Chapter 78

The gossip that Ye Qingshui secretly went to the hospital for an abortion spread throughout the whole village in just a few days.

When she went to work, a few women openly stared at her stomach.

“Why on earth would she get rid of the baby? Didn’t Comrade Xie always want a child?”

“Such a pity…”

Back during spring planting, the couple had been so affectionate, nothing like people preparing for an abortion. Only in the more remote mountain valleys were there places that tested for the baby’s sex—and if it was a girl, families might get rid of it. That sort of thing was despised in Ye Family Village.

And it wasn’t like the famine years of the 1960s when people starved to death; no matter how poor you were now, you couldn’t be so cruel as to kill your own flesh and blood. Besides, Comrade Xie was an educated man from a well-off family—he’d hardly reject a daughter.

The married village women shook their heads. But when they looked at Ye Qingshui’s tender face, her full chest, and her pure, water-like appearance, their gazes turned strange.

Could it be… she secretly took a lover?

Even someone as calm as Ye Qingshui almost laughed from anger:

“I’ve never even been pregnant, where would this abortion come from? Whoever’s smearing my name—just wait until I slap her across the face!”

But the very next day, someone checked and found that during that period she had indeed gotten a referral letter from the village Party secretary to the city People’s Hospital. It matched up with the abortion slip.

All of a sudden, everyone started looking at Comrade Xie as if a big green hat had been placed on his head.

Such a good man, and he still couldn’t keep his wife—what a spectacle.

Even Zhou Tingting came to ask Ye Qingshui:

“Shui’ya, you didn’t really get pregnant, did you?”

Ye Qingshui’s eyes went cold. She answered firmly:

“No.”

Zhou Tingting held her hand—warm, but rough from work—and said sincerely:

“I believe you. You’d never do something like that.”

After spending a year together, Zhou Tingting felt she understood Ye Qingshui’s character.

She had rarely seen a rural girl with such ambition. While others wasted time after work playing cards, going to town for fun, or sleeping in, every time Zhou Tingting visited the Ye home, she either saw Ye Qingshui working or bent over her desk reading.

Ye Qingshui was strict with herself. Whether in labor or inventing that water-finding device, she was always the most proactive. For that invention, she had combed through the library, rereading the same thick book seven or eight times.

Zhou Tingting nodded again:

“I believe you.”

She believed that the same girl who once, under a hail of accusations, had still stood tall and shouted “The capable should lead” with pride, would never lose her dignity.

Hearing this, Sun Lingyu—who had been secretly eavesdropping—awkwardly muttered:

“I believe you too.”

Her reasoning was simpler. She thought Ye Qingshui was a little uncanny. In situations like this, those who believed the rumors always ended up with swollen faces from being proven wrong—without exception.

Besides, Ye Qingshui didn’t seem like the type of fool who would throw away such a good husband just to sneak around.

And Sun Lingyu also had her doubts about He Fang. That woman had dragged her into trouble during New Year’s, out of nowhere. Clearly not a good person either. After returning to the countryside this time, Sun Lingyu cut ties with her.

After Sun Lingyu spoke, some of the other young women exchanged glances. At last, they gathered courage and said in hesitant voices:

“Even though the rumors sound convincing this time… I still believe you.”

These were girls who had once eaten at Ye Qingshui’s home. Having benefited from her hospitality, they were inclined to trust her.

“I believe you too. But you’d better not let us down!”

One of them clenched her fists. She believed that someone capable of leading them to dig a well and save the harvest could not possibly have poor morals.

Another coughed awkwardly:

“Why are you all looking at me? …Fine, I believe you as well.”

Soon, the remaining few girls joined in. At last, they smiled and told her:

“After some discussion, our dormitory decided to support you too. Qingshui, you must clear your name this time.”

Because nothing was more vicious than slandering a woman’s purity. Killing someone was just a matter of a single strike, but this kind of “soft knife” could destroy a marriage. If Comrade Xie couldn’t withstand the pressure and divorced her, Ye Qingshui would never be able to hold her head high again.

Ye Qingshui never imagined she’d hear such words.

She looked at the dozen young women in front of her—some pale and skinny, some stooped from heavy labor, some still bright and lively in simple clothes. Yet every one of them was smiling warmly, gazing at her with dark, sincere eyes.

It felt as if a river of warm spring water flowed through her heart, soothing her anger.

She whispered:

“Thank you… thank you, really… I don’t even know what to say.”

Covering her mouth, she could no longer make a sound.

Looking at these faces—girls who had once misunderstood her, despised her, and followed the crowd—now standing on her side, she felt a wave of emotion she had never dared hope for.

She had thought this time would be like every other: that she’d have to stand against the entire village to defend her innocence.

She had thought this time, too, would end the same: rumors spreading like wildfire, mocking laughter behind her back, and even after proving her innocence, all she would get was grudging silence—an unspoken, “Fine, you weren’t wrong this time. What more do you want?”

But now it was different.

Zhou Tingting patted her shoulder.

“Don’t just stand here crying. Think—what exactly happened that day?”

Someone asked:

“You did go to that hospital. What did you do there?”

Another girl said:

“I heard that slip was found in some male comrade’s dorm. Who told me that again? Cui Cui, was it you?”

The named girl pointed:

“Da Hong told me.”

And Da Hong said it was someone else who’d told her.

Tracing it step by step, they eventually tracked it to another girls’ dormitory.

Ye Qingshui watched the familiar and unfamiliar faces around her, all chattering, scheming, and offering plans for her. She felt both relieved and happy.

She smiled.

All this time, she thought she no longer cared about gossip—that others’ opinions didn’t matter, that so long as she was upright, she needn’t fear a crooked shadow.

But after being misunderstood so many times, she realized she did feel wronged.

Pressing her lips together, she said:

“Help me spread the word. I have something to say to Comrade Zhao Yan.”

…

Meanwhile, Zhao Yan’s heart trembled every time she overheard people in the dorm gossiping about Ye Qingshui “taking a lover.”

One day, when everyone had gone to lunch, only she and He Fang were left in the empty dorm.

He Fang comforted her earnestly:

“Scandals are like lice—scratch at them and they just spread. What, is Ye Qingshui supposed to stand up and prove she hasn’t cheated? I’ve already bribed the doctor at the hospital. Even if she points you out, there’s nothing she can do. Just keep your mouth shut tight—no one will suspect you.”

Zhao Yan’s face grew even paler. She whispered:

“But you could’ve written anyone’s name. Why did you have to frame Ye Qingshui?”

He Fang frowned.

“And who do you think I’m doing this for? Use your brain! Ye Qingshui’s reputation is getting better and better. If she applies to be a Worker-Peasant-Soldier student, with her background—third-generation poor peasant, military family—you won’t stand a chance! Ungrateful girl.”

He Fang clicked her tongue, irritated at how stupid Zhao Yan was. If it had been Sun Lingyu, she would have caught on long ago. With Zhao Yan, she had to waste so much effort.

Just as she was about to continue:

Knock knock.

“Is Comrade Zhao Yan here? Ye Qingshui wants to see you.”

Zhao Yan shivered like a sieve.

He Fang clenched her teeth.

“You’d better keep that mouth shut tight.”

…

On the other side—

After Ye Qingshui explained everything to Xie Tingyu, he requested leave at dawn, not even bothering with the farm work.

When people didn’t see him in the fields, they assumed he was too ashamed, too embarrassed to show his face.

But Ye Qingshui knew better. They had already talked it through yesterday, so she wasn’t worried. The only thing she couldn’t endure was the pitiful, sympathetic looks villagers kept giving her.

After lunch, Zhou Tingting brought Zhao Yan over.

Zhao Yan hadn’t even had time to eat lunch. Her already pale complexion was now even paler.

Ye Qingshui’s gaze fell on the frail woman before her.

“Why did you write my name?”

Zhao Yan was silent for a long time. Her bloodless face was eerily calm as she asked, “Are you planning to apply for the Worker-Peasant-Soldier Student program?”

Ye Qingshui answered casually, “No.”

She already knew that this year the government was preparing to restore the college entrance exam. She had never considered the Worker-Peasant-Soldier program; the quality of those students wasn’t comparable to those who entered university through the formal exams.

Upon hearing this, Zhao Yan broke down, trembling.

Seeing how frail and sickly she looked, Ye Qingshui feared she might faint on the spot, so she handed her a steamed bun.

Tears welled up in Zhao Yan’s eyes. Inside, she was in fierce turmoil.

After a long moment, she didn’t take the bun. Instead, she dropped to her knees and kowtowed.

“I’m sorry, I beg you not to expose me. I wasn’t the one who wrote your name, nor was I the one who spread that slip of paper… I just wanted to go to university… I never meant to hurt you.”

She kowtowed harder. “I’ve been here so many years, I just want to go home.”

Her forehead banged against the ground again and again, quickly picking up dust and turning bluish. Her clothes were already very old, shabby, and pitiful. Ye Qingshui remembered seeing Zhao Yan wearing that same outfit five years ago.

After hearing this, Ye Qingshui pieced everything together and understood.

“Was it He Fang who told you to do this?”

She shook her head in pity and said, “She sold you out and you’re still helping her count the money. How foolish! She lost her chance to be selected last year. Now she’s pushing you in front of me. Of course I’ll clear my name. Do you think you’ll still have any chance at university? Once you’re eliminated, the spot will probably fall to her again.”

“Are all your sacrifices really worth it?”

Zhao Yan wept. “I’m not you. I don’t have your luck. Ye Qingshui… do you know, I really envy you. If only I had half your good fortune, I wouldn’t be like this.”

“I beg you, I finally got this chance…”

By pure accident, Ye Qingshui had married Xie Zhiying, and from that accident came good fortune. She had been just an ordinary village girl, yet because of marrying well, everything in her life seemed smooth. By marrying him, she could eat her fill and return to the city.

Ye Qingshui shook her head again and again.

What good fortune did she have for others to envy?

Her early life had been full of inferiority and humiliation, battered by gossip. Her grandmother had died early, Xie Tingyu had been killed in a car accident. She had misunderstood him for a lifetime and hated him just as long.

If someone else had suffered what she had, they might have wasted away long ago.

Ye Qingshui shook her head firmly, earnestly correcting Zhao Yan:

“If not for this matter, I wouldn’t have cared how you got your chance. But let me correct you on one point: I am not lucky at all. On the contrary, I’ve lived with great difficulty.

Every path is chosen and walked by oneself. You only see others’ glory on the surface, not the hardship and tears in private.

If you want a certain kind of life, you must work toward it. If you want to eat your fill, you must labor diligently. If you want to go to university, you must study hard and earn others’ recognition. If you want a good life, you must strive your whole life.

Every person from Ye Family Village who was selected as a Worker-Peasant-Soldier student was either a model laborer or outstanding in ideology, politics, or culture. They worked and fought for it, and proudly went to university.

And you? Today, you’re willing to sell yourself for the chance to study. Tomorrow, you’ll sell your soul for a job. And you envy me? Forgive me for being blunt, but I would never do what you’ve done. The problem lies in your thinking from the very root.”

“You envy me for marrying Xie Tingyu, but I’ll tell you this: even without him, with my own two hands, I could still live a better life.”

Zhao Yan shook with sobs, her body trembling like a sieve.

Just as Ye Qingshui finished speaking, a burst of applause came from outside the door.

Xie Tingyu slowly pushed the door open, smiling warmly at her. His expression was calmer and more sincere than ever before. He said, “Shui’ya is right. In fact, I’ve always been proud of her.”

Zhao Yan lifted her head. Behind him stood a man in a white coat—the very doctor who had performed her abortion that day.

Zhao Yan’s face went chalk white. If she hadn’t come to plead with Ye Qingshui today, would Xie Zhiying have let this doctor expose her?

Her kowtows grew even more desperate, pounding the ground until her forehead bled.

“This time, I really didn’t hurt Shui’ya. I only had an abortion, that’s all—it really had nothing to do with me.”

Xie Tingyu said, “Stand up. If you weren’t involved in this matter—”

A faint, meaningful smile appeared on his lips.

Ye Qingshui thought Zhao Yan was hateful, yes, but the true instigator was He Fang. She had to be exposed; Zhao Yan shouldn’t take the blame for her.

Xie Tingyu said, “Why not… use her own tricks against her? Let her taste the same bitterness Shui’ya has endured.”

Author’s note:

Brother Yu: I’m unreasonable! I’m ruthless! I’m fierce!

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