"Yaoyao, I was too naive and reckless before. I hope you can forgive me."
In the backyard of the educated youth compound, Ren Fei suddenly changed from sitting to standing, bowed her head to apologize to Xie Yuyao, and her attitude was sincere.
The once spirited girl has been completely transformed by the trials of society. Xie Yuyao felt a pang of sadness, but smiled gently and invited her to sit down and eat some melon seeds: "It's all in the past, and I haven't taken it to heart."
Ren Fei looked at the girl in front of her, who was as gentle as a breeze. She herself was struggling in the cesspool of life and felt ashamed of herself.
Qingshan Village has undergone a great transformation, and Xie Yuyao's abilities and status are now vastly different from before. However, she herself remains unchanged from when she first arrived in Qingshan Village, truly unmoved by any external winds.
At the same time, while I was in the countryside, I was like a clown, jumping around everywhere and annoying everyone.
Returning to the topic of the educated youth team, she had no conflicts with most of them, at least not outwardly. Only Xie Yuyao was different; she had repeatedly warned and even threatened her to give up selling braised food, focusing on Xie Yuyao's involvement.
Cutting off someone's livelihood is like killing their parents. She spent several days mentally preparing herself before daring to return to the educated youth settlement and face Xie Yuyao again.
You have to deal with the trouble you caused yourself, no matter how embarrassing it is. She had already prepared herself for Xie Yuyao's harassment and ridicule, but who would have thought she would let it go so easily!
Seeing the touched look on her face, Xie Yuyao's heart softened: "Ren Fei, you're only a teenager. Before going to the countryside, you were under the protection of your parents and family, so it's inevitable that you couldn't see the other side of society clearly. Growing up inevitably comes at a price, so don't be too hard on yourself."
When talking about their past conflict, Ren Fei was only acting impulsively, and was instigated by Jiang Yan. However, out of consideration for relationships, she only offered verbal advice and did not directly report or expose them.
Strictly speaking, she was just a girl deeply affected by this special era.
As for her climbing the social ladder by stepping on Jiang Yan, the biggest reason was revenge, and Xie Yuyao wouldn't stand on a moral high ground to criticize and condemn her.
As the old year gave way to the new, Xie Yuyao and the other educated youth gathered together to celebrate New Year's Eve amidst the crackling of firecrackers and the popping of fireworks.
"May our revolutionary friendship last forever, cheers!"
On the first day of the Lunar New Year, Xie Yuyao got up early from her bed and met up with the educated youth in the front yard to pay New Year's visits together.
Walking along the road, everyone you saw, young and old, was beaming with happiness. When they met the former educated youth, they exchanged New Year's greetings and best wishes for their future, and their joyful laughter lingered in the air of Qingshan Village for a long time.
With the fruit drying factory and medicinal herb production as two major income-generating projects, Qingshantun has ushered in an unprecedented bumper harvest in nearly ten years, and the educated youth team is no exception.
Unlike last year, most of the educated youth did not go home for the Spring Festival.
This year is different from previous years. Thanks to the deliberate arrangements of Xie Yuyao and Li Weidong, all members of the educated youth team participated in income-generating projects, unlike in previous years when they could only toil in the fields for a living.
Fulfilling and joyful times always fly by, and before I knew it, the end of the year was upon me. It feels like just yesterday I was going home last year, so I decided not to take the long journey and squeeze onto the old-fashioned green trains during the Spring Festival travel rush.
Only Yang Shumei took leave again to return to Beijing because her childhood cousin was getting married.
Although the educated youth did not go home, they received dividends, which made them much more financially secure. They then bought a lot of local specialties and mailed them back home.
Only Wu Lihong, heartbroken by her family, is no longer the devoted ox she once was, contributing to her family without ever having done so. For the past year, no one in her family has contacted her; they have severed all ties. Having finally come to her senses, she no longer offers any comfort or gifts.
Without her family's financial support, Wu Lihong's finances improved considerably. Filled with hope, she frequently searched for books at the county's bookstore and studied diligently in her spare time. In just one year, she shed much of the rural assimilation that had plagued her for years, and was no longer the typical village woman she was last year.
During the Spring Festival, the educated youth were afraid that Xie Yuyao would be lonely, so they would always invite her to play cards, drink tea, and so on. Therefore, even when Zhao Honghui was not there, she was very lively.
When I wake up late at night, the longing I've been trying to suppress only comes to mind.
Now it's 1977, and no one knows where Zhao Honghui is or whether they can meet before she returns to the city for the college entrance examination.
Xie Yuyao had given up hope for their future.
In the early stages of the medicinal herb project, Zhao Hongfei first tried to get Xie Yuyao to select him as a manager through Zhao Hongqin as an intermediary. However, Xie Yuyao, who had more life experience, quickly saw through his slippery and cunning nature and, without considering the feelings of Zhao Honghui and Zhao Hongqin, chose someone else who was more suitable.
Yang Chunhua, not knowing what Zhao Hongfei had told his family, specifically approached her and asked with restraint, "Did you deliberately ignore Hongfei's efforts and abilities because of the previous annulment of the engagement, causing him to be rejected?"
Xie Yuyao laughed in exasperation. Perhaps in every mother's eyes, her son is the best person in the world.
She didn't want to explain further to Yang Chunhua, and said bluntly, "The decision rests with the brigade leader. If you have any questions, you can consult him directly."
When the brigade leader and Party Secretary Liu asked Xie Yuyao to take overall charge of the medicinal herb project, she anticipated that there would be many personnel disputes in the future. So she made it clear from the beginning that they would make the decisions on the surface, and she would just assist from the side.
However, the working masses have discerning eyes. Almost all the community members knew that Xie Yuyao was the person in charge behind the scenes. However, Xie Yuyao's relationship with the community members was relatively distant, and many people tried to curry favor with Zhao Hongqin and Zhao Guangliang to get their help.
During that time, Zhao Hongqin and Zhao Guangliang, who had grown up here, were kept in turmoil. They couldn't confront them directly or speak ill of them, nor could they help them make promises.
Having spent a considerable amount of time with Xie Yuyao, they all knew her character and her attitude towards the residents of Qingshantun. If those people were truly capable, Xie Yuyao would have seen it without them having to tell her. And if they lacked the ability, there was nothing they could do.
As a result, they blocked many people who wanted to use connections for Xie Yuyao, but they couldn't do anything about close associates like Zhao Hongfei, so they had to ask Xie Yuyao to step in.
Hearing Xie Yuyao's excuses, Yang Chunhua's anger flared up: "You can't even fool a child with this, how dare you try to fool me? If you can't give me a reason today, I will continue to doubt you."
"Whatever you say." Xie Yuyao finished speaking and turned to leave, but Yang Chunhua grabbed her arm.
Yang Chunhua leaned close to her ear and whispered through gritted teeth, "Even if you break off the engagement, as long as you're still with Honghui, we'll be family sooner or later. Is this how you treat your future brother-in-law?"
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