Suicide by Drowning

This program was produced by Tomato Listening.

Episode 22: Suicide by Drowning. Wasn't a female supporting character's vitality supposed to be as tenacious and unbreakable as weeds?

Looking at Zhang Yanqiu's face, white as paper, he had never expected things to turn out like this.

There was still a faint rise and fall in her chest. She should have been saved and was no longer in any mortal danger.

This was another incident that had never happened in the original story.

Lin Yuzhu pondered it repeatedly, wondering whether his arrival had caused some sort of chain reaction, but he truly could not figure out the connection.

In his view, he had not disrupted any major plot points. He was only civil with the male and female leads on the surface, with no real affection between them.

He had even less of a relationship with the other educated youths. At the Educated Youth Dormitory, he had practically become invisible.

What he did not know was that if not for him, while the female lead was building her house, she and Zhao Xianglan would have gotten along extremely well. Later, they would naturally have begun sharing meals. But because Lin Yuzhu was here this time, the female lead no longer needed Zhao Xianglan's companionship, and the two of them were now merely casual acquaintances.

Without the female lead's support, Zhao Xianglan was still sharing meals with Wang Xiaomei. Wang Xiaomei alone already annoyed her enough, and now there was Zhang Yanqiu, who could not seem to grasp the situation. Zhao Xianglan found her even more speechless. Even washing dishes left Zhang Yanqiu looking bitter and resentful, as though someone had wronged her.

Zhao Xianglan had spent so long cultivating her good image. How could she let someone else ruin it? She immediately began plotting, casually provoking Wang Xiaomei with a few words whenever she could. It would be best if Wang Xiaomei could let everyone know what kind of person Zhang Yanqiu was. That way, Zhao Xianglan would not seem petty, while everyone else could see Zhang Yanqiu's true colors.

As long as Wang Xiaomei did her part, Zhao Xianglan would naturally be there to guide her. That was how today's grand drama came about.

Zhang Yanqiu felt she had suffered the greatest humiliation of her life. With He Yuanfang's blatant warning beside her, she was both furious and afraid.

She decided to seek justice from the village leaders. On the way, she happened to run into the Production Team Leader. She grabbed him and explained the whole matter, only to see the old man frown and say rather bluntly, "Why are you coming to me over this? What can I do?"

"I manage production. Go find the village chief and see whether he can stand up for you."

After saying that, the Production Team Leader left, muttering curses under his breath.

"How pretentious. They can make such a fuss over such a trivial thing."

Zhang Yanqiu heard every word clearly. Her face instantly flushed red with shame. She resented the Production Team Leader for refusing to act, stomped her foot, and headed for the village chief's home.

After hearing the full story, the village chief and his wife both looked impatient. They thought these educated youths spent all day squabbling over petty nonsense, too much for anyone to manage. As a woman, the village chief's wife dealt with such trivial matters every day. Which village wife did not have her own hidden schemes?

She said bluntly, "Educated Youth Zhang, what I say may not sound nice, so don't take it to heart. I'm saying this for your own good. We don't have the fate of young ladies, so we should accept our lot."

"Your hand lost a little skin, and you can't wash dishes?"

"Look at the women in the village. Even when they cut their hands with sickles, they still wash clothes and cook. Who stops doing housework over such a little pain and leaves the whole family hungry?"

After saying that, the village chief's wife saw Zhang Yanqiu's pale face and the unwillingness in her eyes, though she did not dare show it. The woman snorted inwardly, knowing she had wasted her breath. Zhang Yanqiu had not listened at all. Her tone turned mocking as she said, "I think you should go back and apologize properly. What can my old man even say on your behalf?"

"Ask the girls at the Educated Youth Dormitory to serve you? How much face do you think you have?"

The village chief's wife's sarcastic expression deeply stung Zhang Yanqiu.

Zhang Yanqiu did not even want to speak. Her mind was filled with unbearable shame and anger. Without another word, she ran out of the courtyard.

As she walked along the country path, she wondered when she would ever be able to return to the city. Some of the older educated youths had already been here for six or seven years. Could it be that she would have to stay here for the rest of her life?

Doing the hardest work, only to be bullied?

The more she thought about it, the more hopeless it seemed. After being bullied by all kinds of people, she stared at the river for a long while before finally making up her mind. Closing her eyes, she jumped in.

Luckily, several children saw her and shouted through the whole village for adults to come save her. That was how she was rescued.

When the village chief learned that Zhang Yanqiu had jumped into the river, the expression on his face was quite something. He turned and scolded his wife before hurrying to the riverbank. Zhang Yanqiu had been saved and brought back to the Educated Youth Dormitory. This time, the village chief had no choice but to stand up for her. A life had nearly been lost. He could not ignore it.

When Wang Xiaomei saw Zhang Yanqiu being carried back, fear gripped her heart, and her hands would not stop trembling.

"What is wrong with you girls?"

"Can't you talk things over properly when something happens? What can't be resolved? Did you have to make such a mess that someone nearly died before you'd settle down?"

The village chief scolded them harshly.

Zhao Xianglan looked aggrieved. "Village Chief, this has nothing to do with me. I kept trying to persuade both of them to calm down. I just didn't expect them both to have such terrible tempers."

Wang Xiaomei still stood there blankly, unable to react.

Seeing her like that, the village chief did not say much more. It was enough that she knew to be afraid.

"Hey, hurry and carry her inside. You female educated youths, help her change out of those clothes. Take better care of her these next few days. Especially you, Xiaomei. Don't bully newly arrived educated youths. She's a young girl who just got here and hasn't adjusted yet, so give her some leeway. You can't be so selfish. You educated youths who came from all over the country should be united and friendly."

"If you bully her again and something happens to her, I'll send you to the commune and have you sent back. Our little village can't keep someone like you."

"That's all I have to say. From now on, watch yourselves."

After saying that, the villagers carried the still-unconscious Zhang Yanqiu into the house.

Zhao Xianglan looked at Wang Xiaomei, who stood off to the side in a daze, badly frightened. She smiled inwardly, then turned to Lin Yuzhu and Li Xiangwan. "I'm afraid I can't change her clothes by myself. Let's do it together."

The two could not refuse, so they followed her inside to help.

Lin Yuzhu looked at Wang Xiaomei, who was still standing there stupidly, and sighed. "This girl is probably going to earn a reputation for being overbearing and driving someone to death."

Looking past the surface to the truth, it was not hard to see that Wang Xiaomei had been used as someone else's weapon. After today, neither she nor Zhang Yanqiu would have a good reputation among the villagers.

Most villagers sympathized with Zhang Yanqiu right now, but once the immediate shock passed, they would keep their distance from her. She had tried to kill herself over such a tiny matter. Who would dare interact with her too much?

What had anyone said that was wrong?

What if she jumped into the river again?

It was best to stay far away from someone like that and not provoke her.

Zhang Yanqiu's actions were a case of hurting the enemy by a thousand while hurting herself by eight hundred.

At the village chief's urging, the villagers gradually dispersed.

Faint voices of discussion still drifted into the courtyard.

Only then did Wang Xiaomei come back to her senses. With tears in her eyes, she looked aggrievedly outside the courtyard, then toward the room, and shouted, "So just because you jumped into the river, you're in the right?"

The villagers who had not gone far exchanged looks after hearing that, clicking their tongues repeatedly. "Wang Xiaomei is really awful. The girl's already in that state, and she's still bullying her?"

After Zhang Yanqiu had been settled, Lin Yuzhu returned to his own room.

Everyone else had already finished dinner, but he had not eaten yet.

Thinking that the chicken soup should be nearly done, he quickened his pace. He had barely entered the room and was about to close the door to eat when Wang Xiaomei followed him over.

Lin Yuzhu looked at her in confusion.

What was she trying to do?

Wang Xiaomei looked at Lin Yuzhu pitifully.

"I want to find someone to talk to."

Lin Yuzhu froze for two seconds, somewhat baffled by how Wang Xiaomei viewed their relationship. They were not close enough to have a heart-to-heart.

Wang Xiaomei had long lost her usual arrogant manner. She was probably badly frightened. Though she was only twenty, she did not possess even a trace of youthful innocence or liveliness. What remained was mostly the sharpness and willfulness left behind after life had worn her down, the habit of calculating every little thing and refusing to yield an inch.

But was that really wrong?

In the end, Lin Yuzhu softened. Mainly, he was afraid that if she suffered another blow, she might jump into the river too. She might not be rescued next time.

He opened the door again, felt around for the matchbox, and lit a candle. Only then did the room gain a little light.

Wang Xiaomei followed behind Lin Yuzhu step by step, then finally sat on the kang in a timid, hesitant manner. With tears in her eyes, she said, "I never thought she would take it so hard that she'd jump into the river and kill herself."

Lin Yuzhu nodded. "Who could have expected that?"

It was as though she truly just wanted someone to talk to.

Wang Xiaomei did not expect Lin Yuzhu to comfort her. As long as he did not mock her, that was enough.

"You've been here for half a month now. Look at her. Isn't she either crying or sitting there with a worried face, staring blankly? Has she done even a bit of work?"

"Who isn't suffering this month?"

"Who didn't endure it this way?"

"When I first came, wasn't I the same?"

"I worked until my hands developed thick calluses. When the skin broke, didn't I still do whatever needed to be done? Where was there room to be even a little delicate?"

"In my first year here, I didn't know how to use a sickle and accidentally cut my leg. Didn't I still limp along and keep working?"

"And I definitely didn't dare delay cooking at the Educated Youth Dormitory. If you dared use an injury as an excuse not to work, they'd dare throw out your luggage."

Lin Yuzhu stared at Wang Xiaomei in astonishment.

So the Educated Youth Dormitory had always been this harsh?

Seeing his expression, Wang Xiaomei said irritably, "I even let you eat the vegetables from the garden. When we first arrived, we couldn't even touch a single scallion. Later, when there wasn't enough grain to eat, they were afraid we'd borrow food, so they kept making sarcastic remarks every day, afraid that if they showed us even a little kindness, we'd cling to them."

"If I hadn't been capable, who knows how badly they would have mocked me?"

"Hmph. If it had been earlier, Zhang Yanqiu would have been begging me already."

Lin Yuzhu fell silent for a while but still could not help saying, "You don't let us touch the vegetable garden now either."

Huang Xiaomei was speechless. "That's not the point, okay?"

"She changed."

"I didn't say anything either. Those days, I was even the one giving her advice. What did Zhao Xianglan do? When you get down to it, she's just someone who knows how to talk. Hmph, and you all think she's a good person."

Lin Yuzhu made no comment. "Don't look at how Zhao Xianglan has been here for two or three years. She isn't much better at work either, only a little better than you. She earns seven or eight work points a day. It's only been a few days, and Zhang Yanqiu has no grain left. The moment she sat down, she turned around and came running over."

"I was complaining about being poor. I pitied her and even said I'd use my own grain to fill her stomach."