Xie Xinyu said apologetically, "I'm sorry, it's me who will be bothering you for a few days with the child."
When she moved in, the brigade leader told her that he would build her a room next door so that she could stay at the educated youth settlement for a few days.
Zhao Xiumei had no idea about this, and she was worried that Xie Xinyu would stay at the educated youth settlement permanently in the future.
"So you were also a sent-down youth? If you live here, what about your child's father?"
She seemed very worried about the other person, saying, "How can a child leave their own home?"
Something about those words sounded off, and Xie Xinyu's face gradually stiffened.
Song Meili scoffed, "Zhao Xiumei, what do you mean? Just say what you want to say. Don't come here pretending to be kind and virtuous. It's disgusting."
Zhao Xiumei gritted her teeth and said, "Meili, you misunderstood me. I just wanted to say that it's not appropriate for Xie Zhiqing to live here. Children should stay with their parents."
She knew perfectly well that Xie Xinyu was being abused by the Li family, which was why she had no choice but to move out.
But now they're urging her to go back.
Ou Manqing smiled and asked her, "Did Yang Honghua send you to say this?"
Xie Xinyu's face turned pale. Was Yang Honghua not going to let her go?
Zhao Xiumei stammered, "No, no."
In fact, it was Yang Honghua who told her that Xie Xinyu would be living at the educated youth settlement with her child from now on.
Zhao Xiumei was naturally unhappy. Living in a dormitory was already rudimentary enough, and now there was an adult and a child joining them.
Isn't it more annoying when the child cries?
Yang Honghua also said that as long as she could unite with the educated youth to drive Xie Xinyu and her child out, she would give her ten eggs as a reward.
Ten eggs! She hasn't eaten any meat in ages.
After receiving the food rations, she kept some for herself and sent the rest home to her parents.
She was given money in exchange for her work points, and she wanted to send it home.
This left her penniless, and she could only eat coarse grains.
Previously, Song Meili was on good terms with her and, seeing that she was pitiful, would share some food with her.
Later, I gradually discovered her true colors and stopped associating with her.
Therefore, the reward of these ten eggs was one of the few times Zhao Xiumei could eat meat.
When Xie Xinyu saw her like this, she knew that Song Meili had guessed correctly; it was indeed her mother-in-law, Yang Honghua, who had instigated it.
The ghost won't leave!
She thought she was about to be saved, but then Yang Honghua came to interfere at the educated youth settlement again.
Xie Xinyu gritted her teeth, her nails digging into her flesh, filled with hatred.
Ou Manqing walked over, freed her hand from under her nails, and said softly, "Don't be angry. It's best not to get angry during postpartum confinement."
Don't worry, you can stay as long as you want. We are all educated youth, and we are revolutionary comrades who fought together.
Anyone who tries to kick you out is undermining unity.
As she spoke, she looked coldly at Zhao Xiumei, her eyes seeming to turn into ice blades, slowly torturing the other woman.
Zhao Xiumei was stunned by Ou Manqing's words. It would be too serious to accuse her of undermining unity.
"I...I didn't mean that. I was just saying that Xie Zhiqing and Aunt Yang's son both have children. Couples often quarrel and then make up quickly. For the sake of the children, it's better not to be willful..."
"Shut up!" Song Meili finally snapped.
"You know exactly what you're thinking. Look at the state of that mother and daughter now. How could you even suggest they go back to the Li family? What is your heart made of?"
Song Meili felt heartbroken looking at the mother and daughter. The older one was so thin that she was skin and bones, with no flesh on her body.
The baby was born not long ago, all wrinkled and tired, and was so hungry that it didn't even have the strength to cry.
Zhao Xiumei's shamelessness broadened Song Meili's horizons once again. For Yang Honghua's meager reward, she could ignore Xie Zhiqing's suffering. Song Meili once again regretted befriending her.
"Please stop arguing, fellow educated youth. Xie will not be staying in your room permanently."
While the two were arguing fiercely, the captain's voice came from outside.
When Song Meili opened the door, she saw the brigade leader leading several brigade members, measuring the area outside the yard.
"Captain, what's going on?"
When Lin Aiguo saw Song Meili and Zhao Xiumei, he said again, "Zhao, don't worry. Xie won't be staying in your house all the time. We need to expand the courtyard of the educated youth settlement and build a separate house for Xie."
Did the captain hear their argument just now?
Zhao Xiumei felt remorseful. She realized that she had ruined her image with the brigade leader for such a small reward, which was not worth it.
"Captain, I... I didn't mean that. Xie Zhiqing is one of us educated youth. It's fine for her to stay as long as she wants."
Song Meili was stunned by the speed at which the woman turned on her, unable to understand how this woman had suddenly changed.
Ou Manqing squinted and said to her, "She might really have taken a liking to Xiaoyu's second brother."
"Ah, right, she's probably afraid that the captain won't have a good impression of her."
It's certain that I'll have a bad impression.
Lin Aiguo felt that Zhao Xiumei, the educated youth, was really unkind. The harm that Xie had suffered was obvious to all, yet she turned a blind eye and even wanted to drive her out.
No wonder the leader wanted these educated youths to go to the countryside to receive re-education from poor and lower-middle peasants.
Most of the villagers were kinder and more honest than Zhao, the educated youth. When they saw Xie being moved away, some even asked Lin Aiguo to help bring her some food.
It seems that we must strengthen the ideological education of educated youth in the future. Not only their ideology, but they also need to do more work so that they don't have time to think about persecuting their comrades.
Zhao Xiumei was unaware that she would be assigned heavy and tiring work from then on, and that the brigade leader would treat educated youth with improper thoughts as cruelly as the autumn wind sweeping away fallen leaves.
After Lin Aiguo and his men finished measuring the area, they knocked down one side of the wall surrounding the educated youth compound, expanded it a bit, and then rebuilt the wall.
They didn't have bricks or tiles, so they used mud to build houses and walls.
The advantage is that it doesn't cost money, just a few people, and you can pay them work points.
Xie Xinyu was inside the house when she heard that Captain Lin had already brought people to measure the land and build the house, and she breathed a sigh of relief.
She knew that now that she was married, she was no longer considered part of the educated youth settlement. If she stayed there permanently, not only would the other educated youth feel uncomfortable, but she herself would also feel embarrassed.
Now that the brigade leader is willing to help her build a house, she can move out. And that house is in the courtyard of the educated youth settlement, where she will still be with the other educated youth, and her safety will be guaranteed.
Xie Xinyu was very grateful; Captain Lin's arrangement showed that he had considered everything for her.
-
Meanwhile, Lin Yu, along with Qiao Feng and Li Dahui, went hunting in the mountains again.
Lin Yu was thinking of hunting a pheasant for Zhou Hehua to make soup, but Qiao Feng was worried and wanted to go with her to check.
Li Dahui is now speaking fluently. He told Lin Yu that he had gone to the machinery factory to make several transactions and had already saved up a considerable amount of money.
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