The person walking out of the courtyard was a little girl, about four or five years old. Xiao Mandong instinctively moved closer, wanting to get a better look.
The girl was as thin as a stick, wearing a jacket riddled with holes. It did not even have any decent patches on it. The sleeves were far too short, exposing her slender wrists.
When the girl saw Zhou Xiaomei, she rushed straight into her arms.
Zhou Xiaomei crouched down and gently wiped the tears from the girl's face. No one knew what she whispered to her, but the child's shoulders trembled. It was obvious that she was crying.
A moment later, Zhou Xiaomei took a wrapped package from inside her coat and stuffed it into the girl's hands.
The little girl accepted it without opening it, clutching it tightly while occasionally wiping the tears from her face with her sleeve.
Zhou Xiaomei reached out and gently rubbed the girl's head, reminding her of something.
The little girl nodded, but remained completely silent.
Only after watching the little girl enter the courtyard did Zhou Xiaomei stand up and turn to leave. After taking a few steps, she looked back again and wiped her face with her sleeve before quickening her pace toward the stone house.
Xiao Mandong watched until Zhou Xiaomei's figure disappeared into the night before stepping out from behind the pile of firewood.
She had already been in the village for quite some time, but she had never seen this girl before. And as far as she remembered, Zhao Tiezhu's family had a son. How had they suddenly gotten a daughter?
Xiao Mandong yawned, stopped letting her imagination run wild, and hurried home.
After returning home and locking the door, she slipped into her space. The first thing she saw was Diandian gnawing on a cucumber from her space.
When Diandian saw Xiao Mandong come in, the cucumber fell from its mouth. It blinked, then scampered over to Xiao Mandong and rubbed its head against her leg, whimpering in its throat.
Xiao Mandong moved away from Diandian's rubbing. “Stop that. I'll give you a bath when I have time. You stink.”
Diandian immediately stood up and clung tightly to her leg with both front paws, wagging its tail nonstop.
Xiao Mandong took a step back. “Why are you suddenly being so affectionate?”
Diandian dropped back onto all fours and pawed at the ground a few times. Then it barked twice, lowered its head, bit down on the hem of her trousers, and tugged forward.
Xiao Mandong looked down at Diandian. “You want to go outside?”
Diandian let go and barked once. Its tail spun like a windmill, followed by two more whimpers.
Xiao Mandong carried it out of the space and set it down in the courtyard. The moment its paws touched the ground, it rushed to the base of the wall and lifted its leg to pee a huge puddle. Then it ran to the small mound of dirt in the backyard, stuck its rear end out, and left an enormous pile.
While doing its business, its bright, round eyes remained fixed on Xiao Mandong, and its expression looked rather aggrieved.
Only after it finished did it run back to Xiao Mandong and sneeze several times in a row.
Furious, Xiao Mandong smacked it on the head. “Are you cursing at me now?”
She remembered seeing something online in her previous life saying that when a dog sneezed, it was insulting someone—and supposedly in extremely filthy language.
“Try cursing at me again.”
Diandian hunched its neck and sat on the ground, its tail sweeping the dirt. Its little face was full of innocent bewilderment.
“Guard the courtyard tonight. I'll give you meat tomorrow.”
As she spoke, she could not resist pinching Diandian's furry cheeks.
Xiao Mandong slipped back into the space and tossed out the half cucumber Diandian had left behind.
Diandian...
It let out a howl, then crawled back into its doghouse.
Xiao Mandong slept until dawn. After washing up, she cooked noodles for herself and Diandian, and boiled two poached eggs for Diandian as well.
After breakfast, she took her barefoot doctor certificate and prepared to find the brigade leader to have it stamped.
She had not gone far when Jian Qiuyue caught up with her from behind.
“Mandong, why didn't you go to the hospital to work today?”
Xiao Mandong took out a packet of honey candies she had made herself and popped one into Jian Qiuyue's mouth.
“My barefoot doctor certificate came through. From now on, I'll go to the city two days a week. The rest of the time, I'll hold consultations in the village.”
“These candies are made with honey, dried tangerine peel, goji berries, and lots of other medicinal ingredients. I made them myself. They're good for the liver. This packet is for you.”
She did not mention that she had also added spirit spring water. She actually had a pretty good impression of Jian Qiuyue. Jian Qiuyue had helped her before, and Xiao Mandong believed in returning kindness. She would always remember those who treated her well.
Jian Qiuyue held the candy in her mouth, her eyes lighting up. “The flavor is so strange, but it's really delicious.”
She quickly stuffed the packet into her pocket. The candy was so tasty that she was unwilling to share it with anyone.
Jian Qiuyue began chattering about her latest bit of gossip.
“Mandong, you still don't know, do you? Huimin was chosen as the village's scorekeeper yesterday. The old Party secretary recommended her, and the villagers gave him enough respect that she passed the vote.”
Xiao Mandong said nothing and continued walking.
“Guess why the old Party secretary recommended her.” Jian Qiuyue looked at Xiao Mandong with a gossipy expression.
Xiao Mandong glanced at her. “Why?”
“Because she's dating the old Party secretary's eldest grandson. And I'm telling you, the old Party secretary's eldest grandson is three years younger than Huimin.”
Xiao Mandong nodded knowingly. “A woman three years older than a man is said to bring a whole chest of gold. Sounds good.”
Laughing and chatting, they reached the fork in the road and went their separate ways. The autumn harvest was keeping everyone busy. Jian Qiuyue had to go to work, while Xiao Mandong headed straight to the brigade office.
She had just walked through the entrance when someone shouted from behind:
“Brigade leader, hurry and take a look! Tiezhu's wife is having another episode and beating the child again. What a wicked thing to do! That wretched woman is truly horrible. How can she not even tolerate an eight-year-old child? The girl is eight, yet she's been abused until she looks four or five. If her mother were still alive, wouldn't it break her heart?”
The brigade leader threw down the farm tool he had been repairing and dusted the dirt from his hands before cursing.
“Again? Will this woman ever stop?”
He strode outside and happened to run into Xiao Mandong, who had just entered.
“Educated Youth Xiao, the commune said your barefoot doctor certificate has arrived. You came to have it stamped, right? Wait here for a moment. I need to deal with something first.”
With that, the brigade leader jogged toward the western end of the village.
Xiao Mandong tucked the barefoot doctor certificate into her pocket and hurried after the auntie who had come to report the incident.
“Auntie, what happened to Cai Shufen?”
“Oh, you don't know? Cai Shufen was Tiezhu's second wife. Zhao Tiezhu's first wife was a wonderful person. Her name was Xia Zhiqiu, and she was an educated youth too. But I heard her family background wasn't good, so people often bullied her.”
“Back then, people targeted her because she was beautiful. She almost fell victim to them, but Zhao Tiezhu rescued her. The two of them gradually fell in love. See that large brick house belonging to Zhao Tiezhu? The girl paid for it herself.”
“But Xia, the Educated Youth, fell ill and died when the child was two, leaving behind a poor little girl named Zhao Xiran. The child was so young and had no one to care for her, so someone introduced this Cai Shufen to Tiezhu.”
The auntie spoke so animatedly that spittle flew from her mouth. Another auntie beside her added a few words.
“Well, Tiezhu didn't exactly lose out either. Cai Shufen was still a virgin when she married him.”
“Oh, stop talking nonsense. She was an old maid who couldn't get married. She was too picky, and no one wanted her even after she was well into her twenties.”
