In the early morning, the old dark curtains had faded and could not prevent the sunlight from penetrating, finally getting a bit brighter.
The faint light that finally won the victory finally snatched away small and speckled areas from the room dominated by darkness.
Under the mottled light and shadow, you can vaguely see the furnishings in the room. The room is not large, with only a wooden bed and a few dusty junior high school textbooks on the old desk. It seems that it has been forgotten long ago.
Unlike other cadres who went to towns for exchange and training, most young people were assigned to town governments, where they were required to make forms, collect statistical data, and engage in simple writing work.
Only Hua Shi Yuan came to the countryside and faced the front line.
Hua Shiyuan knew nothing about her fate. She didn't even know that her male colleagues, who had also chosen two out of six to go to the countryside, were drinking ice water in the air-conditioned dormitory of the town government.
As soon as she reported to the town government, she was informed that she would serve as a village cadre and her residence had been assigned.
This was her second day in Tiantang Village, Shitou Town, Yingshan County, where she stayed at the home of villager Shi Xiaolan.
Hua Shiyuan, who was still sleeping, was lying on the smaller wooden bed on the left side. She had not slept well the night before. Her eyelids were trembling slightly, but this could not drive away the light spots falling on them.
As a result, her eyelids trembled more and more frequently, and finally they slowly opened, revealing a pair of drowsy eyes.
Not a dream.
One day, she and her lover were having sex in a luxurious villa in a top community in Jiangcheng, and the next day, they started working in a deserted and remote village.
Even though Hua Shiyuan's mind was far stronger than others', he couldn't help but be in a daze for a few minutes.
Through the hazy sight, what caught Hua Shiyuan's eyes were the colorful mold patches on the ceiling that had been pasted layer by layer with newspapers.
On the right side of the mottled wall is a wooden wardrobe that was temporarily moved from Shi Xiaolan's mother's room for her, a newly assigned cadre.
At half past seven in the morning, it’s time to get up.
The wooden bed was too hard. Hua Shiyuan took a look at the time, got up and sat on the bed blankly, holding the phone in her hands on her chest, her body motionless. She did not expect that the conditions she faced would be so difficult.
It wasn't until she began to feel thirsty that Hua Shiyuan put her phone aside and forcibly controlled her urge to escape. She got dressed, climbed out of bed, and stood in front of the only furniture that could be placed in the narrow room.
The furniture that looks like a dressing table is actually a desk with light yellow wood grain. There is an oval mirror with the word "Xi Xi" on the top. Next to the mirror are some small bottles and jars, and the unattended dust beside it.
Books are different, they appear smooth and discerning.
Before Hua Shiyuan rented here, this was Shi Xiaolan's bedroom, and her belongings were still scattered on the table.
Small dolls, eyelash brushes, eyebrow trimming pliers, nail polish for a few dollars, free samples of domestic brand cosmetics, and...etc.
Hua Shiyuan opened the door.
The wooden door that lacked lubrication made a "squeaking" sound, and the slippers made a "rustling" sound on the cement floor.
A girl who was burning firewood for cooking heard the sound and turned her head, glanced at Hua Shiyuan and said, "Sister, get up. I'm going to make noodles. Do you want a bowl?"
The girl was about fifteen or sixteen years old, the age when she should be in high school. Hua Shiyuan shook her head, took two glasses of water, squatted down in the same posture, and handed them over: "No, I'll go to Murakami to eat, Lanlan
,you...don’t go to school?”
The expression on Shi Xiaolan's face froze slightly, and the cup filled with water in her hand trembled slightly, and a few drops fell to the ground.
"I...I...I want to go to school too."
Shi Xiaolan held on to the stove and concentrated slightly, lowered her head and took a sip of water. Then she made an almost forced smile and said in a voice that could barely hear a sigh: "Dad never came back after he went out to work.
There is no high school here, and the high school tuition in the county is too expensive. My mother and I calculated it several times and couldn't afford it."
Having said this, the girl paused, raised her head unconsciously, frowned and began to wring the fingers of her right hand.
After a while, when Shi Xiaolan continued to speak, she changed into another soft voice that was similar to talking to herself.
"Last year when I was in the third grade of junior high school in the town, I borrowed 500 yuan for living expenses from Aunt Liu next door. The due date came last month. This month, in addition to deducting the family's food and rice money from the subsistence allowance, I also had to pay for my mother's medical expenses.
I can’t save enough money to go to school..."
The girl gently counted the expenses. She raised her head and looked at the dark and greasy ceiling above her head. She no longer seemed to be talking to the guests.
Shi Xiaolan's hands were twisted together at some point, her cheeks moved slightly, and every time she said a number, her tone became more depressed.
Looking at Shi Xiaolan's slightly trembling lips, Hua Shiyuan's heart also trembled slightly.
She wanted to interrupt Shi Xiaolan out loud several times, but maybe it was because she hadn't had time to drink water, or maybe it was because she was faced with the various emotions accumulated in the face of reality, but there always seemed to be something stuck in her throat, which kept letting her
Can't make a sound.
The stove was bright and bright, it was the time when the sun was rising, but the girl in her twenties and eighties could only be confined to the three-foot stove beside the stove. The light that fell on Shi Xiaolan's head was like the afterglow of the setting sun, and finally fell silent.
For a moment, Hua Shiyuan's nose suddenly felt slightly sore. She sniffed hard, held the girl's calloused hands, and said: "Lan Lan, sister, help you, do you want to go to school?"
"I think... let's forget it, sister, even if I borrow the tuition, I won't be able to pay it back."
Shi Xiaolan became sensible earlier than anyone else. With an indescribable complex expression on her face, she once again looked up at the home where she had lived for more than ten years.
Looking at the shabby furniture, tattered newspapers on the walls, and mold spots on the ceiling, the girl bit her lower lip, frowned, and the glimmer of hope she held in her arms sank lower and lower.
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! Hua Shiyuan said nothing, touched the girl's hair and stood up.
"Don't worry, sister doesn't need you to pay a penny."
Shi Xiaolan shook her head, and skillfully took out a bowl of clear soup noodles in her hands. Apart from the noodles, there were only three green vegetables floating on it. She picked out two green vegetables and put them in a large bowl, and carried them into the room with both hands.
She has one last problem to solve.
"Sister, it still doesn't work. If I go to school in the county, who will take care of my mother?"
...
Paradise Village in Stone Town is like the simple drawings drawn in primary school art classes, extremely monotonous.
Most of the roads in the village were dug by people with their hands.
The yellow mud is on the ground, and the white clouds are high up. Looking at the dirt road from a distance, it is particularly conspicuous under the sun.
Farmers are scattered halfway up the mountain, much like the Peach Blossom Spring described by Tao Yuanming. Most of the people in the village are horse-drawn carriages, motorcycles, and few tractors.
Hua Shiyuan walked into the village committee, and the village party secretary introduced to other people in the room: "This is Hua Shiyuan, our resident cadre in Paradise Village. It's her first day on duty today. Everyone welcomes her."
There was sparse applause. The villagers were lukewarm towards Hua Shiyuan, and their reaction was extremely real.
What good can a little girl with no fingers do if she comes to the village?
Can you make everyone rich or can you engage in education?
Instead of just going back for a formality, word spread throughout the village. When the little girl came, she drove a car by herself, and she looked like she was the child of a wealthy family in the city.
You can't get used to this kind of doll in the village.
Before leaving, Gu Yun specifically told her not to drive her own Q5, and temporarily bought her a low-key Volkswagen Bora.
A whole day passed, and Hua Shiyuan sat in the village committee. No one told her how to carry out her work, and no one told her what needed to be done. She was in a daze for the whole day.
On the way back to Shi Xiaolan's house in the evening, she suddenly recalled the bright and clear eyes of the girl. The fifteen or sixteen-year-old sister, even if she said forget it, the look of eagerness to go to school in her eyes could not be faked.
Hua Shiyuan, who wanted to rely on herself, thought over and over again, but finally chose to pick up the phone and ask for help.
