Chapter 43, Ah Cheng, is it okay?

"Yang Shuxing, I think you've lost your mind! How could those educated youths from the city possibly be interested in a country bumpkin like you? Stop being so delusional!"

"Zhao Xuan, you tell me! Have you taken a fancy to this big idiot? Speak up! You can't just let someone work for you for free without any explanation. If things remain unclear, I have even harsher things to say to you!"

The girl named Zhao, a sent-down youth, covered her face, her expression grim, and sobbed uncontrollably, seemingly unable to bear the humiliation. She turned and pushed through the crowd, running away.

One of the main characters ran away, leaving onlookers feeling slightly disappointed.

"Zhao Zhiqing!"

Yang Shuxing took two steps, his eyes filled with worry as he watched the departing figure. He wished he could fly over immediately to comfort Zhao Zhiqing, assuring her that none of this had anything to do with her, and that everything he did was voluntary and willingly done!

Even if Zhao Zhiqing doesn't like him, it doesn't matter. He's still willing to take care of her and just wants her to be happy!

Xia Zhenzhen was so angry that she wanted to kick him. The person had already left, yet he was still looking around!

This is nothing. She has even harsher things to say. She herself is indecent, and she still has the nerve to complain?

Xia Zhenzhen was so angry that her chest heaved violently; she was furious!

Yang Shuxing is a heartless bastard! Blind! A complete idiot!

How could he not see that Zhao Zhiqing didn't even care about him, but just wanted to use him to do chores for her!

Yang Shuxing, still clueless, joined in and worked with great enthusiasm!

"Xia Zhenzhen, I told you! Don't make things up! This has nothing to do with Zhao Zhiqing. Do you think everyone is as shameless as you? If you're angry, take it out on me!"

“Our relationship has nothing to do with Zhao Zhiqing. It was just me admiring Zhao Zhiqing without her knowing. Even without Zhao Zhiqing, I wouldn’t like you! And I wouldn’t marry you!”

These words shocked even the onlookers.

The girl with the braided pigtails, who had been so fierce, suddenly deflated like a punctured ball. Her expression went from disbelief to sadness, and then to embarrassment and indignation.

"Yang Shuxing, you bastard! Go to hell!"

"Who wants to marry you?! I, Xia Zhenzhen, would rather marry a pig or a dog than marry a bastard like you!"

You heartless bastard, you big idiot! You broken your promise, you coward! Which coward said he would marry her before, and now that he's fallen for someone new, he's changed his mind!

Xia Zhenzhen felt like she'd swallowed a bomb. She stepped forward and slapped Yang Shuxing across the face. "Pah! Take a piss and look in the mirror! She's a swan from the city. Even if you work for her every day, she'll never marry you!"

Yang Shuxing replied without hesitation, "I'd love to!"

Even after being slapped, Yang Shuxing remained unmoved. He considered the slap even and glared at the woman, saying, "I won't hold it against you, as long as you don't bother me again! And don't cause any more trouble for Zhao Zhiqing, or don't blame me for being impolite!"

After making his harsh remarks, Yang Shuxing turned around, pushed aside the onlookers, and left, seemingly heading in the direction he was going to catch up with Zhao Zhiqing.

Xia Zhenzhen stomped her feet in anger, glaring at the man's back with her eyes wide open, gritting her teeth!

"That Yang family brat is too heartless and out of his mind. The Xia family girl grew up with him since childhood, and the two families are neighbors with a close relationship. They've fallen out over an outsider. I'm afraid there's more to come between these two families!"

"I think so too. I originally thought that the Yang family boy and this girl would become a couple, but now that the Yang family boy has taken a fancy to Zhao Zhiqing, poor Zhen girl, this marriage is probably going to be difficult."

“Yang is a real scoundrel. He’s an outsider sent-down youth. He’s no match for us. Zhen’s right. We shouldn’t let him end up working for nothing.”

"I think Yang is quite devoted. Haven't you heard people say he's willing to be Zhao, the educated youth, a free scalper?"

As everyone spoke, Xia Zhenzhen, standing in the middle, grew increasingly displeased. That bastard Yang Shuxing had made her lose face.

He didn't care about her, and she didn't care about him either!

She immediately said, "Dear aunties and uncles, I'm sorry to have made a fool of myself in front of you all today. You've all seen what happened. I, Xia Zhenzhen, don't want that bastard Yang Shuxing! I don't care for him!"

"You uncles and aunts have all watched me grow up since I was a child. You all know what kind of person I, Xia Zhenzhen, am. Now I have something to ask of you uncles and aunts."

"If you find any good potential partners or good men, don't keep them to yourself. Aunties, introduce me to one. If it works out, I'll treat everyone to a wedding banquet and give the matchmaker a big red envelope!"

"I don't ask for much. As long as he is strong and healthy, and looks decent (after all, I, Xia Zhenzhen, am not bad-looking), and can work to support the family, like a man, and is not blind, that's fine."

She refused to believe that Xia Zhenzhen was so unmarriageable. It wasn't like she had to hang herself on Yang Shuxing's crooked tree. Xia Zhenzhen wasn't that spineless!

Is Yang Shuxing a rare find?!

"Good job, Zhen! Don't worry, we've got this covered!"

A burly woman in the crowd responded, clapping her hands in praise, and immediately took on the task.

Then someone else said, "My nephew from my mother's side is not married yet. He's a tiger in the sky, tall and big, and a good worker. He definitely meets Zhen's requirements. It's just that his family is a bit poor. If Zhen is willing, I'll have someone come over to meet him tomorrow."

An aunt standing nearby retorted, "No, your family is too poor and too far away. They can't even get enough to eat. My sister-in-law's son is much better off. He lives closer and isn't too poor."

"..."

Everyone started discussing animatedly, spitting as they talked. This wouldn't work, that would work, this was bad, that was good, and they argued back and forth.

When Cheng Aiguo was called over by his daughter, he saw everyone gathered together gossiping. The people who had been arguing had long since left, and only Xia's daughter was still there.

Cheng Aiguo went over to ask Xia Zhenzhen what had happened. Before Xia Zhenzhen could speak, the people around her rushed to describe the whole story to the captain.

Of course, we'll definitely help our own people, especially since the fault doesn't lie with Zhen Yatou, so they're even more in the right!

The educated youth who came along listened to the villagers' comments, which all conveyed the same message: the educated youth were no good at working, but they were all good at causing trouble.

The educated youth all looked grim, and some couldn't help but resent Zhao Xuan. The trouble she caused had ultimately implicated them all innocently.

Although these villagers didn't particularly like them, the two sides could still manage to get along peacefully and keep to themselves.

Cheng Aimin's brows were furrowed deeply, and the vertical lines between his brows seemed to be firmly imprinted on his forehead.

What kind of trouble is this? Why are they always causing problems? He can't even win all the cases he's adjudicating every day. He must not have enough work to do! And he still has time to mess around!

Cheng Aimin, with his hands behind his back, shouted loudly, "Disperse, disperse! Get back to work! Stop crowding here, disperse!"

Upon hearing the captain's words, Bai Sisi immediately stepped over and moved closer to Comrade Cheng and Auntie.

She was assigned to weed the fields with the other educated youth today, but not in this area.

She had been in Xintang Brigade for some time now, and she was no longer the clueless young girl she had been when she first arrived. She clearly sensed the conflicts between the educated youth and the villagers.

Perhaps because of her aunts and the others, she integrated well, and the other villagers did not reject her.

However, according to her observation, it wasn't just the educated youth who had conflicts with the villagers; there were also conflicts between the older educated youth and the newly arrived ones, and the older educated youth themselves weren't a united front either.

Moreover, there were frictions among the locals, but she was lucky enough to get in touch with her aunt's powerful connections.

Her aunt's family was renowned, and with her aunt protecting her, she didn't need to worry about these problems at all. Even the old educated youth envied her.

They had lived in the village longer than she had, so they naturally knew more about Aunt Xu's power—she was invincible throughout the village.

The woman couldn't beat her, but the man probably could. However, the men of the Cheng family weren't cowards either. They were all strong and capable, and all of them were full-time laborers with full work points. Who could beat the whole family?

"Auntie, I want to work with you!"

Bai Sisi sounded a little melancholy. It would be so nice to work with Sister Meiling and the others. We could listen to gossip while working and slack off without being caught.

"There will be plenty of opportunities in the future, silly girl! Come on, let's go over there and have some mung bean soup."

Xu Fengying said that the brigade leader took care of them, the educated youth, by assigning them easy jobs. Even though he took such good care of them, the educated youth were still doing really shabby work.

Try clearing out this wasteland, you'll be so exhausted you won't be able to get out of bed the next day, and you won't even be able to squat down to use the toilet!

After returning from the fields, Cheng Cheng took Xiao Xiao and instead of going back with her mother, they went to the old house to keep her grandparents company. They were leaving the next afternoon, so they wanted to spend more time with the two elderly people.

I probably won't see you again until next year.

After dinner, Xu Fengying called her daughter to her room, closed the door, and gave her the money she had collected.

Of the money she got back from the Ding family, she was still short 150 yuan. Xu Fengying wasn't worried at all that her daughter was gone and she wouldn't be able to get the money back.

Every month on the day the textile factory pays wages, she goes to the Ding family to collect the debt, figuring they wouldn't dare not pay it back.

Cheng Cheng didn't count, put the money in her purse, and put her arm around Xu Fengying's shoulder. "Thank you, Mom!"

"Alright, let go now, stop acting like you're still a child! Take good care of yourself over there, and if anything happens, write back and let us know."

"I understand, Mom. Let me hold you a little longer. I'm leaving tomorrow."

Xu Fengying wasn't used to clingy things; she wasn't a sentimental person. But considering her daughter was leaving the day after tomorrow, and who knew when they would see each other again, she let her go.

When Cheng Cheng returned to her room from her mother's room, she received two seals carved by Zhou Yue: "Cheng Xin Ru Yi" and "Xin Xiang Shi Cheng".

She gave a thumbs up, "I'll go buy inkpad when I get back tomorrow."

Parting is always sad. Zhou Yue felt guilty for making his wife leave her parents and relatives to go north with him. He wanted to do something within his power to make his wife happy.

"Grandpa gave me the carving tools. Ah Cheng, if you have any new ideas, please let me know."

Does this mean they want to carve another seal for her?

Cheng Cheng's eyes curved into crescent moons as she looked at Zhou Yue's serious expression and slowly nodded.

The next morning, after breakfast, Cheng Cheng watched Zhou Yue leave with her father and older brothers to go to work and clear land.

One can't help but sigh inwardly, "Has fate given Zhou Yue a cheat code?"

Their brain intelligence is top-notch, and even their physical fitness, energy, and stamina are top-notch.

Just as Cheng Cheng was sighing with her chin in her hand, her mother grabbed a chicken from somewhere, slit its throat with a knife, and the old hen flapped its wings in the yard before dying.

"Mom, are you killing a chicken again?"

She was a little worried that once she and Zhou Yue left, her mother's family would be left with little money.

Xu Fengying didn't even look up. She washed the knife and replied, "These are chickens your grandma raised. She brought them over to help her grandson-in-law get better."

Cheng Cheng frowned. "When was it delivered? How come I didn't know?"

The old hen seemed to have appeared out of thin air.

"You slept until the sun was high in the sky before you got up, and your grandpa brought over a chicken early in the morning, while you were still sound asleep in bed!"

Cheng Cheng: "..."

Speechless.

Xu Fengying prepared the chicken, threw it into a pot, and put it on a small stove to simmer over low heat.

He sat on a small stool, adding firewood to the stove.

He suddenly frowned, as if thinking of something, and after a while he abruptly stood up and told his daughter to watch the stove.

Cheng Cheng said "oh" and, since she had nothing else to do, she sat down on a small stool and leisurely fanned herself with a large palm-leaf fan.

Only she and her mother were home. Xiaoxiao had gone outside to play with her older siblings. It was the last day, so they let the little girl have as much fun as she could. The next time they met, it definitely wouldn't feel the same. Everyone would have grown up a bit by then, and the meeting would feel different.

We may miss our past selves and yearn for our future selves, but each day is a limited version of ourselves, and even each moment and second is a limited version. We cannot go back to the person we were a second ago.

Cheng Cheng lives purely in the moment, enjoying herself in the present, living for the moment, and never letting any troubles linger in her mind.

Until Ms. Xu Fengying came in.

"Mom, isn't this too nourishing?"

I'm afraid we'll overdo it!

Without hesitation, Ms. Xu Fengying pulled open the pot lid and threw in a piece of wild ginseng.

"This isn't particularly nourishing, but it's perfect for making soup so everyone can have some."

With just a small piece of wild ginseng, how much of a tonic could it provide? Since it's a good thing to keep it, she only cut off a small piece to use in chicken soup.

The main purpose is to nourish her son-in-law. She rarely sees him and doesn't usually have a chance to help him out. So, taking advantage of his return, she, as his mother-in-law, is going to give him a good boost.

I also made a pot of chicken soup to nourish the whole family; everyone benefited.

Cheng Cheng couldn't stop her mother from throwing wild ginseng slices into the chicken soup, putting the lid on, and continuing to simmer.

She felt a little uneasy. It should be alright, right? The ginseng slices didn't look very big. With such a big pot of chicken soup, it should be quite diluted. Everyone should have a bowl.

Hmm, it should be fine.

Around 10 o'clock, the chicken soup was ready. Xu Fengying ladled out a bowl and asked her daughter to take it to her grandparents.

Cheng Cheng brought the chicken soup to her grandparents. Apart from her grandparents and parents, no one else in the family knew about the wild ginseng.

That piece of wild ginseng was also added to the old man's bowl. Very good! Even the evidence was destroyed by her mother.

Cheng Cheng returned from her grandparents' house. Her father and Zhou Yue had already finished work and were about to wash their hands and eat.

A pot of chicken soup was served, and each person received a bowl of chicken soup with chicken meat. A rich aroma of meat mixed with the steam wafted over, and the smell alone was enough to make one's mouth water.

Cheng Xiangming took a sip, his eyebrows rising with delight. "Mom, why does the chicken soup smell so good today?"

Xu Fengying ignored her son, lowered her head and drank the chicken soup, unable to shut her mouth even while eating.

Cheng Cheng thought to herself, "It smells so good, how could it not smell good when it's stewed with wild ginseng?"

Chicken was limited, so each person only got one bowl, but there was no limit to the chicken soup. Xu Fengying specially made a big pot and stewed a full pot of chicken soup, so that the whole family could have two bowls.

Cheng Cheng watched as her mother served Zhou Yue a full bowl of chicken, urging him to eat with the look a mother-in-law gives her son-in-law, adding that there was more in the pot.

Zhou Yue couldn't resist his mother-in-law's enthusiasm, so he ate a bowl of chicken and drank two bowls of chicken soup.

Cheng Cheng silently drank the chicken soup in her bowl. The big boss uses his brain a lot, so he should replenish his energy more often.

The whole family devoured that pot of chicken soup, not a drop was left.

Cheng Cheng observed silently, and everyone seemed the same as usual, so she was relieved, realizing she had been overthinking things.

Time quickly came to part. After loading their belongings onto the tractor, Xu Fengying and Cheng Aiguo saw their daughter, son-in-law, and granddaughter off to the big banyan tree at the village entrance.

"Mom and Dad, we're leaving now. You should go back home and take good care of yourselves. I'll write to you when I get there."

If they didn't have to rush to Xiaojuan and Leng Gang's wedding tomorrow, they could have stayed another day.

When it was time to leave, Xu Fengying's anger towards her daughter had long since dissipated, leaving only a bellyful of worry and concern.

Looking at her son-in-law, she instructed, "Xiao Yue, you two must take good care of each other. Xiao Cheng is still young, so you should teach her more. If she doesn't listen, just tell us and we'll teach her."

Ultimately, Xu Fengying still couldn't let go of her troublesome daughter. Keeping her daughter by her side had its advantages, as she could take care of her more easily. However, it wasn't good for the young couple, as it was detrimental to their relationship and could easily lead to infidelity over time.

She wanted to send her daughter off, but she couldn't help worrying about her daughter.

In her entire life, except for the one time her father-in-law took her to the capital, she had never left her side. Her daughter's personality changed drastically after returning from the capital. I don't know what trauma she suffered in the capital, but she won't say when I ask her.

This is the second time she's sending her daughter away. Xu Fengying feels an indescribable melancholy. Children are a burden from birth; there's never a day when she doesn't worry about them.

Zhou Yue agreed to his mother-in-law's request and promised his mother-in-law and father-in-law that he would take good care of A-Cheng and her daughter, swearing on his life.

The tractor sputtered away, but Xu Fengying and Cheng Aiguo didn't leave. They stood there for a while, watching until the tractor was out of sight.

“Let’s go back,” Cheng Aiguo said.

Xu Fengying nodded, and as soon as she turned around, she saw that Cheng Aiguo's nose was bleeding. She quickly told him to tilt his head back, "You're bleeding from your nose!"

"I have a nosebleed?"

Cheng Aiguo swiped his finger, and it turned red!

Xu Fengying patted him, "What are you staring at? Lift your head up!"

Cheng Aiguo nodded subconsciously, but his nosebleed worsened, so he quickly turned his head back.

While they were frantically trying to stop the nosebleed, everything was calm on the tractor.

Cheng Xiangming said irritably as he drove the tractor, "The weather is getting hotter and hotter! It's scorching hot!"

He was sweltering in the heat and felt inexplicably irritable.

"Brother-in-law, is it hot in the Northwest during the summer?" Cheng Xiangming asked, turning his head.

"It's alright, it's only hot at noon in the summer, cool in the morning, and cold at night."

However, the sun is very strong during the day, and the northwest is drier than the south, so it is cool under the shade of trees or indoors.

Summers in the south are indeed hotter. The air is humid, and with the high temperature and strong sun, the air becomes stuffy and hot.

A surge of restlessness welled up in Zhou Yue's heart, climbing up his spine and spreading to his limbs, igniting a heat throughout his body. He couldn't help but unbutton two buttons on his collar.

Noticing the man's movements, Cheng Cheng's heart skipped a beat. Could it be that she didn't feel anything?

It's normal for the sun to be hot, right? It's definitely hot with the sun shining down on your head!

She convinced herself not to take it to heart.

The tractor drove all the way from Xintang Brigade to the city. After her second brother left, Cheng Cheng organized the things she had brought back. She planned to send the dried goods her mother had prepared to him to lighten the burden of her luggage.

After getting everything ready, Cheng Cheng asked Zhou Yue whether he should go to the post office or they should go together.

"Give it to me, I'll mail it."

Zhou Yue took the two large packages and turned to leave.

Cheng Cheng watched the man's back. It seemed that nothing was wrong and everything was normal, except that Zhou Yue drank two bowls of cold water as soon as he got home.

When she and Xiaoxiao got home, they drank a few glasses of water because they were thirsty and sweating profusely from the sun.

Cheng Cheng didn't want to cook dinner, so she made cold noodles, which the family of three enjoyed very much!

This is their second-to-last night sleeping here. They'll sleep one more night tomorrow and leave the day after.

Cheng Cheng was a little reluctant to leave the bed she was on. She had gotten used to sleeping on it, and the little one was also reluctant to leave. She liked this bed too, and she was used to doing somersaults on it.

Moreover, this wooden bed was made by her great-grandfather. She did a somersault, turned to look at her mother, and asked, "Mom, can't we send the bed away too?"

Upon hearing this, Cheng Cheng shook her head with amusement, "No, you can't."

Xiao Xiao turned her head, about to ask her father, "Dad, what's our home like in the Northwest?"

Zhou Yue got up from his desk, walked to the bedside and sat down, apologizing, "Acheng, the houses the base assigned to us are probably single-story houses, not as good as apartment buildings."

So that's what it was about. Cheng Cheng didn't care. On the contrary, she thought the bungalow was better. The apartment buildings that are being built now all have to share a kitchen and toilet with the people in the building, just like her older sister's house.

"Does the bungalow have a yard?"

Cheng Cheng was even more satisfied with Zhou Yue's affirmative answer and said, "I think bungalows are good, let's live in bungalows."

"Go to sleep!"

After turning off the lights, Zhou Yue lay down on the bed and told his daughter a story. His mind was calm, but the restlessness that had risen in his heart since the afternoon lingered.

Lying in bed, a surge of heat rose from the bottom of my heart, and even my breath was steaming!

My daughter's breathing was steady and even; she must be asleep.

After a long while, the wife inside suddenly moved. By the moonlight, Zhou Yue could see that his wife was about to step over him.

He pulled the power cord, and everything became bright.

"Aren't you asleep yet? I'm going to the bathroom."

Cheng Cheng hadn't expected the man to still be awake. She had drunk a lot of water the night before and now she needed to urinate.

She stepped over the man with her other foot, sat on the edge of the bed, slipped on her shoes, and took a flashlight to the toilet.

After returning from the toilet, she climbed onto the bed and was about to step over the man when suddenly a hot, strong hand grabbed her wrist.

“Ah Cheng.”

Zhou Yue called her name, his Adam's apple bobbing, a burning heat rising in his throat, his voice low and hoarse, carrying a hint of deliberately suppressed heat.

The restlessness in his eyes was like a spark blown by the wind. The slight breeze brought by the woman getting into bed ignited the spark, bursting out with a more scorching and aggressive light. He stared at her without blinking.

"What, what are you doing?"

Cheng Cheng's heart skipped a beat. If she still couldn't see that something was wrong with Zhou Yue, then she would have to wonder if there was something wrong with her eyes.

"Ah Cheng, is it okay?"

Another hot palm, burning with heat, suddenly covered her waist. The temperature penetrated through her cool summer shirt, making Cheng Cheng's heart tremble.

"Well, actually..."

She wasn't ready.

Upon hearing the pause, the hand on her waist was removed.

Cheng Cheng breathed a slight sigh of relief, her heart pounding, but there was still a hand firmly holding her wrist.

"Ah Cheng, can you tell me what I need to improve?"

If his wife is unwilling, it must be because he did something wrong that displeased her.

"Um, don't you think we're not very familiar with each other yet?"

Cheng Cheng whispered, "Although we've had a child, we're not really that close."

Zhou Yue was impeccable in terms of appearance, height, character, knowledge, and ability. To be honest, Cheng Cheng's heart was indeed stirred a little.

Hearing his wife's concerns, Zhou Yue let go of her hand. "I'm sorry, I didn't think it through."

Cheng Cheng quickly rolled onto the bed, hugged the blanket and lay down, her voice soft, "It's okay, are you alright? Actually, my mom put a piece of wild ginseng in the chicken soup for lunch today."

Her wife had mentioned that they had found wild ginseng, but she never expected...

The heat inside his body made his throat tighten, his Adam's apple bobbed involuntarily, and his tongue quickly licked his dry lower lip.

Suddenly sat up.

"You go to sleep first, I'm going to the yard for some fresh air."

Zhou Yue got up and left, closing the door behind him.

Although the man was gone, the burning heat he left behind lingered in her waist, and Cheng Cheng tossed and turned, unable to sleep, suffering from a rare bout of insomnia.

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Author's note: I can't eat with my teeth on both sides, it hurts every time I bite down! Yesterday I ate white rice porridge all day, and today I ate noodles all day, oh my god! I ate with my front teeth, OMG! Get better soon! A lesson learned the hard way!

Goodnight, my darlings! [Orange heart][Yellow heart][Purple heart][Green heart][Blue heart][Cyan heart]