Wang Xiaohong lay on the bed, staring at the ceiling, wide awake.
She and Zhou Hongxia had both been farm girls who made their living digging in the soil. Back in the village, neither of them had been any better off than the other.
But now, one was in heaven while the other was down in the dirt. The difference between them was like the distance between sky and earth.
Zhou Hongxia had gotten a job at the oilfield and become a government employee. She no longer had to brave the wind or rain, collected a monthly wage, and dressed in fashionable clothes.
And then there was Wang Xiaohong, weighed down by her family until she could barely breathe. Every day she rose early and worked until late, with no end to the drudgery in sight.
Whenever she thought about it, Wang Xiaohong felt suffocated. Her resentment churned inside her like oil boiling in a pan.
She bitterly regretted recommending Zhou Hongxia to Li Mingliang for the oilfield job. She should never have meddled in the first place.
If it had been someone else, even if that person had secured a permanent position, Wang Xiaohong might not have felt so miserable.
But it had to be Zhou Hongxia. Watching her life get better only made Wang Xiaohong’s own misery look even more pathetic.
Earlier that day, she had seen Li Mingliang return with Zhou Hongxia while she was working in the fields. Her heart had felt as though it were being pricked by needles.
Later in the afternoon, she had happened to see Zhou Hongxia walk Li Mingliang out. This time, it felt as if a chunk of flesh had been carved from her heart.
In the past, whenever Li Mingliang came to Wangjia Village, he would always stop by her house for a visit.
But now everything had changed. Chuntao was gone, and Zhou Hongxia worked alongside Li Mingliang every day. He had long since forgotten Wang Xiaohong completely—not even coming anywhere near the entrance to her home.
Wang Xiaohong turned over. Her eyes grew hot, and tears slid down her cheeks.
From the room next door came Wang Jieshi’s intermittent moans, muffled and full of pain.
Wang Jieshi had been paralyzed for two years, and his health was steadily deteriorating. Even his one remaining functional leg ached from time to time, and rainy or overcast days were especially agonizing.
The household never ran out of headache powder. Whenever the pain came, he would take a packet. It had worked at first, but the more he took, the less effective it became.
He had only just finished taking some, yet the pain had already returned.
The hardships of life had long since worn Wang Xiaohong numb. Hearing Wang Jieshi’s groans, she did not get up. She merely pulled the quilt over her head, trying to shut out the sound.
A thought had occurred to her countless times, growing stronger with each passing day.
Once a person was dead, everything would be over. They would no longer have to suffer—and it would be better for everyone.
Zhou Hongxia was not the only one unable to sleep that night.
She and Wang Xiaohong had grown up together. Though they were not sisters by blood, they were closer than many real sisters.
Zhou Hongxia had only been able to get her oilfield job thanks to Wang Xiaohong’s help, and she had always remembered that kindness.
But ever since she had secured a permanent position at the oilfield—and Chuntao had left the Wang family—Wang Xiaohong’s attitude toward her had changed.
Wang Xiaohong had always been proud and competitive. She could never stand to fall behind anyone.
Now Zhou Hongxia was a permanent oilfield employee, while Wang Xiaohong was still scraping a living from the land. The difference between them was plain for all to see, and Zhou Hongxia understood why her friend was having such a hard time.
Whenever she came home, Zhou Hongxia would bring Wang Xiaohong a gift. Wang Xiaohong would either refuse it outright or accept it with an unhappy expression.
Zhou Hongxia was sincerely trying to be kind and had no intention of showing off. But to Wang Xiaohong, every gift felt like a finger poking at her sore spot.
That afternoon, Zhou Hongxia had worked in the fields with her family. Her thoughts shifted constantly between Wang Xiaohong and Han Wenke.
She had originally planned to finish her meal and go talk to Wang Xiaohong, hoping to clear up the misunderstanding. But after thinking it over, she decided against it.
Wang Xiaohong was troubled these days and prone to overthinking. Visiting her might only create more friction.
Zhou Hongxia thought that if Han Wenke was willing to court her, the knot in Wang Xiaohong’s heart would naturally come undone.
But if Han Wenke was unwilling, then Zhou Hongxia would still have to work alongside Li Mingliang every day, and Wang Xiaohong would continue to feel uncomfortable.
The only way to erase the misunderstanding was to bring Wang Xiaohong and Li Mingliang together.
Yet Li Mingliang clearly had no such feelings for Wang Xiaohong. Forcing them together would only be awkward.
Unless Li Mingliang married—or Zhou Hongxia herself got married—Wang Xiaohong’s resentment would never truly disappear.
Zhou Hongxia went over every possibility in her mind, and her thoughts became a tangled mess.
Neither woman slept a wink that night.
The next morning, after breakfast, Zhou Hongxia used going to the market as an excuse and rode her bicycle to Qingshan Street.
She wore a white dacron shirt under a pale blue jacket, dark-blue Dika trousers, and a pair of black leather shoes.
Tall and slender, with large double-lidded eyes and healthy light-brown skin, Zhou Hongxia had cut her former long braid into the fashionable short student haircut of the time.
The outfit made her look fresh and spirited. Along the road from Wangjia Village to Qingshan Street, she drew quite a few admiring glances.
The veterinary station stood at the southern end of Qingshan Street and was visible as soon as one entered the street.
It was Friday. Knowing Han Wenke was at work, Zhou Hongxia thought it would be inappropriate to disturb him suddenly. She decided to browse the market and wait until noon, when he got off work, to go see him.
As she passed the veterinary station, she could not resist glancing inside, hoping to catch sight of Han Wenke.
The moment she looked in, her heart plunged into an icy abyss, and her whole body shuddered.
It was Han Wenke.
He was walking toward the entrance with a young woman, who had her arm linked affectionately through his. Both of them were smiling, and it was obvious that their relationship was far from ordinary.
Zhou Hongxia froze for a moment, then quickly pushed her bicycle onward. She stopped beside a stall selling farm tools up ahead and pretended to examine the merchandise, though her eyes kept drifting toward the entrance.
“Brother Ke, I’m heading out. Come over on Sunday, and I’ll make you some dumplings!”
The young woman stood at the entrance, her voice bright and clear, her laugh open and cheerful.
“All right. I’ll come if nothing else comes up!”
The two of them were intimate in their movements and warm in their conversation. Zhou Hongxia was absolutely certain that they were a couple.
Every letter she had written to Han Wenke had disappeared without a reply. She had deceived herself by insisting that he probably had never received them.
But now she understood. He had already found someone. All this time, she had been nothing more than a pathetic fool indulging in a one-sided fantasy.
In that instant, every one of her hopes shattered.
Han Wenke had a permanent job, and he was a fine-looking man. Matchmakers must be lining up to introduce him to women.
It had been so long since he had broken up with his previous girlfriend. How could he possibly still be single? She should have faced reality long ago.
Now that she had seen it with her own eyes, she finally gave up completely.
Zhou Hongxia no longer had any desire to browse the market. She got on her bicycle and rode home in a daze.
She did not dare let her family see what was wrong. She forced herself to act as though nothing had happened: she went to the fields when it was time to work and did whatever chores needed doing. But only she knew how utterly hopeless she felt. Every tear had to be swallowed.
She and Han Wenke were impossible. She even felt that she would never fall in love with anyone else for the rest of her life.
Meanwhile, Aunt Zhou was still quietly making plans for her granddaughter’s marriage.
Zhou Hongxia was miserable. That evening, she drank only a bowl of thin gruel before going to bed early.
Wang Haiying noticed that something was wrong. She poured a cup of tea, went into the inner room, and lit the kerosene lamp beside the bed.
“Hongxia, are you just tired, or are you feeling unwell?”
“I’m fine.”
Zhou Hongxia had tried her best to keep herself under control, but her voice still carried a heavy nasal tone.
“Are you sure? You hardly drank any soup tonight.”
As mother and daughter were talking, Aunt Zhou came into the room carrying Jianshe.
“Grandma…”
The moment Zhou Hongxia spoke, her eyes reddened.
Aunt Zhou immediately saw that something was troubling her. She handed Jianshe to Wang Haiying.
“Take him out and play with him for a while. I need to talk to Hongxia.”
Wang Haiying accepted Jianshe. After hesitating briefly, she turned and went outside.
As soon as he was gone, Zhou Hongxia seized Aunt Zhou’s hand. Before she could say a word, tears welled up in her eyes.
Just then—
Wang Xiaohong’s heart-wrenching cries suddenly rang out from beyond the courtyard gate. Her voice was hoarse.
“Uncle Zhiguo! Auntie Haiying! Hongxia… my brother… my brother’s not going to make it…
Please, save him—!”
