The room was filled with the smell of disinfectant. The wound at the back of Jiang Rou's head was bandaged, and an IV drip of glucose was running into her left hand.
Yang Xiaofang sat by the hospital bed, watching Jiang Rou wake up. "Does your head still hurt? Is anything else feeling uncomfortable? I brought some chicken soup here that my mom specifically told me to bring."
Jiang Rou was deeply grateful. "Please thank your aunt for me, and thank you too."
Touching the warm aluminum lunchbox handed to her, Jiang Rou felt a warmth in her heart. Having inherited the body of the original owner, she had also inherited a lifetime of unfortunate experiences, leaving her desperately starved for affection.
Moreover, supplies were scarce in this era, making this small container of chicken soup immensely precious.
"What's there to thank?" Yang Xiaofang smiled. "My mom made this chicken soup especially for you. Since she took advantage of you before, you can drink this soup with a clear conscience!"
"Right, your medical expenses have already been paid. Just rest easy here at the hospital for the next couple of days, especially since your home isn't fit to live in right now anyway. The doctor instructed that you shouldn't get the wound wet for the next couple of days to avoid infection..."
At that moment, the ward door was pushed open, and two police officers walked in. One of them was none other than Officer Song Zhiyuan, the one who had brought Jiang Rou here the other day.
The other was Officer Guo. After exchanging greetings, he took out a pen and paper and began to question her.
"Comrade, when you came back yesterday afternoon, did you notice anything unusual around the place, or did you spot any suspicious persons?"
Jiang Rou shook her head, lowered her gaze, and said softly, "No. I'd been outside all day and was very hungry. Without thinking much, I pushed open the door and got ready to make dinner, but suddenly the back of my head hurt and I passed out. After that..."
"Then aside from the injury on the back of your head, how did you get the other ones?"
"Most of them were given by my dad, and a few were left by my stepmom and Jiang Jie."
Officer Song Zhiyuan and Officer Guo exchanged glances, seeming to sense something unusual in Jiang Rou's words.
Officer Guo continued to press, "Jiang Rou, did you really not notice anything suspicious? For example, before you passed out, did you hear any strange noises, or see any unusual figures?"
Jiang Rou tried hard to recall, her brow furrowed. "No... I really didn't notice anything. At the time, I just wanted to hurry home and cook dinner."
Yang Xiaofang stood up at that, her tone unfriendly. "Are you ever going to finish? Didn't she already make it all very clear?!"
Officer Song closed his notepad and spoke in a gentle tone, "Very well, Comrade Jiang, we will verify this on our end. If there's any need for further assistance later, we'll come back, and we hope Comrade Jiang will cooperate then."
Jiang Rou refused, "I'm afraid that won't be possible. I'm being discharged from the hospital tomorrow, and I expect to be sent down to the countryside in a day or two. I'm afraid I won't be able to cooperate."
She added immediately, "Don't get me wrong, that application to go to the countryside was filed for me by my stepmom five days ago, and I suppose the deadline for going down is fast approaching."
The fluorescent tube in the ward emitted a faint buzzing sound. Jiang Rou's fingertips tightened around the aluminum lunchbox.
A layer of golden oil floated on the surface of the chicken soup, reflecting the shadow cast by her eyelashes.
"Where is your assignment?" Song Zhiyuan's movement of closing his notebook froze.
"Beidahuang." Jiang Rou stirred the bottom of the soup with a spoon, the goji berries tapping softly against the porcelain-white rim of the spoon. "As for the exact location, I'll have to see the specific assignment once I arrive."
Yang Xiaofang suddenly knocked over the enamel mug on the bedside table, half a cup of cold boiled water soaking into the red slogan that read "Serve the People." "They are simply too much! Three days ago was your mother's death anniversary."
"Sister Xiaofang, thank you." Jiang Rou pressed down on her trembling wrist; the cuff of her hospital gown slipped back to reveal a patch of bruised skin. "A recommendation form stamped by the Revolutionary Committee can't be changed."
Outside the window, the parasol trees rustled. Officer Guo's ballpoint pen scratched a long line across his notebook. Song Zhiyuan fished out a crumpled pack of Da Qianmen cigarettes, but catching sight of the "No Smoking" sign on the wall, he tucked it back into his Zhongshan coat pocket.
"Comrade Jiang, I'm sorry." He tapped his knuckles against a copy of the *People's Daily* pasted on the bedside wall, the front-page headline bearing the bolded slogan: "Educated youth to the countryside." "You were originally a quota-recruited worker at the Red Star Printing Factory, weren't you?"
Ripples suddenly appeared in the chicken soup. Jiang Rou stared at the shattered reflection on the surface of the broth.
She recalled the ugly, grasping faces of that family forcing her to give up her job.
She swallowed the bitterness on the tip of her tongue. "Yesterday—or rather, the day before yesterday, when I was attacked—I sold the job and traded it for supplies to go to the countryside."
"All right, Comrade, we've got all the information we need."
The two police officers looked at Jiang Rou with a trace of sympathy, deeply piteous of her circumstances.
"Comrade Jiang, let me tell you one more piece of news," Song Zhiyuan said. "You don't need to worry about your father and stepmother coming to bother you these next couple of days, because Jiang Jie is likely involved in illegal buying and selling and has now been detained. Your parents' attention is entirely focused on him, so they won't be disturbing you."
The two men stood up to take their leave, pulling the door shut behind them.
Jiang Rou let out a sigh of relief. It looked like her name had been completely cleared; she just hadn't expected Jiang Jie to be caught for speculation and black-market trading.
At that moment, Yang Xiaofang stood up. "Xiaorou, get some good rest. I'm heading out."
The next day, Jiang Rou was discharged from the hospital. Returning to her home—which had been stripped bare by her prior moving out—she found not a soul there. In their desperate efforts to figure out how to bail Jiang Jie out, Jiang Jianguo and Zhou Hong had no time to spare for her.
Time flew by, and the time to go to the countryside was right around the corner.
After she left, once Jiang Jie was bailed out and received his notice to go to the countryside, she hoped he would still be able to smile.
...
"Educated youth heading to Beidahuang, gather here!"
"Educated youth heading to southern Sichuan, gather here!"
"..."
The train station was packed with people, and youths heading to the same destinations were gathering in groups.
Qu Qiaoliang, born into a family of cadres, was handsome, excelled in academics, and had served as class monitor in school—he was a prominent figure around campus.
With his good looks and stellar academic record, he had been appointed as the team leader for this group of educated youths heading to Beidahuang, temporarily responsible for managing and contacting team members as well as organizing their coordination.
"Feng Yu, Zhang Jiadong, Wang Hao, Sun Xiaoxiao, Jiang Rou."
Qu Qiaoliang called out the names. Quite a few passing girls kept turning back to look at him, their faces flushing red afterwards.
Standing five-foot-three with a high ponytail and wheat-colored skin, Feng Yu stood guard on the side like a mother hen protecting her chicks, watching over Qu Qiaoliang while muttering to herself.
"Are these people blind? Can't they see I'm standing right here, yet they still dare to make eyes at Qiaoliang!"
Qu Qiaoliang closed his notebook. "Are you all here?"
Standing at over six feet tall, Wang Hao couldn't help a chuckle at the sight of Feng Yu's posture. "There are only six people in our team, and we all know each other. There's no need to put on airs with roll call. It seems Jiang Rou is the only one missing."
Just then, Jiang Rou had finished accepting two quilts sent by Yang Xiaofang's father, and after exchanging goodbyes, she walked over.
"I'm here."
Prompted by Wang Hao's remark, Feng Yu blushed, feeling she was losing face, and right at that moment Jiang Rou walked up. Seizing the opportunity, Feng Yu made a sarcastic remark: "Well, it's still better than certain people who have no concept of time and only know how to drag everyone else down."
"I recall the train is at twelve, and the assembly time was notified as ten-thirty, right? I don't think I'm late!"