Chapter 28

At that moment, Ye Qingshui’s expression carried a hint of pleading, hoping that this old man would be interested and offer her some guidance.

The last time, Old Master Zhou had given Ye Qingshui a book on physics, filled with extensive knowledge about electricity.

It was through this thick, heavy book that Ye Qingshui broadened her thinking. She had also noticed that the old man’s desk was cluttered with many electrical components—most of them old, with tangled wires scattered about. For someone like Ye Qingshui, who had a solid theoretical foundation but was poor at hands-on work, this was truly eye-opening.

Zhou Cunren glanced at her indifferently and continued scrubbing the chamber pot in his hands.

Ye Qingshui did not get discouraged. She explained, “It hasn’t rained here in over a month, and the well has dried up. People in the countryside are now relying entirely on manpower to carry water. Soon it’ll be time to plant the late-season rice, but without water, there’s no way to grow it.”

“It’s been very hard for our commune to find a water source. Even digging wells hasn’t worked. I’ve come up with a method—I want to build a reliable water-finding device. If we can locate underground water, then the water problem will be solved.”

“I’ve run into many challenges. Teacher Zhou, could you help me?”

But Zhou Cunren only gave a flat “Oh,” clearly uninterested. He lowered his head and continued wiping the chamber pot. The water from the tap flowed out in a thin stream, as fine as silk. He wiped it again and again, completely ignoring Ye Qingshui.

That indifferent gaze made him hard to approach.

Zhou Ke, who had been listening nearby, nudged his grandfather and said, “Grandpa, big sister is talking to you.”

Zhou Cunren’s old face remained stern, the wrinkles on it like deep ravines. He sat by the sink, scrubbing the chamber pot. A neighbor upstairs opened the door and shouted angrily:

“Old Zhou! It stinks to high heaven! Hurry up and get out of here when you’re done—it’s ruining my appetite!”

Zhou Cunren’s ramrod-straight back slumped a little. But he stubbornly straightened up again and scrubbed harder, now even less inclined to pay attention to Ye Qingshui.

Zhou Ke scratched his head and put down the bucket he was holding. He whispered to Ye Qingshui, “Big sis, you wait. If there’s anything you don’t know, save it—I’ll help you later.”

To a child, “asking for help” simply meant help with homework. But this time, it was something far bigger.

Ye Qingshui patted his head and shook her head. “Go eat your candy.”

She sighed and, hugging her notebook, squatted in front of Zhou Cunren and said even more carefully:

“Teacher Zhou, if this water-finding device works, people in the countryside can plant their rice, and the city won’t run out of water anymore…”

The old man remained unmoved.

Ye Qingshui tried another approach. “I know you really like buns, especially big pork buns. Could you help me?”

Zhou Cunren moved his lips slightly and let out a scornful and stubborn snort. His eyes, though cloudy, were sharp and clear. From the very beginning, his attitude toward this girl had been neither warm nor cold, always indifferent.

He was the exact opposite of his warm and lively grandson.

Ye Qingshui felt a little disappointed inside.

But Zhou Cunren’s cold expression didn’t last long. Soon, a Red Guard popped up and barked, “Old Zhou, the toilets are clogged up with shit again. Hurry up and clean them and haul the mess to the countryside!”

Zhou Cunren’s straight back suddenly hunched over.

Ye Qingshui’s eyes lit up suddenly.

She said excitedly, “Ke’er, let’s go clean the toilets!”

For people in the countryside, they weren’t afraid of dirt or hard labor. The brigade was too poor to afford fertilizer, so every household had to collect manure. Ye Qingshui even raised pigs and cleaned pigsty waste every day!

Other than Zhou Cunren, there was another old man helping clean the toilets. His hair was sparse, and when he saw a young girl who could lift and carry, he couldn’t help but click his tongue in admiration.

Though they were all toilet cleaners and poor enough to barely have pants to wear, Zhou Cunren still carried an aloof air that made him seem more impressive than all the educated people on the street.

“Old Zhou, if someone’s asking you for help, just say yes. It’s rare to have such a kind and down-to-earth kid willing to help you.”

Ye Qingshui worked quickly and efficiently, helping with all of Zhou Cunren’s cleaning tasks. Before the sun went down, she used a small cart to transport a full load of “fertilizer” out of the county.

The other old toilet cleaner asked, “Girl, what are you asking Old Zhou for help with? Tell me.”

Ye Qingshui was panting from exhaustion, her stomach growling from hunger. She had already hauled five cartloads of manure, handing them over to the production team at the hand-off point.

Distracted, she replied, “It’s hard to find water in the countryside. I want to build a water-finding device to draw out underground water.”

The old man nodded vigorously. “And then? That’s a great ideal. Got any ideas on how to do it?”

Ye Qingshui said, “Yes, I want to use the electric field method to find water.”

The old man slapped his thigh hard. “Physics, huh? Old Zhou, stop pretending! Come on, girl, I’ll help you—”

Ye Qingshui hadn’t held out much hope, but she still handed her little notebook to the old man.

At that moment, Zhou Cunren tapped the ground with his broom, wandered to the left, then to the right, acting completely uninterested.

Only after Ye Qingshui had finished explaining everything to the old man did Zhou Cunren finally reach out and snatch the notebook from her hand. He said flatly, “Let me see.”

The other old man laughed and slapped his thigh again. “You just needed a little push, huh? Couldn’t hold back anymore.”

Zhou Cunren’s expression turned serious, his eyes cautious as he flipped through Ye Qingshui’s calculations. He finished quickly.

In his cloudy eyes, a flash of joy appeared—though it lasted only a brief instant.

After reading, Zhou Cunren pointed at several spots in the notebook and said, “Your ideas are quite innovative, but here, here, and here—these all have problems. Think it over more carefully. Once you figure it out, I’ll teach you how to make it.”

Upon hearing that, Ye Qingshui said joyfully, “Teacher Zhou, you know how to do it? Then let’s hurry up and make it—getting it done is what really matters.”

Hearing those words, the worries in her heart finally settled. But at the same time, she also felt a faint sense of loss and confusion.

Zhou Cunren said lightly, “I wouldn’t go so far as to steal credit for this little contribution.”

“Ke’er, let’s go home for dinner.”

After finishing the chore, Zhou Cunren left decisively. The old man who had been cleaning the toilets too snorted and muttered to himself, “Still that same stubborn mouth but soft heart. He’s suffered before for being too warm-hearted.”

He turned to Ye Qingshui and said, “Old Zhou even bothered to pay attention to you—girl, that’s not easy. You’d better treasure it.”

Ye Qingshui also felt that getting help from Elder Zhou was no easy thing. She finally felt a bit at ease—the brigade might really be able to plant the late-season rice.

She washed her hands at the faucet and got ready to ride back to Ye Family Village in the countryside.

As the sun was setting, Zhou Ke’s skinny little frame came running breathlessly toward Ye Qingshui, holding a book thick as a brick. He wiped his sweat and smiled, “Sister, this is from Grandpa.”

He grinned as he wiped his sweaty little hands, mimicking his grandfather’s tone, “When he got home, he flipped everything upside down looking for these books—he was so anxious he was stomping around.”

Zhou Ke’s white teeth sparkled under the golden sunlight, his pure black eyes like a clear brook. He showed a shallow dimple and gently grasped Ye Qingshui’s hand with his thin fingers, softly reminding her:

“Sister, keep going. Find water soon, so Ke’er and Grandpa can have a bath.”

…

Ye Qingshui returned to the countryside and spent several days carefully reading through the large volumes Elder Zhou had given her.

She decided not to go to work anymore, using the excuse of staying home to take care of her sick husband. Gossip in the village surged again—calling her lazy and hopeless. That she only had eyes for her man and wished she could marry into the city for a cushy life, with not a shred of a farmer’s spirit.

Xie Tingyu heard the rumors and was both amused and helpless. He said to Ye Qingshui, “You really don’t care?”

Watching her busy silhouette, he couldn’t help but glance over again. For the past few days, she rose early and slept late, heading into the city every morning. Her movements were practically a mystery. Supposedly staying home to care for him—but in reality, she hardly did.

For the first time, he truly experienced what it felt like to be a scapegoat.

Ye Qingshui responded casually, “It’s fine. What’s one or two more things said about me? I don’t mind. What I should suffer and what I shouldn’t, I’ve already suffered through it all.”

She figured that digging wells now was pointless anyway. Better to spend time where it actually mattered. In her past life, they’d dug from summer to autumn, the hills pitted and scarred, yet not a single working well came from it.

Grandma, on the other hand, cared a lot about this kind of talk. During lunch, she urged Ye Qingshui to hurry up and go back to work.

“Shui, grandma is almost recovered. She said she’ll go to the fields with you tomorrow.”

But the old lady scowled and said to Ye’s mom, “When did I ever say that? I’m not going to the fields.”

“Our girl is meant to do big things now. Shui, grandma supports you. You hurry up and find that… that ‘water-seeking aunt’ already! Why is that aunt playing so hard to get, running all over and still not coming?”

Xie Tingyu was drinking water at that moment and nearly choked.

Ye Grandma hadn’t received much schooling—she didn’t even know what a water-seeking device was. She just didn’t want to return to the fields, still holding a grudge against the brigade leader. After all, who was the real local here? The fact that several educated youths were bullying Qingshui and the brigade leader stayed silent made her furious.

Her husband and two sons had all served in the army—she was a respected elder in the village. But now, being treated coldly for the first time, she was deeply upset.

She stroked Shui girl’s increasingly gaunt face and said, “Worst case, we’ll tighten our belts this year and eat less grain.”

Ye Qingshui laughed, “Grandma, the water-seeking ‘aunt’ isn’t a person—it’s a box like a radio that can help find underground water. It’s really not that serious, grandma. I’m just being gossiped about a little. It’s not like I’m losing chunks of flesh. Country women love to chatter, and educated people’s insults are just sharper. But it’s fine if you don’t care.”

“Grandma, I promise you—before long, you’ll be the most respected elder in the whole brigade.”

Grandma’s face wrinkled even more when she heard this. She didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

She quietly sighed: My granddaughter’s been scolded silly.

Sun Lingyu also came to visit Xie Tingyu. Taking the chance, she said to Ye Qingshui:

“Comrade Ye, I heard you’re working on something called a water-seeking device. Any results yet? Let me tell you—you can’t just back down at the first sign of difficulty. Chairman M said we must have the revolutionary spirit of hard work and simplicity. If we can’t get water from wells, we’ll have to count on you.”

When she said this, her face lit up with mock enthusiasm—it was obvious she didn’t actually expect anything from Ye Qingshui. Her thick sarcasm made it clear she was looking down on her.

He Fang covered her mouth and laughed.

Ye Qingshui, hearing this, stood tall like Elder Zhou and replied confidently, “That’s right—you really do have to count on me.”

The breeze blew gently as Ye Qingshui’s eyes curved into crescent moons. The spark in her eyes was bright and confident, like a magnet that drew everyone’s attention.

A week later, the ten wells the production team had worked on together finally reached potential depths for water. But not a single one had struck water. Under the blazing sun, the brigade leader made a tough call: have the members grit their teeth and dig even deeper.

Author’s Note:

Today, Brother Yu gets no candy.

Because Shui girl has no interest in love—she only wants to “find auntie” (i.e., the water-seeking device).

Brother Yu: I will get my candy.

One day, I’ll peel it and feed it to you all myself.

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