The 1960s: The Story of a Country Girl's Journey to the City

They arrived home the next afternoon, and on the morning of the third day, Wang Xiao borrowed a vehicle from the meat processing plant to take Bao Ya back to Nanshan Brigade.

When they stood at the entrance of the courtyard where Zhou Liang used to live, Bao Ya was dumbfounded.

The courtyard has been renovated and looks completely different.

And people are already living inside, this is a disaster.

When they entered the village, they had already sent someone to the fields to find the team leader. Everyone was at work at the moment, and the gate to this courtyard was still locked.

"Bao Ya, when did you get back?"

When Su Daqiang saw Bao Ya standing at the gate of the courtyard, he hurriedly ran over and called out from a distance.

"I just got back last night. Uncle, when was this yard renovated? Who moved in?"

"They were a few educated youths from the city who came to support the construction of our village. Since there were no vacant houses in the village for them to live in, they repaired this place."

"They've renovated everything? Even the toilets?"

Bao Ya's heart was in her throat. If it was renovated, someone might dig things out.

"No, it was just a renovation of the original structure, without rebuilding the foundation. The toilet was just haphazardly repaired because the original toilet had collapsed."

Su Daqiang saw that Bao Ya was followed by two leaders who had visited the village before, and greeted them separately.

"Uncle, we need to go inside to find something. Could you open the door for us?"

"I don't have the key. You wait here, I'll go get it from them."

Without asking what they were looking for, Su Daqiang turned around and went to the field to get the keys from them.

"Uncle, don't go. It's too much trouble to go back and forth. Let's just climb over the wall and go in."

After saying that, without waiting for Su Daqiang's response, Bao Ya braced herself against the wall, jumped, and flipped over.

The two people behind her saw her go inside and followed without saying a word.

Before Su Daqiang could finish speaking, all three of them went inside. He considered whether to follow, but ultimately decided against it and would just stay outside and keep watch.

After entering the hospital, Bao Ya went straight to the toilet. She had just gone in when she turned around and came out again.

Before, no one lived in this courtyard, and the toilet was dry, so it didn't smell bad. Now it smells so bad that she can't squat down; she feels like the air inside is stinging her eyes.

"What's wrong? Is something missing?"

Fang Mingda and Wang Xiao were startled to see her come out so quickly, thinking that the item was gone.

"Find a small shovel; you can't dig with your hands."

Hearing her say that, Wang Xiao felt a little nauseous; she actually wanted to dig a latrine.

Bao Ya didn't look up at their expressions. She walked around the yard twice and found a small shovel for digging wild vegetables.

"I'll do it."

Seeing Bao Ya walking over while covering her nose, Fang Mingda took the shovel from her hand.

It's really inappropriate for two grown men to ask a young woman to dig up excrement.

Bao Ya didn't refuse. She quickly handed him the shovel, then covered her nose and said, "Go inside, I'll show you where it is."

Fang Mingda, carrying a shovel, took a few deep breaths outside before turning and walking into the toilet.

Bao Ya covered her nose and followed behind. Wang Xiao, on the other hand, stepped back.

As Bao Ya passed by him, she glared at him fiercely, as if to ask: Where did your spirit of hard work and frugality go?

Too lazy to pay him any attention, and seeing that Fang Mingda had already squatted down, I said to him:

"Pry off the stone slab on the left that you're using as a foothold, and place it underneath."

Hearing him mention the stepping stone, Fang Mingda felt relieved, thinking it was a pit.

He quickly pried the stone off, poked around with a shovel, and pulled out an oil paper package from under the soil.

After taking the items out and putting the stone slab back, I quickly took the items and left.

The three of them left the courtyard and followed Su Daqiang back to the Su family home.

The photos were wrapped in two layers of oil paper, so they didn't get damp, and the people in the photos were still very clear.

Inside are solo photos of Gao Lanzhi, photos of her with Meng Xiaolou, photos of her with Zhou Fugui, and even a group photo of the warlord's family.

Bao Ya sighed, "Gao Lanzhi loves taking pictures too much. If she didn't have this hobby, she wouldn't have ended up like this."

"Is this Meng Xiaolou?"

Bao Ya pointed to a man in a photo and said, "That man is indeed handsome; he truly deserves to be a renowned actor."

"Yes, it was him. He was the one who hired the group that went to the governor's mansion to kill people; Gao Lanzhi led the way for them."

There were local bandits and some gang members inside. They originally went to rob, but the warlord had already fled with his property. So they killed the servants to vent their anger.

Meng Xiaolou has confessed, but Gao Lanzhi is still stubbornly refusing to admit anything.

Seeing her ask, Fang Mingda couldn't help but say a few more words. The matter was already settled, she knew quite a lot, and this little bit wouldn't make a difference.

Having obtained what they were looking for, and needing to take the afternoon train back, they drove back to the city first.

As Bao Ya watched the car drive away, she felt a weight lifted from her heart.

She still vividly remembers the twisted expression on Zhou Liang's face when he told Bao Ya that he would step on that woman's photo under the stepping stones in the outhouse.

Zhou Liang hates Gao Lanzhi, and even more so Zhou Fugui who covered for her. With nowhere to vent his overwhelming hatred, he can only vent it on the photos.

But that was evidence against Gao Lanzhi, something she wanted to tear to shreds, yet couldn't. All of this combined drove her even more insane.

These photos have resurfaced today, which can be considered revenge for him. I hope his spirit can rest in peace.

On the way back to the city in the jeep, Fang Mingda watched the figures in the rearview mirror gradually disappear and let out a frustrated sigh.

He pulled out a cigarette case from his pocket, lit a cigarette, and took a deep drag.

Wang Xiao glanced at him helplessly and sighed as well.

"Old Fang, let's get married this year. You've been engaged for so many years, it's not good to keep putting it off."

Once you're settled down and have a family, your mind will be at peace, and you won't have any wild thoughts.

After years of being brothers, how could he not see through Fang Mingda's thoughts? That girl was quite nice, it was just a pity that they were not meant to be.

"Let's talk about it later. She's quite busy, no rush."

Wang Xiao shook his head, unable to understand the relationship between him and his fiancée. They were in a public relationship, but they were usually busy with their own things and rarely saw each other, even once a year. Their contact was also very infrequent.

Bao Ya hadn't been back to her parents' home for two months, and Grandma Su missed her terribly. Seeing that she had finished her business, she pulled her over and looked her over several times.

In the afternoon, neither of the two aunts nor Su Ruyi went to work; the five of them stayed home and chatted all afternoon.

When Jiang Yuan returned home in the afternoon and didn't see his wife, he hurriedly rode his bicycle to pick her up.

As soon as I entered the door, I saw my wife trying to fool her parents.

Seeing the longing looks on the faces of his father-in-law, mother-in-law, and brother-in-law, he knew they had been completely fooled.

"Bao Ya, are you serious? You can make money just by sitting inside all day doing nothing?"

Su Ruyi was stunned. The farthest she had ever been in her life was the commune.

She had never even been to the city. When she was little, Grandma Su thought she wasn't very bright and was afraid she would be kidnapped.

After getting married, all she could think about was eating more and doing less housework; she never thought about going out to see the world.