Qin Du listened calmly to what Lin Yitang was saying.
About her prejudice against the villagers, her prejudice against him, and her regrets.
Qin Du understood, but he wasn't sure why she was telling him all this.
Lin Yitang gathered her courage, "I am truly sorry about that time. I apologize."
"No need."
After saying that, Qin Du prepared to leave.
Lin Yitang followed him, a bit anxious. "Qin Du, are you still angry? Last time I saw you save Ji Zhaoxi, I knew you weren't the kind of person they say you are."
At that time, he was in a sorry state, covered in dirt, and a piece of his clothes had been torn off to bandage Ji Zhaoxi. Seeing so many people arriving, he didn't claim any credit but simply left on his own.
In the eyes of the educated youths and the villagers, he was selfish, vicious, cruel, and greedy.
But the real Qin Du was completely different from what they described.
Qin Du listened in silence. He finally looked at her, his eyes very calm.
He didn't know what kind of answer she expected to get by saying these things.
He had only helped her move some books, and she had merely lent him a book once.
As for what she said, Qin Du never took those things to heart. Being misunderstood was the most normal thing in the world for him, and he wouldn't get angry over it.
Both of them fell silent.
Qin Du shouldered his hoe and continued on his way. Lin Yitang stared blankly at his retreating back, unsure of what to think.
Qin Du's calm gaze suddenly surfaced in her mind. Why had she been so agitated just now?
Was she trying to prove something? Prove that she was different from those people? Or something else...
The Russian novel in her hand was not given away. With a trace of confusion in her eyes, Lin Yitang turned and left.
This entire scene was witnessed by Ji Zhuxin from inside the house.
"I have to say, Qin Du and Educated Youth Lin are quite a match. Both of them are good people."
Ji Zhuxin smiled and packed up her things.
She glanced at Ji Zhaoxi and warned, "Don't go picking up coal cinders anymore, and don't go learning how to stitch shoe soles from others, hear me?"
Last time, as soon as she entered the village, she saw Ji Zhaoxi standing with a few people, both hands dyed pitch-black by coal, her face smudged like a dirty cat, talking about earning work points and making money for her.
Ji Zhuxin was so furious that she took off her shoe right then and there and started beating her.
She had finally managed to keep the two sisters from having to do hard labor, yet she went out of her way to find hard labor to do.
Although Ji Zhuxin had a job in the county, her salary wasn't very high. Her main income came from doing errands for the village chief's wife.
Some people in the village wanted favors from the village chief, but giving money directly was too conspicuous. Since Ji Zhuxin had a respectable job and wouldn't easily arouse suspicion, the village chief's wife had her collect those bribes under the guise of "borrowing money" or "buying things together."
The risk was high, but the hush money the village chief's wife paid was also substantial.
Even Ji Zhaoxi didn't know about this. Ji Zhaoxi simply thought her older sister was incredibly capable, working in the county and earning a lot of money.
The weather was gradually turning cooler.
Phrases like "respect knowledge, respect talent" began appearing frequently in the newspapers. The educated youths in the village were the most sensitive to this; they started running to the commune every day, inquiring if there were any new policies about returning to the city.
Working in the county, Ji Zhuxin vaguely sensed that something was up, and her suspicions were confirmed when she saw her colleagues starting to look for books.
As soon as she got off work, she immediately ran to the recycling station to look for books. She didn't know which books to buy for Ji Zhaoxi, so she just looked for whatever others were looking for, and grabbed a few for Qin Du along the way.
There was a huge pile of books here, and Ji Zhuxin was dazzled by the sight. She decided to go back and ask tonight, then come back to look again tomorrow.
The bookstores were already empty. The educated youths also began rummaging through chests and cupboards for old books. Those with backgrounds immediately started writing letters home, asking their families to mail books over.
As a result, when Ji Zhuxin arrived at that recycling station again the next day, there were no books left inside.
"Just last night, while I was still sleeping, a group of people came here looking for books." The old man sat at the door, his face glowing red. "I told them this is a recycling station, not a bookstore, but those kids still insisted on buying."
Ji Zhuxin was filled with regret; she should have bought more at the time.
She immediately discussed it with her colleague and took time off right during work hours. The two of them searched through all the recycling stations in the county.
Ji Zhuxin no longer cared which books were useful and which were not. She bought everything related to math, physics, and chemistry, and even managed to snatch up some English booklets. It was like fighting for her life, packing them in until they were overflowing.
Most of the people snatching books were parents helping out; the younger ones were squeezed out in an instant.
The educated youths in the village also started staying indoors. Chen Yiping, who used to always play wildly outside, hadn't been seen running around the village for a long time.
The villagers were still sighing about how quiet the village had become recently. The other children often went to look for Chen Yiping, but after being shooed out a few times, they had no choice but to go play in the fields by themselves.
At this time, there was no official notice about the resumption of the college entrance examination, but the educated youths in the compound had already set up study groups, even gathering together at night to discuss their studies.
"From now on, you are not allowed to go out and play anymore. You will stay in the house and study with Brother Qin Du."
The expression on Ji Zhuxin's face was extremely serious.
Ji Zhaoxi asked in a low voice, "Sis, is the college entrance examination really going to be restored?"
Ji Zhaoxi frowned tightly: "There's no notice yet, but look at those educated youths, and Chen Yiping, he's already studying, you must also start studying."
Ji Zhaoxi had no concept of studying at all. Qin Du, on the other hand, had gone to school for a few years before, and his father was a well-known educated man in the village, though unfortunately, he was no longer around.
Upon hearing this news, Mother Qin silently shed tears. There was finally a way out in life. She tightly held Qin Du's hand: "Hurry up and thank your Sister Zhuxin. If it weren't for her telling us, we wouldn't even know."
Qin Du hadn't expected that he would live to see the day the college entrance examination was restored. He nodded to Ji Zhuxin: "Thank you, Sister Zhuxin."
Ji Zhuxin placed the dozen or so books on the table.
"Qin Du, you and my sister use these first. See which ones are useful, and I'll go find more books for you later."
She hesitated for a moment: "I heard you went to school before, so your foundation must be better. Please take the trouble to teach our Zhaoxi more. She is very smart."
Qin Du nodded: "It's what I should do."
There was a side room behind the Ji family's house containing a large coffin. It was originally meant for Father Ji, but he had died out of town at the time, and Ji Zhuxin couldn't go there, so the coffin had just been left here ever since.
She tidied up a bit and let the two of them study here.
Ji Zhuxin patted Ji Zhaoxi's head and smiled, "You're so timid, you're not scared, are you?"
Ji Zhaoxi shook her head: "Not scared."
She had grown up looking at this coffin since she was little. Once, she even secretly lay inside it, and when her sister found out, she was nearly beaten half to death.
