Chapter 142 Chapter 142 Snake Goddess

It's already February, but the small county town is still very cold. Yesterday at midnight, a heavy snow fell, as if to clear all the snow that had accumulated for a long time before spring came.

At daybreak, Secretary Liu came out of the house and stretched his body in front of the thick snow outside. A new department was established a few years ago, called the Revolutionary Committee. It is said that it has great power and is not like other departments in the past, which only look at academic qualifications. This department looks more at political achievements.

Secretary Liu is old and no longer has the energy to climb up the ladder, but he still has a son. Unfortunately, it was too late for him to know about the situation. He wants to go to the city today to find some connections for his eldest son. If he can't get a job in the county, at least he has to get a job in the commune.

As soon as he walked out of the door, he felt something was wrong in the yard. When he looked out carefully, he was so scared that his hair stood up. He saw dozens of snakes of different sizes coiled in the yard. Some were swimming slowly, while others seemed to be unsuited to the cold weather and coiled up without moving.

Secretary Liu was so frightened that he broke out in a cold sweat and his legs began to tremble. He yelled and ran into the house.

Miao Lanfang, wearing a thick cotton padded jacket and holding a feather duster in her hand, came over angrily and cursed, "What are you yelling about so early in the morning? You drank a few extra glasses of yellow urine last night, and you don't even know your last name anymore!"

Secretary Liu had already jumped onto the kang, huddled up and yelled incoherently: "Snakes, so many snakes, all over the yard!"

Miao Lanfang stretched her head out the window and saw that the new snow on the ground had been pressed by something, leaving some traces, winding and twisting, and it was hard to see the specific shape. She scolded: "I told you to drink less, but you just didn't listen! It just snowed outside, where did the snake come from! You are just talking nonsense here!" After that, she turned around and went back to the kitchen.

After hearing what the old woman said, Secretary Liu quickly climbed to the window and peeked out through the window frame. He saw the black and green snakes standing out against the white snow. He could even see the words formed by the snakes: "Harming the neighbors".

Secretary Liu swallowed nervously and was about to call for help when several snakes suddenly appeared in front of the window, standing tall and showing their sharp teeth at him. Secretary Liu looked into the cold eyes outside the window, screamed in fear, and fainted.

His sons and daughters-in-law rushed over and saw Secretary Liu lying on the kang with his arms and legs spread out, his eyes closed and a look of fear on his face. They quickly helped him up and went out to call Doctor Liu to come over.

The yard was clean and tidy, with only snow on the ground. Outside the courtyard wall, I could hear the neighbors greeting me: "Xiao, Yuandong, are you and your wife back? Why did you get up so early? Why don't you take a rest?"

Then came Lin Yue's voice: "Auntie, we haven't been back for a long time. Let's take a walk around the village. The village has really changed a lot now!"

After a few injections by Doctor Liu, Secretary Liu was quickly saved. However, he seemed to be very frightened. He lay on the kang with an unnatural expression on his face, mumbling: "Snake Goddess, the Snake Goddess is here to punish me!"

The family couldn't bear to hear his nonsense and quickly sent Dr. Liu away, fearing that something might get out.

At this time, Lin Yue and Zhang Yuandong had already returned home, and the whole family was happily eating breakfast.

Zhang Shouren and Zhang Shouyi no longer go to school, but stay in the village to do farm work. Although they are not very old, they are willing to work hard and can earn seven or eight work points, which is not a small amount. There is absolutely no problem in supporting themselves.

Zhang Yuandong saw that the two of them seemed content with the status quo and couldn't help but feel a little worried. He asked, "You are not going to school anymore. What are your plans for the future?"

The two brothers looked at each other in confusion, then turned back to look at the eldest brother in a daze, forgetting to swallow the food in their mouths.

Zhang Yuandong simply couldn't bear to watch. He frowned and said, "You two should have studied since childhood. You have already finished junior high school. You can't stay in the village forever, right?"

The two brothers bowed their heads and said nothing. They had been taught since childhood to "study hard, find a good job in the future, and become a city dweller." Now that the college entrance examination has been suspended, there are enough jobs, and the city dwellers have all moved to the countryside, what else can they do if they don't stay in the village?

Lin Yue said: "Why don't you follow us? The army is not so chaotic and you should have more opportunities to receive an education."

The two brothers finally spoke, but refused in unison: "No, we can't go!" They didn't want to cause trouble for their brother and sister-in-law.

Lin Yue wanted to say something, but then he heard Zhang Shouyi grunt and say, "I...I want to join the army."

Zhang Yuandong frowned and said bluntly, "It won't pass the political review."

The light in Zhang Shouyi's eyes suddenly went out. He wanted to join the army, and of course he had inquired about these things, but he still held on to the last glimmer of hope, maybe his elder brother could help him come up with a solution? Now he has completely given up.

Lin Yue tugged at Zhang Yuandong's arm and consoled him, "It's a good thing to have dreams. If you can't join the army, you can still serve the country in other ways. I was serious when I said I wanted you to join the army with us. I asked someone to find out. There are schools in the barracks, from elementary school to high school. You can go to school there."

"But... the college entrance examination has been suspended. What's the point of us going to school?"

Zhang Yuandong said: "The country needs talents. It is impossible to never open universities. The country's construction still needs more knowledgeable people."

The confusion on the faces of the two brothers gradually disappeared. They used to think that learning was useless and they didn't know what else they could do in the future besides farming. Now they feel enlightened. Yes, there is no such thing as useless knowledge.

Zhang Shouren smiled brilliantly and said sincerely: "Brother, sister-in-law, I know you are doing this for our own good. Don't worry, we will not fall behind in our studies even if we are here."

As they were talking, they suddenly heard a noise coming from outside the door. They looked outside, but didn't see anyone. Zhang Shouren jumped off the kang and said, "I'll go out and take a look!" Then he left the room without looking back. It looked like they were going to fight.

Lin Yue was a little worried and wanted to follow to take a look, but was stopped by Zhang Shouyi.

Soon, she heard an argument outside the door. Lin Yue looked outside and saw Zhang Shouren and Zhang Zhiwei pushing and shoving in the yard. Zhang Shouren wanted to push him out, but he was a little cautious and didn't dare to use force. Zhang Zhiwei was cursing and swearing at her, which was very different from his previous image of an honest man.

She told the children to stay in the house, and she and Zhang Yuandong hurried out.

Zhang Zhiwei stopped talking immediately when he saw the two men. He smiled hypocritically and said, "My eldest son is back, why don't you go see your father? I'm already half buried in the ground, if you don't care about me, isn't that too unfilial?"

He was already very old, with cloudy eyes, messy white hair, and dirty and torn clothes. No one would disbelieve if someone said he was seventy years old.

Zhang Yuandong sneered, "I dare to call you dad, do you dare to agree? Who are you to let me call you dad? You are so shameless!"

Zhang Zhiwei kept saying “you you you” for a long time, and then said harshly: “You are so unfilial, aren’t you afraid that others will write to report you? You are in this situation now, aren’t you afraid?”

Lin Yue sneered. She knew that he must be the one who wrote the report. She crossed her arms and said, "He is unfilial. Isn't that what he learned from you? His father is not a filial one. The children at home are influenced by him. How can they be filial to you?"

Zhang Zhiwei was so angry that he pointed at Lin Yue for a long time without saying anything. Zhang Yuandong stood in front of Lin Yue and said coldly: "I know what you are doing here, but we have severed our relationship. You'd better leave quickly. Don't think I won't fight you!"

Zhang Zhiwei was still afraid of Zhang Yuandong. He spat on the ground, stared at Zhang Shouren and Zhang Shouyi for a while before leaving, and then left angrily.

Not long after Zhang Zhiwei left, more people came to visit. Most of them came to visit sincerely, and some even brought a lot of dry goods, saying that they would accept everything. Lin Yue couldn't refuse, so he accepted all the gifts and prepared something of similar value as a return gift.

Lingling and Wanli liked these two uncles very much when they were young. After not seeing them for such a long time, they became the little followers of the two uncles. They followed the two brothers wherever they went. They even ignored the children in the village who came to play with them.

It was almost noon when Liu Jianhua finally arrived.

The two villages were not close to each other, and communications were not well developed at that time. Liu Jianhua didn't know that Lin Yue had returned. It was Wang Xiuxiang who rode a bicycle to her house early in the morning to inform her.

Liu Jianhua's eyes were filled with tears. She couldn't control her emotions when she saw Lin Yue. She was holding a little girl who was almost three years old with one hand, and a tall man was standing on the other side. Zhang Yuandong saw the person coming and shouted in surprise: "Liu Qingjun, why is it you?"

Liu Qingjun, wearing a half-worn cotton jacket, had changed his lazy and careless appearance in the past. He stood beside Liu Jianhua obediently. He smiled at Zhang Yuandong and said, "Brother Zhang, what a coincidence!"

Liu Jianhua stepped on his foot and muttered to himself: What a coincidence! Didn’t you know this a long time ago?

Lin Yue watched the interaction between the two people, and was also shocked. She remembered this person, Liu Gongan, whom she had met several times before. Although she had a good impression of Liu Gongan, she never thought that two people who had nothing to do with each other could get together.

Liu Jianhua saw Lin Yue's doubts and smiled shyly. She took the initiative to take Lin Yue to the west room and secretly told him the matter.

After Liu Jianhua got divorced and returned home, she didn't want her parents to take care of her all the time, so she rented a small courtyard and lived alone with her child, just like Lin Yue. Later, an educated youth came to the village. He was good-looking and tall, but he was only a little boy. He looked like he was just getting by, and he was lifeless at all times.

Liu Jianhua didn't take it seriously at first, but later Zhang Shouxin and Aunt Wang San came to make trouble several times and insisted on taking the child back. Once, her parents and brother didn't arrive in time, and it was Liu Qingjun who protected her in time.

Zhang Shouxin scolded him for meddling in other people's business and wanted to fight him, but Liu Qingjun subdued him in a few moves. Liu Qingjun at this time was not like his usual self at all, and I don't know how many young ladies were stunned by him.

In order to thank him, Liu Jianhua took the initiative to give him a lot of gifts. Liu Qingjun refused to accept them, but Liu Jianhua insisted. As a result, they became familiar with each other. Especially when Liu Jianhua mentioned that the husband of her best friend also worked in the Public Security Bureau, the two of them became even closer.