July was the peak of the sweltering summer heat.
It was time for the annual wheat harvest, and even the schools were on harvest break. Before the sky had even cracked with dawn, everyone in the Baizigou Production Team of Changxing Commune—men and women, young and old—was already out in full force, racing to bring in the wheat.
In the wheat fields, the commune members swung their sickles, heads down, sweat pouring like rain. The row of seasoned hands at the front worked with clean, swift motions. In their wake, they left stalks, still attached to their ears of wheat, stacked in neat piles.
Further back, Xu Changqing kept her head down and swung her sickle. She saw the older men ahead of her pulling farther away, but she didn't dare slacken her pace one bit. After all, she had to fight just to get this job.
Things were different for her family this year. Her father's job at the coal mine seemed to provide a decent income, but her mother, after more than a decade, was pregnant again—with twins, according to the hospital check-up.
'How could Mom, nearly forty and in her condition, handle heavy labor in the fields? Taking advantage of this harvest break to work more and earn more work points is definitely the right thing to do.'
'At the very least, when the grain is distributed at the end of the year, Dad—the sole pillar of the family—won't have to rack his brains again, and my uncle, the production team secretary, won't be put in an awkward position.'
'Besides, no matter how much trouble my older sister causes, she's still my sister. If we truly run out of food by spring, Dad might be able to harden his heart, but how could Mom bear to watch her own daughter starve?'
'And then there's Grandma. She'll mutter about that "disgraceful baggage" and "why bother with her," but isn't her eldest granddaughter, whom she raised herself, still the apple of her eye? Her heart aches for her.'
'And then there's me. I've been in school for so many years; I can't just drop out midway. If I even dared to, Dad would never agree. He's already bottling up a firestorm of anger.'
'Not counting the babies Mom is carrying, there are just the two of us sisters in the family. And even if you shouldn't air your dirty laundry in public, anyone with eyes can see what a complete disgrace the elder one is.'
'Fortunately, my niece's birth was timed just right, providing a thin veil of decency. Otherwise, it would have been even more humiliating. But it was precisely because of this that Dad, who had been forced to go along with his daughter's wishes beforehand, is even more furious.'
With these thoughts weighing on her, Xu Changqing didn't dare pause to breathe. She gritted her teeth and, head down, put all her strength into swinging the sickle, just hoping she wouldn't fall too far behind.
The sun gradually rose in the east, turning the wheat fields into a sweltering steamer basket. The air was so thick and hot it was hard to breathe. Sweat soaked through their clothes, which dried only to become drenched again.
In the distance, after arranging the rest of the day's work, the production team secretary, Bai Xinsheng, finally had a moment to check on that bull-headed niece of his.
He'd only planned on a quick glance, and a quick glance was all he got. Just as he was about to walk closer, someone came to him with another matter. He had no choice but to pull his gaze away and leave, his face a mask of calm composure.
There was no helping it; the entire production team's food supply for the year was at stake. The rush to harvest the wheat was like snatching food from a dragon's mouth. It wasn't just his stubborn niece—he himself had to get into the fields.
'Thankfully, the girl takes after her father; she's cut out for studying. Just have to endure it for another two or three years. Once she graduates, if she can find a job in the city, she won't have to suffer like this anymore.'
As noon approached, the blazing sun scorched the earth, beating down on their backs with a searing heat. Having finally reached the edge of the field, Xu Changqing slowly straightened her back.
The moment she stood up straight, sweat poured into her eyes, stinging so badly she couldn't open them. A mixture of sweat and tears trickled into the corners of her mouth, tasting bitter and salty.
Not far away, Bai the Fifth from the Bai family, who was reaping in the same row, finally saw his naive cousin remember to take a drink of water and catch her breath. Delighted, he immediately thrust his water canteen toward her.
"Here, drink."
Xu Changqing didn't have time to thank him first. She took the canteen, uncapped it, and gulped down the water with a GLUG, GLUG, GLUG, while taking off her straw hat to look for her own canteen.
"Don't bother looking, it's too far. I'll just drink from the bucket." He shot Xu Changqing a sideways glance, too lazy to lecture her about being needlessly particular. 'This personality of hers... it's really something else.'
'Her older sister is always finding ways to slack off, but she's the complete opposite, afraid of not doing enough work. Who is she even like? I've watched her get the short end of the stick her whole life. It's a good thing she gets good grades, otherwise...'
'With a brain like that, she'd get sold and still help count the money!' "Look at your sister," he said out loud. "She's a grown woman, still out there gleaning wheat ears with the little kids. What are you working so hard for?"
'What for?' Xu Changqing smiled wearily. 'For peace of mind. To prove a daughter is no less capable than a son. And for...' She squinted at the path ahead and picked up her sickle again.
'There are some things outsiders can never understand. Among all our relatives, my family is the only one with no sons, just two daughters. Even if Dad doesn't care...'
'It's still different. No matter how wonderful my uncles are, or how many cousins I have, their surname is Bai. And even if my paternal uncles have many sons, they aren't fruit from the same vine.'
'Besides, Dad and his brothers are only half-brothers, sharing the same father. During holidays, they worship their own mothers, and their children worship their own biological grandmothers.'
'When I was little, the most common gossip I heard was about families with no heir. Now, even with a brother or sister on the way, they'll still be so young.'
'There will be a fifteen-year age gap between us. If I don't work hard, who will? My older sister? To this day, my sister only has eyes for her "Mr. Right," that pale weakling.'
"Has that punk Fang Jun been mooching off your family while your dad's away?" Bai the Fifth continued. "If you ask me, my aunt is just too stubborn. A married daughter is like spilled water; why does she still meddle so much...?"
'Listen to that! Even you know that a married daughter is like spilled water. If the twins my mother is carrying both turn out to be girls, does that mean my dad will have to spill four basins of water?'
Bai the Fifth glanced around, then scurried over to her side. "Hey, you want your big bro to teach you a trick? I guarantee that punk will never dare to come to your house and freeload again."
"No!" 'I'm about to die from the heat, and you're this energetic!' "Get back to work, my uncle is coming. He's eating at our place during the harvest these two days. I'll kick him out after that."
"You will?"
'What's with that tone? Looking down on me, are you? I'm not my grandma.' Xu Changqing shook her head briskly. Seeing Bai the Fifth roll his eyes, she couldn't help but smile, pressing her lips together.
'Then again,' she thought, 'I really can't risk upsetting Mom by trying to kick that weakling out before she gives birth. I'll just have to endure it. It'll be over after this month.'
The thought made Xu Changqing fume. They were sisters, born of the same mother and father, so how could her older sister's brain short-circuit so often?
'Everyone knew exactly what that weakling was after. He wasn't just interested in our family's food supply. His ambitions were much greater—he was scheming for a way back to the city.'
'But unfortunately for him, my uncle? With my uncle's personality, did he really think he could take a shortcut and get the production team secretary to bend the rules for him? It wasn't just unlikely—it was absolutely impossible!'
'But the most infuriating part was that there was a fool who went along with his daydreaming, dreaming of becoming a city-dweller with her husband. She even stole things to send to her in-laws, whom she had never even met.'
'So stupid!'
'Just thinking about it makes me sick...' Xu Changqing bit her lip hard. She had just set down a handful of wheat stalks and taken a step forward when the world suddenly started to spin.
THUD...
"Ah! Ah!" Panicked, Bai Chenggang scrambled to the side, yelling, "Uncle! Help! Come quick, Changqing fainted!"