Chapter 6 But back then, she was one of those who were slaughtered…
At the same time, in Lijia Village, which is hundreds of kilometers away from Guangcheng.
Last night, Tang Mingmei was worried that Li Dazhu would be unhappy if he found out that she had written to her parents asking them to send her back to the city. But today, while working in the fields, she heard from another male educated youth, Deng Yuan, that he would be able to return to the city tomorrow.
She thought she had misheard and asked, "Who did you say is going back to the city tomorrow?"
Deng Yuandao: "Li Dazhu."
"Who told you that?"
"Who else could it be but Dazhu? But this kid is quite patient; he only told me last night, even though he was about to leave."
Tang Mingmei dropped the hoe, her face contorting into a grimace.
She kept her relationship with Li Dazhu a secret from everyone, so Deng Yuan didn't expect that his casual remark would elicit such a strong reaction from her.
But then I thought about it again, which of the educated youth who stayed here didn't want to go back to the city? It's normal for them to be excited when they heard that someone could go back to the city.
Even he himself sighed.
After Li Dazhu left, he was left alone as a male educated youth, with no one to talk to.
In the past two years, almost every family with some means has tried to bring their children back to the city. Those who haven't left yet are in similar situations to him; their families can't offer any help.
He had thought that Li Dazhu, whose parents were both factory workers, and he himself would be staying in Lijia Village for who knows how long, but he never expected that the other party would also be returning to the city.
Tang Mingmei, on the other hand, was now preoccupied with the fact that Li Dazhu was keeping his plans to return to the city a secret from her.
She was initially as if she had lost her soul, unable to distinguish whether anger or sorrow was greater.
Why did he abandon her and return to the city? She wanted to find Li Dazhu and get to the bottom of it.
Tang Mingmei disregarded the fact that it was still working hours and ran away as fast as she could.
Deng Yuan was startled. Watching her run away, he said to the other educated youth, "Tang Mingmei is too excited. There are four other female educated youths with her. Is she really that jealous?"
One of the female educated youths who hadn't spoken until now said, "Don't you know her? If flies could fly back to the city, she'd be jealous of even flies."
This humorous remark made the educated youth, who were already quite tired from working, burst into laughter.
-
Unbeknownst to the educated youth, Tang Mingmei had gone to find Li Dazhu.
Generally, educated youth who were about to leave had to get a certificate from the brigade leader. She guessed that she hadn't seen Li Dazhu in the fields today, so she must have gone to get the certificate. Therefore, she ran towards the commune as fast as she could.
When they arrived near the commune, they bumped into Li Dazhu, who had just come out with the certificate.
Upon seeing Tang Mingmei, Li Dazhu's face clearly showed a hint of panic, but he quickly calmed down and chuckled, "What brings you here?"
Tang Mingmei was furious. She used to think Li Dazhu looked honest and kind when he smiled, but now he was a real eyesore.
She retorted irritably, "That's what I should be asking you. What are you doing here?"
Li Dazhu fell silent when asked, but considering that everyone would soon know he was returning to the city, he decided to have a good talk with Tang Mingmei.
I have to appease Tang Mingmei properly; her temper is terrifying when she goes berserk. Thankfully, I kept the news of my return to the city a complete secret.
"Perfect timing, I have something to tell you, let's find a place to have a good talk."
Tang Mingmei sneered: "What are you talking about? Are you trying to tell me that you're going back to the city soon?"
"You know?" Li Dazhu's heart skipped a beat.
Having dated Tang Mingmei for over a year, he knew her personality all too well. He knew she would definitely make a huge scene if he knew he had gone back to the city behind her back.
But he had no choice. He had the chance to go back to the city, so why shouldn't he?
Fearing that Tang Mingmei would cause a scene in front of the commune, Li Dazhu humbled himself and gently persuaded her, "Let's find a place and I'll explain to you."
Tang Mingmei shook off Li Dazhu's hand, which was trying to grab her, and said angrily, "No, say it here."
She glared at Li Dazhu again, her tone cold, "It's nothing more than you leaving me to go back to the city, what's there to say?"
Li Dazhu looked around, relieved that everyone was working in the fields at that moment.
He patiently lowered his voice and continued to coax, "We've been together for over a year. Don't you know how I've treated you? Is that how you see me?"
Tang Mingmei's attitude softened somewhat after being talked to.
"Let's find a secluded spot, and I'll explain everything to you properly."
Meeting Li Dazhu's sincere eyes, Tang Mingmei finally listened to him.
The two went to the grove where they usually went on dates.
Tang Mingmei deliberately kept a cold face, "Now that there's no one around, go ahead and say it, let's see what kind of nonsense you can come up with."
Li Dazhu smiled ingratiatingly: "Of course I can't say anything fancy, but you must believe me, I won't abandon you."
"What's the meaning?"
"What I mean is, once I'm back in the city, I'll definitely find a way to bring you back too."
Tang Mingmei never expected to hear such words.
Going back to the city—which educated youth sent to the countryside didn't dream of returning to the city every day?
Her attitude had softened, and she asked with a hint of doubt, "Really?"
When have I ever lied to you?
Whether he had lied to her or not is impossible to verify, but Tang Mingmei countered, "If you had such thoughts, why didn't you tell me immediately?"
Li Dazhu had already prepared his words. He took her hand and said with deep affection, "Don't I know your personality? If I had told you earlier, you would have definitely lost your composure, and then our relationship might have been exposed."
At this point, seeing Tang Mingmei squint her eyes again, Li Dazhu quickly explained, "Actually, I don't mind making our relationship public, but the thought of me going back to the city and leaving you alone to face everyone's gossip makes my heart ache."
Li Dazhu's concerns were not without merit. If he returned to the city and left her alone, even if others didn't say anything to her face, they would definitely laugh at her for being abandoned behind her back.
Tang Mingmei had been persuaded, but she still made Li Dazhu swear that he would find a way to bring her back to the city as soon as possible after they returned.
Without a second thought, Li Dazhu raised his right hand and immediately swore a solemn oath: "I, Li Dazhu, swear that after returning to the city, I will find a way to bring Tang Mingmei back to the city as soon as possible. If I fail to do so, may I live a life even more miserable than when I was sent to the countryside."
The oath was weighty enough that Tang Mingmei was finally satisfied.
With her parents' efforts and Li Dazhu's help, Tang Mingmei felt confident she could return to the city no matter what.
The thought of seeing Tang Mingli's miserable life in the Fu family after returning to the city filled Tang Mingmei with excitement.
During the two years she spent in the countryside, every time she wrote to her parents, she would ask how Tang Mingli was doing in the Fu family.
Her parents' replies were vague, saying things like "It's alright," "It's so-so," and "What else can you expect after marrying into a family like that?" Every word, though unspoken, seemed to tell her that Tang Mingli was having a very difficult time in the Fu family.
Having successfully calmed Tang Mingmei down, Li Dazhu finally breathed a sigh of relief, and now all he had to do was wait for tomorrow to arrive.
Looking around at the place where he had spent five years, and thinking about how he had dedicated the best five years of his life to it, Li Dazhu felt a burning hatred.
I never want to come to this remote and impoverished place again in my life.
It's a pity that Tang Mingmei didn't get into university, otherwise she could have left this place and they could have continued on their journey.
Although she has a bad temper, she's beautiful. If he could go back to the city, he'd be willing to marry her just for her looks. Besides, she's an only child; everything her parents have will eventually be hers.
Li Dazhu felt increasingly regretful, but he also knew that one cannot have both fish and bear's paw.
-
The next morning, Li Dazhu boarded the village's oxcart and left Lijia Village with a big smile on his face.
While the educated youth congratulated him, they were all a little downcast.
Another person left, but they didn't know how much longer they would have to stay here.
One of the female educated youth even cried in despair.
Tang Mingmei listened impatiently and said to her, "Cry, cry, cry. It's not like someone is dead. What are you crying about?"
The man said, feeling wronged, "Can't I stay here even though I'm upset?"
"Fine, then be sad." Tang Mingmei rolled her eyes.
The man was angered by Tang Mingmei's attitude and said to the person next to him, "What's she so smug about? She still has to stay here."
"Ignore her, that's just how she is."
Hearing this, Tang Mingmei got angry: "What about me? Tell me, what about me?"
...
On the first day Li Dazhu left, Tang Mingmei had a falling out with all the other educated youth at the settlement.
She was sad and angry, but she blamed all her sadness and anger on Tang Mingli, who was hundreds of kilometers away.
If she hadn't never mentioned the hardships of going to the countryside in her previous life, why would I have chosen to go?
-
Despite the weather getting warmer, Tang Mingli has been sneezing inexplicably for the past two days, and even Madam Fu is concerned that she might have caught a cold.
Tang Mingli rubbed her nose and shook her head: "No, it's probably because there are a lot of catkins in the spring and my nose is itchy."
What she was really thinking was, "Could it be that my uncle's family is talking about me?"
Madam Fu said with concern, "How about we stop going for walks in the mornings for now and wait a while?"
Tang Mingli, however, was somewhat conflicted.
Walking is currently her only form of exercise.
She eats well at the Fu family's house, and if she doesn't exercise at all, she's afraid of gaining weight.
Furthermore, life depends on proper exercise. Life is good now, and barring any unforeseen circumstances, it will only get better in the coming decades; she wants to live like an old monster.
After weighing the pros and cons, she felt that the itchy nose problem was almost negligible.
"It's okay, if my nose is still itchy, I'll just wear a mask."
Madam Fu thought this was a good idea.
Just then, Zhang Guihua came over with a bag and asked Tang Mingli, "Is a piece of cured meat and two pounds of oranges really enough?"
Today, Tang Mingli is going to her uncle's house to tell them that her cousin will be returning to the city soon. It wouldn't be good to go empty-handed, so she asked Zhang Guihua to prepare some things for her.
She laughed and said, "That's enough."
But after saying that, she remembered something and asked Zhang Guihua to bring her another bag of candy before she left with her things.
Madam Fu got up and saw her to the door, asking when she would be back.
Tang Mingli smiled and said, "I'll definitely be back for dinner."
-
After taking a bus for more than an hour and walking through a long alley, Tang Mingli arrived at the place where she first came into this world.
Since marrying Fu Ci, she has visited about once a year, maintaining superficial kinship ties with her uncle's family. Even so, none of the neighbors in the tenement building have accused her of being ungrateful.
As soon as she entered the courtyard, Tang Mingli greeted everyone she met with a smile, and generously handed out candy to the children she encountered.
The children received candy, and their mouths became sweet, calling her "Sister Mingli" one after another.
"good."
Tang Mingli looked at the adorable children with a loving expression, and only after she had given out the whole bag of candy did she carry the things upstairs.
My aunt's family lived on the west side of the second floor of a tenement building, where it was cold in winter and hot in summer.
As she reached the corner of the stairs, she heard her neighbors talking about her behind her.
"Mingli is such a good girl. She married into such a good family, but she doesn't put on airs at all."
"This child was raised by Grandpa Tang until he was seven or eight years old, so his temperament naturally follows Grandpa Tang's."
...
Tang Mingli felt ashamed.
The claim that he inherited his father's ways is simply a matter of being forced to learn a bit of worldly wisdom in his past life's workplace. Applying it to people from a simpler era now gives the impression of a max-level player slaughtering a newbie village.
But back then, she was also one of those who got slaughtered in the workplace.
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