The next morning, Xie Yuyao was still lying in bed, reluctant to get up, when she heard Wu Lihong calling from outside the courtyard gate.
After confirming that it wasn't a hallucination, Xie Yuyao responded loudly, quickly got up, put on her military overcoat, and went to open the door.
As soon as the courtyard gate opened, Wu Lihong, with red and swollen eyes and a haggard face, was seen. "Sister Lihong, when did you arrive? Come in quickly!"
As Wu Lihong walked, she said, "I arrived last night, but it was too late to come and find you."
"Was the journey smooth?"
"Nothing went wrong."
......
The two exchanged pleasantries as they entered the house. Xie Yuyao poured them both a cup of tea and then served them various snacks before sitting down next to Wu Lihong.
Wu Lihong took a sip of tea, looked up and asked, "Yaoyao, did you and Shumei know what my family thought, which is why you both advised me not to bring too many things home?"
"Well, I think if family ties have really changed, it's better to find out sooner and make plans for yourself sooner," Xie Yuyao said softly.
Wu Lihong lowered her head, a tear splashed into the teacup, and disappeared into the water.
Xie Yuyao handed her a tissue, which Wu Lihong took to wipe away her tears. She choked out, "They can ask me for all sorts of things, they can be indifferent to me. But what they shouldn't have done was hide the news of my grandmother's death from me, and even used her name to make me search for fine grains..."
"You're right. It's my fault for being blind and kept in the dark. This one test exposed their true colors. It's only been a few years, and they've already stopped treating me like family..."
It turned out that after several twists and turns, Wu Lihong finally stood in front of her home. Her family was very surprised to see her suddenly return home, and when they saw that she only had a few cheap snacks with her besides clothes, they immediately became displeased.
When she wanted to see her grandmother, her parents hesitantly told her that her grandmother had passed away last summer. They said that summer was busy and they definitely couldn't get away, so they didn't tell her.
Wu Lihong was devastated. She was sent to the countryside as a child and raised by her grandmother, but she didn't even get to see her grandmother one last time.
When asked about the refined grains that were later exchanged, her mother used anger to cover up her guilt: "Your sister-in-law gave birth to a son, but she didn't have enough breast milk, and my precious grandson is going hungry. Is it wrong for me to let you exchange some refined grains for the child to eat?"
Wu Lihong said with heartache, "Then you could have just said so directly. Why did you have to use my grandmother's name? Do you think I would abandon my nephew?"
“I asked you about refined grains a few years ago, and you always said you didn’t have any,” Wu Lihong’s mother muttered.
Upon hearing this, Wu Lihong roared, "That's because I swapped it with the educated youth who arrived just a few months ago!"
Seeing that her parents had nothing more to say, she picked up her backpack and tried to go back to her room, but her parents stopped her.
“You won’t be staying for more than a few days, so don’t squeeze in with your two younger sisters. Just sleep in the living room.”
"Your second sister wants to apply to the Workers, Peasants and Soldiers University, so don't go in and disturb her studies."
Wu Lihong was incredulous; she no longer had a place to stay in this house and had become a complete outsider!
She couldn't understand it at all. Her parents weren't like this in her memory. Why did they seem like completely different people after not seeing them for a few years?
Her younger brother and sister treated her coldly, as if their childhood together was just a dream.
At first, she used housework to numb herself, running around all day to distract herself.
But just a few days after the Spring Festival, her parents asked her when she was leaving. When they learned it was at the end of the first lunar month, they said that her younger brother had gotten married and had a child, and that life was very difficult for him. They said they couldn't help her with anything and that she would have to walk her own path from now on.
Wu Lihong finally faced reality, bought the nearest train ticket, and embarked on her journey to the countryside half a year earlier than the date she had requested leave.
Along the way, she had figured it out.
Her family thought she would stay in the countryside forever and never go back. Now that she's older and will soon get married and have children, she'll become a poor relative in the countryside. To prevent her from coming to their door to freeload in the coming decades, they simply stopped giving her her daily allowance and made a clean break in advance.
Xie Yuyao sighed and comforted her, "Then let's be good to each other from now on and live only for ourselves."
Wu Lihong nodded. "I've come to terms with it. They think I'm useless and are afraid I'll drag them down."
"From another perspective, it's better this way, so you don't end up with all the fruits of your hard work going to them and ending up in a miserable state."
Seeing that she seemed lost in thought, Xie Yuyao added, "Let me tell you, if you ignore me today, you'll regret it tomorrow. Sister Lihong, don't give up and just marry some country bumpkin. That's the most foolish thing to do. We have to live well and then give them a good slap in the face later!"
She was truly afraid that Wu Lihong would wallow in self-pity, drift with the tide, and become "cannon fodder" in this torrent.
Speaking of the future, Wu Lihong felt lost: "Yaoyao, do you think we'll be stuck in the countryside forever, unable to leave?"
"Of course not! Opportunity favors the prepared mind. Our greatest advantage is our educated youth. I hope all members of our educated youth team will actively learn cultural knowledge so that when the opportunity comes, we can return to the city in one fell swoop," Xie Yuyao said firmly.
Wu Lihong is a kind and innocent girl. In the front yard, there is a viper-like Jiang Yan and a "passionate" Ren Fei. Xie Yuyao did not mention the speculation about the resumption of the college entrance examination to Wu Lihong, so as not to let others trick her into saying something and give her a pretext for gossip.
When Wu Lihong returned, her complexion was noticeably better, and she had returned to her pre-New Year state.
Ren Fei was very curious, wondering how Xie Yuyao had comforted Wu Lihong.
She noticed Wu Lihong was acting strangely last night and asked her what had happened, but Wu Lihong wouldn't say anything, so she didn't know what to do.
She couldn't understand why, as members of the same group of educated youth sent to the countryside, she had spent more time with Wu Lihong and respected her greatly, yet Wu Lihong had a better relationship with Xie Yuyao. Was it because Xie Yuyao was rich? But her money was ill-gotten!
Thinking of this, Ren Fei pulled Wu Lihong to a secluded spot and told her about Xie Yuyao's business dealings.
Finally, Ren Fei said, "Sister Lihong, I've spoken to Yaoyao, but she's still in contact with Zhao Dayong. You're the eldest of the female educated youth, so why don't you try to persuade her? Maybe she'll listen to you."
Wu Lihong broke out in a cold sweat after hearing this: "Are you telling the truth?"
Ren Fei nodded: "Absolutely true!"
"Who else have you told?" Wu Lihong grabbed Ren Fei's hand anxiously, her uneasy eyes fixed on hers.
“I didn’t tell anyone. Actually, Jiang Yan found out first. She asked me to persuade Xie Yuyao.” Ren Fei unintentionally betrayed Jiang Yan, but then spoke up for her, “Sister Lihong, during the time you were home, Jiang Yan has completely reflected on her actions. She’s changed for the better now, so let’s not dwell on the past.”
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