The mountain road was hard going—one step deep, the next shallow, uphill for a stretch, then downhill again. Anyone unaccustomed to it simply couldn't adapt. Without the knack for it, they didn't know how to pace their strength.
Old Liu and the others had been walking mountain roads since childhood. Their legs moved swiftly, and they walked fast and steadily, with enough energy left over to laugh and chat.
Naturally, the targets of their banter were the newly arrived educated youths.
"Go back. You haven't even reached Linping yet and you're already falling behind. There are still dozens of li to go. By the time you get there, it'll probably be noon. Once you stop to catch your breath, you won't be able to walk anymore."
Old Liu urged the female educated youths to give up this ill-considered idea. "Get used to it first. Walk more and you'll be fine. You can't get fat in one bite, can you? If you insist on walking all the way there, you'll probably injure yourselves. This place is poor—our county hospital can't even treat much, and it'll still cost you plenty."
The female educated youths panted heavily, already sweating all over. They looked up at the sky; dawn had only just broken, with a faint strip of fish-belly white.
After catching her breath, Qinling said, "Let's make it to Linping today. We've come this far already, so we should at least carry a few buckets of water back."
Old Liu and the others did not try to dissuade them further. Fetching water was only right; water was so difficult to come by that the villagers couldn't be expected to support them every day. They needed drinking water and water for themselves too—how could they spare any for these educated youths?
The group continued