Love in the production team

Author: He Yuru
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2000-01-01
Features: Thinking of the team leader and her mother, Shi Xiaoyi suddenly felt she could be completely proud of herself. What did they know? And she, Shi Xiaoyi, knew everything. Even if the team leader was the main character in the matter, Chen Xiyun's narration to outsiders was completely unknown to him. How could he have expected that a girl he would never see in his eyes would know his past so well. Therefore, Shi Xiaoyi almost looked down upon her mother and said: "I won't do it, and you're not allowed to help him."
Mother, while folding the quilt, looked at Shi Xiaoyi and then said to the sister-in-law, "This child is crazy. Don't pay attention to her. She won't take you to the team leader." The sister-in-law agreed and picked up the quilt to leave. However, Shi Xiaoyi blocked the door step by step, silently watching her sister-in-law. The sister-in-law said, "Sister, what are you doing?" Mother also shouted, "Xiaoyi, get out of the way, or you'll get beaten!" Shi Xiaoyi remained motionless and even laughed in her heart, "You think I'm a child, then I'll be a child for once. See what you can do."
The sister-in-law said, "Xiaoyi, I've let you down again and again. Don't go too far." Shi Xiaoyi asked, "What do you want?" The sister-in-law said, "I want you to get out of the way." Shi Xiaoyi said, "If I don't get out, what then?" The sister-in-law didn't speak and was about to push Shi Xiaoyi when Mother suddenly shouted, "Shuzhen, don't bother her. Watch me." Before the words were finished, a broom was thrown over. Shi Xiaoyi faced her mother, looked straight at her, and quickly dodged, causing the broom to fly past her sister-in-law's shoulder.
Shi Xiaoyi saw her mother also coming over angrily and turned to run outside. She knew her mother's temper—when she was truly angry, she would really hit her. Mother chased Shi Xiaoyi all the way out of the yard, while the sister-in-law walked past Shi Xiaoyi triumphantly with the quilt. By then, the rain had stopped, and the street was filled with people who had been bored at home. Some asked the sister-in-law, who was holding the quilt, where they were going. The sister-in-law smiled and said, "To the team leader's house." When asked why, the sister-in-law glanced at the quilt and said, "Why ask?"
People laughed and said, "So you're going to sleep with the team leader." The sister-in-law didn't argue and walked away smiling. She had this kind of skill—smiling could defend against everything, making people often get lost in jokes with her and forget the rest. Shi Xiaoyi stood alone in the laughter, thinking, "She couldn't fit in at home, and now she wouldn't fit in on the street either." At that moment, a woman holding a child asked Shi Xiaoyi, "Why are you following behind them when they're going to sleep with the team leader?" People laughed even more openly, and even the child "wah-wahed," unsure whether it was laughing or crying.
Shi Xiaoyi blushed for a while and then quickly stepped in front of the sister-in-law, saying, "You must go back. You can't go." The sister-in-law was surprised to see Shi Xiaoyi block her in front of everyone. She said, "This is different from at home. Don't be childish." Shi Xiaoyi said, "I'm not being childish. You can't go today." The sister-in-law paused for a moment and then said to everyone, "You see, sister is really serious." People laughed and said, "Xiaoyi, Xiaoyi, your brother won't even help his sister, what can you do? Xiaoyi, just get out of the way. If you don't, the team leader won't spare you."
Shi Xiaoyi was still red-faced but refused to move. She said to the sister-in-law, "You must go, then give me the quilt." People laughed even more and said, "This child, how can you sleep without a quilt?" In the laughter, the sister-in-law lowered her voice and said, "This time, I won't let you. You've listened to Chen Xiyun's nonsense and are stubbornly determined to be with her. You're truly foolish." Shi Xiaoyi was angry and frustrated, tears welling in her eyes, but didn't know how to respond. She thought, "In everyone's eyes, she, Shi Xiaoyi, might be the most foolish person." She watched the sister-in-law walk past her, tears in her eyes, and had no more courage to stop her in front of everyone.
Shi Xiaoyi returned home with a sense of failure. Her mother was already making the second quilt, with cotton filling the entire bed and cotton fibers scattered on the table and floor. Shi Xiaoyi couldn't stay in the room and had nowhere else to go, so she sat under the wall, burying her head in her arms and crying softly. Mother seemed reluctant to leave the neatly folded cotton, so she kept shouting inside, "Cry, cry, when will Xiaoyi grow up?"
Chapter 2
That rainy day left a deep impression on Shi Xiaoyi. Chen Xiyun's narration and her failure at home made her restless for many days. She felt she should have a new beginning, though it was still unclear, but her old life must have come to an end because she no longer wanted to live like this. She shared this thought with Chen Xiyun, who replied without hesitation, "Come to my house. Your new beginning must be at my house."
Shi Xiaoyi looked at Chen Xiyun, wondering if she was serious or just joking. At that moment, they were walking to work together, with a group of men and women behind them making crude jokes, and sometimes the laughter of a woman would echo. Chen Xiyun tightly held Shi Xiaoyi's hand and kept talking to her, immediately taking over whenever Shi Xiaoyi paused, as if fighting against the laughter behind them. Chen Xiyun's words came out amidst the constant talking, making Shi Xiaoyi feel unreliable. By the time they finished work, Shi Xiaoyi had almost forgotten what she said. However, Chen Xiyun suddenly brought it up again, "Shi Xiaoyi, when will you come to my house?"
Shi Xiaoyi looked at Chen Xiyun in surprise and said, "Any time is fine." Chen Xiyun said, "Then tomorrow. I'll tidy up today, and you can move in tomorrow." Shi Xiaoyi asked if Chen Xiyun's parents would object. Chen Xiyun said, "They'd love to be close to the Shi family, even if they object, I can handle them." Shi Xiaoyi asked about her brother and sister-in-law. Chen Xiyun said, "They object? They dare?" After work, they didn't even eat and ran to the small shop to buy pots, pans, and utensils. Shi Xiaoyi initially refused, saying she would only sleep with Chen Xiyun and eat at her own home. Chen Xiyun wouldn't accept it, saying, "That's no new beginning."
Shi Xiaoyi looked at Chen Xiyun's dark face, a row of white teeth occasionally visible in the darkness, and suddenly noticed her charm. The next day, Shi Xiaoyi really moved to Chen Xiyun's house. She naturally faced resistance from the family, as no other girl had ever done so, and Chen Xiyun was disliked by everyone. Her brother even stole from the team. But Shi Xiaoyi insisted, saying, "If you can stop doing cotton work in the house, I'll move in." Mother and sister-in-law didn't say anything more. They couldn't stop doing cotton work, as giving up would mean helping no one, and without praise, they couldn't adapt. Compared to Shi Xiaoyi's situation, it seemed trivial. As for her father and brother, they always listened to Mother and sister-in-law, so when they agreed, they no longer opposed. Brother Da Ming even joked, "You're moving in to help Chen Xiyun, and Chen Xiuyu will move in to help me." Sister-in-law said, "Who knows who will help whom," and Da Ming didn't dare say anything more.
Shi Xiaoyi knew her brother was thinking of playing chess with Chen Xiuyu, but sister-in-law didn't like them being together, so he couldn't provoke her. Father still remembered Chen Xiuyu stealing peanuts and said, "Ignore everyone except your sister. At least she doesn't steal."
Whatever the case, Shi Xiaoyi had taken the first step away from home. Though she couldn't be sure if she and Chen Xiyun would stay friends, it was at least a change, and this change alone was enough to make her happy.