At half past nine in the evening, Yu Cheng paced back and forth at the village entrance, the light from his phone screen flickering on and off.
Zhong Shao arrived at the village entrance, bringing what Yu Cheng had instructed via WeChat. The two returned to Huizi's home, where Yu Cheng handed over the brown sugar, hot water bottle, and sanitary pads brought by Zhong Shao to Huizi.
"Help your sister change into clean sanitary pads, soak some brown sugar water, and apply the heated hot water bottle on her stomach." Yu Cheng said.
Huizi's eyes welled up with tears as she received the items from Yu Cheng, expressing her gratitude continuously.
Like many children in the village, Huizi and Zhaodi were left-behind children, with their parents working away from home and only returning once a year for a brief ten-day visit. This limited the time the two children could spend with their parents throughout the whole year.
Growing up without parental care and proper family education, coupled with the challenging learning environment, left the two girls feeling distressed and unsure when facing the normal physical development of growing up.
Thirteen-year-old Zhaodi experienced her first period a year and a half ago, but has only used three sanitary pads since then. In the dusty little shop, there were no feminine hygiene products available, requiring a trip to the town or county to purchase sanitary pads. Huizi pursed her lips and said to the camera, "A pack of sanitary pads in the county costs more than a month's worth of steamed buns."
The three sanitary pads Zhaodi used were purchased by Huizi from a mobile vendor selling loose sanitary pads for three yuan for six pieces. Huizi had only encountered such a deal once. Otherwise, they resorted to using the lowest quality toilet paper and homemade sanitary pads.
The lack of education and pressure from poverty force the two girls to maintain the most basic dignity as human beings during their periods. Huizi's menstrual cycle is unstable, sometimes coming twice a month, sometimes with several months in between; while Zhaodi, although seemingly regular in her cycle, experiences unpredictable periods and severe menstrual pain every month.
On the way back, no one noticed that Zhaodi's complexion was off until they returned from the pigsty and Huizi's replies to Yu Cheng grew longer and more strained. Unable to bear it any longer, she squatted on the ground, clutching her stomach in pain, and only then did Yucheng realize the girl's lips were pale.
Zhaodi's period came last night, and the pain was unusually severe on the first day, possibly due to the damp and cold weather. Curled up on the wooden bed, trembled with pain.
The produce team dared not give the child painkillers hastily, so they found some ginger, boiled ginger soup, and had Zhong Shao bring some items needed by girls during their periods.
After changing into sanitary pads and drinking ginger tea with brown sugar, Zhaodi finally managed to fall asleep while holding a hot water bottle. Huizi tidied up the remaining items, handed them back to Yu Cheng, feeling somewhat awkward, "Thank you."
"These were bought for you, keep them." In the dim light, Yu Cheng locked eyes with Huizi, "Can you talk to brothers?" Huizi squeezed the plastic bag, glanced at Zhaodi in the room, and said, "OK."
Zhong Shao, an "outsider", was roasting sweet potatoes in the makeshift stove he built in the courtyard. The group of people, bundled up in thick coats, crowded around the small stove, forming a circle.
Yu Cheng brought up the issue from Zhaodi, "Does your sister always endure the pain like this?"
Huizi hugged her knees with her hands, pursing her lips and nodding.
"What about when your mother was around?" the accompanying female director took over.
Huizi's drooping eyelids twitched, leaving only the crackling sound between them. "Mother," these two words were squeezed out difficultly from Huizi's mouth, "Mother's hearts were with my younger brother."
Everyone was stunned, evidently not expecting such a family to still have another child.
A son.
Huizi's father passed away in a car accident when she was a year and a half old. Soon after, her mother remarried.
At that time, she was three or four years old, just when she needed her mother the most. However, her mother was pregnant again. Huizi watched eagerly at her mother's belly, hoping the younger sibling would come out soon to play with her. Later, her sister came into the world, but she was not welcomed by her grandparents, and her mother was also ridiculed. Whenever her grandmother encountered something unpleasant, she would bring up her mother's belly, using vulgar language.
Despite being women themselves, her grandmother's words were full of contempt for her mother's uterus.
When Zhaodi was four months old, she was forcibly weaned, her mother followed her father to work outside, and her grandfather discarded the name "Zhaodi."
It is said that in the village, those who gave birth to daughters were named "Zhaodi(招娣)," hoping for a male child in the next pregnancy to receive blessings and a son from Bodhisattva. Zhaodi, literally,a name for a girl with the wish for a boy.
Three years later, Zhaodi's mother and stepfather had another child, a boy this time. Over the years, Zhaodi's parents only brought her brother back once, during which he disliked the rural environment and they returned to the city early.
During those days, Huizi and Zhaodi realised that their grandparents could smile with the corners of their eyes wrinkling, and saw how the family always put their brother first, holding him in the palm of their hands. They took the only family photo without Huizi and Zhaodi.
Before leaving, Zhaodi's mother secretly gave Huizi ten thousand Yuan, instructing her to hide the money well and not let her grandparents know, as it was saved for her and Zhaodi; she also urged her to study hard and leave this undeveloped area. Along with the money, her mother also gave Huizi a phone number. However, Huizi never dialed it, but she knew that studying was the only thing her mother did not compromise with her grandparents on.
Two girls were left to grow up without guidance, stumbling and supporting each other as they resiliently matured. The hardships of life forced them to mature too early, and facing the awkwardness of adolescence without guidance made the mature girls even more insecure.
Huizi and Zhaodi were both teased by male classmates during their periods, even subjected to malicious ridicule; brainwashed by their grandparents into believing that girls who have their periods can get married and have children, while being scolded for not working hard in the fields, causing Huizi to feel ashamed and want to escape to the mountains every time she had her period.
It wasn't until a year and a half ago when Huizi entered the county school that she first learned about menstruation from the school's bulletin board and gained the most basic understanding of female physiological health at the school's only health forum.
This was the closest Huizi had ever come to learning about female physiological health, apart from biology class.
As the filming progresses, more aspects of "menstrual poverty" and "menstrual shame" are revealed in front of the camera, shedding light on the health challenges faced by lower-class girls and women.
Standing on the top floor of an abandoned school building, Zhong Shao and Yu Cheng each hold a cigarette between their fingertips, overlooking the newly built county high school.
Taking a drag of his cigarette, Yu Cheng blows out smoke rings, "Do you think there might be kids here who also like people of the same gender as themselves?"
"It's hard to say," Zhong Shao's cigarette remains pinched between his fingers as he averts his gaze, "If they do exist, then it is necessary for these children with limited access to information to have a better understanding of physiological knowledge and psychological changes, just like the traditional Chinese character for 'you(妳&你),' which provides a clear direction rather than a vague reference, adding an extra layer of clarity."
Understanding one's sexual desires, acknowledging one's sexual desires, and ultimately affirm one's true sexual orientation.
Turning his head to meet Zhong Shao's gaze, Yu Cheng says, "Zhong Shao, have I ever told you that I feel like I'm falling more and more in love with you?"
Furrowing his brows, Zhong Shao responds, "Feel like?"
With a light chuckle, Yu Cheng leans back against Zhong Shao, their hands intertwined without cigarettes, "Not feel like, I truly am falling in love with you more than I can imagine."
Like drinking water, only you know whether it is cold or warm. "the universe is vast, and so is our love" unfolds its concretizationin Zhong Shao's articulation.
From acting to life and to events "focused on this," Zhong Shao's charismatic personality is both singular and diverse. Under his guidance, Yu Cheng experiences the vastness beyond the details of life, touching upon the life circumstances of various marginalized groups, and uncovering the starting point of the butterfly effect.