Signing the Contract

Chaoyang Production Brigade.

The educated youths had just returned from work when they heard a commotion coming from the room. Thinking there was a thief, they hurriedly pushed open the door and saw Jiang Hongmei, who had been away from home for days, standing before the table and sorting through her luggage.

Everyone's eyes widened. Was this still the Jiang Hongmei they knew? She wore a fitted red dress, her hair curled into large waves and pinned into a fashionable style. Her face was powdered and rouged, making her as lovely as a flower. She looked like a modern lady from a movie poster.

Jiang Hongmei lifted her eyes slightly, leaning sideways against the table with her arms crossed over her chest. Looking at the men and women before her, her eyes held faint mockery. "What? Don't recognize me anymore?"

"How could that be?"

Huang Qimei stepped forward enthusiastically and naturally looped an arm through hers. "We were just stunned by how you look and didn't react right away."

As she spoke, she kept glancing at Jiang Hongmei's clothes. "Hongmei, this dress wasn't cheap, was it? It looks so pretty."

"Oh, this? My dad asked a relative to buy it for me."

She reached out and tugged at the wide skirt hem. "I think it cost over sixty yuan."

"That expensive?"

Huang Qimei's eyes went round. Jiang Hongmei smiled faintly, lifting a hand to smooth her hair at the temple. "It's all right. My dad is now an office director in the XX Department, and his salary is decent. My mom works at the department store. They dote on me, so if they see something nice that suits me, naturally they'll buy it for me."

"..."

Everyone was speechless. They had asked about her dress, yet she went on and on—first about a relative bringing it, then about her father being a director and her mother working at the department store. Wasn't she just showing off her family background?

Hmph! Who cared to listen? Lu Xiaoyue rolled her eyes at her, then grabbed Li Jiaojiao and Wang Wenwen by the arms. "Let's go cook."

"Okay!"

The two understood immediately and followed her out. Chen Li and Qian Xiaojuan hurried after them, followed by Feng Yi, Song Yichen, and the other male educated youths. In an instant, only Zheng Lei, wearing a lovestruck expression, and Chen Ming, standing there with his head lowered in silence, remained outside the female educated youths' room.

Jiang Hongmei was so angry her liver hurt. She nearly burst into curses. Seeing her face turn livid, Huang Qimei's gaze darkened slightly before she said softly, "Hongmei, the few of us have been isolated."

"Why?"

She raised her chin slightly and demanded loudly, "Why are they isolating us?"

"Isn't it because of Shen Jianan?"

Zheng Lei took over, his face full of indignation. "He's the darling of the entire brigade now. The few of us have all offended him, and the people at the Educated Youth Station want to curry favor with him, so naturally they're going to isolate us."

"What darling? What currying favor?"

Jiang Hongmei frowned deeply and asked coldly, "Explain yourself clearly!"

Zheng Lei glanced at Huang Qimei, who looked troubled, contempt flashing through his eyes. Then he began telling Jiang Hongmei everything that had happened over the past few days.

"This... how is that possible?"

Jiang Hongmei swayed slightly and shook her head at him in disbelief. "How could Shen Jianan make those things? Why him? Why did he get ahead of me?"

Her fists clenched tightly, swinging forcefully through the air again and again. Veins bulged across her temples and neck. She was clearly furious beyond measure.

"Shen Jianan! Why are you always going against me? Aaaah..."

She shrieked in uncontrollable rage, her voice as piercing as the wail of a ghost, making everyone's skin crawl.

"What does Educated Youth Jiang mean by that?"

Zheng Lei was somewhat baffled by how badly she seemed to be affected. Huang Qimei shook her head, then asked Jiang Hongmei anxiously, "Hongmei, what's wrong with you? What do you mean, getting ahead of you? What are you talking about?"

Unfortunately, no matter how she questioned her, Jiang Hongmei ignored her. She only stood there muttering angrily to herself. Huang Qimei and Zheng Lei found it irritating and headache-inducing. If they had not been ostracized themselves and badly needed outside support, they would not have bothered with her at all.

Fortunately, she was not completely mad. Before long, she gradually calmed down. Raising a hand to smooth her slightly disheveled hair, she finally looked at the two of them and parted her red lips. "Chen Ming, go outside for a moment."

Chen Ming froze. His hands hanging by his sides unconsciously clenched into fists, then quickly relaxed. Without saying a word, he turned and walked out of the room.

Bang!

The door slammed shut behind him. He stopped, tilting his head slightly. After a long while, he walked back to the men's dormitory expressionlessly. Finding it empty, his eyes flickered. He silently went to sit on the bed in the corner, looking up at the blue sky outside the window as his eyes gradually filled with tears.

If he had not been so naive back then, he would not have been set up and humiliated until no one wanted anything to do with him. This world was so unfair. The person who harmed him was still living brilliantly, while he alone was caught in the middle, disliked by everyone.

What was the point of living? He wiped away his tears, rose with a smile, and staggered out of the room.

"All right, time to eat!"

In the kitchen, Lu Xiaoyue clapped her hands and untied her apron. Turning around, she smiled at the educated youths huddled in the corner, chatting animatedly. "Hurry up and get your bowls."

"Got it."

Wang Hongbo pulled open the kitchen door and called outside that dinner was ready, then turned back to get a bowl and serve himself porridge. Song Yichen rolled his eyes at him. "Why did you call them?"

"What, I'm not allowed to? They contributed grain too."

Wang Hongbo bared his teeth in a grin. "One thing at a time."

Song Yichen pursed his lips, about to speak, when Jiang Hongmei swaggered into the kitchen like a queen, with Huang Qimei and Zheng Lei following at her sides like two guardians.

He looked back at everyone and saw the same speechless expressions on their faces. Instantly feeling better, he hurriedly carried his bowl over to sit beside Feng Yi and began eating.

"Where's Chen Ming? Why haven't we seen him?"

Lu Xiaoyue asked aloud, and only then did everyone realize he had not come in. Wang Hongbo looked up at Zheng Lei. "Wasn't Chen Ming with you? Why isn't he here to eat?"

Who knew Zheng Lei would act as though nothing had happened? "Team leader, what kind of question is that? He has hands and feet of his own. How can I control him?"

As Zheng Lei spoke, he carried his half-bowl of thin porridge back to the stove and shamelessly ladled himself another heaping scoop before continuing.

"Please, stop saying Chen Ming and I are together. At most, we're fellow villagers assigned to the same Educated Youth Station. We aren't close at all."

He had wanted to say this long ago. He had only kept Chen Ming around because the man was simple and easy to fool, often helping him with work and doing things he did not want to do. Otherwise, he would never have wanted anything to do with someone so stupid.

Hearing such heartless words, everyone felt it was unfair to Chen Ming. One after another, they glared at Zheng Lei angrily.

Honestly, Chen Ming was not a bad person. The reason everyone looked down on him was that they had seen Zheng Lei using him and kindly warned him to be careful not to get taken advantage of.

But he seemed unable to understand them and plunged in headfirst. Later, he had even followed Zheng Lei into stealing chickens and petty thievery, which was why everyone became so disgusted with him.

But that did not mean they did not care about him. Chen Ming was introverted and stubborn. Ever since the people at the Educated Youth Station found out that he had stolen things, he had refused to let anyone get close to him and only followed Zheng Lei. There was nothing they could do but let him be.

That was why everyone was so angry hearing Zheng Lei say that now. Wang Hongbo shot him a furious glare, slammed down his bowl and chopsticks, and said, "I'll go get him."

He stood and left the kitchen. Feng Yi felt something was off and followed him out. But when the two reached the dormitory, they found it empty, so they searched around the front and back of the house.

Yet they could not find a single trace of him. Knowing Chen Ming's withdrawn nature, they feared something might have happened. They hurried back inside, called Song Yichen over, and planned to search together. When Lu Xiaoyue and the others heard he was missing, they grew anxious too. "We'll come as well. More people means more help."

"Then let's go."

Feng Yi glanced at Zheng Lei and Jiang Hongmei, who were eating with gusto at the table, and at Huang Qimei, who looked uncomfortable. A chill flashed through his eyes. "Heartless animals."

Smack!

Jiang Hongmei threw down her chopsticks and rose to glare fiercely at him. "Who are you cursing?"

"Whoever answers is the one I'm cursing."

Feng Yi replied coldly, then pulled Wang Hongbo along and led everyone away, leaving Jiang Hongmei shrieking with rage in the room.

After leaving the Educated Youth Station, everyone split into two groups, led by Wang Hongbo and Feng Yi, and began searching around the station.

But as time slowly passed, they could not find even the slightest trace of him. Seeing that evening was approaching, everyone worried that if they delayed any longer, Chen Ming might truly come to harm, so they sent Chen Li and Qian Xiaojuan to ask the brigade cadres for help.

When Zhao Gang heard the report, he was annoyed that they were causing trouble again, but he did not delay. He immediately called over several boys from his household, then went to several families he was close with and asked them to help search.

He had considered using the brigade loudspeaker to call on the villagers for help, but he knew something of Chen Ming's temperament. If the matter became known to everyone, Chen Ming would likely become even more withdrawn and self-conscious. Perhaps then he might truly do something foolish.

After all, such things had happened before. Hadn't an educated youth in their brigade hanged himself with his belt a few years ago? That was why, for Chen Ming's sake, Zhao Gang had not alerted the others.

The people split into three groups, using the Educated Youth Station as their center and searching the woods at the village entrance, the fields, and the mountains beyond the village. But before they found Chen Ming, their commotion had already drawn quite a few people, including Shen Jianan and Gu Yu.

When the two learned that Chen Ming was missing, they vaguely sensed that something was wrong. They voluntarily joined Feng Yi's group in searching the village outskirts, preparing to head into the mountains, only to be stopped by Lin Yanqing.

"Stop looking. Chen Ming is here."

Everyone immediately breathed a sigh of relief and rushed into the cowshed, where they saw him lying on a wooden bedboard with his eyes closed, his entire body trembling nonstop.

"He's fine."

Xie Huai'an tucked the blanket around him, then turned to the crowd. "He accidentally fell into the water and was fished out."

Once everyone heard that, how could they not understand? "Accidentally fell into the water" was only a way of preserving his dignity. The truth was likely that Chen Ming had jumped in to kill himself and had been saved by them.

But aside from the educated youths, only Shen Jianan, Gu Yu, Zhao Hongjun's eldest son Zhao Chengcai, and Zhao Gang's three sons were present. None of them were loose-lipped, so naturally no one exposed the old man's kind lie.

"Chengcai, Zhao Ming, you two hurry and notify everyone to stop searching, so they don't all head into the mountains."

"Got it, Brother Shen/Educated Youth Shen."

The two nodded at Shen Jianan, who had spoken, then turned and ran out of the cowshed. Wang Hongbo followed right after, intending to return to the Educated Youth Station to get Chen Ming some clothes.

With so many people in the shed, it became even more crowded and stuffy. After standing there for a while, everyone could not bear it any longer and moved outside to chat in the open space.

"Why would Chen Ming want to kill himself?"

Feng Yi looked at Shen Jianan, who had asked the question, shook his head, and said, "I don't know, but..."

"But what?"

The young man frowned. "There had to be some trigger for him to lose hope, right?"

"Ai."

Feng Yi sighed and answered, "After Jiang Hongmei came back, she made some sarcastic remarks. The few of us couldn't stand it and left. At the time, Chen Ming, Zheng Lei, and Huang Qimei were all in the room.

Later, when we were eating, everyone noticed he was missing and asked Zheng Lei. Who knew that guy would say he wasn't close to Chen Ming and tell everyone not to mention the two of them together anymore.

Hongbo and I were worried about Chen Ming, so we went to call him for dinner. That was when we discovered he had disappeared. So I'm guessing they did or said something that hurt Chen Ming and drove him to do something foolish."

"Do we even need to guess? That must be it."

Song Yichen took over angrily. "Zheng Lei never does anything unless there's something in it for him. He used to think Chen Ming was simple, so he tricked him into doing work for him. Then that incident involving Educated Youth Shen happened."

He glanced at the two children from the Zhao Household. Out of consideration for Chen Ming's dignity, he did not say it outright. "After everyone found out, Zheng Lei figured Chen Ming was stupid and couldn't bring him any benefits, so he wanted to ditch him, didn't he?"

No one responded, but inwardly they all accepted his explanation. Song Yichen still felt upset and wanted to say more, but several cadres came running over with Zhao Chengcai, Zhao Ming, and Wang Hongbo, who was carrying clothes. He could only shut his mouth reluctantly.

"How is he?"

Zhao Gang ran up to the crowd, panting heavily. "Is Chen Ming all right?"

"He hasn't woken up yet, but it shouldn't be anything serious."

Hearing the commotion, Lin Yanqing came out and stood in the doorway. "But he was soaked in water, so he may develop a fever tonight."

"All right, I understand."

Zhao Gang waved a hand, then looked at Wang Hongbo. "You're the team leader. What do you think we should do about this?"

The two children had just told him that Chen Ming had accidentally fallen into the water, but he did not believe it any more than he believed pigs could fly.

Hearing the tone of his question, Wang Hongbo knew he could not fool him. Just as he was agonizing over how to explain matters, a cry sounded from the cowshed.

He immediately relaxed and waved his hand at Zhao Gang. "I'll go change Chen Ming's clothes first."

Then he entered the cowshed with Feng Yi and Lin Yanqing. Song Yichen chuckled and followed them in. Lu Xiaoyue and the others looked at the sky and the ground, anywhere but Zhao Gang.

Zhao Gang was so angry he gritted his teeth, but he did not say anything in the end. As long as nothing serious had happened, he could let it go. But Chen Ming's condition... Ai, what a headache.

Seeing Zhao Gang's deeply furrowed brow and troubled expression, Shen Jianan thought for a moment before saying, "Brigade Leader, why not let Chen Ming move in with us? There's an extra room there anyway."

Zhao Gang raised his eyes at him in confusion. He had the distinct feeling this kid was up to something. Shen Jianan merely smiled without speaking, looking back at him with an utterly sincere expression.

Gu Yu watched his nose and his heart, immediately guessing Shen Jianan's intentions. He gave a light cough and said, "Brigade Leader, if Chen Ming returns to the Educated Youth Station in this state, things may only get worse.

But if he changes places and gets a change of mood, perhaps he'll gradually improve. We still have to be evaluated as an advanced collective at the end of the year. We can't let anything go wrong."

The moment he said that, not only Zhao Gang but even the other cadres could no longer sit still. After all, to them, nothing was more important than collective honor. They immediately made their decision.

"All right, then let Chen Ming move in with you. You two will have to look after him more if anything comes up."

After a slight pause, Zhao Gang casually told the two of them about his conversation with Zhao Qiancheng the day before. Shen Jianan and Gu Yu's expressions immediately darkened. Even Feng Yi and the other educated youths thought Zhao Qiancheng was shameless.

Zhao Gang could not say much more. He simply said, "Don't worry. We won't let him do whatever he wants."

Then he hurried away with the other cadres. With the matter settled, Shen Jianan and Gu Yu did not delay. They immediately had Feng Yi carry Chen Ming to Half-Mountain Courtyard and arranged for him to stay in the room across from theirs.

Meanwhile, Wang Hongbo and Song Yichen returned to the Educated Youth Station to help move Chen Ming's luggage and grain ration. As for Lu Xiaoyue and the others, although they could not offer much physical help, they pooled a few coins and went with Zhao Chengcai to buy some old ginger and brown sugar from his household, intending to make Chen Ming ginger soup to drive out the cold.

Before they left, Li Shuqin took out two eggs and told her son to give them to Shen Jianan. "That child Chen Ming looks skinny as a stick. Give him something nourishing."

"Got it, Mom."

Zhao Chengcai tucked the eggs into his clothes and returned to Half-Mountain Courtyard with Lu Xiaoyue and the others. Everyone busied themselves for a while, only stopping when the moon was high overhead. In his daze, Chen Ming was fed steamed egg custard and ginger soup. He had sweated by then and no longer trembled beneath the quilt. His complexion looked much better.

Shen Jianan told Wang Hongbo and the others to go back and rest. "Gu Yu and I can watch over him here. Everyone has been tired all day. Go back and get some rest."

"All right. Thank you for your hard work."

No one insisted on staying. They had not even eaten dinner because of the search and were all still hungry. They stood one after another, said goodbye to the two, and left. After Gu Yu and Shen Jianan saw them off, they returned to the room and waited patiently.

Not long after, the person on the bed opened his eyes and apologized to them. In truth, Chen Ming had already woken up when everyone was feeding him the egg custard.

He had only been afraid that everyone would ask why he had jumped into the water to kill himself, so he deliberately pretended to sleep, intending to get up after everyone had left.

But he had not expected Educated Youth Shen and Educated Youth Gu to return to the room after seeing everyone off and remain seated there without leaving. He knew then that they had already seen through his clumsy act.

"It's fine."

Shen Jianan waved it off, then asked him, "Why did you do something so foolish?"

Chen Ming's eyes immediately reddened, and he began sobbing softly. Shen Jianan was in no hurry. He merely sat beside him and waited until he had cried enough before asking, "Was it because of Zheng Lei and the others?"

"Mm."

Chen Ming nodded, then after thinking about it, shook his head. "It started because of them, but I couldn't get past it myself."

He looked at the ceiling, and the scene of jumping into the water surfaced uncontrollably in his mind. His entire body seemed to be bound by countless shackles once more, unable to move as the icy lake water slowly swallowed him bit by bit.

Chen Ming shuddered in fear and quickly pulled his thoughts back. "The feeling of being close to death was awful. I won't do anything foolish again."

He turned to Shen Jianan and Gu Yu, his brows curving slightly as his eyes shone. He no longer looked as gloomy as before. "Thank you for putting aside the past and being willing to take me in. From now on, I definitely..."

"Hey."

Shen Jianan cut him off, speaking seriously in a low voice. "You don't need to promise us anything. Your life is your own. How you live it, you don't need to report to anyone.

There's only one thing. I hope you can learn to let go of the past, say goodbye to bad people and bad things, and not let them affect Gu Yu and me."

"Mm, I understand."

Chen Ming nodded, thanking them again. "Thank you for being willing to take me in."

While pretending to sleep earlier, he had already heard that they were the ones who convinced the brigade leader to let him stay at Half-Mountain Courtyard.

"You're welcome."

The two waved their hands at the same time, told him to rest well, and left the room together. Chen Ming looked at the door they had closed behind them, and the first sincere smile he had shown since coming to the countryside appeared on his face.

After Shen Jianan and Gu Yu left the room, they did not return to rest. Instead, they went down the mountain together to find Zhao Gang and discuss having Shen Jianan accompany them to town tomorrow to negotiate the partnership.

Originally, neither of them had paid much attention to this matter. After all, the cadres were all shrewd people, and with Bai Yun and the female police officers promoting their products, as long as the person in charge of the Supply and Marketing Cooperative was not stupid, he would definitely agree to cooperate.

But Zhao Qiancheng's phone call had made the two of them sense a crisis. Therefore, they planned to give things a push and finalize the partnership as soon as possible, strengthening their standing in the villagers' hearts so that when Zhao Qiancheng returned and sweet-talked them a little, they would not all turn against them.

When they arrived at the Zhao Household, they did not even take a sip of water before explaining why they had come. Zhao Gang agreed without a second thought. The reason was simple: everything was for the collective's benefit. Shen Jianan knew how to make these things and understood business to some extent. With him along, they would get twice the result with half the effort.

With the issue resolved, they did not stay long. After saying goodbye, they returned to Half-Mountain Courtyard.

The next day, Shen Jianan got up early, carrying the goods he needed to deliver, several samples, and the contract Gu Yu had written. Then he headed to town with Zhao Gang and several cadres.

Since Gu Yu was still on "sick leave" and did not need to work, he cooked Chen Ming a bowl of porridge. Then, carrying a wood knife and a basket on his back, he quietly entered the mountains before using his space to go to Abundant Source Town. He had sent a telegram yesterday, so there should have been a reply by now. He needed to go check.

Since many people were going to town that day, Zhao Gang drove the brigade's donkey cart with several cadres aboard. As for Shen Jianan, he rode his own bicycle. By the time the group reached town, it was already past nine.

Zhao Gang did not dare waste time and took them straight to find Director Zhang, the person in charge of the Supply and Marketing Cooperative. Everyone had expected they would need to spend some effort persuading him, but unexpectedly, they ran into Shen Jianan's old acquaintance—police officer Zhang Dayong, Director Zhang's own son.

He was off duty today and hadn't gone to the bureau. The moment he saw Shen Jianan, he grew extremely excited and immediately said he wanted to have two sets of clothes and bags custom-made for both his mother and his wife.

Shen Jianan hurriedly agreed. After carefully asking about the two women's skin tones, figures, and color preferences, he roughly sketched suitable styles for them in his mind, then quoted a price and told him the order would be ready in half a month.

When Zhang Dayong heard that it was even cheaper than buying from the department store, he was overjoyed. He immediately tossed Shen Jianan ten ten-yuan bills. "This is the deposit. I'll pay the rest once the clothes are finished."

"Sure thing!"

Amid the shock and envy of Zhao Gang and the other officials, Shen Jianan smilingly accepted the money. Meanwhile, Director Zhang, who had been sitting quietly to one side, finally understood that Shen Jianan was the "young tailor" the young women and wives in the compound had been searching everywhere for.

He asked what had brought them here. Shen Jianan did not waste any time. He immediately took out the samples and placed them on the table, casually explaining their purpose in coming to see him today.

"These hair ties and backpacks are fashionable, attractive, and easy to match with anything. If you're willing to stock them, I'm sure they'll draw a large number of customers to the Supply and Marketing Cooperative within three days."

Director Zhang kept his expression neutral, but he was incredibly excited inside. He had already been considering working together, and now that the other party had taken the initiative, it saved him the effort.

However, judging from Shen Jianan's tone, he seemed to want to cooperate only on the hair ties and backpacks, with no intention of partnering on clothing. Director Zhang could not help feeling somewhat disappointed.

But on second thought, the regulations and scope involved in garment-making were rather complicated. Unlike bamboo- and rattan-woven bags and hair ties, which were handicrafts that farmers were permitted to produce and sell.

If they mishandled things and crossed the line, neither of them would be able to bear the consequences. He quietly gave up on cooperating in that area and asked Shen Jianan, "How do you plan to work with the Supply and Marketing Cooperative?"

Hearing that there was hope, Shen Jianan quickly took out a contract and respectfully handed it over. "Director Zhang, please have a look. This is the contract we drafted for the brigade and the Supply and Marketing Cooperative."

Director Zhang was astonished. He had never expected them to be so well prepared that they had even brought a contract. He thought even more highly of Shen Jianan and promptly praised him a few times. The accompanying officials were praised as well.

Zhao Gang and the others immediately grew excited and straightened their backs. The way they looked at Shen Jianan became exceedingly affectionate and filled with admiration.

Seeing this, Director Zhang curled his lips in a smile, then lowered his head to carefully review the contract. He was startled once he read it. The terms looked fair at first glance, but upon closer inspection, nearly every clause had left Chaoyang Production Brigade with a way out.

He was both amused and exasperated. He closed the contract, looked up at Shen Jianan, Zhao Gang, and the others, and said loudly, "This contract of yours lets Chaoyang Production Brigade take all the advantages. Still, the requests aren't excessive. Let's sign it as written!"

"Thank you, Director Zhang."

Everyone was overjoyed, their smiles stretching nearly to their ears.

Infected by their excitement, Director Zhang laughed as well. Then he took them to the Supply and Marketing Cooperative to sign the contract.

They also agreed that the first batch would be delivered in ten days: two hundred hair ties and fifty bags. If all of them could be sold within a month, he would double the order quantity.

"No problem."

Shen Jianan smiled and patted his chest in assurance. "Director Zhang, just wait and see. The hair ties and backpacks will be in such demand that supply won't keep up!"

"Hahaha!"

Director Zhang laughed heartily. "All right, I'll wait to see the grand scene you described."

"Mm!"

Shen Jianan nodded with smiling eyes. After a moment's thought, he also revealed that he knew how to make many pastries and canned goods that sold well in Capital City. Then he nodded farewell and quickly left the Supply and Marketing Cooperative with Zhao Gang and the others.

Director Zhang was left behind, agonizing with regret over his slow reaction. Why hadn't he stopped Shen Jianan and signed another contract? Fortunately, there were only ten days until delivery. He could discuss it properly with him then.

Just as Director Zhang began making plans for Shen Jianan, the man himself was already thinking further ahead. After Shen Jianan and Zhao Gang came out, he asked them for leave.

"Uncle, I need to go to the Public Security Bureau to deliver some clothes, so I won't head back with you. Once you get back, let everyone know to gather at the brigade after work. Today, I'll first teach everyone how to make two simple styles of hair ties and bags, and assess them while I'm at it."

"All right."

Zhao Gang agreed without hesitation and waved at him with a smile. "Just take the bicycle. Go early and come back early. Be careful."

"Sure! Thanks, Brigade Leader."

Shen Jianan waved cheerfully. Then, with his backpack on his back, he nimbly swung onto the bicycle, pushed off with his foot, and coasted far away in an instant.

The officials chuckled as they watched him go, then climbed onto the donkey cart and returned to the village.