Remember to come find me

"How did it go?"

When Lian Youming returned home, Qin Yuhu was already waiting in the sitting room. Seeing him looking somewhat distracted, he could not help asking, assuming his nephew had gotten the short end of the stick.

"If things didn't work out, I'll go talk to the higher-ups. Damn it, that was an underground fortress built by the Japanese bastards, with a whole pile of good stuff inside. They can't even spare you a few benefits? How is that reasonable?"

Lian Youming hurriedly said, "It's fine. Everything went great."

The reason he was distracted was that he was still thinking about Li Da's extraordinary Bird Not Flying technique.

The man had hardly just left him something to think about. He had practically drugged him, leaving him utterly spellbound.

Hearing this, Qin Yuhu asked no more. After breakfast, he gave a couple more reminders, then hurried out the door.

Yesterday's events and those two children all needed following up on. With the Logging Camp's many affairs on top of that, he was, as usual, up to his ears in work.

Shen Qinghong stayed home to rest for the day and talked at length with Yan Lingyun. The two chatted and laughed as they played with the swaddled baby, and she also made the girl a whole table of northeastern dishes.

To cut a long story short, Lian Youming rested until noon before taking Yan Lingyun out on his bicycle.

Over the course of the morning, Yan Lingyun had already retrieved the wild ginseng root. Holding the pound of red sausage Shen Qinghong had given her, she sat sidesaddle, well fed and beaming with delight, as though all her troubles had vanished. She even hummed a little tune, swinging her feet, looking as comfortable as a landlord.

The sunshine was gentle, the grass was growing, and orioles flitted through the air. To the whirring of the axles, Lian Youming rode through the sunlight, alongside green waters, and between field ridges, embankments, and open countryside.

Behind him, Yan Lingyun's cheeks reddened again, burning hot, as red as the sunset clouds on the horizon.

Who knew what had crossed her mind, but she suddenly summoned her courage, pressed her lips together, and slipped her right arm around the boy's waist. During these days of hardship and struggle, so much of her happiness and joy had come from the person before her. Faced with something she wanted, she might be shy, but she would never shrink back.

Though he was usually a little frivolous and always loved teasing her, when something serious happened, he always stepped forward to stand in front. He had perseverance, courage, and a sense of responsibility, and he hated evil as fiercely as an enemy...

In the girl's heart, this figure was just like those described in books-the hero of her dreams.

But just as Yan Lingyun was blushing, a complaint drifted back from in front. "Hey, don't touch my ticklish spots!"

"Pah!"

Whatever Yan Lingyun had been feeling vanished in an instant.

But Lian Youming changed tack, saying gently, "Remember to tell me when you're going back to the city. I'll definitely come see you off."

Yan Lingyun had still been fuming, but at these words, her eyes reddened again. "I don't want you to see me off. You're so far away. I want my brother to come get me. I sent a letter home half a month ago. Besides, with all the things I'm taking, what if something gets lost while I'm on the train by myself?"

"True enough."

At that, Lian Youming said no more.

Who would have thought the girl would suddenly give the soft flesh at his waist a vicious pinch? "I tell you not to see me off, and you really won't?"

"Ow! What are you pinching me for? Hiss!"

Lian Youming grimaced in pain, sucking in sharp breaths. She had not just learned the northeastern dialect-she had even picked up the local women's tricks.

Before Lian Youming could reply, Yan Lingyun said softly, "I don't want you to see me off. I want you to come south and find me."

Lian Youming gave a mischievous laugh. "Heh, I'm not going. I'll drive you mad."

But Yan Lingyun seemed to have it all planned out. She smiled slyly. "You'll come. With that restless nature of yours, and now that you've learned martial arts, who knows how much you'll turn the world upside down someday? Besides, don't you want that old medicine? These old medicines have different medicinal properties and different effects. Some treat external wounds, some mend tendons and bones, and some heal internal injuries. Rumor has it there are even some that prolong life. And the one I'm making was passed down by a martial arts master who was one of the Ten Tigers of Guangdong."

Lian Youming raised his eyebrows. So this was where the girl had laid her trap for him.

"If I come find you, you'll give it to me?"

Yan Lingyun narrowed her smiling eyes and gave a little huff. "That depends on your sincerity."

Lian Youming rolled his eyes. "Forget it, then."

"Lian Youming, you little bastard!"

No sooner had he spoken than he heard the curse from behind, followed by fists raining down on him.

Laughing, talking, and horsing around, the two soon returned to the village where Yan Lingyun was staying.

When it came time to part, Lian Youming felt a little wistful too. After this trip, they probably would not have another chance to meet for a while.

Both had to return to their respective logging camps, and Yan Lingyun would surely be going back to the city before long.

The girl had earned merit by reporting the matter of the map. Even if she received no enormous reward, she might well secure a place among those returning to the city.

Yan Lingyun hopped off the bicycle and stole another look around. "Lian Youming, I have something to tell you. Come a little closer."

"What is it?"

Lian Youming tilted his ear toward her.

Her cheeks bright red, the girl leaned close and whispered, "I really like you!"

Then she turned and ran.

Lian Youming froze for a moment, then laughed before calling after her, "What on earth are you saying? Speak Mandarin, little sis!"

Watching Yan Lingyun's retreating figure, he stood lost in thought for a moment, then got on his bicycle and headed back.

The following afternoon, Yang Dapao gathered the educated youths who had previously been at the Logging Camp, then called for Lian Youming, who was drying medicinal herbs in Kaoshan Village, and another female educated youth. With their packs on their backs, the group headed up the mountain again.

Lian Youming took the opportunity to count everyone in the group. Apart from two female educated youths and one male educated youth who had returned to the city, practically everyone was there, but there was one person missing among the women.

It seemed he had been right after all.

The White Lotus Sect expert who had hidden in their group had been among the female educated youths, only to be killed later by Yang Shuang.

In the dormitory, the brothers Yu Wen and Yu Wu had grown dark and thin after just six months of hardship. Their formerly boyish looks had matured considerably, and stubble had sprouted on their cheeks. But they still could not shake their show-off ways, lying on the bed boards and shooting their mouths off.

But when they saw Lian Youming's drastically changed physique, both their eyes widened. "Damn, this is just too unfair! Why are you so muscular while we brothers are skinny as monkeys? Damn it all, digging out shit up the mountain, shoveling manure down below, and not a solid meal to be had. That was no life for a human being."

Wu Kui looked at him with resentment filling his eyes. "Tell me, what's going on between you and Yan Lingyun?"

Lian Youming put down his pack, looking puzzled. "What's going on?"

Wu Kui beat his chest and stamped his feet. "Those female educated youths all say you two got together. Do you know how many hearts you broke in our village? If I weren't a little too short, I'd definitely be crying too."

Liu Dabiao came over as well, holding a pair of bamboo clappers and rattling them away. "Hey, let's leave the idle gossip aside, and tell of our educated youths' fine team leader. This leader stands eight feet tall, a hero true, with a pair of eyes that shine right through... what a shame his hips and head are broad, his face a winnowing tray, his wide mouth and fangs put a bear to shame..."

The corners of Lian Youming's mouth twitched. Glancing at the bunch of clowns, he hurried outside to find Yang Dapao. "Platoon Leader, in order to carry forward the revolutionary spirit of arduous struggle, and to promote endurance and hard work..."

"Enough, enough," Platoon Leader Yang interrupted impatiently. "Just tell me what you want."

Lian Youming kept glancing toward the earthen houses behind the dining hall. "I want to live by myself."

Platoon Leader Yang's expression shifted slightly, but fortunately, he did not refuse outright. Instead, he gave it careful thought. "Don't tell me you don't know there's a hidden chamber underneath. Still, it's not that big a deal. We'll use it as the Logging Camp's cellar from now on. If you're living there alone, stay sharp and guard it properly... but I'm not giving you a gun."

Although the reason Qin Yuhu had lost his arm was kept tightly under wraps, no wall in this world could keep the wind from getting through.

Lian Youming grunted his agreement, then moved in.

His main reason for doing this was to make it easier to practice alone. Otherwise, staying with those clowns would mean nothing but fooling around day and night.

Once everything was put in order, they barely had half a day to rest before everyone was busy again the next day. Under the lumberjacks' guidance, they began a daily routine of increasingly arduous labor.

Logging was pure physical exertion.

The female educated youths were responsible for lighting fires and cooking, planting vegetables and spreading fertilizer, and feeding the mules and horses. They took care of almost all the miscellaneous chores.

As for Lian Youming and the other male educated youths, they did just two things: felling trees all over the mountains and raising seedlings and tending the forest. For every tree cut down here, another was planted over there. They did not even return up the mountain to eat, preparing their meals in advance, leaving early and returning late as they ran up and down the slopes.

Those two tasks alone left everyone so exhausted they cried for their parents and felt half dead. At night, their snores thundered, and they could not even be bothered to fart.

Seeing what the work entailed, Lian Youming felt a lingering fear too. If his Qi and blood had not grown stronger lately, he probably would not have been able to withstand it either.

Fortunately, he stayed alone out back at night. Besides practicing, whenever he got hungry, he could take his axe into the mountains to find something to eat, bringing back some meat for the other educated youths while he was at it.

Platoon Leader Yang saw all this. At first, he had been somewhat worried and wanted to say a few words of criticism, but one evening, Lian Youming returned carrying a wild boar, and everything changed.

In those days, even city workers might not get to eat meat twice a month, and purchases were rationed. Since Lian Youming was thinking of everyone, what more was there to say?

In the blink of an eye, more than half a month passed.

That day, after finishing work, Lian Youming took a cold bath alone in the mountains. When he returned, he found a letter and a wooden box on the table.

After asking, he learned that Qin Yuhu had come by.

The letter had been left by Yan Lingyun.

She... had returned to the city.

Lian Youming was silent for a while, then opened the letter and looked. There were only five large characters on it.

"Remember to come find me!"

(End of chapter)