Commune Leader Xu Sanduo watched the members toiling away with great enthusiasm. He was just about to cup his hands to his mouth to encourage them to push harder on the rush harvest when a commotion suddenly broke out up ahead.
"What's going on? What's going on…"
"Leader, it's Sanzhu's daughter, Changqing! She's fainted!" From a short distance away, the scorekeeper raised his arm, waving the notebook in his hand. "Uncle Bai! ...Has anyone seen Uncle Bai? Quick, call for help…"
"What's all the shouting for? And why call Tie Zhuzi? Is he a doctor or something? He's busy! Just move her under a tree. That girl's just got a bit of heatstroke. Somebody pinch her awake."
"I said it before, that girl has the brains for books but not the brawn for work. Look at this. When San Zhuzi gets back, he's going to be furious with you all. I told you a girl this age can't do that kind of work…"
"All you do is flap your gums. What other kid for a hundred miles around doesn't have to go to school every day but still aces every exam? She's a nimble worker, too, worth as much as a strapping lad earning ten work points!"
"Oh, you're so capable, you are! If you're so great, why don't you ascend to the heavens? Do you think that child is a boy? She's a girl, a girl! Can you really work a girl like she's a boy?"
"Then what do you suggest? Even if Sanzhu's wife manages to have a son this time, by the time that son is grown, how old will the two of them be? This daughter is sensible, so of course she has to think more about these things…"
"Alright, stop arguing. Yes, pinch her philtrum hard… She's fine now, her eyelids are twitching. The kid's coming to. If you ask me, if you raise a daughter well, she's more dependable than a son…"
"Tch! …That's easy for you to say with all your sons and grandsons. Weren't you the one who insisted your wife go to the riverside when she was about to give birth back then? Have you really forgotten where your eldest was born?"
"Enough, cut the chatter! You, you there! Yes, you, Bai Laosan's third son, I'm talking to you! If she's not getting up, take your cousin home to rest for a bit."
"Finally, a sensible suggestion! All the grown men in the team are here, and we're letting a child do heavy labor. What a disgrace! Sangouzi, stop all your shouting. Your aunt is about to give birth…"
"I'll say no more, no more… This child…" An elderly sigh was followed by an almost inaudible mutter, "Just like her father. Unlucky. Born into the wrong body."
But such is a person's fate. Her father, such a promising young man, was just unlucky. And the daughter even more so, saddled with a sister like that.
"Changqing, wake up… Where the hell has Gousheng'er run off to? Wasn't he told to watch her with Sangouzi? That damn kid, he's run off to play again…"
Hearing the shouts from the party secretary's sister-in-law—who was also his own older cousin—Xu Sanduo didn't dare yell at her. But seeing that the crowd of onlookers wasn't dispersing, he could only remind her again to take the child home first.
What else could he do? If they all just stood there gawking instead of working, it would seriously delay the wheat harvest. "…Get back to work! Get back to work! If you don't work, are you going to eat dirt? Just carry her back home. A bowl of brown sugar water and she'll be fine."
Eldest Sister-in-law Bai, Xu Dahua, didn't take the commune leader's "callous" tone to heart. Every year during the wheat and autumn harvests, one or two people would faint. She was actually grateful for the chance to take the child home to rest for a while.
'This niece of mine… she might be quiet, but she's as stubborn as they come.' She was afraid that if the damn girl woke up, she'd refuse to leave no matter what. If Changqing insisted on continuing to work, that would be a real problem.
Eldest Sister-in-law Bai shot a look at her nephew, who was kneeling and pinching Changqing's philtrum. She pushed aside some wheat stalks, then without a word, squatted down. With her nephew's help, she hoisted her limp niece onto her back from the wheat field and took off running.
'As for whether her nitpicky old man would complain she was ignoring the "bigger picture"? The hell with him! Never mind that startling her sister-in-law, who was about to give birth, could induce premature labor. Her brother-in-law only had these two children. The older one was already a lost cause, and who knew how the one in the belly would turn out. If something happened to this child, who could possibly bear the responsibility?'
Running alongside them, Sangouzi—Bai the Fifth, Bai Chenggang—steadied his cousin on his aunt's back to keep her from falling, all while shouting that he'd be right back to continue working.
After running a short distance, when they could finally speak freely, he quickly explained to his straightforward aunt, "You can't blame my Third Brother. Even my uncle tried to persuade her, but it was no use."
Hearing this, a flash of heartache crossed the panting Eldest Sister-in-law Bai's eyes. 'Her sister-in-law is blind,' she thought. 'Favoring the older child while short-changing the younger one is what made the poor girl not know how to look after herself.'
'And the grandmother is too obsessed with saving face. Otherwise, after raising two stepsons all by herself, what would be so wrong with asking for some grain to support her in her old age? But how could she, an elder, gossip about such matters in front of the younger generation?'
'Outsiders only ever praised Aunt Xu for being such a benevolent stepmother. But who knew that this "benevolent" person was actually harming her own biological son? Otherwise…' Eldest Sister-in-law Bai sighed to herself.
"Aunt, go that way… over there… I heard Grandma Xu and my aunt are working at the threshing ground today… Don't let my aunt see her. If she gets a shock, something… could happen…"
There was no need for the gasping Bai Chenggang to remind her. Eldest Sister-in-law Bai's steps had already turned onto a small path to the right. "HUFF… HUFF… Later, don't forget to go to the threshing ground first…"
Bai Chenggang nodded quickly. "I know…" 'With his aunt's temperament, even if she weren't about to give birth… and with that constitution of hers, it's not like she's only had two children before.' "I know what to say… After I tell them, I'll go back to work. We have brown sugar at home. I'll have Seventh bring some over later…"
"No need… Your aunt is about to give birth, your uncle has made preparations… They're not short on brown sugar at home… Check on Changqing, is she any better? Is she awake… Hurry!"
"She's not throwing up anymore. Her brow is still furrowed, but her face isn't as pale. She just hasn't opened her eyes." Bai Chenggang, who had been watching his cousin's face intently, quickly replied, then added, "Oh? Your eyes are cracking open, are they?"
"You awake?"
"I think so… She's still groggy. With that contrary personality of hers… if she were fully awake, she'd already be demanding to get down. Looks like she's not all there yet."
"…"
"Feeling awful?"
"…"
"Serves you right for showing off! Feeling the pain now? No, wait. How could *you* feel pain? Who are you? You're Xu Changqing! You're Xu Tie Ren, the Iron Man! Or better yet, Xu Tiehan, the Iron Fool, who just thinks she's one of the boys!"
"…"
"Tie Hanhan, if you dare faint again, I swear I'll toss you into the Hundred Sons River to wake you up. It's not like that foolish brain of yours is any use anyway."
"…"
"Why have you been so stubborn since you were a kid? Did your family starve you? Did they not give you anything to drink? Why do you insist on working yourself like a grown man?"
"…"
"Ever since you were little and insisted on peeing standing up, I knew you were a blockhead. Fine, you wet your pants and didn't dare do it again, but then you raised a fuss, insisting on getting your hair cut short like me and the other boys."
"…"
"Why are you always so hung up on this? You're a perfectly good girl. Look around, who else is a blockhead like you? Turning a perfectly fine girl into such a grimy mess?"
"…"
"Your hair's a mess, your face is a mess, and you're so tanned… it's just embarrassing. Ever since we were kids, whenever classmates asked me where your little brother was, I never dared to say you were my little cousin, a girl."
"…"
"That's weird! Auntie, why isn't this little tigress reacting at all?"
If the timing weren't so bad, and if she weren't in such a hurry to get the child home, Eldest Sister-in-law Bai would have almost laughed out loud. "…It's fine. We're almost at the foot of the mountain. She'll be alright after a little sleep on the kang."