She sneered and continued cursing.

“They usually ostracize me, deliberately avoid talking to me, and take my things without permission. That’s one thing.”

"If anyone at the educated youth settlement was in a bad mood, they would come over and deliberately pick a fight with me, yell at me, push me around, and even deliberately shake the clothes I had washed and hung out to dry on the wire to the ground..."

"And that's not all."

Do I need to list them out for you one by one?

Han Xiaoyu was speechless.

Xie Zhuo never expected that Xu Yan would be living such a life at the educated youth settlement.

"Is this what you call protecting me?"

When Han Xiaoyu looked at her last time, Xu Yan clearly sensed some of the original owner's reactions remaining in her body.

For example, an increased heart rate.

This time, whether it was because of Xie Zhuo or because the original owner was also hurt by Han Xiaoyu's performance, there was no reaction whatsoever.

Xu Yan breathed a sigh of relief.

This is fine.

Then she continued to curse a few more times, as if she wanted to vent all the anger that had been bottled up in her heart for the past two days.

"To compare a dog to you, to compare you to all of you, is to insult dogs. I think you are worse than animals!"

Han Xiaoyu's face grew increasingly dark as Xu Yan's words berated him.

"Don't forget we're in the city—"

Han Xiaoyu instinctively wanted to say that the two of them had met each other's parents in the city and were engaged. If it weren't for him, the Xu family would have been humiliated!

He had only eaten some of Xu Yan's food, yet she dared to curse him like that.

But he swallowed the words back down his throat.

We can't say that now.

Han Xiaoyu glared fiercely at Xie Zhuo, as if he found him an eyesore.

Xie Zhuo didn't indulge him at all and gave him a cold sneer.

Han Xiaoyu almost couldn't resist throwing another punch.

The three of them stood there for a short time.

The main problem was that Han Xiaoyu was starting to feel the strain. Xu Yan's insults were getting increasingly offensive, and he couldn't refute them.

After all, those things were indeed done by people from the educated youth settlement.

Although he wasn't involved and thought everyone was just joking, he never expected Xu Yan to remember it for so long.

She really holds a grudge!

After Han Xiaoyu turned and left, he didn't return to the educated youth settlement. He finally remembered what had happened outside the door.

Someone stole public grain!

They said it's still the Sun family!

How could it be the Sun family?

The Party Secretary has five sons and one daughter. Two of his sons have jobs in the city, and the remaining three are all young and strong men who not only earn full work points but also occasionally go to the city to sell local products.

Even the brigade secretary earns more than forty yuan a month.

His family was not only not poor, but also considered to be among the wealthiest in Qingshan Brigade.

Why would they steal public grain?

As Han Xiaoyu pondered this, he ran towards the commune's granary.

For some reason, he felt like he had seen this scene somewhere before.

However, in the scene he was familiar with, the person caught stealing public grain was not Chen Guizhen, but Xie Zhuo.

As Han Xiaoyu sprinted and stumbled towards the crowd, Xie Zhuo glanced at his back before turning to look at Xu Yan.

After a while, his voice trailed off after the cicadas' chirping.

"You said you wanted to marry me because of him?"

The summer heat and dryness made the man's words seem icy and sharp, piercing the listener like they carried shards of ice.

Xu Yan thought Xie Zhuo's arm was quite nice to pinch, and was just about to sneakily pinch it again when she heard Xie Zhuo's words.

Xu Yan paused slightly, then withdrew her hand and looked up at him, "A little bit, I guess."

Xie Zhuo's expression grew even colder.

“But that’s only one percent of the reason,” Xu Yan added.

Xie Zhuo was still looking at her, as if waiting for her to say the remaining ninety-nine percent.

"The main reason," Xu Yan said slowly, keeping Xie Zhuo in suspense until he was about to leave, "is, of course, because I do like you."

"..."

Xie Zhuo felt like he had really gone crazy.

I've been lying in bed for almost an hour, but I still can't fall asleep no matter how much I toss and turn. Every time I close my eyes, the smiling face of the female educated youth automatically appears before my eyes.

Then say to him, "I really like you!"

I really do!

I like you!

day!

Xie Zhuo sat up abruptly.

He went straight into the yard without any clothes on, shirtless.

The sun was still blazing, and the azure sky was cloudless. The two little ones were either asleep or playing inside the house, and there was no one in the yard.

The ground was so hot from the scorching sun that even through the soles of my cloth shoes, I could feel a burning sensation in the soles of my feet.

Xie Zhuo quickly took a few steps forward, then picked up a basin of water and poured it over his head.

The warm water, heated by the sun, slid over his shoulders, then over his waist and abdomen, finally disappearing into the hidden depths.

He poured two basins of water on his face, but still felt unwell. Finally, he scooped two basins of cold water from the water tank and poured them on his face. He then rubbed his face with his hands and felt more awake.

Then I realized that I had forgotten to ask Xu Yan how he knew about Chen Guizhen stealing public grain.

Oh well, there will be other opportunities in the future.

Xie Zhuo went back into the house and lay back down on the kang (a heated brick bed).

Educated youth settlement.

The atmosphere at the educated youth settlement was even more eerie today. No one spoke. After silently preparing and eating lunch, everyone lay on the kang (a heated brick bed), lost in thought.

Especially Han Xiaoyu.

A single image kept replaying in his mind.

Xie Zhuo was arrested by Sun Guoan and Song Guangming for stealing the brigade's grain and sent to the farm to do hard labor.

In just one month, Xie Zhuo was ravaged beyond recognition. His skin was as black as charcoal, his hair was long and dirty, and his beard almost covered his face.

Before he could even feel happy for a moment, for some reason, the scene suddenly changed, and the one caught stealing public grain became Chen Guizhen.

After being dragged to the entrance of the granary, Chen Guizhen refused to go any further and shouted that Xu Yan, that little bitch, had framed her.

They even said that Song Guangming was giving Xu Yan special treatment, and who knows what their relationship was, which made Song Guangming furious.

He scolded Chen Guizhen a few times.

Men's cursing is nothing like women's; it's much dirtier. Even if Sun Guoan were there, they were in the wrong. It was his woman's foul mouth that provoked others first.

Song Guangming's few words touched on several low-level organs, but he was eventually persuaded to stop by the aunties.

Chen Guizhen still refused to admit it.

But it was no use. Everyone had already checked the granary many times, but they found no signs that the doors and windows had been pried open or damaged.

That can only mean that someone opened the door, came in, and took the grain.

"They really did steal public grain!"

“He always looks so respectable, but he’s actually a thief!” Li Aihua snorted at Chen Guizhen.

"Who are you calling a thief?" Chen Guizhen suddenly shouted, "Say one more word and I'll tear your mouth apart!"

"Pah!" Li Aihua immediately spat. "You dare to do it but not admit it?"