"I know," Lu Yang hurriedly interrupted her, afraid that Song Qing would say that if things didn't work out, the two of them would break up.

"She's my mother, but she hurt you, I..."

He is now just like Lu Ronghui before, confused as to why, even though he is her biological son, his mother seems unable to see his pain or what he truly cares about.

Finally, he let out a long sigh, "We'll leave tomorrow."

"good"

Knowing that he had agreed, Song Qing prepared to lie down and go to sleep, only to find that he was still standing there.

"If you don't go to sleep soon, Mom will definitely ask questions when she gets up in the middle of the night and sees you."

The next morning, their car was packed full again.

"Mom, there's really no more room. You can keep it for yourself."

"Why can't you fit anything in? There's still room under your feet. You're not coming back for Chinese New Year this year, so hurry up and bring more things."

Tian Qiaozhu's eyes were a little red, but she could only hide it by being busy. This was the first time her daughter had not spent the New Year with her since she was born.

Song Qing was also very sad. She thought of her past life. In her past life, she ran away to Ancheng in a fit of pique and didn't spend the New Year with them. Her mother must have been heartbroken.

I'm sorry, Mom.

"You silly child, all you did was not come home for the New Year, and you're already acting like you're sorry? Hurry up and go."

Two of her sisters-in-law also came with their children to see her off, so Song Qing simply gave her nephews New Year's red envelopes first.

"Auntie won't be home for Chinese New Year this year, so I'll give you the red envelopes first, and then we can buy firecrackers."

"Wow, thank you, Auntie!"

"Oh dear, Xiaoqing, why didn't you say so earlier? We didn't prepare anything." The two sisters-in-law smiled sheepishly; they hadn't prepared any red envelopes for An'an.

"It's okay, we should be back for the New Year next year, we'll just prepare two for her then."

Everyone laughed and told them to drive slowly on the road.

"Oh, Xiaoqing, you're only staying for one day? Your mother will miss you terribly once you leave."

"But you only stayed at your parents' house after coming back for a day?"

These people really love a good show. They were discussing those rumors in private just a few days ago, and the story of Tian Qiaozhu going to He Shuyue's house to slap her had already spread far and wide.

As a result, they acted as if they knew nothing and even deliberately wondered why Song Qing didn't go back to her husband's family home.

Song Qing didn't want his family's affairs to become gossip fodder, and was about to laugh it off when Tian Qiaozhu glared at the man.

"Are you genuinely unaware or pretending? Weren't you discussing it enthusiastically the day before yesterday?"

Her sister-in-law glared at her too, "It's not like people can go back to wherever they want, why are you meddling in other people's business? If you really don't know, I'll have my mom slap you, then you'll understand."

"Oh, you guys are really something. I'm just asking out of kindness."

After everyone left, Tian Qiaozhu glanced at Lu Yang cautiously and found that he had no expression.

"Okay, Mom, don't worry. We're leaving now, and you need to go to work too."

"Okay, okay, drive slowly on the road."

The car drove away, and the two daughters-in-law left with their children. Tian Qiaozhu and Song Hai were still standing there when she suddenly sighed deeply.

"I'm afraid Xiao Lu will blame our daughter."

Song Hai glared at her, "Why blame my daughter? Isn't this her mother's fault?" What kind of logic is that?

"What do you know? There's no such thing as a grudge that lasts overnight between a mother and son. Maybe everything's fine now, but after a while, when he thinks about it, do you think he'll blame his own mother?"

“Xiao Lu isn’t that kind of person, why are you worrying about everything?”

“Don’t I worry about my daughter? Just look at those people. They clearly know that He Shuyue was behind it, but only a few days have passed, and they’re already saying that my daughter shouldn’t have stayed away from her husband’s family. They probably still blame her for not going back with Lu Yang.”

Parents are never wrong. Although she made a mistake, if her daughter really doesn't come back, everyone will blame her.

"Alright, alright, stop worrying. They live far away and won't be back for a year. Let them say whatever they want."

Song Hai waved his hand and went straight to work. Tian Qiaozhu stood there for a while longer before leaving as well. Song Hai's words weren't unreasonable; as long as the words didn't reach her daughter's ears, it would be fine.

Lu Weiguo's face looked like his mother had died this morning. He kept looking at the door, knowing that Lu Yang would leave this morning.

I wonder if he'll come back for one last look before he leaves.

Unfortunately, he waited until almost time for work but no one showed up. He stood up and sighed, figuring he was probably not going to see anyone.

He Shuyue sat alone in the chair, unable to sleep all night.

She was only trying to do what was best for her son. Even if she really did something wrong, how could he, as her son, be so heartless?

Later, he went to work like a ghost. During this time, everyone was talking about his family, and many people came from the direction of Tian Qiaozhu's house.

Lu Yang's car was so conspicuous that it was obvious he had gone home early in the morning.

However, seeing He Shuyue's expression, they dared not tease her in front of him anymore, but they couldn't help but laugh at her in private.

What kind of mother acts like that? Her two biological children don't even want to talk to her.

————

When educated youth went to the countryside from the city, their household registration would also be transferred, changing from urban to rural, and their grain rations would naturally follow.

Those sent-down youth with family connections usually stayed in the countryside for a few years before being transferred back to work as laborers. Some were assigned to take over their parents' jobs, while others were given jobs.

The rest would naturally have to work in the countryside or be recommended to attend workers', peasants' and soldiers' universities, and after they started school, they could transfer their household registration back to the countryside.

Starting two years ago, some educated youth also went to work as laborers. Of course, they are different from urban laborers. Their household registration remains in the countryside, and they cannot enjoy some of the benefits of laborers.

Some people call them "migrant workers". After they returned to the city in 1978, their previous years of work were also counted as seniority.

Although they were not like real workers, the educated youth still desperately wanted to get into the factory.

Working in the fields from morning till night without rest, at the end of the year, apart from work points, the dividends depend entirely on the harvest of that year. If the harvest is poor, you can probably only get a few dollars.

Being a worker is different; at least you can eat your fill and stay warm, and you can earn tens of yuan a year.

These days, the newly recruited workers at the textile factory have been given training, and three of the educated youth from Yanghe Village have passed the exam: Lu Ronghui, Zhao Shuyi, and Lin Haiping. The latter two happen to be a couple.

They were overjoyed. After so many years of working in the countryside, they had almost lost hope, but suddenly things took a turn for the better. They had originally planned to get married, but they couldn't find an empty house in the village. Now the situation was different.

Some villagers offered to rent houses to them, and the village chief and the Party secretary also made arrangements to hold a wedding for them.

Of course, compared to their joy, everyone else was gloomy and despondent, suddenly losing all hope.