Chapter 178
"It's Zhu Zhiqing's good fortune that he can find a partner as good as Shen Zhiqing." Another person said.
"Chen Zhiqing is the first of us educated youth to return to the city. Maybe before long, Zhu Zhiqing will also be able to return to the city with Shen Zhiqing and won't have to stay here anymore." The third person also said sarcastically.
Zhu Qiaoting thought that she would have to live with this group of people for another half a year, so in the face of their ridicule, she just smiled and pretended to be indifferent, and did not retort.
Zhu Qiaoting returned to the educated youth site, put down her things, and entered the village.
She found a house with familiarity and knocked on the wooden door.
An old woman opened the door with a stern face, and when she saw Zhu Qiaoting, a smile appeared on her face.
"It's Zhu Zhiqing! I heard that you and Shen Zhiqing went back to the city, so why are you back?"
"I just accompanied Shen Zhiqing to visit his mother, and I came back after that." Zhu Qiaoting said with a smile.
The old woman glanced at Zhu Qiaoting's empty hands and said, "You went to see Shen Zhiqing's mother. She didn't give you anything and just let you come back empty-handed."
Zhu Qiaoting knew what the old woman was planning. She ignored the question and asked, "Is Xiaolan in the room? I came to talk to her."
The smile on the old woman's face faded a lot. "In the kitchen, she's cooking. I don't think Zhu Zhiqing will eat here."
"I'm not eating here." After saying that, Zhu Qiaoting went into the kitchen to find Xiaolan.
Xiaolan and Zhu Qiaoting were part of the same group of educated youth sent to the countryside. They came from similar backgrounds and faced similar situations at home. After arriving, they quickly became friends, with Xiaolan becoming Zhu Qiaoting's only friend.
They stayed here for four years.
During these four years, they went from being completely unfamiliar with farm work to gradually becoming proficient in it.
They initially hoped to return to the city, but later they became disheartened and felt that they would be trapped on this land for the rest of their lives.
It was at this time that Xiaolan married a villager.
There was a young man in the village who was very good at farm work and had always had a crush on Xiaolan. Xiaolan initially ignored him, but gradually she came to believe that if she couldn't return to the city and had to stay here for the rest of her life, this young man would be a better choice for her. At least if she stayed with him, he would earn full work points and give her enough to eat. Unlike the other educated youth, who didn't earn full work points and often went hungry.
At the time, Zhu Qiaoting and Xiaolan were in a similar situation. Although she wanted to persuade Xiaolan to hold on, she herself wasn't sure if they could return to the city. She couldn't bring herself to persuade Xiaolan, so she could only respect her choice.
At this moment, Xiaolan, who was busy in the kitchen, saw Zhu Qiaoting come in and asked in surprise: "You're back?"
After being surprised, she became puzzled again: "Why didn't you stay in the city with Shen Kang? With such a good opportunity to stay in the city, why did you come back?"
"I want to stay, but there's no way." Zhu Qiaoting sat in front of the stove, stuffing firewood into the stove, and told Xiaolan everything that happened at Shen Kang's house.
She has nothing to hide in front of Xiaolan.
After hearing this, Xiaolan was angry on Zhu Qiaoting's behalf: "Why doesn't Chen Kang's mother like you? You're such a good person, and you're no worse than Chen Kang. Isn't Chen Kang just from a better family background than you? Isn't he just luckier than you, and able to get a job in the city?"
Zhu Qiaoting was silent: "Chen Kang's sister-in-law once said to me that she didn't want to regard Chen Kang as her only lifeline. Even she could see that I regarded Chen Kang as my only lifeline to return to the city. Chen Kang's mother should have seen it too. She probably guessed that it was me who made Chen Kang be with me in the first place, so she doesn't like me."
Yes, the reason why Chen Kang was with her was because of her scheming.
Chen Kang went to the countryside earlier than them and is an old educated youth.
When she first came here, her impression of Shen Kang was that he had a good personality and always received letters and packages from home. Every time he received a package, if there was something delicious, Shen Kang would share some with everyone to satisfy their cravings. As a result, he had a good reputation among the educated youth, and many of the female educated youth had a good impression of him.
However, Chen Kang avoided those female educated youth who showed interest in him. To avoid suspicion, he would not leave himself alone and would always go in and out with other male educated youth.
Chen Kang was not bad looking, and his family background seemed to be not bad either, so there were many unmarried girls in the village who were interested in him. However, Chen Kang always had a consistent attitude, gentle and polite, but kept his distance.
She became interested in Shen Kang after Xiaolan decided to marry a young man in the village.
On the night Xiaolan got married, Zhu Qiaoting lay in bed and didn't sleep the whole night.
She thought about her own fate. If she couldn't return to the city, would she have to marry a decent young man from the village like Xiaolan did, and stay in the village for the rest of her life?
However, even if she could return to the city, given her family's financial situation and their attitude towards her, her life would only be slightly better than here. Xiaolan also took this into consideration when she decided to marry a young man from the village.
They don't seem to have much of a choice, and no matter which option they choose, the future isn't very bright.
If she didn't want to marry someone from the village, nor did she want to return to her hometown, then her best option was to marry a local educated youth. If she could return to the city, she would go with him; if not, the two of them being here together was better than marrying an uneducated, rough man from the village.
It was at this time that Zhu Qiaoting thought of Shen Kang.
Shen Kang is undoubtedly her best choice among them.
After determining the target, Zhu Qiaoting took the initiative to approach Shen Kang.
At first, Shen Kang didn't react to her at all, treating her just like he did to everyone else, indifferent but gentle and polite.
The turning point came one day when a girl from the village took advantage of Chen Kang being alone and blocked him on a small path in the field.
This girl's family has some connections in the village, so she acts in a domineering manner. She has liked Shen Kang for a long time, but Shen Kang does not like her. At the suggestion of her family, she plans to take the initiative to have physical contact with Shen Kang and then force him to marry her.
It was at this time that Zhu Qiaoting appeared.
Her appearance here was not a coincidence, but she had been observing Shen Kang all this time, so she had discovered some clues about the girl's thoughts. She had been following Shen Kang all the way and happened to see him.
Seeing the girl, Zhu Qiaoting just smiled and said to Shen Kang: "Brother Shen, everyone is waiting for you in front, why are you so slow?"
Shen Kangru was saved by a straw, and without even looking at the girl, he hurried over to Zhu Qiaoting.
"Let's go to the front and meet up with everyone." Zhu Qiaoting said again, and then she and Shen Kang quickened their pace.
It was not until they were sure that the girl had not caught up with them that Zhu Qiaoting and Shen Kang both breathed a sigh of relief.
It was at this time that Shen Kang realized that there was no one waiting for them up ahead.
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