"Sister Mingyue, Sister Mingyue!" A panicked cry rang in her ears. Zhao Mingyue struggled to open her eyes, and it took her a while to make out the figure in front of her. Then she froze: "Xiuer?"
Zhao Mingxiu quickly wiped away her tears and sniffed, "Sister Mingyue, you're finally awake? You scared me to death."
Zhao Mingyue took a deep breath, her heart pounding as if a magnitude 10 earthquake had struck. What was happening? How could she see her cousin, who looked only ten years old? What was wrong with her? Had she arrived in the underworld? She had actually seen her cousin who had been dead for many years. "Xiuer, is this the underworld?"
Zhao Mingxiu turned pale with fright: "Sister, don't scare me, this is Xiaogangshan."
Zhao Mingyue reached out and touched Zhao Mingxiu's small hand; it was warm. Could a ghost feel anything? She hurriedly turned her head and looked around. She was lying in a ravine. This mountain… wasn't this the small hill she used to go to gather firewood in her youth? Hadn't she fallen off a cliff and died? She said incredulously, "I… I'm not dead?"
Hearing this, Zhao Mingxiu assumed she had hurt herself: "Sister Mingyue, are you alright? You just fell down the mountain. Where does it hurt?"
She wasn't dead? Zhao Mingyue took a deep breath, trying to process this unbelievable information. She was clearly mangled and bloody from the fall, practically dead. She had seen her body being taken away by the helicopter. Her spirit had even emerged, seeing Cheng Yonggang and Wang Qiulan, that despicable couple, having sex. Just as she transformed into a vengeful ghost and was about to strangle Wang Qiulan, a golden light appeared; it must have been that golden light that carried her away.
Now that she's awake, she sees Mingxiu. What's going on? Zhao Mingyue was still processing what was happening. She sat there in a daze for a long time before turning her head to touch Zhao Mingxiu's head: "Xiuer, I'm fine." She tried to get up, but found that she was in pain all over her body. Zhao Mingxiu quickly came over to help her and helped her sit up.
Zhao Mingyue sat on the ground and looked up. Two baskets stuffed with firewood had rolled down not far from her. The path was above the ravine, and the slope looked about seven or eight meters long. She must have rolled down from there. She looked down at herself; she was covered in dust and mud, and in some places, she had been injured by tree roots left behind by people cutting firewood on the slope, which were bleeding. Her body ached terribly, and Zhao Mingyue couldn't help but grit her teeth.
Zhao Mingxiu said, "Sister Mingyue, I think I should pick my own firewood."
Zhao Mingyue said, "Okay, I'll carry the firewood up first." Zhao Mingyue lifted the two bulging baskets, which were full of pine needles and fallen leaves, with only a few branches. She looked around and saw that apart from the big trees, there were hardly any shrubs on the mountain. She remembered that when she was young, Xiaogang Mountain was indeed like this. Back then, coal was scarce, there were no electric lights, and no liquefied gas. People relied entirely on firewood for fuel, so the fallen leaves on Xiaogang Mountain were swept clean. It was nothing like later when the shrubs were so dense that they even blocked the road.
Looking at the two baskets, each over a meter tall, Zhao Mingyue estimated that the load of firewood weighed about a hundred pounds. She doubted whether she could carry it; she hadn't done any physical labor in years. When she was young, carrying a load of a hundred pounds was no problem at all. Zhao Mingyue bent down, placed the carrying pole on her shoulder, bit her lower lip, and with a little effort, she actually managed to lift it. Although it was quite heavy, she could actually lift it.
Zhao Mingxiu picked up a bundle of dry firewood, slung it over her shoulder, and followed Zhao Mingyue up the hillside. Once at the top, Zhao Mingyue wiped the sweat from her brow. Zhao Mingxiu placed the bundle of firewood at one end of her carrying pole, which consisted of two short dustpans. Because of her small stature, these dustpans had been specially made for her by her father.
Looking at her cousin, who barely reached her chest, Zhao Mingyue felt sorry for her. She said, "Xiuer, give me that bundle of firewood. I'll help you carry it."
Zhao Mingxiu refused, saying, "No need, I can carry it myself. I'll walk slowly." She was afraid her cousin would fall again.
Zhao Mingyue could only say, "Then take your time. I'll carry it down first, then come back and help you with your shoulder." She then began to descend the mountain. Zhao Mingyue walked mechanically, her mind reeling with disbelief. How had she suddenly gotten here? She couldn't understand it at all. After reaching the bottom, Zhao Mingyue was covered in sweat. At the foot of the mountain was a clear stream. She put down her load and washed her face. Then, she saw her reflection in the not-so-calm water—it was clearly her reflection from when she was a teenager! Two thick braids, youthful and innocent features. She touched her face in disbelief. She had returned to her youthful self?
Although he had doubts when he saw Mingxiu earlier, seeing his own reflection in the water now confirmed that he had really returned to his youth!
Zhao Mingyue strained to see her reflection in the water, trying to make sure she wasn't dreaming, but the gently rippling surface did indeed show a younger version of herself. Suddenly, Zhao Mingyue felt a surge of joy that brought her to tears. Heaven had been kind to her; although she had died so unjustly, it had given her a chance to be reborn. She desperately sniffled, trying to hold back her tears.
It took her a while to process the fact. She turned and ran home, but when she saw the firewood, she remembered that her cousin was still behind her. She quickly ran back and took the load from her cousin. "Xiuer, let me help you."
Zhao Mingxiu carried the bundle of firewood on her own back, while Zhao Mingyue carried the load for her. She was lucky to get the firewood; just as she reached a large maple tree, a dead branch fell from the tree, which was more than ten meters high, and landed right in front of her. Normally, she would only be able to sweep up some pine needles and fallen leaves to take back.
Zhao Mingyue asked casually, "Xiuer, how old are you this year?"
Zhao Mingxiu said, "I'll be twelve years old in a month."
Zhao Mingyue mentally calculated that she was five years older than her cousin, so her cousin would be seventeen this year. It was 1976, the last year of the Cultural Revolution. Before her own life even began, there was still time; she could start over. Suppressing her overwhelming joy, Zhao Mingyue said, "Xiuer, I'll buy you a handkerchief for your birthday." Looking at her cousin, who was like a budding flower, she secretly vowed to protect this blossoming flower and prevent her from withering prematurely. In this life, they would both live different lives. "Really? Thank you, sister!" Zhao Mingxiu jumped up excitedly. A handkerchief—she noticed that all the educated youth from the city, regardless of gender, had one; they all looked so refined.
"Really." Zhao Mingyue thought to herself, "Don't even mention a handkerchief, I could get you a mountain of gold."
Sisters Zhao Mingyue and Zhao Mingxiu carried firewood, chatting and laughing all the way home. Acquaintances were surprised to see Zhao Mingyue. The girl had clearly fallen quite hard, and was covered in mud and blood, but she acted as if nothing had happened, even laughing so happily. They wondered what good thing had happened to her.
"Mingyue, what happened to you? Did you fall? How can you still laugh? Did someone invite you to see a movie in Wujialing tonight?" an old man asked with a smile.
Zhao Mingyue looked up and said, "Uncle Long Hair, no, who would go that far to see a movie? By the time they got there, the movie would be over." Wujialing is more than 20 miles away from here. Even if young people are fast on their feet, it would still take them an hour or two to get there. After watching the movie, they would have to walk back in the dark, which would be until midnight.
In those days, without television or computers, people's only form of entertainment was watching movies. The projectionist at the cultural center would drive his donkey cart, laden with his belongings—projector, screen, film reels, generator, etc.—from one brigade to another. Wherever he went, it was like a festival. Because he showed the movies to each brigade in turn, everyone could enjoy a good show for several nights in a row. Even if it was the same movie, people would follow it from one brigade to another. Everyone remembered every movement, every expression, and every line of dialogue by heart, yet they never tired of watching it—a sign of extreme spiritual poverty.
Young people love watching movies because they enjoy the excitement and the thrill of the experience. They also want to take advantage of the night to whisper a few words to their sweetheart and walk around. They don't care much about the content of the movie itself.
Zhao Changfa smiled and said, "I heard they're showing 'The Flower Girl' tonight, it's really good, aren't you going?"
Zhao Mingyue shook her head: "I'm not going." If it were before, she might have gone with them, but now Zhao Mingyue had no interest whatsoever.
Zhao Changfa sighed and said, "If you don't go, many young men won't be interested in going."
Zhao Mingyue said angrily, "Uncle Long Hair, don't talk nonsense. I'm going back now." With that, she turned around, picked up the firewood, and hurried home.
What Zhao Changfa said wasn't an exaggeration. Zhao Mingyue was a very beautiful girl, with an oval face, big eyes, a high nose, a small mouth, and a tall, slender figure with a curvaceous figure, like a nearly ripe apple. She was capable and intelligent; in the local parlance, she was "the kind of girl that makes other people's families swoon." The only thing that wasn't quite right was that her family's class background wasn't very good; they were middle peasants. Her father, Zhao Shunsheng, had finished junior high school before Liberation and even worked as a private teacher at the village primary school after Liberation. But when the political movement came, he was labeled a "stinking intellectual."
However, this didn't stop Zhao Mingyue from being admired. From the age of fifteen, matchmakers began to flock to her door. The countryside is different from the city; although one must be twenty to obtain a marriage certificate, it's normal to arrange marriages beforehand. Once an agreement is made, the couple marries when they reach the appropriate age. While not many girls start getting matchmakers at fifteen, it's not uncommon. For the first two years, Zhao Mingyue's parents kept saying their daughter was too young and not ready for marriage, dismissing all the matchmakers. They only had one daughter, and it wasn't like they couldn't afford to raise her. Besides, their daughter was so capable and sensible; they cherished her too much to marry her off carelessly.
Before even being formally married, Zhao Mingyue's reputation had already spread throughout the entire commune, and countless young men were eager to marry her.
Zhao Mingyue carried firewood home and saw her neighbor, Aunt Luo, coming out of her house with a smile. Aunt Luo turned around, saw Zhao Mingyue, and looked her up and down: "Mingyue, did you fall?"
"I tripped and fell." Zhao Mingyue lowered her head and carried the firewood to the woodshed at the back.
Aunt Luo turned her head to look at her back and smiled, "You've worked hard these past two years. Once you get married, you won't have to do this kind of rough work anymore."
When Zhao Mingyue heard this, her heart skipped a beat. She remembered that it was Aunt Luo who arranged her marriage with Cheng Yonggang. Could it be that Cheng Yonggang sent someone to her house to arrange the marriage?
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