Chapter 11: A Grand Scheme Takes Root in His Heart

An Yan didn’t have a stick, so she could only knead clothes with her bare hands. In just a short while, her hands were already icy cold. She lifted her hands to her mouth and breathed out a couple of warm breaths; only then did the stabbing pain in her knuckles ease a little.

Wang Guilan noticed her action and smiled, saying, “Xiao An, this water all comes from the snow on the mountain. All year round, except in summer when it’s a bit better, it’s always this cold. When I first came here, it took me quite a while to get used to it.”

“Auntie will teach you a trick. In the future, when you do laundry, carry the water back home and pour it into a big barrel. Let it sit in the yard and warm up in the sun—it’ll be much better.”

“Alright, I’ll remember that, Aunt Wang. I’ve only just started—I’ll get used to it with time.”

An Yan thought for a moment. It took five minutes just to walk there without carrying water; if she were to carry water, it would take at least ten or more. Besides, she didn’t even know how to carry water. “If only there was a well or running water at home.”

“What’s ‘running water’?” Wang Guilan paused in her scrubbing, curiosity piqued.

“Uh… it’s a metal pipe where you just turn a handle and water comes out.”

“Oh, I saw that kind of running water once when I went into town… But up here in the mountains, we’re lucky to have a well. Best not to hope for those things.”

An Yan nodded. Indeed, the air up in the mountains was good, but right now she could hardly find anything else to recommend the place.

As they talked, a few more women arrived to wash clothes. These faces were new to An Yan, so she didn’t greet them. One of the women, however, was quite friendly and struck up a conversation, “Miss, you look new—whose family are you with?”

An Yan turned her head to look at the speaker—a short-haired, round-faced woman who seemed easy to get along with.

“I’m Captain Lin’s fiancée.”

“Captain Lin? Lin You’s family?”

The newcomers perked up their ears to listen.

When they heard An Yan’s answer, they immediately began to chatter.

“Wasn’t Captain Lin with Doctor Zhu?”

“You don’t know? My husband came home yesterday and told me Captain Lin’s fiancée arrived, and they say she’s really pretty. Didn’t expect she’d be such a little beauty.”

…

In a place like this mountain post, the women’s favorite pastime was gossiping about who quarreled or fought at home—no matter how trivial, every incident became a topic of conversation.

Now, with An Yan’s arrival, the gossip only grew livelier. They didn’t care that An Yan was present, and openly compared her with Zhu Yan—height, figure, even the size of their eyes.

“Hey, that’s enough, you lot! Xiao An is still here! Besides, there was never anything between Captain Lin and Doctor Zhu,” Wang Guilan interjected, giving the others a stern glare.

She was the oldest among them and one of the first military wives here, so her authority in the compound was considerable. At her rebuke, the women fell silent, though their eyes still drifted towards An Yan and they whispered among themselves.

“Xiao An, don’t listen to their nonsense. None of it’s true. You know, Doctor Zhu used to help Captain Lin look after his child, so people misunderstood.”

“Aunt Wang, didn’t you explain all this to me yesterday? Don’t worry, I’m not that petty,” An Yan replied with a calm smile, looking unconcerned.

“Oh, by the way, Auntie, I went to the supply co-op yesterday and found there wasn’t much there. Do you know if there’s anywhere else to shop?”

Although An Yan had brought a suitcase full of things for this trip to the Northwest, there were still some items she lacked.

Wang Guilan wrung out a piece of clothing. “The only option is to go down to the county town at the foot of the mountain. They have everything there. At the end of each month, we go down together with the unit’s truck to buy supplies.”

“Oh, and the Second Company Commander’s sister works as a sales clerk at the county supply co-op. If there’s anything we can’t get, we ask her to pick it up for us.”

“A sales clerk at the supply co-op?”

An Yan couldn’t help but feel a surge of envy. In this era, that was one of the five iron rice bowl jobs. With a family member working at the supply co-op, buying anything became much easier, and many scarce goods never even made it onto the shelves for outsiders.

“Xiao An, what did you do before you came here?”

“Me?” An Yan recalled the original owner’s life, which seemed to consist only of eating, drinking, playing, and sleeping. The only thing worth mentioning was that she’d been a high school student.

“I was studying in high school before I came.”

“Well now, Xiao An, I didn’t realize you were so well-educated! If you were a college student, that would be remarkable—you’d be guaranteed a job after graduation.”

Wang Guilan’s envy was obvious.

“Uh… Aunt Wang, it’s not that impressive. I left school halfway through.”

“Still, you’re a high school student.”

An Yan gave an awkward smile and quickly changed the topic. “Aunt Wang, when is the unit going down to town this month?”

Wang Guilan put down her stick and counted on her fingers. “Probably in two or three days. I need to go too, so I’ll come by your house to get you.”

“Thank you for the trouble, Aunt Wang.”

“Xiao An, you’re wonderful in every way, but you’re too polite. If you’re too soft here, you’ll get bullied.” Wang Guilan cast a look at the women who’d just arrived, then gave An Yan a meaningful glance.

An Yan caught on immediately. “Don’t worry, Auntie. I don’t pick fights, but I won’t let anyone push me around! Don’t be fooled by my small size—I know how to defend myself.”

With that, An Yan playfully waved her fists, making Wang Guilan laugh heartily.

After chatting a bit more, An Yan finally got down to washing clothes in earnest. In truth, doing laundry here was more exhausting than her previous job.

On the way back, Erdan and Lin Nuannuan walked ahead, hand in hand, while Wang Guilan chatted with An Yan on and off.

“Oh, Aunt Wang, I wanted to ask—what’s suitable to plant in the land behind the yard?”

“That place? It used to be wasteland. Later, everyone started reclaiming a piece behind their house. As for what’s suitable, I can’t say for sure—the soil here is poor and harvests aren’t great. When I first arrived, I worked on it every day but soon realized the yield was barely worth the effort.”

“If you want to plant something, stick to vegetables like greens. As for grains, don’t get your hopes up. Often, you’ll harvest less than you sowed.”

An Yan listened carefully. Clearly, things were not as simple as she’d imagined.

“Xiao An, if you’re really looking for something to do, you could ask at the headquarters if there’s any work. You’re a high school graduate—maybe you could work in the mailroom. If that doesn’t work out, you could raise some livestock. If there’s anything we have here, it’s land and grass.”

An Yan nodded thoughtfully. She really was interested in raising sheep or something similar—after all, the food shows always said Northwest lamb was delicious. If she raised some, her family would never lack meat.

She gazed at the distant snow-capped mountains, her heart filled with the urge to carve out a new life.

At the same moment, someone else’s heart was anything but calm…