Chapter 6: Going to the Countryside

The family of four parted with lingering reluctance.

The green train clattered forward, crowded to the brim. People pressed against one another, luggage littered the floor, and a medley of smells filled the air. Lin Jingyue frowned slightly. Yet, when she saw Lin Xinyou opposite her, eyes red like a rabbit’s, she immediately felt she could manage after all.

Lin Xinyou’s unhappiness was her delight.

By chance, Lin Xinyou was seated directly across from her, and even more coincidentally, the person beside Lin Xinyou was Zhao Hua, whose head seemed to be full of lumps.

Lin Xinjian, meanwhile, sat diagonally across with a classmate.

“Hello, comrade. My name is Xu Qingqing. I’m a sent-down youth going to the northern province. Are you also headed there?” The girl with the oval face beside Lin Jingyue smiled, her lips pressed together.

Her skin was fairly pale, though a few freckles dotted her cheeks. Still, it did not detract from her appearance; she looked delicate and fresh.

“Yes, I’m Lin Jingyue. I’m also going to the northern province.”

“That’s wonderful! Perhaps we’ll end up in the same place,” Xu Qingqing replied, her brows and eyes curving with her smile.

She glanced toward Zhao Hua and Lin Xinyou.

Zhao Hua looked at Lin Jingyue, saw she was staring out the window, and felt a surge of annoyance. “I’m Zhao Hua, also going to the northern province.”

“I’m Lin Xinyou, also going to the countryside in the northern province. Sister…” Lin Xinyou introduced herself, sneaking a timid glance at Lin Jingyue, looking as if she were used to being bullied and didn’t dare speak.

Before Lin Jingyue could respond, Zhao Hua glared. “Lin Jingyue, can’t you treat Xinyou a bit better? Stop bullying her all the time!”

Lin Jingyue: “??” What nonsense.

She rolled her eyes, uninterested in watching Lin Xinyou’s performance, closed her eyes, and let her consciousness slip into her inner space.

Better to spend this time farming.

The two acres lying unused in her space still had no purpose. She might as well plant some vegetables and rice. Empty land is of no use otherwise.

Zhao Hua, seeing Lin Jingyue ignore him, felt a flare of anger, but Lin Xinyou soothed him with gentle words.

Xu Qingqing found the scene fascinating.

Lin Jingyue tended her fields within her space using her mind, and eventually, exhaustion sent her to sleep. When she awoke, the outside world was already dark.

This train journey would take three days and two nights to reach its destination. She stretched in place, then stood up, feigning a trip to the restroom to slip into her space.

Within, she had prepared hot food. After eating and drinking her fill, she washed her face and emerged.

Returning to her seat, she gazed out the window with interest.

The black night was scattered with stars, tranquil and serene.

The uncertainty that had weighed on Lin Jingyue’s heart began to settle. Since she was here, she might as well accept it.

Even in the modern world, she had been unloved by her parents. Most of her assets were regularly donated to charity, with a will stipulating that, should anything happen to her, the remainder would go to the state. Her opportunistic parents would never covet her meager possessions.

Perhaps, in this new place, she could begin a different life.

…

The next day, in An City at the Lin household, Hu Cuixi was off work. She busied herself with plans to buy some cotton and cloth to sew padded jackets and quilts to send to the two children. Winters in the northern province were far colder than in An City.

“Ah—!” Lin’s father was having breakfast when her sudden shriek startled him, nearly causing him to choke. He clutched his chest, gulped down water, and forced the food down, his throat burning.

Seeing Hu Cuixi dash out, he instinctively wanted to scold her, but she gave him no chance. “Old Lin, our money—our money is gone! All of it! It’s all gone!” she wailed, her tears mingling with her cries.

“That was over a thousand yuan! All gone!” she sobbed.

Father Lin’s anger vanished. He rushed into the room to find the money box tossed on the floor, the space under the bed in disarray.

Darkness closed over his eyes, nearly making him faint.

He gritted his teeth. “Call the police—”

“What did you say, Old Lin? It must have been Lin Jingyue, that wretched girl! She’s probably had her eye on the family’s money for ages. I’ll make her return every cent!” For nearly two thousand yuan, Hu Cuixi’s vision swam with black spots.

“Stop. I said call the police!” Father Lin’s face was grim. Where could they find Lin Jingyue now?

In the end, the Lins called the Public Security Bureau. After the officers investigated, rumors spread through the residential building.

After inspecting the scene, the officer informed Father Lin that besides the couple’s own footprints, there were no traces of a third person in the room. The lock had not been tampered with either.

In other words, it was likely the work of someone within the family.

Hu Cuixi didn’t understand, but Father Lin did. In the end, the matter was quietly dropped.

Yet doubt took root in his heart; he knew Hu Cuixi often sent money to her natal family. He hadn’t expected her to be so bold.

By coincidence, two days later, Hu Cuixi’s nephew from her natal family got engaged, presenting the bride with the standard “three turns and one sound” dowry.

The darkness in Father Lin’s eyes unsettled everyone.

Hu Cuixi remained oblivious, muttering to herself as she prepared supplies to send to the children in the countryside.

On the train, at lunchtime, Lin Xinyou produced her lunch box: mixed-grain rice, stir-fried cabbage with egg, and a little pickled vegetable. A fine meal.

She pushed the box toward Zhao Hua. “Brother Zhao, I can’t finish this. Let’s share.”

Zhao Hua had only two corn buns and some pickled vegetables. He looked awkward but grateful, gazing at Lin Xinyou with deep emotion.

Lin Jingyue raised her eyebrows, amazed—so he was a freeloading pretty boy.

She then recalled who Zhao Hua was. A classmate, he’d initially targeted the original Lin Jingyue, thinking her generous. But as she was stubborn about her food, he’d gained nothing and soon turned his eyes to Lin Xinyou.

How laughable that Lin Xinyou believed she’d stolen someone precious from Lin Jingyue, clinging to Zhao Hua like a buzzing fly.

Zhao Hua’s family had six children. Only his father was a worker; his mother had only recently become a temporary cook at the food factory. The family barely scraped by. As the eldest, with no job, he had to go to the countryside.

Lin Jingyue pondered, then brought out her own lunch box: a meat bun and stir-fried cabbage with pork cracklings.

It drew some attention. In these times, few could afford meat or white flour.

Unbothered, Lin Jingyue ate.

Zhao Hua expected her to say something, but she simply ate, ignoring him completely. His anger flared again.

Lin Xinyou, seeing Zhao Hua’s face darken after being so gentle moments ago, shot Lin Jingyue a fierce glare.

“Stare at me again and I’ll gouge your eyes out,” Lin Jingyue said without even looking up.

Lin Xinyou froze, her expression stiff.

Xu Qingqing, sensing danger, shrank back, trying to disappear.

“How can you be like this, comrade?” a man protested. “She only looked at you twice, and you threaten to gouge out her eyes? Isn’t your heart too black?”

Lin Jingyue finished her meal in a few swift bites before finally glancing at the indignant man.

[PS: Lin Jingyue: No one interferes with my eating.]