SIAS Chapter 27.1

After picking up a full basket of dry firewood, Yi Qingqing and Qian Lailai headed home.

Unfortunately, neither of them knew wild vegetables, so even if Yi Qingqing found a wild vegetable bush, she didn’t dare to pick them because she didn’t know which ones were edible and which parts were edible.

Qian Lailai looked at Yi Qingqing’s backpack, which was packed tightly and piled high, and then looked at her own backpack, which was loose and not yet poking out.

She had a deep understanding of Yi Qingqing’s strength.

Yi Qingqing carried this big basket of firewood, but her waist was not bent at all, and she walked with a breeze.

An old lady who went up the mountain to collect firewood: “Oh my God, this Little Comrade Yi* is almost like a grown man. I really can’t tell!”

*Please read the explanation on the below page.

A child who had eaten her candy said: “Can Sister Qingqing split the brick with one palm?”

An adult who just got off work said: “Our team wants this educated youth!”

The old educated youths who came back wiped their sweat and said: “We are all educated youth, why are there such big differences?

After practicing her cooking skills for so long, Yi Qingqing finally started cooking for the first time when she returned to her own nest.

It was just the right time to cook the meat she bought today so that she could get some nutrition for work tomorrow.

Just cook Master Zhu’s specialty, braised pork.

Cut the meat into pieces and put it into the pot. Add the seasonings and cook them slowly in a clay pot. Then steam the rice in the pot.

The aroma of meat could be smelled throughout the entire back alley.

She was not the only one who cooked meat tonight. Li Mengxue also brought back some meat.

The newly educated youths were doing better. Except for Liu Chunxing and Wang Lingling, the others had a good meal when they went out today.

Many of the old educated youth in the front hall swallowed their saliva.

The day’s work was tiring enough, but there was not much oil in the pot when they came back, so they could only eat with the smell of other people’s cooking.

Those with a better mentality could taste the aroma of the meat and the food in their mouths went smoother, while those who were in a bad mood started to gossip.

Wang Lingling and Liu Chunxing cooked together. The stove was set up in the front hall, so they had the most contact with the old educated youths.

Someone immediately asked them about the situation of the newly educated youths.

Liu Chunxing had already resented Yi Qingqing because her plan today failed and she also had to give away some things.

Now she was even more resentful as she was busy cooking alone.

Who made Wang Lingling unable to cook? She even needed someone to teach her how to light a fire.

In order to eliminate Wang Lingling’s suspicion, she had to help her with money and labor.

Now she could only endure the complaints and comfort herself by saying that Wang Lingling would return the money to her when the letter from her family arrived.

Since she couldn’t vent her anger on Wang Lingling, she could only vent it on Yi Qingqing.

She was not as eloquent as Yi Qingqing, so she couldn’t win the argument in person. Now that the person was not here, it was not bad to create some trouble for her.

So whenever someone asked her about it, she would tell them the whole story of borrowing the bicycle today.

“Alas, it was because I was delayed by building a stove in the morning and couldn’t go to the county town. I couldn’t make it in the afternoon, so I asked her to borrow it. I wanted to bring her some brown sugar to thank her when I came back, but she refused before I said anything.”

“She said that I didn’t want to lend Lingling money, so I did this. If I didn’t want to, could I live with Lingling? And didn’t I lend her one yuan to send a letter without saying anything?”

“Fortunately, there is a supply and marketing cooperative in the commune, otherwise, I don’t know what to do today!”

 

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Translator’s Comment:

小亦知青, xiǎo yì zhīqīng:

小, xiǎo: small / tiny / few / young

亦, yì: surname Yi

知青, zhīqīng: educated youth (sent to work in farms during the Cultural Revolution)

Previously, I translated it as little educated youth Yi.

Although what I translated before is not wrong, I decided to change it to Little Comrade Yi.

Because ‘comrade’ is the common address in this era.

I also use ‘Little’, but it can also mean young. But, I think ‘Little’ is more commonly used by older people to address the younger ones.

Btw, 小 (Xiǎo) can also be used to show closeness to the younger one.

For example, in the original text, Aunt Guihua will call Yi Qingqing using 小, but to other educated youth, she does not use it.

 

 

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