Having received instructions from the village party secretary, Gou Cuifen found Gu Qing early in the morning and told her to make good preparations.

"Gu Zhiqing, don't put too much pressure on yourself. Try teaching for one last day and see how it goes. If it really doesn't work... we'll have to find someone else to teach. Township leaders will be coming to inspect the classes in a month to see how well the villagers are learning."

As she spoke, Gou Cuifen took Gu Qing's hand and patted it apologetically, "I'm so sorry."

Gu Qing smiled gently, "You're too kind. I understand. I've been finding it a bit strenuous these past few days and I'm quite tired. I would be very grateful if you could find someone to replace me."

Gou Cuifen nodded happily, becoming more and more satisfied with what she saw. This city girl was truly understanding.

Gu Qing felt embarrassed by her gaze and lowered her eyes.

"I wonder if Gu, the educated youth, has a boyfriend?"

Upon hearing this, Gu Qing blushed deeply and stammered, "No, no."

"That's great! You've met my rascal. Although he didn't go to school much, he can still read. And I'm not bragging, but he's one of the best-looking boys out there. What do you think?"

"I, I..."

"So what's going on, Gu Zhiqing? Luckily, Tie Niu is here, so take a good look."

Tie Niu was pulled forward by his mother, his dark face slightly flushed. "Mom, what are you doing?"

She glanced furtively at Huang Xiaoqiang, who was standing to the side with a blank expression, and then pulled Gou Cuifen away.

"Hey, why are you pulling me like that?"

"Let's go. How can you ask a girl such a question to her face? Besides, I already have a girl I like."

"Huh? Who is it? Tell me quickly."

As the mother and son's voices faded into the distance, Gu Qing finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Out of the corner of her eye, she caught a glimpse of Huang Xiaoqiang, who made no comment, and felt a strange sense of loss.

Just as I was about to speak, the person turned and left.

Grandma Wu had just finished feeding the pigs when she saw Huang Xiaoqiang. "What's wrong?"

"nothing!"

Hearing Huang Xiaoqiang's tone, Old Lady Wu was taken aback. It was a rare opportunity to hear Huang Xiaoqiang's cold tone again. Old Lady Wu's face immediately darkened, and she stepped forward and slapped him. "If you can't speak nicely, then don't bother! Get out of here!"

Huang Xiaoqiang touched the familiar pain on his face, and the frustration in his heart suddenly found an outlet. Tears quickly welled up in his eyes and streamed down his face.

Grandma Wu, who was originally full of anger, was stunned. "Why are you crying? I didn't use any force."

Huang Xiaoqiang looked at Old Lady Wu with teary eyes, and when he remembered how he beat that masked man in the black market, he immediately stopped crying. Oh, this is nothing.

She stopped crying on her own, and seeing that he was alright, Old Lady Wu didn't bother with him and went straight to rest under the shed.

After a long silence, Huang Xiaoqiang finally asked, "Is Gu Qing from a well-off family?"

Grandma Wu looked up at him and asked, "You like her?"

Huang Xiaoqiang's previously aggrieved expression instantly turned somewhat shy. "I... I didn't either."

Grandma Wu pursed her lips, "Not yet. There's no mirror right now. Otherwise, take a look at yourself before you say that."

Huang Xiaoqiang's face turned bright red instantly. After seeing his embarrassed look, Grandma Wu said, "I don't know your mother either, but from what I've observed, Gu Qing's family was indeed well-off. It's just that they've suffered a misfortune and their fortunes have declined."

Huang Xiaoqiang regained his composure and nodded.

After a long while, he heard his own voice: "What's the use of liking someone? Even if my family falls on hard times, I'm not good enough for them."

No sooner had he finished speaking than a sharp pain shot through his forehead. Looking up, he saw Old Mrs. Wu's face full of anger. "I raised you all these years, only to have you look down on yourself like this?"

"If you're not good enough for someone, work hard to become better and more worthy of them."

"You haven't done anything yet, and you're already wallowing in self-pity, blocking your own path. Don't ever say you're my son, Wu Mingxia, when you go out in the future. I'd be ashamed!"

Huang Xiaoqiang was stunned. By the time he came to his senses, Wu Laotai had already chased him away with a broom.

Standing on the path, Huang Xiaoqiang looked at the neatly arranged houses in the distance, and his heart gradually calmed down.

Sitting on the wooden plank, panting heavily, Old Mrs. Wu glared in the direction Huang Xiaoqiang had left, muttering to herself, "Damn it."

When Gou Cuifen came up, Old Lady Wu was carefully examining the pigs in the pigsty, her eyes seemingly filled with anger...?

Gou Cuifen shook her head and called out, "Mingxia!"

Grandma Wu looked away and saw who it was, but she showed no surprise, as if the two of them were still the same as always.

Gou Cuifen felt a slight sense of relief, and her expression relaxed. "You've raised them quite well; those five piglets have grown up now."

"That's right, they eat more than their parents. I think the mother pig is pregnant again and will give birth to another litter soon."

"Yeah?"

Gou Cuifen was truly astonished. Her eyes lit up with delight as she craned her neck to examine the sow who was lying on her side, fast asleep.

They discovered that its belly was indeed bulging, "Today is truly a day of double joy!"

Um?

Seeing Wu's confusion, he took the initiative to explain, "It's like this, Gu Qing is young and a girl, so she can't keep up with those rough guys in the village. She hasn't learned to read much in several days."

Old Mrs. Wu frowned, looking as if she shared Gou Cuifen's indignation. "Is that so?"

"Yes, that's why we still need you to take charge. You have connections with the police, so they listen to you to some extent. We still need you to teach them."

Grandma Wu hesitated, "Will it work?"

“Sure! Of course!” Gou Cuifen grabbed Wu’s hand. “Mingxia, you have to help us with this. The township leaders will be coming to inspect in a month. Everyone will still be clueless and unable to do anything. My husband… you have to help me.”

Hearing her say that, Old Mrs. Wu agreed without hesitation, "Okay, you two have helped me a lot, so I'll take this job."

Gou Cuifen's eyes also welled up with tears. "You are a good person."

Grandma Wu smiled but didn't say anything.

After chatting with Grandma Wu for a long time, Gou Cuifen left happily.

After she left, the smile on Old Mrs. Wu's face faded.

His eyes were fixed on the horizon, and it was unclear what he was thinking.

When Gou Cuifen returned home, she told the village secretary about the good news. The village secretary was finally relieved and sighed, "I'll give her more work points later as compensation."

Gou Cuifen nodded, "Of course, of course."

“When rumors were spreading in the village, we ignored them and even distanced ourselves from them. Now that we have a problem, they agree to help us immediately. We are in the wrong.”

"After this incident, I understand now that Wu Mingxia is someone I can befriend deeply," Gou Cuifen nodded.

"In the future, if she needs anything, we should try not to refuse her; if we can agree, we should agree."

The village party secretary exhaled two puffs of smoke from his nose. "I know."