Crossing 70: Fish in the Pond Have Good News

"It will get better and better." Xue Li put away the lunch box and could only comfort her weakly.

Jiang Yu glanced at her and knew that the little girl was soft-hearted, so he pushed her down the mountain, "It will be fine. What they are doing now is for a better life."

Xue Li looked back at her and smiled, "Jiang Yu, you are really amazing."

"I can't compare with those who really do things. I just know a lot of miscellaneous things." Jiang Yu withdrew his hand and walked beside her.

Xue Li shook his head. "You don't need to compare yourself with others. You have done very well. It is great that you are willing to help others within your ability."

Jiang Yu was stunned for a moment. Helping others... When? She was actually willing to help others... No, it was not help, it was just an exchange of interests. Her original intention was just to make things convenient for herself.

"Jiang Yu, you are different from what I saw at first. I thought you were an ice cube. Now I understand you, and I find that you may just be not good at expressing yourself. You are cold on the outside but warm on the inside." Xue Li was still talking, tilting his head to smile at her, and praising her sincerely.

Jiang Yu laughed, she thought Xue Li told a joke.

Xue Li didn't understand what was going on, so he stopped and said, "You should go back quickly. I'll go back to the educated youth camp by myself. I still have to dry chestnuts in the afternoon."

"Okay, watch out for the road yourself." Jiang Yu reminded her, and after she finished speaking, she was stunned again.

Xue Li waved and then walked down the hill happily.

Jiang Yu watched her walk away and stood on the hillside, his mind in a mess, but suddenly at this moment, the scenery that he was used to seeing seemed to have changed.

When she first arrived, the village was full of vitality with smoke rising from chimneys and sunlight reflecting off the thatched roofs, but she only felt that the sunlight was dazzling.

Now she actually found it pleasing to the eye. There were small figures walking in the village across the field. All of this had a concrete meaning in her eyes. They were alive and had thoughts. Everyone had their own stories and life trajectories. They were not a group of beasts who would rob and kill just for a bite to eat.

Jiang Yu blinked, turned around and walked back.

Yi Chi came over from behind Yaoer Mountain carrying a basket of chestnuts. When he saw Jiang Yu, he smiled slightly.

He might just be smiling politely, but Jiang Yu felt very strange, and everything around him was strange.

Is she slowly integrating into the world?

The withered grass, the mottled shadows of the trees, the intertwined treetops, the chaotic bird calls, and the man standing here blending in with the surroundings, all of this is different from the memory of myself walking alone in the snow.

The figure of the man in front of me seemed to overlap with my past self at a certain moment.

Jiang Yu had seen his unsteady gait as he climbed the mountain alone, and had seen him stay away from the chattering villagers, as if he was a forgotten unknown person walking in the countryside.

Obviously, she had already gotten rid of the loneliness of being alone and isolated, but this man standing there seemed to be a reappearance of her past.

Jiang Yu was inexplicably emotionally unstable and she never wanted to go back to that kind of life again.

Yi Chi stared blankly at the smile on Jiang Yu's lips. For a moment, he didn't know whether he should be surprised that this cold female educated youth would actually laugh, or should he be surprised that she actually smiled at him.

"Do you live there?" Jiang Yu suddenly had an idea and pointed to the stilt house hidden in the bushes over there.

Yi Chi nodded stupidly.

"Is it very cold in winter?" Jiang Yu thought so. How could it not be cold living in a wooden house full of cracks in a place with temperatures of minus thirty or forty degrees Celsius?

Yi Chi pursed her lips, "I'll prepare some more firewood."

"I can help you with it if you want." Jiang Yu wanted to change something, such as changing the man's lifeless mental state.

Isn't it said to help others within the scope of one's ability? It just so happened that she was strong, so it was easy for her to help him reinforce the simple house.

Xue Li didn't realize that his words had aroused Jiang Yu's rebellious heart.

She swore on the train that she would never be soft-hearted towards anyone in her life, and she still insisted on that now. Jiang Yu stubbornly believed that her actions were not out of softness towards Yi Chi, she just wanted to make up for her past in this way.

What would have happened if someone had been willing to help her at the beginning?

Repairing a house is simple, but materials are scarce nowadays, and there is no such things as glass glue and thermal insulation sponge. All Jiang Yu can do is mend the seams.

"What?" Yi Chi almost stuttered. Was this female educated youth so kind-hearted? Did he see it wrong?

Jiang Yu was very satisfied with his reaction. This was how it should be. Everyone should be cold and distant towards her.

How did Xue Li know that someone is enthusiastic about helping others?

But since she had spoken, and was facing someone who had similar experiences to her, she still wanted to do something. "There is ready-made clay over there. If you can get some wood boards, I will help you repair the house. It's very cold here in the winter."

Yi Chi opened his mouth, a little surprised, but more surprised and happy, this was the kindness of a stranger. How many years have we not seen each other?

Ever since he was classified as one of the five black categories, he became a marginalized person in the village. Although the villagers would not make things difficult for him, it was impossible for them to get along with him openly.

Because his ancestors had done good deeds, his usual behavior seemed to be tolerated by everyone, but that was the extent of everyone's kindness.

"Thank you for your kindness, but isn't this too troublesome? And I..." Yi Chi hopes that the other party will refuse, but also hopes that the other party will agree. He is very conflicted now.

Perhaps it was because he hadn't felt such pure kindness without any regard for personal interests for a long time, so he felt conflicted.

Jiang Yu was also selfish. After all, she didn't know the other party, and it would be very abrupt to ask for help rashly. However, she insisted, "It's not a problem for me. If you feel embarrassed, you can... give me some chestnuts or firewood in return. It just so happens that I don't have time to go up the mountain these two days."

Upon hearing this, Yi Chi immediately took off the basket on his back and handed it to her, "Then give these to you. I, I can pick more chestnuts for you."

Jiang Yu took his backpack and put it on his back. "These are enough. I will accept your payment now. After you prepare the planks, I will come to help you repair the house."

"Thank you." Yi Chi thanked her sincerely. Although he had many doubts in his heart, he still felt happy. He stood silently and watched her walk away.

When he was out of sight, he returned to his own hut, closed the door, and smiled silently.

Jiang Yu. He silently recited her name, and her face also appeared in his mind. He was overjoyed. This is a good person! It's great that he can meet a good person in this hellhole of a construction brigade.

His cabin was very simple. It was the original residence of a hunter in the village. He moved here after his house was confiscated by the village.

The wooden house is very old, the doors and windows are rotten and broken, and the roof is leaking.

He pieced it together and installed it himself after he moved in. The door could never be closed tightly and there were gaps at the top and bottom. Water would splash in through the windows when it rained heavily, and the hay on the roof had to be replaced from time to time.

It's not that he has no money, but he doesn't dare to spend money to hire someone to renovate the house. He doesn't want others to see that he is living an easy life, so he can only live in this house with difficulty.

Yi Chi touched his face. His fingers were rough and his body was swollen. He thought Jiang Yu probably felt sorry for him.

But even if it was just pity, he felt warm.

Times are tough and everyone is having a hard time. Who has the time to sympathize with other people’s difficulties?

Maybe he should take better care of himself? The outside world is not so tense anymore. His parents are both educated people. It should be okay for him to use the excuse that his parents taught him how to do this to make some money? Will people suspect him?

If you eat well, edema will naturally heal!

Edema is a sign of malnutrition in the human body, and the character he created for himself that it was normal for him to have this disease. He was poor, had insufficient food and clothing, and was in poor health. He was also average at farm work, and the little work points he earned every year had to subsidize his grandfather who was far away on the farm.

His pockets are cleaner than his face, he is poor and miserable. This is him.

He looked at the simple hut, thoughts popping up in his mind one after another. He sat on the hay on the ground, grinning foolishly from time to time, as if he had some kind of hysteria.