Chapter 34
In the afternoon, the sky was a vast, azure blue. Sparrows in the yard flew up to the branches and hopped from trunk to trunk. Beneath a tree, Meng Wanqiu was washing clothes. Sitting on a small stool, she smeared soapnuts made from the soapberry tree on her clothes and beat them with a wooden stick.
Da Mi, who had been missing for a month or two, finally returned home. The female cat who had caused trouble to several families was lying lazily next to Meng Wanqiu, dozing off and purring. She was living a more comfortable life than a human.
Meng Wanqiu was not used to seeing Da Mi being so carefree, so she put her hand into the basin, and the water droplets instantly bounced towards Da Mi. Da Mi shook his whiskers, opened his green cat eyes, glanced at Meng Wanqiu, stood up, stretched, and ran to the side to lick his fur.
Meng Wanqiu curled her lips in a smile, lowering her head to continue washing clothes. Everyone in the family had gone to work in the fields; even Grandma Meng had taken Meng Zhuangzhuang to pick wheat ears. The autumn harvest had officially begun yesterday, and Qinghe Village was bustling with activity. Because she was a scorekeeper, she didn't have to go to the fields except for the morning and evening shifts.
But she was not idle either. Breakfast, dinner and all kinds of housework fell on Meng Wanqiu.
"Xiao Wan, are you home?"
Sun Yating came to the Meng family carrying canned fruit.
She had come to thank Meng Wanqiu. She had injured her leg a few days before, and Meng Wanqiu had come to apply medicine to her during those days. Also, because Sun Yating hadn't stayed at the Youth House on her first day, she didn't know that Bai Ting had a conflict with the older Youth House members that first night.
The Youth Hostel had only six rooms. Zhang Xiuqing, Ding Heng, Yang Xue, Pi Jingxuan, and Pei Xingzhi each had one room, leaving one room. Later, when Pei Xingzhi moved out, two rooms became vacant. Sun Ge was the original team leader, but after Sun Ge got married, he was ready to give the room to Pei Xingzhi, but Pei Xingzhi wasn't interested, so the room fell to Zhang Xiuqing.
Because not all the people were present that night and they arrived late, Zhang Xiuqing arranged for Bai Ting and Wu Min to stay in the same room temporarily, and Zhang Dongsheng to stay in another room, and then draw lots to allocate accommodation the next day.
Bai Ting completely ignored Zhang Xiuqing and moved into the vacant room on her own, while Wu Min followed suit and moved into the other. This left Zhang Dongsheng with nowhere to live, and it was only later that Pi Jingxuan backed off and allowed Zhang Dongsheng to move in with him.
Bai Ting's arrogance naturally angered Zhang Xiuqing, who immediately gave her a lecture, criticizing her toxic and unethical thinking. Bai Ting was not to be trifled with, and she immediately engaged in a fight with Zhang Xiuqing.
After that night, the male educated youth did not interfere in the conflicts between the women, and conflicts arose in the Youth League Committee between the old educated youth Zhang Xiuqing and Yang Xue and the new educated youth Bai Ting and Wu Min. It even implicated Sun Yating who went to the Youth League Committee the next day. Zhang Xiuqing didn't care about Sun Yating at all, and Bai Ting and Wu Min were unwilling to give up their rooms.
There was no other way, so Sun Yating had to find Secretary Meng.
Meng Aiguo didn't want to take care of the affairs of the Youth League Home at all, so he directly asked Sun Yating if she wanted to live in a villager's home, and he would help her arrange it.
Of course, Sun Yating didn't want to get involved in the atmosphere of the Youth League, so she agreed. Later, with the help of Meng Aiguo and Meng Wanqiu, Sun Yating moved into Grandma Fu's house.
"Hey, I'm here." Meng Wanqiu stood up and wiped her hands on her apron when she saw the person coming, then welcomed Sun Yating in.
"Since you're here, bring whatever you want." Meng Wanqiu asked Sun Yating to take the cans back.
Sun Yating smiled and said, "You must accept it, otherwise I will be embarrassed to say the rest."
Meng Wanqiu brought out two stools from the house and asked Sun Yating to sit down. She then went back into the house to make some tea. "Come, have some tea. It's wild tea leaves picked in the mountains. I roasted them myself. It tastes pretty good."
"Oh, oh, stop working and sit down. There's no need to be so polite." Sun Yating stopped Meng Wanqiu who wanted to enter the house and pulled her to sit on a stool.
Meng Wanqiu smiled. This Sun Yating was not like the city girls she had met. She was very knowledgeable about the ways of the world and behaved properly.
In just a few days, everyone in the village knew that a young woman had arrived who was both beautiful and very good at socializing. Especially after Bai Ting and the others made comparisons, someone actually went to Grandma Fu's house in the past two days, hoping to propose marriage to Sun Yating.
"How come you have time to come to see me?" Meng Wanqiu took a sip of tea and asked curiously.
Sun Yating held the cup in her hand, inhaling the lingering aroma of tea. "I've been settling down for the past few days and was planning to send a letter home. Just as the village oxcart was heading to the commune, I took a ride. Thinking about how much you and Secretary Meng have helped me these days, I wanted to buy something to thank you. By the way, I'd like to ask for some of that ointment from last time."
The work of the educated youth was assigned by the team leader, and they often worked together. Thanks to Bai Ting, Zhang Xiuqing was not willing to teach them at all. The male educated youth were willing, but Sun Yating did not bother others.
The result is that my hands are covered with blisters.
There is no clinic in Qinghe Village, and Sun Yating was unwilling to go to the town clinic for this injury, nor did she want to delay going to work tomorrow. Thinking of the ointment Meng Wanqiu had applied to her before, she decided to ask her for some.
"Is that so? It's a small matter. If you get hurt in the future, feel free to come to me." Meng Wanqiu stood up and went into the house to get ointment. "But it's just a minor injury or illness. Serious illnesses still need to be treated in the hospital."
After saying this, Meng Wanqiu touched her face embarrassedly.
She understood common pulse readings and simple prescriptions for common ailments. The others were poisons that had other uses, either to harm or save lives, and Meng Wanqiu basically had no use for them now.
Sun Yating looked at Meng Wanqiu covering her face shyly and couldn't help but smile. She was such a simple, pure, kind and beautiful girl.
When she smiles, she looks like a ball of soft marshmallow, sweet and soft, with two shallow dimples that make people want to poke them.
Suddenly, Sun Yating seemed to understand why Pei Xingzhi fell in love with her.
"Thank you, Xiaowan. I have to work in the afternoon, so I'll leave first." Sun Yating finished her tea, stood up and said goodbye to Meng Wanqiu.
Meng Wanqiu: "Are you still going this afternoon? Didn't the team leader say he went to borrow a harvester?" He's already borrowed the machine, why is he still so busy?
Hearing this, Sun Yating smiled bitterly and said, "The harvester can only be used to harvest wheat and soybeans in our village. Other crops like corn and sorghum still need to be harvested manually." Sun Yating only found out about this this morning.
When Bai Ting heard they couldn't rest and had to keep working every day, she was so angry she threw down her hoe and walked away. But the hoe was also public property of the village, and every time it came in and out, it had to be checked by the custodian. Everyone was tired and annoyed, and no one indulged Bai Ting, not even Wu Min.
In the end, Bai Ting had to put away the hoe in shame. The custodian in the village was a dark-faced old man who remembered every farm tool clearly. If anyone failed to return it on time, not only would their work points be deducted, but they would also have to go to the village public toilet to remove feces.
Such rules can completely control a troublemaker like Bai Ting.
Meng Wanqiu couldn't resist Sun Yating and accepted her canned food, but she still gave her some sugar-roasted chestnuts she made in return.
Wild chestnuts picked from the mountains, sugarcane and brown sugar collected by Meng Mu, pebbles picked up by Pei Xingzhi from the river and washed clean, plus Meng Wanqiu's craftsmanship.
Wow, you can imagine how delicious these sugar-roasted chestnuts taste.
After seeing Sun Yating off, Meng Wanqiu continued to wash clothes.
Sun Yating, who had left, happened to meet Pei Xingzhi who was returning home on the way back to Grandma Fu's house.
It's strange to say, except for the first day, Sun Yating never met Pei Xingzhi once, and she didn't have the chance to chat with him.
Pei Xingzhi also noticed the new female educated youth, glanced at her lightly, and then looked away.
Sun Yating noticed Pei Xingzhi's reaction and couldn't help feeling disappointed.
Pei Xingzhi really didn't remember her at all. Even though he knew she was a new educated youth, he had no intention of talking to her and treated her as a complete stranger.
"Pei Zhiqing!"
Just as the two passed each other, Sun Yating suddenly called out to Pei Xingzhi.
Pei Xingzhi paused, glanced at Sun Yating, and asked in a cold and brief tone, "Is there something wrong?"
Sun Yating turned around and said with a smile, "Hello, I'm a new educated youth, my name is Sun Yating, and I'm also from the capital."
Pei Xingzhi's tone remained unchanged, "Oh, so?"
Sun Yating pursed her lips and her smile disappeared. "I heard from Secretary Meng's family Xiaowan that you are also from the capital, so I wanted to get to know you. After all, we are from the same hometown, and I will have someone to look after me in the future-"
"Need not."
Before Sun Yating could finish her words, Pei Xingzhi directly rejected her coldly, "I don't take care of other women."
Sun Yating: ...
For some reason, Sun Yating felt that Pei Xingzhi seemed to deserve a beating.
"If there's nothing else, I'll leave first." After saying that, Pei Xingzhi was about to leave.
"Wait, you really don't remember me?"
Sun Yating suddenly spoke from behind and said something incomprehensible. Pei Xingzhi turned around and looked at Sun Yating carefully.
Sun Yating said nothing, her hands clenched unconsciously, and she looked at Pei Xingzhi expectantly.
"I don't know him."
Sun Yating covered her face and finally gave up the idea of letting Pei Xingzhi recognize her. It seemed that he didn't care about her at all.
"You don't know me, but you must know Sun Hanhai and Li Liping, right?" These are Sun Yating's parents.
Pei Xingzhi's eyes flashed, and he looked at Sun Yating's appearance again, gradually matching it with the couple in his memory, and immediately understood who Sun Yating was.
"So you are Aunt Li's daughter." Pei Xingzhi suddenly realized.
Sun Yating rolled her eyes, her mood had calmed down and she was left speechless.
"It's me. Weren't you picked up by your mother? Why did you go to the countryside?" Sun Yating asked her question.
Pei Xingzhi's expression turned cold. "It's none of your business."
Sun Yating's heartbeat slowed down a bit. Seeing the other party's attitude suddenly turned cold, she guessed in her heart that Pei Xingzhi might not be having a good time after being taken away.
Pursing her lips, she wisely stopped talking about this topic and turned to another matter, "Do you know the whereabouts of Uncle Pei?"
Hearing the three words "Uncle Pei", Pei Xingzhi felt as if he was in another world.
How long, how many years has it been since I heard this name?
"He, he is still alive?" Pei Xingzhi's voice was as light as a mosquito.
"Uncle Pei is still alive. Not long before I went to the countryside, my father used his connections to find out Uncle Pei's whereabouts." Sun Yating said, looking around, stepped forward, leaned close to Pei Xingzhi's ear, and whispered something.
Pei Xingzhi frowned, and after hearing it clearly, he took a step back, "Be careful, I'm a married man."
Sun Yating gritted her teeth in anger and said, "Okay, I'll remember it." If she gets close to Pei Xingzhi again next time, she will be a dog.
After finishing the main point, Sun Yating no longer had any intention of continuing to reminisce with Pei Xingzhi. Just a short time together had already broken the filter Sun Yating had for Pei Xingzhi.
After Sun Yating left, Pei Xingzhi stayed there for a while and then turned around and left.
"Bang—"
Jiang Wu came out from behind the wall, making a tsk-tsk sound. He looked at Pei Xingzhi's back and chuckled, "Pei Xingzhi, Pei Xingzhi, I've got something on you this time."
A single man and a single woman, one married and one unmarried, gathered together furtively and whispered to each other.
Jiang Wu raised his eyebrows, thinking that Pei Xingzhi must be secretly having an affair with this new female educated youth.
He is so brave that he dares to get so close to other women in front of his mother-in-law's house. Humph, let's see how he can control Pei Xingzhi.
After blowing a whistle, Jiang Wu walked towards home. His eldest brother Jiang Wen was coming back today, and his mother had prepared a lot of meat and dishes. He should go home early to eat, because tomorrow would be the day for their Jiang family to show off.
In the evening, the Meng family was having dinner when suddenly there was a hurried knock on the door, accompanied by Liu Chenggen's anxious shouts.
"Lao Meng, Lao Meng, come out quickly, something big has happened?"
Meng Aiguo and Meng Yanchun exchanged a glance and put down their bowls and chopsticks at the same time. "I'm going to go out for a while. You guys eat first."
Meng Yanchun: "Dad, I'm coming with you."
Pei Xingzhi stood up and said, "Dad, let's go together. I'll take care of you."
Meng Aiguo nodded. As married men, they should learn to take on responsibilities, so he did not refuse Pei Xingzhi.
Meng Wanqiu's heart skipped a beat and he stood up: "Dad, I want to go too."
"Shut up."
"Xiao Wan, sit down."
"no."
Meng Wanqiu was opposed by her family members as soon as she opened her mouth. Pei Xingzhi pushed her back to her seat and said, "Be good and wait for us at home."
Meng Wanqiu frowned and looked at Pei Xingzhi with disapproval. He knew her strength very well.
Pei Xingzhi shook his head and followed Meng Aiguo.
Meng Wanqiu's mouth puffed up in anger as she glared at Pei Xingzhi's back.
"Okay, Xiaowan, don't cause trouble for Xingzhi and the others." The head of the family, Grandma Meng, said so, and Meng Wanqiu had to return to her seat.
"What happened?" Meng Aiguo asked Liu Chenggen.
Liu Chenggen panted, "It's all about Jiang He borrowing the harvester from the farm. This afternoon, Jiang He's eldest son, Jiang Wen, drove the farm's harvester to the village entrance and parked it there before going home for dinner. Jiang Wu said he wanted to learn how to drive a harvester, so Jiang Wen took him there. He discovered someone was secretly working on the harvester."
Jiang Wu just shouted at that time. When the other party heard someone coming, he directly smashed the operating table with a stone, and then the person ran over. Jiang Wen hurriedly asked Jiang Wu to chase the person, and he ran to check the situation of the harvester.
Jiang Wen found that the operating lever on the operating table was broken. He tried to start the harvester, but the harvester did not respond at all.
Jiang Wu was a tall and strong man, and he almost caught up with the guy who did the evil thing. However, the guy was unfamiliar with the nearby roads, so Jiang Wu caught him anyway. When Jiang Wu brought him back, he found out that the guy was actually mute.
Nothing could be learned from the question. The damage to the harvester was a serious matter, so Jiang Wen was extremely anxious. Jiang He then notified Meng Aiguo and others.
"What should we do? The harvester was damaged as soon as it arrived in our village. We won't be asked to pay for it, right?" Liu Chenggen asked Jiang Wen with a bitter face.
Jiang Wen's face turned pale as he sat on a stool at the door of the Jiang family's house without saying a word.
Jiang He's face didn't look much better either. He usually didn't smoke much, but at this moment he was smoking his pipe silently, one puff after another.
Meng Aiguo sighed and looked at Jiang Wen, "Jiang Wen, have you offended anyone recently?"
Jiang Wen looked up, his eyes full of gloom. He thought carefully and said, "No." The only one who disliked him was Yao Jin, but he knew the other person well. He regarded the harvester very seriously and would never do such a despicable thing.
Meng Aiguo frowned and turned to look at Pei Xingzhi who was talking to the mute. "Did you find out anything?"
Pei Xingzhi learned sign language for a while when he was a child and was able to have simple conversations, so he took on the task of communicating with the mute.
Hearing Meng Aiguo's words, Pei Xingzhi shook his head, "He refused to say anything."
Meng Aiguo walked up to the mute and looked him over. His simple straw sandals were torn, revealing a pair of pitch-black toes, and the gaps between his nails were covered in dirt.
His clothes were ragged, with patches all over them. His trouser legs were too short, revealing his skinny calves. His body was also skinny. If it weren't for his clean face, he would have thought he was a beggar.
The mute's hands and feet were tied up, and he huddled in a corner of the yard. His black and white eyes glanced at Meng Aiguo, then drooped again. He was completely motionless, and even the rise and fall of his chest was very slight.
Based on past experience, it was not difficult for Meng Aiguo to guess that the other party must have been instructed by someone else.
Logically speaking, when something like this happened, Meng Aiguo should have called the police immediately, but when he saw the culprit, he really couldn't bear it.
He is not afraid of bad people being extremely vicious, but he is afraid that bad people are people with miserable lives.
Jiang Wu, who was standing next to him, stared at the mute intently. Suddenly, he walked over and kicked him hard. The mute groaned and buried his head in his knees.
"Jiang Wu, stop!"
"Jiang Wu!"
Meng Yanchun stepped forward to stop Jiang Wu, and Meng Aiguo scolded him harshly.
"Why did you hit him? He can't speak." Liu Chenggen spread his hands helplessly.
Jiang He and Jiang Wen were watching coldly. If killing the mute could restore the harvester, they would do it without hesitation.
Just hitting people won't help.
"Let me go." Jiang Wu broke free from Meng Yanchun's restraints, his face ferocious. "Mute, maybe he's just pretending? I'll beat him half to death, and see if he'll tell me."
Seeing that Jiang Wu couldn't be persuaded, Meng Aiguo turned around and looked at Jiang He coldly.
Jiang He shook off the ash from his cigarette and said, "Alright, Xiao Wu, stop fighting." He still needed Meng Aiguo's help to find a solution, so he would listen to him for the time being.
Only after hearing Jiang He's words did Jiang Wu stop indignantly.
Meng Aiguo rubbed his swollen brow and continued to ask Jiang Wen, "Jiang Wen, does your farm have a harvester repairman? Will our village cover the cost of the repair?"
Jiang Wen frowned. "No, the mechanic is in another province. It would take at least a month to get the message across. But I have to take the harvester away in a week. There's not enough time."
"No, we can't tell the farm." Jiang He said suddenly.
Jiang Wen finally borrowed a harvester, but it broke down in his hands. Although it was not Jiang Wen's main responsibility, he would definitely be punished when he returned. Jiang He valued his eldest son's future more than anything else, so how could he let Jiang Wen be implicated in this matter.
Jiang Wen's face became even gloomier. Obviously, he had thought of this as well.
Liu Chenggen scratched his head irritably. "This doesn't work, and that doesn't work either. So what should we do? I think we should call the police and let them handle it. We can't let our village bear all the consequences."
Hearing the alarm, the mute in the corner moved, then instantly became quiet.
Pei Xingzhi noticed this scene and thought about what he had just seen with the harvester, and an idea emerged in his mind.
Meng Aiguo was also helpless. He glanced at the mute, walked up to him, and squatted down. "Kid, I don't know who ordered you to do this, but this matter is very serious and you've caused a lot of trouble. If you can lead me to the real culprit, I can help you get leniency. If you don't say anything, we can only send you to the police station and let the police handle it."
The mute looked up at Meng Aiguo, then lowered his head, still refusing to cooperate.
Jiang Wu was furious and rolled up his sleeves to deal with him. "You bastard, you don't listen to good words, right? I'll deal with you today--"
The mute subconsciously hugged his body and curled up into a ball.
"I should be able to fix it."
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