"Mom, I'm fine. I've always been alright."
"Really?" Mrs. Luo asked doubtfully. Was she overthinking it?
After that, Luo Jingyan tried to talk to her mother as much as possible, so that her mother wouldn't suspect anything and worry about her.
The next day, she went to the Forward Brigade again.
However, she still cooked porridge for Xue Yanchen in advance and brought it over. This time, she changed it to millet and red date porridge and also brought a few apples that had been nourished by the spiritual spring water.
It wasn't cold when it snowed, but it was cold when the snow melted. Today's temperature was even lower than yesterday's, so the male educated youths were even less willing to go out. She still couldn't find an opportunity to talk to Xue Yanchen alone, so she didn't mention the badge.
In the evening, after school, Luo Changtian wanted to visit his mother, so he quietly turned a corner and went to the cowshed.
Luo's mother was still somewhat worried about Luo Jingyan's situation, so she hoped to get some useful information from Luo Changtian.
"Xiaotian, tell your mother what happened to your sister these past two days."
"What happened to my sister? She's always been fine, hasn't she?" Luo Changtian was completely confused by the question.
"You really don't know? I think your sister seems a little unhappy. I thought you were with her every day, so you would know."
Luo Changtian tilted his head and thought about it carefully, then suddenly remembered something.
"Oh, I know, it must be because of Brother Xue, Mom. Brother Xue was injured by a falling beam yesterday while saving someone, but my sister said it wasn't serious."
Mrs. Luo said "Oh," and added, "I hope Xiao Xue is alright and can recover soon."
On the third day, Luo Jingyan brought the cooked porridge to the educated youth settlement of Qianjin Brigade again. This time, there were more male educated youths in the house than the previous two times, because they really had nowhere else to go.
The male educated youths felt awkward sitting in the room, so they started teasing the two of them.
"Xue, you two have been dating for a while now, when are you planning to get married? I want to be there for your wedding."
"Of course I'd like to get married as soon as possible, but marriage isn't just my decision, and I haven't decided when to get married yet."
“Look how easy it is for people in the village to get married. As long as the matchmaker brings the two people together, and they like each other and their family situations are suitable, they can have a banquet. Some people don’t even get a marriage certificate because they are underage. A year later, when the child is born, the two people still haven’t gotten a marriage certificate.”
"This kind of phenomenon is normal. The kind of blind date you just mentioned is a little better. I heard from the commune members here that his sister is only fourteen years old. In order to find a wife for his brother, his mother married his sister off to a mentally challenged man. That man was already over twenty years old. Why did they agree to it? Because he promised to give their family three hundred catties of grain. Isn't that just selling a daughter?"
One of the male educated youths said disdainfully, "Don't even mention the commune members here. Some male educated youths are willing to go to the village cadres' homes and become their live-in sons-in-law just to get some benefits from them." He looked at Luo Jingyan and said, "That male educated youth in your brigade, I think it's Zhao Wensong, I heard that in order to get a recommendation to the Workers, Peasants and Soldiers University, he went out of his way to seduce the daughter of the former village party secretary. He fawned over the secretary's family in every way. I heard that before he even married the secretary's daughter, he was already doing this and that at their house, even carrying their chamber pot and boiling water for them to wash their feet."
Luo Jingyan didn't know exactly how Zhao Wensong had won over Lai Chuncao. Given Zhao Wensong's character, he must have flattered Lai Chuncao and her family. However, she felt that this male educated youth seemed to be exaggerating.
Sometimes, gossip works like this: when many people spread it, even a trivial matter can be exaggerated into a heinous crime.
“I know he dated Lai Chuncao and they even got married. After Secretary Lai stepped down, his spot at the Workers, Peasants and Soldiers University was invalidated. I don’t know the specific details of his relationship with the Lai family. I think you guys, even though you’re not in Shengli Brigade, know more about these things than I do.”
The male educated youth smiled slightly awkwardly: "We don't have to go to the fields to work yet, so we don't have much to do. We just stay in the dormitory and chat. When we don't have anything to talk about, we talk about village gossip. Since this matter involves educated youth, news about this matter became a hot topic in our dormitory for the past two days."
Luo Jingyan could understand that men sometimes love to gossip. "Although Secretary Lai has stepped down and can no longer go to university, he has already registered his marriage with Lai Chuncao. He originally wanted to divorce Lai Chuncao and get rid of her, but Lai Chuncao disagreed. Now he has moved to the Lai family home with Lai Chuncao."
"Sigh, this kind of person deserves it. He wanted to use others for fame and fortune, and once he saw that the other party was no longer of use, he wanted to kick them aside. He's a despicable person. This is his retribution. Let Lai Chuncao torment him properly."
The male educated youth spoke with righteous indignation, and must have felt great envy, jealousy and hatred towards Zhao Wensong.
While Luo Jingyan was here, she couldn't talk to Xue Yanchen about the badge, nor could she say sweet words to him.
"How are you feeling today? Has your injury improved?"
"Much better." His partner visits him every day, so he naturally recovers faster.
Luo Jingyan stayed for a while longer before leaving and returning to the Shengli Brigade's educated youth settlement.
She had just arrived at the entrance of the educated youth settlement, and before she even entered the gate, she heard a commotion coming from the courtyard.
Upon entering, one sees a woman in her fifties with a farmer in his early twenties, talking to the educated youth in the courtyard.
The man was not tall, only about 1.6 meters, and the middle-aged woman was even shorter, only about 1.5 meters tall in Luo Jingyan's opinion. The two of them looked like they were made from the same mold, with slanted triangular eyes, flat noses, and thick lips. By the standards of any era, they would not be considered beautiful, but rather somewhat ugly.
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