I had just finished dinner, and the sun had just set. Half the sky was covered in a reddish-brown sunset glow, which made me feel a bit hot.
At this moment, most of the people in the brigade were busy taking advantage of the last bit of sunshine to eat or wash up.
Otherwise, we'll have to use up oil to light lamps when it gets dark.
After Xu Ningyan finished cleaning up the dishes, she was about to lock the courtyard gate. She planned to wash up, sit under a tree to enjoy the breeze, and then go back inside to sleep after the heat subsided.
The lackey stood up alertly and began to bark softly at the outside.
Then footsteps stopped outside the courtyard, and there was a gentle knock on the door: "Comrade Xu, excuse me for disturbing you—"
The voice was unfamiliar, with a Beijing accent, and so polite; without a doubt, it must be one of those people from the cowshed.
Although I don't know why they came to us, the timing was good.
After hesitating for a moment, Xu Ningyan unlatched the door and saw three or four people standing at the entrance to the courtyard.
There were men and women, some older and some younger.
The one at the front was the oldest; his Zhongshan suit was patched but clean, and he wore glasses.
The temples of my glasses must have broken sometime ago; I've tied them up with tape, and they're stubbornly hanging on my ears.
His face showed extreme fatigue, and he looked quite dejected.
Even so, he remained very courteous, and as soon as the door opened, he smiled and said, "Comrade Xu, I'm sorry to bother you at this time! We are—"
Xu Ningyan interrupted him: "I know who you are, those people living in the cowshed! What do you want with me?"
A younger woman standing nearby spoke up, looking embarrassed, "We...we need your help with something!"
It turned out that they didn't have enough bedding before, but the high temperature made it manageable.
It rained a couple of days ago, and then the temperature suddenly dropped last night. Everyone was caught off guard, and several people caught a cold.
Now, even if they get sick, they dare not see a doctor, and no doctor is willing to treat them.
Fortunately, among those who were sent down to the countryside was a doctor from a hospital in Beijing, who happened to be an old traditional Chinese medicine doctor. He went up the mountain to collect herbs, brewed them, and drank the medicine. Two of them are now bedridden.
Everyone originally planned to wait until the cotton harvest in the fall before figuring out a solution.
Judging from the current situation, it seems we won't be able to wait until autumn.
After thinking it over, I remembered what Xu Changfeng had said: Comrade Xiao Xu, who lives in this courtyard, works at the department store in the county town.
They needed a lot of cotton and cloth, but had no way of getting them; the only thing they could count on was this young comrade Xu.
Only she could get her hands on cotton and cloth.
Although everyone knew their identities and avoided them like the plague, the fact that this Comrade Xu's fiancé had the same social class as them gave them a glimmer of hope.
I was originally planning to wait until we got to know each other better before speaking up.
But time waits for no one. If Comrade Xu goes back to work in the county town in a couple of days, they'll be out of luck.
That's why I shamelessly came to ask for help.
Thinking it best to spend more money and say more nice things to save everyone's lives first.
They basically didn't have any tickets, and those who did had some money hidden away. Those who had no money took out their ancestral gold rings, jade pendants, and the like that they kept close to their bodies.
No matter how precious these things are, wouldn't they be wasted if you lose your life?
They pooled their money and came up with about fifty yuan, plus two heavy gold rings and a jade pendant of excellent quality, all wrapped in a handkerchief.
After explaining their purpose, the woman held the handkerchief in her hand and handed it to Xu Ningyan: "This is what we all chipped in, Comrade Xu. Please help us see if you can get us some cotton and fabric. It doesn't have to be brand new, secondhand will do! We have old people and young children, and we can't withstand the changing weather—"
Xu Ningyan was surprised that they had come to her door for this reason, and remained silent for a moment.
A man standing nearby, seeing that Xu Ningyan didn't speak, assumed that Xu Ningyan didn't trust them or had some other taboo, and quickly said, "Comrade Xu, don't worry, if you're willing to help us, we'll be extremely grateful and will definitely not tell anyone! If you don't trust us, trust Xu Changfeng from your brigade, right? He's my friend!"
"I've heard you have a good relationship with Comrade Xu Changfeng's mother. You should know what kind of person Comrade Xu Changfeng is, right? Please, for Comrade Xu Changfeng's sake, help us out as well—"
If Xu Changfeng hadn't mentioned it, Xu Ningyan probably would have agreed after some consideration.
After all, these people living in the cowshed, though they look down on themselves now, were once big shots.
These big shots have come knocking on our door; it wouldn't hurt to make a good connection.
But after Xu Changfeng was mentioned and his character was discussed, Xu Ningyan suddenly didn't want to help anymore.
She scoffed, "If you had no connection with Xu Changfeng, I might have tried to help you out. But since you are connected to him, I can't help you with this!"
The people in the cowshed looked at each other, somewhat puzzled.
A few days ago, Xu Changfeng even picked some things from Comrade Xiao Xu's private plot for them. Judging from the way they did it, they must have a pretty good relationship.
Why are you suddenly denying it?
The old professor was the first to react, coughing, "We were all sent down from Beijing to the production brigade. We don't know anyone here! We don't know anyone from Changfeng or Duanyu either—"
"Yes, yes, we don't know each other, we don't know anyone!"
...
Xu Ningyan was speechless. She glanced at the old professor who was leading the group. Who said that scholars were aloof and inflexible? She thought this old professor was quite shrewd!
However, he couldn't bring himself to refuse them, since most of these people were very capable and could make significant contributions to the country and its people after their rehabilitation.
Both for public and private reasons, she could not stand by and watch someone die.
However, Xu Ningyan didn't make any definitive statements, only saying that she would try to find a way, but couldn't guarantee that she could help.
Moreover, even if she were to help, it wouldn't be in a private way. If that were discovered, neither party would be able to explain themselves clearly.
She would think of a way to get the brigade headquarters to intervene.
The professors understood, and that was even better.
As for the handkerchief the woman was still holding, Xu Ningyan naturally didn't take it: "Take the money and things back! You'll need them for many more things in the future! Keep them for yourselves!"
Seeing Xu Ningyan's resolute attitude, it was clear that he truly refused to accept it.
At the old professor's prompting, the woman carefully wrapped the handkerchief and put it back in her bosom; this was all the possessions they had left.
Having finished speaking, Xu Ningyan didn't intend to say anything more to them and was about to close the door.
One of the middle-aged men, who hadn't spoken until now, called out, "Comrade Xu, we'd like to ask you something. We heard that your wife was also sent here from Beijing, but she was later exonerated and even found a job in the county town. We just wanted to ask about her exoneration—"
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