Chapter 90: Lin Xiaodou, Your Time Has Come

At the entrance to the village, Old Li was already waiting with his ox cart. As soon as he saw Lin Xiaodou, he called out to her affectionately. Ever since the first time Lin Xiaodou came to the countryside and saved his old yellow ox, Old Li had held a good impression of her.

“Hello, Grandpa Li,” Lin Xiaodou greeted him with a smile.

She walked up, and the old yellow ox immediately wagged its tail and affectionately rubbed its large head against her. Lin Xiaodou laughed and patted its head. “Good boy.”

Old Li chuckled, “Old Yellow likes you best. Every time you ride in the cart, it’s so happy it can’t contain itself.”

Standing nearby, Liu Yan’er widened her eyes in surprise. She had grown up in Blackstone Village and knew the ox’s temperament—no one but Old Li could get close to it, and it ignored everyone else. She hadn’t expected Xiaodou to be so amazing!

Stars twinkled in Liu Yan’er’s eyes. Xiaodou was not only beautiful and kind, but also loved by animals. You could tell just from her well-behaved little golden monkey and the small brown bear she kept at home. Although Xiaodou never talked about it, Liu Yan’er had never told anyone else—not even her parents—about the pets. In these times, when many people struggled to put food on the table, raising pets would invite gossip.

Liu Yan’er truly hoped Lin Xiaodou’s life would be good. This girl was pure and kind-hearted; no wonder Lin Xiaodou took an instant liking to her.

Today, the whole village was on holiday, and many people were heading into town. About a dozen villagers squeezed together with Lin Xiaodou and her companions into the ox cart, which wobbled its way toward the town.

On the way, Chen Guang barely spoke to the two girls. First, there were too many people around. Second, he was rather afraid of Lin Xiaodou—her fists really hurt when she hit someone. If not for today’s plan, he wouldn’t want to have anything to do with her.

After more than an hour, the ox cart finally reached the town. The county arts troupe was performing on a patch of open ground at the edge of town. By the time they arrived, the stage was set up and the crowd was bustling with excitement. All the good spots had been taken, so to see the show from the back, you had to stand on tiptoe.

Lin Xiaodou was tall, so it wasn’t a problem for her, but Liu Yan’er was only 155 cm, with short little legs. She could barely see and kept hopping up and down to catch a glimpse.

Seeing how hard she was trying, Lin Xiaodou suggested, “Yan’er, why don’t you sit on my shoulders?”

Liu Yan’er screamed inwardly: Oh my gosh! Yes, yes! Outwardly, though, she waved her hands in protest. “No, no, Xiaodou, I’m afraid I’d crush you.”

“It’s fine, I’m strong. I can take it—stronger than those men who look sturdy but are useless,” Lin Xiaodou replied.

Chen Guang, standing nearby, felt awkward. Was she talking about him? She must be.

Not wanting to disturb the others behind them, Lin Xiaodou simply took Liu Yan’er to the very edge of the crowd, right beside the temporary resting place set up for the arts troupe. Fewer people were there because the view was a little off to the side.

Liu Yan’er said, “Xiaodou, I won’t sit on your shoulders—this spot is good enough for me.”

“You’ll have to keep your head tilted, though. Your neck will get sore,” Lin Xiaodou pointed out.

Her eyes landed on a big tree nearby. “How about climbing the tree to watch?”

Others had thought of that before, but the trunk was so straight it was difficult to climb. For Lin Xiaodou, agile as she was, it was no trouble. Soon she had helped Liu Yan’er up onto a branch, then scrambled up herself in a few quick moves.

The two of them sat on the thickest branch, at just the right height to see everything clearly.

Liu Yan’er was delighted. “Xiaodou, this is the perfect spot! I’ve never been this close to the stage before. Thank you so much, hehe.” Her eyes crinkled into crescent moons as she smiled.

“As long as you’re happy.” Unable to resist, Lin Xiaodou started stroking her hair. “Your hair’s so soft, just like the little golden monkey’s. It’s lovely to touch.”

Liu Yan’er thought to herself: Is Xiaodou treating her like a pet? For some reason, she rather liked the feeling.

The performance hadn’t started yet. The actors were preparing in the makeshift wooden house nearby. The two girls, bored, shelled some sunflower seeds and chatted. Lin Xiaodou always carried her military-green satchel with her when she went out, packed with a thermos and snacks like sunflower seeds and peanuts.

There was nothing like munching seeds while gossiping. They had just started when they stumbled upon a gossip-worthy scene behind the wooden house.

Two young women in performance costumes were arguing. It seemed to be about who would stand where during the performance. The prettier girl slapped the other across the face.

The girl who was slapped clutched her cheek and protested tearfully, “Huang Yaxin, why did you hit me? I didn’t provoke you.”

Huang Yaxin snorted, “Who told you to steal my spot? You’re overestimating yourself.”

The other girl, indignant, replied, “I dance better than you. The teacher put me in the middle—what right do you have to hit me!”

Chin raised arrogantly, Huang Yaxin replied, “Because I have connections. If you want to keep your job here, give up your spot. Otherwise, you’ll regret it.”

Eyes red, the other girl finally lowered her head in defeat.

Witnessing this, Lin Xiaodou raised an eyebrow. That was blatant bullying by virtue of backing.

Liu Yan’er, too far away to hear clearly, only saw the confrontation. “Xiaodou, why is that pretty sister so fierce?”

Lin Xiaodou, with her sharp hearing, had caught every word. She recounted it quietly to Liu Yan’er, who fumed with righteous indignation. “How could she be like that? She may look good, but her character is terrible!”

“That’s reality,” Lin Xiaodou replied. “Without connections, it’s easy to be taken advantage of.”

“Yeah…” Liu Yan’er’s face fell. She was a country girl, not very good at her studies. After graduating, she probably wouldn’t even find a job and would have to return home to work the fields and, in time, get married. Thinking about it, she felt she might as well pity herself.

Seeing her so glum, Lin Xiaodou comforted her. “Don’t think too much. You’re still young, just live in the moment.”

“You’re right,” Liu Yan’er nodded. “Live well now, and let everything else happen as it will.”

Ten minutes later, the county troupe’s performance began, lasting over an hour with every act quite splendid. During the show, Lin Xiaodou saw the girl who had slapped the other—her dancing, it must be said, was quite good. The other girl, the one who was slapped, did not appear, probably sidelined.

By the time the performance was over, it was nearly one in the afternoon. After the crowd dispersed, Lin Xiaodou and her friends regrouped with Chen Guang. She hadn’t seen the people from the Youth Brigade he’d mentioned.

Chen Guang explained, “Before we left, they said something came up and they’d be late. I guess they couldn’t make it after all.”

“Oh,” Lin Xiaodou replied blandly. She had already guessed they wouldn’t come. This was all Chen Guang’s arrangement—of course, he didn’t want anyone else involved.

“Let’s go, since you invited us out, it’s only fair you treat us to lunch,” Lin Xiaodou said.

Chen Guang’s smile froze. He had never intended to buy them food. He’d planned to return after the performance and stage a scene on the way back. Seeing their expectant looks, he straightened up. He couldn’t look stingy in front of Liu Yan’er; that would leave a bad impression.

The only place to eat in town was the state-run restaurant. Lin Xiaodou boldly ordered three large bowls of beef noodles and five white steamed buns. Chen Guang winced inwardly. His family was of modest means—he only had a little over thirty yuan to his name, and they wouldn’t be sending more until spring. This meal would cost him several yuan and a grain coupon. If he’d known, he’d never have put on airs—he regretted it bitterly.

After eating, the three headed to the ox cart stop at the edge of town. Normally Old Li would be waiting at his usual spot, but today there was no sign of him. Another uncle from a neighboring village was there with his ox cart.

“Are you folks headed to Blackstone Village?” he asked.

Lin Xiaodou nodded. “Yes, uncle, do you know where Grandpa Li went?”

“He had some trouble at home and had to leave in a hurry. He asked me to tell you.”

“Looks like we’ll have to walk home then. Come on, Xiaodou, let’s get going—we can make it back before sunset if we hurry,” Liu Yan’er said, unfazed by the three-hour mountain hike.

But for the educated youth, such a trek was a real ordeal. Lin Xiaodou glanced at Chen Guang, who showed no sign of complaint—there was even a hint of delight. That was odd. It was possible to hear news in town about the performance, but not about Old Li’s sudden family emergency.

Unless someone had foreknowledge. And the only one with such a gift was the reborn heroine, Chu Ling. So, Chen Guang must be colluding with her again. But knowing Chu Ling’s temperament, she would never let a scoundrel like Chen Guang off easily. No doubt he was being set up as part of her plan.

As for how, Lin Xiaodou was not interested. What she did want to know was what they were plotting.

Preparing for the mountain road ahead, Lin Xiaodou’s eyes lit up with an idea. “Yan’er, I’m going to the restroom.”

There was a public toilet near the town entrance for travelers. Lin Xiaodou entered a stall, and when no one was looking, she released a few tamed sparrows from her personal space. Over these past months in the countryside, she had tamed several small animals: sparrows, snakes, mice, ants, and the like. Some were stationed to keep watch around her cabin in the hills; others waited in her space, ready to be summoned.

She sent the sparrows ahead to scout the mountain road for any suspicious activity, then fed them before they fluttered away.

...

In the woods along the mountain road, Chu Ling and Sister-in-law Liu were chatting.

“Comrade Chu, how did you know there would be a landslide up ahead? What if nothing happens? Won’t that ruin the plan?” Liu asked.

Chu Ling smiled. “Don’t worry, it’s absolutely going to happen—you’ll see. In my last life, it happened on this very day. I was going to town with the other educated youth. On the way back, Old Li had already left with the ox cart, so we had no choice but to walk home, grumbling all the way. Halfway back, there was a sudden landslide. Caught off guard, we all fell into the river. Liu Yan’er was with us, screaming in the water. Chen Guang could swim—he saved her first, then came back for me. At the time, I was too focused on Chen Guang saving me to notice anything else, and I became even more infatuated with him. It was only a minor landslide and the river was shallow, so no one was hurt. Back in the village, people kept quiet so as not to damage the girls’ reputations, and it barely caused a stir.

“This time around, I don’t intend to keep things so low-key.”

Last night, she had found Chen Guang and, without much explanation, told him there was an opportunity to play the hero and asked if he wanted in. Things were different now—Chen Guang had no one to rely on and life was hard for him. He was easily tempted. All he had to do was lure Liu Yan’er into the river, rescue her, and with the story spread far and wide, gossip would force her to marry him. Becoming the village party chief’s son-in-law was a coveted status.

That was the shortcut she’d promised him, but in reality, it was a trap. If the chief learned Chen Guang had engineered the rescue just to get an easy life, he would never accept him as a son-in-law—and life in the Liu family would be miserable for Chen Guang.

And if Liu Yan’er brought Lin Xiaodou with her and something happened to her too, Liu Yan’er would certainly resent Chen Guang. The combination of a scoundrel and a resentful girl would make for a chaotic marriage, which Chu Ling was eager to see.

The corner of Chu Ling’s mouth curled in satisfaction. Her strange smile made Sister-in-law Liu shiver.

“Comrade Chu, do you think Lin Xiaodou will agree to the marriage switch? She’s so pretty, I doubt she’ll give in easily.”

Chu Ling sneered, “She won’t have a choice. When she falls into the river, I’ve arranged for two men to take advantage of her and knock her out before dragging her ashore. Then, when that fool arrives and grabs her, groping her in front of everyone, her reputation will be ruined and she’ll have no option but to marry the fool.”

For this plan, Chu Ling had even sent her husband to the black market to find two fierce brutes. She’d also had Sister-in-law Liu secretly summon the fool to hide nearby, and called a few aunts to make the scene as public as possible.

Once Lin Xiaodou was seen disheveled in the fool’s arms, she would be utterly disgraced, with no choice but to marry him. According to Liu, the fool was a violent madman with tremendous strength, who often beat his parents and sister. No matter how tough Lin Xiaodou was, she wouldn’t be able to fight him off and would soon be tormented miserably.

Just imagining Lin Xiaodou’s misery filled Chu Ling with satisfaction. Hmph, this is the price for offending her!

Lin Xiaodou, your doom has come!