The two sisters returned to the educated youth spot. Xiao Mandong cradled her younger sister’s face in her hands, heartbroken at the bloody scratches. It seemed that in her past life, her sister’s misfortune was inseparable from Wang Yuanyuan and Hu Guizhen. In this life, she would make sure they tasted the bitter fruit of retribution.
“Alright, stop crying. I’ll fetch some clean water to wash your wound.”
Xiao Manxue had reverted to her old, spoiled self at home, sniffling and acting clingy with her sister.
Taking cover behind the water vat, Xiao Mandong secretly retrieved some spiritual spring water from her space. She couldn’t let her sister’s face scar.
The moment the spiritual water touched the wound, Xiao Manxue felt the pain ease instantly. It felt good to have family around—it even made the sting less sharp.
Only then did she notice her sister’s camphorwood trunk on the ground. She recognized it; it was the dowry chest their grandfather had personally made for her sister.
“Sis, why did you bring this trunk?”
“Mm. I sold my job and came to the countryside with you.”
Xiao Manxue jerked her head up. She knew her sister was already married. How could a married woman suddenly come to the countryside? She absolutely couldn’t disrupt her sister’s life. Even in her own hardship, she hadn’t gone to find her sister, knowing that marriage was no easy path and not wanting to cause her trouble with her in-laws.
“Sis, don’t worry about me. I’ll be fine. You should go back and live well with my brother-in-law. Don’t bother with me. Really.”
Xiao Mandong didn’t hide the truth. She told her sister everything that had happened recently with the Lu family.
Xiao Manxue’s tears fell without stop, her lower lip bitten hard. Just because their family had fallen from grace, everyone dared to bully them. Why?
Xiao Mandong sternly ordered her sister to stop crying, afraid the tears would infect the wounds.
“No crying. I didn’t consummate the marriage with him, I haven’t been sent down, and I have a good chunk of money from selling my job. Our future is bright. It’s their family that should be crying.”
Xiao Manxue threw her arms around her sister. She knew her sister had come to the countryside for her sake. Even if she divorced, with her job she wouldn’t have ended up too badly—she certainly didn’t have to come here to farm.
“Alright, no more tears. It would be a shame to scar such a pretty face.”
She took a tomato from her bamboo basket—one from the space—and handed it to her sister.
“It’s really delicious. Eat it, then we’ll go finish the fieldwork and talk more tonight.”
Xiao Manxue nodded, biting into the sweet-and-sour tomato. It felt like being back in the past, when they had family care. With her sister here, life seemed to have hope again. Just a few days ago, she had thoughts of giving up. Now her sister’s arrival rekindled her will to live.
They returned to the fields. Xiao Mandong told her sister to rest nearby—she could handle the work herself. But Xiao Manxue wouldn’t agree to that, so the two worked side by side, chatting as they went.
The villagers nearby remarked:
“They’re real sisters, you can see it. Take that Wang Yuanyuan—always going on about ‘sisters this, sisters that,’ but she’s nothing but passive-aggressive.”
“No kidding. If she hadn’t spread the word that Xiao Manxue’s family was capitalist—housekeeper, little villa, radio, electric fan—who would’ve known about their background?”
“She even looks a bit like these two. Honestly, she might really be the child of an affair.”
“Definitely. Remember how pale she turned? She ran off like a guilty person.”
Wang Yuanyuan didn’t dare lift her head. The villagers’ gossip buzzed faintly in her ears. She wished she could tear their mouths apart. But the one she hated most was Xiao Mandong. She silently swore that once Xiao Mandong left, she’d make Xiao Manxue pay. She didn’t believe Xiao Mandong could stay at the educated youth spot forever, protecting her sister all the time.
She knew that to avoid being sent to the countryside, Xiao Mandong had married early—probably in a village not far from here, though she didn’t know exactly where. But she’d been here over half a year and never once saw Xiao Mandong visit Xiao Manxue, not even a letter. Why would she show up out of the blue now? What a nuisance.
The Brigade Leader watched from a distance, surprised at how well Xiao Mandong worked. He hadn’t expected such a delicate-looking girl to handle the labor so smoothly.
That day, Xiao Manxue earned seven work points—normally she only managed five or six.
After work, everyone found out that Xiao Mandong had come to settle, not just for a short visit.
Wang Yuanyuan had always bullied Xiao Manxue, and now that her sister was staying for good, the others wondered how Wang Yuanyuan would take it.
People started preparing dinner. Dong Huimin explained the cooking rotation:
“The male educated youths chop firewood, and the female ones cook, two per day. We all eat together.”
“Who’s my sister paired with?” Xiao Mandong asked. She knew there had been eleven female educated youths before she arrived. With an extra person, how was the pairing supposed to work?
“No one wanted to be on a team with me,” Xiao Manxue said. “When it’s my turn, Huimin has to help me. She’s been really good to me—she’s helped me a lot in the year I’ve been here.”
Dong Huimin blushed at the praise. “Oh, it’s nothing. I’m just doing what I should as the person in charge—helping anyone who needs it.”
Xiao Mandong offered a sincere thank-you.
She’d remember those who were cruel to them, but she’d also be grateful to those who were kind. There was plenty of time ahead.
As for the cooking schedule, she went along with it for now. It would be four more years before the educated youth could return to the cities. She couldn’t stay at the spot forever. She had a big secret—her space—and she planned to move out with her sister eventually. For now, there was no point in arguing over minor arrangements.
Speaking of moving out, she wouldn’t consider renting a room from a local family. First, she needed to settle in; later, she’d make plans. Ideally, she’d lease a place, or if necessary, build one. Worse comes to worst, they could leave the house to the village when they left. She figured the village wouldn’t object.
Wang Yuanyuan was lost in anxious thoughts, the last to finish her work. As she trudged back, Chen Yulan ran up to her.
“Big news! What are you dawdling for?”
Wang Yuanyuan secretly despised Chen Yulan—always so loud and pushy, sticking her nose everywhere. But that same trait made Chen Yulan her perfect loudspeaker, spreading the dirt about Xiao Manxue through her.
“What is it? Anyone would think the sky’s falling.”
“Your cousin—she’s here to settle down! She’s not leaving!”
“What? You must have misheard.”
Wang Yuanyuan didn’t believe it. Impossible. Xiao Mandong was a married woman. She wouldn’t be sent to the countryside unless her husband had some serious issue that made him okay with it.
“True as true! She moved in with her stuff—luggage, quilts, everything. I asked Huimin. It’s real.”
Forgetting her exhaustion, Wang Yuanyuan hurried back to the spot. And sure enough, there was Xiao Mandong’s camphorwood trunk and piles of luggage.
How could this be? If the sisters were united, how could she ever have an easy life here?
“Sister Mandong, weren’t you already married? Why are you coming to the countryside?”
Xiao Mandong fanned her nose disdainfully.
"What's that smell? Is the back window open? Is it from the toilet? Why does it stink so bad?"
Unexpectedly, even though the Xiao family had been sent down to the countryside, Xiao Mandong was still just as arrogant as she was when they were kids:
"Sister Mandong, does Auntie know you're coming to the countryside?"
Xiao Mandong narrowed her eyes and gave Wang Yuanyuan a half-smile:
"Does that have anything to do with you?"
"I'm just concerned about you, that's all. Besides, I heard Auntie say you still have a job. If you come to the countryside, what will happen to your work?"
"Wang Yuanyuan, you'd better stay out of my business. I'm not going to put up with you. Don't push me, or I might just slap you."
Xiao Mandong said this calmly with a smile, making Wang Yuanyuan grit her teeth and shut up. She knew that Xiao Mandong wouldn't give her any leeway, and if it came down to it, she might really resort to violence. She made up her mind to write to her aunt and complain, so that her aunt would teach those two sisters a proper lesson. Her aunt doted on her the most.
