Chapter 53

In September, there was another flood in the Yangtze River Basin. The letter Chu Liqiang sent to the capital was delivered quickly, but the package he sent to Qingzhu Village was delayed on the road for a long time before arriving at the town's post office.

When Chu Jiujiu went to the post office to pick up the package, she had already changed into a newly made long-sleeved dress. Now the family had no shortage of cloth coupons, so Chu Shao made her an autumn coat and prepared outer materials for two winter coats. At the same time, he also made himself an autumn coat and a winter coat. These cloth coupons came at the right time. Chu Shao's clothes from last year had all become smaller. If he didn't have new cloth, he would have to expose his ankles this winter.

Chu Jiujiu lives with Chu Shao every day, so it is difficult for her to notice any changes in Chu Shao's body. However, outsiders, upon seeing Chu Shao, would scream in surprise, and then make the exclamation that is universally used all over the world.

You've grown so tall!

Boys always hope to grow tall and strong, the taller the better, and it would be even better if they can reach the sky.

After Chu Shao was told this by three people in a row, he didn't react on the surface. When he got home, he immediately ran next door and borrowed the long tape measure that his neighbor used when he was a carpenter. He stood against the wall and straightened his spine. Chu Jiujiu stood on tiptoe and stretched her arms upwards with all her strength. She finally drew a line on the top of Chu Shao's head with great difficulty.

Then, Chu Shao turned around, placed the long tape measure against the wall, and lowered it down little by little.

1.695 meters.

Chu Jiujiu looked at the number on the ruler and was shocked. Chu Shao was also looking at the number, but he was not very happy.

Just 0.5 meters away from 1.7 meters.

Chu Jiujiu raised her head and looked at Chu Shao in shock: "Grandpa, I remember you weren't that tall before. We eat the same thing every day, how come you grow so fast while I'm still so short!"

Chu Shao: "How old am I? How old are you? When you reach my age, you will grow fast too."

Han Shengyi had been collecting firewood constantly these days. Preparing the cowshed for the winter required a lot of preparation. However, living in the cowshed had one small advantage: the room was small, and as long as the stove was kept warm, people wouldn't feel the cold inside. However, they also needed to prepare a lot of firewood. In winter, it rained and snowed in the mountains, making everything damp and cold. Firewood was hard to find, and even if they did find it, it couldn't be dried. Burning it would fill the air with smoke, making it impossible to stay indoors.

In the past, Han Shengyi would collect firewood and store it at home. He was afraid that it would be stolen if he stored it outside, and there was no place for it to stay inside. This year, he could pile all the firewood at the Chu family's house. After all, the Chu family's yard was big, so he could store as much as he wanted.

Putting down the backpack, Han Shengyi walked over to the two of them, patted the dirt off his hands, and asked, "What are you doing?"

Chu Jiujiu: "Measure Chu Shao's height, Brother Shengyi. Chu Shao is already 1.695 meters! Almost 1.70 meters. Come and measure yourself too. Let's see who's taller between you two!"

Han Shengyi: “…”

Only Chu Jiujiu, who has not yet grown to 1.4 meters, would ask them to compare their heights. Anyone with a discerning eye can see that Han Shengyi is much shorter than Chu Shao.

Chu Shao's original unhappiness was immediately blown away by Chu Jiujiu's pleasant voice. He looked at Han Shengyi, who seemed to want to refuse, but had to stand by the wall. This time, Chu Jiujiu didn't need to stretch her arm hard. She raised her hand and drew a line lightly. Then she didn't measure the entire distance, but only the distance between the two marks.

Chu Jiujiu looked at the ruler and read slowly, "8.3 centimeters, 69.5 minus 8.3, rounded off, Brother Shengyi, you're 1.61 meters tall!"

Chu Jiujiu looked at Han Shengyi, her face full of congratulations, and then she looked at Chu Shao next to her, her tail was almost raised to the sky.

Height, for Han Shengyi at this age, is an untouchable pain. Looking at Chu Jiujiu, after a second, Han Shengyi smiled gently, "Chu Shao and I have finished measuring, it's your turn, Jiujiu."

Chu Jiujiu wanted to run away when she heard that. Everyone else was at least 1.6 meters tall, and she didn't want to join in the fun. However, before she could run away, Chu Shao grabbed her ponytail, and Han Shengyi also raised a tape measure. One of them pressed her head while the other stretched the ruler. In less than three seconds, they completed the measurement of Chu Jiujiu.

Han Shengyi looked at the ruler with an unfathomable expression, "One meter thirty-seven."

Chu Shao sighed: "So short."

Chu Jiujiu: “…”

It's as if you have never experienced being 1.37 meters tall!

At Chu Jiujiu's age, 1.37 meters is a normal height. It is indeed a little short, but still within the normal range. It's just that there is no Internet here, no search engine that can search for everything, and there are no other little girls around her, only two boys who are gradually entering puberty. She really thinks that she is too short and has lowered the average line for women.

When they went to the post office to pick up the package, Chu Jiujiu kept muttering to Han Shengyi, "Egg tarts, milk, soybeans, eggs, these are all things that can make children grow taller, but we don't sell anything else here except eggs! Dahuang and Erhuang are still adolescent chickens and can't lay eggs. By the time they lay eggs, I'm afraid they will have stopped growing, wuwuwu..."

Han Shengyi: “…”

"Twenty-three is still a long way to go. You're only nine. There's no need to rush."

Having said that, I'm afraid there is only one person in ten thousand who can experience another growth spurt at the age of twenty-three.

Chu Jiujiu never told Han Shengyi that her father was 1.8 meters tall, but her mother was less than 1.6 meters tall. She was afraid that she had inherited her mother's characteristics. After all, whether it was personality, IQ, or hobbies, she was most like her mother.

However, her most striking feature is that she resembles no one. Neither her father nor her mother. Sometimes her mother would hold her face and say that she inherited it from the previous generation, but she never said who it was from.

I'm afraid the one she inherited her genes from is also a dwarf...

Chu Jiujiu suppressed her worries silently and took out the package and remittance from the post office at once. She took a look and found that the money for this month was still 30 yuan. She walked aside and opened the package. It was full of various foods and even a few mooncakes. Chu Jiujiu turned the mooncakes out and found that they were Su-style mooncakes with two traditional Chinese characters printed on them in red paint.

Rose.

Chu Jiujiu puffed out her chest and patted the mooncake with a proud look on her face. "Look, it has rose filling! I was right! You two laughed at me, you need to apologize to me!"

Han Shengyi expressed his injustice: "It was Chu Shao who laughed at you, I didn't say anything."

Chu Jiujiu glanced at him. "You didn't say it, but your expression said a lot. Don't think I don't know that you actually think the same as Chu Shao. Every time you don't want to offend me, you lower your head and look to your right. Yes, yes, that's right, right now!"

Han Shengyi subconsciously looked to the right: "..."

Seeing him get humiliated, Chu Jiujiu became even more proud. "Don't try to fool me. I have a very good memory. I remember all the little regular movements you guys make. Sometimes I don't tell you because I want to save your face~"

Seeing her smug look, Han Shengyi chuckled and praised her a few words in a very flattering manner. Chu Jiujiu immediately became happier. She thought that others were easy to understand, but she didn't know that in the eyes of others, she was also very easy to understand.

After just a quick glance, Chu Jiujiu rewrapped the package. Han Shengyi held the package and Chu Jiujiu held the money. The two of them came to the door of the supply and marketing cooperative and waited for Chu Shao.

The three of them acted separately. Chu Shao went to the coal factory to buy coal, while Chu Jiujiu and the others went to the post office to get everything done. Then they gathered at the supply and marketing cooperative to buy cotton, which was their main target this time.

This was Chu Shao's first time to buy coal. He had no experience and only knew that if he came early, he would not have to queue. However, as soon as he arrived, people told him that the coal would not be shipped until November. He should come early, register his name, and then the master from the coal factory would deliver the coal to each household.

Chu Shao asked in detail what he needed to pay attention to when buying coal. Since it was only October, the master working in the coal factory was relatively idle. He taught Chu Shao some tips, such as setting aside a portion of the coal tickets, using 400 kilograms to buy whole honeycomb coal, and the remaining 100 kilograms to buy broken coal blocks. Although the price was the same, after taking the coal blocks home, he could make coal balls himself, which would save money when burning. For families with poor conditions, this was a good way to keep warm throughout the winter.

After thanking the master from the coal factory, Chu Shao returned to the supply and marketing cooperative empty-handed. He repeated the master's words to the two waiting people, and they walked into the supply and marketing cooperative together, this time going straight to the cotton counter.

If you can't buy coal, there's no need to worry about the coal stove. The supply and marketing cooperative will sell it whenever it becomes available. Many families use a coal stove for decades, so there's no need for everyone to rush out to buy it.

Chu Shao used up all the cotton coupons sent by Chu Liqiang. Han Shengyi also took out the cotton coupons given to him by Grandma Han and bought two kilograms of cotton. His family's quilts, cotton clothes and other things were all old and needed new cotton.

The cotton sold by the supply and marketing cooperative was all compressed. Chu Shao and Han Shengyi carried dozens of kilograms, while Chu Jiujiu carried the two kilograms bought by the Han family and followed them leisurely.

After bringing the cotton home, you have to ask a craftsman to come and fluff it until it becomes soft and fluffy before you can start making a quilt.

Chu Shao originally wanted to find the old ladies in the village and ask them to help him sew. He had turned this routine into a routine. He would first pay the old ladies and watch them do it. Then, he would learn from them. Once he had learned it, he could come back and do it himself. In this way, the old ladies had lost a cunning customer invisibly.

…

But this time, Chu Shao couldn't go through this process because when Grandma Han heard that he was going to pay someone else to make a quilt, she immediately started criticizing him for not knowing how to manage the household and for giving good money to other people. She almost pointed at his nose and called him a spendthrift.

After criticizing Chu Shao, Grandma Han took over all the needlework of the Chu family. Grandma Han has been a master of needlework since she was a girl. Her stitches are dense and solid, and she is particularly good at saving fabric. With the same fabric, others can only make one set of clothes and a vest, but she can make one set of clothes and an undergarment, and she can also make a small purse with the remaining scraps of fabric.

The small purse made of scraps of cloth looks like a jigsaw puzzle, with colorful colors and a rope made of silk ribbons. When the silk ribbons are tightened, the mouth of the purse is sealed, and the coins dance jingling inside, but they will not leak out.

Chu Jiujiu knelt at the end of the bed and played with her new purse for a long time without getting tired of it. Chu Shao was in charge of the family's money. Every time she went out, Chu Shao would give her some pocket money to spend as she pleased. But if she didn't use it, he would take the money back when she came back. Chu Shao's reason was that she ran around everywhere and might lose it at any time, so it was better for him to keep it. Now that he had the purse, he couldn't use that excuse anymore.

Hehehe, she will have her own little treasury in the future!

Currently, Chu Jiujiu's small treasury had only 28 cents, and that eight cents was a particularly bitter combination of eight one-cent coins. There wasn't even a five-cent coin left. Grandma Han had been sewing a quilt for half a day when the swaying of coins hurt her eyes. She put down her needle and called to her, "Stop playing around. Come here. I'll teach you how to sew a quilt."

Chu Jiujiu said "oh", put down her purse obediently, and moved closer to Grandma Han to see how she sewed.

After watching for a while, Chu Jiujiu felt that she had figured it out. She picked up a needle, licked her lips, and carefully threaded the needle.

After successfully threading the needle through the eye, she immediately said excitedly to Grandma Han: "I got it in! Grandma Han, look!"

Grandma Han glanced at her condescendingly, then remembered what Grandpa Han had been saying to her these past few days: Chu Jiujiu was very concerned about her reputation, and if she was praised, she would do better. So, she reluctantly praised her, "Very impressive."

After hearing this, Chu Jiujiu became more motivated. She ran to the other side and started sewing from one end of the quilt. Chu Shao came back from work, washed his face, and didn't see Chu Jiujiu, so he came to Han's house to find her. As soon as he pushed the door open, he saw Chu Jiujiu prostrating herself, sewing the quilt very hard.

Seeing him coming, Chu Jiujiu immediately held up the part she had sewn and happily showed it to Chu Shao, "Look, Chu Shao, I can sew a quilt!"

Chu Shao took a look and saw that the stitching was crooked, with some gaps being particularly large and some being particularly small. If they used this kind of quilt this winter, they would probably freeze to death in their own home before December.

…

Chu Shao ruthlessly kicked her off the bed, then removed the part she had sewn. After watching for a while how Grandma Han sewed, Chu Shao didn't even need to practice this time; he was able to do it right away. Looking closely, his sewing was exactly the same as Grandma Han's. It was obvious that he was an exceptionally good tailor.

Chu Jiujiu was not convinced. She felt that Chu Shao was too talented. It was obvious that she was also very good at sewing. It was like this for all newbies.

Soon after, Han Shengyi came back and helped to sew. He sewed better than Chu Shao. People who didn’t know would think it was sewn with a sewing machine.

Chu Jiujiu: “…”

In the evening, Grandpa Han also got off work and found that the whole family was doing needlework. Grandpa Han thought that he could not fall behind, so he took out the cloth that Grandma Han had cut last night and began to diligently sew the soles of shoes.

Chu Jiujiu: “…”

Of all people, she is the only waste.

Woo woo woo.

During dinner, Chu Jiujiu was in a bad mood. Grandma Han joked with her, "Jiujiu, when you find a partner in the future, you must find someone who can do needlework. If you can't do something, ask your partner to help you. That way, no one will say anything bad about you."

Grandpa Han agreed with a smile: "It's just like me and your Grandma Han. I didn't know how to do it, so I found your Grandma Han, and then she slowly taught me. Jiujiu, don't be discouraged. It's okay now. When you grow up, let your partner teach you."

Chu Shao: "I'm afraid you don't know how to do it, and neither does your future partner. When you need to make quilts or clothes, you'll have to come to my house with the fabric and ask me to help you."

Chu Jiujiu: “…”

She looked at these people with an expressionless face, almost poking the food in the bowl with her chopsticks. Brother Shengyi was still the best. He never teased her at such times.

Looking at the last "good guy" in the room, as soon as he met Chu Jiujiu's gaze, Han Shengyi pursed his lips, lowered his head, and then pretended to be at ease and looked at his right shoulder.

Chu Jiujiu: “…”

They are all bad guys!

After the cotton-padded jacket was made, Chu Shao put it in the closet because the weather was not that cold yet, and the quilt and mattress were ready to be laid out.

It was the first time since Chu Jiujiu was born that she slept on a mattress made of new cotton. The light feeling was really as if she was lying in the clouds. Chu Jiujiu was so comfortable that she couldn't help rolling around on the bed several times.

Because they had enough cotton, Chu Shao asked Grandma Han to make two quilts, one for him and one for Chu Jiujiu, with a spare in the cupboard. They planned to burn coal in the winter, which would keep the room from getting too damp and the quilts from getting damp, but it never hurt to have an extra one on hand just in case.

In September, we plant peanuts and harvest corn. In October, it’s time to dig lotus roots.

The newly broken corn that other families got would be rolled into kernels and then ground into corn flour to make steamed bread and porridge. But the Chu family, Chu Jiujiu, cooked it all.

There weren't many in total. Chu Jiujiu cooked eight a day for breakfast. One was enough for her, Grandma Han and Grandpa Han ate one, and also had some side dishes, Han Shengyi ate two, and Chu Shao would eat three in one meal.

Therefore, these fresh and tender corns were all eaten by the Chu family after only a few days.

Now their family has no shortage of food. With the work points Chu Shao earned and the rations for the two of them, they can get several hundred kilograms of food every year. These are all coarse grains. Chu Jiujiu asked Chu Shao to exchange the food coupons sent by Chu Liqiang for fine grains. Now they eat a mixture of fine and coarse grains, which not only enhances the taste but also maintains sufficient fiber intake.

The corn here is not as sweet as the fruit corn cultivated modernly, but it has a unique farm flavor. It tastes ordinary when boiled, but it is super fragrant when roasted. Just smelling it is a pleasure.

Ever since she finished eating the corn, Chu Jiujiu has been looking forward to the upcoming lotus root. Lotus root is usually only found in malatang and maocai restaurants. Chu Jiujiu's original impression of it was just mediocre, until one day, her mother took her to a private restaurant.

The waiter brought a bowl of lotus root and pork ribs soup. After Chu Jiujiu finished drinking it, she immediately kicked the cream of clam soup off the "best" list and put it at the top of the list.

…

Chu Jiujiu has been obsessed with this soup so much that she memorized the recipe a long time ago. Her mother has always said that she would make it for her personally, but she was too busy and never had the chance.

Now, Chu Jiujiu can make it for herself.

Lotus roots will be distributed in the village. Each household will receive several roots, and each root weighs several kilograms, which can last each family for a long time. As for the ribs, Chu Jiujiu definitely cannot wait until the end of the year to distribute the meat. Even if she can wait, the lotus roots cannot. By that time, the lotus roots will have shrunk into dried lotus roots.

She said a lot of nice things to Chu Shao before she finally persuaded him to take out two kilograms of meat coupons and buy the ribs that Chu Jiujiu wanted.

The ribs have bones in them, but they are sold at the same price as fat. Chu Shao and the locals have the same idea that Chu Jiujiu is out of her mind. However, there is nothing they can do. Chu Jiujiu rarely asks him what she wants, but if she has a request, as her grandfather, Chu Shao naturally has to agree.

In mid-October, cold winds blew through the village every day, and the number of fallen leaves on the mountains was twice as much as usual, but many trees were still green. Some children had already put on heavy cotton coats, and adults also took down their sleeves that had been rolled up for half a year and began to prepare for winter.

The wind is cold, the water is even colder, and the water in the lotus pond is icy cold, but everyone still has to patiently walk on and look for those delicious lotus roots in the rotten mud.

Today is the day for distributing lotus roots. Most of the villagers have gone to the lotus pond to wait. Some have not gone, such as the educated youth. Compared with the villagers, they are more "delicate" and cannot stand this kind of hardship. In addition, lotus roots are not very delicious, so they would rather eat less than go to work there again.

In the past, Ding Boyun always took the lead, but in the past few days, he had constant headaches and fever, and caught a cold. He was resting in his room. Seeing this, other people naturally would not raise slogans such as "Labor is the most glorious". They would rest for one day at a time. Anyway, if the team leader asked about it, Ding Boyun would take the responsibility.

In the youth cadre settlement, Ding Boyun was half lying on the bed. Their youth cadre settlement was built a few years ago. There should have been no problems with the new house, but it was not known whether the builders were negligent or cut corners, which caused the house to leak in the summer and leak in the winter. When it was windy, Ding Boyun had to cover himself with two layers of quilts and even his cotton coat over his legs, otherwise he would shiver with cold in the middle of the night.

He has lived here for three years and still cannot adapt to this environment. However, he can endure it. No matter how bad the situation is, he can endure it silently and then find an opportunity to get rid of it.

Yu Jianqing was lying on the other bed and snoring. As long as he didn't have to work, he would just sleep like this. Sometimes Ding Boyun even suspected that he had some health problems.

There are two rooms in the educated youth site, the men's dormitory on the left and the women's dormitory on the right. The layout and orientation of the two rooms are the same. In order to make these educated youth who went to the countryside to live more comfortably, the team leader specially built single kangs for them in the room. There is a small stove at the head of each kang, which can be used to cook and boil water at the same time, and ensure that everyone is warm.

Ding Boyun was holding a notebook in his hand, and he was writing down his experience of going to the countryside. Since he started going to the countryside, he would write an article every day. In three years, he had written five or six books. No one knew why he wrote these, and no one could see them.

He was writing furiously when suddenly someone shouted outside.

"Is this the educated youth camp? There's a letter from the educated youth!"

Ding Boyun heard it. Just as he put the notebook down, there was a clanging sound next door. Then, Ma Wenjuan screamed, "What are you doing? My thermos is broken!"

Li Yan didn't care what she said. She had waited for so long, almost two months. She thought she had no chance, but unexpectedly, her second uncle still didn't give up on her. Look, he finally wrote to her!

Li Yan was wearing only a small vest, forgetting to cover herself with her coat. She rushed out like that, then pulled the postman over and asked, "Where's the letter? Where's my letter?"

The postman was an honest man. He had never seen such an exciting scene before. He stared at Li Yan's chest for a second before he realized what he had done. He turned his head away quickly. The postman blushed and shouted, "Comrade, please put on your clothes!"

Li Yan was stunned for a moment, and finally noticed that she was not wearing a coat. She frowned impatiently, "Give me the letter, and I'll wear it when I get back!"

Wow, he is worthy of being an educated youth, so bold and unrestrained.

The postman thought so in his heart. He quickly took out the letter, not daring to look at Li Yan again. He handed the letter to the back and said, "Here, Ding Zhiqing, this is the one."

Li Yan was about to answer when Ma Wenjuan, who was behind her, heard it and snatched the letter away. "Hey, look how anxious you are! This is for Ding Zhiqing, not Li Zhiqing. For a letter that's not even for you, you have to compensate me with a thermos. Li Yan, you're so worthless!"

Li Yan didn't believe it, so she snatched the letter back and saw that it really contained Ding Boyun's name. She was so angry that her body began to tremble. After a while, she threw the letter to the ground, stomped her feet, turned around and ran away.

Ma Wenjuan usually bickered with her like this, but she had never seen her react so strongly. She quickly shouted, "Hey, you're not wearing any clothes yet, aren't you afraid of freezing to death?"

Li Yan acted as if she hadn't heard her shouting. After a while, she disappeared completely. Ding Boyun came out of the dormitory with his clothes on. He frowned, looked at Ma Wenjuan, then at the letter on the ground, "What's wrong?"

Ma Wenjuan stuck out her tongue. "Who knows what happened? It's not the first time she's had a seizure. Here, this is your letter. She threw it on the ground."

Ma Wenjuan squatted down, picked up the letter, and handed it to Ding Boyun. She asked curiously, "This seems to be the first time I've seen your family send you a letter. In the past, they just sent money and things. It shouldn't be anything, right? Definitely not. If there was something, they would have sent you a telegram directly."

Ding Boyun looked at the letter and heard Ma Wenjuan's words. He raised his head and smiled at her, "You are right."

After saying that, he turned around and went back to the house. Ma Wenjuan couldn't follow him in, so she had to go back to her dormitory as well.

Sitting on the bed, Ding Boyun quickly opened the letter and read the contents at a glance. The more he read, the tighter his brows became. When he read to the end, his face turned completely cold. The last sentence in the letter asked him to write back and give them accurate information. However, Ding Boyun sat quietly for a moment, then he stood up and threw the letter into the stove beside Yu Jianqing's bed.

On the other side, the brigade headquarters also received a piece of news. The brigade commander who heard the news was no happier than Ding Boyun.

The team leader said to Zhang Qingfa, "Old Qian from the commune just told me that they will send two more educated youths to us next year."

Zhang Qingfa: "Sending more? Each village has no more than five educated youth. Our village already has four. We shouldn't be sending more."

The team leader said, "Who said they weren't? We agreed to assign these four people to us. That's why I had the educated youth settlement built here. The house is only this big, and the beds are already built. We can't even get another one. Tell me, why did we bring a bunch of educated youth here? We can't beat them or scold them. Not only can they not work, but they also cause trouble."

If Chen Jiefang were here, he would have complained with the team leader. However, Zhang Qingfa was not one to complain. He was silent for a moment, then asked the team leader, "Did Old Qian say when the new educated youth would be sent here? Do we have to build a new educated youth camp?"

The team leader said, "Build a bullshit! They all think our village is so easy to get by, that they can have food to eat as soon as they come. If the higher-ups don't approve, don't you know better than me how much money our village has in its account? If we don't have money, we won't build it! Besides, we don't even know whether it's a man or a woman, so we can't even decide whether to build one or two rooms. At worst, we can just let them squeeze in. The educated youth came here to work, not to enjoy themselves. Why should we live in such a good place?"

The team leader was particularly irritable today. He was afraid of the torture caused by the educated youth over the years. They came to him for explanations for trivial matters and wanted to report to the commune and the Revolutionary Committee at every turn. They called themselves educated youth, but were actually angry young people. The team leader did not dare to offend them and could only coax them. They did not come to the village to help with labor, but were clearly looking for trouble for him.

Every year, educated youth were sent to the countryside in batches, with one batch every month. The largest number of people came in August and September because these were the times when high school graduates came. The educated youth were composed of these high school graduates.

No one knows whether Lao Qian’s information is accurate or not, and no one knows when the new educated youth will arrive. However, there will always be a way to get there, and the team leader plans to wait for them to arrive before dealing with them.

After returning home, the team leader told his wife Lin Danli about this matter. Lin Danli comforted him, saying that the educated youth were all children and he shouldn't have bothered with them. Besides, the educated youth had been quite quiet in recent months. Although they were lazy occasionally, they still kept up with most of the work. Even the educated youth named Li Yan had been well-behaved these days and had not caused any trouble.

The captain felt a little better after listening to his wife's words, but what he didn't know was that Li Yan was not at peace at all. She was just holding it in, and she was planning to hold it in for a big one.

…

After running out of the educated youth point, Li Yan's mind was full of anger and grievance. She didn't know when she ran to the river. The vest she wore was not a pajama-style vest. It was relatively thick, and she had an inner layer inside, so she would not expose her private parts. It was just that in the countryside, everyone dressed properly, and there were very few people wearing sleeveless vests like her.

After freezing by the river for about ten minutes, Li Yan's mind finally cleared up. With no hope of returning to the city, she had to live in this village. If the village women saw her dressed like this, they would definitely tell them she was a vixen.

Thinking of this, Li Yan felt even more aggrieved. She wiped her tears and turned around to go back to the dormitory. Suddenly, a series of bicycle bells rang behind her. Li Yan turned around reflexively and found that the person coming was Chen Sanzhu.

The incident between Chen Sanzhu and Zhou Xiaohe caused a huge uproar. Later, all the evil deeds Zhou Xiaohe had done were exposed. Everyone thought that Chen Sanzhu could not escape the responsibility, but unexpectedly, he actually reported Zhou Xiaohe and stated righteously that he wanted to draw a clear line with Zhou Xiaohe.

To be honest, the villagers didn't believe he truly admitted his mistake, but since he had such an attitude, no one could say anything. Li Yan heard a little more than others, that is, Chen Sanzhu's job in the city was ruined because of this incident. It must be said that when she first heard about it, she was very happy.

Why? She doesn’t even have a job in the city, but Chen Sanzhu does. How can there be such unfair things in the world?

Li Yan gloated over his misfortune for a long time, but now she is not as scared when she sees him as before.

She held her chin high, looking proud. Chen Sanzhu rode up to her and slammed on the brakes. He whistled loudly, "Hey, Li Zhiqing, aren't you afraid of the cold?"

Li Yan snorted, "What's it to you?"

Chen Sanzhu chuckled, "Why isn't it my business? I'm a public servant now, so isn't it my duty to care for the stunning Li Zhiqing?"

Li Yan was stunned. She asked, "What does 'people's servant' mean?"

Chen Sanzhu: "You don't know yet? My eldest brother recommended a job to me in the city, and I started working last week. Li Zhiqing, do you know how comfortable it is to work in the city?"

Li Yan's face turned cold. She turned around and said quickly as she walked away, "I don't know, and I don't want to know."

Seeing her about to run, Chen Sanzhu got on his bike again and followed her slowly. "You don't know, but I'm telling you, you don't have to get up early, you don't have to cook, you eat in the cafeteria every day, and you don't have to do farm work. When you go to work, you just sit in the office, away from the wind and the sun. It's so beautiful~"

At this point, he deliberately became pretentious again, "Originally, Li Zhiqing, you could have gone to the city, but it's a pity that your second uncle doesn't want to pay attention to you. He doesn't care about family affection. Tsk, tsk, tsk, tsk, my eldest brother is still the best. He always thinks of me when he has anything to do."

Li Yan turned around angrily, "Have you said enough?"

Almost the whole village knew about Li Yan's second uncle's affairs because she had boasted about it to everyone she met. But now, the words she boasted about became the bitter fruit she had to eat, making her feel ashamed and embarrassed. Even Chen Sanzhu came to bully her.

Seeing that she was about to cry, Chen Sanzhu frowned and said, "Don't cry."

After saying that, he took out a handkerchief from his pocket and handed it to Li Yan. He put his feet on the ground and raised his hands, making a gesture of surrender. "Okay, okay, I won't say anything. You should go back quickly too. It's so cold, and you're wearing so little. You're bound to catch a cold."

Shaking his head at her, Chen Sanzhu got on his bike and rode away. This time, he didn't look back and didn't whistle at anyone else. Li Yan held his handkerchief, stood there in a daze for a while, and then walked back in confusion.

Chu Jiujiu ran out to find Chu Shao. Walking along the river was the shortest way to the lotus pond. She stood aside and saw Chen Sanzhu and Li Yan talking. Out of curiosity, she moved closer and heard the tail end of their conversation.

Chu Jiujiu didn't understand why Chen Sanzhu cared so much about Li Yan, but Chen Sanzhu was the kind of person who would never change his ways. No matter what he did, Chu Jiujiu felt that he had ulterior motives. She was about to remind Li Yan, but in the blink of an eye, Li Yan had disappeared.