"Here." A letter of introduction was handed to Bai Jiu.
"It’s only for a month. Don’t pull any stunts on me. If you don’t show up for work when spring begins and someone targets you, don’t blame me if something happens," the captain warned, looking completely stern.
"People will actually gossip if I don’t go to work?" She truly didn’t understand this.
The captain fumed with glaring eyes at her naive reaction.
Aunt Li couldn’t help but chuckle from the side. "There’s always someone in the village suffering from sour grapes. You’ve just separated from the family and have Zhijun’s allowance in hand, so plenty of people are jealous of you. If you don’t go to work, someone will definitely accuse you of slacking off and failing to actively build the motherland. That kind of thing isn’t exactly a huge crime, but it isn’t a trivial matter either."
Aunt Li didn’t dare let her husband explain it to her; these two were like a pair of fighting roosters who would squabble over anything.
Hearing this, Bai Jiu finally understood. They just had a severe case of jealousy! Besides, what did it matter to them if she didn’t work and didn’t earn work points? Hmph, to put it bluntly, they were just envious.
"I understand, Auntie. I’ll be back when the time comes," Bai Jiu said.
If she couldn’t find a job in the city, she would have no choice but to return. Fortunately, it would only be a few years until she gained true freedom. Once she passed the college entrance exams, she would definitely be able to leave. It was just a matter of enduring for a year or two; she could handle the wait and the hardships. Of course, this was only the worst-case scenario.
"It’s good that you understand," Aunt Li said softly. "My husband doesn’t have it easy either. He’s in charge of the entire production brigade. If he isn’t strict with you, people will wag their tongues, and he might even get reported."
Such things had happened before. Because of this, the captain always maintained a stern face with everyone, even at home.
Bai Jiu cast a sympathetic look at the captain. He happened to catch her gaze and was almost irritated enough to smack her.
"Get out of here!" he barked, immediately trying to shoo her away.
Bai Jiu gave an awkward smile. "Um, Captain, I have a question for you." She still had things to ask.
"Speak, and then leave." He really didn’t want to look at her anymore.
She didn’t dawdle and directly asked about transferring her household registration.
"That won’t work unless a work unit in the city accepts you. Without that, even if you buy a house, you can’t transfer it. Furthermore..." The captain glared at Bai Jiu before continuing. "You better behave yourself out there. The outside world isn’t like the village. Private trading is strictly prohibited right now. If you get caught buying a house, don’t blame this old man for not showing you any mercy."
Looking at the captain’s serious expression, Bai Jiu somewhat understood. The historical facts she had read about in books were now her harsh reality. It wasn’t just text on a page that she could skip if she didn’t like it. In reality, no matter how much she disliked the situation, she couldn’t break the rules. Otherwise, the consequences would be unimaginable.
"Thank you, Captain. I understand," Bai Jiu said, this time expressing genuine gratitude.
"Alright, I don’t care if you truly understand or are just pretending. When it comes to things like this, I wouldn’t even go easy on my own son. You better keep that in mind. Leave the things here and go. I won’t see you out."
The captain wondered how someone could be so bold and restless. Was life in the city really that easy? The social upheaval had started in the cities, while the rural areas hadn’t been impacted too deeply. He had no idea what she was thinking, actively trying to crawl into that deep pit. He let out a heavy sigh.
Bai Jiu wasn’t angry. Holding her letter of introduction, she bid farewell to everyone and left.
Gao Weimin wanted to walk her back, but Aunt Li held him back.
"It’s the middle of the night. If you escort her, it’ll ruin her reputation. Just let her go back alone. She’ll be fine," Aunt Li said to the two of them, worried that Bai Jiu might overthink it.
"I’m fine. It’s not too late, and everyone is still awake anyway," Bai Jiu replied fearlessly.
On her way back, Bai Jiu pondered over many things, realizing how severely restricted she was by this era. She only had two chances to escape rural life: buying a job or getting into a university. Jobs weren’t something you could just get because you wanted them; it depended on luck. As for the college entrance exams, it was only a two-year wait. She could afford to be patient.
Returning home and looking at the quiet house, she suddenly felt unaccustomed to the silence. It seemed that humans were truly suited for living in groups. Having children by her side and family members for company—that was what true life was about.
Bai Jiu had originally planned to leave the village the very next day. However, no one expected that just as the sun rose, a shrill scream would echo through the entire production brigade.
"What happened?"
"It sounded like it came from the river."
"Come on, let’s go take a look."
In an instant, the gossiping villagers rushed toward the source of the noise. The people who lived closer had already crowded around the scene. Upon seeing what had happened, everyone broke out in a cold sweat.
"Stop! You monster, let go of my son right now!"
Watching her son being beaten half to death, Old Mrs. Song felt her heart shatter.
"You bitch, did you hear me? Let go of my son! Let him go!" Old Mrs. Song screamed. Looking at her son’s pale, bruised face, regret washed over her. They shouldn’t have come. This person wasn’t her third daughter-in-law; she was a Water Ghost!
Bai Jiu was exhausted from the beating. Soaking wet, she finally stopped her hands. Looking down at the man lying immobilized on the ground, a fresh wave of hatred surged to her head. She never expected this mother and son duo to actually drug her. If she hadn’t known how to swim, today would have marked the anniversary of her death next year.
Crippling his legs was letting him off too easily. This matter was far from over, and no amount of pleading from anyone would change her mind.
"What’s going on? What happened?" the villagers asked as they crowded around to assess the situation.
Before Bai Jiu could speak, Old Mrs. Song opened her mouth and began to wail.
"She’s not human! She’s a ghost! She’s a Water Ghost! My third daughter-in-law has been possessed by a ghost!" Old Mrs. Song shrieked the moment she saw people approaching. She pointed a trembling finger at Bai Jiu, accusing her of being an evil spirit.
But what she failed to notice was that the moment the word "ghost" left her lips, everyone stopped in their tracks, not daring to take another step closer to her.
Feudal superstition was strictly forbidden. The higher-ups were currently cracking down hard on it, so the villagers wouldn’t dare make such a blatant mistake. Even if they secretly believed in such things, they would only whisper about it in private, never shouting it in broad daylight.
"She’s not human! She’s not human, I tell you! She’s a ghost, a ghost!" Old Mrs. Song continued to babble. She wondered why Bai Jiu wasn’t dead when they had clearly thrown her into the river. That drug was potent enough to knock out a cow, let alone a human. How was she completely fine? So many unanswered questions tangled in Old Mrs. Song’s mind.
Around three or four o’clock that morning, Song Caihua had brought Gao Zhiguo to Bai Jiu’s front door. Nobody knew exactly how Gao Zhiguo managed it, but he vaulted straight into the backyard and blew a tube of powdered drug through the window of the room where Bai Jiu was sleeping.
Since the heated brick bed was situated right beneath that window, the powder was inhaled directly into her throat with her breaths. Just like that, she lost consciousness. Song Caihua and Gao Zhiguo then slipped into the house, picked her up, and hurried outside.
Terrified of being discovered, the two didn’t dare make too much noise, which meant they didn’t move very fast. By the time they reached the riverbank, it was already five o’clock. Since the sun rose late during this season, dawn usually didn’t break until between five-thirty and six.
Realizing they were running out of time, Gao Zhiguo quickly pulled out some talisman paper and stuck it directly onto Bai Jiu’s body. He then dragged over a bamboo cage meant for holding piglets. With Old Mrs. Song’s help, they shoved her into the cage, secured the door, and ruthlessly tossed her straight into the freezing river.