Meng City is a mountainous area. Lin Xi drove her SUV along the winding mountain road. After half a stretch of paved cement road, it turned into a dirt path, flanked by dense woods on both sides.
Occasionally, someone on a motorcycle would pass her. Unfamiliar with the route, Lin Xi drove slowly. After another half hour on the dirt road, she finally reached the first destination of her task.
The closer she got to the village, the more cautiously Lin Xi drove, as this was a perilous mountain-hugging road. One side clung tightly to the cliff face, while the other dropped off into a sheer cliff dozens of meters high. In the hollow below the cliff lay the village she was headed to.
This was Lin Xi's first time driving on such a mountain road, so she was extra careful.
Twenty minutes later, Lin Xi finally wound her way down from the upper mountain road and drove into the village.
The village was built along the slopes on both sides of the hollow. The only road ran straight through the entire village, ending at the far point of the hollow where there was an emerald-green pool.
As Lin Xi's car entered the village, many people came out to watch. Lin Xi rolled down her window and asked a thin woman carrying a basket on her back in the local dialect, "Auntie, hello. Could you tell me where Luo Shuzhen's house is?"
The thin woman had a large, heavy bundle of firewood laid crosswise on top of her basket, bending her back deeply.
"What do you want with Luo Shuzhen?" the thin woman asked, her eyes filled with clear wariness.
"I'm a friend of Luo Shuzhen's homeroom teacher, Lu Shenzhi. He asked me to come check on her."
At the mention of Lu Shenzhi, the woman's expression relaxed. She said, "Then follow me."
The road ahead was too narrow for the car to go further. Lin Xi pulled her car to the side, got out, and followed the woman on foot.
In March, deep within the mountains of Yunnan Province, it was still cold. Even at noon, it wasn't very warm. As Lin Xi got out of the car, she casually grabbed a jacket and put it on.
Although burdened, the thin woman walked quickly. They followed a side path along the cliff face upwards and stopped at the highest house.
She pushed open the gate: "Come in. This is Luo Shuzhen's home. I am Luo Shuzhen's mother."
Lin Xi had already guessed as much when she was led directly here. She stepped into the small courtyard. It wasn't big, with two fruit trees planted in a corner, already bearing small, unripe fruit.
Under the trees, a simple wooden fence enclosed a few free-range chickens.
The courtyard ground wasn't paved. It had rained a few days ago, and the earth was still slightly damp.
Luo's Mother pushed open the main door of the house, and everything inside was revealed to Lin Xi.
The floor was made of packed earth. Directly opposite the door, against the wall, was a row of ancestral tablets for Heaven, Earth, Sovereign, Ancestors, and Teachers. Besides that, there was only the fire pit by the door. Behind the fire pit stood a square table.
The remaining space was filled with many large and small, bulging burlap sacks, with scattered soil around them.
"Teacher, please sit here. I'll go call Zhenzhen back," Luo's Mother said before Lin Xi could speak, and hurried out.
Lin Xi sat on a wooden stool by the fire pit, recalling what Lu Shenzhi had told her about this student.
Luo Shuzhen, a child from a single-parent family. There were four children in her family; she was the eldest, with three younger siblings below her. Her father had been killed by explosives three years ago while working on road construction through the mountains. The boss symbolically compensated them with ten thousand yuan, and that was that.
She had persisted in her studies until her final semester of senior high school, but then she stopped going to school.
Yunnan Province is a place with particularly stark disparities between rich and poor. The rich are very wealthy, while the poor have almost nothing.
The state talks about poverty alleviation every year. In wealthy areas, they think it's easy; you can make money doing just about anything. But for some places and some people, lifting themselves out of poverty is incredibly difficult.
The people of this village, Aoshang Village, were among those for whom escaping poverty seemed nearly impossible.
Because there were no paddy fields here, only mountainous land. Their staple food was corn; if they wanted to eat rice, they had to buy it from outside. It wasn't that they didn't want to move out, but building a house, buying land, buying a house—everything required money.
Who wouldn't want to live in the commercial housing in the towns or the county seat? But even if the whole family worked outside for a year, after necessary expenses, they still couldn't earn enough to buy a single bathroom in the county town.
Property prices in Meng City weren't high, but they were still three to four thousand per square meter.
As Lin Xi was thinking, footsteps approached. She looked outside. Luo's Mother walked in front, still carrying her basket. The girl behind her wasn't having it easy either, carrying a white fertilizer bag on her shoulder.
Because of the sack, her hair was disheveled, shining with a white sheen under the sunlight.
The moment she saw Lin Xi, Luo Shuzhen was slightly stunned. There were many teachers at school, but Luo Shuzhen was certain she had never seen Lin Xi there.
Besides, Teacher Lu was already gone. Reportedly, it was a car accident. By the time he was taken to the hospital, it was too late to save him.
Teacher Lu was a good teacher, very attentive to students like her. Thinking of Lu Shenzhi, she used her relatively clean wrist to push the hair flying across her face behind her ear. Her mother brought a basin of water and placed it in the yard. Luo Shuzhen quickly washed her hands and face.
The clear water turned a murky yellow after she washed. She dried her face hastily and walked into the house.
Looking at Lin Xi, she smiled shyly. "Hello, I'm Luo Shuzhen."
Lin Xi smiled and nodded at her. "Hello. I'm here at Lu Shenzhi's request to find you. He asked me to ask you if you are still willing to go to school. If you are willing, you don't need to worry about tuition or living expenses. I will take care of them until you graduate from university."
Upon hearing these words from Lin Xi, Luo Shuzhen abruptly looked up, meeting Lin Xi's gaze directly. Her eyes shone with an astonishing brightness at that moment. Just as she was about to speak, Luo's Mother came in from the outside kitchen carrying two bowls. Hearing this, she quickened her pace.
In a few steps, she was in front of Lin Xi. She placed the bowls on the table, wiped her hands on the apron tied around her waist, and said, "Thank you for your kindness, teacher, but our Zhenzhen isn't going to study anymore. She's not going to school."
The light in Luo Shuzhen's eyes visibly dimmed.
Luo's Mother pulled over a stool and sat in front of Lin Xi. "Teacher, our Zhenzhen's father is gone. I'm alone and have to take care of all the family's land; I really can't manage it all. Zhenzhen is the eldest child in the family. She needs to stay home and help with the family work."
Luo's Mother's thin, sallow face was etched with an indescribable hardship. Without waiting for Lin Xi's response, she continued, "Her younger brothers and sisters are still small. As the eldest, she has the responsibility to support the family and help raise her siblings."
When Luo's Mother said these words, her tone was matter-of-fact. She didn't think making Luo Shuzhen drop out of school to come home and take care of the children was any big deal. In her mind, what's the point of reading so many books?
Knowing your own name, being able to count clearly, and recognizing money is enough, that's all you need. The reasons she let Luo Shuzhen go to school before were, one, Luo Shuzhen insisted on going, and two, the state waived Luo Shuzhen's tuition, and there were subsidies for living and meal expenses.
Besides, her husband had said that with a higher education, Luo Shuzhen would fetch a higher bride price when she married. But now her husband was gone. Luo Shuzhen had to come back and help her, otherwise she would be worked to death.
Lin Xi's gaze fell on Luo Shuzhen, who sat by the door, head bowed, her expression unclear.
Lin Xi asked Luo's Mother, "May I ask, how old are Luo Shuzhen's younger brothers and sisters?"
A smile appeared on Luo's Mother's face. "Her brother is fifteen, in junior high in the county town. He'll graduate from junior high soon and go to senior high."
Her second sister is a year younger than her brother. The two kids are in the same class. After this semester, I won't let her go to school anymore. I'll have her go work with people from the village. The money she earns will just be enough to support her brother through senior high.
"Zhenzhen also has a younger brother, just in sixth grade, also attending primary school in the county town. There's no school in our area here. If you want to study, you have to go to the county town. By the time he reaches senior high, her two older sisters will already be married and capable, able to help support him through university." Luo's Mother's tone was casual, as if having the sisters drop out to support their brothers' education was the most normal thing in the world.
Lin Xi looked at Luo's Mother, whose face already showed an expectant smile, and asked her, "What about you then? If Luo Shuzhen and her sister are supporting their brothers' schooling, what about you? What will you do?"
Luo Shuzhen suddenly looked up, her gaze burning as she stared at Luo's Mother. Luo's Mother was stunned; she clearly hadn't considered these questions.
Lin Xi continued to ask her, "Is this your real thinking? Or did someone tell you this?"
Luo's Mother knew the answer to this one. She said, "My husband told me. He instructed me before he passed."
Luo's mother's maternal family was deeper in the mountains. Daughters like her were exposed to this kind of education from childhood. At home, they listen to their parents; after marriage, they listen to their husbands, and they also need to support their maternal brothers.
She had been obedient her whole life, submissive her whole life. Her husband told her this before he died, so she listened. She didn't see anything wrong with making Luo Shuzhen and her sister drop out to support their brothers.
Because she had come through the same way. Even now, after finishing her own household chores, she went back to help her family with their work.
Lin Xi pressed on, "Then why can't it be Luo Shuzhen's brothers who drop out, work, and support Luo Shuzhen's schooling? Lu Shenzhi said that Luo Shuzhen's academic performance is very good. If she performs normally in the exams, getting into a second-tier university shouldn't be a problem."
Luo Shuzhen trembled, covering her face without a sound.
Luo's Mother was stunned for another moment, then she laughed, looking at Lin Xi. "Teacher, what kind of joke are you saying? Zhenzhen is a girl. How could we have her brothers support her studies? People would laugh us to death if word got out."
Lin Xi's temper could no longer be contained at this moment. The matter of favoring sons over daughters—Lin Xi had heard of it, seen it. Every time she confronted it directly, a surge of anger surged in her heart.
She glanced at Luo Shuzhen, took a deep breath, "Then if the sisters support their brothers' schooling, won't that be laughed at too?"
Luo's Mother originally had a bit of fear towards educated people like Lin Xi, but upon hearing these words from Lin Xi, her fear suddenly vanished.
"Teacher, you really know how to joke. No one would laugh. Every household is like this. Daughters are born to help their older and younger brothers."
Luo's mother's words made Lin Xi give up arguing with her. The education she had received since childhood was like this. After so many years, her concepts were already deeply ingrained, impossible to reverse anymore.
Just as Lin Xi was about to speak to Luo's Mother, Luo Shuzhen suddenly ran over from her seat. She crouched down in front of Luo's Mother.
"Mom, let me go study. I have just one semester left before graduating from senior high. After I get into university, I'll work summer jobs. I'll send the summer job wages back to you, and you can use it for Xiao Feng and Xiao Ping's schooling, okay?"
"Xiao Feng will start senior high next year. Senior high tuition is a huge sum, plus boarding and meal fees. If I stay home working with you, you won't be able to afford those costs."
What happens if the tuition can't be paid? Both Luo Shuzhen and Lin Xi knew—it could only mean marrying Luo Shuzhen off to earn a bride price. Luo Shuzhen had been to school. She had seen the vast world outside the mountain village.
She knew that in the world outside, a woman's value was different from in the mountain village. She knew that if she studied, her life would have countless possibilities. But if she didn't study, her life would be like Luo's Mother's.
Get married, have a bunch of children, then be busy for the children and the man her whole life.
That kind of life was too terrifying. In the days since she stopped going to school, Luo Shuzhen had that dream every night when she closed her eyes. That dream was too real, too frightening. Several times, Luo Shuzhen had woken up crying.
Luo Shuzhen knew that if she couldn't seize this opportunity, then her life would be like in her dreams. The best outcome would be her going out to work for a few years, finding a not-too-bad man outside, living a not-too-bad life.
Studying would be impossible.
Luo's Mother wasn't completely without love for her daughter. Seeing Luo Shuzhen cry like this, she felt a bit of heartache too. She wiped Luo Shuzhen's face and glanced at Lin Xi.
Then she said to Lin Xi with a smile, "Teacher, look, how about this? My Zhenzhen won't go study anymore. She'll stay home and help me with farm work, and you can support my Xiao Feng through senior high. My Xiao Feng's grades are good too. You'd definitely like him if you met him."
In Luo's Mother's eyes, her own son was loved by all, adored by all. Before her husband passed away, he had always said so. He always said their son was the most promising, the most accomplished person.
Luo Shuzhen let go of the hands resting on Luo's Mother's knees. A bitter smile appeared on her tear-streaked face that wasn't yet dry. Her mother did love her too, but this kind of love would vanish without a trace when it came up against her two younger brothers.
It was precisely because of this that it was most painful. Sometimes Luo Shuzhen wished her mother would treat her even worse, so that she could be thoroughly heartbroken and coldly draw a clear line with her, severing all ties.
Lin Xi was stunned by Luo's Mother's audacity, but upon careful thought, Luo's Mother's reasoning and actions were quite consistent with her own logic.
The smile faded from her face. "Sorry, I'm not a teacher. I'm here at Teacher Lu Shenzhi's request to help those he wants to help. Anyone not on his list is outside the scope of my assistance."
Luo's Mother was a little disappointed. The moment she had spoken the idea, she thought it was brilliant. It would ensure her son's education wasn't a worry, and she would have a helper for her work in the future.
Even after being rejected by Lin Xi, she kept thinking about it and felt her idea was truly excellent. "Teacher, really, can't we swap?"
She didn't believe Lin Xi wasn't a teacher. In her view, if Lin Xi wasn't a teacher, there would be no reason for her to care whether her child went to school or not.
"No."
Luo's Mother sighed, glanced at Luo Shuzhen sitting on the ground, and fell into deep thought. She didn't want Luo Shuzhen to go to school. With Luo Shuzhen at home, she had help with the farm work, and all the washing and cleaning around the house was done without her having to lift a finger.
If Luo Shuzhen left, all that farm work would fall on her alone, and she wouldn't even have a hot meal waiting when she returned. But what Luo Shuzhen said was also true. High school cost a lot of money.
Tuition, stationery, materials, meals, living expenses, school uniforms... everything required money. A year would easily cost two or three thousand.
She truly couldn't manage it alone. Besides, there was still a son and a younger daughter below. The daughter was one thing, but the son—she had to spend money to support him.
Before her husband died, he had said that if their son stayed in this poor mountain village, he'd be poor for life. His son had to get out, to leave these mountains behind.
She was deeply conflicted. Luo Shuzhen knew her mother best. Seeing her hesitation, Luo Shuzhen felt a surge of encouragement. She sat up straight. "Mom, I promise you, once I get an education and make it out, I will definitely pull my younger brother and sister up with me."
"I'll be a university graduate. When I go out to find a job, I can earn several thousand more a month than a high school graduate. I'll even be able to give you some pension money." Luo Shuzhen added more fuel to the fire.
Hearing this, the last trace of hesitation in Luo's Mother's heart vanished. There was a university graduate in her own maternal village who worked in a big city. His monthly salary was over ten thousand. After just a few years working outside, he had already bought a house.
She had seen photos of that house—bright, spacious, an apartment building. It was beautiful. He even found a wife from the city who also had a good job, reportedly earning a lot every month too.
He even gave his mother five hundred yuan in private savings every month. Five hundred! That was six thousand a year! Luo's mother had never held that much money in her hands before. The money in her family had never really been hers to control.
Luo's Mother looked at her eldest daughter. "Then you have to give me five hundred yuan every month."
Luo Shuzhen nodded. Just five hundred yuan. She wasn't afraid she couldn't earn it.
"Alright then, you can go study. Start giving me the money after you graduate. University is four years, right? So starting from your fifth year, you give it to me every month." Even though she had to wait five years for that five hundred yuan, Luo's Mother was still happy, feeling like life now had hope.
Lin Xi's anger towards Luo's Mother all transformed into pity and heartache.
Luo's Mother was deeply mired in the swamp of son preference. She didn't know how to struggle; she sank along with the swamp. Her environment forced her to become an accomplice to this bias. Yet, she was also remarkably easy to satisfy.
Five hundred yuan. Just for the promise of five hundred yuan a month, five years from now, this woman who had been so adamantly against Luo Shuzhen's education had relented.
Pitiful and tragic.
Luo Shuzhen scrambled up from the ground. She knew her mother. Right now, her mother was dizzy with the thought of that five hundred yuan, but in a little while, when her mind cleared, she would go back on her word.
She quickly ran into the room and came out in less than two minutes, carrying a bundle.
Luo Shuzhen's bundle had been packed long ago. She had already planned it: if she couldn't study, she wouldn't stay home doing farm work either. She would go out to find work.
There was no way she would stay home for two years, only to be casually married off by her mother for a high bride price.
Lin Xi stepped forward to help her. Luo's Mother had agreed to let Luo Shuzhen go to school for the sake of the five hundred yuan, but actually seeing her daughter pick up her bundle to leave made her unhappy again.
The farm work was just too exhausting. She had done it for two years and truly couldn't take it anymore. She also felt her daughter was heartless. Who was she suffering and toiling for, if not for them?
Yet this daughter of hers didn't feel the slightest bit of heartache for her, just leaving like that.
One look at her mother's expression told Luo Shuzhen exactly what she was thinking. She said, "Mom, if the work is too much, just do less. I'll come back on Saturdays and Sundays to help you. And don't be so reluctant with food. Cook more, eat your fill."
Luo Shuzhen's concern improved Luo's Mother's mood a little. She agreed and saw them off down the mountain. Along the way, Luo's Mother talked mostly about all the unfinished work back home.
The field ridges weren't fully cleared yet, the arrowroot had just been planted, the chili seedlings had just sprouted and needed planting in a couple of days. The corn and soybeans needed sowing too.
Lin Xi listened and waited quietly beside them. Luo Shuzhen looked at her mother. She had married her father at eighteen, and was now only thirty-eight.
But she looked so withered and thin, more weathered than fifty-year-olds from outside. In that moment, Luo Shuzhen's heart felt as if it were soaking in sour water, aching and bitter.
But she knew she was probably going to become the unfilial daughter her mother would talk about. She would not pay for her brothers' education, neither the older nor the younger one.
Not just because their grades were poor, but also because they had a fallback. Her father's compensation money had been lent by her mother to her uncle's family to build a house, which was why there was no money left for her own schooling.
But when her sons lacked money for school, she would think about asking for it back. No brother could be closer than one's own son. But no daughter could be closer than her brothers.
Thinking of this, Luo Shuzhen's softened heart hardened again.
Lin Xi turned the car around. Luo Shuzhen got in. After she said goodbye to her mother, Lin Xi drove off.
The mountain road was still treacherous, but this time they were driving along the side closer to the mountain, so Lin Xi found the going much smoother than before.
Luo Shuzhen didn't speak the entire journey, and Lin Xi didn't initiate conversation either. She felt Luo Shuzhen probably needed some quiet time alone right now.
There had been no signal back in Aoshan Village. Once they reached an area with coverage, Lin Xi's Weixin notification sounds started chiming incessantly. She glanced at her phone when she could—messages were all from Da Mingbao and the others. And the messages in the Transmigrators Chat Group had never stopped.
It was only now that Lin Xi had time to speak with them. Typing rapidly in the group chat, she tagged Lu Shenzhi.
【Humph, Earth Girl Lin Xi: @Scheming World Lu Shenzhi, I have successfully brought Luo Shuzhen out.】
In the ancient scheming world, Lu Shenzhi had just finished his day's work and was being herded back to his dwelling by the supervising officer wielding a whip.
Seeing Lin Xi's message, Lu Shenzhi's mood, weary from the long day, suddenly lightened considerably.
He was also a child who had walked out of the mountains. He knew how difficult it was for a child to leave the mountains behind. So, after graduating from university, he had resolutely returned to his hometown and became a history teacher there.
In his spare time, he wrote novels online, and most of the money he earned was used to support children who had difficulty staying in school.
The few students he had listed for Lin Xi were all children who excelled in their studies, had good character, and had few prospects if they didn't pursue education.
That Lin Xi had managed to bring Luo Shuzhen out truly made Lu Shenzhi happy.
Returning to the two dilapidated thatched huts, his mother had already prepared the meal. This woman, who had been pampered and never entered a kitchen for decades, had now learned to cook a decent meal.
The grain ration allotted to them was meager, but Lu Shenzhi had exchanged for a spatial pouch with Chu Qianmo, using turnips commonly found in every household's field here.
Inside the spatial pouch were sorghum grains exchanged with Lin Xi. Each day before leaving home, he would grab a handful and place it in the rice jar.
The original host's family had been exiled due to involvement in the struggle for the throne, for a reason absurdly simple: the original host's father had once spoken a single word in support of the current emperor's rival back when he was still a prince.
Because of that one sentence, once the current emperor ascended the throne and firmly secured his position, he couldn't wait to purge the Lu family.
Had the original host not been notorious in the capital as a good-for-nothing, spending his days idling around and achieving nothing, he wouldn't have survived until Lu Shenzhi's transmigration.
Given the current emperor's pettiness, it was impossible that their household wasn't under surveillance. Therefore, despite having countless methods to improve his family's living conditions, Lu Shenzhi dared not do anything conspicuous at this critical juncture.
He didn't dare to act like those protagonists who transmigrate mid-exile, eagerly showcasing their abilities before even understanding their environment.
In this era, those who were exiled all came from families with some wealth and influence. Although exiled, was it really possible there were no imperial spies watching them along the way?
Were the ancient emperors and their enemies all fools? Did they all think that once the authorities exiled them, they would wash their hands of the matter and everything would be fine?
Such fools certainly existed, but Lu Shenzhi didn't dare to gamble. Because he wasn't alone now; behind him stood several elderly, weak, women, and children.
One misstep from him would cost several lives.
In a corner of the thatched hut sat a clay jar, with a cloth-wrapped bundle of charcoal placed on top. Lu Shenzhi poured the murky water over the charcoal, then transferred the charcoal bundle to another jar, pouring the once-filtered water back over it. After repeating this process several times, the water finally became clear.
Secretly, he added a drop of spiritual spring water, which he had obtained from Bai Qingting of the immortal cultivation world. The spiritual spring could also enhance one's physique. However, according to Bai Qingting, she had conducted experiments on mortals.
The effects of one drop of spiritual spring water versus one drop of genetic repair fluid on mortals were different. The genetic repair fluid would take effect immediately upon ingestion, continuously repairing aged and diseased cells within the body.
The spiritual spring water, on the other hand, required daily, uninterrupted consumption to achieve the effect of a single drop of genetic repair fluid.
But if both were taken concurrently, they complemented each other, making the body grow healthier and stronger.
Lu Shenzhi personally boiled that jar of water, poured it into bowls, and watched as everyone in the household drank it together.
The border town was near the Gobi Desert, where water was scarce. Even the highest-ranking general here drank from the river. Clear water was a rare and wondrous sight for the people here.
Many who had never left the border town even believed that water was naturally supposed to be this color.
Precisely because of this, even though the filtered water tasted bland and carried an indescribable odd flavor, the Lu family drank it with great appreciation.
"Sister-in-law, how is Little Stone's illness?" The entire Lu family had only three children. Little Stone was the son of Lu Shenzhi's elder brother's wife, now six years old.
He had developed a high fever two nights ago. Lu Shenzhi had given him water mixed with fever-reducing medicine. The potent fever reducer combined with the spiritual spring water worked in tandem, and Little Stone's condition had improved significantly.
"He's much better now, no serious concern." Xu Jinse revealed a smile.
The Lu family were scholars, and they chose daughters-in-law not based on family status but on character. Xu Jinse was the daughter of an academy head. After marrying into the Lu family, she and Lu Shenzhi's elder brother, Lu Xingzhi, were a harmonious couple, never having a single quarrel.
After the Lu family's downfall, she could have returned to her maiden home, but she was unwilling to leave her son and followed them into exile here.
As she put it, men in this world were largely fickle; her own father had two concubines. Lu Xingzhi was a man of good character, having only her before and after marriage. If she returned home and remarried, she could never find such a man again.
Rather than live a hollow life with someone inferior to Lu Xingzhi, it was better to stay and raise her son, Little Stone.
Lu Shenzhi's second sister-in-law, Zhao Qiongzhi, held a similar view.
After receiving a positive response, Lu Shenzhi nodded. After the meal, he went to check on Little Stone, who was sleeping on a pile of straw in the room, before stepping outside.
The interior was too small, and his relationship with Xu Jinse and Zhao Qiongzhi was that of sister-in-law and brother-in-law. Although he slept in the kitchen with his two nephews, over time, rumors would inevitably spread.
As a man, he wouldn't suffer much loss, but it was different for Xu Jinse and Zhao Qiongzhi.
He had to consider their situation. These past few days working on the city walls outside, he hadn't been idle.
Soon after Lu Shenzhi stepped out, some people helped deliver wood to his home. The group hammered and sawed, and in no time, a small, square enclosure was built right next to the original thatched hut.
It had no roof, but this was the hot season in the border town, so sleeping outside wasn't a problem. Lu Shenzhi had heard from fellow wall-builders that they often slept in their courtyards at night.
They found it more restful than sleeping indoors.
While Lu Shenzhi was already sleeping under the moon, Lin Xi had successfully arrived at the home of the second student Lu Shenzhi had entrusted to her.
This village was even poorer than Luo Shuzhen's. It had only five or six households in total, built right into the mountains and forests.
Lin Xi asked for directions and found her way to Li Qiang's home. Li Qiang was chopping firewood, the logs stacked in a layer against his family's not-so-sturdy courtyard wall.
Luo Shuzhen was his classmate. Seeing Luo Shuzhen arrive with a stranger, Li Qiang stood up.
Luo Shuzhen waved to him: "Li Qiang, let's go. It's time to go study."
The hatchet in Li Qiang's hand fell to the ground. He stared at her. Luo Shuzhen said, "She's a friend of Teacher Lu. Teacher Lu has asked her to support us through school."
Hearing the three words "Teacher Lu," Li Qiang's eyes reddened. His family was different from Luo Shuzhen's; he was a child raised by his grandfather.
His father loved to drink, and when he drank too much, he would pick fights. He was killed in one such brawl. His mother was taken back by her parents and remarried. Over all these years, apart from the occasional set of clothes and a few hundred yuan, she had never returned.
His grandfather had been able to work hard until two years ago, gritting his teeth to support him through his third year of high school. But he didn't make it through this winter, passing away in the twelfth lunar month. Li Qiang used the little money he had to bury him.
He had originally planned to finish the forty-nine days of mourning for his grandfather and then go out to find work. His uncles had their own hardships; they had their own children to support through school and no spare capacity to support another one.
Before meeting Luo Shuzhen and Lin Xi, continuing his education was an unreachable dream for him. He had thought about working part-time while studying, but it was just too difficult.
High school wasn't part of the nine-year compulsory education, let alone university.
He wasn't even old enough to apply for a student loan.
He looked at Lin Xi with hope, his hands hanging by his sides trembling slightly.
Lin Xi looked at him and asked, "Do you want to study?"
Li Qiang's mind went blank with a buzzing sound at that moment. All he remembered was nodding, then going back into the house to pack his belongings, locking the door, and getting into the car to leave with Lin Xi.
Lin Xi took the two of them to the third home.
That household was holding a wedding. When Luo Shuzhen saw the red double-happiness character pasted on the main gate, her tears instantly streamed down.
"Zhu Xiuli is getting married," Luo Shuzhen said.
Someone had spotted Lin Xi's car early and came forward to greet them.
"Who are you? What are you doing in our village?" someone walked up and asked.
"We are Zhu Xiuli's classmates. Is she home?" Luo Shuzhen was already unable to speak, so Li Qiang stepped forward to ask.
"You're looking for Zhu Xiuli? She's married. She married into the neighboring Kaoshan New Village. Just go further up from our village, and you'll reach Kaoshan New Village. If you go now, you might still make it for the evening feast."
The three of them immediately got back in the car and headed for Kaoshan New Village.
Kaoshan New Village was much better off than Luo Shuzhen's village, Li Qiang's village, and Zhu Xiuli's village.
At the very least, while Kaoshan New Village backed against mountains, its front faced a rural road.
The liveliest household in Kaoshan New Village today was the one Zhu Xiuli had married into.
The three of them went to that family's home. After Luo Shuzhen said she wanted to see Zhu Xiuli, she was led to the bridal chamber.
Zhu Xiuli sat on the bed wearing a red cheongsam, her face heavily made up, with red, pink, and white artificial flowers in her hair.
As a bride, her face showed no joy. The moment she saw Luo Shuzhen, Li Qiang, and Lin Xi, her expression was a mixture of a smile and a sob, laughter and tears.
The people in the bridal chamber filed out. Li Qiang stood at the door while Luo Shuzhen and Lin Xi entered her room.
After Luo Shuzhen relayed Lin Xi's offer to Zhu Xiuli, she asked her, "Do you still want to study?"
Zhu Xiuli nodded, tears falling like raindrops with the motion: "I want to study, but I can't anymore."
"My brother got another family's daughter pregnant. That family is waiting for the wedding and demanded a bride price of thirty thousand. My family couldn't come up with it. They said they'd chop off my brother's legs."
"My family accepted thirty-five thousand in bride price from his family. Three thousand was used for my dowry, two thousand for the wedding banquet. If I leave with you now, my parents really won't be able to survive."
"I know I'm being foolish, but Zhenzhen, I have no choice. My mother has been very good to me, and so has my father. When I was sick as a child, my parents carried me through several villages to get me treatment. When I wanted to study, they sold everything they had to let me, even if they had no money."
"My brother is a mess now, but when we were kids, he always protected me. Among the girls my age in our village, I was the only one who never got bullied."
"Zhenzhen, your grades are better than mine. Study hard. Study for my share too. Get out of these mountains, and then never come back..." Zhu Xiuli's voice choked several times. Her words seemed like an explanation to Lin Xi and the others for why she couldn't study, but more than that, they seemed like an attempt to convince herself.
Lin Xi and the others left without staying for Zhu Xiuli's wedding feast. Zhu Xiuli saw them out to the courtyard gate.
Watching Lin Xi's car drive away, Zhu Xiuli had countless urges to chase after it. But when she saw her new husband, who had followed her out, she forcibly stopped herself.
Her gaze turned to the house that might trap her for half her life—a two-story building with somewhat peeling exterior walls, a courtyard paved with cement, now filled with many tables. The sounds of guests playing drinking games drifted out through the main gate.
It was as if she saw her future life: noisy, chaotic, utterly ordinary. She would become one of those women sitting around cracking melon seeds.
Having seen a glimpse of light, returning to darkness filled Zhu Xiuli with sudden despair. The justifications she gave to outsiders could no longer deceive herself at this moment.
Zhu Xiuli grew up in that instant. She understood the price of her choice. She knew even more clearly that she would never, for the rest of her life, be able to sit and study on a university campus as she had once dreamed.
Her regret, her remorse, would remain unresolved for the rest of her life.
It was already dark. Lin Xi drove to the nearest town and checked into a hostel. After dinner, she posted in the group chat.
[Earth Girl Lin Xi: I want to set up a scholarship foundation.]
The message sparked immediate responses in the group. Everyone said they wanted to join, except for Ming Shu, who had already returned from her transmigration.
It was only a little past seven, still a long way from midnight. After much thought, Lin Xi grabbed her jacket and headed out. Thirty-five thousand yuan wasn't much to her, but to Zhu Xiuli, it was her entire future.
If Lin Xi ignored Zhu Xiuli today, watching her sink into the mire with her own eyes, she would never find peace for the rest of her life.
