Chapter 102: National Day

Chapter 102: National Day

The next morning.

In the small courtyard of the Gu family, Gu Xiang and Gu Nian were brushing their teeth.

Clothes were still dripping on the line in the yard.

Eggs sizzled as they hit the hot pan.

Gu Heng was cooking in the kitchen.

He skillfully poured the beaten eggs into the pan, waiting until they set before gently flipping them with a spatula.

On the countertop sat a pot of steaming millet porridge, the grains cooked to a soft consistency, exuding a rich aroma.

Next to it were neatly cut pickles that looked very tempting.

After finishing the eggs, Gu Heng went to the bedroom.

Su Zhaozhao was fast asleep on the bed.

He called her name twice, but when she only turned over and kept sleeping, he reached out and patted her, saying, "If you don’t get up, you’ll be late for work."

The phrase 'late for work' was more effective than an alarm clock.

At the sound of those words, Su Zhaozhao bolted upright.

She was now fully awake.

Gu Heng had woken her with his first call, but she was still groggy, unsure of the day.

Exhausted from the previous night, her mind was still foggy, and she really didn’t want to get out of bed, not even to move a finger.

The newly awakened Su Zhaozhao, with messy hair and a resentful look, said, "It’s all your fault; I didn’t get enough sleep."

Gu Heng awkwardly rubbed his nose and coaxed her, "I’m sorry, I won’t do this again."

Ha! Men’s words, lies!

She didn’t believe him at all!

Su Zhaozhao gave a cold, merciless snort.

Why didn’t he stop when she said she was tired last night?

Feeling guilty, Gu Heng opened the wardrobe and asked, "What are you wearing today?"

Su Zhaozhao replied, "Anything."

Was she really angry?

Gu Heng looked through the wardrobe and suggested, "The weather is nice today, the sun came up early. How about wearing the dress we bought on our last trip to the city?"

He took out the dress and handed it to her, then grabbed a pair of white socks from the wardrobe.

Su Zhaozhao stripped off her pajamas and quickly put on the dress.

Gu Heng brought over the leather shoes and placed them by the side of the bed, taking care of her very attentively.

Dressed and ready, Su Zhaozhao went out to freshen up.

Gu Heng tidied the bed.

The bedsheet had to be perfectly smooth without any wrinkles, and the quilt needed to be folded into a neat square.

Su Zhaozhao couldn’t manage this; she preferred to lay the quilt flat on the bed.

So, whenever Gu Heng was around, he would handle making the bed for both of them.

Gu Xiang and Gu Nian had already finished washing up and were bringing the prepared breakfast into the main room.

The two of them hadn’t changed into their performance outfits yet. The teacher had kept their clothes to avoid them getting dirty or damaged, so they would change after arriving at the school.

After breakfast, just before leaving the house, Su Zhaozhao put two mooncakes and a handful of dried sweet potatoes in their backpacks, saying, “In case you get hungry.”

Even though it was a holiday, the Supply and Marketing Cooperative wasn’t busy today. Many people had gone to the city to enjoy the holiday.

Feeling bored, Su Zhaozhao brought a book and sat reading behind the counter.

In the middle of the day, Liu Guilan came by, picked up some items from the tailor shop, and had a chat with her.

The morning passed like this.

At noon, she closed the shop and went home for lunch.

As she approached her home, an eighteen- or nineteen-year-old woman walked toward her.

The young woman was pale-skinned, wearing a white shirt and a blue skirt, with clean white socks and black leather shoes. Two long braids hung over her chest, and she carried a wicker suitcase.

Su Zhaozhao gave her a glance and then looked away.

Just as she was taking out her keys to open the door, the young woman, who was approaching, spoke up.

“Big sister, could you wait a moment?”

Big sister?

Who is she calling 'big sister'?!

To modern ears, the term ‘big sister’ sounds almost like ‘auntie.’ You could call her ‘sister,’ but definitely not ‘big sister!’

Calling her ‘comrade’ would be better; isn’t that the trend now?

Su—Big Sister—Zhaozhao turned around, “What’s up?”

“Excuse me, do you know where Yu Huixin’s house is?”

You’re looking for Yu Huixin?

Before Su Zhaozhao could respond, the young woman continued, “I’m her cousin. I came here specially to find her.”

Su Zhaozhao didn’t think much of it and pointed ahead, “Go straight, then turn right at the intersection…”

“Thank you so much! Big sister.”

Saying thank you was fine, but calling her ‘big sister’ was unnecessary.

She decided that from now on, she would no longer call Wang Chunhua "Big Sister" and would call her "Sister-in-law" instead.

Su Zhaozhao opened the gate and entered the yard with a look of deep distress on her face.

The young woman asking for directions, Gao Yue, felt a bit puzzled. She was just asking for directions, but this older woman seemed as if someone owed her 500 yuan.

Gao Yue switched the wicker case to her other hand and continued walking in the direction Su Zhaozhao had pointed.

Before long, she arrived near Yu Huixin's house.

The houses in the area all looked very similar, and unlike in the city, there were no house numbers displayed, so she wasn't sure which one was her cousin's house. Gao Yue had no choice but to shout, "Cousin, Cousin, are you home?"

Yu Huixin was just about to go to the dining hall for a meal and had just walked into the yard when she heard someone calling from outside.

The voice sounded somewhat familiar.

When she opened the door and saw Gao Yue, she exclaimed, "Gao Yue?"

Gao Yue's eyes lit up, and she ran over to the door, "Cousin, it's me!"

"Why did you come here?"

"I came to visit you..." Gao Yue hesitated before continuing.

The neighbors who had heard the commotion poked their heads out to see what was happening. Seeing this, Yu Huixin quickly ushered Gao Yue inside.

She led her into the house, had her sit down, and poured her a cup of water.

Gao Yue took several large sips from the cup.

"Alright, tell me. Why did you come without letting me know? Couldn't you have called first? Or has something happened?" Yu Huixin asked, quite surprised—more like startled. This cousin was a relative from her father’s sister's side, and they weren’t particularly close, so her sudden visit made Yu Huixin wonder if something was wrong.

Gao Yue took out her handkerchief and wiped the water drops from the corner of her mouth, "My mom called Uncle's house. She heard from Uncle that you hadn't gone back, so she sent me to find you."

After saying this, she didn’t know how to proceed, her head hanging low, and clutching the handkerchief tightly in her hands.

"What's going on? Is everything alright at home?" Yu Huixin asked.

Could it be another round of class labeling like two years ago?

She hadn’t heard anyone mention it.

Or did it start in the city first?

Yu Huixin felt restless and wanted to go out to make a phone call.

Just then, Gao Yue spoke up.

"Cousin, I really had no other choice. If I stayed home any longer, I would be sent to the Great Northern Wilderness to cultivate the land."

Hearing this, Yu Huixin felt slightly relieved, "Why do you have to go to the Great Northern Wilderness? The newspapers said it's voluntary sign-ups, right?"

This April, the higher-ups called on young people to go to the frontier, to the places where the country needed them the most, to develop and settle there.

Beijing was the first to respond.

And the first batch of young volunteer reclamation teams had already arrived at the frontier.

Yu Huixin had read the newspaper. This month, Sea City had also begun to respond to the call.

It clearly stated that the sign-up was voluntary.

Gao Yue wiped her tears. "It's voluntary, but my grandmother wants me to go. She said that if someone from our family, with our class background, volunteers to join the reclamation team, people will start to see us differently. They won't always mock us by saying that capitalists only know how to enjoy life. She also said that our life at home would become much easier."

Yu Huixin frowned. "What kind of talk is that? There are so many people in the Gao family. Even if someone has to go, it should be a man who goes. How can they send an eighteen-year-old girl like you?"

Gao Yue sniffed. "My grandmother has never liked me. I haven't been assigned a job because of our class background... My grandmother is afraid that my brother will end up like me after he graduates."

Yu Huixin had also heard that Grandma Gao favored boys over girls and treated her grandson like a precious jewel, unwilling to let him suffer any hardship. Even though the family had fallen on hard times, they still continued to pamper him.

Thinking of the time when her eldest uncle had asked her to help introduce someone suitable, she said, "You came here because you want me to help you find a good match to marry?"

Gao Yue's face turned red and she nodded.

"My mother said that if I can marry a capable military man in the army, my grandmother will stop assigning me tasks randomly."

Finding a capable person to marry isn’t easy.

Yu Huixin was also concerned. As soon as she got back, she asked Yan Guang to look into it, but Yan Guang hadn’t given her a definitive answer yet.

Thinking of this, she carefully sized Gao Yue up. Young, pretty, and a high school student...

"Alright!" Yu Huixin made a firm promise. "Stay with me for a while, and I’ll find you a good match."

Gao Yue breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank you, sister."

Her trip wasn’t in vain.

...

In the afternoon after work, Su Zhaozhao went home to meet Gu Heng. They didn’t cook but took their meal boxes to the cafeteria.

The cafeteria was serving dumplings tonight, and the couple enjoyed a delicious meal. After finishing, Su Zhaozhao packed another box and headed to the camp.

Accompanied by Gu Heng, Su Zhaozhao finally entered the camp area.

Last time, they were stopped at the entrance.

The camp area was divided into office, dormitory, and training areas.

The stage for tonight’s performance was set up on the training field.

White lime arrows marked the path from the main gate to the training ground. Gu Heng led her about 700 to 800 meters to reach it.

The area was vast, capable of accommodating over ten thousand people training simultaneously.

The stage faced the direction from the main gate. On stage, staff were making the final preparations.

It appeared that the rehearsals had concluded.

Su Zhaozhao didn’t see Gu Xiang or Gu Nian. They were likely backstage.

"Where's the backstage?"

Gu Heng pointed at the stage. "Right behind it."

He had visited earlier in the morning, spoken to the children briefly, but had to leave hurriedly before seeing their rehearsal.