Lin Nianhe grabbed Sie Yufei by his clothes and led him away from the crowd, taking him back to the Educated Youth Corps.
Probably frightened by Lin Nianhe, Sie Yufei didn't say a word on the way, nor did he continue to display any suicidal tendencies.
Lin Nianhe didn't speak either. She took him to the backyard, had him sit on the kang bed-stove, and then busied herself in the kitchen for a while, emerging with a plate of fried peanuts and a bottle of Maotai Liquor, which she placed directly on the kang table.
Sie Yufei sat blankly on the edge of the kang, his eyes lifeless.
As Lin Nianhe opened the bottle, she said, "You really are clueless. Do you know that if you had collapsed the warehouse roof today, the entire village would have been up in arms about it? Even without this mess, you held up everyone's work. What do you think Uncle Team Leader will say when he returns?"
Her tone was back to normal, no longer scolding him like a firecracker.
