Rebirth in the 50s: The Couple with the Hidden Space-Chapter 520 - 404: Night Battle by Lantern Light

Before Zhou Jiao could think of a solution, the whistle blew again.

Upon reaching the riverside, the teams were switched. Zhou Jiao teamed up with Zhao Yuanyuan to carry baskets and bamboo crates, while Zhang Guoqing, being famously strong, was assigned to carry the bamboo crates.

Under the glow of gasoline lamps everywhere, the faces of people on both sides of the river showed fatigue, yet they gritted their teeth and pushed on, seemingly unfeeling to exhaustion. Amidst laughter and chatter, their faces beamed with an undeniable vitality, positive and uplifting.

This spirit of vigorous advancement was truly admirable. What kind of mindset was this? Zhou Jiao didn’t know, but she genuinely felt the essence of selflessness and the kinship of family.

The night was chillier, but at least she didn’t have to worry about going barefoot and getting bitten by snakes hibernating at the river bottom. Zhou Jiao was quite satisfied with this basket-carrying work.

She took Zhang Guoqing’s advice and draped a towel over her shoulder.

A bamboo crate weighing over a hundred pounds pressed down above, causing her to stagger and almost fall. It seemed she had overestimated her endurance.

Zhao Yuanyuan shifted as much weight as she could to her side, watching Zhou Jiao ahead with worry. Would this clumsy child, who often sprained her foot just walking on a dirt road, be able to walk the night path?

Along the dirt road trampled into a highway by many feet, mud would drop here and there, and stepping on it unwittingly was not uncommon, resulting in slips. At times like these, straw sandals were more practical than cloth shoes, enhancing friction with their roughness.

Night had fallen deeply, and the north wind rose, yet amidst the heated activity, nobody felt the cold. Some even shed their jackets to work harder. Everyone’s focused intent was on doing more, doing still more, even as they slipped and fell, getting back up again to resume work without complaint.

So many people had once contributed their efforts, spreading hard-earned sweat across the earth. Whether in harsh winters or sweltering summers, there were always those striving for tomorrow.

Zhou Jiao pushed on, refusing to respond to Zhao Yuanyuan and the others, worried that a single word would drain her spirit, more worried about seriously dragging the others down. Seeing fellow students occasionally pass by, she could only resign herself. No wonder so many families sought tall, strong women as wives nowadays. She was likely considered disabled in terms of physique.

Taking a sip of water, Zhou Jiao gently probed her shoulder, unable to suppress a slight frown. Her two shoulders had swapped places multiple times, and now this side was swelling and aching too. Looking up at the moonlight, she wondered how much longer she could endure.

Facing Zhang Guoqing’s occasional glances, she fought back tears, smiling brightly at him. Zhou Jiao realized she had been defeated by life, defeated by sentimentality.

Living a lifetime, one had so much to learn, so much to understand. Neither Zhou Xiaozheng nor Zhang Guoqing could support her perpetually, allowing her to learn slowly.

She, Zhou Jiao, needed the courage and determination to overcome things on her own.

With a thud, Zhou Jiao fell for the third time tonight. She immediately looked at the laughing Zhao Yuanyuan—fortunately the other wasn’t hurt.

Seeing Zhang Guoqing hastily running over from afar, carrying a bamboo crate, she promptly stood up, ignoring the mud on her body, quickly asking Zhao Yuanyuan for help. The two hurriedly picked up the remaining mud and swiftly left.

No one else, like the two of them, could carry a basket brimming full, yet upon returning to the original spot, it was always just over half-full. It wasn’t surprising that Lin Zi and the others secretly mocked Zhou Jiao and Yuanyuan for supposedly consuming the mud.

Although it was impossible for Zhou Jiao and Zhao Yuanyuan to actually eat the mud, Zhao Yuanyuan was also dragged down by Zhou Jiao, falling twice as well. At this point, both looked like mud people—it wasn’t entirely unreasonable to find the basket lighter. At night, encountering unfamiliar people, it was hard to recognize these two girls.

By the latter part of the night, students in the river finally felt their hands weaken, slowing their pace. Zhou Jiao could finally breathe a sigh of relief. It seemed that no matter how proactive one was, the mind could not always command the body. Ha, proactive or not, take that!

As the speed decelerated, encountering classmates along the way, they began to converse a bit, the atmosphere easing from the initial tension of rushing around. Everyone was getting genuinely hungry and truly tired.

The whistle sounded again in the deep of night, but this time nobody continued, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

Returning to the farm, the crowd dispersed to wash up, Zhou Jiao couldn’t pass up Zhang Guoqing’s towel as she splashed water on her face several times, scrubbed a bit, then dared to take the towel for drying. Seeing the black water in the basin, she felt nauseous.

Hastily finishing a bowl of corn porridge, Zhou Jiao groggily greeted Zhang Guoqing and followed Zhao Yuanyuan into the room, collapsing onto the kang for sleep.

Zhang Guoqing watched her depart with concern, wanting to enter but inconvenient. Standing there for a long time, seeing no one come out of that room, he became increasingly anxious with endless thoughts. Eventually, unable to bear it anymore, Li Qinglin and the others pulled him back.

Except for a few rare occasions, the couple had rarely been separated like this. Lying on the kang, listening to snoring beside him, Zhang Guoqing couldn’t sleep. If his calculations were correct, there wouldn’t be few such activities in the future, but Zhou Jiao’s weak constitution made him ponder what action to take next.

Zhang Guoqing gently moved Zhang Yuntao’s hand off his abdomen, resting his head on his hands, unable to forget Zhou Jiao’s inadvertent gasp when he touched her earlier. Did she listen to his advice and remember the ointment, he wondered?

His mind then went to their child, unsure if the child was crying at Zhang Guofu’s home tonight. Thinking of this, he longed to rush back home in the middle of the night.

A sleepless night, not yet dawn. Upon hearing the whistle, Zhang Guoqing got up and left the room. Noticing no movement at the opposite house, he refrained from urging and instead did some exercises in the yard.

Soon, the calls of teachers, whistle sounds, and loudspeakers joined together, finally observing people gradually rising and heading out to wash up.

Zhang Guoqing eagerly held a basin of water, waiting for Zhou Jiao to appear. Seeing her leaning weakly against Zhao Yuanyuan, he felt overwhelming pity, wanting to bring her home. But with everyone watching, he swiftly approached, inspected her, discovering she hadn’t taken it seriously, her shoulders prominently raised. Examining those hands, he saw blisters—certainly devoid of ointment.

Zhou Jiao noticed his stern expression, immediately straightening up, giving him a foolish grin. Right before sleep last night she had remembered the ointment, how could she forget it? She seemed to have fallen asleep into a stupor. Yes, into a stupor, definitely not normal sleep.

At dawn, after eating two vegetable dumplings, it was Zhou Jiao’s group’s turn to head down to the river bottom again. Barefoot once more standing in the mud, any sense of sleepiness was instantly swept away.

To keep Zhang Guoqing from worrying, she endured intense pain, gripped the iron shovel tightly, and diligently buried herself in work. To distract herself, she began thinking of her son, silently urging herself, Almost there, almost there. See, just finish this bit ahead, then we can return to school.

The wounds on her hands probably reopened, the sharp pain challenging Zhou Jiao to refuse defeat. She listened blankly to Zhao Yuanyuan’s gossip, bending without expression, head down, raising the shovel high. But Zhang Guoqing, observant of her neck’s angry protruding veins, still discerned his wife was persevering through pain.

He glanced at the sky again. It was pitch dark—who knew when dawn would break?

Sighing quietly, Zhang Guoqing slowly moved closer to her, attempting to do more to ease her burden. Originally worried people would view the couple strangely, he found everyone busy shoveling their work instead, with no time for idle concern.

Come noon, the group gradually issued excited cheer, laughing at each other’s bedraggled appearances.

Finished. Finally finished. Completing half a day ahead of schedule necessitated the school’s teachers and students truly gave their all. Supporting each other back to the farm, barely caring to clean thoroughly, everyone ravenously devoured their sweet potato meal.

After resting for over half an hour, with all the teachers leading, Zhang Guoqing held the flag high, taking bold strides forward.

Farewell, farm! Farewell, high school experience etched deep in memory!