Chapter 8

The town of Heyang was not large, with only two main streets that crossed each other. The intersection divided the town into four sections, each named East, West, South, and North Street.

At the intersection of these two main streets was the most bustling area of Heyang, where the county committee, county government, major agencies, as well as the Xinhua Bookstore, post office, bank, and department store were all located.

At 4 PM, the sun was slanting westward but still intense, making the world seem like a giant steamer.

There were few vehicles and not many people on the street. The occasional passersby were listless, baked by the scorching heat. Xiao Fei followed his memory and rode his bicycle to a newspaper stand next to the Xinhua Bookstore.

Inside the newspaper stand sat a girl in a floral dress, with a ponytail at the back of her head. She was about 20 years old, with fair skin and a cute round face. Her eyes were black and bright, her eyebrows finely arched, and her small, red lips curled slightly, giving her a playful look.

Seeing Xiao Fei, the girl stood up and smiled.

"Are you done with the exams?"

"Done."

"How did it go?"

"Not well."

"Are you going home now?"

"Yes."

They chatted for a bit, and the girl took out two magazines from under the counter. Seeing no one around, she slipped them into Xiao Fei's hand: "These are the latest issues of Poetry Journal and Harvest. Take them and read them, but remember not to get them dirty and return them when you're done."

Her name was Wu Aizhen.

Her father was a teacher at Heyang No. 1 High School and died of lung cancer four years ago. Now, she and her mother lived together, supporting each other.

Wu Aizhen graduated from high school two years ago and, without retaking the exams, found a job to support her family. She had been working at this newspaper stand for two years.

Xiao Fei often came here to read books and occasionally bought magazines like Poetry Journal, Liaoning Youth, and Chinese Campus Literature.

After coming so many times, they became familiar with each other.

Wu Aizhen always took good care of him, allowing him to read any book on the stand when the boss was not around. They had chatted many times, and when Wu Aizhen learned that Xiao Fei enjoyed writing and had published articles in Middle School Reading, Middle School Times, and Chinese Language Newspaper, she was very impressed.

She also shared her own story with Xiao Fei.

Wu Aizhen lived in the teacher's residential area of Heyang No. 1 High School. She and her mother were the only two in the family. Her mother was a housewife who had never worked. After her father's death, the family's mainstay was gone, and her mother was constantly worried.

In fact, Wu Aizhen also wanted to continue her studies and hoped to get into college to change her fate. However, the family's dire situation forced her to give up her dreams and take on the responsibility of supporting the family.

She was a very understanding girl.

Xiao Fei felt deep sympathy for her but could not help her.

On the contrary, Wu Aizhen helped Xiao Fei more.

In his previous life, throughout his entire senior year, he had taken books from her for free and never bought a single one. Once, she found his article in a magazine and bought the book for him at her own expense.

Xiao Fei tried to pay her back, but she refused.

Not only that, she had also invited him to her home for dinner twice.

Xiao Fei's feelings towards Wu Aizhen were complex. He could sense that she had a vague affection for him. In his previous life, he was rather insensitive and did not think too deeply about it.

Now, he could only continue to pretend to be oblivious.

Perhaps, he could find a way to repay her in other ways.

"Wu Aizhen, I don't really like reading these magazines anymore. I came today to copy some submission addresses," Xiao Fei explained, not taking the magazines she offered.

Most of the submission email addresses in his mind were from the future, and he could not remember many of the postal addresses of the 1996 publications.

"Oh? You've always liked these two magazines. Why don't you like them anymore?" Wu Aizhen was a bit surprised.

Xiao Fei scratched his head and said, "After I get home, I have to work in the fields. When I have some free time, I want to write some articles, so I don't have time to read them."

This explanation was rather weak.

In fact, after being reborn, Xiao Fei no longer had the intense desire to read. Besides, the contents of the two magazines Wu Aizhen offered were already in his mind.

"Then, what do you plan to do if you don't get into college?" Wu Aizhen tilted her head, her big eyes fixed on him.

"I'll retake the exams for another year," Xiao Fei said.

"Oh," Wu Aizhen seemed relieved, "Will you still come to read books here?"

"I will," Xiao Fei answered.

Wu Aizhen smiled, "I haven't seen your articles published for a long time. Now that the exams are over, you finally have time to write and submit articles. Does that mean I'll soon see your new works in the magazines?"

She stood opposite him, her ponytail swaying, her face dotted with sweat, and her eyes full of joy.

Xiao Fei could tell she was genuinely happy for him.

"I hope so," Xiao Fei smiled.

Talking to Wu Aizhen made his heart feel light.

"Okay, I'll keep an eye out for you. When I see your articles published in newspapers or magazines, I'll save a copy for you and give it to you when you come again," Wu Aizhen volunteered.

"Thank you, Wu Aizhen," Xiao Fei was very grateful.

Actually, he no longer cared much about sample newspapers or magazines. What he now looked forward to was earning money from his articles.

"By the way, Xiao Fei, where is your home? You've never told me. If you're too busy to come, I can deliver them to your home," Wu Aizhen's enthusiasm made Xiao Fei feel uncomfortable.

"How can I let you go through so much trouble, Wu Aizhen? I'll come to the town regularly," Xiao Fei said.

Wu Aizhen looked at him and giggled, "Are you afraid I'll come to your home?"

"How can I be? I'd be more than welcome. It's just that the road is too far, and the weather is so hot. It would be too tiring for you to ride to my place," Xiao Fei said.

"I just want to visit your home. Is that not allowed?"

At this point, Xiao Fei had to tell Wu Aizhen the route and location of his home.

He thought, why should men and women only be romantic partners and not good friends?

With Wu Aizhen's help, Xiao Fei copied some submission addresses for newspapers and magazines, said goodbye to her, and went to nearby stores to buy twenty sheets of lined paper, and then to the post office to buy some envelopes and stamps.

This was to prepare for his writing career.

At the same time, the money in Xiao Fei's pocket was completely spent, and he used the last dime to buy an ice lolly to quench his thirst.

For this college entrance exam, his family had given him fifty yuan for food.

Because he stayed at Uncle Wang Likai's house for meals and accommodation, he hardly spent any money, which is why he had enough funds to buy the paper, envelopes, and stamps.

Xiao Fei's home was in the northeast direction of the town.

The small village was called Xili Village.

This village was located in a sandy area with poor soil. The village was surrounded by sandy hills. Xili Village had about two to three hundred households and nearly a thousand people.

At that time, the trend of working outside had not yet begun, and every household relied on a few acres of thin land, living a hard life.

Xiao Fei pedaled out of the town and sped down a main road, eager to get home.

The road was lined with poplar trees, which provided shade and made it much cooler.

However, Xiao Fei noticed that the leaves on the trees were spotted, and many trees were almost bare. The air was filled with the pungent smell of pesticides.

On both sides of the road were cotton fields, and many people were working in the fields, spraying pesticides. The mist from the sprayers shimmered with a strange, colorful glow in the sunlight.

Xiao Fei suddenly remembered: In 1996, a devastating bollworm disaster occurred in H Province.

How severe was this disaster?

H Province was traditionally a major cotton-producing area, and cotton was the most important cash crop, crucial to the income of millions of farming families.

The 1996 bollworm disaster directly caused the failure of tens of thousands of acres of cotton.

The entire plain was in turmoil, with thousands of families suffering and many more in decline.

From that year on, the tradition of growing cotton on this vast plain was completely abandoned, replaced by corn and peanuts, fundamentally changing the rural economic model.

The severity of the bollworm infestation was unimaginable to city dwellers.

Farmers spent day after day catching bollworms and spraying highly toxic pesticides, such as BHC, Deltamethrin, and Bollworm Clear, over and over again.

But the bollworms were relentless, and the infestation continued to spread. The flowers of the cotton plants were eaten before they could bloom, and the cotton bolls were devoured as soon as they formed.

Farmers accumulated huge debts from the agricultural supply stations but could not control the disaster. By August, despair had spread throughout the countryside.

The fragile small-scale farming economy could not withstand such a blow.

Xiao Fei clearly remembered that his impoverished family reached a state of extreme poverty in 1996. They had no money for soy sauce and had to buy salt on credit from the small store.

That year's Spring Festival was the most tragic one in Xiao Fei's memory. The family had no money to buy meat and could not even afford a single meal of dumplings, let alone new clothes.

On New Year's Eve, the family silently gathered around the dinner table, with only a dish of pickles on the table. Each person's bowl contained corn porridge, and the steamed buns in the basket were made of yellow flour.

That night, his parents initially tried to smile, but tears rolled down their cheeks when they turned away.

Everyone in the family shed tears.

Even so, the family did not let Xiao Fei drop out of school but gritted their teeth and let him retake the exams. In 1997, Xiao Fei was admitted to college, and his tuition was a loan from the bank.

This debt was only paid off after he graduated.

The past tragedies were vivid in his mind.

Was he going to repeat them?

No, absolutely not!

Thinking of this, Xiao Fei's heart grew heavier. He had to act quickly and change this miserable fate.

The town was fifty miles from his village, and it took Xiao Fei more than an hour to reach the village entrance.

The first thing he saw was the high, undulating hills that extended from the east of the village to the south, surrounding most of the village.

To enter the village, one had to pass through a narrow valley entrance, only about two meters wide.

Looking at the green fields and the familiar faces of the villagers working in the fields, Xiao Fei suddenly felt a mix of emotions as he approached his hometown.

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