Chapter 25

Ye Qingshui woke up and stretched lazily on the straw mat. She applied a layer of sunblock medicinal lotion to her face before putting on a mask to head out to work. Xie Tingyu’s sudden injury had brought her more than a few troubles, taking up much of her rest time.

She had nearly overslept. Hastily putting on her mask, she said to Xie Tingyu, “If anything happens, bear with it for now. If you really can’t take it, pull the bell. Erhu from Auntie Li’s next door will hear and come find me. Do you need to pee? Should I bring you the chamber pot?”

Xie Tingyu was sitting upright on the bed, listening intently to the radio. Aside from some physical injuries, there wasn’t a hint of irritation on him. His calm and composed demeanor made him seem like a man on a relaxing vacation, completely unruffled.

Listening to her nag, he actually gave a rare “mm” in response. Normally, he would only relieve himself when Shen Weimin came by; he’d rather hold it in than lose face and ask Ye Qingshui for help.

Ye Qingshui handed him the chamber pot and turned to leave the room.

When she returned, she noticed something a little unusual about his typically calm face: his ears were slightly red.

Ye Qingshui didn’t think much of it, emptied the chamber pot, and rushed off to work. Although it was already quite late, she still insisted on stopping by Grandma Ye’s place before heading to the work site. She brought a full jug of cool water for her grandmother, told her to sit and rest, and took on most of the work herself.

Grandma Ye muttered, “Shuiya, your grandma’s not that old—I can still carry and lift.”

“I’m just drawing some mud at the well.”

As always, Ye Qingshui nagged gently, “Grandma, you’re getting old. Your eyesight is blurry, and your legs aren’t as nimble as they used to be. You really need to watch your footing. Don’t step wrong while working.”

“Got it, got it!”

Only after helping her grandmother finish her tasks did Ye Qingshui start her own work. The female labor force of the commune was split into five groups, each scattered across different areas, with seven or eight people working one well.

That day, work went unusually poorly for Ye Qingshui. Her heartbeat grew faster and faster. She wasn’t sure if it was because Xie Tingyu kept her up the night before or if she was just too exhausted lately.

Just as she finished dumping the last basket of mud and was getting ready to clock out, someone shouted, “Hey! Someone fell into the well—Qingshui, go check if it’s your grandma!”

The shovel in her hand clanged to the ground. The string in her mind snapped with a twang , and she ran toward her grandmother’s spot like a madwoman.

“Grandma! Grandma—!”

Grandma Ye had already been pulled out of the well and was being held by someone. Her head was bleeding from a bump. The elderly woman, frail and weak, trembled as she sat there, her hair disheveled and her coarse cotton clothes torn.

The first thing she did was touch Ye Qingshui’s face. Her thick thumb wiped away her granddaughter’s tears. “Don’t cry, Shuiya… Grandma’s fine, just twisted my ankle—”

Before she could finish saying “that’s all,” Ye Qingshui’s tears were already pouring down. She hugged the disheveled old woman tightly, sobbing in heartbreak. “It’s all my fault. Grandma, I’ll carry you to the hospital.”

In that moment, Ye Qingshui’s dissatisfaction with fate reached its peak.

If she had known something like this would happen, she would’ve just let her grandmother rest at home and avoid this disaster.

She knew this well wouldn’t yield water. Everyone’s hard work would be in vain. So why had she stayed silent?

The frail old lady in her granddaughter’s arms laughed. She patted her. “Stop fussing—you’ll make a scene. No need to go to the hospital…”

It was a close call. Just as Grandma Ye had warned about her unsteady footing, she fell in. Fortunately, she’d rested that afternoon and hadn’t done heavy labor. She still had some strength and managed to grab the well rope as she fell, sliding down slowly. Aside from bumping her head and cramping her leg, she was mostly fine.

Ye Qingshui’s tears flowed again as she held her still-healthy grandmother, crying and laughing at the same time. The commune’s barefoot doctor gave her a rough examination.

“No big deal. Just apply a few packs of stinky herbs, and she’ll be fine.”

Ye Qingshui carried her grandmother on her back and told the team leader, “My grandma won’t be participating in well digging anymore.”

The team leader, a man in his forties, had also survived hard times.

He rolled a homemade cigarette with a grass wrapper, lit it with his thumb, and took a deep drag.

He stayed silent for a while, then said, “Old Lady Ye will recover with some rest. Shuiya, Sixth Grandpa knows you’re angry, but the late-season rice needs to be planted. Everyone’s already worn out and wants to rest. Even oxen sometimes refuse to move when they’re too tired. If you don’t work and others don’t either, what will we do for food?”

“Your Sixth Grandpa can’t support you on this. Your uncle went off to join the army—you’re already short one strong laborer at home. If everyone slacks off and lacks the spirit to fight, how will we ever live well?”

Hearing the team leader’s heartfelt words, Ye Qingshui felt both angry and emotional. There was nothing wrong with what he said. In the end, it all came down to poverty. The Hongqi Commune had seventy-six production teams and was in debt to the state every year.

So poor it was shameful—people didn’t even dare say where they were from when outside. Just mentioning Hongqi Commune would earn a look of disdain.

Backwards, impoverished, with harsh terrain—reality felt hopeless. And yet, it had the simplest folk, the sweetest mountain springs, and the most beautiful folk songs. Only after Ye Qingshui left these mountains did she realize that even other rural villages were wealthier than Ye Family Village. Other places had electricity by 1975. Her village didn’t get it until the 1980s.

You had to live it to truly understand this phrase: One person’s wealth isn’t true wealth. Only when everyone is prosperous is it true prosperity.

Ye Qingshui held back her tears and said, “Digging randomly like headless chickens is useless. This well location was chosen too hastily—there’s an 80–90% chance it won’t yield water.”

As soon as she said it, the nearby educated youths eavesdropping on the drama rolled their eyes.

Especially Sun Lingyu, who was always at odds with Ye Qingshui.

She said, “Comrade Ye, how can you waver in revolutionary determination? Whatever else you say, this well location was the result of united, careful surveying by all the educated youth. Your rash comments are what’s truly blind and arbitrary.”

By questioning the well’s location, Ye Qingshui had essentially placed herself in opposition to the educated youth. On one side was an ignorant rural woman with barely any schooling or experience. On the other side, well-educated, idealistic young people—both men and women.

Who seemed more trustworthy was obvious. A dozen gazes landed on Ye Qingshui like they were watching a joke unfold.

In full view of the crowd, the young girl struggled to argue, like someone refusing to go down quietly: “You said this well site was decided through collective wisdom. Then tell me—what methods did you use to survey it? Who did the surveying?”

“If the well still doesn’t yield water by the time we need to plant late-season rice, what then?”

Sun Lingyu stood with her hands on her hips and said disdainfully, “There’s no such thing as ‘if.’ Out of ten wells, it’s impossible that not even one will strike water. Ye Qingshui, I think you’re getting arrogant just because you married a good man. Not only are you unwilling to work, but you’re also biting back. If it weren’t for the honest and kind nature of our folks here, you’d have been publicly denounced already. Ignorant!”

No one wanted to seriously answer Ye Qingshui’s three questions—they just laughed at her.

“Go home and read some more books!” others jeered.

“You talk about ‘those who are capable should lead,’ but when it comes to digging wells, everyone here is more ‘capable’ than you!”

Ye Qingshui listened to all the mockery and then calmly turned to the team leader, saying, “My grandma is injured and definitely can’t work anymore. I’d like to request a leave of absence to take care of her. Sixth Grandpa, my opinion might not be correct, but it’s worth considering.”

“There’s always a chance things might go wrong. We must be prepared for both outcomes.”

Old Granny Ye finally sighed heavily and said, “Sixth Brother, do you still remember how your eldest brother helped you back then? I won’t say any more. Shui’er, let’s go home.”

Ye Qingshui returned the farming tools and carried her grandmother home on her back.

On her back, the old woman mumbled, “I’ve dragged you down, Shui’er… Your temper’s just as stubborn as your father’s.”

She pressed her wrinkled face against her granddaughter’s warm neck, rubbing against her smooth skin, feeling both content and deeply moved. A trace of sorrow welled up in her heart.

Her granddaughter had just been humiliated by the educated youth—mocked and scolded in front of everyone—and not a single person had stood up for her. She was all alone. Granny Ye felt very guilty.

“When your grandpa and your father were still alive, no one in the village dared breathe too loud. Your father was a truly accomplished man. He was educated and clever. He was the one who wrote to the Revolutionary Committee to get people to build the village’s first road. If he were still alive, he would never let you suffer like this.”

Ye Qingshui sensed the old woman choking with emotion and quickly pulled herself out of her thoughts. She smiled gently and said, “My father was amazing. He was a very capable man.”

“Don’t be sad, Grandma. I’m not someone who will be looked down on. I’ll make something of myself. You just relax and enjoy the good life—you deserve it.”

After bringing her grandmother home, Ye Qingshui gathered some herbs for bruises and swelling, and personally applied them. She had learned some herbal medicine from her teacher before, so treating minor injuries like this was no problem.

She fetched water and washed the old woman’s feet, giving her a massage that made Granny Ye groan in discomfort, then relax in comfort afterward.

After finishing dinner, Ye Qingshui quickly served a portion for Xie Tingyu.

As she approached the door, she heard Shen Weimin’s voice:

“Hey, don’t think like that. Your family has strict rules. If your grandma knew you brought Shui’er back, she’d kill you.”

“And have you seen Uncle Aijun’s family in the compound? That was a classic case. Uncle Aijun married a country girl—never mind social compatibility or whether their ideals matched—everyone could see that auntie. They fought constantly, every other day. Like the elders say, she was too calculating, always trying to take advantage. In the end, Uncle Aijun had to clean up the mess. It caused chaos in the whole compound, and everyone laughed at them. Eventually, they divorced. And military marriages aren’t that easy to dissolve. You’ll be walking the same path one day… Shui’er might seem nice and sweet, but have you really thought it through—?”

“Today, Shui’er had a fight with the female educated youths again. I don’t know why there’s always so much drama. Maybe it’s because of you.” Shen Weimin trailed off.

Cough cough— Ye Qingshui knocked on the door while holding the bowl.

Shen Weimin turned red and then pale when he saw her, stammered out a line, and bolted: “Um… Brother Yu, I’ll come back tomorrow.”

Ye Qingshui fed Xie Tingyu his dinner calmly, then carefully wiped his mouth and hands.

Xie Tingyu asked quietly, “Are you angry?”

Ye Qingshui shook her head. She had long since stopped thinking about marrying Xie Tingyu, so hearing such things didn’t hurt her. She might have been a bit uncomfortable with the comparison, but in the end, Shen Weimin didn’t understand her. Why bother getting upset over someone else’s misunderstanding?

Xie Tingyu gave a small smile, revealing his white teeth. “Good. I’ll apologize on his behalf. Tomorrow I’ll make him come apologize to you in person. Don’t let irresponsible words trouble you.”

“I heard about what happened today…”

Ye Qingshui put the bowl away, grabbed a small notebook, and came to sit in front of Xie Tingyu. She asked, “If you were to choose a site to dig a well, how would you determine the location?”

Xie Tingyu saw that she truly wasn’t angry. Her delicate brows looked like strokes from a landscape painting—serene and graceful. Her brow was smooth and calm, and her dark, clear eyes shone like water nourished by the spirit of the mountains.

He gently lifted her mask, letting her skin breathe the fresh air.

Then he began explaining: “You’d need to analyze the hydrogeological conditions, build a model to predict groundwater distribution, and then decide on the site. If the terrain is flat and the underground structure is simple, it’s easy. But this is a karst landscape—complex, with cave systems. Modeling is hard, and finding water is difficult…”

Xie Tingyu spoke steadily and clearly, using simple examples and language to help her understand.

Ye Qingshui asked again, “Then how can you tell where the underground water is?”

He paused, then said, “You can use drilling methods. Common techniques include seismic methods, induced polarization, and remote sensing. The most widely used equipment now is based on resistivity methods. But they don’t work well here… I’ve tried. The instruments showed water, but when we dug, it was just a pool of mud.”

Ye Qingshui fell silent in thought for a long time. Then she said, “If only there were an ‘underground clairvoyant’ that could really detect water.”

“Thank you. I understand now.”

Xie Tingyu was a little confused, but when he saw the girl’s look of sudden realization, followed by a frown of deep thought, he couldn’t help but tease her:

“What, are you really going to go find this ‘underground clairvoyant’?”

“I’m not going to find one. I’m going to make one.”

Ye Qingshui swiftly pulled out Xie Tingyu’s University Physics textbook and began flipping through it. Her finger traced the pages quickly. “If resistivity doesn’t work, then what about electric fields?”

“Like Chairman Mao said, things don’t exist in isolation. Underground water isn’t isolated either—it’s constantly evaporating and moving. Flowing water generates electric current, and directed current generates an electric field.”

Xie Tingyu couldn’t help but smile, his eyes soft with encouragement. “Shui’er, give it a try.”

If he could, Xie Tingyu would’ve wanted to shake that head of hers and spill out the water sloshing around inside. But then he remembered how she always scored full marks in math and physics, and he stopped himself.

Author’s Note:

Ping Shengjun: “Brother Yu, do you think your wife will succeed?”

Brother Yu: “No.”

Ping Shengjun: “Then why are you encouraging Shui’er? You act all calm and composed on the outside…”

Emmmm… scheming boy.

Brother Yu: “…”

Support Sansukini on Ko-fi

Thanks for visiting. If you like this story, then I’m shamelessly asking you to visit NovelUpdates and give a 5⭐ review. (人❛ᴗ❛)♪тнайк　чоц♪(❛ᴗ❛*人)

You can also check out my other translations Here