Chapter 13: The Great Drought of the Heavenly Stem

Her eyes grew cold. “Captain, do you mean to have the women walk seven or eight miles back and forth just to fetch water?”

The Bee Pool was three to five miles from the village—making a round trip about ten miles!

Ordinary people would dread walking ten miles, let alone carrying dozens of pounds of water!

The weight of the carrying pole and wooden buckets alone was enough to bear down on one’s shoulders.

This old man was clearly targeting her!

Yang Hongfu sneered coldly and spat sticky phlegm onto the ground beside him. “If you don’t cooperate with the village work, that’s insubordination against the cadres!”

“You’re probably against collectivism and want to play the special capitalist game, aren’t you?”

Without any pretense, he directly pinned the blame on her.

Su Xiaoyun’s clear eyes flashed with a cold light, but she didn’t argue immediately.

The sun overhead was scorching, making her dizzy and her hair stick to her forehead.

If she refused to fetch water, who knew what other harassment Yang Hongfu might subject her to.

Raising her eyes again, Su Xiaoyun threw down her hoe. “Fine, I’ll fetch water. How will the work points be counted?”

Yang Hongfu clasped his hands behind his back, glancing at her indifferently. “One trip of water fetching will earn you two work points.”

Su Xiaoyun squinted instantly. This old devil was trying to wear her down!

That spring was more than ten miles away, and she could barely carry two buckets at a time by herself.

How many trips would she have to make in a day?

A bitter smile curled coldly on her lips. “Then the carrying pole and buckets have to be approved by the captain, right?”

“I can’t possibly satisfy the entire village’s irrigation needs on my own.”

Yang Hongfu assigned several burly women, each a shrewd character with faces creased deeper than tree bark.

Just looking at them, you could tell they were not easy to deal with.

“The village’s women’s team has experience; they’ll go with you!”

“Carry poles and buckets, all to be collected from the farm tool depot later.”

“The village urgently needs water. Don’t slack off. If the crops wither in the fields, you won’t escape blame!”

Under Yang Hongfu’s cunning, narrow eyes, the old black mole on his face grew more prominent.

His drooping eyelids revealed nothing but scheming.

Just looking at this old face made Su Xiaoyun want to vomit. She couldn’t be bothered to argue further, finished the small chores at hand, pulled off her gloves, stuffed them into her pocket, and left.

Yang Hongfu snorted triumphantly and turned back into the shade.

Feng Wanqing bit her lip lightly, and when no one was paying attention, hurried after Su Xiaoyun and grabbed her hand.

“Xiaoyun, that path is full of rough mountain roads, rugged and uneven, with short thorns that can prick.”

“You really shouldn’t go!”

“This is clearly a hard and unpleasant task. Even the village young men are intimidated!”

Su Xiaoyun patted her hand gently in reassurance. “Don’t worry, I’ll be careful.”

After all, Yang Hongfu was the captain. She had no choice but to obey him.

Among the women Yang Hongfu assigned to her was Wu Guifen!

They were all old gossipy busybodies, troublesome and sharp-tongued, with temperaments that flared up at the slightest provocation.

But there was also a taciturn woman whom Su Xiaoyun didn’t remember well—just that she seemed to be someone’s wife.

In the countryside, women weren’t even granted names.

Once married and a mother, that became their lifelong identity.

After a while, they arrived at the village farm tool depot.

Su Xiaoyun received a carrying pole and two wooden buckets.

She weighed them in her hands; not too heavy.

But the bamboo pole chafed her shoulder, and after a day, it would surely rub her skin raw.

Carrying water back and forth like this was tedious.

As she pondered whether there was a more convenient way, a sarcastic voice drifted to her ears on the hot wind.

“Oh, look at our educated youth Su, carrying a pole—going to fetch water?”

“Don’t drop the collective’s property before you even get any water.”

Yang Jinyue stood in the shade, wearing a dacron collared shirt.

The pink floral fabric made her complexion look even fairer, as if covered in snow cream that nearly smothered her flesh.

Su Xiaoyun’s lips curled slightly. She put down the bucket and skillfully swung the pole in her hand.

“Exactly. Your father has the women fetch water, but it’s nothing compared to your lucky life—you get work points just for staying put.”

Yang Jinyue’s proud, arrogant face cracked slightly, her molars clenching tighter.

This shameless woman was obviously implying that she had used connections!

Yang Jinyue quickly glanced around, noticing no one paying attention, and let out a sharp retort.

“You can only envy my good fortune. Soft skin and tender flesh aren’t made by hard work.”

“See this hairpin? Brother Jun just bought it for me at the supply and marketing cooperative.”

“Unlike some people, a mountain hen pretending to be a phoenix!”

She tugged her shirt hem with a loud snap.

Su Xiaoyun looked at her like a peacock displaying its feathers—she didn’t even bother to roll her eyes, took her tools, and walked out.

Not far from the brigade office were two water reservoirs.

But now they were already dried up to the bottom.

A layer of dry grass floated on the surface, beneath it a murky layer that no covering could hide.

Su Xiaoyun flicked the dust off her headscarf and decided to make the best of the situation.

She’d see if there were other water sources nearby.

Drinking, cooking, and washing clothes all required water.

Pointing to that barrel for the educated youth was as useless as waiting for rain from the heavens.

Wu Guifen cast a cold glance. “What are you standing there dazed for? Hurry up and leave.”

“The captain said the water source is far away. If you waste time, you won’t get work points. I’ll make up for it with yours!”

She clearly still held a grudge over Su Xiaoyun having taken eighty cents from her.

Su Xiaoyun grinned, flashing her standard eight teeth. “Auntie, you’re strong and sturdy. Carrying one load isn’t a problem, even two or three loads won’t be hard.”

“The captain will surely give you extra work points. Maybe you’ll be the top woman and get full points!”

Wu Guifen didn’t catch the implication and thought Su Xiaoyun was just being sensible.

She lifted her sharp chin like a needle and hoarsely said, “You’re smart. When I was young, I was the top hand in the fields!”

Su Xiaoyun was quick and pulled out a rag from the corner of the warehouse.

The rag was tattered and nearly useless.

She grabbed a few reeds from under a tree and braided them together, tying them all onto the carrying pole.

This would at least reduce friction against her shoulder.

A few other aunties standing with Wu Guifen had drooping eyes and pursed lips, sighing.

“Kids from the city are just delicate. All this tying and bundling will waste so much time.”

“Anyway, work points count by the trip. Coming early won’t earn you more.”

“We’re watching you. Don’t think about slacking! Otherwise, we’ll tell the captain to deduct your points and wages!”

Su Xiaoyun narrowed her eyes. These old nags!

After much coaxing, they finally set off. Leaving the village, the earth on both sides was a lifeless gray.

Her cloth shoes pressed against the gravel, the sharp stones stabbing uncomfortably.

The sun beat down mercilessly, making her eyes sting and hard to open.

She had been walking the seven-mile road for about an hour.

The air gradually grew damp with moisture.

Her throat, rusty with dryness, finally felt a little relief.

“This must be the Bee Pool.”

Not far ahead, a round pond, like a piece of jade, was nestled in a pit of yellow earth.