It was the height of summer, and the sun beat down mercilessly from above. Ning Shixuan wore denim cutoffs below and a slightly tight princess-sleeved T-shirt above, which accentuated her full figure. In one hand, she carried a small, bright pink floral handbag; in the other, a sun umbrella.

“Let’s go, what are you staring at? Is there a flower on my face?” Ning Shixuan waved at me.

We went to retrieve our bicycles from the government compound’s shed. I told her, “I didn’t expect you to be so beautiful. Be careful, I might sell you off to some old bachelor down the road to be his wife.”

Ning Shixuan playfully hit me with her handbag. “Stop it, you! How can you be so good at sweet-talking girls? Even my boyfriend has never called me beautiful.”

I got on the bike, steadying myself by putting one foot on the ground. “Little Ning, you must be from a big city too. Why choose this path? You know perfectly well how absurdly low the wages and the environment are here.”

Ning Shixuan hopped onto the carrier rack behind me, naturally looping one arm around my waist. “Let’s go. Some things, I’d rather not bring up.”

This made it awkward for me to press further, so I silently started pedaling according to her direction.

Ning Shixuan opened the sun umbrella, perfectly shielding both of us beneath it, while her other hand remained fixed on my waist. Honestly, anyone looking at us would surely mistake us for a young couple.

“My aunt married far away to Liangshan. She’s childless, and I have an older sister and an older brother back home. That’s why I came here,” Ning Shixuan told me only after we had left the government gates for quite some time.

I knew this reason wasn't enough to explain her decision to come to Liangshan, but I didn't want to pry, so I just laughed. “So you’re here to look after your aunt. Wait a few years, find a son-in-law to live with her, and your aunt will be blessed.”

Ning Shixuan gave my waist a sharp pinch. “Stop it! Why are you talking just like my aunt? I have a boyfriend! He certainly won’t become a live-in son-in-law!”

I deliberately sighed. “Ah, in that case, after you marry, you two will have to live apart. That makes it easy for someone like me to slip in. Back in university, I was an absolute master at pursuing beautiful women.”

Ning Shixuan pulled the sun umbrella away from my head. “I’ll let the sun bake you until you’re dried up like a salted fish, then we’ll see how sharp your tongue is! A master at chasing beauties? How many have you chased? Are they chasing you too hard now, forcing you to hide out in this mountain hole to escape romantic debts? Be careful, if they track you down here, you’ll be in deep trouble.”

“A little over a dozen. They are indeed chasing hard, but they probably won’t chase me all the way to Liangshan; we had an agreement.”

Ning Shixuan chuckled behind me. “Keep bragging. Spreading tall tales won’t land you in jail. It’ll just pass the time; consider it you telling me jokes.”

We went along, laughing and joking, passing over six ridges, through seven villages, and across eight cornfields until we finally reached the edge of the stream in Xiamaguan Village—a truly scenic spot. The mountains and water were beautiful, everything lush and green, and the air was filled with the fresh scent of grass. Though the heat made us sweat profusely, the sight of the landscape was invigorating.

Xiamaguan was actually a small stream at the foot of the mountain. Following it up, we found a large pool of water. The water in the pool was clear and still, barely rippling, and intensely cold. I truly wanted to strip down and jump in for a refreshing bath. Further up from the pool was the spring source, bubbling and gurgling, with a very strong flow; without it, there wouldn't be such a ceaseless stream.

Ning Shixuan ran to the spring, cupped her hands, and took a few sips. “So cool! So sweet! I love it here. It would be wonderful to build a small house by the spring and live here in the future.”

I filled the bottles I brought with water. “What’s so hard about that? I’ll help you weave one out of grass later. Don’t leave tonight; if you’re scared, I can stay and keep you company.”

Ning Shixuan abruptly splashed the pool water at me, soaking my hair completely. Not to be outdone, I grabbed a large handful of water and flung it onto her. Splash! This was serious; Ning Shixuan was soaked from face to chest. Her already tight bust became even tighter and sheer, the shape of her bra clearly visible underneath. However, Ning Shixuan hadn’t noticed her own exposed moment and instead cupped water in her hands to retaliate. I had no choice but to flee in disarray; if this continued, we’d end up sharing a bath.

Ning Shixuan, chasing after me, probably realized the state of her front. She stopped abruptly and shouted, “Hooligan! Stop right there so I can dunk you in the pool until you drink your fill!”

Splash, splash—two water buckets, full of water, were then balanced on the shoulders of a figure. This silhouette was incredibly familiar. Wasn’t this the person I saw earlier, picking up vegetable scraps behind the government compound’s market in the evening? Her long hair still obscured her face, and her clothes were ragged, but her figure was graceful and pleasing, giving a very comfortable impression; she would be magnificent if she were dancing.

Ning Shixuan walked up to me, hugging her chest. “What are you looking at? Do you know her?”

I shook my head, watching the somewhat slender figure climb toward the ridge. “If I don’t know her, why would she be carrying water up the mountain?”

Ning Shixuan explained, “The mountains ahead get higher, and there are a few more natural villages up there. Their only source of water is this Xiamaguan spring. You can tell by the hard path worn down by the people carrying water.”

I asked, “Why don’t they move down? If getting water up there is so difficult, why stay up there to suffer?”

Ning Shixuan replied, “Move down? It’s not that simple. Haven’t you noticed how concentrated the villages are as we walked? Although water isn't scarce at the base, the per capita land availability is extremely limited. If everyone moved down, where would they live?”

I asked in confusion, “Then how do they irrigate the fields up on the mountain if there’s no water?”

“By carrying it!”

The two of us sat by the pool chatting. Before long, that woman (I couldn't discern her age or features, so I could only call her a woman) came back down, carrying two full buckets on her shoulders again, heading back up the mountain. It seemed she really was carrying water to irrigate the fields. Heavens, it was more backward than six thousand years ago.

No wonder she was leaning over to rub her back when picking up vegetable scraps in the evening; it was from the exhaustion of carrying water to water the fields during the day. Pity. Watching that frail figure struggle up the ridge, I couldn't help but exclaim, “Comrade, this is a heavy responsibility entrusted to us by the Party and the people! We must resolve this arduous situation!”

Ning Shixuan suddenly borrowed a line from A Chinese Odyssey: “Wifey, hurry up and come out to see God with the Bull Demon King!”

With a thud, I landed on the ground. This woman really knew how to mock me. Ning Shixuan kept laughing. “Zhao Qian, you are hilarious. It’s like you’re the Chairman of the State! Fine, I’ll watch how you live up to the trust of the Party and the people and change the backward face of Liangshan, hehehe…”

Just you wait. My purpose for coming here is to accomplish something earth-shattering; otherwise, sleeping rough last night would have been for nothing! Watching the figure struggling up the steepest part of the ridge, I made a silent vow.

Suddenly, the woman carrying water on the ridge slipped. Her two buckets flew up, and then her body began to roll downward. Not far off was a deep, unseen ravine. I guessed that people rolling down from the mountain wouldn’t know how to make a turn, meaning she was about to fall into the gully!