An Moxue was busy all night and finally arrived home just as dawn was breaking.

Although I got three hundred yuan and felt relieved, I wasn't happy at all. I felt like my legs, especially my feet, weren't my own anymore. It was too much suffering.

I secretly vowed to myself that I must get a four-wheeled car. If I can't get one in China, I'll go abroad. There's always a way.

I really didn't have the energy to go to work today, so I went to the scorekeeper and asked for a day off.

When I got home, I didn't have much of an appetite. I only drank some porridge, then washed up and went straight to sleep.

An Moxue was sleeping soundly when the howling of the two little wolves chased her from her dream and brought her back to reality with a snap.

The wolf cubs continued to howl. An Moxue looked out the window. "Hmm, there's someone at the gate," An Moxue called out. "Stop howling, I heard you!" The two wolf cubs stopped howling.

An Moxue put on her shoes and put the two wolf cubs into the cage.

As they approached the gate, they saw it was Aunt Meihua: "Auntie, come in quickly. I'm not feeling well today and I fell asleep at home. How long have you been here?" The two of them talked as they walked into the house.

"I just arrived. Your two little ones are so clever. They started chirping as soon as I stood at the door."

“If they hadn’t called me, I wouldn’t have known you were here. I was woken up by the two of them. I didn’t even hear you calling me.”

"Wow, he's sleeping pretty soundly. Is he alright?"

"Nothing much. Auntie, did something fun happen that you came to tell me about? Tell me quickly."

"You silly girl, can't you just come see me because your aunt misses you?"

"That's right, Auntie. If you didn't miss me, you wouldn't have come to see me." As they talked, An Moxue filled a plate with melon seeds and pine nuts and placed it on the kang (a heated brick bed), then handed a handful to Aunt Meihua.

Aunt Meihua took it, saying as she ate, "It's not that we're close; I wouldn't bother going to see anyone else!"

"Yes, yes, yes. Auntie, you're right."

Aunt Meihua rolled her eyes at her indifferently, "Mo Xue, let me tell you, you didn't go to work today, so you didn't see that the educated youth who went to the countryside with you, named Li Weiguo, is a real scoundrel."

"What's wrong?"

“You know who Xu Ying is, the daughter of Xu Lao Er?” An Moxue shook her head. “She lives not far from the village chief’s house. He has a son who stutters when he gets anxious.”

"I know that, everyone calls him Big Stutterer."

"Yes, it's the younger sister of the stutterer. Xu Lao Er wanted to find Xu Ying a partner, and the matchmaker had even arranged a date for the meeting. Xu Ying absolutely refused. But then she heard that the young man might be successful, and the whole family had their eyes on him. So Xu Lao Er was about to agree to the marriage. Xu Ying had no choice but to tell them that she was dating Li Weiguo. Today, after work, Xu Lao Er went to find Li Weiguo, and guess what happened?"

"What's wrong?"

"Oh my goodness, this Li Weiguo actually said that he and Xu Ying were just revolutionary comrades helping each other. Then Xu Lao Er asked, 'If it's just helping each other, why are you eating so much of our Xu Ying's food?'"

What was his reply?

"That's a shameless answer, didn't you see? Go get a bowl of water, then I'll continue."

An Moxue got off the kang (a heated brick bed), poured a cup of sugar water, and handed it to Aunt Meihua. She then sat back down on the kang and continued eating melon seeds.

Aunt Mei took the bowl and took a big gulp, gulping it down. "You spendthrift child, why did you pour me this sugar water! It's so sweet, how much sugar did you put in it! And it tastes pretty good."

“Auntie, just drink it. You’ve taught me so much since we met, and it’s not even worth a bowl of sweet soup from you at my house. I don’t give it to just anyone. It’s not like I want to be nice to you too! Come on, keep talking.”

"He actually said that Xu Ying helped him because she was giving him food, and that he was helping Xu Ying to enlighten her, to help her improve her thinking and elevate her mind. They were just helping each other, how could they be dating? Xu Ying happened to come over and heard him say that, and she was dumbfounded."

"Is Xu Lao Er just going to let him say that?"

"Xu Lao Er felt that what he said was wrong, but he didn't know how to refute it. He could only say, 'If you don't treat me well, what do you want?' He was so angry that he kept trying to beat him up, but Xu Ying stopped him. Xu Ying kept saying, 'I know that I am a country person and not good enough for you, but I still want to be good to you.' It would have been better if she hadn't said that. After she finished speaking, Xu Lao Er was so angry that he trembled all over and couldn't speak. Xu Lao Er has such a daughter who can't distinguish right from wrong. He has a lot to worry about."

"That's it?"

"How could that be! Later, Xu Er's wife came and asked him, 'Are you really not dating anyone?' He said yes. Xu Er's wife asked her daughter, and the girl stammered for a long time and couldn't say what was going on. So Li Weiguo asked Xu Ying, 'Did you confess to me?' Xu Ying shook her head. Li Weiguo asked again, 'Did I confess to you?' Xu Ying still shook her head. Li Weiguo asked again, 'Have I touched you?' She still shook her head. Xu Weiguo continued to ask, 'Have I held your hand?' Xu Ying still shook her head. What's not clear? She's been tricked into eating and drinking for free."

"Xu Er's wife just let him go like that?"

“How could that be!” Xu Er’s wife said that since they weren’t dating, it was fine as long as they returned the grain they had eaten. If they didn’t return it, it was okay too; they could go to the village. Li Weiguo had no choice but to agree.

"Auntie, just you wait and see, he will definitely pay it back, but I just don't know how much he will be able to pay back."

"What's the matter? Is there some explanation?"

"He's always trying to take advantage of others, and he always comes up with some high-sounding reasons. Many people have suffered losses because of him, and the educated youth are extremely annoyed. Just you wait and see, there's more to come."

"I don't think he's a good person. His eyes are always darting around when he looks at people."

"Auntie, you're amazing!"

"What's so great about me? It's all the old saying from our ancestors: 'A woman with her head held high, a man with his head bowed, shifty-eyed and cunning.' 'Shifty-eyed' perfectly describes someone like him. He's got a single thought in his eye, and even eight hundred thoughts wouldn't be enough for him. Let me tell you, I've seen more than just this one; he's also flirting with other girls. I don't know what these girls are thinking. I don't see anything good about this Li Weiguo. He's just average-looking, his work ethic is so-so, his character is...tsk tsk, I can't say anything good about him, and his family background is probably not great either. He's a complete nobody, so what do these girls see in him? His sweet talk is so over the top, it's enough to make anyone swoon."

"Perhaps it's youthful ignorance and a yearning for the beauty of love, or perhaps it's a desire to marry a city person and live a good life without wanting to work hard, unaware that many city people are worse off than rural people. They've been blinded by the beautiful blueprint others have painted for them."

"That's so beautifully said, so true! You really have to be a cultured person; your words are so different. You know, a woman marries a man for food and clothing. If you're going to marry a man, you have to earn it yourself. What do you want from a man? Is it because he's lazy, poor, or dirty and doesn't bathe?" After saying that, she shook her head, looking like she didn't understand. Then she picked up her bowl and gulped down half a bowl of sugar water in one go, smacking her lips as if she wanted more.

She made An Moxue laugh. A bowl of sweet soup made An Moxue feel like she was drinking wine, not water, but fine wine.