In the early autumn of 1973.
One afternoon, in the staff compound of the Ancheng Metallurgical Plant, withered yellow leaves drifted down with the wind and quietly landed on the thick, jet-black hair of a young girl sitting beneath a big tree, lying there askew.
Ning Qiao tilted her head and gently plucked the leaf from the top of her head.
A ray of sunlight spilled down, warm and cozy, making her snow-white, smooth skin look even more translucent. She quietly watched the people coming and going in the courtyard, her clear black-and-white almond-shaped eyes limpid and bright.
“Look at those kids climbing trees and jumping rope over there, and the ones heading out to play—they must have the Ning family’s daughter green with envy.” Not far away, Aunt Liu said in a low voice. “The poor girl is just staring wistfully. Kind of pitiful, really.”
Aunt Liu was the wife of Engineer Qin at the plant. After marrying off her two daughters, whom she had raised single-handedly in the countryside, she packed her bags, moved to the city, and settled into the staff compound to reunite with her husband.
During the day, while her husband was at work, she would wander around. At first, she chattered on endlessly about her own trivial family matters, like pouring out grain from a sack. But as time went on, she infiltrated the inner circle of the compound and started prying into other people’s households.
Someone scoffed as if hearing the funniest joke: “Her parents dote on her, her brother guards her like a treasure. Since she was little, she’s never gone without milk and malted milk. When the work unit hands out cloth ration coupons, she’s the first to get them. They won’t even let her drink plain boiled water—they have to stir brown sugar into it. How could she possibly be pitiful?”
Since Aunt Liu had moved into the compound, she had rarely run into Director Ning’s pretty daughter. Most of the time, Ning Qiao stayed at home. Only now did she learn that the girl had been raised in the palm of everyone’s hand.
She stared wide-eyed and clicked her tongue in amazement: “Anyone wouldn’t know—they’d think she was some capitalist’s young miss.”
Aunt Wu’s heart thumped wildly, and she elbowed Aunt Liu sharply. “What nonsense are you spouting!”
Aunt Liu instantly realized her slip, covered her mouth, and her ears turned crimson.
In these times, you absolutely couldn’t mention anything about a “capitalist’s daughter.” If someone with ill intent reported it, it would cause trouble for others and bring disaster upon yourself.
“A girl raised with such indulgence just blooms into a delicate beauty—fair and tender, even prettier than the female comrades in those pictorials.” Aunt Liu quickly changed the subject. “She’s eighteen this year, right?”
“Just turned eighteen. She was adorable as a child, and even more elegant and graceful now.”
A light autumn rain had fallen early that morning, and the ground was still half-dry. A few kids ran past, splashing mud onto Ning Qiao’s white dress, leaving a heavy, dark stain on her exquisite blouse.
Before she could even say anything, the little rascals immediately jumped half a meter away.
The kids all knew they’d messed up.
A little girl with pigtails shrank her neck and hid behind her older brother.
Ning Qiao looked down, wanting to wipe the mud off her dress, but her slender hand paused.
A bit dirty.
She looked up again at the trembling children and kindly reassured them, “It’s alright. Don’t be scared.”
“We’re not scared of you,” the little ringleader said. The other kids sighed in relief—only for their hearts to clench again a moment later. “We’re scared of your brother!”
“Her brother hits people…”
The moment the words fell, the group of kids spun around and scurried away so fast they were almost out of sight.
The aunties nearby burst out laughing at the sight.
Ning Qiao had been frail since birth, smaller and thinner than most babies. Slowly, more problems surfaced—she caught a chill at the slightest breeze and got heatstroke if she was too bundled up. Taking care of her required extra effort.
But though she had been delicate since childhood, she was also well-behaved. Even when she felt unwell, she wouldn’t shed a tear. She’d just blink her big, watery eyes and stare at the adults, making her parents and brother even more protective and indulgent toward her.
In the entire staff compound of the Metallurgical Plant, who didn’t know that Ning Qiao had been raised with every indulgence? City kids already had better living conditions, but no one raised a daughter like the Nings did. Take Ning Qiao’s blouse and the little leather shoes on her feet—they were all bought from the department store, and quite fancy at that.
“Don’t run, don’t run,” Ning Qiao called out softly.
“Don’t chase, don’t chase!” the little boss shouted back.
“It’s okay, she can’t catch us!”
“Yeah, she’s not strong—she runs slow!”
Ning Qiao’s lips curved into a faint smile. “Even if I’m not fast, your legs are short, you know.”
The little rascals looked down at their stubby legs, deeply wounded.
Questioning their existence.
Ning Qiao was in a good mood, teasing the kids with a grin, when she heard the rumble of a 28-inch bicycle rolling over from not too far away.
The little ones immediately started yelling.
“It’s Brother Ning Yang!”
“Scram, scram!”
With a “whoosh,” they all gave Ning Yang a wide berth as they passed him and darted far away.
Ning Yang raised his palm, pretending to smack them.
The short-haired woman beside him stopped him, half amused and half exasperated. “You’re a grown man—still picking on little kids.”
Ning Yang shrugged, casually took hold of the handlebars, and helped push the bike for his wife.
He was five years older than his sister, twenty-three this year, and had been working for a few years now. Everyone lived in the same compound, and every household had its quarrels—except the Nings, who seemed to be full of joy every single day. In the whole family, no one had ever so much as raised their voice at anyone else. Until the end of last month, when Ning Yang got married, and some gossipy folks in the compound were waiting for the drama to unfold. Jiao Chunyu came from a well-off family, had a fiery temper, and said whatever was on her mind. Ning Qiao was usually pampered to the point of being spoiled—but that was her own family’s choice. There was no way her brother’s wife would genuinely treat her little sister-in-law with the same heartfelt care, right?
Ning Yang and Jiao Chunyu had moved out to live on their own after getting married. Now that they were back at the compound, the neighbors pricked up their ears, waiting for any sign of drama.
“Little sister, what happened?” The moment Ning Yang spotted Ning Qiao, his eyes zeroed in on the mud stains on her skirt, and he hurried over.
Aunt Liu, ever the helpful soul, recounted the whole story from start to finish.
Ning Yang’s face darkened.
“That dress is from Shanghai—there was only one in the entire department store. You usually don’t even wear it unless it’s a special occasion…”
“It’s fine. I’ll just wash it off later.” Ning Qiao’s smile was soft and gentle. She then turned and greeted Jiao Chunyu, “Sister-in-law.”
Jiao Chunyu’s face was dark too.
Aunt Liu felt a secret thrill.
Such a precious blouse—if the little sister had one, surely the sister-in-law would want one too, right?
This Ning Yang—usually so sharp—was being remarkably dense at the worst moment. If Jiao Chunyu decided to make a fuss about it, she’d probably blame her in-laws for playing favorites, and then the Ning household would never know peace again.
And sure enough, she was already scowling!
“Wash what?” Jiao Chunyu snapped.
Ning Qiao blinked, glanced at her brother, then stepped forward and looped her arm through her sister-in-law’s.
Aunt Liu was about to click her tongue in amazement.
Oh dear, this girl really had no sense of the room!
With her arm caught, Jiao Chunyu’s expression remained sour: “What do you mean wash? It’s already autumn—the well water is freezing.”
The smile at the corner of Aunt Liu’s mouth froze.
Was she… worried about the little sister catching a chill?
In truth, over the past two years, Ning Qiao felt her health had improved quite a bit. She wasn’t as fragile as before. As a daughter and younger sister who had always been protected, she wanted to do whatever small things she could manage.
At the very least, she didn’t want to be a burden to her family.
“It’s not that cold—winter hasn’t come yet,” Ning Qiao tried to argue.
Jiao Chunyu shot her a look.
Ning Qiao shrank her neck and obediently conceded, “It’s cold.”
Jiao Chunyu’s brow relaxed. “I stood in line and bought some walnut cookies earlier. Let’s go have some.”
With that, she turned back to remind Ning Yang, “Remember to do the laundry later.”
Ning Yang trotted along behind his wife and little sister, cheerfully agreeing.
The sisters-in-law chatted and laughed, talking about things that had happened at Jiao Chunyu’s workplace. As her sister-in-law talked, Ning Qiao listened with keen interest, her eyes sparkling brightly.
Aunt Liu, lagging behind, was nearly dumbfounded.
By the time the young couple and Ning Qiao had walked through the front door, the aunties in the compound were still gossiping about the Ning family.
“Even the sister-in-law spoils the girl rotten?”
“You wouldn’t know this, but Chunyu and Ning Yang were high school classmates—they’d been dating for ages. Back then, Ning Qiao was barely ten. Whenever Chunyu came over to do homework, the little girl would tag along beside her, calling her ‘big sister.’”
“She was a sweet, soft little thing. Chunyu had already come to think of her as her own little sister long ago.”
The conversation inevitably turned to Ning Yang and Jiao Chunyu’s marriage, and then naturally drifted to Ning Qiao’s future. At eighteen, she was still young, but it was about time to start thinking about matchmaking.
“Qiaoqiao is so pretty—whoever marries her will be lucky.”
Having only recently moved from the countryside, Aunt Liu couldn’t for the life of her figure out where that luck lay.
Malted milk, powdered milk, and brown sugar weren’t cheap, and eggs—well, you couldn’t go a single day without them. Was that marrying a wife? That was bringing an ancestral shrine into the house!
“With her health…” Aunt Liu ventured cautiously, “she can’t do heavy work, can she?”
The women were all old foxes at their age—they knew exactly what she was implying.
“Do what work? She’s got good fortune—her parents and her in-laws will both make sure she never lacks for anything.”
“Have the in-laws been settled, then?”
“Isn’t it that Director Lin’s family? I’d say it’s as good as done…”
The children in the compound had all grown up together.
They knew each other inside and out, and the older generation was happy to play matchmaker.
Sure, Ning Qiao didn’t go out much, but who hadn’t noticed that Director Lin’s son couldn’t take his eyes off her the moment she appeared?
The son of the factory director and the daughter of the workshop director—it sounded like a perfect match.
Everyone figured that another happy event was just around the corner in the compound.
The aunties’ laughter died abruptly as two figures appeared at the main gate.
Ning Zhiping and his wife, Chang Fangze, walked in with worried expressions.
This couple had been awarded certificates for Model Family and Model Couple by the factory. They were always good-natured with everyone they met, and their relationship with each other was warm and harmonious.
Today, though, they looked completely different—faces full of worry, deep in discussion.
“Don’t panic just yet. Let me think of something.” Ning Zhiping’s brow was furrowed.
Chang Fangze’s eyes were red, and she said nothing.
A heavy weight pressed on her heart.
The notice to go to the countryside had arrived. With the policy regulations, even if she wanted to refuse, there was no way around it.
But with her daughter’s frail constitution—how could she possibly endure it?
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