Volume One, Chapter Thirteen: Seeking Justice for Her

Jiang Yingli didn’t care much about how many work points she earned; she didn’t rely on them for food, nor did she intend to stay in the village forever.

When the afternoon work ended, Uncle Ding didn’t make her stay longer—he let her leave the mountain right at six, as usual. Only today, the person who normally went straight to the cattle shed to tie up the ox walked with her toward the threshing yard instead.

All tools were checked in and out here, and attendance was also recorded.

“Uncle Ding, what brings you here?” the accountant called out from a distance, having spotted the yellow ox. As they approached, he stepped forward to ask.

Uncle Ding glanced at the people registering inside and gave a dry chuckle. “I came to see who’s playing games here. Didn’t expect it to be you, Four-Eyes, not Captain Zhou.”

The accountant, who had gone to high school and wore thick glasses on his face, didn’t understand why the usually good-natured Uncle Ding had suddenly turned sarcastic.

“What do you mean by that, Uncle Ding?”

“That girl who worked with me today should have gotten eight work points. Why did she only get six?”

“I wasn’t the one keeping records yesterday,” Four-Eyes replied, still baffled. Newly arrived educated youths were typically protected; for the first week, they got full points no matter how they performed, to ensure they’d have enough to receive grain.

Jiang Yingli had already returned the tools and collected her points. She was slipping through the crowd, ready to head back to the cattle shed and build a mud stove.

Uncle Ding waved her over. “Xiao Jiang, come here a moment.”

She walked closer, puzzled. “?”

“Was it that young woman who recorded your points yesterday?” Uncle Ding pointed to the village elder’s daughter, who was busy registering tools.

“Yes, that’s right.”

He shoved the tether rope into her hands and strode over to confront the woman. “Cuiying, not to be critical, but what exactly are you up to?”

He spoke in the local dialect, which she could only barely understand.

Ding Cuiying was bewildered by his outburst. Uncle Ding and her father had grown up together, so she had no choice but to listen when he scolded her.

“Uncle Ding, what are you talking about?”

“This young educated woman just started working in the fields, so why did you only give her six points? Were you daydreaming during the cadres’ meeting?”

“She was picking up stones right behind you, and you only gave her six points? Are you trying to make trouble?”

Cuiying felt she hadn’t done anything wrong. People should get as much as they worked for. If everyone got full points, where would that lead?

“She learns fast—she was guiding the plow herself within an hour. Not everyone is as useless as you! Hurry up and fix the record, or if she complains to the commune, it won’t end well for you!”

Though it seemed Uncle Ding was standing up for Jiang Yingli, in truth, he was helping her out of a predicament. The commune had set the rule that newly arrived educated youths must get full points at first; if Jiang Yingli reported this, their brigade could kiss the annual honors goodbye. Cuiying herself would be publicly criticized, and in the brigade, there was nothing she could do but be scolded.

Yet Cuiying didn’t seem to grasp the seriousness of the situation. She shot a resentful glance at Jiang Yingli standing outside the crowd, then bowed her head and altered the tally in the work points log.

Jiang Yingli turned to Four-Eyes. “What do ‘woli’ and ‘haluan’ mean?”

They didn’t sound like compliments. Was Uncle Ding really defending her?

“They’re not good words… Did you really only get six points yesterday? Why didn’t you tell me?”

He was in charge of recording points, but had asked Cuiying for help yesterday due to other obligations. He hadn’t expected her to cause such a mess.

“I don’t know how the points work. I just took what was given.”

Seeing that Cuiying had corrected the points, Uncle Ding came back to lead the ox away, reminding Four-Eyes, “Don’t mess around again, or when Captain Zhou finds out, you’ll be in for it.”

Four-Eyes shuddered as if recalling something unpleasant. “Got it.”

Jiang Yingli told Uncle Ding to go home and took the ox back herself.

Uncle Ding readily agreed and headed straight to the village elder’s house. His unruly daughter needed a good scolding before things got out of hand.

After tying the ox in the cattle shed, Jiang Yingli tossed a bundle of hay into its trough and walked to the nearest villager’s house.

Communal meals were only organized during spring planting and autumn harvest, and even then, only lunch was provided. After work, villagers cooked for themselves at home.

“Comrade Jiang, do you need something?” The auntie was carrying an enamel basin inside for dinner and stopped to ask when she saw her.

Jiang Yingli pointed to a hoe leaning in the corner. “Auntie, I’d like to build a mud stove by the cattle shed and was wondering if I could borrow your hoe.”

“To build a stove? Wait a moment.” The auntie went inside with her basin, and soon a burly man came out.

He was the auntie’s husband, fierce-looking but surprisingly friendly when he spoke. “Have you eaten? If not, join us. After dinner, I’ll go with you—you’re a city girl, what do you know about building a stove?”

Jiang Yingli hadn’t expected that borrowing a tool would also get her some help. Smiling, she nodded, “I’ve eaten, thank you. I’ll come back after you’ve finished dinner.”

Their food stores were limited, so they didn’t insist she stay.

After their meal, the man and his wife brought a basket and the hoe to find her at the cattle shed.

Before they set out, she ran into the brigade leader by the creek, digging for yellow clay, which was more adhesive than red soil.

“Miss, why stay in the cattle shed? The other educated girls seemed unfriendly to you. Did they bully you?” Aunt Ding asked.

Jiang Yingli hefted a basket full of yellow clay, jumped down to wash her feet in the stream—the cool water caressing her skin.

“No, I chose to stay in the cattle shed myself. I’m not used to sharing a bed with others.”

Aunt Ding clicked her tongue. There was little difference between city and country life now, with families having several children. If this young woman wasn’t used to sharing a bed, she was likely an only child.

Such a well-behaved child—how could her family bear to send her down to the countryside?

Uncle Ding recalled there was another person named Jiang in his work group and asked, “So, what’s your relation to Jiang Jinguo?”

Jiang Jinguo, who worked in his group, would make a fuss over the slightest injury, slowing everyone down—like a little ancestor!

Jiang Yingli climbed the bank, shouldered the heavy basket, and answered, “He’s my foster brother from Shanghai.”

Aunt Ding hurried over to steady her, worried the slim girl would be crushed under the fifty-some pounds of clay.

“One child sent down is enough—why are you here too?”

Normally, a city family only sent one child to the countryside; why had the Jiang family sent two?

“I don’t get along with him. My grandfather and parents have all passed away. With no elders at home, he wants to marry me off for a bride price.”

Aunt Ding and Uncle Ding exchanged glances, and Uncle Ding’s dislike for Jiang Jinguo deepened.

This young woman could carry fifty pounds of clay without complaint, yet that grown man was always whining! And such ingratitude—taken in by her family, and now he wanted to sell off their own child!

Aunt Ding’s fondness for the girl, who looked as delicate as a porcelain doll, turned to pity. With no parents and such a scoundrel for a foster brother, her parents must be turning in their graves.

Back at the cattle shed, Uncle Ding was especially enthusiastic, chopping up wheat straw to mix with yellow clay and water, and building the stove in a sunny spot a meter from her room.