Bai Fumei in the 70’s

Thanks to Zhao Lanxiang's foresight to wear gloves while pulling weeds and worked slowly, she didn't cut her hands. However, Zhao Lanxiang had never done any heavy work in her life. By midday, when the sun was hot, she still had not finished her work worth five-points, but her waist was almost exhausted.

Others scattered in a group of twos and threes, but Zhao Lanxiang was still squatting in a cornfield to pull weeds.

She took off her mask and rolled up her long sleeves to reveal her white arm. Her sweat dripped slowly, and her clothes were soaked and stuck to her body.

At this time, footsteps came from a cornfield. A man came carrying a pole with buckets of water in front and back. The pole bent somberly, but he steadily took the water through the large cornfield without spilling a single drop.

Zhao Lanxiang's movement of fanning herself with the mask stopped. It was her old man, He Songbai!

She quickly climbed out of the green cornfield and smiled at Songbai, "Comrade, wait a minute, I'm having some difficulty, can you give me a hand?"

Her voice was crisp and sweet, like a lark in the mountains.

It's a pity that not only the man seem to be deaf, but he also accelerated his pace and walked past her carrying his buckets of water until his shadow gradually shrank away in a distance. Zhao Lanxiang looked at the dripping water that the man left behind on his way, and her autumn eyes were dark. He was... walking faster than running.6

But she was not frustrated. She put on her gloves again and squatted on the ground to start weeding.

After about ten minutes, there was a rustling sound from the cornfield. Zhao Lanxiang curved her lips, keeping her position squatting near the ground, while quietly glancing at the figure behind.

Among the greenery, the black figure was tall and slim, skinny like a bamboo pole.

The man went down the cornfield without saying a word, silently stooping down, and began pulling weeds. The thick black heroic brows were not wrinkled, and he lifted the weeds around Zhao Lanxiang cleanly. He even cleared the stubborn tussocks, usually it could only be solved with a shovel.7

After clearing two-points worth of work, he took a deep breath and asked in a rough voice, "Which piece of land is yours?"

Zhao Lanxiang took cover from the burning sun under corn leaves and had a very comfortable rest. She pointed at the land with a finger and made a circle. "From here to there, I have done both of these pieces of land."

The woman's delicate and fair skin was hidden on the verdant corn stalks and leaves. Her face dazzled the eyes. Her eyes were so tender and soft, as if it had been infused with sunlight, it was shining and warm.

He Songbai turned back silently with a sullen face. He raised his hoe for another half an hour, doing the rest of Zhao Lanxiang's work.5

He Songbai didn't dare to look at Zhao Lanxiang, but Zhao Lanxiang looked at him carefully and looked at him over and over. He was wearing a not-so-tough clothing today, and his short trousers only covered his lower abdomen. His two long thighs were slender and strong. The day was so hot that he wanted to take off his shirt, but in the end, thinking about the woman's presence, he only pulled his sleeves up high, revealing his strong wheat-colored muscles.2

He was a little thin, but his strength was not small. If he ate more nutrition, his muscles would grow.

Zhao Lanxiang took out a white steamed bun from the cloth bag thoughtfully.3

"My greatest wish was to eat a white steamed bun." Her old man hugged her late at night and sighed emotionally.1

When the educated youths of the second team went to the county town to buy agricultural tools, she had followed them and brought a bag of fine, high-gluten flour. She used eight-pounds of the flour to bargain with the cook in the cafeteria for her request to eat white noodles and steamed buns every month.

One pound of white flour can make ten big buns, and eight pounds can make 80, she could only eat two a day and gave the remaining two kilograms of rich and fine flour as the cook's labor fee.

Zhao Lanxiang handed over the cold white steamed bun to He Songbai.

He Songbai's attention fell on the white and tender bun that she handed over.

The snowy white skin of the bun was smooth and bright, and the body was round and lovely. This kind of steamed bun made using fine white flour does not have any trace of mottled color. It was as white as snow falling in winter. People said that the bun was soft and sweet, which can evoke the deepest hunger from the heart, but He Songbai has never tasted it.

However, her white and tender palms were softer than this steamed bun. She had just taken off her gloves, and her hands were gleaming white. Only her fingertips have a touch of cherry redness. There was an indescribable temptation to hold the snow-white bun.

He Songbai moved his dark eyes away from the woman, and his sight landed in the black mud.

"No." His face was full of indifference, and his eyes have fierce expression.

He asked, "How much was your candy?"

Zhao Lanxiang, "What?" 

The man became more impatient and said, "Sanya took your candy. Take some money in exchange for your candy."

[T/N: Sanya is the nickname for He Songzhi (He Songbai's little sister). It means "third girl" (she is the third in the family)]

He took fifty cents from his pocket and stuffed some crumpled tickets into Zhao Lanxiang's hands.

Zhao Lanxiang was taken aback by his rude action.

Zhao Lanxiang said softly, "It's only a few pieces of sugar, why talk about money? Thank you for helping me with my work. Won't you sit down and have a meal?"

He saw the woman blocked the road silently in front of him, smiling. His eyebrows gathered, he impatiently pushed the person aside, lifted the shovel, and turned away.

He Songbai's strange look was wild and cold, like a thorn.

Zhao Lanxiang has grown so big without having met such an indifferent gaze.

Unexpectedly, her old man was cold and cruel when he was young. In his old age, he was more a gentleman. Now, when he was young, this 1.0 version has many thorns. Zhao Lanxiang nibbled a few bites of the white steamed buns, chewed hard, and stared thoughtfully at the diminishing black spot in front of her.

Someday I will make you look good!

[T/N: "I will make you look good" is a threat, not a literal meaning. It means similar to "I will sort you out."]19

...

In the afternoon, Zhao Lanxiang returned to the collective hostel of the educated youths and looked disgustedly at Jiang Li. She then took a bath and applied medicine after dinner.

Zhao Lanxiang didn't have time to find He Songbai for a week. It was not because the initial contact with her old man was not pleasant, but because they have too much labor allocated to them.