Don't do anything foolish.
"No." Zheng Nanle paused in her washing up and denied it.
It's not that I'm guilty, it's just the truth.
She doesn't date in this fast-paced, materialistic modern society. In this apocalyptic world where "live for today" and only talk about sex, she doesn't seek companionship to relieve stress. This shows how picky she is.
She did have feelings for Lu Guangbai. He was emotionally stable, not a completely good person, and a great cook. If he gained a little weight, he would be a handsome man with a golden and jade-like appearance. All things considered, he was quite appealing to Zheng Nanle.
But as I said before, how could someone with no future give their affections knowing there's no future?
She was stingy with her emotions; her feelings for Lu Guangbai were more like seeing a proud ragdoll cat—she liked it a little, but didn't really love it.
She shoved the towel back onto the washstand and, as she walked toward the bed, asked with a smile, "Oh, our Er Ya, you even know what you like and dislike! How did you know that?"
Er Ya pouted.
She's seventeen years old, okay?
Some of the seventeen-year-olds in the same village have already become mothers.
“You’ll understand once you’ve seen enough,” Er Ya said. “Take Aunt Jin next door, for example. Even though she bosses and yells at Uncle Jin every day, and is quick to hit and scold him, when Uncle Jin’s rheumatic leg pain is unbearable, Aunt Jin stays up all night to give him a hot compress with a towel to soothe it.”
"Grandpa Jin is so thin, yet he has fattened up Grandma Jin so much. Their relationship is better than that of my grandparents."
"And there's Sister-in-law Zheng from the front street. When Third Aunt scolded her for being lazy and greedy, it was Fifth Brother who endured Third Aunt's scolding and made Sister-in-law Zheng go back to her room. He then did all the work himself and made Sister-in-law Zheng do light work like cutting pig feed. He also endured Third Aunt's scolding and made Sister-in-law Zheng, who had just given birth to a daughter, take a full postpartum period."
"The fact that Third Aunt's family divided their property so quickly has a lot to do with Fifth Brother."
After all, she works herself to the bone, while her sister-in-law is spoiled by her husband and lets herself slack off and live a comfortable life. Who can swallow this insult?
“Look at my uncles and aunts. When my grandmother scolded my aunts, my uncles never said a word. If my aunts annoyed them, they would beat them. My grandmother fed the men in the family rice, while she and her wives ate porridge. My grandfather and uncles never said a word, nor would they take rice or vegetables from their own bowls to feed their wives.”
"Whether you like it or not, it's actually quite obvious."
Zheng Nanle secretly praised him.
Er Ya is truly intelligent.
She remained silent, but her mind was perfectly clear.
If it were a different era or a different family, he would surely have achieved great things.
However, with her help, she will not fare badly in the future.
"Er Ya, after we separate from the family, you should go back to school," Zheng Nanle suggested.
Er Ya shouldn't be confined to this mountain village; her future lies in a vast world.
"Okay." Er Ya nodded with a smile.
The treasure was kept very secret, and the villagers had no idea about it. However, the armed forces couldn't be kept in the dark after they went into the mountains, and this led to a lot of gossip in the village.
There are spies hiding in the mountains, mountain demons hiding in the mountains, and monsters lurking in the mountains...
These are actually not the most outrageous claims. Some people even say that a group of Japanese soldiers were hiding in the mountains. They didn't have time to evacuate back then and lived a life of ease in the mountains for many years before being discovered by the armed forces.
Zheng Nanle had nothing to do, so he spent his days listening to the gossip in the village.
That day, Xie Jianhua found Zheng Nanle and handed her a cloth bag. When Zheng Nanle opened the bag, she saw the small sandalwood box that she had noticed first, with a sapphire on the lid that shone brightly.
Upon opening the box again, one could find ten small yellow croakers, two jade bracelets, and a jade pendant inside.
Whether it's a jade bracelet or a jade pendant, they are all made of high-quality Hetian jade, the kind that can be passed down as family heirlooms. In her previous life in a normal society, they could have sold for tens of millions or even hundreds of millions of yuan.
Zheng Nanle did not show any surprise.
She's just a country girl; she shouldn't know anything about jade.
However, she was quite satisfied.
She closed the sandalwood box, wrapped it in cloth, and didn't ask any further questions, nor did she inquire about how much Xie Ronghua had given her.
Xie Jianhua handed Zheng Nanle a temporary worker registration form. "There's a job here, in the police force. It's temporary, but if you work for a year or make a small contribution, you can become a permanent employee immediately. Would you like to take it?"
Zheng Nanle asked Er Ya, "Er Ya, are you willing to go?"
"Of course I'd love to!" Er Ya replied excitedly.
Going to the city to be a policeman, how prestigious!
She looked at Zheng Nanle. Her sister was very capable and should not be buried in this small village. If she went to the county to work as a police officer, her sister would soon be promoted and become a powerful figure.
Zheng Nanle took the registration form.
Xie Jianhua instructed Zheng Nanle on what documents to take with him when he left, and that it would be best if his grain ration records were transferred as well. After finishing speaking, he asked Zheng Nanle, "Did you remember?"
Zheng Nanle nodded and repeated it.
After confirming that nothing had been missed, Xie Jianhua added, "The company has dormitories; you can move in on the day you report for duty. You can bring some changes of clothes. By the way, Er Ya, can you read?"
Zheng Nanle nodded, "I secretly learned to read."
Xie Jianhua nodded to himself. Very good, he has ambition.
Although this temporary job was a bonus and Er Ya was capable enough to do it, if Er Ya was illiterate and had to attend a literacy class as soon as she joined the company, people would inevitably say that she got in through connections and gossip behind her back.
It's good as it is now.
“Okay, you’ll have a mentor when you get to the company, don’t worry, this job won’t be difficult for you,” Xie Jianhua reassured Zheng Nanle.
"Thank you, Brother Jianhua."
Xie Jianhua nodded and turned to leave.
Zheng Nanle watched Xie Jianhua's retreating figure, then looked up at the sky.
The June sun was scorching hot. After staring at it for only a moment, Zheng Nanle's eyes were stung by the strong light and tears welled up. He wiped away the tears from the corners of his eyes and looked down at the faint shadows of the green mountains in front of him.
The ancient green mountains remain unchanged, their verdant hues shimmering against the sky.
Zheng Nanle looked at her for a moment, then said to Er Ya, "Er Ya, I'll return your body to you tonight."
With Er Ya in the county and the police officer keeping her in check, the Zheng family can no longer harm her. However, to prevent future troubles, they need to give Old Man Zheng a hint before leaving.
Er Ya was surprised. "Sister, are you really leaving? I'm still weak and can't take responsibility for my own future. Sister, please stay a little longer?"
Zheng Nanle shook his head, "No, Er Ya, I'm human, I have desires too. The longer I stay, the less I can guarantee I won't become greedy and directly take over your body."
Er Ya remained silent.
Yes, the longer it lasts, the more you cherish it.
Who knows if the sincerity I feel now will change in time?
"Okay, but sister, can you stay for two more days? You haven't really seen this village properly yet, you haven't watched the sunset and sunrise with me, there are so many things we haven't done together, sister, are you really willing to leave?" Er Ya pleaded, trembling.
Zheng Nanle gently patted Er Ya's head and said with a smile, "Alright, that way you'll think of me every time you see the sunset or the sunrise."
"Mmm." Er Ya gave a big smile.
Zheng Nanle knew she would leave sooner or later, but she didn't expect it to come so soon. She thought it would be in July, after Er Ya was separated from her family, before she left.
However, the situation was much better than she had expected.
Zheng Nanle strolled leisurely through the village, while Er Ya spoke beside him. Er Ya, unlike her usual quiet self, introduced various parts of the village to Zheng Nanle. "When I was little, about three or four years old, I played house here with Sister Qingmiao and Brother Ronghua. Sister Qingmiao was the mother, Brother Ronghua was the father, and I was the daughter. We used the leaves of that tree as money and wood ash as food."
Zheng Nanle looked up and recognized the tree as a large privet.
"This dock is where the village washes clothes. The women and aunties chat while washing clothes, and they can hear everything that's going on in the village. I eavesdrop on their conversations and have learned a lot of secrets about the village. Hey, sister, I can even tell what's going on in the village now."
"Er Ya is really amazing," Zheng Nanle praised.
"When we were kids, we used to play hide-and-seek here at night, but one time we heard a strange noise and got scared, so we moved our hide-and-seek spot to the big willow tree. When I grew up, I suddenly realized that someone must have been there that night. Sigh, our village is actually quite chaotic."
Zheng Nanle couldn't help but laugh as he recalled what had happened in the village recently.
It's really a mess.
Zheng Nanle accompanied Er Ya to do what she wanted her to do, and finally the two went up the mountain and sat on a rock to wait for the sunrise.
The stars are sharp and cold, and the mountain wind is chilly.
Zheng Nanle looked at the pale dawn sky and said to Er Ya, "Er Ya, don't do anything foolish."
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