Chapter 118 Cute Village Girl VS Innocent Educated Youth (4)

Cheng Jiahe frowned and led her into the house.

He poured her a glass of water and said, "Don't rush, tell me what happened."

Jiang Zhiyi was still sobbing: "Our house is too dilapidated, and the weather is getting colder and colder. Dad said we need to fix it up, otherwise we'll suffer a lot in the winter."

“He gave me the money to keep safe, and I’ve always carried it with me. It was still there when I left this morning, but I just discovered it’s gone. I’ve been looking all the way back but haven’t seen it. Someone must have picked it up.”

“I don’t dare tell them now, and I don’t dare go home. Cheng Jia and I don’t know what to do. I don’t want to become someone else’s wife…”

Cheng Jiahe looked at her, reached out and gently touched her head, and said, "I'll go back with you to look for it again. If we can find it, that would be great. If not... we'll come back and think of something."

Jiang Zhiyi looked away, sat up straight, and replied softly, "Okay."

Cheng Jiahe and Jiang Zhiyi searched for a long time, turning almost the entire village upside down. Jiang Zhiyi also made up a few other places on the spot, and they searched those places back and forth.

In the end, the two returned home disappointed.

Jiang Zhiyi sat there, her usually bright eyes now filled with large tears.

What is Cheng Jiahe thinking? He wouldn't just abandon me, would he? My fiancé is about to get married and he's not going to help me at all... Waaaaah...

Cheng Jiahe pondered to himself: This money was a huge sum of money that her family had used to get through an emergency, but it was still manageable for him; he could afford it.

If she needs help, he is willing to help her bear today's loss, but he cannot so easily resolve this matter for her.

Having spent these past few days together, he knew very well that Jiang Zhiyi had always been a rash and impulsive person.

If she doesn't learn her lesson, the same thing will probably happen again. He can't help her forever; he'll eventually have to go back to the city.

More importantly, she had no other way to deal with these unexpected events. Having lost the money, all she could do was become someone else's wife to pay off a debt…

Thinking of this, Cheng Jiahe frowned.

He then remembered that Jiang Zhiyi probably didn't know many characters, which was why she had misspelled her name before.

Perhaps he could take this opportunity to help her. He was confident that he could teach her something, and what she learned would definitely come in handy for her in the future.

Cheng Jiahe said gently, "Don't worry, I can help you make up for this money. I have some savings of my own. However, I can't just give it to you for nothing. You have to write me an IOU."

"From now on, come to me every day after work, and I'll teach you to read, write, and write. Once you're proficient, you can help me with tasks like copying text. I'll pay you according to the amount of work you do, and you can use that money to pay off your debts. How about that?"

Jiang Zhiyi didn't expect him to do this, but Cheng Jiahe's request wasn't unreasonable, and for her, these things were extremely simple, so she immediately agreed.

"Thank you, Cheng Jiahe." Jiang Zhiyi wiped away her tears, her face full of gratitude.

"Alright, you can't cry now." Cheng Jiahe looked at her, a hint of tenderness slowly flashing in his eyes.

...

Jiang Zhiyi returned home with a full load.

Now we finally have the money to renovate the house, and we no longer have to worry about leaks and drafts on rainy days. I can finally get a good night's sleep.

"Mom, here's some money for you and Dad to use to repair the house." Jiang Zhiyi gave the money to Li Jiaoyun after returning home.

"Zhizhi, where did you get so much money?" Li Jiaoyun knew very well that Jiang Zhiyi couldn't have earned so much money on her own, but she absolutely wouldn't allow her daughter to do anything bad.

“Mom, this was given to me by Cheng Jiahe, a fellow educated youth. He wanted me to do chores for him, copying articles. I told him we needed to repair the house, so I asked him for an advance on my wages. He was a really nice guy, and he agreed right away.”

Jiang Zhiyi then took out the IOU she had just written and showed it to Li Jiaoyun.

Li Jiaoyun was relieved and said, "This Cheng educated youth is really a good person. You must be more diligent in the future and help him with his work, okay?"

Jiang Zhiyi nodded obediently.

With the money, the Jiang family began renovating their house. Jiang Xiangnong went to the production team to explain the situation, saying that they were too busy these past few days and hoped to be granted a few days off.

Jiang Xiangnong and Li Jiaoyun had always had a good reputation in the village. They were always very hardworking and often helped others, so the production team readily agreed to their request.

...

One day.

Jiang Jiadong was herding cattle on a grassy area at the edge of the village when a tall man walked over.

"Who are you?" Jiang Jiadong asked warily.

Cheng Jia crossed her long legs and sat lazily next to him, saying, "I'm your sister's... friend."

"What do you want from me? My sister isn't here right now." Jiang Jiadong was still wary of him.

"How's your relationship with your sister?" Cheng Jiahe asked with a smile.

"Of course it's great! My sister is the most beautiful person in the world! What do you want by asking about us?" Although Jiang Jiadong is not very old, his first thought is to protect his sister.

Cheng Jiahe raised an eyebrow and said calmly, "I'm just curious about the relationship between you siblings... Would you like to play with toy cars?"

"A toy car?!" Jiang Jiadong was excited. He had only ever seen such a thing in movies shown in the village, and he dreamed of having one.

But not only is it not sold in the village, they also say it's not available in the nearby county, and it's very expensive.

"Promise me you'll be nicer to your sister and help her with chores around the house, and I'll let you play with my toy cars. But if I find out you're bullying your sister, you won't get toy cars."

Cheng Jiahe thought that although he couldn't change Jiang Zhiyi's parents' views, since their preference for sons over daughters was deeply ingrained, he could still try to persuade a child like Jiang Jiadong.

If her younger brother sides with her, then Jiang Zhiyi's life at home should be more comfortable.

Jiang Jiadong's mind raced. He felt that the man in front of him was definitely more than just a friend of his sister; this man probably... liked his sister!

"You like my sister?" Jiang Jiadong asked directly. "You think you can bribe me with a car? Absolutely not!"

Cheng Jiahe didn't expect him to be so blunt, and said helplessly, "I'm your sister's boyfriend. If you don't believe me, you can ask her yourself."

Jiang Jiadong was also somewhat bewildered at this moment.

Cheng Jiahe said, "After you finish herding the cattle, come to my house to play with your toy cars. Your sister will also be coming to see me later. You can ask her then. But, can you do what I just mentioned?"

Jiang Jiadong nodded with some skepticism.

I'm sure I won't lose anything anyway, so it's fine to let him play with my toy car. If he's lying, I'll leave immediately.

night.

Jiang Jiadong was having so much fun here that he didn't want to leave. This man's house really had a lot of fun things to do. He really liked all these toy cars, and there was also a lot of delicious food.

No, he should call that person brother-in-law...

"What are you doing here?" Jiang Zhiyi arrived on time to learn how to work and earn money to pay off her debts, but as soon as she entered the door, she saw her younger brother.

"My brother-in-law brought me here to play." Jiang Jiadong was completely captivated at this moment.

Cheng Jiahe remained silent.

When they got home that evening, Jiang Zhiyi specifically told Jiang Jiadong, "You can't tell Mom and Dad about what happened between him and me, okay?"

Why can't we tell Mom and Dad?

Jiang Zhiyi said seriously, "Because...because my relationship with him is still unstable and we may break up at any time, so I don't want my parents to find out."

"You have to listen to me, or I won't allow Cheng Jiahe to play with you anymore," Jiang Zhiyi threatened him.

"Don't worry, I promise I won't tell!"