Seeing others in pairs, enjoying one good thing after another, it would be a lie to say that Li Yumei wasn't envious, but she was genuinely happy for Zhou Yue.

When it was time to eat, Li Yumei actually took out two bottles of Lao Mao (a type of Chinese liquor). "Everyone at the supply and marketing cooperative said this liquor is good, so I bought two bottles."

At that time, a bottle of Lao Mao liquor cost several yuan, and she would buy two bottles at a time, which showed that Li Yumei was really going all out.

"Okay, Xiaoyue and the two kids aren't allowed to drink, but everyone else can have some."

Gu An'an poured herself a glass first, and Li Yumei's eyes immediately crinkled with laughter.

"For the first toast, I want to say sorry to everyone. I was immature before and caused you all trouble. I'm sorry!"

Li Yumei downed the whole thing in one gulp; the spicy flavor stimulated her taste buds, causing her to unconsciously furrow her brow.

But she didn't feel uncomfortable; instead, she felt exhilarated. She knew she was about to leave her current life behind.

He poured a second glass with a bang. "This glass is to thank you all. If it weren't for you, I might still be living a muddled life like before. I wouldn't have any savings, I wouldn't have been able to go to university, and I might even have gone astray. I'll drink this one!"

Before anyone could react, the second glass of wine was downed.

"Alright, alright, there's still so much food left untouched. You'll lose out if you drink too much."

Zhou Yue stopped the person. At first, she did dislike Li Yumei, thinking she was a brainless idiot. Fortunately, the person realized her mistake early and helped her many times.

"Okay, let's eat."

As the group picked up their chopsticks, the atmosphere became lively again. Gu An'an listened to them talk about their experiences in the village over the past few years, their frustrations and their excitement about getting into university, and her smile grew wider and wider.

Look! It's getting better and better.

After a few rounds of drinks, everyone had gotten a bit tipsy. Li Yumei, who had been holding back her words for so long, couldn't hold them back any longer and started crying and laughing with Gu An'an and Zhou Yue.

"Xiaoyue, An'an, do you know? I was really envious of you back then, but I didn't dare to get close to you. Luckily, I'm thick-skinned, otherwise I would have missed out on you."

"Also, I got into college, although it's a junior college. I never thought I would eventually be unable to bear getting married and having children here, just like the other aunts and sisters-in-law. I'm not saying they're bad, but I want to go home more."

Gu An'an could understand. Being in an unfamiliar place, with different living habits and environment, it was only natural to miss home.

"You know what? When my dad found out I got into a junior college, even that old-fashioned dad praised me, and my mom was so happy too. I always thought they loved my brother more than me, but actually they've been making it up to me these past few years, squeezing out money from their meager savings to send me every month. Because of this, we haven't saved any money, and even my brother's wedding has been postponed for several years, sob sob~"

Hearing her drunkenly utter these heartfelt words, Gu An'an felt bad.

In this era, Li Yumei is still lucky; at least when she looks back, everything is still there.

Towards the end of the meal, everyone started singing, and the songs filled the small northern courtyard.

Two days later, the educated youth who had been admitted to university returned home one after another, and the villagers who got along with them all went to see them off.

After the drugging incident, Qin Xue was sent to the commune by the village chief.

If it were someone else, they would have married into the local family, and their in-laws would have to contribute something. But Qin Xue had made a mess of things in the Chen family, and even Chen Qisheng, who initially couldn't live without her, had grown tired of her.

Knowing that she had deliberately gone back to Xiaowang Village to drug people so that they wouldn't get into university, the Chen family was so angry that they demanded that Chen Qisheng divorce her, or else they should all get out of the house.

And just like that, Qin Xue was divorced.

Because no serious consequences resulted, he was given a period of education and then released.

Even after the divorce, she could never return to Xiaowang Village. She had no choice but to swallow her pride and go to Chenjia Village, where she found a small, dilapidated house to live in temporarily, where she did all the hard and tiring work.

She wanted to quit, but if she didn't, she'd be worked to death.

As she was carrying a load of goods, several women who were talking as they walked caught her attention.

"Have you heard? The top scholar from Xiaowang Village is back for the New Year!"

"Is it that Gu, the educated youth? How come he's so capable? He can set up a factory whenever he wants, and sell goods whenever he wants. Now that he's eligible to take the college entrance exam, he got first place. If a kid like that came from our village, we would benefit so much."

"That's right. From this incident, I've come to understand the saying 'be close to the cinnabar and be close to the black.'"

"One who stays near vermilion gets stained red, and one who stays near ink gets stained black. My son says this to me every day, and I've learned it all."

"Yes, yes, that's it. Not to mention that Gu Zhiqing himself became the top scorer in the college entrance examination, I heard that Xiaowang Village produced eleven college students this year, and several of them were close to Gu Zhiqing."

"Yes! I heard that too. Of the remaining students in the educated youth institute, only one didn't take the exam; the others who did all passed."

As she spoke, her eyes met Qin Xue's as she walked towards her, and she pursed her lips, saying, "Unlike some people, who could have taken advantage of their proximity and built a good relationship with her, a single word of advice from Gu Zhiqing would have been enough to change their fate."

"But instead of trying to build a good relationship, they secretly sabotaged things. They're utterly wicked."

Qin Xue's previously calm expression instantly darkened. Although the other party did not name names, she knew that these gossipy women were talking about her.

What's the point of building good relationships with them! Why should I try to get along with them? It's just about getting into university.

Although she was insanely jealous inside, she knew she wouldn't admit it, so she could only keep her head down, picking out things and walking forward with her head covered.

"Tch! Shameless."

"Alright, alright, why bother arguing with her? Let's hurry up and go. Let's make more sticky rice cakes this year."

After they walked away quickly, Qin Xue slowly stopped.

"You bastards! You're all bastards."

Although no one was specifically mentioned, Gu An'an and Zhou Yue were definitely involved, but nobody cares.

During the few days after I returned home, people from the Xiao family kept coming to visit me.

"What happened? You've been smoking a cigarette and sighing ten times. If this keeps up, I'm going to kick you out."

"What else could it be? It's my sister. She used to refuse to get married no matter how much we tried to persuade her, but now she insists on getting married no matter what we say. She's like someone who's banged their head against a wall. There was a commotion at home before she came here."

"What happened?"