When the oxcart driver arrived, he started urging him on.
Xue Fu kept the conversation brief, then hugged her parents one by one: "See you in Haicheng! I'll be back soon!"
Ji Yazhi looked at her with reluctance: "Take good care of yourself, be good."
"Uh-huh!"
Watching them get on the oxcart and ride away, swaying and receding into the distance, Xue Fu's eyes stung with tears. She wiped them away and turned to look at Gu Chong: "Let's go back."
Seeing her red-rimmed eyes, Gu Chong's heart softened: "Mm."
Meanwhile, on the oxcart, Ji Yazhi and Xue Mingcheng were surrounded by overly curious and enthusiastic villagers.
"These are Comrade Xue's parents, right? Oh, are you here to discuss Xiao Xue's marriage to Gu Chong?"
"Although our village is poor, people are not poor in spirit. Our Gu Chong is a good lad, a down-to-earth, hardworking, and family-oriented man..."
"What are you all thinking? Little Xue definitely likes it, right? It just depends on whether you can please the eldest son of the Gu family..."
"......"
At first, Ji Yazhi and Xue Mingcheng were able to handle the situation and were still explaining and clarifying.
As they talked, they got more and more excited, and the couple were left speechless by the questions. They could only smile and shut up, too lazy to continue the conversation.
"Hey," after her parents left, Xue Fu calmed down on her way back and curiously tugged at Gu Chong's sleeve, bringing her face close to his, and asked, "What did my parents say to you? You kept it all from me."
She wrinkled her nose, somewhat displeased: "You kept it from me too."
She shook his arm from side to side, softened her voice, and said in a coquettish tone, "You're talking about me, aren't you? Is that right?"
Unfortunately, Gu Chong remained unmoved. He pinched her rosy cheeks and simply said, "She didn't say anything else. Mom told me to take good care of you."
Xue Fu immediately frowned and stared at him, deliberately repeating the two words he had just said: "Mom, Mom?"
Gu Chong didn't think he had said anything wrong, and he nodded: "Yes, Mom."
Xue Fu was amused by his shamelessness, her little face beaming with a bright smile, her fox-like eyes crinkling: "You're quite good at calling me that."
Xue Fu leaned her head against his shoulder and said with a grin, "But Mom definitely doesn't recognize you as her son now."
Gu Chong's Adam's apple bobbed up and down: "Yes, I have to work hard."
She was so close that Gu Chong could smell the faint fragrance in her hair and see the soft, white nape of her neck when she looked down.
What Gu Chong didn't tell her was that although her parents said that since they were together, they asked him to stay here and take good care of her, they were actually subtly advising them to break up, saying that they weren't a good match.
They were very open and straightforward.
Ji Yazhi told him that Xue Fu would use her connections to be transferred back to the city after the New Year and would not return to Qingtang Village.
“Gu Chong, we also think you are a good kid. But you also need to understand that as parents, we want our children to have a good life.”
Ji Yazhi said helplessly, "As you know, these days, it's not easy for two people to be in a long-distance relationship."
The policy hasn't been relaxed yet. People with rural household registration need to apply for a letter of introduction just to go to a provincial capital, let alone Haicheng, which is thousands of kilometers away.
Even with a letter of introduction, you can't stay indefinitely. There's a time limit, and you have to return on time after it expires; otherwise, if you're caught, you'll be treated as a vagrant.
Ji Yazhi and Xue Mingcheng did not have much faith in or confidence in their relationship.
"Isn't that the truth?" Ji Yazhi looked at the stoic young man and sighed, "A short pain is worse than a long one."
Gu Chong didn't reply to the latter part, but simply continued what they had said earlier: "I will take good care of Afu, Auntie and Uncle, don't worry."
Seeing his insistence, Xue Mingcheng also spoke up: "We've seen it too, Rongrong is being taken good care of by you. But Rongrong is still a child at heart and can't settle down."
Their daughter was spoiled and pampered too much.
She is not the type to easily persevere when faced with setbacks and obstacles.
Xue Fu is not the kind of person who won't give up until she hits a brick wall.
Gu Chong's answer remained impeccable, as he promised them he would not give up: "I know."
"Uncle and Aunt, I will treat her well. I understand everything you've said. I will..."
He talked a lot about what he's doing now and what he wants to do later.
He would give Xue Fu the best life; he would climb the social ladder, not make her accommodate him.
She continued walking her path with her head held high, and he would catch up with her from behind.
Two days later, the fishpond became a lively place.
Team leader Zhou Jianguo organized the men in the village to prepare for fishing today.
There were also quite a few people who came to watch the fishing and join in the fun.
They even brought buckets from home in advance, hoping to be the first to get their share of the fresh, big, fat fish after the fish were weighed and taken away at the commune, which weighed over a hundred pounds.
As the main person in charge of fish farming, Xue Fu was called out by Zhou Jianguo early in the morning to meet the commune secretary and the commune director.
Zhou Jianguo gave her a few glances, signaling her to briefly introduce her work over the past six months, and to briefly describe how Qingtang Village had diligently achieved its breeding targets and made its contributions.
Xue Fu: ......?
Aba aba.
She rarely experienced situations where polite formalities were required.
Several pairs of eyes fell on her face, looking slightly serious.
She was a little nervous at first, and stammered a couple of sentences. She felt her voice was trembling and she wasn't used to speaking those official languages.
But when she started talking about her daily work, which she had been doing for months and was very familiar with, she became fluent, confident, and exuded a strong presence.
After speaking, Xue Fu pursed her lips and glanced at Zhou Jianguo out of the corner of her eye. Seeing him nod slightly and look at her with a satisfied expression, she felt completely relieved.
After that, Xue Fu was no longer involved.
She mainly acted as a background figure, following behind Zhou Jianguo and listening to him communicate with the leaders of the commune.
A crowd had already gathered around the fishpond. When they saw the team leader and the commune members arrive together, they spontaneously stepped back, making room for each other.
Meanwhile, the people who had organized the fishing were all in place, wearing tall rubber boots.
Each person held several fishing net lines in their hands, ready to go into the pond.
Xue Fu, standing next to Zhou Jianguo, saw Gu Chong standing slightly towards the back of the group.
She narrowed her eyes slightly, wanting to see more clearly, her gaze fixed entirely on him.
Gu Chong's movements were still crisp, efficient, and powerful.
Among the men from Xiatang, Gu Chong was undoubtedly the most attractive.
With broad shoulders, a strong waist, and a tall and upright figure, even though he was wearing a thin jacket with little tailoring, his good physique was still outlined and fully displayed in his movements.
Not to mention his already handsome face, which looked even more striking standing next to the village men.
Xue Fu secretly smiled, pleased with her good taste.
However, she also noticed that she wasn't the only one whose eyes were fixed on Gu Chong.
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