After returning home, Ji Zhaoxi told Qin Du about this matter.
"Brother Qin Du, do you want to go? They can teach you too."
Those educated youths must have read a lot of books. Although Qin Du had also read books, Ji Zhaoxi subconsciously felt that people from the city were more capable.
Seeing that Qin Du didn't say anything, Ji Zhaoxi tugged at his sleeve. Qin Du sighed, "I don't need them to teach me."
Ji Zhaoxi nodded thoughtfully. "Then I won't go either."
Qin Du responded with a low hum.
"The weather is getting cold now. Wear an extra layer when you go out from now on."
Actually, Ji Zhaoxi was already wearing a lot; it was Qin Du who was wearing very little.
At first, Ji Zhaoxi thought Qin Du didn't have money or clothes, so she brought several thick garments from her own home for him.
Qin Du thought she just wanted to tease him again, so he didn't say anything and obediently put them on, only to end up sweating all over from the heat.
Later, Ji Zhaoxi found out that Qin Du naturally had a high body temperature and didn't need to sit by a fire to keep warm like others did.
Ji Zhuxin had just returned from the county town. She glanced inside from the door of the side room.
Ji Zhaoxi was dressed warmly, holding two tin hot water bottles. On the table was a bowl of steaming sweet water. A blanket rested on the rocking chair nearby, which was also padded with thick bedding. It was obvious at a glance who it was for.
As for Qin Du's side, there was nothing.
Ji Zhaoxi looked down at the hot water bottles in her arms, then looked up and said something to Qin Du. Qin Du stood up and went to fill the tin bottles with hot water.
His proficiency made it clear that he did this often.
Ji Zhuxin shook her head and left silently.
Seeing them get along so well, her feelings were actually quite complex. Of course she hoped Qin Du could take good care of Ji Zhaoxi, but she was also afraid that he might be unwilling in his heart.
Ji Zhuxin entered the Qin family's house next door. She took off her military overcoat and rubbed her hands together.
"Auntie, is the room still warm?"
Mother Qin lay on the bed, smiling cheerfully. "It's warm, of course it's warm."
Ji Zhuxin filled a bowl with some pickled vegetables and handed it to Mother Qin. "The weather is getting colder and colder. The kids are about to take the college entrance examination, but God doesn't seem to care."
Mother Qin ate the pickled vegetables, the wrinkles on her face relaxing at once. She couldn't help but sigh, "If I don't eat a little every day, I feel like something is missing."
"They work hard studying every day, but if they pass the exam, life will be easier in the future."
Ji Zhuxin smiled and nodded. "I only have one goal now: to let these two kids take the college entrance examination smoothly."
"Auntie, Qin Du has a good personality. He takes good care of our Zhaoxi. You raised him well."
Mother Qin's eyes curved in a smile, and she couldn't help coughing a few times. "He's a quiet gourd; there's nothing particularly good or bad about his personality."
"It's Zhaoxi who has a good personality. She's made him more cheerful."
Speaking of this, Mother Qin began to talk again about the time Ji Zhaoxi carried her down the mountain.
"I was thinking at the time that this girl must have an incredibly kind heart. In my condition back then, even an adult wouldn't dare to carry me, but she dared to, and it was so hard for her."
Ji Zhuxin had a hint of pride in her eyes. "Auntie, you're really right. I might have raised her to be a bit delicate, but her heart is kind."
She couldn't help but feel a little emotional. "When she was little, I didn't make much money and could only gather firewood to earn work points. She felt sorry for me. She was barely as tall as the firewood, but she started helping me drag it."
"She even followed others to pick up coal cinders. Her hands and little face were all black. I was both angry and heartbroken at the time."
Raising a child is like this—there are times of anger, but mostly it's joy.
Once the two women started chatting, there was no end to it. They cried one moment and laughed the next.
The night grew deep. The kerosene lamp emitted a dim light, casting it onto the paper filled with writing.
Ji Zhaoxi was leaning on Qin Du's desk. Qin Du lowered his head and gently massaged the back of her neck. Ji Zhaoxi felt a wave of numbness spread through her body, and the stiffness in her neck eased considerably. She closed her eyes in comfort.
"Tomorrow I'll make the desk a bit higher," Qin Du said in a low voice.
Ji Zhaoxi shrank inward. From this angle, it looked as if Ji Zhaoxi was completely embraced in Qin Du's arms, even though both of them knew there was still quite a distance between them.
Qin Du lightened his breathing, his gaze struggling to shift to the kerosene lamp.
He remembered that she used to be very afraid of him at first. But he didn't know since when, she started frequently asking him to do this and that. That was how the two became familiar, and surprisingly, he found himself unable to refuse her.
"Go to bed early tonight. I'll wake you up tomorrow morning."
Seeing that Ji Zhaoxi didn't speak, Qin Du gently pinched her, and Ji Zhaoxi nodded groggily.
His mother often told him to take good care of his little sister. So this is what it feels like to have a sister?
He had a younger brother before, but if he was disobedient, he would just beat him up.
A sister shouldn't be treated like that, right.
The study atmosphere in the educated youth compound was very intense.
Educated Youth Xie waited in the compound for a long time, but he just didn't see Ji Zhaoxi come looking for him. He paced around the yard irritably.
Lin Yitang glanced at him several times and frowned. "What exactly is wrong with you?"
At the mention of this, Educated Youth Xie became angry. "It's all because of that Qin Du, always holding people back."
Hearing Qin Du's name, Lin Yitang's hand paused while turning the pages of her book. "What did he do this time?"
"What did he do? Hmph!" Educated Youth Xie sat in front of Lin Yitang, filled with righteous indignation. "Last time I went to find Zhaoxi, I asked her if she wanted to study with us, and she said she wanted to invite Qin Du!"
Lin Yitang lowered her eyes and said casually, "Then let them both come. It's all for studying anyway."
Educated Youth Xie choked on his words, decisively ignoring her comment. "In the end, she said she would come if Qin Du came. Since she's not here now, it must be because Qin Du won't let her come!"
"As the son of the Five Black Categories, what books could he possibly have read? What could he teach Zhaoxi? He's completely delaying her progress."
Lin Yitang said softly, "He even knows Russian. Maybe he really did read a lot of books before."
"Russian?" Educated Youth Xie sneered. "He must be bragging. If he knows Russian, I'll take his surname."
Seeing him like this, Lin Yitang didn't say anything more.
The next day, Educated Youth Xie went to intercept Ji Zhaoxi.
"Zhaoxi, why don't you come to the compound and study with us?"
His face showed some grievance.
Ji Zhaoxi looked at him strangely. "Brother Qin Du will teach me."
"What does he know..." Educated Youth Xie held back his anger. "Zhaoxi, Qin Du has a bad class background. He won't pass the political background check when he registers. You'd better stay away from him, so you don't get implicated."
Ji Zhaoxi got a little angry. "You're talking nonsense. The broadcast clearly said they only look at grades, not class backgrounds."
Educated Youth Xie sighed. "Zhaoxi, you can't just believe whatever the broadcast says."
Although that was what was said, how much time had passed since then? How could they possibly ignore class backgrounds?
Anyway, he felt that Qin Du definitely wouldn't be able to register, simply because he was a descendant of the Five Black Categories.
Ji Zhaoxi didn't listen at all; she pushed him aside and ran away.
