“You’re Amazing, Girl!”
When it was completely quiet outside, without a single sound, Qin Shi finally left her room. She followed the path she remembered and found the toilet.
The short, earthen mound of a house emitted a stench that made Qin Shi’s expression change even before she got close. She immediately held her breath through her nose and started breathing lightly through her mouth.
When she mustered the courage to go inside, she saw two irregular wooden planks and maggots crawling everywhere, causing her to feel nauseous and want to vomit.
Having grown up in the city, Qin Shi had never seen such a scene before, and her face turned pale instantly.
But after holding it in for a long time, Qin Shi forced herself to endure the disgust, held her breath, and carefully stepped on places without the white bugs. She quickly finished and then rushed out of the toilet.
As soon as she dashed out, she almost bumped into someone.
“Sorry,” Qin Shi instinctively apologized in Mandarin, then realized it might not be appropriate.
However, the person wasn’t from the Qin family and didn’t care about her standard Mandarin at all.
“Qin Shi?”
Qin Shi looked up and saw a slovenly man staring at her. Already feeling disgusted by the latrine, her expression turned even colder.
This person was Lu Cai.
The toilet was communal in the village, so anyone could use it. Usually, people would cough to indicate that someone was inside if they heard someone approaching.
Seeing Lu Cai, who clearly had no good intentions towards her, Qin Shi felt a chill in her heart. If she hadn’t used the toilet earlier, she might have bumped into Lu Cai.
Even if she had coughed, he probably wouldn’t have listened and would have seized the opportunity instead.
Recalling how Lu Cai always “coincidentally” ran into the original person and pestered her, Qin Shi’s gaze became even colder.
Qin Shi didn’t want to get entangled with him and was about to leave, but he reached out to stop her.
“Don’t be in such a hurry to leave,” Lu Cai said with a smirk, “Did you know I asked my mom to propose marriage to your family? When are you going to marry me?”
Qin Shi replied coldly, “I will not marry you.”
Lu Cai’s expression changed but then he laughed again, “Why have you suddenly become so fierce? But you’re more attractive than before.”
Qin Shi frowned and said bluntly, “I will not marry you. My parents and grandmother can’t make decisions for me. Give up on this idea.”
With that, she pushed his arm away and quickly ran into the Qin family courtyard.
Lu Cai watched her retreating figure, still smiling. It had only been a few days, and she seemed even more beautiful.
As he turned to leave, his eyes were full of determination.
Back in her room, Qin Shi furrowed her brows, thinking deeply. She pondered whether she should find another way out.
It was now 1980, and with the college entrance exams reinstated, she could take the exam and leave home. Then she could decide where to go and what to do.
Stepmother?
Qin Shi wondered if not becoming a stepmother would really lead to sudden death.
As soon as the thought crossed her mind, she started trembling all over. Three seconds later, she collapsed by the bed, her face pale.
Just thinking about it felt like being electrocuted.
After a long while, Qin Shi finally recovered and immediately dismissed those thoughts. She didn’t dare try again; if she really did die suddenly, it would be a great loss.
Feeling very down, Qin Shi sat in place for a long time before getting up to search through the original owner’s belongings.
The original owner was a simpleton, handing over all the money earned from work and keeping only five cents for herself.
Qin Shi found a diary and began to read it carefully. Through the diary, she gained a deeper understanding of this world, this family, and the original owner’s past.
In the afternoon, Auntie was cooking and called Qin Shi to help. Qin Shi, not interested in dealing with her, simply coughed and said she wasn’t feeling well, brushing off the request.
During dinner, Auntie complained in a passive-aggressive manner, but Qin Shi didn’t even lift her eyelids, focusing only on her meal.
Grandmother Qin, concerned about Qin Shi’s marriage prospects and her factory job, didn’t dare say anything to her. She only told her eldest daughter-in-law to shut up and eat.
After dinner, everyone went back to their own houses, whispering and plotting.
With Si Ni around, Qin Shi didn’t do anything else. After washing up, she went straight to bed.
Si Ni, feeling ignored, carried a water jug and looked at the sleeping Qin Shi with a puzzled expression. She couldn’t figure out why Qin Shi was acting so strange today. However, Si Ni didn’t ask and simply turned around, heading to Qin’s parents’ room.
Hearing the door open and close a few times, Qin Shi smirked and scoffed.
The next day, Qin Shi got up early at dawn, quickly getting ready to go to town.
Si Ni, woken up by the noise, grumbled irritably, “What are you doing? So noisy! Can’t you be quieter?”
Qin Shi rolled her eyes and ignored her, continuing her preparations as usual.
Last night, when she came back, she made a lot of noise. Why didn’t she pay attention then?
Once Qin Shi was ready, she closed the door with a normal level of noise, causing Si Ni to grumble again.
Grandmother Qin and the stepmother, who were already up and busy in the yard, heard the noise and asked, “What’s going on?”
“Si Ni is talking in her sleep,” Qin Shi replied casually, walking into the kitchen without changing her expression. She grabbed a freshly heated corn cake.
Grandmother Qin glared at her, but Qin Shi ignored her again. She just threw out, “I’m leaving,” and walked out.
After Qin Shi left the courtyard, Grandmother Qin finally spoke, grumbling while working.
“Already acting like she’s from the city even before she’s married off? Truly, daughters are like spilled water; once gone, they never come back!”
“If it weren’t for Lu Cai…” Grandmother Qin caught herself and quickly added, “showing interest in her, would she even have a good marriage prospect?”
Si Ni’s mother, washing clothes, glanced up at Grandmother Qin and scoffed inwardly. If it weren’t for the Lu family offering a temporary position at the factory, that old woman wouldn’t have handed over the bride price. She probably pocketed part of it too! The more Si Ni’s mother thought about it, the angrier she became. Her washing grew more vigorous, and a calculating look flashed in her eyes.
—
Qin Shi, carrying her shoulder bag, walked to the edge of the village. Seeing that some people were already seated in the donkey cart, she hurriedly jogged over and squeezed in, handing two cents to Uncle Li, who was driving the cart.
Uncle Li accepted the money with a smile and asked, “Feeling better? My grandson mentioned you didn’t go to school yet and was wondering about you.”
People in this society had a special admiration and respect for those with higher education. There were hardly any high school students in the village, and Qin Shi had even been accepted to a university. Despite her solitary and quiet nature, the villagers were always friendly towards her.
“Really,” Qin Shi smiled and explained, “I’ve been unwell for a while. I’m going to the town to get checked out. I’ll return to school once I’m better.”
Lu Cai’s mother had come to test the waters secretly, so no one else knew about it. Naturally, Qin Shi didn’t want others to know either and casually made up an excuse.
“Ah, the barefoot doctors in the village can only handle minor illnesses. You do need to go to the town.”
“Er Ni, come sit here.”
The aunts in the donkey cart heard this and warmly pulled Qin Shi to sit beside them, giving her the best seat—the innermost one.
Qin Shi accepted graciously and thanked them with a smile, causing the aunts to laugh and shower her with compliments.
Feeling a bit overwhelmed by their enthusiasm, Qin Shi pretended to be tired, yawned, and closed her eyes to rest.
Seeing Qin Shi closing her eyes to rest, the aunts lowered their voices while chatting. Before long, the donkey cart was packed with people. Qin Shi, crammed into a corner, felt like her body was about to fall apart from the bumpy ride.
Two hours later, just before Qin Shi’s buttocks could be split into eight pieces, they finally arrived at the town. The old aunts dispersed quickly, and Uncle Li called out, “We’ll leave at four this afternoon, so watch the time! I won’t wait if you’re late!”
“Got it, got it!”
Qin Shi was the last to get off. She carefully observed the 1980s town, walking leisurely through it.
She noted that it wasn’t much different from what she had seen on TV, very distinctive yet very poor.
After wandering around, she realized there were no shops, only a supply and marketing cooperative. Inside, she found nothing appealing; the fabrics were all dull and drab, with not even a single piece of red cloth.
The saleswoman, looking haughty, rolled her eyes at Qin Shi. “Red fabric is very scarce. Are you buying or not? If not, move aside and don’t hold up the line.”
Qin Shi turned and left, causing the saleswoman to spit disdainfully at her back, “Poor wretch.”
“So what if she’s pretty? She can’t even afford a piece of cloth,” she muttered.
Having witnessed the unique arrogance of service workers and the scarcity of goods of this era, Qin Shi didn’t bother browsing any longer and headed straight into a state-run restaurant. She was hungry.
Upon entering, the server didn’t acknowledge her, merely tapping the window sign and saying, “Choose what you want yourself.”
Qin Shi saw today’s specials: “braised pork” and “pork dumplings.” She decisively chose the dumplings.
Braised pork cost a hefty four yuan—too expensive. Dumplings were one yuan, affordable.
“Wait for it,” the server said before going back to her book.
As Qin Shi was about to find a seat, she heard a terrified scream from the only occupied table in the restaurant.
“Congcong! Congcong, what’s wrong?”
Looking closely, Qin Shi saw a child beside the woman, his face turning red, mouth open but no sound coming out, clutching his throat.
The woman, panic-stricken, screamed in desperation.
Qin Shi’s expression turned serious. She rushed over, picked up the child, and positioned him face down on her forearm. She placed her other hand on his back, applying firm and rhythmic slaps between his shoulder blades.
After a few slaps, the child coughed up the half dumpling lodged in his throat and started crying loudly.
Qin Shi set him down gently, pried his mouth open, and checked to ensure nothing was left in his throat. Only then did she breathe a sigh of relief.
The child’s mother, regaining her composure, yanked him towards her and began hitting him hard, alternating between slaps, pulls, and kicks.
“What were you doing? How could you choke yourself while eating? You nearly scared me to death!”
The child, already frightened, now cried even more hysterically after being scolded and hit. Seeing him kicked to the ground, Qin Shi couldn’t stand it any longer. How could someone hit a child like that? She helped the child up, gently patting his back to silently comfort him, then turned to the child’s mother.
“What kind of mother are you? How could you let your child nearly choke to death while eating? Are you even fit to be a mother? Beforehand, you don’t watch your child, during the incident, you only scream, and afterward, you just hit the child. Is this how parenting works, with no qualifications required?”
Qin Shi’s stern expression and words left the woman stunned.
The server, who had been reading, snickered and said, “Isn’t that the truth?”
“What business is it of yours?” The woman, thoroughly embarrassed, quickly gulped down the soup from the bowl and then yanked her still-crying child out of the restaurant.
Qin Shi watched her leave and then glanced at the now-empty bowl, momentarily puzzled.
An older woman who had witnessed the entire scene at the doorway approached Qin Shi with bright eyes, smiling as she praised her, “Young lady, you’re really something!”
Before Qin Shi could respond, the woman continued, “What do you do for a living? How old are you? Do you have a partner yet?”
Qin Shi was taken aback. “…Huh?” What?
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