When Dong Huimin heard what Accountant Sun said, she staggered backward in fright. How had this suddenly become about having a child? She wasn’t stupid. If she were accused of having an improper relationship with a man, her future would be ruined—let alone any chance of returning to the city. And with an old man like Accountant Sun, she would never sleep with him for the sake of a chance to go home, no matter how desperate she was.
The smell of alcohol on Accountant Sun made Dong Huimin instinctively want to leave. She felt she had come at the wrong time—at the very least, she shouldn’t have come when Accountant Sun was home alone.
Accountant Sun had been drinking by himself and was already feeling the effects. He was a lecherous old man to begin with, and before Dong Huimin could react, he lunged at her.
Dong Huimin was knocked to the ground. Her forehead struck the bench beside her, making her vision swim with black spots. The rough brick floor scraped her elbow, and a sharp pain shot through her. Before she could catch her breath, Accountant Sun’s mouth, with its large, yellow teeth, came down toward her.
The instinct to survive overwhelmed her fear. Accountant Sun had pinned down her wrists and clamped her legs in place, but Dong Huimin summoned every ounce of strength she had and slammed her forehead hard into the bridge of his nose. Stars exploded across Accountant Sun’s vision, and he instinctively raised a hand to cover his bleeding nose. Dong Huimin seized the opportunity to break free, kicked him away with all her strength, and scrambled to her feet, using both legs to shove herself up from the floor.
Dong Huimin was trembling all over. Her hair was disheveled, and blood from the cut at her temple slid down along her brow. She clutched the torn front of her clothes tightly in one hand and staggered toward the door. She didn’t even have the courage to look back. She only wanted to get away—far, far away.
Outside the door, Tan Yanping had just been about to leave from behind the woodpile when she saw Dong Huimin flee in disarray. Intermittent curses drifted out from the courtyard. Tan Yanping felt frightened as well and hurried away after Dong Huimin.
Dong Huimin ran all the way to the entrance of the educated youth compound. Seeing the place brightly lit, she didn’t dare go inside. She was afraid someone would see her in her current state. If that happened, she would truly be finished.
She circled around to the back of the compound and hid in a gap in the pile of cornstalks, planning to wait until midnight, when everyone was sound asleep, before sneaking back in.
When Tan Yanping returned to the compound, her heart was still pounding wildly. What had she seen? Could Dong Huimin and Accountant Sun really have that kind of relationship? Had the two of them argued because of the spot at the Workers-Peasants-Soldiers University?
Tan Yanping’s imagination ran wild.
In truth, Tan Yanping detested Dong Huimin. Dong Huimin appeared to manage the educated youth compound fairly, but in reality, she was extremely fond of taking advantage of others. Whenever a new educated youth arrived, Dong Huimin would take something from them.
Tan Yanping had been here for three years, and this was only the second spot available at the Workers-Peasants-Soldiers University. Who knew how long it would be before another one came along? In fact, Dong Huimin was the most likely person to receive it. She had been here the longest, and on the surface, she managed the educated youth compound quite well.
But what if… Dong Huimin were disqualified?
Wouldn’t that mean Tan Yanping had a chance?
Tan Yanping bit her lower lip. She wanted to fight for herself just once. Glancing at the time, she put on a worried expression and cautiously said, “It’s so late, and Huimin still isn’t back. Do you think something could have happened to her? Should we go out and look for her?”
Huang Xiaoli quickly chimed in, “Yes. Huimin never goes out at night. Where could she have gone today?”
Jing Chunxiang abruptly sat up on the kang bed. “Huimin isn’t at the educated youth compound? I thought she was chatting in the room next door. What time is it now? Hurry, let’s get everyone together and go look for her.”
As they spoke, they all put on their shoes and climbed down from the kang. They also called the male educated youths, and more than a dozen of them began searching the village for Dong Huimin.
Dong Huimin had never expected the people from the educated youth compound to come looking for her. Hidden in a pile of corn stalks, listening to their calls ring out again and again outside, she was on the verge of collapse.
She simply couldn’t understand why these people had to be so meddlesome. What did it have to do with them? Why were they out looking for her?
Tan Yanping did not go far. She had just seen Dong Huimin slip into the corn-stalk pile, so she dragged two female educated youths around the area, circling back and forth. She absolutely could not give Dong Huimin a chance to sneak back to the educated youth compound.
Jing Chunxiang headed all the way to the stone houses, knocking on doors and asking whether anyone had seen Dong Huimin. She thought Dong Huimin might have gone visiting at someone’s home, but after searching around, she found nothing.
Xiao Mandong and Xiao Manxue did not help look for her. It was far too dark; she had no intention of giving Sun Wenbin an opportunity to make a move against her for Dong Huimin’s sake. Besides, she held grudges.
Zhou Qichuan was a soldier; he could not simply stand by. The commotion grew larger and larger, until even the Brigade Leader was alerted. Dozens of villagers—men, women, young, and old—came out carrying flashlights and kerosene lamps, searching everywhere.
Zhou Qichuan’s second uncle, Zhou Mancang, staggered out drunk when someone called for him. He was desperate to relieve himself, so he went looking for a secluded spot and ended up beside the corn-stalk pile behind the educated youth residence. He undid his trousers and began to piss.
The stream landed squarely on Dong Huimin, who was curled up in a ball inside. The pungent stench snapped her already taut nerves in an instant.
Dong Huimin let out a scream and clawed her way out of the corn-stalk pile like a madwoman.
Unable to endure it any longer, she doubled over and retched uncontrollably. At some point, her grip on the front of her clothes had loosened, leaving Zhou Mancang staring at her in stunned disbelief.
That scream instantly drew a crowd of villagers. Someone shone a flashlight on her: her torn collar, the dried blood on her forehead, the way she kept retching. She looked utterly wretched.
Tan Yanping wore a look of panic as she squeezed to the front, her voice urgent. “Huimin, y-you… why are you here? We’ve all been worried sick about you. What happened to you?”
Then she turned and saw Zhou Mancang, who had not yet managed to fasten his trousers. Looking from him to Dong Huimin, she pointed at Zhou Mancang. “Y-you… what did you do to Huimin?”
Tan Yanping’s accusation gave Zhou Mancang a fright. “You damned girl… don’t talk nonsense! I came here with everyone else. I was just taking a piss. Whatever happened to her has nothing to do with me.”
Wang Dazhuang’s father quickly spoke up for Zhou Mancang. “It really has nothing to do with him. We were drinking together tonight. Mancang said he went off to relieve himself, and who would’ve thought that one splash of piss would flush out Educated Youth Dong? If we’d known a single piss could find her, we’d have had Mancang take one long ago. Would’ve saved everyone from searching for so long.”
Only then did everyone turn their attention back to the matter. Exactly—they had been looking for over an hour. This woman had been hiding here all along without coming out. Was she playing them for fools?
Zhou Mancang’s wife had just arrived when she heard Tan Yanping slandering her husband. With her hands on her hips, she cursed, “You shameless sluts, crawling into the corn stalks in the middle of the night—who knows if you came here to meet some man? We called out to you so many times. Why didn’t you come out? We’ve worked all day, and now you’ve got us playing hide-and-seek with you? Are you having fun making fools of us?”
“Exactly! This is outrageous. Hurry up and pull apart that pile of corn stalks—see if someone’s hiding inside!”
Just then, the Brigade Leader hurried over. The sight of Dong Huimin startled him as well, and he quickly began shooing everyone away. “What are you all standing around for? Go home. Everyone’s had a hard day.”
“Educated Youth Dong, are you all right?”
Overwhelmed with humiliation, Dong Huimin covered her face and ran off in tears.
