Chapter 130 Wang Xueying Sets Her Sights on Her Eldest Brother
Xia Damin knew his mother was losing sleep over his marriage. Looking at the gray hair at her temples, his heart softened. He leaned the hoe against the wall, squatted on the threshold, and mumbled, "Alright, alright, I know. If there's a suitable one, I...I'll go take a look, okay?"
Lin Shulan smiled with satisfaction: "That's more like it! How old are you? You're already pregnant. When your nephews and nieces are running around everywhere, it'll be a joke if you, their uncle, are still single!"
Xia Damin's ears turned red from what he was being told. He scratched his head and muttered, "What can I do? The girl has to be willing to live a hard life with me."
The mother and son sat in front of the stove chatting. Xia Damin said in a deep voice, "Mom, that girl Xia Wenwen is no good. Consider this grain wasted. Next time they come over, don't give them a good look, lest you be fooled by her again."
Lin Shulan sighed and added a piece of firewood to the stove: "How could I not know? But look how hungry she is, her cheekbones are sharp. She came to my door begging for food, I can't just turn her away, can I?"
"But you can't suffer for their sake. They're hungry, but aren't we hungry too? How many decent meals have you had these past few days?"
Lin Shulan's eyes reddened as her son spoke to her. She quickly wiped her eyes with her apron and patted his hand, saying, "I know, I know. I promise I won't give it to you next time."
She quickly changed the subject, pointing to the empty stove, "We were so busy talking that the mother and daughter ate all the pancakes for dinner. What would you like to eat? I'll make you something right away. Or, how about we make some vegetable pancakes?"
Xia Damin nodded in agreement. The mother and son busied themselves around the chopping board, the cleaver clapping loudly as they chopped the autumn shepherd's purse they had dug from the field into small pieces. They mixed it with cornmeal and salt, and soon the iron pot on the stove was sizzling and emitting smoke.
First, there was a faint aroma of corn mixed with the bitterness of wild vegetables. Gradually, the cornmeal was fried until it turned golden brown, and that enticing fragrance wafted out through the crack in the door.
Today it was Wang Xueying's turn to dig for wild vegetables. As soon as she reached the old locust tree at the village entrance with her basket, she took a deep sniff. The fragrance was faint at first, but it grew stronger as she walked into the village, making her stomach rumble.
Although these vegetable pancakes aren't very filling, the golden-brown crust is crispy after being fried in lard, while the wild vegetable filling inside is tender and juicy. The aroma is so enticing that it's hard to resist.
Wang Xueying swallowed hard. Life at the youth settlement had been tough lately. The production team leader held onto their grain tightly. The educated youth had made a fuss several times before they finally managed to get back a few handfuls of old grain, but that little bit of grain was hardly enough for them, these half-grown youths.
With no other options, the educated youth team had to split into two groups—one group went to the fields to earn work points and make a living, while the other group went all over the mountains to pick wild vegetables and fruits, hoping to catch a few bird eggs or catch a couple of small fish if they were lucky, in the hope of having a treat.
But this is just wishful thinking on the part of city students. What do they know about wilderness survival? If they really had that skill, the village wouldn't be starving.
Several people would run themselves ragged in the mountains, only to find a few sour wild fruits or the remaining old vegetable roots after everyone else had picked them all. As for game? They didn't even catch a bird feather.
Nowadays, which educated youth would still want to go to the mountains? After a whole day of gathering wild vegetables, even a big pot of stir-fried vegetables wouldn't be enough to fill their stomachs. It's better to eat dry bread at the youth settlement.
The reason this task fell to Wang Xueying was because her family was in trouble.
Her family used to run a small grocery store in the south of the city. For some reason, their home was raided, everything in the store was looted, and their family status was inexplicably classified as "capitalists."
Once that label was attached to her, her life at the educated youth settlement plummeted, and she became someone everyone avoided.
So, she was always assigned the hardest and most tiring work, and she could only bury herself in her work, not daring to utter a single complaint. She did the most work, yet always received the smallest share of grain. If she dared to argue, the foreman would sternly reprimand her: "Comrade Xiao Wang, you need to improve your ideological awareness!"
She had secretly hoped to find a caring partner among the educated youth, but now that thought had become a pipe dream. Since her family's misfortune, those former close friends now avoid her, their distant gazes piercing like needles.
In order to survive, Wang Xueying had no choice but to set her sights on the young men in the village who she used to look down on.
But when looking for a wife in the village, who wouldn't choose someone strong and capable of working? She, however, had always feigned illness to avoid work, earning her the reputation of "Sickly Beauty." She was fine chatting and laughing with young men, but when it came to marriage, the moment they heard she was "unable to lift a finger," they'd run away faster than rabbits.
"Why should I!" she spat through gritted teeth. Did those peasants have the right to look down on her?
But the next second her stomach rumbled, so she decided to figure out how to fill her stomach first. She had spent the whole day in the mountains and only picked half a basket of wilted wild vegetables and a few shriveled wild hawthorns. When she got back, the people at the educated youth settlement would probably gossip about her, saying she was being lazy and shirking her duties.
Wang Xueying walked dejectedly into the village, her mind a jumble of thoughts, when she suddenly bumped into someone, and the basket of wild vegetables in her hand clattered to the ground.
"Ouch!" Xia Wenwen stumbled from the impact, almost spilling the bag of cornmeal she was carrying. She rubbed her arm, looked up, and saw it was Wang Xueying. She glared at her and yelled, "Don't you have eyes? You just kept bumping into people!"
Wang Xueying was so angry from the collision that she was about to curse when she looked up and saw Xia Wenwen and Madam Xia.
The two women each carried a bulging cloth bag. The aroma of cornmeal mixed with the smell of rabbit meat wafted over, and Wang Xueying's curse instantly caught in her throat. Her eyes were fixed on the bag, and she swallowed hard.
She recognized Xia Wenwen. Back when Xia Wenwen was known as the "true heiress of the Xia family" at school, she often fawned over her. Later, when the Xia family fell from grace, she was one of the first to run away.
Seeing that the other party had so much food, the grievance of having his wild vegetables trampled was long forgotten. He forced a fawning smile and said in a hoarse voice, "Wenwen, it's been a long time!"
Her gaze was fixed on the bag. "This grain looks like it weighs at least ten pounds, right? Who's so generous these days that they'd give you this much grain?"
Xia Wenwen glanced at her, a mocking smile playing on her lips. After they were driven to Xiangyang Village, she was the first to curse her behind her back. Now that she saw that Xia Wenwen had grain in her hands, she suddenly came to her side, her skin thicker than a city wall.
"What's it to you?" Xia Wenwen tightened her grip on the bag, the cornmeal rustling against the bag. "Getting the grain is my skill, so stop prying!"
Wang Xueying's face flushed red and then turned pale as she choked on her words, her anger flaring up again: "Who are you pretending to be, you rich young lady! I'm still a sent-down youth, and what are you now?"
Xia Wenwen was about to retort when Madam Xia suddenly tugged at her sleeve: "Alright, alright, don't get angry with her. Let's hurry back to the village. I remember Old Liu has a niece who's about the same age as Damin. Let's go back and ask her. If she doesn't have a boyfriend, we can try to set her up with Damin..."
Upon hearing this, Xia Wenwen nodded. If the two could really meet, she could ask Lin Shulan for another half-bag of grain! Who had time to waste talking nonsense with Wang Xueying?
She glared at Wang Xueying and waved her hand like she was shooing away a fly: "Get lost! Don't block the way!" Then she grabbed Madam Xia and left.
Watching the two walk away, Wang Xueying finally came to her senses, a calculating glint in her eyes: That's right! How could she have forgotten about Xia Damin!
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