Chapter 129 Decision

"Hey... take a look at the cleanup..." Tong Liqun started to say, but when he saw the things in the room that had been burned to ashes, he swallowed his words back.

Xu Yirou looked at the burned-out room, her eyes filled with sorrow.

These days, everyone is having a hard time.

Even if they seem like worthless items, it's still quite difficult to accumulate them all.

Now, it's all burned to the ground.

Even so, Xu Yirou had no regrets whatsoever.

She knew very well that if she hadn't lit the fire tonight, she would have likely fallen into Liu Heping's clutches.

Zhu Jinmei stepped forward and said, "Xu Zhiqing, I'll go get you a change of clothes later. They're a bit old, but please don't mind..."

"Thank you, Auntie." Xu Yirou quickly expressed her gratitude.

"Xu, I just made some new shoes yesterday. I'll bring you a pair later..."

Another villager spoke up.

"Thanks."

"Thanks……"

Faced with the villagers who expressed their goodwill, Xu Yirou felt an unprecedented warmth. Her heart ached, and she subconsciously turned her head away to wipe away her tears.

Seeing her like this, Zhu Jinmei and the others felt bad.

Because of the initial experiences with the educated youth, the villagers of Bakushu Village did not have a good impression of them.

Therefore, he rarely had contact with the other educated youth, and even when they met while working, they hardly ever communicated.

If it weren't for the arrival of the Gu family, the villagers would probably still be avoiding the educated youth like the plague.

Now, in Zhu Jinmei's and others' view, not all the educated youth were lazy, good-for-nothing, or of bad character.

Seeing that the matter was settled, Tong Liqun said, "Xu Zhiqing, if there's nothing else, go home first! As for the quilt and such, I have plenty of them, you can use them for now!"

In this kind of weather, staying outside for too long will make you feel completely frozen.

It's hard on him, this old man, who's always running errands for these dirty things.

When they returned to Tong Liqun's house, Cai Shuhua, who had already heard Tong Aiguo's explanation of the situation, had already tidied up the house.

When Cai Shuhua saw Xu Yirou walk in accompanied by Wu Yong'an, she was taken aback and her gaze lingered on the military overcoat Xu Yirou was wearing.

He immediately greeted her warmly, took Xu Yirou's hand and said, "Xu Yirou, the house is all ready. From now on, treat this place as your own home and stay here without worry!"

Xu Yirou was taken aback, clearly not expecting Cai Shuhua to be so enthusiastic.

After all, over the years, many educated youths who wanted to get things done through Tong Liqun had run into obstacles with Cai Shuhua.

On one occasion, Xie Manman was even scolded to tears by Cai Shuhua. From then on, she would lower her head and avoid Cai Shuhua whenever she saw her.

Seeing Xu Yirou's somewhat helpless appearance, Wu Yong'an felt that dense, lingering ache in his heart again.

In a moment of impulse, he said to Cai Shuhua, "Auntie, thank you so much. Is there anything Xu Zhiqing is missing from her stay here? I'll bring it to her tomorrow."

Hearing him say that, Cai Shuhua became even more certain of her guess, and her smile became even warmer: "What are you saying, Director Wu? Xu Zhiqing also came to our Bakushu Village to support the construction. Now that he has encountered difficulties, it is only right for us to help him out. There is no need to say anything troublesome."

Tong Liqun glanced at his wife.

We've all slept in the same bed for decades, so how could we not understand what she's thinking?

He immediately glanced at Wu Yong'an, then at Xu Yirou.

It seems that what his wife was thinking wasn't entirely unreasonable.

Wu Yong'an pretended not to notice the gazes of Tong Liqun and his wife. After putting the things he was carrying into the doorway of the room prepared for Xu Yirou, he said to Xu Yirou, "It's getting late, Xu Yirou, you should get some rest! Secretary Tong, I won't disturb you any longer."

"Director Wu, take care! Come visit me at home sometime!"

Cai Shuhua warmly escorted the person to the door before returning home with a happy heart. She thoughtfully explained the layout of the house and the location of the outhouse to Xu Yirou before going back inside.

As soon as I entered the room, I saw that Tong Liqun was already asleep. I immediately reached out and nudged him: "Old Tong, tell me, what's going on between Director Wu and Xu Zhiqing? Are they dating?"

Tong Liqun rolled over and said irritably, "You woman, why do you care whether someone is dating or not! Are you saying that if he's not dating, you won't let Xu Zhiqing stay?"

Cai Shuhua was taken aback by his retort and slapped him angrily: "What nonsense are you spouting? Do you think I'm that materialistic in your eyes? When you called Aiguo back to have me clean the room, how could I have known that Director Wu would be coming?"

Tong Liqun sighed helplessly after being slapped by her: "That's settled then. Why do you care if they're dating or not? Let's just do our own thing. Besides, when did I ever say you were materialistic?"

Cai Shuhua's expression softened a bit. Thinking of Xu Yirou's disheveled and pitiful appearance earlier, she nodded and said, "What you said makes sense. To be honest, that Xu educated youth is quite pitiful. She was treated like that by her own parents, and now this has happened. If our family doesn't take her in, she will really be driven to her death!"

When Tong Liqun heard her say that, he smiled and put his arm around her, saying, "I knew it, my wife is the kindest-hearted person."

As he spoke, he gave her a quick kiss on the cheek.

Cai Shuhua hurriedly pushed him away, saying with a look of disgust, "Go away, you're so old, don't be ashamed! Aren't you going to sleep? Go to sleep now!"

Tong Liqun looked at Cai Shuhua's disgusted expression as she pushed him away.

The man's pride made him unwilling to just go to sleep like that.

He immediately rolled over and pinned his wife beneath him, pouting as he nuzzled against her: "Wife, are you saying I'm too old? Tell me, I'm not old, try me if you don't believe me..."

As he spoke, he prepared to begin the process of raising the cricket pupae.

Two minutes later, a cry of pain came from inside the room: "Ouch, my back..."

...

Meanwhile, Wu Yong'an returned to the Gu family courtyard.

The reason he arrived at the educated youth settlement at that time was to save Xu Yirou.

Indeed, it was because after seeing Mr. and Mrs. Gu off at the train station, their words kept echoing in his mind.

Remembering what Gu's mother had said, that if she had the chance, she should take better care of Xu Yirou.

Then he remembered Xu Yirou's thin and frail figure in the rearview mirror when he left.

An inexplicable palpitation led him to ride his bicycle to the Gu family's courtyard to stay after get off work.

At this moment, Wu Yong'an was extremely grateful for his last-minute decision.

Otherwise, I'm afraid I would only see Xu Yirou again when the villagers of Bakushu Village come to report the case!

With this in mind, Wu Yong'an secretly made a decision...