Chapter 223 Cowardice
Li Aiping looked at Shao Guoyang, whose eyes were full of tenderness, smiled and nodded, saying, "Okay!"
She then nestled happily into Shao Guoyang's arms, feeling his steady heartbeat, her heart filled with contentment.
She knew very well that her husband was not a good person in the eyes of the world.
He could even be described as selfish and cowardly.
Previously, when Liu Heping was being forceful and violent towards Xu Yirou, he chose to remain a cold observer.
However, in this era, for this group of educated youth from outside the village of Bakushu, where the locals were known for their fierce and xenophobic nature, simply surviving was an immense struggle.
Over the years, educated youth have come and gone in the educated youth settlements, and some have even been taken as wives by bachelors from Bakushu Village.
There are also men like Xie Shaojun who become live-in sons-in-law to the villagers of Bakeshu Village.
Only those involved truly know the hardships and bitterness they endured.
Therefore, Shao Guoyang's selfishness and almost cowardly caution played an absolute role in her ability to live peacefully in the educated youth settlement until now.
If being a good person requires sacrificing their own safety, then she would rather her husband be selfish and cowardly.
So what if Shao Guoyang isn't a good person?
As long as he treats her well and they can live their lives peacefully and contentedly, she is satisfied.
With a smile on her lips and a look of happiness on her face, Li Aiping nestled against Shao Guoyang's arm and drifted off to sleep...
In contrast to the tranquility of their own little world, the village of Bakushu, located a dozen miles away, was in complete chaos.
The educated youth set fire!
Tong Deliang discovered it when he got up to relieve himself in the middle of the night.
He was still half asleep when he noticed a bright red light shining through the window.
Upon closer inspection, they discovered that the educated youth settlement not far away was ablaze with flames.
He was so frightened that he didn't even have time to tremble. He just stuffed his thing into his crotch and then hurriedly picked up the copper basin and started banging it.
"Fire! Everyone, get up and put out the fire!"
"Fire! Everyone, get out of here!"
Overjoyed by Xu Yirou's admission to Peking University, Tong Liqun, who had drunk an extra two ounces of baijiu (Chinese liquor), was half asleep when Cai Shuhua shook him awake.
"What's wrong? Can't a person get some sleep?"
Tong Liqun mumbled in a daze.
Cai Shuhua quickly said, "Get up! The educated youth have started a fire!"
"What?!" Tong Liqun sat up abruptly, exclaiming in disbelief, "The educated youth settlement is on fire again?"
The single word "again" is enough to convey the shock Tong Liqun felt at that moment.
"Yes, Liqun has already led people to put out the fire, you should go and take a look!"
Cai Shuhua was extremely annoyed with the few educated youths at the settlement.
Every now and then, something happens, it's really a headache.
While Cai Shuhua was speaking, Tong Liqun had already quickly put on his clothes.
It's freezing cold, and it's late at night. If you don't dress warmly before going out, you'll freeze in less than half an hour.
"Uncle, Aunt, what happened?"
At this moment, Xu Yirou was also awakened by the noise outside. Wrapped in a thick military overcoat, she came out and asked.
“It was the educated youth who started the fire…” Cai Shuhua said.
At this moment, Tong Liqun, who came out of the house, saw Xu Yirou and a thought flashed through his mind. He then said to Xu Yirou, "Yirou, you and your aunt stay at home and lock the door. I will open the door when I come back."
Having served as the village party secretary for so many years, Tong Liqun is all too familiar with the ugliness of human nature.
Thinking of the four people left in the educated youth settlement.
Shao Guoyang and Li Aiping were admitted to university.
However, Zheng Haiyang and Liu Xian, those two troublemakers, failed the exam.
That very night, the educated youth settlement caught fire.
This whole thing is most likely caused by the acceptance letter.
When Cai Shuhua and Xu Yirou saw Tong Liqun's somber expression, they both became nervous.
However, Tong Liqun had already left in a hurry, so the two of them didn't ask any more questions. Instead, they obediently went forward, bolted the courtyard gate, and then went back to their rooms.
When Tong Liqun arrived at the educated youth settlement, he realized that the situation at Huozhai was much more serious than he had imagined.
The entire educated youth settlement had been burned to ruins; not a single intact room remained.
"What happened? How did this educated youth settlement get burned so badly?"
Even if it was an accidental fire, with snow all around, it shouldn't be burning this badly!
“Secretary, I’m afraid someone set the fire on purpose. We looked around and saw that the educated youth settlement was surrounded by firewood, and they probably even poured kerosene on it. Otherwise, it shouldn’t have burned so badly.”
Tong Decheng stepped forward and spoke with a solemn expression.
When Tong Liqun heard him say that, his heart skipped a beat. He subconsciously reached for his pipe to take a few puffs, but his hand found nothing. He then realized that he had forgotten to take his old pipe because he had left in such a hurry.
"So... how are the educated youth inside?"
Although that's what he asked, just looking at the state of the burned-down youth settlement, Tong Liqun knew that even if the people inside had nine lives, they probably wouldn't survive.
Tong Decheng sighed and said, "Secretary, this matter can't be kept under wraps in our village any longer. We should report it to the police! Besides, with the house burned like this, no one in our village dares to go in and check the situation."
Four lives were lost; it could be said that everyone in the entire educated youth settlement was wiped out. The nature of this incident was truly appalling.
Besides, the educated youth weren't from their Bakushu Village, so it was impossible for them to downplay the issue.
Tong Liqun nodded and glanced at the sky.
It was almost five o'clock. Although it was still dark, it wasn't the right time to go back and catch up on sleep.
Not to mention, after this incident, he simply won't be able to sleep anymore.
"I'll go to the village committee and make a call right now."
As he spoke, he sighed, and the thought of relinquishing his title as village party secretary suddenly came to mind.
It's really too much to worry about. He's not even fifty years old yet, but he already feels like he's losing his strength.
Seeing Tong Liqun's exhausted appearance, Tong Decheng kindly took out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket, handed him one, lit it for him, and said, "Secretary, you've worked hard."
Tong Liqun took a deep breath, squinted at the big peony on his cigarette pack, and snatched it away: "There aren't many left. I'm going to the village committee to kill time anyway, so I'll give you all of these!"
Tong Decheng stared in astonishment at his empty hands. What did he mean by "there are only a few left"? He had just opened the package and lit one.
Forget it, Secretary Tong is already upset enough with this whole mess, so let's not argue about a pack of cigarettes.
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