with household expenses. Her stepmother even scolded her for this in a letter. As for her classmates and friends with whom she had previously corresponded, they gradually lost contact due to her poor health.
After mailing the letter, I strolled through the market with everyone else.
Due to its advantageous geographical location, bordering two counties and boasting convenient transportation, the market here is the largest among the nearby communes, housing several government offices, hospitals, and schools. Some villagers sell goods in the market. Although it's a planned economy, and the private sale of grain and oil crops is prohibited, items such as chickens raised by themselves, eggs, fruits grown, woven bamboo baskets, insoles, and embroidered goods can be freely traded. In addition, many production teams sell their collective agricultural and sideline products under the collective name.
They ate a bowl of cold noodles at a stall, and then around 1 p.m. they ate a bowl of rice noodles for lunch.
At three o'clock in the afternoon, everyone stood at the entrance of the ice room, eating popsicles to cool off. Lin Su sighed at how hot the sun was, when she suddenly heard someone calling "Xiao Lin, Xiao Lin". Looking over, she saw Xu Yaodong waving at her.
Sun Xiaoqing asked, "Xu Yaodong, didn't you go to the county town with the farm manager?"
“He went, and he’s back.” Xu Yaodong replied, then hissed at Lin Su, “Come here, I have something to tell you.”
Several educated youths stared at the two of them curiously. Lin Su also felt something was off, so she went over and asked, "Brother Dong, what's wrong?"
He leaned close to her ear: "The boss told me to come find you. We'll meet at the commune restaurant later."
Lin Su: "The factory manager is here too?"
"Not here yet, they'll be here soon."
"Where did he go?"
Sun Xiaoqing asked with a smile, "What are you two whispering about?"
Xu Yaodong said with a wicked smile, "Xiao Lin will come with me later. You can do as you please."
Everyone seemed to realize what was happening and they all chuckled and teased, "Oh, I see, you were afraid we'd bother you."
“No, he’s talking nonsense,” Lin Su said, feeling frustrated. “I was going to shop with you guys first, weren’t we going to the supply and marketing cooperative to buy things?”
"Then what should I do? Stay with you guys?" Xu Yaodong nodded. "That's fine too."
Someone joked, "Xu Yaodong, are you going to be our bodyguard?"
"You're right, I'm protecting you all by myself."
Because of the Torch Festival activities in the evening, the market in the afternoon not only didn't close, but actually attracted even more people.
Shopping is really tiring, and with the sun so strong today, Lin Su felt uncomfortable from the heat, so she said, "I can't walk anymore, you guys go ahead and shop."
Sun Xiaoqing asked, "Then where are you going?"
Lin Su said, "I'll find a place to sit for a while."
Xu Yaodong grinned, revealing his bright white teeth: "Don't worry, I'll stay with Xiaolin. We'll meet at the main playground when the party starts."
Sun Xiaoqing scrutinized the two of them like a detective and said, "You two are definitely up to something."
"There's nothing fishy going on, I just feel really sunny."
Lin Su was almost too exhausted to argue anymore and just wanted to find a place to sit down and rest. Xu Yaodong then took her directly to the restaurant run by the commune.
Sitting down, Xu Yaodong looked at her weak expression and said, "You're not going to faint again, are you? Please don't."
Lin Su felt dizzy and lightheaded, and too weak to speak, so she leaned back in her chair to recover.
Xu Yaodong said anxiously, "Hang in there, the boss should be here soon. How about we grab a soda first?"
Lin Su then nodded.
Half an hour later, at exactly five o'clock in the afternoon, the man finally appeared at the restaurant.
Xu Yaodong said, "Boss, I have successfully completed the mission. Luckily I was here, otherwise Xiao Lin might have fainted again."
"It's not that exaggerated," Lin Su said. "I didn't faint."
Zhou Yunqi frowned: "What's going on?"
"I was just tired from walking around and sunbathing."
The man sneered, "As expected, he'll be exposed in just a few days."
Lin Su bit her lip, feeling depressed.
He asked, "You just drank a bottle of soda here?"
"Yes, boss, hurry up and order, or they'll kick us out."
...
After finishing their meal, they walked through the market. The crowd was flowing towards the large playground of the commune middle school, and the three of them joined the throng.
They found Sun Xiaoqing and the others on the main playground. Since it wasn't time yet, only a tall pile of firewood stood in the center of the playground, not yet lit. A white movie screen was hanging from two trees at the other end, and a movie was starting to play. Everyone rushed to watch it.
The crowd was quickly dispersed.
Amidst the bustling crowd, Zhou Yunqi stood beside her and said, "Stay with me, don't get lost."
"Mmm," Lin Su replied obediently.
Zhou Yunqi seemed to be leading her to a less crowded area, but after walking for a while, someone called out in surprise, "Lin Su!"
Lin Su looked up and saw Zhao Jiayue, an educated youth from the Sixth Farm, with several familiar faces beside her.
Zhao Jiayue looked Lin Su up and down and exclaimed, "My God, you seem to have become so much prettier!"
She looked at Zhou Yunqi again and was instantly attracted by the man in the clean white shirt, with his handsome figure and clear features. She was stunned and speechless for a moment, and could only chuckle foolishly.
Lin Su quickly introduced, "This is our seventh branch's Director Zhou."
Zhao Jiayue and the other educated youth then greeted him, "Hello, Director Zhou."
Zhou Yunqi nodded gently: "You used to be in the same production team?"
“These are the ones, and these two are from another production team,” Lin Su replied.
A male educated youth named Du Yong approached Lin Su and asked with concern, "Lin Su, are you feeling better? Are you tired at the Seventh Farm?"
Looking at the healthy-looking boy, Lin Su, who had taken good care of her back in the production team, replied sincerely, "It's much better than before, and the work isn't too tiring now."
Someone chimed in, "You can tell she's much better just by looking at her complexion. Du Yong, you really care about her."
Du Yong scratched his head sheepishly and smiled, "I was thinking of going to the Seventh Branch Farm to find you after I'm done with this busy period."
"Sure, come visit the Seventh Farm whenever you have time. I work at the farm headquarters; I haven't been assigned to any of the production teams below."
Everyone chatted happily, each offering their own opinion.
Strangely enough, because of her illness, the original owner of this body had been holding everyone back, and many people actually had grievances. After Lin Su transmigrated and her health improved, she took the initiative to apply for a transfer, but unexpectedly, the branch manager transferred her to the seventh branch. Now that she has left and reunited with everyone, she feels exceptionally warm and welcome.
After exchanging pleasantries for a while, Zhou Yunqi said, "I'll take her to find someone. Please be careful."
Lin Su bid farewell to everyone and followed Zhou Yunqi forward.
After walking a few steps, she looked up and asked him, "Manager, who are we going to see?"
After a brief silence, Zhou Yunqi couldn't help but sneer, a smirk playing on his lips. "Who do you think I'm looking for? Didn't you understand a simple excuse to leave? Or are you planning to keep chatting with them there?"
“Oh,” Lin Su said thoughtfully, “I thought you were looking for Xu Yaodong and the others.”
No matter how you look at him, he's still an innocent kid... His eyes were full of helplessness as he looked at her.
Sure enough, Lin Su pursed her lips and looked at him with bright eyes: "Why don't we go find them?"
Zhou Yunqi stared intently at the fair face, his expression suddenly darkening, his gaze seeming to deepen. Lin Su, puzzled by the change in his expression, murmured, "What's wrong?"
There were many people around, and in the jostling, Zhou Yunqi suddenly closed his eyelids, stretched out his arm, grabbed her wrist firmly, and pulled her over: "You're blocking people's way."
Lin Su glanced at the two people next to her subconsciously, and then walked towards him.
Zhou Yunqi took a step forward, and she followed behind. Coming to her senses, she realized his hand hadn't let go.
His palms were slightly rough, and thin calluses gently scraped the delicate skin on her wrists. Although the force was not heavy, it carried an unquestionable certainty.
Lin Su lowered her eyes to look at that heavy hand, with distinct knuckles and protruding, white bones.
Looking up again, the man's profile was sharp, his lips pressed together, as if he were thinking, yet it was impossible to guess what he was thinking.
Only the increased force at his wrist made it seem as if he didn't want to let go.
However, a moment later, her wrist loosened, and the large hand that had been gripping her loosened, but it did not immediately retract. It paused in mid-air for a second, its fingers slightly clenched, before finally retracting completely.
Lin Su: "..."
A note from the author:
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