Chapter 87

Ye Qingshui really did just as Xie Tingyu said — she used a biogas lamp to study.

Under the bright lamp, Mother Ye sewed clothes and no longer had to worry about saving that bit of kerosene. The light was hundreds of times brighter than a kerosene lamp; in fact, she even thought it was too bright for sewing. In the past, if she wasn’t right beside the kerosene lamp, she couldn’t even see the needle’s eye.

Mother Ye smiled cheerfully. “Xiao Xie is really something — born smarter than others.”

Granny Ye went to sleep every night under the lamplight, feeling a satisfaction she had never known before.

“So this is how city folks live every night,” she muttered. “Such a blessed life.”

Hearing her grandmother’s words, Ye Qingshui couldn’t help but laugh.

“This counts as living well? City folks also have televisions to watch, telephones to use, and refrigerators…”

The real good days hadn’t even begun yet.

Ye Qingshui secretly made up her mind that once the policies opened up, she’d earn more money and buy all those big appliances.

Granny Ye had never dared to imagine such near-luxury things. She waved her hands quickly. “Enough, enough…”

Ye Qingshui took the events of the past two months and sent them as a telegram to Grandma Xie.

Biogas had many uses — not just for lighting and cooking. It could also be used for hatching poultry. In later years, greenhouse vegetables relied on biogas lamps for photosynthesis, and the leftover sludge could raise fish or be used as pig feed.

Now that Xie Tingyu had built a biogas digester for Ye Village, he had truly left behind a valuable treasure for the village.

When Grandma Xie received the telegram, she said aloud, “That rascal Tingyu is up to nonsense again! The college entrance exams are just around the corner, and he’s still busy with biogas projects for the village. What’s the use of getting praise for that? If he gets commended this year but fails the exam, what’s the point?”

But in her heart, she was bursting with pride. Grandma Xie knew her grandson’s temperament too well — if he weren’t confident, would he really put aside his studies for such a thing?

However, Grandma Xie’s “plastic sisters” frowned when they heard the news. They repeatedly urged her to make her grandson focus on the exams and secretly gossiped behind her back.

The Xie family’s grandson really wasn’t living up to expectations!

Going to the countryside to farm had already dulled his mind. Choosing to go down there in the first place was a mistake. Now his situation couldn’t compare to his peers, yet he still didn’t know how to seize the chance.

Was this the Xie family’s so-called “keeping a low profile and biding their time”?

The other major families in the capital quickly pushed the Xies out of their minds after hearing the news.

……

After finishing all the biogas matters, Xie Tingyu threw himself earnestly into preparing for the college entrance exam.

The creation of the biogas digester in Ye Village solved the problems of lighting and heating. The news spread like wildfire, instantly becoming the talk of the surrounding villages.

People from neighboring villages — even from nearby counties — came in droves to learn from their experience.

The village cadres strutted around proudly for a while, walking as if the wind carried their steps.

One cadre said, “Comrade Xie gave up his personal time to solve the village’s problems. He could’ve gotten into a good university. We can’t just waste such talent.”

So they rewarded Xie Tingyu with a generous number of work points and let him return home to study properly.

The reward of work points meant his labor hours were reduced — he could still earn work points without going to work. A total of 430 points, just enough to last until the exam ended.

When this news spread, other educated youths who were squeezing in study time whenever possible felt both envy and jealousy.

But envy wouldn’t help — only Xie Tingyu in the whole village knew how to produce biogas. It was delicate technical work that others couldn’t manage.

Now even the educated youth center didn’t have to study miserably under the dim kerosene lamps. They could finally study under bright lights at night.

With better lighting, their study efficiency soared.

By the end of October, a new happy event arrived at the Ye household.

Aunt Ye gave birth to a baby girl at dawn in the county’s maternal hospital.

Uncle Ye held his daughter in his arms, his face flushed with joy, eyes reddened and teary from excitement.

He gently supported her tiny legs and said, “Her feet aren’t even as thick as two of my fingers.”

Mother Ye glanced at the baby, then turned her head. “Her nose and eyes look exactly like Shuiya when she was little.”

Thinking of the chaos when Ye Qingshui was born, and seeing how she’d grown into such a beautiful young woman — already married — Mother Ye’s nose stung with emotion.

Hearing her words, Xie Tingyu looked at the baby and nodded. “She really does look like her. Her eyes are beautiful.”

It was the first time Xie Tingyu had ever seen a newborn — soft all over, red-faced. Looking at Uncle Ye’s daughter and then at his own wife, he couldn’t help but feel a twinge of envy.

But it was only envy.

Now that the college entrance exams had resumed, the two of them planned to attend university together — which meant they wouldn’t be having children for a few years.

Using the newborn’s birth certificate, Ye Qingshui received a roll of cotton cloth and two jin of eggs. She used the cloth to sew a few small garments for her new little cousin.

Uncle Ye waved his hand heartily. “Shuiya, don’t bother yourself! Mother will make the clothes. Those hands of yours are university hands — don’t waste time. Go study!”

If the Ye family could produce a university student, everyone in the family would be able to hold their heads high — it would be their greatest pride.

Mother Ye grabbed the fabric from her daughter’s hands, nervous and anxious. “Shuiya, you must work hard! If Xiao Xie gets into university and you don’t, what will you do stuck here in the countryside?”

She pointed around and whispered, “You know, the Zhangs’ Xiao Li and the Wangs’ Xiao Liu — they’re both getting divorced…”

With the reinstatement of the college entrance exam, the educated youths who once thought returning to the city was hopeless now suddenly had a new dream. If they could pass, who would want to stay in this mountain village forever?

Ye Qingshui bit off the thread in her mouth and kept sewing.

“If the days can’t go on, then get divorced. People have their own legs — how can you stop them? If it were Yu-ge…”

Xie Tingyu, caught off guard by her words, quickly interrupted, “Shuiya, what nonsense are you saying! We’re not like them — why would we get divorced?”

He wished he could dig out his heart and show it to her — how could he bear to even hear the word “divorce”?

Ye Qingshui looked up and smiled faintly at him.

December, deep winter.

Together with hundreds of thousands of candidates, Ye Qingshui entered the exam hall. She took the science stream: five subjects — Chinese, Politics, Math, Physics, and Chemistry — each worth 100 points, for a total of 500.

Her weak points were Chinese and Politics, but when she received the Chinese test paper, she sighed in relief.

The exam questions were easy — compared to later generations, the memorization and reading comprehension were child’s play.

Politics, however, was tough. People at that time were good at political theory. Although their education had suffered, ideological training had never stopped. Ye Qingshui didn’t dare take it lightly; she filled the whole paper and checked it several times before submitting.

The math and science exams were like appetizers for her — she wrote with ease. As soon as the papers were handed out, her eyes shone with confidence.

Meanwhile, groans filled the room. When papers were collected, many answer sheets were nearly blank.

After being away from school for years, most had long tossed aside their textbooks and forgotten their studies. Seeing the test papers, they stared blankly — they might recognize the symbols, but they didn’t understand what they meant.

After the math exam, the next session had even more empty seats.

When Xie Tingyu finished his last exam and walked out, Ye Qingshui was already waiting outside.

The thin winter sunlight fell on her, making her fair skin glow like soft petals — untouched by the harsh dryness of the season. When she saw him, her eyes brightened.

She waved at him and pulled a steaming meat bun from her coat. “Here, have one — warm yourself up.”

“All done? So soon…”

Xie Tingyu had actually finished early too, but since many in his exam hall couldn’t finish, he’d gotten used to submitting late so as not to crush their confidence.

He took a bite of the bun — the warm broth slid down his throat, and he sighed contentedly.

Then Ye Qingshui said, “Yu-ge, let’s get divorced.”

Xie Tingyu choked, unable to swallow.

He coughed violently for a long while. “What… what did you say?”

Without explaining, Ye Qingshui pulled him toward the village office and respectfully told the Women’s Federation director, “I’d like to dissolve the marriage between Comrade Xie and me.”

Xie Tingyu’s face changed instantly. “She’s joking—” he tried to stop her.

But Ye Qingshui held onto him and whispered something in his ear.

Xie Tingyu calmed down slightly, though his eyes were still dark and burning with barely restrained emotion.

“Shuiya—don’t make trouble. I’m not getting divorced!”

His serious face flushed red.

Ye Qingshui beamed. “But this is what we agreed on.”

Xie Tingyu felt as if he were dreaming — his head spinning, his whole body light. It was as though a blade had suddenly fallen from above —

Terrifying. His wife was divorcing him.

The Women’s Federation director, long since worn out by the Ye girl’s antics, sighed. “You young people just love to make a fuss… nonsense.”

Then she smiled brightly. “It was all a misunderstanding. Here’s your certificate. From now on, live a good life together.”

With a loud thump , she stamped the Ye Village Committee seal.

Looking at the two smiling women, Xie Tingyu sensed something was off but held back his anger.

Ye Qingshui got the legendary “divorce certificate” and happily tucked it into her pocket.

Seeing the man’s darkened face, she leaned close to his ear and whispered:

“Yu-ge, I’m eighteen now.”

When they first married, Ye Qingshui had only been seventeen — not old enough for the legal marriage age, so they couldn’t get an official marriage certificate. Later, even if Xie Tingyu had wanted to make it official, he couldn’t. There was no point in faking the age.

He figured he’d wait until she was ready, then they’d register properly.

So when he heard those words, it was like fireworks exploded in his heart.

Ye Qingshui pulled out the “divorce certificate” and read aloud:

“In 1976, Comrade Xie Tingyu, under public pressure and in recognition of his bravery, has annulled his marriage with Comrade Ye Qingshui of Ye Village Brigade One. Henceforth, each may marry freely, without interference.”

It must have been the most bizarre “divorce certificate” the Women’s Federation director had ever issued.

“Since it’s still early, Yu-ge, let’s go get our marriage certificate.”

Ye Qingshui slowly took out the household registration papers and introduction letter she had long prepared. Grabbing his warm hand, her lips curved slightly upward.

She turned her head and smiled at him — her two braids brushed playfully against his neck.

Realization dawned on Xie Tingyu. Overwhelmed with joy, he scooped his wife up, wishing he could spin her around the mountains.

“Go register?”

“Isn’t today too soon? I— I’m not even prepared!” His face flushed pink.

He instinctively looked down at himself — though it was the day of the college entrance exam, nothing particularly special — his clothes plain as usual. Go register like this?

He thought for a moment, and warmth surged straight to his head.

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