After the meal was served, Zhou Weiguang kept clinking glasses with Zhou Chang'an, and hadn't eaten much of the food.
After Zhou Weiguang brought out a flashlight from inside the house, Qin Hanshu said somewhat embarrassedly, "Thank you for your help."
"No trouble at all!" Zhou Weiguang gestured for Qin Hanshu to go first.
If a man and a woman walk together on the street in the dead of night and are seen by someone, rumors will spread like wildfire the next day.
So the two of them did as Zhao Chunmiao had instructed, one walking ahead and the other following at a distance with a flashlight.
As long as Qin Hanshu stays within Zhou Weiguang's sight, that's fine.
Zhou Weiguang has excellent night vision and can walk briskly even in the dark, while Qin Hanshu is much less capable. The flashlight beam was shining from behind her, so she had to feel her way around, which slowed her down.
Zhou Weiguang had no choice but to slow down.
Out of boredom, he began to look around, and even in the blurry images, he could make out some familiar scenes of his hometown from his memories.
My gaze inadvertently fell on the person in front of me.
Qin Feiyang said his sister was like Lin Daiyu, so fragile that she would fall over with a gust of wind, and he wasn't lying.
The person in front of me was delicate and graceful, her body swaying gently as she walked, like the newly sprouted branches of willows on the riverbank in spring.
It sways gently in the breeze.
Zhou Weiguang suddenly felt a tickle in his heart, as if he had been scratched by the tip of a willow twig.
He coughed lightly and quickly lowered his eyes.
The distance from Zhou's house to the educated youth settlement was neither far nor near; it took at most twelve or thirteen minutes to walk there in the dark.
"Um..." came the voice from ahead, "I'm almost there, you can go back and eat."
Zhou Weiguang stopped in his tracks.
Qin Hanshu stood on the hilltop, pointed to a row of earthen cave dwellings behind her, and said, "This is the educated youth settlement. I've arrived."
Zhou Weiguang was about ten meters away from Qin Hanshu, one standing on higher ground and the other on lower ground.
"Hmm." Zhou Weiguang nodded, then, thinking that it was dark and the other person might not be able to see him, he raised his voice and said, "Okay."
Qin Hanshu thanked him and turned to leave.
The light from the lights at the educated youth settlement allowed Zhou Weiguang to see Qin Hanshu's full figure.
Suddenly, Zhou Weiguang's eyes narrowed.
Why does this figure look so familiar?
After thinking for a few seconds, Zhou Weiguang suddenly realized, and at the same time, he was somewhat incredulous.
Qin Hanshu was clearly the same "big spotted mouse" he saw when he entered the village that afternoon.
Actually, Qin Hanshu wasn't wearing a floral dress, but a pink and white plaid coat.
However, in Zhou Weiguang's eyes, any clothes with colored patterns can be called "flowery clothes".
In the afternoon, Zhou Weiguang did not see Qin Hanshu's face, and because he was far away, what he remembered was her agile figure and the color of her clothes.
When Qin Hanshu entered the Zhou family's house, he glanced at her and felt she looked familiar, but he didn't dare stare at her, only glancing at her face. Once seated at the dining table, he didn't even dare to look in her direction out of the corner of his eye.
Only now did Zhou Weiguang get a clear look at Qin Hanshu.
but......
Zhou Weiguang scratched the back of his head, puzzled.
Isn't she Lin Daiyu?
How did he become Sun Wukong?
***
When Qin Hanshu returned to the educated youth settlement, she found everyone standing in the courtyard, bustling about.
Two groups of educated youth, one old and one new, who usually didn't interact much, were having a heated discussion.
When Zhang Yao saw Qin Hanshu, she came up to him and said, "Li Jianhua is going back to the city."
Li Jianhua was one of the male educated youths who came down to China in the same batch as Liao Yujie.
"Back to the city?"
“Mmm!” Zhang Yao’s expression was a mixture of envy and wistfulness. “His family found him a job, saying that he won’t be coming back after he goes home for Chinese New Year this year.”
If a unit in the city accepts your household registration, you can apply to return to the city.
Even if you don't have one, you can still go back if you want, but going back would be like being an unregistered resident. If the authorities crack down on it, you wouldn't even dare to leave your house.
There was a young intellectual from the capital in the next commune who went home on his leave to visit relatives and then stayed at home and refused to leave.
I don't know how that person's life was without a registered residence, but since he didn't return to the production team, he must have been doing better than when he was in the production team.
Two male educated youths from Haowan Village also returned to the city for the Spring Festival last year and stayed at home for two or three months before coming back.
However, only educated youth sent to the countryside could do this; it was difficult for those educated youth in the production and construction corps to get leave.
“It’s almost the end of the year,” Zhang Yao sighed. “They’re all planning to take leave to visit their families and go back to the city. Are you going to take leave too?”
"I'll think about it later," Qin Hanshu asked Zhang Yao. "Judging from your expression, you're not planning to go back?"
Zhang Yao smiled wryly and said, "My family is a single-income family. My father's salary supports nine people in the family. We have to be very careful with every penny. Why should I waste the travel expenses to and from here?"
"Sister Shu!" Ma Chaoyang ran towards Qin Hanshu, "Let's go ask for leave from the team together tomorrow!"
Ma Chaoyang said excitedly, "This time when I go back, I'm going to stay at home for three months straight! Even if my dad whips me with his belt, I won't leave!"
Zhang Kangmei followed slowly, rolling her eyes and saying, "You're really something! I think your family's goal of sending you to the countryside has been ruined."
Ma Chaoyang: "...Do you know what my family's purpose is?"
Zhang Kangmei scoffed, "Isn't it because we saw you were lazy, good-for-nothing, and loved to indulge in pleasure that we sent you to the countryside for some reform!"
This is what Ma Chaoyang once said publicly.
He certainly wouldn't say that his father sent him, his grandson, to the countryside in order to win favor with the old man!
However, judging from his mother's letter, his father's tactic actually worked somewhat.
Now at home, the old man often says, "Chaoyang is the grandson who most resembles me; he's the hope of our Ma family..."
Thinking of this, Ma Chaoyang's enthusiasm for returning to the city cooled down.
Grandpa didn't know that his mother had given him 500 yuan before he left, which allowed him to eat and drink well during his time in the countryside without suffering any hardship.
I feel a little ashamed...
Qin Hanshu asked Zhang Kangmei, "Are you going to visit relatives?"
Zhang Kangmei immediately shook her head, "I've only been in the countryside for half a year, what family visit is there to do? Let's talk about it next year."
Qin Hanshu understood. Zhang Kangmei was similar to her; she didn't have a deep attachment to her family—except that she had an extra grandfather.
However, according to Zhang Kangmei, her grandfather has not yet retired and is very busy every day. Even in the capital, the grandfather and granddaughter rarely see each other.
After everyone talked it over, they found that those who wanted to visit their relatives were all former educated youth.
Qin Hanshu glanced at Liao Yujie, who had been huddled to the side without saying a word, and found it unusual. She asked, "Aren't you going to ask for leave?"
Liao Yujie chewed on some fried soybeans and said leisurely, "I'm much happier in Haowan Village than at home. Only a fool would go back."
After saying that, Liao Yujie waited for Qin Hanshu to continue asking her why she was happier in the countryside than in the city.
But Qin Hanshu simply nodded and turned to leave.
I have absolutely no interest in her affairs.
Liao Yujie didn't say the story she had prepared; it was stuck in her throat, leaving her feeling awkward and unsatisfied.
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