Ask for leave
The next morning, just as the sky was getting light, a sharp whistle broke the tranquility of the educated youth site.
Lin Xueyin rolled over uncomfortably on the hard bed, feeling a run-over ache all over her body. The blisters on her palms hadn't healed after a night of sleep, but had become even more red, swollen, and painful, burning with pain at the slightest movement. Worse still, she felt dizzy and her throat was dry and itchy.
"Xue Yin, it's time to get up." Liu Xiaoling, who was already dressed neatly, pushed her gently.
Lin Xueyin struggled to sit up, her vision blacking out, and she almost fell back down. She held onto the edge of the bed, her voice hoarse, "Xiaoling, I...I feel like I'm sick."
Liu Xiaoling reached out and touched her forehead, exclaiming, "Ah! It's a little hot! You must have been tired yesterday and caught a cold."
Zhang Zhaodi and Wang Lina also gathered around. Wang Lina said quickly, "Then don't go to work today. You won't be able to do the work in this state, and you'll be criticized."
"But..." Lin Xueyin bit her lower lip, a look of hesitation on her face. She'd only just arrived on her second day and already asked for leave. What would others think of her? Would they think she was too delicate?
"Don't worry about it," Liu Xiaoling said considerately. "Your health is more important. We'll ask Captain Zhao for leave for you later. You can have a good rest for the day."
Lin Xueyin struggled internally. She truly felt ill, and the thought of facing the arduous farm work and the villagers' gossip was even more deeply resistant. Furthermore, she felt under her pillow for the money and notes her mother had slipped her… Yes, others toiled to earn work points to feed themselves, but she wasn't short of money or food at the moment. Why should she endure that suffering?
Eventually, her physical discomfort and fear of labor took over. She nodded, lay back down, and whispered, "Then... I'll trouble you."
"Don't worry." Liu Xiaoling tucked the corners of the quilt for her, and the three girls hurried out.
Lin Xueyin lay alone in the quiet dormitory, listening to the noisy footsteps and voices fading away outside. She felt a mixture of emotions. On the one hand, she was relieved to have temporarily escaped the hard labor, but on the other, she felt a tinge of shame for her "specialness." But these feelings were quickly drowned out by physical fatigue and discomfort, and she drifted off to sleep again.
——
At the threshing ground, the educated youth and members of the commune arrived one after another.
Song Zhiyuan stood in the group of male educated youth, his eyes swept over the female educated youth without leaving any trace, but he didn't see the familiar figure. He frowned slightly, and a trace of worry flashed through his heart.
Zhao Jianguo took the list and started calling out names. When he called "Lin Xueyin", no one answered.
Liu Xiaoling quickly raised her hand and reported, "Captain Zhao, Comrade Lin Xueyin is sick with a fever and needs a day off today."
There was a sudden whisper in the team.
"Sick? I think you're faking it!" Li Hongmei said in a voice neither too loud nor too soft, just loud enough for everyone around to hear. "Your hand broke after just a little work yesterday. You're not coming today. Miss is precious."
"That's right, we all have headaches and fevers sometimes. Will it go away if we just bear with it? She asked for leave on the second day after she came..." someone agreed.
Song Zhiyuan glanced at Li Hongmei coldly, a look so icy that she instantly shut up. He turned to Zhao Jianguo, his voice calm but undeniable, "Captain Zhao, Comrade Lin Xueyin scraped her hands in several places yesterday. This may have caused inflammation and fever. She really needs to rest."
Zhao Jianguo looked at Song Zhiyuan, then at Liu Xiaoling, who looked determined, nodded, and made a mark on the list: "Okay, got it. I'll be back to work on time tomorrow when I'm well."
At that moment, a girl in a floral shirt and two long, shiny braids came up to Zhao Jianguo. She was Zhao Jianguo's daughter, Zhao Xiaofeng, who was in charge of recording work points in the commune, a relatively leisurely job.
Ever since Song Zhiyuan came to Hongqi Commune, she fell in love with this handsome and stern educated youth from Beijing at first sight. Ignoring Zhao Jianguo's advice to her to find a down-to-earth local guy, she went to the educated youth's camp every few days to bring food and daily necessities to Song Zhiyuan. Although she was rejected coldly eight out of ten times, she still enjoyed it, as if she had regarded Song Zhiyuan as her own property.
She had been hiding behind the crowd just now and saw clearly the scene of Song Zhiyuan speaking for Lin Xueyin. She felt jealous and angry at the same time.
"Dad," Zhao Xiaofeng leaned close to Zhao Jianguo's ear and whispered a few words, glancing unkindly at the group of female educated youth, "Isn't my brother's job short of people to clean ditches? That's hard work, not something most female comrades can do, but the payout is high. I think some comrades, now that they've come to the countryside, shouldn't be treated too specially; they need some training."
Zhao Jianguo hesitated. Ditch work was dirty and tiring, and was usually assigned to strong laborers. But he couldn't resist his daughter's nagging, and he also felt that Lin Xueyin looked too delicate and needed some "training." So he cleared his throat and said, "Since Comrade Lin Xueyin has taken leave... the threshing floor work originally assigned to her will be left vacant for now. Um... when she arrives tomorrow, we'll send her to the ditch behind the mountain to help with the men in clearing silt!"
"What?" Liu Xiaoling cried out in surprise, "Captain Zhao, that job is too hard, Xueyin can't do it!"
Song Zhiyuan's face instantly darkened, and he glanced sharply at Zhao Xiaofeng. Zhao Xiaofeng felt guilty, but even more jealous. She raised her chin and deliberately said loudly, "Liu Zhiqing, what you said is wrong. We are all here to receive re-education from the poor and lower-middle peasants. How can you be so picky? The less capable you are, the more you need to be trained! Otherwise, how can you transform your thinking?"
Wang Lina was so angry that she wanted to retort, but was stopped by Zhang Zhaodi.
Song Zhiyuan stepped forward and looked directly at Zhao Jianguo: "Captain Zhao, we should assign tasks according to our capabilities. Comrade Lin Xueyin has just arrived and is weak. It would be inappropriate to send her directly to clear silt."
Zhao Jianguo felt a little pressured by Song Zhiyuan's gaze, but since the words had already been spoken, and since it was his daughter who suggested it, he had no choice but to bite the bullet and say, "It's settled! Song Zhiqing, just take care of the work of your own team. Meeting adjourned, everyone get back to work!"
The crowd dispersed, buzzing with discussion. Most expressed surprise and a touch of sympathy for Lin Xueyin being assigned to clear the silt; it was clearly a job beyond her capabilities. However, some, like Li Hongmei, gloated over the situation, waiting to see this "young lady" make a fool of herself.
Zhao Xiaofeng glanced at Song Zhiyuan proudly, but found that he didn't even look at her. He had turned around and strode towards the ridge of the field he was responsible for. His cold and hard profile made her love and hate him.
——
Lin Xueyin slept until noon. When she woke, she still felt weak, but her dizziness had eased considerably. She carefully treated the blisters on her hands with the cloth and lard Song Zhiyuan had given her. Then, she grabbed some biscuits and malted milk from her own supplies and drank them, which she considered her lunch.
She leaned against the headboard, listening to the faint sounds of work songs outside, feeling a sense of emptiness in her heart. She knew that her behavior might be seen by others as "shirking work" and "the behavior of a bourgeois lady," but... she really couldn't bear that kind of hardship.
In the afternoon, the news that she had taken sick leave and did not go to work, along with the "bad news" that she would be sent to clear silt the next day, spread throughout the commune like a gust of wind.
"Have you heard? That newcomer, Lin Xueyin, is feigning illness and refusing to go to work!"
"Captain Zhao asked her to go to Qinghegou tomorrow. That's the most tiring job!"
"Ah? Let her go to clear the silt? With her thin arms and legs, can she do it?"
"She has to go no matter what. Zhao Xiaofeng specifically asked her to go. She must be jealous because Song Zhiqing treats her differently!"
"Tsk tsk, this delicate flower from the city will wither in two days..."
Lin Xueyin, lying in the dormitory, naturally couldn't hear these discussions. But in the evening, after work, Liu Xiaoling and her friends came back and told her worriedly that they would be going to clear the silt the next day.
Lin Xueyin's face turned pale upon hearing this. Desilting? Even imagining the scene was terrifying to her.
"This must be Zhao Xiaofeng's doing!" Wang Lina said indignantly, "She got jealous when she saw Song Zhiyuan speaking up for you!"
"Then...what should we do?" Lin Xueyin panicked. Instead of asking her to clear the silt, it would be better to let her become seriously ill.
"Or...you can continue pretending to be sick tomorrow?" Zhang Zhaodi suggested.
Lin Xueyin hesitated.
——
Meanwhile, Zhao Xiaofeng was furious at home. She had hoped to use the dredging work to force Lin Xueyin into submission, either forcing her to give up and endure the hardship, or for her to continue "faking illness" and solidify her reputation as a spoiled brat, so she could then have a good talk with Song Zhiyuan. But despite all her calculations, she hadn't anticipated that Lin Xueyin wouldn't care about the work points at all. She actually didn't show up the next day!
"Not coming to work? What's she going to eat? Starving?" Zhao Xiaofeng stomped her feet in anger. "The eldest lady is different. She has a family background, right? Humph! I wonder how long you can hide!"
She was thinking to herself, if Lin Xueyin dared to ask for leave again tomorrow, she would instigate her father to withhold her food rations! Let's see how arrogant she can be!
At this moment, behind the men's dormitory of the educated youth site, Song Zhiyuan was handing a small package to Liu Xiaoling.
"Comrade Liu, please give this to Comrade Lin Xueyin." It was a small glass bottle filled with a pale yellow ointment. "It's for treating injuries and inflammation. It's more effective than lard."
Liu Xiaoling took the medicine bottle and nodded knowingly, "Don't worry, Comrade Song, I'll give it to her." She paused, unable to resist adding, "Xueyin... isn't a bad person, but she's never experienced hardship since she was a child, so she can't adapt all of a sudden."
"I know." Song Zhiyuan's voice sounded particularly low in the twilight. "Tomorrow... I will find a way."
As the night deepens, beneath the seemingly calm surface of Hongqi Commune, undercurrents are quietly surging because of the unexpected arrival of Lin Xueyin, the "gentle guest".
Everyone wants to know how this city girl, who can't lift anything with her hands or shoulders, will deal with these difficulties.
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