Ye Family.
Upon learning that they needed to dig a well during the summer, Ye Qingshui lay on the desk with a face full of worry.
Xie Tingyu had already finished his work and taken a bath by then. He returned to the room and said calmly, “Worrying won’t help. What’s meant to come will come sooner or later. I heard… you made a bet with those female educated youths?”
That was something he had heard from Shen Weimin.
Shen Weimin’s exact words were: “Brother Yu, Shuiya is really something. She dared to make a bet with the female educated youths. Shuiya even made a harsh statement to shut them up and stop their gossiping.”
Xie Tingyu chuckled teasingly, “Shuiya, you really need to study hard this time.”
Although this girl always said she wanted to study cultural knowledge, apart from memorizing some classical Chinese, she didn’t put in any real effort—she was actually very lazy.
Ye Qingshui glanced at him, her face still full of sorrow.
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Esaaukdt osd’v blzr?
Tso nswze Dkl Mkdtuw jdso vbl qwzz pkvwyvksd? Jynj kd vbl eyu, vblal bye clld vos pvayktbv xsdvbp sq easwtbv blal, yde vblka rasewnvksd vlyx nswzed’v ekt y olzz ds xyvvla bso byae vblu vakle. Ekvb ds oyvla, xydu xlxclap sq vbl vlyx oldv vs pvlyz oyvla qasx vbl dlktbcsakdt hkzzytl, obknb zle vs hkszldv nzypblp. Rv nywple y bwtl xlpp.
Ohldvwyzzu, vbl nsxxwdl elnkele vs cwkze y alplahska, obknb vssj ulyap vs nsxrzlvl. Lsv sdzu eke kv lmbywpv zycsa yde alpswanlp, cwv kv yzps uklzele hlau zkvvzl cldlqkv. Nkql kd Zlfky Akzzytl sdzu talo osapl. Mbydjqwzzu, yqvla zyde oyp alekpvakcwvle vs bswplbszep kd vbl lyazu 1980p, qyaxlap’ zkhlp cltyd vs kxrashl.
Zl Ckdtpbwk jdlo hlau olzz vbyv ekttkdt y olzz oyp y qwvkzl lqqsav, ulv pbl pvkzz bye vs takv bla vllvb yde ekt qsa xsdvbp—vbyv, pbl oyp wdokzzkdt vs es. Rd bla ralhkswp zkql, bla taydexsvbla bye esdl vbkp lmbywpvkdt olzz-ekttkdt osaj yde bye qyzzld qasx y blktbv, kdfwakdt bla cynj. Fbl bye clld cleakeeld lhla pkdnl.
G zssj sq nsdqwpksd yrrlyale kd Zl Ckdtpbwk’p lulp, yde pbl alxykdle zspv kd vbswtbv qsa y zsdt vkxl.
Dkl Mkdtuw vwttle yv Zl Ckdtpbwk’p vbknj caykep. Tla vos zsdt caykep olal eyaj yde pbkdu, psqv vs vbl vswnb, zkjl tlvvkdt zspv kd y nzswe sq czynj xkpv.
“Xwnb, obyv yal usw eskdt?” Zl Ckdtpbwk qasodle kd rykd.
Dkl Mkdtuw pyke, “R’x pyukdt, usw dlle vs ralryal plakswpzu.”
Only then did Ye Qingshui pull herself together. She glanced at him sideways and said, “I’m being treated like this by them, and it’s not because of… someone?”
“So—you’d better help me out. I want to borrow your books this time. You don’t mind, do you?”
A monotonous and tedious life of labor needed some spiritual nourishment. Ye Qingshui loved reading and had long coveted the cabinet full of books Xie Tingyu owned. But she had never brought it up before. She preferred to save up slowly and buy books from the bookstore. But the bookstore’s selection was nowhere near as interesting as Xie Tingyu’s collection.
Many of his books were mailed from the capital, with engaging content and elegant hardcover editions. After finishing work, Xie Tingyu would often sit by the table and read leisurely, with a cup of tea nearby and his slender thumb occasionally flipping the pages.
This was completely different from the foul men in the village, who smoked and gathered to play cards after work. In her previous life, this version of Xie Tingyu—all his mannerisms—had been something Ye Qingshui yearned for and admired deeply.
But now, Ye Qingshui had changed. She had become the kind of person she once longed to be. She no longer envied Xie Tingyu. She had grown to love reading herself.
Xie Tingyu nodded indifferently, as if it didn’t matter.
Ye Qingshui happily began rummaging through his large wooden chests of books. She finished going through one chest and moved to the next, her glee like a hamster owning several acres of fertile land.
The intense midday sunlight streamed through the window, casting shadows all over the floor. Ye Qingshui crouched slightly on the ground, flipping through book after book with her thumb. The stack of books in her arms grew taller and taller.
Golden flecks of sunlight landed on the fine hairs of her forehead. Her eyes were filled with focus and passion. The thin, white straps of her face mask looped over her delicate ears, and her face below the nose was completely covered. She looked serene and cool.
But to freshly bathed Xie Tingyu, the sight felt… a little hot. He looked at her inquisitively and asked, “Don’t you feel hot wearing a mask all day?”
Ye Qingshui replied vaguely, “Hot? Of course it’s hot. Try it yourself and you’ll see.”
Her face treatment recipe needed three months to take effect. Taking off the mask early would ruin the results.
“This book’s cover looks really interesting.” She couldn’t help picking up a hardcover book with a brown cover and gold-painted lettering and began flipping through it.
But what greeted her eyes were messy, squiggly characters—it felt worse than reading classical Chinese. It was Russian.
In the 1950s and ’60s, China and the Soviet Union were brotherly nations, and learning Russian had been a trend among intellectuals. It wasn’t until the ’80s and ’90s that English began gaining popularity. She put the Russian book back into the chest.
Xie Tingyu was already wiping the sweat from his face with a towel and said coolly, “Can you even understand that? Don’t mess with these few books.”
Ye Qingshui felt an oddly delayed sense of sensitivity to that sentence.
Because in her past life, Xie Tingyu had said those exact words far too many times.
Back then, he would scold her harshly: “You don’t even understand it, why are you flipping through it?” “Can you even read this? And you dare touch it?” “You don’t know… so why are you asking?” —those kinds of words, too many to count.
Suddenly recalling these old memories, a ripple stirred in Ye Qingshui’s heart.
She took a deep breath and said unhappily, “I don’t like the way you said that. Just because it’s Russian, doesn’t mean I can’t understand it.”
“Ya lyublyu tebyá.”
Caught off guard, Xie Tingyu choked on his tea.
It took him a while to recover, and he asked, “What does that mean?”
Ye Qingshui, feeling quite pleased with the books she’d selected, replied:
“It’s a curse word, obviously. You don’t know?”
Thankfully, Ye Qingshui had a good memory and could still recall that one phrase. Digging deep, it was the only one she knew. She remembered that whenever she said something wrong or appeared stupid, Xie Tingyu would frown and mutter that exact sentence.
Sometimes, he would even meanly tug her braids and kick her out to stand facing the wall as punishment.
Hugging a stack of precious books borrowed from Xie Tingyu, Ye Qingshui walked over to the bed. Seeing Xie Tingyu staring blankly in her direction, she irritably yanked the new privacy curtain she’d just bought.
“What are you looking at! A grown man staring at a girl all day—so improper.”
Xie Tingyu: “…”
He stared at that dark curtain. It wasn’t large, but it still blocked most of the view inside. The intense midday sunlight poured in, faintly outlining her silhouette as she sat reading, her twin braids playfully dangling like sleek, beautiful fish tails.
He was momentarily speechless.
“Ya liu bu liu ji bi ya1Я люблю тебя is Russian for “I love you.”” (I love you)—who’s the improper one now?
…
Ye Qingshui’s guess had been right. Only a few days after the intense harvest work ended, before the villagers had even fully recovered their tired bodies, they were called out to dig wells. Elders like Grandma Ye, though already in their fifties, were still physically sturdy and had to work too.
Thinking of her grandma’s injured waist, Ye Qingshui wished she could take on all the work herself.
As a young person with quick hands and feet, she worked fast and took every chance to fan her grandma and bring her cool boiled water. The elderly villagers from the production team looked on enviously:
“Baliang, your granddaughter is really filial… and her son-in-law is great too. Your days will only get better—so much good fortune.”
Grandma Ye sipped the cool water, which had a slight salty taste—it was lightly salted water. The hydration helped restore a bit of her strength.
She scolded playfully, “Shuiya, don’t keep coming to me. Go bring some water to little Xie, that’s what you should really be doing. The work on their end is backbreaking.”
Ye Qingshui wished she could stick to her grandma’s side all day. How could she go bring water to Xie Tingyu? He’d already filled a large flask of lightly salted water early in the morning—he could take care of himself just fine!
Still, Ye Qingshui took out a boiled egg from her pocket and handed it to Grandma Ye.
She whispered, “Hurry up and eat it, Grandma. Once the work starts again, there won’t be time.”
Grandma Ye was dizzy with hunger, but the heat and lack of water made her unwilling to chew on dry food and salty vegetables. Now, the warm boiled egg made her mouth water.
She wolfed it down, then gnawed on a steamed bun.
Seeing Grandma Ye eating well made others even more envious—having a generous grandson-in-law really made a difference. Not only could she afford white flour buns now, she even had eggs to eat.
Surrounded by admiring glances, Grandma Ye chewed her food as if it were sweet.
She pushed her granddaughter away, laughing and scolding, “Go on, go! If you won’t bring water to little Xie, at least go work. If the team leader sees you clinging to me, he’ll scold you!”
Reluctantly, Ye Qingshui ran home, boiled another large flask of water, and—thinking of how exhausting the men’s work was, probably building irrigation—filled Xie Tingyu’s insulated bottle with more than half a pot.
When she delivered the water, Xie Tingyu had just run out.
He was talking with Shen Weimin.
Shen, parched, said, “Sorry, Brother Yu—I drank so much of your water, now you don’t have any left. Let’s just tough it out.”
Xie Tingyu thought for a moment and said, “It’s fine, Shuiya will bring more.”
Shen Weimin turned around casually—and was stunned to see Ye Qingshui standing behind them with the water flask in hand. Who knew when she had arrived? Surprise filled his eyes, and the joy of seeing water was impossible to hide.
“Wow,” he gasped, and whispered, “Brother Yu, you’re like a prophet.”
He nudged Xie Tingyu with his elbow to get him to turn around.
Having overheard their “whispers,” Ye Qingshui wore a stony expression as she handed the flask to Xie Tingyu. “Grandma told me to come. Drink.”
Xie Tingyu smiled and accepted it graciously. “Thanks, Shuiya.”
After delivering the water, Ye Qingshui felt totally out of sorts.
How could Xie Tingyu just assume she’d bring him water? That casual yet confident tone nearly made her burst a vein. Did he still think she was the same naive, infatuated Qingshui from before? Where did he get that idea?
The old Qingshui really was that kind of silly girl. She couldn’t bear to see him suffer even a bit. If he cut his finger, her eyes would redden as she said, “That must really hurt, huh?”
How could she possibly let him go thirsty? Just thinking about how pitiful and humble her past self had been made Ye Qingshui grit her teeth.
…
Construction site.
After Ye Qingshui left, Shen Weimin gulped down several cups of warm water from the flask, then sighed in relief. “Alive again.”
“Brother Yu, how do you predict things so well?”
Xie Tingyu hesitated a moment, then said, “She’s been going to Grandma Ye every day, and today Grandma told me to bring extra water.”
The other men glanced at Xie Tingyu’s red “Double Happiness” insulated bottle, then at their own bamboo tubes with barely any water. Their throats felt dry and scratchy with envy.
The ones with wives smiled and said, “Having a wife really is better—at times like this, you’ve got water to drink.”
Author’s note:
Shuiya: Emmm… Where did he get the idea that I’d bring him water?
There’s no easy way to explain this…
Yu-ge: Oh, ya liu bu liu ji bi ya.
(I love you.)
Tease and run—such a thrill.
Sansukini: He likes her in their past life. There’s a big misunderstanding here.
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