Bai Fumei in the ’70s Chapter 4
Translated by Serena Love
Proofread by Soupysuspicions
Edited by Lavender and Ladyhotcomb
Chapter 4
“Don’t just stare.” urged Zhou Jiazhen, “Go and get your things. Have you looked for them?”
Zhao Lanxiang, having bought fine noodles and meat, unfortunately didn’t have time to enjoy them. Instead, she anxiously focused on rescuing her belongings.
Brigade captain Li Dali arrived as soon as he heard the news. He cast a resentful glare at the ruins of the old collapsed building. With the previous year’s harvest being subpar, the brigade was too poor to pay for any relief efforts. Where would they find the money to build a new home for these educated youths now that the green and yellow had not yet met?
[T/N: “Time when the green and yellow have not met” means the previous harvest has been eaten, and the new crop was just planted.]
The educated youths gathered around Li Dali, seeking a solution. Wiping his face with determination, Li Dali declared, “We’ll arrange something for each of you. Tonight, you’ll stay with the villagers temporarily... As for the allocation, I’ll need to go back and think about that. Now, all of you--“
Li Dali was on the verge of saying, ‘let people go out and play,’ when he caught sight of Zhao Lanxiang’s delicate complexion, which prompted him to swallow back his words.
It’s not good to leave these beautiful girls without supervision. What if something happened?
Quickly pivoting, he commanded, “You come with me. The house where we store farm tools is currently empty. You could use it as a temporary resting spot during the day.”
Zhao Lanxiang and the others temporarily put their belongings in the house, which was doubling as their storage. Their faces echoed each other’s embarrassment and discomfort.
The male educated youths appeared to have the roughest time, their faces and hands were as dark as Justice Bao. This sight managed to get smiles from the dispirited female educated youths. Jiang Li, returning cheerfully in the afternoon, discovered all her items in her box were crushed. The discovery ruined her mood, turning her jovial expression sour. Once the captain left, she sneered, “What a wretched place.”
[T/N: Justice Bao is a legendary judge who is famous for his ability to help peasants to overcome corruption. He is also renowned for his dark skin and supposedly ugly face.]
Zhao Lanxiang could only roll her eyes inwardly. She was aware this was a less than ideal place, and yet she still decided to come. Zhao Lanxiang couldn’t understand her mindset.
However, with hunger gnawing at her insides until she felt her chest could meet her back, she had no time to muse over Jiang Li’s motivations. Borrowing a kitchen from the locals, she set about preparing meat buns and vegetarian noodles with Zhou Jiazhen. Zhao Lanxiang was more than willing to use her cut of pork and drain the fat for oil. Within an hour, her buns, made from the finest flour and semi-fatty pork, were ready, tender and flavorful. As the rest of the group languished in hunger in the house, she and Zhou Jiazhen savored their noodles in a house next door.
The scent spread throughout the room, which attracted other educated youths to look around. When they saw Zhou Jiazhen’s happy expression, they became even hungrier. Zhao Lanxiang saw it and did not hide her food. She invited everyone to eat together. She took out some of the noodles and gave it to the educated youths who had hollow bellies. Though the serving was modest, the hot soup provided a comforting cushion for their empty stomachs.
Zhao Lanxiang’s generosity elevated her standing among the displaced educated youths. Despite not sharing her precious meat buns, the beauty of the noodles mixed with bean paste, made from refined flour and precious pork, made their hearts swell with gratitude. Having freeloaded such a fine meal, they felt their fortune had improved significantly.
Jiang Li returned to the temporary dormitory after filling her belly. However, the grueling task of gathering her belongings had nearly digested the meal she’d had. When Zhao Lanxiang had been preparing the buns, the tantalizing aroma had been irresistible, even superior to the buns she’d tasted at the state-run restaurant.
Still, without an invitation from Zhao Lanxiang and not wanting to lose face, she could only watch in frustration as Zhao Lanxiang enjoyed the last bun, never once offering her a taste. Her eyes blazed with anger.
Her annoyance at Zhao Lanxiang deepened as she remembered the girl’s devotion to her brother, so unwavering and sticky, much like a piece of brown sugar. When her brother had been hospitalized some time ago, Zhao Lanxiang had, without a second thought, purchased a bunch of nutrients for him, most of which he couldn’t even finish until now. So why, now that they were in the country, was Zhao Lanxiang unwilling to offer her even a single meat bun?
“I’ll be writing to my family this weekend,” she warned Zhao, her voice dripping with frost, “don’t expect any praises to be said about you.”
With that, she stormed out of the farmhouse.
Unfazed, Zhao Lanxiang contentedly patted her full stomach. Zhou Jiazhen leaned in, whispering, “Do you two know each other well?”
Zhao Lanxiang said vaguely, “We come from the same city, but we’re not really close.”
Annoyed, Zhou Jiazhen vented, “She’s truly something. Still giving the captain that disdainful look. Despite him being a man of few words, he’s dedicated to his duties. Other brigades often starve to death, yet under his guidance, our brigade’s scarce food is evenly distributed each year. If she really thinks we’re poor, why did she choose to come to the countryside?”
With a noncommittal smile, Zhao Lanxiang focused her attention on mending some torn clothes. She deftly guided the needle and thread through the snowy white fabric, embellishing a cuff with a simple, blue floral design. The area, once torn by a branch, now had a delicate and elegant charm.
Zhou Jiazhen’s attention was quickly drawn to the unusual flower design. Handing the clothes to Zhou Jiazhen, Zhao Lanxiang seemed content, gazing at the blue sky, a peaceful aura around her.
The educated youth’s dormitory had collapsed, and the captain’s impending allocation of new residences was uncertain. For her, there was only one place she wished to stay — her beloved’s house.
......
While Zhao Lanxiang was caught up in the tantalizing thought of living at her partner’s place, Li Dali had been scratching his head in distress, trying to figure out how to allocate residences for these educated youths.
Having called the villagers for a meeting, Li Dali’s mouth had run dry from endless discussions. While the title “educated youth” sparkled with promise, the newcomers had paraded into the village under the ambitious claim of constructing a new socialist countryside. In reality, their involvement only burdened the villages further, draining their already meager resources. In truth, none of the families were eager to host these intelligent newcomers.
Li Dali patiently proposed, “You won’t be burdened with feeding them. Just let them stay for a while. Once the dormitory for the new educated youths is fully constructed, they won't trouble you anymore. If this still doesn’t sit well with you, we can arrange a rotation. There’s only a dozen of them, so each household will host one every month. This way, it’s fair to all and also saves us money from having to build multiple houses.”
The villagers could not sit still once hearing this.
“Hey, Captain, are you setting us up?” a gutsy one challenged.
Another disgruntled villager grumbled, “No, no, won’t be stable for our families. Having them live with us for a month could disrupt our lives. And honestly, those educated ones barely put our needs into their hearts.”
A more daring one suggested,“How about this? We draw lots. Whoever gets picked deals with it.”
Amid a flurry of heated exchanges that left faces flushed, Li Dali finally settled on a compromise. The officials would step up first, welcoming the educated youths into their homes. The team captain and the branch secretary would each take in two, while their deputies would each handle one. The other villagers’ fate would be determined by a lottery, requiring them only to offer a clean room.
And so it was agreed upon, primarily because many villagers didn’t fancy the idea of their pockets getting any lighter.
When the lottery was drawn, the families of Li Youfu, Li Jianguo, He Guoqing, and He Aijun were allocated three, three, three, and two students, respectively. Those who evaded this responsibility secretly breathed a sigh of relief, trying to comfort the “lucky” families with hopeful words. “Don’t worry, those students are sensible.Maybe they'll subsidize your rent and meals every month!"
Li Jianguo’s madam, hands firmly planted on her hips, scanned the list of names with a discerning eye. She confidently singled out Jiang Li, Zhao Lanxiang, and Tang Qing. “Our family wants these three.”
These well-dressed, courteous individuals exuded a city-bred charm. Recently spotted dining out or returning home with bundles of fresh meat, they carried an air of sophistication. If they received these three people, her family might be able to eat some meat with them.
This obvious cherry-picking sent ripples of discontent through the gathered families. Squabbles broke out over the chance to host the “better” youths. It was then that Li Dali’s booming voice cut through the clamor like a knife.
He scolded while vigorously smacking the table. “Shut up for me, so noisy!”
Captain Li Dali, though a sturdy figure with a fierce temperament, was a man of kindness. His word was law in the brigade, and even the fiercest of housewives didn’t dare to provoke him.
The branch secretary chimed in with a voice of reason, “This won’t do. We can’t all fight over the ‘good ones.’ Those willing to host an educated youth, please step forward.”
With reassurances from the captain and the secretary, a few families reluctantly agreed to ease the burden, taking in one or two students. This spread the load evenly, and kept it within acceptable limits.
After dismissing everyone, Li Dali collapsed into a chair with exhaustion.
Wiping his weary face with a towel, he confessed to the branch secretary, “Sorting out these comrades is giving me a headache.”
The secretary chuckled, “What’s the matter? Why not let them decide for themselves?”
A light bulb seemed to go off in Li Dali’s head, and he slapped his forehead in relief, “Yes. Let them sort it out. I’ve had enough.”
Later that day, he went to the temporary residence of the educated youths to announce his decision. They were to choose their temporary homes from a list of willing households until the brigade could afford to build their dormitories.
Zhao Lanxiang, scanning the list containing eight willing households, noticed the glaring absence of her partner’s family. Though she marked this sin in her small mental “account book”, she replied with a sweet smile, “Reporting to the captain, I’ve already sorted my living arrangements, so I won’t be a burden on the team.”
Caught off guard by the unflinching gaze of the expressive young woman, Li Dali stumbled over his words, his usual confidence wavering. “Wh-which family is it?” he finally managed, his voice thick with his accent.
“The family of He Songbai,” she replied, her smile enigmatic and her voice clear as a bell.
Li Dali’s hands trembled at her answer. There was something in her smile, her crescent-shaped eyes, that cut straight to his heart, leaving him feeling almost numb.
“Oh... He Songbai’s family, He Song—” he began, only to catch himself abruptly. He Songbai - wasn’t that the village’s infamous layabout gangster?
Li Dali abruptly shook his head and spoke earnestly, “You need to change your arrangements. This family isn’t suitable.”
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