That evening, after finishing my pumpkin soup and pickles, I stood bored atop the pile of furnace slag, watching the ebb and flow of people in the marketplace outside. I had to admit, the foot traffic in the late afternoon was substantial, the cries of vendors rising and falling in a chorus. As I watched, I began plotting where I might start stirring up some trouble. Keeping up this newspaper delivery route day in and day out, I’d go mad eventually. Who knew how many years it would take to pass my wife Li Qi’s test and get back to the capital city under these circumstances.

Before I knew it, the crowd in the market began to thin out because darkness had fallen. Business was done, and everyone was packing up to go home for supper. A frail figure was bent over on the ground, seemingly picking something up. At first, I thought she was part of the clean-up crew, but as she approached my location, I realized with a shock—she was gathering discarded, rotten vegetable leaves from the vendors!

This sight immediately evoked pity in me, prompting me to look closer. Her slender frame and a mass of disheveled, long hair confirmed she was a woman, but her age and facial features were hidden by the strands. She carried a basket and meticulously wiped the dirt and sand off the wilted leaves before putting them inside. Since she had been bent over for some time, she eventually seemed unable to bear it any longer, straightened up, rubbed her aching back, and began coughing incessantly.

Suddenly, my eyes welled up, and I couldn't bear to watch another second. I jumped down from the slag pile and turned back toward my dormitory. While I griped daily about the steamed buns and the endless pumpkin soup, at least I didn't have to forage for scraps on the ground. Seeing her clothes and demeanor, I knew she wasn't collecting those leaves to feed pigs or chickens; they were most likely for her own consumption. How could Liangshan County be this backward!

“Little Zhao, come have some watermelon with us.” Before I even reached my own door, my neighbor from two doors down, Ning Shixuan, called out to me.

I was in no mood and called back, “Just ate, I’m full. Not eating, I want to get to sleep early.”

Ning Shixuan wasn't one to take no for an answer. She rushed over in two strides and pulled me into her room. “The day after tomorrow is a day off, what are you sleeping for? Come on, we’ll all chat together. It’s this hot, how could you possibly sleep anyway.”

To be honest, this was my first time entering Ning Shixuan’s room. I had worried that being alone together might create an awkwardness, but upon entering, I discovered another colleague already there—not Shixuan’s boyfriend, but Secretary Liu, who lived directly across the hall. This fellow had been promoted a few days ago, handpicked by Secretary Ma to be his primary secretary. It seemed the prospects for college graduates were indeed limitless.

Though Secretary Liu and I lived across from each other, we didn’t interact much. However, since I delivered newspapers and magazines to various offices daily, we were somewhat familiar. Secretary Liu was usually quiet but carried himself with a sharp energy, and his attire was noticeably sharper than mine. I did possess several very high-end outfits, bought for me by my wife’s family for dinners there, but given that I was here for "grassroots training," carrying them was inconvenient. Thus, we appeared to belong to different strata.

Secretary Liu smiled at me. “A friend brought me two watermelons today. I can’t eat them all myself, so I brought one over for Little Ning.”

Ah, just promoted to the second floor as a secretary and already receiving ‘gifts’—truly enviable. As we exchanged pleasantries, Ning Shixuan pulled in another colleague: Zhang Fengzhen, a staff member from the County Economic Commission office, who lived next door to Secretary Liu. He was the oldest of the four of us, at twenty-nine, still unmarried and without a girlfriend. It wasn't that he couldn’t find one; it was that those who liked him weren't his type, and the ones he liked didn't reciprocate. However, his temperament was far more easygoing than Secretary Liu’s. When I delivered papers to his office, he always liked to joke with me.

After bringing him in, Ning Shixuan turned to Secretary Liu. “Secretary Liu, you don’t mind me using your watermelon to build goodwill, do you?”

Secretary Liu waved his hand. “Not at all, not at all. Although we are neighbors across the hall, we’ve never actually sat down to chat. Today is a perfect opportunity. Come on, let’s slice this watermelon. My friend said it’s sandy-textured; let’s see if it is.”

Ning Shixuan’s room felt quite nice. Not only was everything tidy and organized, but there was also a faint, delicate fragrance in the air. Although her room, like mine, was on the north side of the corridor and never saw the sun, it lacked the mustiness of my own quarters. The faded walls had been entirely covered with wallpaper, making the room look even more splendid than the offices on the first floor.

I noticed Secretary Liu’s eyes kept darting toward Ning Shixuan from time to time, or perhaps he would pretend to be casual while glancing at her bed and the undergarments placed discreetly out of the way. Could Secretary Liu possibly be interested in Ning Shixuan?

The watermelon was indeed juicy, sweet, and sandy-fleshed. After a couple of bites, Zhang Fengzhen from the Economic Commission opened up the conversation. “Little Zhao, what made you think of coming to this desolate place where neither birds nest nor rats burrow? If you worked in any company in the capital, your salary would be several times higher than here.”

Although we were all civil servants, Liangshan County was extremely poor; the combined monthly salary for a civil servant barely scraped a thousand yuan. Zhang Fengzhen was correct; any company in the capital would offer three or four times that amount.

“I know,” Ning Shixuan interjected while eating watermelon, snatching a piece, “He must be here to gain experience. His parents are high-ranking officials; they’ll transfer him back before long.”

I shook my head. “It’s true I wanted to gain some stature here, but my father is just an ordinary worker guarding construction materials at a site, and my mother doesn't even work; she just cooks and cleans at home every day.”

Secretary Liu looked puzzled. “If that’s the case, why choose here? In Da Long Country, apart from Xinjiang and Tibet, this is probably the toughest posting. I had no choice; I got into a third-rate university and studied for four years in the provincial capital. While the wages there might be slightly higher, it’s more comfortable living in Liangshan County than exhausting myself there for two thousand.”

This wasn't untrue. Earning a thousand yuan here was preferable to breaking my back for two thousand in the provincial capital. Besides, as long as you have connections, government departments don't leave people starving, do they? Didn't he just get promoted and immediately receive watermelon? Who knows what else he might receive in a few days.

Zhang Fengzhen started on his second slice of watermelon. “Kid, you aren't gaining stature; you’ve suffered a heartbreak, haven’t you? Seeing your perpetual gloom, you were probably dumped by your girlfriend. So, in a fit of despair, you took the civil service exam and came to this primitive society to indulge yourself.”

If I told them I was here to lead them out of the darkness, they’d surely laugh at me, so I simply smiled, tacitly accepting this excuse.

“Little Ning, Little Ning, what are you thinking about?” Secretary Liu suddenly asked. I looked up and saw that Ning Shixuan’s eyes were vacant, a piece of watermelon stuck between her lips, and she was silent, appearing weighed down by endless worries.

“Nothing, nothing, everyone eat more, don’t waste it.” Startled by Secretary Liu’s interruption, Ning Shixuan instantly reverted to her usual bright demeanor.

Zhang Fengzhen spoke bluntly to Ning Shixuan. “Little Ning, you’re always saying you have a boyfriend, but we’ve never seen him write you a letter or even call. Are you fooling us? If you don't have a boyfriend, consider one of us brothers. Look at me, or Little Zhao, or Little Liu.”

When Zhang Fengzhen mentioned ‘and Little Liu,’ Secretary Liu’s face clearly lit up with anticipation, and his eyes shone as he looked at Ning Shixuan. But Ning Shixuan just offered a faint smile. “You are all far below him. He is very busy right now. You’ll meet him if there’s a chance in the future.”

Zhang Fengzhen was the type of man’s man; he completely failed to notice the shift in expression on the faces of Secretary Liu and Ning Shixuan. He put down his watermelon and slapped his thigh. “Today, I took a trip to the countryside and brought back a whole bucket of water from Xiamaguan Spring. Everyone go back and get your canteens; I’ll share some with you.”