Chapter 68 Rival in Love

Jiang Zhizhi was surprised: "A letter of commendation?"

Old Liang nodded: "That's right. This morning, Secretary Dong said he wanted to thank Captain Zhou, and Captain Zhou said that if you wanted to thank him, he would write you a letter of commendation. You don't know the significance of this letter of commendation, do you? Not only will you be rewarded this time, but you will also get two extra pounds of flour every month from now on. It's a fantastic thing."

"Moreover, if you want to become a permanent employee later, this letter of commendation will carry a lot of weight."

Jiang Zhizhi hadn't expected a letter of commendation to have such a significant impact. Only then did she realize that Zhou Xiye had asked for a pen that morning because Secretary Dong was writing a letter of commendation—or rather, hers!

My heart, which had just calmed down, was once again disturbed, as if a small pebble had been thrown in, causing ripples and making it restless again.

Yang Fengmei was overjoyed and looked at Jiang Zhizhi: "This is a great thing! Don't underestimate two pounds of flour, it's enough for you to eat noodles for several meals."

Jiang Zhizhi laughed: "Later, I will give all my monthly food rations to my aunt, and she can make the arrangements."

Yang Fengmei quickly waved her hand: "You can't use that much. Keep some for yourself. These days, you won't panic if you have food in your hands."

...

Jiang Zhizhi has had some free time these past two days, and she often thinks of Zhou Xiye. Her heart is like a tangled ball of yarn that has been messed up by a kitten, all jumbled up and without any clue!

Finally, I decided to cut the Gordian knot and solve the problem at its root, and to have less contact with Zhou Xiye in the future!

Then I started thinking about how I could do something practical for the village. Once I had something important to do, I didn't have time to think about other things.

The next morning, after breakfast, Yang Fengmei urged Liang Dazhuang to change his clothes, then went to call Widow Ma to go out together, and then called Old Man Liang to hitch up the production team's donkey cart.

Yang Fengmei also changed into a navy blue coat that looked relatively new without any patches. She wore a blue checkered headscarf that she usually couldn't bear to wear around her neck. Her face was beaming as she said to Jiang Zhizhi, "Once Dazhuang gets married, my mission with his father will be complete."

Jiang Zhizhi was infected by Yang Fengmei's joy and said with a smile, "That won't do, you still want to hold your grandson."

Yang Fengmei laughed heartily: "I hope Dazhuang's wife will live up to expectations and give me more grandsons."

Jiang Zhizhi listened with a smile and went out with Yang Fengmei.

Liang Dazhuang was in charge of driving the donkey cart. Widow Ma sat next to Liang Dazhuang, while Jiang Zhizhi and Yang Fengmei sat at the back of the cart with their backs to the two of them.

Widow Ma was a lively person by nature, and along the way she kept telling Liang Dazhuang what to pay attention to: "When you get to the woman's house, you have to be generous and sweet-talking, so that your mother-in-law can feel at ease entrusting her daughter to you."

Yang Fengmei smiled and said, "Yes, that's right. You can't go wrong by listening to your aunt. Your aunt used to be an official's wife."

Widow Ma laughed loudly: "Bullshit official's wife, what official's wife can live such a miserable life?"

Jiang Zhizhi heard a little about Widow Ma's background. Her husband was a general in the Nationalist army who abandoned her and went to the other side of the strait.

To make ends meet, Widow Ma told everyone that her husband had died. Later, during the chaotic decade that followed, she handed over everything she could to the authorities to survive. This, coupled with the villagers' generosity, contributed to her survival.

I'll take a symbolic stroll through the streets occasionally, and then just go about my life as usual.

The situation has become much more relaxed in the last two years, so she hasn't suffered too much.

Widow Ma didn't treat them like outsiders. After laughing and scolding them, she sighed, "Speaking of good days, I had a few good days when I first got married. I had people serving me every morning, and every meal was arranged and brought to me. Sometimes I would even complain that the meat wasn't cooked well and have the servants throw it away."

"Look, now you're getting your comeuppance. It's so hard to get a bite of meat these days. If I had known, I would have eaten more back then, and I wouldn't be craving it now, hahaha."

Yang Fengmei laughed and said, "You really don't seem like an official's wife."

Jiang Zhizhi listened to the two chatting with a smile. It was rare for Widow Ma to still have such a cheerful and outgoing personality after experiencing so much.

Looking up, I saw a jeep approaching in the distance.

Yang Fengmei was also curious: "It looks like Captain Zhou's car."

Apart from Zhou Xiye, who often appeared in a jeep, cars were rarely seen. Even Dong Xinguo came from the commune by bicycle.

Jiang Zhizhi felt inexplicably nervous, yet also looked on with a hint of anticipation as the car drew closer. When it came to a closer look, she saw that it was indeed Zhou Xiye driving, but a woman was sitting in the passenger seat.

She was the beautiful woman I met at the hospital that day, the one who was about to cry.

Jiang Zhizhi felt a pang of sadness. As the car drove past the donkey cart, she also noticed the red scarf tied around the beautiful woman's neck, a dazzling and eye-catching red.

So, the red scarf in Zhou Xiye's pocket was a gift for the beautiful woman?

Have they made up?

Jiang Zhizhi's fingers unconsciously fiddled with her pants, her eyes unsure where to look, her heart in turmoil, a bittersweet ache in her heart.

Yang Fengmei waved at the car, and it's unclear whether Zhou Xiye saw it. As the car drove past them and into the distance, she chuckled and said, "It really is Captain Zhou. He must have seen us, right? Is that his wife sitting next to him? She looks quite pretty and they're a perfect match."

Jiang Zhizhi turned around and grinned at Yang Fengmei, thinking to herself, "Auntie, you said before that Zhou Xiye and I were a good match."

Widow Ma didn't get a good look and was quite disappointed: "I just wanted to see what Captain Zhou's wife looks like. Tell me, what woman wouldn't like a man like Captain Zhou? Every time he stands there, he has an air of being the best of the best. That kind of presence is something that most people can't imitate."

Yang Fengmei said with a smile, "That's not necessarily true. Technician Jiang doesn't like someone like Captain Zhou. By the way, Xiao Jiang, what kind of person do you like?"

Jiang Zhizhi was still confused, and upon hearing Yang Fengmei's words, she could only smile and say, "No, I don't want to get married right now."

Widow Ma disagreed: "In this world, it's too hard for a woman to live alone. There still needs to be a man in the house. Otherwise, you'll end up like me, a shrew that no one dares to mess with!"

“In previous years, those shameless people would climb over my wall and knock on my window in the middle of the night, and I chased them out with a kitchen knife.”

Yang Fengmei knew about this: "That's right, you almost killed Liang Mazi that time, and since then, no one has dared to mess with you."

Jiang Zhizhi exclaimed, "Auntie, you're so amazing!"

Widow Ma laughed and said, "If I weren't amazing, how could I have survived? Look at me, I've managed to live like a man, even though I'm a woman."

Then he earnestly advised Jiang Zhizhi: "So you still need to find a powerful man to rely on. I think Company Commander Zhang is really good. Xiao Jiang, you should think about it carefully."

Jiang Zhizhi was both amused and exasperated: "Auntie, I don't want to think about it right now. Let's wait a couple of years. Right now, I just want to help the village solve more of its difficulties."

Widow Ma didn't say much, and started gossiping about the other people in the village.

As Jiang Zhizhi listened, her mind wandered back to Zhou Xiye and the beautiful woman... They did seem quite well-matched!