Chapter 33 Chapter 33 Please, I was wrong, stay away from me! ...

Donghe Village, blue brick courtyard.

"The camera is truly amazing. Is the me in the photo the same as the me you see in your eyes?"

Zhao Xiaoxing studied the newspaper, looking left and right. In the four-person photo, she was standing next to Qingmei, smiling brightly, and it was obvious that they were in the same group.

Before Qingmei could say anything, Zhao Xiaoxing spoke first, "I feel different from the me in the mirror. I'm fatter in the mirror than in the photo. How come the photo makes me look thinner? I've finally gained some weight."

Xiaoyan took a pair of scissors and planned to cut out the photos from the Dazhong Daily and put them in a photo frame to hang.

It was not easy to find a photographer in the countryside, and it was even more precious to find a photo that was published in the newspaper. She collected all the photos that Qingmei had submitted to the newspaper, waiting to hang them all on the wall after the new house was built.

Qingmei pointed at the newspaper and said, "That reporter is so nice! He even said, 'Their friendship will last forever.' If I wanted to be friends with actress Chen, would she agree?"

Zhao Xiaoxing shook her head and said, "She may not look as delicate as you, but she's more delicate than you. I don't think you two are the same kind of people."

Qingmei pouted, thought for a moment, and jumped up from the kang.

"It's a rare break, let's write a thank-you letter to the Municipal Theater! Even after the show, we can't forget actress Chen's dedication. Look, she was so tired that she could barely hold the microphone. We should really thank her."

Zhao Xiaoxing recalled what happened that day and felt that actor Chen's expression did not look like he was tired, but rather like he had suffered a great humiliation.

She couldn't understand why this happened.

Maybe actors are more sensitive. There is an idiom that says "not adapting to the local environment". It may be that they are not adapting to the local environment, feeling uncomfortable and unable to control their expressions.

Qingmei felt that expressing gratitude in her personal capacity was not formal enough. The performance was for the entire Donghe Village, so if she wanted to express her gratitude, it would be better to include Donghe Village as well, which would be more sincere.

"Let's write it in a positive way. Maybe when it's good, we'll come back again."

Qingmei said happily, "Who of you will accompany me to the brigade headquarters? I want to talk to Captain Jin about this matter. If Captain Jin is willing to write a few words of thanks, it will be more formal."

Zhao Xiaoxing put down the newspaper and said, "I'll go with you. It rained the day before yesterday, and all the wild vegetables are sprouting up in the mountains. I'll go with you, and then we can go dig some wild vegetables in the mountains. If there are any mushrooms, pick some and dry them in the sun. When the chickens grow up, they'll be delicious as mushroom stew."

"Okay." Qingmei sat down on the edge of the kang, slipping on her slippers, and said to Xiaoyan, "You study at home. If grandma wakes up, please tell her for me."

Xiaoyan said, "If you go to the mountains, remember to bring water and tie hemp ropes around your shoes to prevent slipping."

Qingmei nodded and said, "Okay, just do whatever you want tonight, and we'll be back before dark."

Xiaoyan said, "Okay."

Qingmei settled the house, walked out of the kang room and started putting on her shoes.

Outside her main house was a small hall, which served as a living room. Visitors to her house would often change into slippers at the door and sit in the living room, rather than sitting on the kang.

People didn't pay much attention to what they wore these days, and often wore their shoes under the kang. They would sit on the kang after work without changing or washing their clothes, and would only sweep it before going to bed.

Qingmei felt that this was unhygienic. Since she couldn't ask others to do the same, she started with herself.

There are only lesbians in my family, and they agree with this request. They are all good lesbians who love cleanliness.

Qingmei took the remaining stationery at home and went to the brigade office with Zhao Xiaoxing.

Captain Jin was on the phone in his office and gestured to them. Qingmei and Zhao Xiaoxing sat on the wooden sofa and waited.

After Captain Jin finished the call, he asked Qingmei, "Why didn't you take a rest today? Why did you come here?"

Qingmei told Captain Jin that she wanted to write a thank-you letter. Captain Jin also thanked Chen Lili and the others in his heart for their wonderful performance. He wanted to give them travel expenses and gas money, but they refused them and didn't even eat. After the performance, they just rode away on their bikes.

This made Captain Jin feel guilty. He felt that Donghe Village seemed impolite for not entertaining them.

"Your idea is great. I've been thinking about how to thank them these past two days. As for sending local specialties, our village doesn't have any, and as for calling, I don't know what to say."

Captain Jin took out the brigade's letterhead from the drawer and said, "Don't use yours, use mine. I'll write on my letterhead and stamp it with the brigade's seal. This way, both publicly and privately, it shows that we value and appreciate it."

Qingmei said, "Okay, how do we write it?"

Captain Jin said, "You don't have to use fancy words; just express your gratitude in plain language. You guys go ahead and organize your words. I'll go to the broadcast room and make an announcement to see if any other villagers would like to write a thank you letter."

Qingmei said, "That's great. I was thinking of getting everyone to write together."

Captain Jin went over to play the announcement, and Qingmei and Zhao Xiaoxing managed a few words of thanks, leaving the remaining space for others to write.

After a while, someone came to the office.

A few educated youth came over and asked where to write the thank-you letter. Qingmei offered them a pen, paper, and space.

Later, many fellow villagers who had watched the performance came. Many of them had learned to write in night school. It was a rare opportunity for them to contact the outside world, and they also wanted to thank the performers that day, so they wrote down their sincere greetings.

Qingmei waited until finally more than 30 villagers came to participate in writing the thank-you letters.

"Okay, I have some stamps here, just put them on and send them over." Captain Jin planned to send it himself.

Qingmei quickly said, "Let me do it. We just happened to be passing by that way."

Zhao Xiaoxing pointed to the basket on the ground and said, "We are going to the mountains to dig vegetables."

Captain Jin then gave the thank-you letter to Qingmei.

Qingmei and Zhao Xiaoxing went to the mailbox outside the supply and marketing cooperative. While Zhao Xiaoxing went into the supply and marketing cooperative to buy some delicious food, Qingmei quickly stuffed the small note she had written in advance into the thank-you letter, sealed the envelope, and threw it into the mailbox.

"Let's go?"

"good."

Spring plowing is already in its second half and the weather is getting warmer at the end of April.

Many migratory birds from the north have returned.

Qingmei and Zhao Xiaoxing walked towards the back mountain.

Houshan is a general term. Starting from the nearest mountain to Donghe Village, five or six consecutive mountains are all called Houshan.

In fact, every mountain has its own name. People don’t like to call it in a fancy way, so they all call it the back mountain.

If you really want to distinguish them, just say Dawang Mountain, Erwang Mountain, and Sanwang Mountain. They are much easier to distinguish than Donglin Mountain, Zhiwu Mountain, and Beijiao Mountain which are seriously named by the Land Bureau.

Zhao Xiaoxing heard that someone had dug up spring bamboo shoots in Erwang Mountain. The temperature was low in the first few days of the month, so the bamboo shoots did not emerge. But after it rained in the past two days, they emerged in large numbers.

If you are lucky, you can also pick toon buds.

Qingmei had heard from Zhao Wuhe that Gu Qingzhou liked to eat Chinese toon sprouts. However, the army didn't make this dish, firstly because it was expensive, and secondly because they couldn't supply enough Chinese toon sprouts for tens of thousands of people at once.

Qingmei always remembered this matter. Thinking that Gu Qingzhou would come over in the next two days, she wanted to give him a surprise.

When you go home, you always have to eat something you like.

They came from the foot of Dawang Mountain to Erwang Mountain and met a forest patrol team on the way.

Forest patrol teams are formed by villages near the mountains to prevent forest fires, poaching and logging.

There were no people from Donghe Village in the patrol team this time. When they met, they told them not to go deep into the mountains because there were wild boars there, and then they left.

Qingmei had heard that wild boars had strong attack power and their huge tusks could pierce a person's thigh, causing the artery to rupture and the person to die.

"Let's be careful. Climb up the tree if we hear any movement." Qingmei held a fire stick in her hand to prevent snakes.

"That's the nest of elm yellow mushrooms over there! Come quickly!" Zhao Xiaoxing saw that the fallen pine tree was covered with elm yellow mushrooms. She was so excited: "This kind of mushroom stewed chicken is the best."

Qingmei followed him down the path and, walking in, she happened to see a large patch of elm yellow mushrooms. She was also happy and decided to pick some to take home and dry in the sun so they could grow for half a year.

She took out a small knife and picked the elm yellow mushrooms from the roots, specifically choosing the big ones without their umbrellas open.

After they finished picking the yellow elm mushrooms, Qingmei saw some Chinese toon shoots not far away. On the tops of some bare branches grew clumps of these delicious purple plants.

She went over and carefully broke off the Chinese toon with her hands and gently placed it in the basket.

Zhao Xiaoxing came over to help reach the branches: "What fresh and tender Chinese toon shoots, they are the first batch."

Qingmei tiptoed to pick some off the fruit: "It's really the first crop, and the flavor is much richer than the ordinary ones."

Zhao Xiaoxing discovered many more mushrooms. She used to go up the mountain to pick mushrooms when she was hungry. She knew very well which mushrooms were edible and which were not.

Today they picked large clusters of chicken mushrooms, porcini mushrooms, sweet potatoes, three or four spring bamboo shoots and a piece of wild wood ear mushrooms.

Not only Zhao Xiaoxing, but even Qingmei felt that they had come to the right place.

The two of them spent half a day picking in the mountains with their butts sticking out, and their baskets were half full.

Zhao Xiaoxing clutched her stomach and said, "There are no trees over there. Let's go to the stream and cook something to eat."

Qingmei was also hungry. She had eaten late in the morning and had just a quick bite. She had had some corn porridge at noon, but it didn't make her feel very hungry.

"Let's cook the sweet potatoes and eat them." Qingmei walked to the stream, squatted by the stream, and washed her face by stepping on the stones.

Zhao Xiaoxing skillfully piled up the stones, placed the small iron pot she brought with her on top of them, and then searched around for firewood.

Qingmei tended the fire and fetched clear stream water to cook the taro.

When the water boiled, Zhao Xiaoxing grabbed a handful of mushrooms from her backpack, washed them, and threw them in: "Cook them together, otherwise it will have no taste."

Qingmei didn't care and watched Zhao Xiaoxing busying herself stirring the pot.

"Try it and see if it's ripe." Zhao Xiaoxing picked up the mushroom with a small stick that had been peeled of bark and fed it to Qingmei. Qingmei took a bite and said, "It's ripe."

Zhao Xiaoxing saw that there was too much water in the pot and decided to reduce the soup.

After waiting for seven or eight minutes, the two of them took turns eating the taro and mushrooms from the pot.

At first they didn't feel anything. After eating, Qingmei and Zhao Xiaoxing slowly walked down the mountain.

After safely descending the mountain, Qingmei arrived at the door of her home and saw Zhao Wuhe outside the yard.

When Zhao Wuhe saw them coming back, she greeted them and said, "The things are ready and delivered. Look, there are quite a lot." As she spoke, she pointed behind Qingmei.

Qingmei turned around and froze in place: "Oh no."

She saw many shrimp soldiers and crab generals who appeared in "Journey to the West" carrying treasures in and out of her house. When they saw her come back, they all greeted her with a smile.

When Prime Minister Turtle at the front saw her, he wanted to speak, but when he opened his mouth, all he spit out were bubbles.

Qingmei: "..."

This is not a good feeling.

She figured she had mushroom poisoning.

From a distance, she saw a large, fragrant squid sizzling on the iron plate moving towards her. Honestly, she used to love eating sizzling squid, preferably sprinkled with plenty of cumin powder...it was so fragrant that she could barely drool just thinking about it.

At this moment, there was a loud rumbling sound in the sky, and someone shouted: "The sky is falling!"

The shrimp soldiers and crab generals quickened their pace as they went in and out.

Qingmei stood still: "Is this... Sun Wukong coming to steal the golden cudgel?"

The giant squid, unconcerned about the sky falling, moved in front of Qingmei, emitting a tempting aroma. It was more fragrant than any other teppanyaki giant squid Qingmei had ever eaten before.

She knew this was not good, but her mind seemed to be fogged and she couldn't control her movements. It seemed that whatever she thought about was what her hands did.

She reached out her hand, thinking the giant squid wouldn't notice, and secretly grabbed a tentacles and bit into it...

She bit it again and again, and found that the big squid was quite tough. So she changed to another squid tentacles and bit it.

Probably discovered by the giant squid, its eight tentacles came over and wrapped around Qingmei. Qingmei felt like she was going to suffocate. She couldn't struggle free, and her face was pressed against the iron squid. She couldn't help swallowing her saliva and took another bite.

Brother Wang Yang and others who came to help move the furniture were shocked!

"What's wrong with Xiaomei?! No matter how happy you are, you can't be like this!"

"Oh, hurry up and take her back inside. It's not good if others see her."

"Cover her mouth quickly and stop her from chewing!"

... ...

Gu Qingzhou's collar had been ripped open, and the little one in his arms was howling and biting wildly, wanting to nibble on any exposed flesh.

Gu Qingzhou held her tightly to prevent her from biting others in a fit of desperation.

It’s okay to bite yourself, the pain will pass after a while, but if you bite someone else, Gu Qingzhou can’t accept it.

The people present also noticed something was wrong, but were too embarrassed to look. Bao Mi held up his hands to his eyes, but the gaps between his five fingers were wide open.

"They ate mushrooms! Xing'er said they ate poisonous mushrooms!" Zhao Wuhe ran out and said to Gu Qingzhou, "Go to the hospital quickly!"

Bao Mi shouted, "I'll go drive!"

The dark clouds in the sky gathered above their heads as if they had life, and even Zhao Wuhe could see that something was wrong.

Gu Qingzhou frowned and looked up, his raised neck exposed, and the little object bit his Adam's apple.

"Hiss—let go." Gu Qingzhou pried open the little girl's mouth, but she was still unwilling to let go and was eating with relish.

Bao Mi didn't dare to take action, so Zhao Wuhe and Zhao Xiaoxing ran over and quickly pried her head aside.

A faint tooth mark appeared on Gu Qingzhou's Adam's apple, and he covered Qingmei's little mouth with his palm.

Who knew that the little mouth was so naughty, when it saw the big squid actively handing over the squid tentacles, it licked them excitedly, and seemed dissatisfied with the stinginess of the cumin. After smacking its lips, it frowned and muttered something.

Gu Qingzhou, who was caught off guard by having his palm licked, suddenly exerted his strength to lift her up and hold her sideways.

Zhao Wuhe shouted, "Slow down."

Gu Qingzhou walked through the crowd of people who were helping to move furniture and got into the car with Qingmei in his arms.

There was thunder in the sky, and Zhao Wuhe grabbed her wallet and went to the hospital with him.

Gu Qingzhou noticed that the deafening thunder had stopped, and the next second Zhao Wuhe got into the car.

Zhao Wuhe checked Qingmei's breathing and said, "Let's go."

Zhao Xiaoxing was so scared that she couldn't speak. She squeezed in the back seat with red eyes.

Bao Mi said "Eh" and quickly drove to the hospital.

When I arrived at the county hospital, the doctor also diagnosed it as mushroom poisoning.

Zhao Xiaoxing also ate it, but she was fine. At this moment, she was extremely annoyed and banged her forehead against the wall of the hospital.

Zhao Wuhe stopped her and said, "The doctor said it's nothing serious. Just observe it for now. Don't give yourself a concussion. Xiaomei is still waiting for you to take care of her."

"There must be something wrong with that one!"

Zhao Xiaoxing said, "I thought it was cooked, so I asked Xiaomei to taste it, and it turned out not to be fully cooked."

Zhao Xiaoxing ate most of the remaining pot and she was fine.

"Fortunately, I only ate a small bite." Zhao Wuhe breathed a sigh of relief. She was also very tired.

Qingmei was settled on a bench, waiting for the next step of treatment.

After more than half an hour of bumpy ride, she seemed to wake up a little and realized that this was a hospital.

A voice came from the other side and said, "Do you have rabies? Why do you bite everyone you see?"

Qingmei's foggy feeling disappeared at this moment, and control of her body returned to her brain. She said confidently: "I ate poisonous mushrooms, but I should be sober now. I believe in my control over myself."

After she finished speaking, she turned around and saw that the person talking to her was the female nurse from the promotional poster. She was showing her the large syringe in her hand and asked, "So, how do you feel now?"

Qingmei said with a pockmarked face: "...I may still need help."

After a while, Qingmei saw the big squid coming, followed by a fat pigeon in a white coat.

The fat pigeon flapped its wings but couldn't fly. It even swore in excitement.

Although I knew I was poisoned, the scene was really funny.

Gu Qingzhou was asking the doctor about the situation when he suddenly saw the little girl sitting on the chair laughing so hard that she looked like she was about to faint.

Zhao Xiaoxing stood by and stared at Qingmei. First, she saw Qingmei talking to herself, and then she started laughing.

Qingmei was sitting there laughing like crazy, while Zhao Xiaoxing was standing there crying.

Don't make the scene too touching.

Gu Qingzhou wanted to reach out to wipe the little guy's mouth, but stopped halfway, took out a handkerchief from his pocket and smeared it on the little guy's face.

Qingmei took the opportunity to smell the grilled squid more. Damn, there was no cumin aroma.

After the ward was arranged, Gu Qingzhou took Qingmei's hand and took her to the ward for hospitalization.

Qingmei lay obediently on the hospital bed. She felt that she seemed to be a little more awake and knew how to cooperate with Big Squid for treatment.

She could vaguely guess who the Big Squid was, and she was thinking about waiting for the Big Squid to come over and tell him not to worry, that she was much better now and should just be a little dizzy.

After a while, a figure appeared at the door. Qingmei looked over and saw Red Wolf coming in with a pot. He nodded at her and said, "New here?"

Qingmei grabbed her hair with both hands and nodded.

"Why did you come so late? The procedures are so troublesome. Just get discharged as soon as possible."

There was a sound coming from the bed next to Qingmei. Qingmei turned around and saw Gray Wolf sitting on the bed next to her. He said to Red Wolf, "I'm hungry."

Qingmei almost laughed so hard that snot bubbles appeared on her face.

She really couldn't bear it anymore.

"Drink this first." Gu Qingzhou came in from outside. Knowing that Qingmei was fine, he followed the doctor's advice and gave her some light salt water to drink.

He thought Qingmei would resist, but unexpectedly she was quite obedient.

After drinking the light salt water, you also need to drink plenty of clean water to promote detoxification. Gu Qingzhou sat on the hospital bed and watched her holding the big teacup in her small hands, constantly glancing at the middle-aged couple in the next bed.

A glance would be fine, but a glance and a twitch of laughter, a glance and a twitch of laughter. His shoulders trembled, and the water in the big teapot was about to spill, like a little madman.

The guy in the next bed finally realized something was wrong, glared at his partner and muttered, "How can a psychopath and gastroenteritis live together?"

Gu Qingzhou lowered his head and agreed with this statement.

Zhao Xiaoxing stood under the bed, pouring boiled water back and forth, sobbing from time to time, and not forgetting to retort: ​​"You are the crazy one, your whole family is crazy."

Qingmei's condition improved by the evening, six hours after the complication.

Zhao Wuhe took Zhao Xiaoxing to eat, and Gu Qingzhou stayed to take care of Qingmei.

Gu Qingzhou was wearing casual clothes, and Qingmei had torn open the collar of his shirt, and the buttons were missing.

The slightly open collar is much more attractive than the collar with a button, like a delicious food opened from a package.

Qingmei sat on the bed, the squid in her eyes gone. She looked at Gu Qingzhou's face and felt that he was not being too serious. It was just a smile, harmless.

Gu Qingzhou fed her rice soup with a spoon: "You've been poisoned, and you still don't forget to take advantage of it?"

"Don't slander me." Qingmei denied it, and said like a dead man who had just put on his pants: "I didn't do anything to you."

Gu Qingzhou put down the bowl and stretched his collar, revealing his Adam's apple. There was a clear tooth mark on the inside of the Adam's apple.

Qingmei was stunned for a moment and wanted to reach out and touch it.

The couple next door suddenly started talking, and she quickly withdrew her hand in fright.

Gu Qingzhou grabbed her, pressed her on his Adam's apple, and raised his chin so she could see more clearly: "Does it look good?"

Above the Adam's apple with the tooth mark was a stubble of beard. Qingmei swallowed and touched it with a trembling little hand.

Gu Qingzhou slowed down his breathing, lowered his eyes and stared at her as she moved slowly.

This is what a man's sexiness is like, burning brightly in Qingmei's eyes.

Qingmei swallowed and said, "It looks good."

The two were very close and the atmosphere was very good.

There was a sudden muffled sound outside the window.

The huge thunder seemed to split the whole building apart.

Qingmei suddenly stepped back and bumped into the headboard, covering the back of her head and gasping for air.

Gu Qingzhou stood up, walked quickly to the window and bolted it, with indescribable disgust in his eyes.

He seemed to understand what the thunder meant.

Whenever he was alone with Qingmei, thunder would occur, often accompanied by lightning and heavy rain.

Why on earth is this happening?!

He returned to the bedside and saw Qingmei looking out the window anxiously. In an instant, Gu Qingzhou knew that Qingmei had also discovered this.

You knew this a long time ago, right?

Gu Qingzhou had this feeling.

Qingmei didn't know what Gu Qingzhou was thinking. Seeing him close the window and walk over, she tried to ease the tense atmosphere.

"Oh, hurry up and pack your things and leave the hospital. If you delay any longer, it will rain heavily and you won't be able to leave." The man in the next bed urged his wife, "Pack your things quickly."

He came down, clutching his abdomen. He must have felt much better. He glanced down the hallway in his slippers and called the nurse over to process the paperwork.

Before leaving, the couple did not forget to take a look at the "lunatic".

What a pity, she was still a young and beautiful girl.

When the couple left like a gust of wind, only Gu Qingzhou and Qingmei were left in the double room.

"Where are your mother and Xing'er?" Qingmei asked.

Gu Qingzhou said: "They went to the cafeteria to eat and will be back soon."

Qingmei pulled the quilt closer to herself and heard Gu Qingzhou say, "Have you been hungry lately?"

Qingmei said: "No."

Gu Qingzhou laughed and said, "Then why do you keep chewing on people you see?"

Qingmei blushed and refused to admit it: "I didn't."

Gu Qingzhou pointed his index finger at his Adam's apple: "Then what is this?"

Qingmei licked her lips and said, "Sizzling squid."

Gu Qingzhou laughed and said, "I knew you didn't treat me as a human. They say that eating mushrooms can cause hallucinations, but luckily I'm fine."

Qingmei only felt bloated from drinking water, and nothing else. She was a little dizzy, but that was within acceptable limits.

When Qingmei heard him mention this, she said, "I saw many shrimp soldiers and crab generals carrying treasures to my home."

Gu Qingzhou nodded and said, "Your furniture is ready. By the way, I feel that the pine wood you mentioned last time is a bit lacking in quality, so I privately changed it for you. I called you after the change, but you didn't answer the phone in the field. I don't know if you like it."

Qingmei asked, "What should we change it to? Could it be camphor wood?"

Gu Qingzhou said, "It's Huanghuali wood. Political Commissar Chen approved it himself."

"Huanghuali? You gave me such a precious wood?"

Qingmei knew that this was Gu Qingzhou's face, and said with emotion: "Of course I like Huanghuali. I didn't expect your leader to be so generous. He is really good to you."

Gu Qingzhou smiled and said, "He also gave me a painting, which I gave to Xiaoyan."

Qingmei said, "This is too much."

Gu Qingzhou said: "You are worth it."

Qingmei was caught off guard by his direct shot, and then she heard Gu Qingzhou suddenly lower his voice and say, "How should I protect you?"

Qingmei looked up and saw his complicated eyes full of incomprehensible expressions. She couldn't help but ask, "Why do you suddenly say that?"

Gu Qingzhou did not answer, his eyes looking at the lightning and thunder outside the window.

Qingmei also fell silent.

After a while, Gu Qingzhou said, "If you want to talk, just say it. If you don't want to, I won't force you. Just like why you carried the bicycle, from my perspective, this kind of thing is really hard to understand. And I really want to use my own strength to protect you, but this feeling of powerlessness is terrible. I... don't even know where the danger comes from."

Qingmei lowered her head, pursed her lips and said nothing.

Gu Qingzhou sighed, stood up, patted Qingmei's hair and said, "I'm going to go out and calm down."

Qingmei saw Gu Qingzhou walking towards the door step by step, and her heart was struggling.

Gu Qingzhou's figure disappeared outside the door, and Qingmei couldn't help but whispered, "...Don't go."

"I'm here." Gu Qingzhou slipped in from the door, crossed his arms and smiled in front of his chest.

"You lied to me again!"

Qingmei grabbed the pillow to hit him, but he grabbed it, closed the door, and strode back to the bed.

"Go ahead." Gu Qingzhou sat next to Qingmei: "I believe everything you say."

Qingmei carefully considered her words and looked at Gu Qingzhou with her eyes blinking.

Gu Qingzhou was not in a hurry. He slowly held her hand and squeezed it.

His palm was warm, and he covered their hands with his other hand, gently stroking the tender back of her hand, and then stroking her fingers one by one.

Very itchy.

Qingmei was distracted by the slight itch and tried to pull her hand back, but he held it tighter.

"It's not even ten seconds yet." He said softly, "Think about it before you speak. If the answer doesn't satisfy me, I won't let go."

Qingmei's breath stopped. She had no idea that clenching one's fingers could make one blush.

Gu Qingzhou really enjoyed the contact with his little girl. He wrapped her small hand around hers and gently pinched her fingers, as if he was measuring her size or teasing her heart.

"Be quiet and don't move." Qingmei said fiercely, "If you do that again, I won't say anything."

Gu Qingzhou patted the back of Qingmei's hand soothingly and said, "I won't bother you anymore. Talk slowly, I'm listening."

Qingmei felt a sense of security coming from the touch of skin. She slowly leaned her head on Gu Qing's broad shoulders and told a story that seemed impossible but actually happened to her.

... ...

"You said I was the hero of a book?"

Gu Qingzhou suddenly laughed. He could have chosen not to believe it, or send Qingmei to a hospital with good brain treatment. But Ms. Zhao Wuhe's amazing experience made him want to believe what his little girl said.

"So I was supposed to be with Chen Qiaoxiang, the heroine. If you go against the wishes in the book, you will be struck by lightning."

Gu Qingzhou now understood why there would be thunderstorms and lightning whenever he was with Qingmei. Their target was Qingmei.

"In your previous life, you two were together according to the plot of the book. Because you were too popular, the author didn't want you to steal the heroine's limelight, so he wrote you off."

Qingmei held Gu Qingzhou's arm tightly and said, "But in this life, if you knew in advance that the mission was dangerous, you should have avoided it, right?"

"Yes, certainly."

Gu Qingzhou held her in his arms, and the sound of his strong heartbeat rang in Qingmei's ears: "Even if you tell me that I am just a character in a book, but you listen, my heartbeat is right next to your ear. I still think I am a living person. Since I know that following God's will is a dead end, then I must make my own way."

Qingmei was held up by him, and their eyes met. Gu Qingzhou said softly: "Thank you for being willing to stay with me despite the danger to your life in such a situation. We will definitely find a way to deal with the current predicament."

"I also think you are a living person." Qingmei looked at Gu Qingzhou and said, "But we are in a book now... If we don't follow the way of heaven in the book, will it have a bad impact?"

She said this very tactfully, but Gu Qingzhou understood it.

He thought for a moment and said, "But I think things have deviated from the will of Heaven. Otherwise, you wouldn't have awakened from your role, and you and my mother wouldn't have traveled from our past life to this one. And one more thing: when my mother was with us, the heavenly thunder couldn't do anything to you. Did you notice that?"

Qingmei vaguely sensed this, but hadn't figured it out yet.

Qingmei opened her mouth slightly in shock. How could she not have thought of the idea of ​​the heavens being out of control? If that were true, then everything she had experienced was understandable.

She lowered her head and held up the jade bracelet and said, "Could it be because of the bracelet? I've seen it emit light before."

Gu Qingzhou held her wrist in his palm and examined it for a moment. After a moment, he said, "The jade bracelet is my family's heirloom. Perhaps there really is some power helping us to fight back."

Qingmei sighed: "I hope so."

Gu Qingzhou knew that for the time being they could only take things one step at a time.

"So, was Huang Wenbi injured because he was with the heroine?"

Gu Qingzhou quickly thought of this: "The thunder killed someone, but it wasn't Huang Wenbi. He escaped. Doesn't that further prove that the thunder sometimes can't control its own power? It desperately wants me and Chen Qiaoxiang to be together. Could it be to restore its power? The more it follows the plot, the greater its power. The more it refuses, the weaker its power."

"I'm not sure about that yet." Qingmei said hesitantly, "We can spend some time together and observe."

The fog that had been so thick that one person couldn't see clearly gradually became clearer. Qingmei was glad to have told this secret to Gu Qingzhou. He could analyze many possibilities from the perspective of a rational observer.

Qingmei looked at Gu Qingzhou with admiration.

Gu Qingzhou stood up and brought some water to Qingmei: "Drink some more."

Qingmei held the large teapot and gulped down a few mouthfuls. Gu Qingzhou suddenly said, "Then you carry the bicycle?"

Qingmei nearly spit out a mouthful of water. She said helplessly, "It's a must-have for the female supporting characters in the book. Every time I go to sell shepherd's purse cakes, I have to ride a bicycle. I don't know how to ride, and once the road was bad and the tire blew out, I had to carry it and run... After that, I had no choice but to do this."

Gu Qingzhou couldn't help but ruffle Qingmei's hair: "It's really hard for you."

Everything seemed to have an answer as if it were unraveling a thread. The two of them sat side by side at the head of the bed, listening to the thunderstorm outside the window that was getting more and more intense, holding hands tightly and staring blankly.

Gu Qingzhou didn't know what he was thinking about, and how much he thought about it. He turned his head and said to Qingmei, "Actually, our relationship can be not affected too much. At least we don't need to encounter such weather every time."

Qingmei asked curiously, "What solution have you come up with?"

Gu Qingzhou had observed this many times and said confidently, "As long as your future mother-in-law is present, there will be no thunder or rain. So..."

Qingmei felt something was wrong: "So what?"

Gu Qingzhou smiled and said, "Let your future mother-in-law accompany us when we're dating, right?"

Qingmei thought that it would be embarrassing enough if someone was around when they were holding hands or kissing, and it would be even more unbearable if that person was her future mother-in-law!

She punched Gu Qingzhou with her fist, and Gu Qingzhou grabbed her hand and kissed the back of it.

Qingmei couldn't help but say, "You are the stinky hooligan, always talking about me."

Gu Qingzhou smiled and said, "I'm not like you, who runs away after being a hooligan. I am a responsible person."

Qingmei asked, "What are you responsible for?"

Gu Qingzhou said softly: "It is your responsibility to entrust your whole life to me."

Qingmei's breathing slowed down and she wanted to turn her head away from him.

Gu Qingzhou lifted her chin and said to her, "Speak, tell me, can I be responsible for the rest of your life?"

Qingmei was pinched on the cheek by him and said angrily: "How can you propose like this?!"

Gu Qingzhou let go of her hand, feeling a little bewildered, but still pretending to be at ease in front of Qingmei: "Marry me, the marriage report has been submitted, and everyone knows that I must marry you. Please don't reject me, give me a chance?"

Qingmei imitated him, stood up straight, held his face with both hands and said: "Marry me, do you think I'm afraid of you? You are responsible for me, and I will be responsible for you. I'm not really a gangster."

Boo.

He gave Qingmei a brief kiss on her little face, and when he left, Gu Qingzhou pecked her lightly on the face.

Finally got it in my mouth.

Qingmei touched her suddenly hot face, stunned.

"You bit me?"

Gu Qingzhou pulled her hand down and found a circle of teeth marks on her little face.

He thought he was very light, but the little girl's skin was unexpectedly delicate.

Qingmei covered her face again, feeling so embarrassed. Whose adult has a circle of teeth marks on his face?

She glared at Gu Qingzhou.

Gu Qingzhou thought for a moment, opened his collar, pointed at his Adam's apple, and said, "How about you take another bite?"

Qingmei saw the circle of teeth marks she had made, and her anger subsided. She asked cautiously, "Who was there when I bit it?"

Gu Qingzhou stretched out his hand, counting on his fingers, and said, "Ms. Zhao Wuhe, Zhao Xiaoxing, Xiaoyan, Mrs. Fang, Brother Fang, Xiaogang, Brother Wang Yang, and the soldiers and employees who helped deliver the furniture. Actually, there aren't too many people, only about twenty or so."

Qingmei was disheartened: "Will I be arrested and charged with hooliganism?"

Gu Qingzhou said: "That's not the case. We're both willing to fight and be bitten. If anyone asks, I'll just say I like being bitten by you."

Qingmei looked at him innocently with an embarrassed look on her face, "Then where else did I bite?"

Gu Qingzhou's expression changed slightly, his thin lips pursed, and he puffed out his chest: "You said that my flesh here is very thick and chewy. Do you want me to unbutton you to take a look?"

Qingmei never expected that she would bite Gu Qingzhou's chest. She was so ashamed that she waved her hands frantically: "No, I don't want to see it."

Gu Qingzhou smiled and said, "Really?"

"I really don't want to."

"Who's the little hooligan then?"

"I'm a little gangster."

"Responsible?"

"One hundred people are responsible."

Qingmei heard someone walking in the corridor and hurriedly wanted to reach out to help him straighten his collar. When she raised her hand, the two of them were still holding hands.

Gu Qingzhou also heard the noise outside. Zhao Xiaoxing was still walking towards him crying.

He lost no time and leaned close to Qingmei's ear and said, "We've agreed that when we get back I'll get engaged with Ms. Zhao Wuhe."

Qingmei knew the style of their family's engagement and whispered, "It doesn't have to be a grand ceremony."

Gu Qingzhou said: "You deserve it, I only want to give you the best."

Qingmei knew he had made up his mind. Besides, it was the man's business, so she just had to wait quietly. She nodded and said, "Okay."

Gu Qingzhou's eyes were full of smiles and he breathed a sigh of relief in his heart.

The little guy was very easy to talk to today. He understood what he wanted to understand and got what he wanted to talk about.

He reluctantly separated his hands and tapped his cheek with his index finger: "I just kissed you, you have to return the kiss."

Qingmei raised her head and gave Gu Qingzhou a light kiss on the cheek.

Gu Qingzhou felt a tender little mouth pressing against him, and the soft breath blew gently on his skin. In the blink of an eye, the little object sat up straight, as if nothing had happened just now.

But the red mark on her cheek revealed their recent intimacy.

Qingmei completely forgot about this matter.

Zhao Xiaoxing came in sniffling. Seeing Qingmei looking at her with clear eyes, she quickly walked over, took Qingmei's hand and said, "How do you feel? Are you dizzy?"

Qingmei said softly, "It's not a big deal. The doctor told me to just drink more water to detoxify."

Zhao Xiaoxing saw the red mark on her cheek and didn't expect it was from Gu Qingzhou. She said distressedly: "Look, you've been poisoned and are about to be disfigured. It's all my fault. Why did I let you taste it? Wuuuuuu——"

Zhao Wuhe stood three steps away with her eyes narrowed. She glanced at Gu Qingzhou's face. Gu Qingzhou smiled at her. Zhao Wuhe raised an eyebrow and Gu Qingzhou nodded. Zhao Wuhe was shocked, and Gu Qingzhou smiled.

Qingmei and Zhao Xiaoxing watched the mother and son playing charades in front of them.

Then Zhao Wuhe yelled and ran to Qingmei, pushed Zhao Xiaoxing aside and said, "My dear girls, are you getting married?!"

Qingmei said in surprise, "You two are so in tune with each other, how did you know it so quickly?"

Zhao Wuhe thought to herself, this kid was raised by me personally, and we have a close bond between mother and child. She knew everything about his poop when he was a child, so how could we not have a tacit understanding?

Zhao Xiaoxing belatedly said, "Xiaomei, are you really getting married?"

Qingmei nodded and said, "I just decided." She said embarrassedly, "It was a bit sudden."

Zhao Wuhe said, "How can it be so sudden? Everyone in the village knows that you are my daughter-in-law, but you are the only one who thinks it's sudden. Oh, my dear, have you set a date yet?"

Gu Qingzhou handed the large teapot to Qingmei and replied, "The date hasn't been set yet."

Zhao Wuhe said, "Ask me about the date." As she spoke, she took out a almanac booklet that she always carried with her from her pocket.

Qingmei laughed: "Why do you carry this thing with you? Aren't you afraid of being seen?"

After the "Four Olds" movement, calendars with auspicious dates written on them were banned. I don't know how Zhao Wuhe got hold of one, and why she still carries it with her.

Zhao Wuhe said disapprovingly, "This is called striking while the iron is hot, so that no one will regret it when choosing a date."

Gu Qingzhou sighed and said, "Old ginger is still spicy. I admire it."

Zhao Wuhe's eyes darted around Qingmei's face, and he suppressed a smile and said, "Don't admire me. The disciple is better than the master."

It is now the end of April, and Zhao Wuhe thinks it would be best to hold the wedding after the spring plowing is completed.

Two dates were chosen, May 2nd and May 20th.

Qingmei thought that May 20th was a good date and looked at Gu Qingzhou to see what he meant.

Gu Qingzhou was very perceptive and immediately understood Qingmei's intention. He said to Zhao Wuhe, "We need to prepare for the proposal in the past, and we need to discuss it with grandma. The 2nd is too rushed, so the 20th is a good date."

Qingmei said beside her, "This date sounds good too."

Gu Qingzhou and Zhao Wuhe were thinking about the homophones in their minds, while Zhao Xiaoxing said casually, "What homophones are there? Tell me."

Qingmei said: "When you find a partner, let your partner tell you."

Gu Qingzhou smiled and nodded.

Zhao Xiaoxing waved her hand and said, "I'm not looking for that anymore. If you don't know, then you don't know."

Qingmei leaned close to her ear and said, "It's the homophone of 'I love you'."

Zhao Xiaoxing's eyes lit up, and she gave Qingmei a thumbs-up and said, "This is what romance is all about."

Qingmei rushed over and tried to cover her mouth.

Gu Qingzhou saw the red circles on Qingmei's cheeks and smiled with his lips pursed.

******

City Theater.

This is a second-level performance unit, second only to the provincial theater in scale and influence.

The Provincial Theater is a leading and powerful theater in the country. It often performs in Beijing and receives countless applause and flashes of light.

However, today the head of the theater stood on the stage with a terribly gloomy expression.

She is indeed partial to talented actors, but it is based on the principle that what they do cannot be out of line.

Political Commissar Old Chen was furious this time and called Dean Chang Xi directly, asking her to severely punish Chen Lili and others. He also explained the whole process to her.

This is really outrageous. Three people teamed up to go to the countryside to bully a widowed female comrade!

She has always been optimistic about Chen Lili, is he trying to destroy their relationship?

Dean Chang immediately called the three of them over and punished them to stand for an hour. Seeing that they looked at each other and had no intention of confessing, his face became more and more ugly.

"Still not telling me?!" Chang Xi didn't care about identity or background. In her theater, everything depended on strength and character. If you had enough strength but not enough character, it wouldn't work.

Qin Shanshan secretly looked at Chen Lili and secretly tugged at Chen Lili's trouser legs, hoping that she would take the initiative to stand up.

After the performance in Donghe Village, Chen Lili went home and became so angry that he fell ill. He stayed in bed for two days and then returned to the theater, where he heard people gossiping again.

It was said that in order to become the leading actress, she secretly went to the countryside to perform to gain popularity, show off her face in front of the common people, and curry favor with the dean.

Others said that she went to the countryside to pull the hair of her rival, but was punished by her rival. The villagers refused to let them leave without performing.

Others said that she was taking a shortcut to get a job title, and that the reporters she contacted would follow her to the countryside to spread her glorious deeds.

... ...

There are various different opinions, each with its own merits.

Some people even had the courage to ask Qin Shanshan, but were all answered with incoherent answers by Qin Shanshan.

People looked at Qin Shanshan with sympathy, thinking she was threatened by the □□ troops and went along with them. Qin Shanshan had always created this impression.

Seeing Chen Lili remained silent, she thought over the words she had prepared in her mind, then stood up and said, "Dean, you've wronged Comrade Chen Lili. We're not going to deal with anyone; we're just curious and want to see what that woman looks like."

Zhao Hongwei made a "tsk" sound on the side. What an idiot! Doesn't this prove that they went there for personal matters instead of performing?

This situation might as well be considered a private performance. No gifts or money were accepted. At most, it could be considered as a failure to report in advance, and at most, verbal criticism.

With this said, the matter becomes shameful. How can Chen Lili survive in the theater in the future?

There was a door behind the stage. Several actors in the theater were either squatting or standing, wanting to hear what Chen Lili was doing in Donghe Village.

After Qin Shanshan finished speaking, everyone looked at each other with disdainful expressions on their faces.

The rumors turned out to be true. Chen Lili really went to the countryside to pull out the hair of his rural rival.

Were you forced to perform?

Everyone couldn't figure this out, so they quieted down and listened to what had been said before.

Chang Xi had spent most of her life among actors, and as soon as Qin Shanshan said this, she knew that Qin Shanshan and Chen Lili were not on the same page. She might have been instigated by Qin Shanshan.

She glared at Qin Shanshan and asked, "Chen Lili went to see someone, and Zhao Hongwei needed to ride his bike, so he had his reasons for going along. So why did you go? Let me ask you, were you instigating something?"

Qin Shanshan's face changed, and she said hurriedly, "How does it have anything to do with me? Chen Lili didn't dare to go by herself, so she insisted that I go with her. I didn't want to go. I even tried to stop her from going to the countryside. She pursued gay men but couldn't get them, so she went to the countryside to meet someone else's boyfriend. She's a bit shameless. I didn't even have time to persuade her, so how could I instigate her?"

"You call me shameless?" Chen Lili slowly turned his head and finally said, "Didn't you say to go and take a look?"

Qin Shanshan raised her hands and said, "If I say that, God will strike me with lightning."

Chen Lili's shoulders slumped, and he suddenly smiled: "I just realized today that you are this kind of person."

Qin Shanshan said, "Don't take my kindness for granted. I advised you but you didn't listen. And you still want to throw dirty water on me?"

She turned to Chang Xi and said, "Dean, this matter really has nothing to do with me."

Chang Xi said, "It doesn't matter, bullshit. If it really didn't matter, you would have run away long ago. Your photo was even published in the newspaper, and I saw you smiling happily."

Qin Shanshan said: "I am forcing a smile."

Chen Lili sneered and said, "Yes, you were forcing a smile when you used my cosmetics. You were forcing a smile when you ate the roasted whole lamb I paid for. You said you had no money, and I lent you fifty yuan, but you didn't pay it back for half a year. That was also forcing a smile. You took advantage of me eight hundred times, and it was all forcing a smile. I forced you to accept it, right?"

Qin Shanshan's face was bruised and purple as she said, "Don't talk nonsense. Why would I need your things? I have my own salary. I can buy whatever I want myself."

Chen Lili said with a wry smile, "Don't you send all your salary back home to save for your brother's wedding? You look down on this guy who's from the countryside, and that guy who's from the county town. But what about you? You came from a mountain village on the edge of Yun County, so why are you acting so arrogant? Everyone seems to know that."

Qin Shanshan always pretended to be a city dweller and maintained a vague hostility towards country people.

She thought that she could hide her inner embarrassment by wearing Chen Lili's skirts and using Chen Lili's cosmetics.

Now she was exposed by Chen Lili, whom she thought she was playing with and applauding. Her face turned red as if it had been splashed with pig's blood. No matter how thick the rouge and powder she put on, it could not hide her bloody expression.

"Alright, alright, stop arguing."

Chang Xi lowered his voice and said, "The theater must punish you this time. Not only did you leave the troupe without permission, but you also tarnished our troupe's image! You must be severely punished. Don't try to shirk your responsibility."

Qin Shanshan begged, "Please, Dean, I really didn't mean it. I just went there to accompany you. I didn't do anything."

She is the most promising one in her family and everyone depends on her to earn money and send it back home.

Chang Xi gritted his teeth and said, "You who did nothing is the most despicable, and you are the number one instigator! You will be fined half a year's salary and demoted to a lower position in the performance, just like Chen Lili. Chen Lili is not allowed to be a leading actor again for a year."

Qin Shanshan said in shock, "If I downgrade my seat, I'm afraid I won't be able to go on stage."

Chang Xi said: "If you can't go on stage, you can wash costumes and clean behind the scenes!"

Zhao Hongwei, who was completely implicated, rubbed his nose and said, "What about me?"

Chang Xi said, "You? Go back to your city theater. I can't teach you anything here! I might even corrupt you!"

Zhao Hongwei said helplessly: "Forget it, I accept it. It's an unexpected disaster." Unfortunately, his girlfriend is from the same city, so he has to travel between the two places again.

After Changxi's punishment was over, the three of them became more dejected than each other.

An actor waiting below the stage timidly handed Chang Xi a letter and said, "Director, I see the address on it is Donghe Village. It doesn't seem to be a letter from a member of the audience. You should handle it."

Hearing that it was Donghe Village, Chang Xi took the envelope and tore it open.

The three people behind also stretched their necks to see.

Chang Xi looked at the big title "Thank You Letter", and her face became more gloomy the more she looked at it.

What simple words, what deep gratitude.

Many villagers in Donghe Village didn't even know that the three of them had gone there to find fault. Instead, they wrote letters of thanks, and every word and every sentence was full of praise for the three of them.

There are also photos of the performance at that time, and the folks in the photos are laughing so happily and so happy.

These are all working people who deserve respect, and their efforts are indispensable to their daily lives. As a cultural worker, Chang Xi felt both gratified and heartbroken that a half-hearted performance could make them so happy.

She suddenly turned her head to look at the three people who had just been criticized, which further highlighted how bad they were!

They eat rice grown by the working people, wear cloth woven by the working people, and enjoy the pure love of the working people, but they are still not satisfied and even go to great lengths to destroy the love of the working people!

The anger that had just subsided was suddenly ignited again.

Chen Lili, a girl who grew up in the army, couldn't help but take a few steps back.

"Besides the penalty of demotion I mentioned earlier, I've decided that the three of you will form a city-wide performance team! Starting next week, you'll be performing in various villages across the city for a year!"

"What? You're going to perform in the countryside?"

Chen Lili dreaded going to the countryside. Her face suddenly turned pale. She had fallen ill a few days before returning from Donghe Village. She simply couldn't stand the awful conditions in the countryside.

Qin Shanshan was going crazy. She had already offended Chen Lili thoroughly. How could she continue to perform in the countryside with her? She could already imagine the kind of ridicule she would receive.

Zhao Hongwei was devastated. He was a young man in his early twenties, just starting a relationship, and he wanted to be intimate with his girlfriend. Now he had to go on a country tour for a year, and the opportunity would be gone! It would be better for him to return to Dongshan City and live apart from his girlfriend.

Zhao Hongwei groveled, "Dean, please punish us with something else. We really are—"

Chen Lili also looked at her with tears in her eyes.

Chang Xi ignored their pleading and was determined to do so.

She knew someone was listening backstage, so she simply said, "I'll also screen out those with subpar skills and poor work attitudes from joining the team. Don't think I'm messing with you; this is a test and a trial for you. When you come back, Pu Shi will be polished into jade and shine brightly on our stage!"

In fact, this also has another meaning. There are many people who just want to spend their days in the theater, and she took the opportunity to criticize them more.

Chang Xi added, "I will go back and report this arrangement to my superiors. You should make all the necessary preparations for the performance in the countryside."

Chen Lili felt a black screen in front of her eyes, she covered her chest and closed her eyes.

The conditions for open-air performances in the countryside were difficult. She felt like she was surrounded by countless mosquitoes, and there were more problems with acclimatization and life inconveniences waiting for her.

She is a well-known pillar of the city theater. How is she going to survive this year?

Chang Xi spoke for a while longer, and before leaving, he told them to hold a meeting tomorrow to finalize the selections for the rural tour team and to start the rural tour performance within a week.

Chen Lili watched her leave, knowing that many people must be cursing her in the background. If she hadn't gone to Donghe Village, she wouldn't have caused such trouble and caused so much trouble for everyone.

Just then, the actress who had delivered the letter climbed onto the stage and picked up a small note from the ground.

The small note was folded in half and roughly sealed with glue. It read "Personally addressed to Comrade Chen Lili."

The actress handed the note to Chen Lili. Her talent was average, and she wasn't sure if she would be chosen for the rural tour. She said irritably, "Here, this fell out of the thank-you letter. It's probably for you. Take it."

Chen Lili took the small note and tore it open. On it were the words written in a flamboyant style:

Hello Comrade Chen Lili:

I'm Qingmei. Maybe you don't know me or remember me, but that's okay. It's okay as long as you remember the person who sang Errenzhuan with you. That person is me.

My grandma loved your performance, and so did I. Thank you so much for coming. Your performance was wonderful, and it would be great if we could see it more often!

I've hung our photo on the wall. I won't forget such a wonderful day. (Just a quick note: I was the one who facilitated the thank-you letter. I hope it helps you. No need to thank me.)

If you're willing and don't mind, can we be pen pals?

Looking forward to your reply! "

The people on the stage watched as Chen Lili's face turned black, purple, and red. After reading the note, she gritted her teeth and tore it into pieces, crying out in despair, "You must have done it on purpose! Who wants to be your pen pal? Let me go!"