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Qiu Decai put in a great deal of effort. Beyond the first load he had taken from Cai Zhongsheng’s shoulders, he made three more trips to empty the entire pit, spreading all the waste across the vegetable garden.

When he returned after the second trip, Cai Zhongsheng saw him drenched in sweat as he passed the back door. She went inside and brought out a towel for him to wipe his face. Seeing that the towel was pristine and decorated with a pretty pink peach pattern, Qiu Decai waved his hand and pushed it away, saying, "Such a nice towel—don't get it dirty! No, no, I don't need it!" He then wiped his forehead with his own sleeve, drying the beads of sweat in one motion.

Cai Zhongsheng did not pull the towel back. Instead, she moved it to follow his gaze and said earnestly, "Take it, Brother Qiu. Isn't a towel meant to be used?"

Unable to refuse further, Qiu Decai took the towel. It felt soft and comfortable in his hands, which stirred an inner excitement. He thought to himself: *If I were to grab Cai Zhongsheng’s hand, it would surely feel even softer and more pleasant than this towel.*

But he restrained himself. Given that his hands were dirty, he felt he couldn't just reach out and touch her so abruptly. It wasn't that he couldn't, but he couldn't bring himself to do it just yet; one shouldn't be impatient. He had to wait until the time was ripe. He didn't just want a fleeting touch; he wanted to savor the experience properly. He felt certain the opportunity would come. But before getting close to her, he decided, he must first make sure he was clean himself.

Cai Zhongsheng noticed that Qiu Decai hadn't used the towel to wipe his sweat. Instead, he stared at it with wide eyes as if it were a treasure, before folding it into a square and tucking it into his waistband. She suddenly felt as though he had treated the towel like a token of affection. Caught between excitement and fear, she stammered, "Brother Qiu, that towel is for you to use," her voice trembling unnaturally.

Qiu Decai looked up and said, "I will use it." He nodded to her, as if acknowledging the gesture, and went off with his carrying pole again.

By the time Qiu Decai returned from the third trip and stepped out of the latrine, Cai Zhongsheng had nearly finished cooking. She had prepared a rich meal—there was meat in the pot, wine in the bottle, and peanuts in the bowl, all waiting for Qiu Decai to return so she could set the table.

However, a long time passed, and Qiu Decai did not appear. Outside, the sun beat down on the trees in front of the house, their shadows shrinking until they merged with the trunks—a sign that it was high noon.

*Why hasn't he returned from the vegetable garden with the buckets?* Wondering, Cai Zhongsheng stepped out the back door to take a look. Because the bamboo grove behind the house acted as a screen, she couldn't see the vegetable garden at the foot of the hill, which required turning a corner to reach.

After stepping out, she couldn't help but peek into the latrine. Seeing that the pit had been cleared, she felt a surge of gratitude toward Qiu Decai, feeling that he was more willing to endure hardship than her own husband, Wu Zidan. If it were Wu Zidan, she thought, he would have quit after two loads at most.

Cai Zhongsheng left the latrine and went back inside through the back door. She picked up her baby, Wu Ying, who had woken up in the cradle; fortunately, the child hadn't cried or wet herself. She carried Wu Ying out through the front door to relieve her. As she held the child over a small trench, the baby didn't urinate, but instead passed a watery stool with a sudden sound.

After cleaning the baby, Cai Zhongsheng carried her out through the back door again. She circled the bamboo grove, stepped onto the dirt path, and turned the corner, standing there to look toward their garden at the foot of the hill, but there was no sign of him.

*Where did he go?* Cai Zhongsheng turned back to check if he had returned to his own home. After walking a few steps, she turned again to look toward the garden, hoping Qiu Decai would suddenly emerge from the woods above it. Still, there was nothing. She scanned the distant woods several times, but found only trees.

She had to return. As she neared the back door, she felt the urge to relieve herself again. She quickly took the baby back inside and placed her in the cradle. The child was awake and began to cry when left alone. A little crying wouldn't hurt, so Cai Zhongsheng hurried to the latrine. As she crouched down, she noticed the two empty buckets sitting against the wall, along with the ladle, all washed clean with damp spots still visible. This meant he had been there before she had come out with the baby to look for him. Why hadn't he called out to her?

He should have come inside to sit with her for a while! Dinner was almost ready. Had he gone home?

Puzzled, Cai Zhongsheng tightened her belt, left the latrine, and went inside to pick up the crying baby. She walked through the front door and headed straight for Qiu Decai’s house.

When she arrived, the front door was closed, but she heard sounds inside—the sound of splashing water.

"Brother Qiu," Cai Zhongsheng called out, "you promised to eat lunch at my place. Why did you leave the buckets in my latrine and just walk off?"

"Oh, I'm just bathing! I'll be there as soon as I'm done," Qiu Decai’s voice came from inside.

Cai Zhongsheng suddenly realized—he had been hauling waste all morning, drenched in sweat and filthy; he certainly needed a bath, or he would be quite pungent. "I'll wait for you at my place then," she called out to the door. "Hurry over."

Cai Zhongsheng went back home and sat in the main room to nurse the baby. After the baby had her fill and drifted off to sleep, Qiu Decai finally arrived.

Cai Zhongsheng’s neck flushed red. Feeling slightly embarrassed, she glanced at him and said, "Brother Qiu, have a seat."

Qiu Decai didn't sit immediately. Instead, he looked down at his clean blue shirt, inspecting it from top to bottom—the collar, the cuffs, and the neatly fastened buttons. He looked clean and sharp. He raised his head, looked at Cai Zhongsheng, who was gently tucking the baby into the cradle, and smiled. Pointing to her blouse, he said, "Zhongsheng, look down."

Cai Zhongsheng looked at her blouse and realized one of her buttons was misaligned. She gave