A Life for a Life: A Touching Love Story from a QQ Log
“Help! Help! Is anyone there?”
Liang Xiaoqing struggled desperately. A swarm of dark, glossy hornets, their tails gleaming with bright yellow rings, surrounded her. The urgent buzzing of their wings filled the air, leaving her terrified. She hurriedly removed her bamboo hat to drive them away, but there were simply too many, at least five or six hundred. One hornet broke through her defense, delivering a piercing sting to her neck. The excruciating pain made her panic and run.
Ahead lay a dense cornfield, with corn as tall as a grown man. The large corn cobs had tasseled, and the fine, curly corn silk looked like a goat’s disheveled beard. In her haste, Liang Xiaoqing didn’t notice the uneven ground and tripped over a small protruding stone. She fell, and the swarm of hornets launched a frenzied attack on her exposed head, neck, and hands.
The sharp, stabbing pains rained down on her skin, the stings swelling and reddening instantly into thumb-sized bumps. Liang Xiaoqing thought, “This is it. These venomous hornets will sting me to death.”
Despair overwhelmed her. Her heart sank as fear flooded in. Suddenly, a dark blue coat fell from above, covering her exposed head. Strong hands lifted her from the dusty ground and slung her over a shoulder. Her rescuer ran desperately forward. Xiaoqing held onto the coat with one hand and clung to the stranger with the other, bouncing up and down with his strides. The places where the hornets had stung her itched unbearably, each wave of pain more intense than the last.
After running for nearly half an hour, the stranger’s pace slowed, and the terrifying buzzing gradually faded. The sounds of street vendors, bicycle bells, mooing cows, and children laughing filled Xiaoqing’s ears. The strong hands gently placed her on a soft bed. When the coat was removed from her head, bright light made her swollen eyes ache. She tried to open her eyes, but it was difficult.
Slowly adjusting to the light, she squinted and saw a plain, honest face. He had dark skin, a straight nose, and clear eyes like bright lamps. His thin lips had a touch of red, handsome but not ostentatious, delicate but not effeminate. Xiaoqing’s heart skipped a beat as she looked at his face, momentarily forgetting her pain.
A middle-aged doctor in a white coat and gold-rimmed glasses approached, gently lifting Xiaoqing’s eyelids and pressing the hornet stings. He called for a nurse to bring ammonia water. The nurse carefully removed the stingers from Xiaoqing’s skin and applied the ammonia to the wounds. Then, she used small cupping glasses to extract the venom.
After a long process, they finally finished treating her wounds, applied a special herbal ointment, and moved Xiaoqing to a bright hospital room to rest. She felt much better after the treatment, though her wounds still ached, and her face was covered with thumb-sized lumps. The initial panic of the hornet attack had subsided, replaced by a calm sense of peace.
The young man stood awkwardly by her bed, looking shy and bashful. Xiaoqing, her eyes still swollen, smiled at him and said, “Thank you for saving me today. I don’t even know your name. I’m Liang Xiaoqing, a member of the production team. What should I call you?”
The young man shyly looked at the floor and whispered, “I’m Zhang Guojun. The villagers call me Junwa. You can call me that too.” Xiaoqing smiled and said, “Thank you, Junwa. I’m sorry, I can’t speak Sichuan dialect well. I’ll call you Xiaojun.” Zhang Guojun scratched his head and replied, “That’s fine, that’s fine!”
As they chatted, a girl with two braids, wearing a white shirt and wide army green pants, rushed in. She had a fair face and smiling almond-shaped eyes. She sat by Xiaoqing’s bed and began to cry, saying, “Xiaoqing, what happened to your face? After finishing farm work, I couldn’t find you. A villager said you were carried to town by a young man. I asked around and found you at the hospital.
What happened? I was so worried!” Xiaoqing took her friend Tang Jiarou’s hand and said, “It’s nothing. I accidentally disturbed a hornet’s nest while working. Luckily, this comrade helped me, or I’d be seriously injured.” Jiarou wiped her tears and thanked Zhang Guojun, saying, “Thank you so much. Xiaoqing is my best friend. I don’t want to see her hurt. Thank you.” Then she turned to Xiaoqing, complaining about their hard life in the countryside.
Xiaoqing comforted her, quoting Pushkin, “If life deceives you, don’t be sad or anxious. Calm down during difficult days. Believe, happy days will come. The heart yearns for the future, while the present is often sad. Everything passes, and what has passed will become dear memories.”
Embracing each other, they cried, remembering the simple courtyards, the grand Tiananmen Square, their gray-haired parents, and the sweet sugar-coated haws, as if their tears could take them back home.
Xiaoqing slowly recovered over a week. During her illness, Jiarou visited daily, bringing wildflowers or ripe pears. Zhang Guojun often brought boiled corn, hot sweet potatoes, shelled peanuts, and other treats when Jiarou was busy. His shy face always brightened Xiaoqing’s mood.
As time passed, Xiaoqing’s swollen face healed, revealing her fair, delicate features. Zhang Guojun had never seen such a beautiful girl. He was deeply captivated by her, feeling it was worth giving everything for her.
After her discharge, Xiaoqing rejoined the farm work, now more manageable with Zhang Guojun’s help. However, rumors spread about their relationship, causing Xiaoqing much distress. Fortunately, the Cultural Revolution ended three years after she arrived. Many sent-down youth, including Xiaoqing and Jiarou, were called back home. Jiarou was ecstatic, like a joyful bird, but Xiaoqing was reluctant to leave. She had grown deeply attached to Zhang Guojun over the years.
On the day of departure, Jiarou scolded Xiaoqing for giving up the chance to return to Beijing, choosing to stay in the countryside. Tearfully, she said, “Xiaoqing, take care of yourself after I leave.” Turning to Zhang Guojun, she warned, “You better treat her well, or I’ll come after you.” Xiaoqing assured Jiarou, asking her to visit her parents and tell them she was doing well.
As the train departed, Xiaoqing felt a mix of emotions. She adjusted her wind-tossed hair, tears streaming down her face. A warm hand embraced her, filling her with warmth and dispelling the sadness of parting.
Liang Xiaoqing became a forest ranger in the small town, staying with her husband Zhang Guojun for eighteen years. Together, they planted thousands of pine trees, now standing tall, and raised a beautiful daughter.
Sometimes, while resting on a hillside, Xiaoqing wondered if she would have been in bustling Beijing if not for the hornet attack. But as the mountain wind blew through her gray hair, she looked at the passing hornets and whispered, “Thank you.”
Thank you for reading! ” Sitestorys “
