After hearing this, Xie Tingyu just glanced at it and did not respond.

The man beside him chuckled after hearing this: "Xie Zhiqing, are you still worried about not having water to drink? There are so many people willing to give it to you!"

Before Xie Zhiqing got married, he could not count the number of girls who wanted to date him, either openly or secretly. Bringing him water was nothing, and the most exaggerated was sending him food. Everyone had a fixed amount of food per month, and food coupons were precious. If someone could squeeze out food from his teeth to give to others, he must have a deep affection for them.

It really makes all the bachelors envious and jealous. They are all single and have no partner, but the reality is so cruel. Some die of drought while others die of flood.

Congratulations...Xie Zhiqing finally found a partner. Judging from the signs of the past few days, he has fallen into the same treatment as them, and almost no one brings him water to drink. However, if he has no water to drink, everyone is happy to share some water with him during lunch.

Shen Weimin stroked the newly emerged stubble on his chin with his thumb. The teasing from everyone made him feel as if Xie Tingyu was infiltrating this small mountain village bit by bit and taking root here. This feeling was very subtle.

He said quietly, "Brother Yu, you must remember what you said."

After drinking the water, Xie Tingyu wiped the sweat off his face and continued working.

He said to Shen Weimin: "Yeah."

…

Before the autumn harvest, Ye Qingshui often went to the pond to catch crabs and make money from making crab meat bags. After the busy farming season, the water in the pond was almost dry and there were very few crabs. She had not been to the black market for a while, and her savings were getting less and less. So Ye Qingshui pickled the eggs she bought from the dealer, using her thirteen-spice brine.

After several days of marinating, she opened the lid and picked up the marinated egg with chopsticks. It turned dark brown. When the chopstick tip pierced through it, the yolk was the same color as the skin. This marinated egg was different from the marinated eggs in state-owned restaurants. Ye Qingshui cut the marinated egg into pieces and mixed it with rice. The egg core, which was directly soaked in the marinade, was soft and sticky, and it was as soft as sand. It was fragrant and went well with rice. It left a lingering fragrance on the lips and teeth.

It is also very tasty when eaten with steamed rice. It tastes so delicious.

Ye Qingshui had a hunch that if she continued to sell boiled eggs she would be able to make money.

This kind of pickled food is not easy to spoil, and eggs are much easier to buy than meat. The dealer next door has a constant supply of eggs. She deftly steamed the minced meat with the braised eggs. The meat was bought by Xie Tingyu.

When she was about to stir-fry some vegetables, the old lady appeared from nowhere and said to her with a smile: "Shuiya, someone is here to see you."

A Niang said, "It's rare to have female educated youth come here, and they come to see Shui Ya. Are they your new girlfriends?"

Ye Qingshui shook her head when she heard that. She wiped her hands and popped her head out of the woodshed to take a look. It was those female educated youth.

The female educated youth raised the paper in her hand, pursed her lips and whispered softly, "Comrade Ye, you said some time ago that you welcome me, so we are here today."

She said seriously, "Comrade Ye, you are right. The accomplished ones come first. We cannot judge people by their academic qualifications. We use them to communicate with each other. You should do this well tonight, and we will come again tomorrow."

Ye Qingshui nodded, grabbed it and put it in her pocket without even looking at it. After she sent away the chattering female educated youth, she returned to the woodshed to tinker with her little world.

This detailed action made the female educated youth feel contemptuous.

After dinner, Ye Qingshui thought of this and took out a crumpled piece of white paper from his pocket, frowning:

This group of female educated youth really think highly of her!

She asked Xie Tingyu: "Do you know the person named He Fang?"

Seeing Ye Qingshui crumpling a piece of white paper, Xie Tingyu couldn't help but feel a little curious about the "war" Ye Qingshui received. He knew a little that a female educated youth would come to visit tonight. After all, if it was related to the affairs of scholars, Ye's mother would nag him about even the smallest things. He couldn't help but take a few more glances.

The pale yellow light shone on Ye Qingshui's face. Her long braids had been untied, hanging down to her waist. She had taken off her mask, and her straight nose could be vaguely seen. After reading the white paper, she frowned.

Xie Tingyu couldn't help laughing when he saw that she looked uninterested, just like when she was reciting Chinese texts every day.

"Remember, her father is a diplomat, and her grandparents are translators. Do you want...I can show it to you?"

Ye Qingguo decisively refused, picked up the pen, thought for a while, and wrote on the white paper. Because she had to go to the black market early tomorrow, she wrote for a while, blew out the light, and went to bed early.

At the educated youth point, the female educated youth were having a heated discussion.

"It's such an obscure question that even if we were to write it ourselves, I'm afraid few people would be able to answer it. Of course our He Fang was able to write it. No wonder she was recommended to go to university. She's amazing!"

Someone couldn't help but say: "Aren't you guys making it too difficult for her? How could Comrade Ye have learned that? After all, He Fang has been exposed to it since she was a child..."

“We are helping her to identify herself.”

"That's right. This time we want to help her get rid of her short-sightedness and humbly accept other people's opinions."

Sun Lingyu said: "We know that Ye Qingshui will definitely not be able to write it. If she can apologize, the matter will be over."

…

The next day, Ye Qingshui brought a jar full of braised eggs into the city. The braised eggs were cold, and the flavor would not spread as easily as hot food. Ye Qingshui waited for a while before the guests arrived.

Zhou Ke ran over, took Ye Qingshui's stewed egg with a smile, and sniffed it: "What did sister make this time? It smells so good."

Ye Qingshui asked him to take two home to eat with his meal, and Zhou Ke took half of the boiled eggs and left. Ye Qingshui touched his own eggs, and then looked at the trader next to him who was still selling raw eggs. An idea suddenly occurred to him, and he couldn't help asking him:

"Do you want us to cooperate and sell boiled eggs?"

After hearing what Ye Qingshui said, the dealer became interested and asked, "How do you sell it?"

Ye Qingshui pursed his lips and said, "Sell me the eggs in the future and come to my house again."

The dealer thought of the man's skill in selling such popular buns and blurted out, "Great, great."

"I sell each egg for three cents, and you get one cent."

He choked on the words and started to rant: "Three cents an egg, you dare to think about it!"

No one wants a raw egg for one cent. It's just a braised egg, and two cents is probably too expensive. She just bought one for three cents. Three cents can buy a big meat bun! And she can still eat a lot!

Ye Qingshui said "oh" and didn't force him.

After a while, her regular customers came. Although the eggs were a bit expensive at three cents each, some people were still willing to buy them. Some people ate them right away, mixing them with steamed buns just bought from the state-owned restaurant. As soon as the brown egg skin entered their mouths, the customers were not disappointed.

The fragrant braised flavor conquered his taste buds. He ate with relish and wolfed down both of them!

"Give me ten more, no, I'm done."

So Ye Qingshui's eggs were sold out. Other customers who hesitated and didn't buy because they thought it was too expensive complained: "How can you be so overbearing - what should we do if you buy all the eggs at once?"

The customer said happily, "I'll give you another fifty cents, and give me the jar and the brine in it."

Ye Qingshui looked at the young man who was buying eggs and thought he had good taste. This marinade was the marinade that had conquered Xie Tingyu, and it was the soul of the marinated eggs.

"Big sister, when are you coming next time? Please leave ten for me next time. I've reserved them first!"

"I want five too!"

The egg vendor was once again enlightened by Ye Qingshui's strength. He regretted it, but he never had a chance to get in the conversation. He stared at the eggs at his feet that no one cared about, and felt the coolness of the bench that had worn through his sitting.

When Zhou Ke came back, the braised eggs he had taken away were all sold out. He handed Ye Qingshui a handful of loose change and receipts.

Ye Qingshui touched his head and opened the kettle, inside which lay two plump eggs.

"I know you definitely didn't have breakfast, so hurry up and fill your stomach."

She watched Zhou Ke narrow his eyes, eat the braised egg with enjoyment, and then held his hand and left the Black Market Alley.

"Hey - wait a minute, big sister, I do, I do!"

…

Ye Qingshui wanted to take Zhou Ke home, but Zhou Ke lowered his head to look at the worn-out straw sandals on his feet, revealing his two thumbs. He smiled and said, "I can walk by myself."

Ye Qingshui said: "It's okay, it's just a coincidence. Let Ke'er try the feeling of riding in a rickshaw."

So Ye Qingshui led Zhou Ke through the alleys. He touched the rickshaw with envy. It was hard and solid. "Thank you, sister, for sending me back. This is the first time I ride in such a nice rickshaw."

The car whizzed through the streets and alleys. On the way, Zhou Ke met those people who had bullied him in the past. He felt a sense of pride in his heart.

Back at the shabby tube building, the kid in the alley who was dazzled by the dazzle made faces and said to Zhou Ke: "Little Chou Laojiu is still Little Chou Laojiu even if he rides a rickshaw."

"What—did you say?"

Ye Qingshui put her hands on her hips and glared at the child. The black mask and her eerie tone scared the child away.

"Should we stay in Gibia?" Ye Qingshui said.

Zhou Ke stuttered after hearing this and tugged at Ye Qingshui's sleeve, "Sister, you shouldn't say such things casually."

Ye Qingshui bent down and asked, "Why?"

Zhou Ke's face suddenly turned red, and he said uncertainly: "Grandpa said that this is not a good thing to say, and it can only be said to the closest people. It would be very bad to tell others."

Ye Qingshui nodded and touched his head: "Go back quickly."

Zhou family.

Zhou Ke ran home quickly, stood on tiptoe and pulled a heavy book off the bookshelf. He spread it out in confusion and asked his grandfather seriously: "Grandpa, is 'Ya Liu Bu Liu Jibia' an insult?"

When Old Man Zhou heard these words coming out of his seven-year-old grandson's mouth, he looked at him seriously for a long while.

Zhou Ke stammered, "Someone said this to me today."

Zhou Cunren curled his lips in a strange manner, "Yes, you are not mistaken."

…

Ye Qingshui rode her bicycle back home and as soon as she entered the door, she saw several female educated youth waiting for her.

She wiped the sweat off her forehead, took a breath, went back into the room and took out the paper.

Female educated youth He Fang said: "Comrade Ye, what you said the other day is indeed reasonable. The one who reaches the point first should be the first."

"I may have many shortcomings in other aspects, but I am still very confident in one aspect. Now I also want to say one thing: Comrade Ye, if you are willing to take back everything you said before and admit that you are incompetent and still need to learn humbly, I will not embarrass you."

Ye Qingshui, who was pouring water into his mouth, almost choked before he could even catch his breath.

The female educated youth shook their heads. Compared with He Fang who was confident, Ye Qingshui, who looked indifferent, made people feel pity. Ye Qingshui was too concerned about his reputation.

This kind of blind arrogance is wrong. They should help Comrade Ye to have a deep understanding of himself.

"He Fang, take a look at her translation, is it correct?"

This is a piece of paper written in English. In that era, very few people understood English, so it was not of much use unless one studied it specifically.

After He Fang finished reading, she found everything correct. She was stunned for a long time before she said, "She translated it correctly."

How is this possible?

How could Ye Qingshui speak English?

The female educated youth had a complicated expression. Surprise was revealed in her eyes, which quickly turned into disdain. This was normal.

No wonder Ye Qingshui dared to brag so loudly. It was really a great bargain to have such a cultured partner.

They said without hesitation: "You are not embarrassed and asked Teacher Xie to do it for you, right?"

Ye Qingshui spit out a mouthful of water.

It was almost noon and Ye Qingshui still had to go cook. She quickly scratched the pencil in her hand and said, "Yes, yes, you are right. Do it again, I will do it right away. What's the use of eating it back?"

"If I can't write, I'll eat the paper."

Tingting, who was hiding by the door watching the fun, burst out laughing.

…

Maybe it was because Ye Qingshui's tone was too real and confident.

The female educated youth looked at each other, and seeing Ye Qingshui being so confident, suddenly a ridiculous idea popped into their minds: Ye Qingshui might...might really know English.

After waiting for a long time, Ye Qingshui turned the pen and put the pencil aside neatly.

"How come there's been no movement for such a long time? Does that mean I win?"

She stood up and said politely, "In the future, you must learn to look at people with a changing perspective. It is impossible for a person to remain unchanged throughout his life."

Ye Qingshui was in a hurry to cook, so after asking the group of female educated youth to leave, he quickly went into the woodshed to make lunch. Ye Qingshui was not very willing to let Ye Ma cook, because when she was in the kitchen, she always liked to cook sweet potato rice.

On the way back to the educated youth camp, the female educated youths discussed with doubts: "Do you think that was really written by her?"

"I feel like what Zhou Tingting said makes some sense. I'm not sure if she is educated or not, but she is really a scholar."

"What if she's just holding on?"

"He Fang, why didn't you say anything when I pushed you just now? If I had tested her just now, she would have known."

He Fang cheered up and forced a smile, "I was also frightened by her just now. I thought if she did it, wouldn't it be too aggressive and embarrassing for us?"

So, does this woman Ye Qingshui really have the ability or is she just pretending to have the ability? Everyone looked at each other in bewilderment again.

…

Ye family.

After lunch, my mother said, "Shuiya, let me go fetch some water with you. The well at home has run dry."

Ye Qingshui waved his hand quickly and said, "No need, mother. I can go by myself. I can push the rickshaw very quickly, more efficiently than two people going together!"

After hearing this, Ye's mother didn't go. She tapped Ye Qingshui's head with her thumb and said, "It's because you use Xiao Xie's car all day long. He even asked me where my car was this morning!"

Ye Qingshui couldn't help feeling ashamed after hearing this. She wished she could have saved enough money to buy a bicycle earlier.

At the current rate of earning, it would take her half a year to buy a bicycle, and that presupposes that she also needs a permit to buy a bicycle. If she buys a bicycle at the black market price, she may not be able to buy a bicycle in a year.

She needs to work harder and earn a bicycle before Xie Tingyu leaves.

Ye Qingshui tied the bucket to the seat and rode towards the mountains.

The scorching sun made the soil crack and the shoes burned when they stepped on the ground. Ye Qingshui chose a mountain road with dense shade, but he took a long detour to avoid the heat.

Ye Qingshui came to the spring and gulped down two mouthfuls of water. The water source here was abundant, but the terrain was low and far away, so it could not flow to Yejia Village on the high ground. Therefore, the team leader wanted to dig a well under the rock in an attempt to draw out the groundwater connected to this spring.

Just as she was about to fill the water bucket, she saw Xie Tingyu carrying a shoulder pole, the two pointed ends of which were bent by the heavy bucket. At that moment, their eyes met, and he saw her too.

At this moment his eyebrows were slightly curved and his smile was dazzling.

"You've come just in time."

He walked to the bicycle carrying water and saw the two empty buckets that Ye Qingshui brought with him. He seemed to understand something. He filled the empty buckets with water and tied them to the front of the bicycle, and tied the other two buckets to the back of the bicycle.

Ye Qingshui was a little embarrassed at the moment because she used his car to engage in speculation, while he relied purely on manpower to fetch water.

She touched her nose and once again secretly made up her mind to earn enough money to buy a bicycle within half a year.

She followed Xie Tingyu silently.

When she came to the fork in the road, she saw Xie Tingyu pushing the cart and choosing the long way without hesitation. Ye Qingshui said hurriedly, "Let's go the closer way."

Ye Qingshui thought he couldn't stand the sun, but Xie Tingyu said calmly:

"It's okay. Your face is afraid of the heat. It's cooler to take this route."

After hearing this, Ye Qingshui muttered to himself, what a big-tailed wolf, he is so fair and must not like to bask in the sun, but he just throws it on her.

Xie Tingyu paused, turned around and looked at Ye Qingshui with a faint smile.

"Shui Ya, blow some leaves for me to listen to?"

When she was young, Ye Qingshui would blow leaves. She would pick a leaf from the roadside. If it was long and flexible enough, she could blow it to produce a clear sound. It was because of the leaf that she was able to talk to Xie Tingyu.

This skill was taught to her by her mother who was good at singing opera.

Ye Qingshui thought that it was boring to have nothing to say along the way. She picked a leaf and started to play it. She played several songs, from "Jasmine Flower" to "Little Swallow", and from "Red Mountain Flowers Blooming" to "The East is Red".

The shadows of the trees, sometimes dense and sometimes sparse, fell on her in patches, and the bright spots of light reflected on her shiny hair, like a halo, quiet and pretty. When she nodded and played the tune easily, her eyes narrowed as if light was flowing down from the corners of her eyes.

Until...she played a tune familiar to Xie Tingyu. Xie Tingyu couldn't help but raise his eyebrows.

The song is soft and melodious. It starts out as lively as the spring breeze, with birds singing and flowers blooming. Then it becomes quiet and melodious, with themes and sub-themes interweaving, lively and cheerful, lyrical and soft, and suddenly at a certain moment it takes a sharp turn, like a complaint or a cry.

Xie Tingyu couldn't help but slow down his pace when he heard the song. When the song was over, he found that Ye Qingshui had fallen far behind.

The tail note was getting smaller and smaller, just like the fading melody. He smiled and said, "Why are you playing this song all of a sudden?"

"Do you know what it's called?"

Ye Qingshui threw the leaf away and said blankly, "I don't know, I just blew it."

Xie Tingyu paused and said, "Did your mother teach you? It's called..."

The man's deep and mellow voice, mixed with laughter, slowly fell, "Yes, it's Liang Zhu."

Ye Qingshui walked for a long time until he reached the entrance of the village, only then did he realize that something extraordinary had happened.

She accidentally played the tune that Xie Tingyu had taught her.

The author has something to say:

Brother Yu: Wow, this is a cool move

I would be very distressed if I was confessed to every day