The people around him nodded in agreement: "Yes!"
Xie Yan: "?"
He looked completely bewildered, utterly clueless.
When was he treated unfairly?
How could he not know anything about it? Could something major have happened that he was unaware of during his short time in the restroom?
Despite being full of doubts, Xie Yan nodded gratefully to the group and then hurried towards the front yard.
Back at Yu Yuehua's side, Xie Yan secretly breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that it wasn't their village's turn yet.
He leaned closer to Yuehua, his face full of suspicion, and asked, "What happened?"
This question left Yu Yuehua completely bewildered, and she asked in return with a blank expression, "What's wrong?"
Seeing that he also looked confused, Xie Yan told him everything that had happened in the restroom.
Upon hearing this, Yu Yuehua immediately understood what was going on and couldn't help but burst into laughter.
After laughing for a while, he finally calmed down and said to Xie Yan, "I think I know what happened."
Xie Yan's eyes lit up, and he asked eagerly, "Tell me quickly?"
Yu Yuehua explained with a smile, "They think that you were forced into marrying Yuehui by our family through coercion and enticement."
Xie Yan was taken aback at first, then realized what was happening and couldn't help but burst out laughing, shaking his head helplessly as he laughed.
"You have quite the imagination!"
Suddenly a gust of cold wind blew by, stirring up the dust on the ground. Xie Yan shrank his neck and wrapped his clothes tighter. He caught a glimpse of Yu Yuehua, who was trying not to laugh, and gave him a light punch. "Stop being sarcastic."
"Ouch!" Yu Yuehua exaggeratedly clutched her shoulder, but a sly glint flashed in her eyes. "I'm just telling the truth."
After saying that, he turned to the wall and chuckled to himself, thinking to himself that he would tell his sister about it when he got back.
Let her experience the power of her "she-devil" reputation.
After learning what had happened, Xie Yan belatedly realized the stares of those around him.
The pitying gazes felt like thorns in Xie Yan's back, making him extremely uncomfortable, and he awkwardly started picking at his toes inside his shoes.
They had no desire to continue gossiping. Fortunately, it was their village's turn. Xie Yan breathed a sigh of relief and quickly elbowed Yu Yuehua, who was still trying not to laugh, signaling him to step forward.
"Stop laughing, it's our turn."
Yu Yuehua's expression changed, and she and Xie Yan walked up.
"Zheng Hedong, Wang Tao, these two are from your village. Sign and take them away." Commune cadre Li pushed up his glasses, looking like a cold, emotionless machine, the brown paper documents in his hand rustling in the wind on the table.
Yu Yuehua nodded, stepped forward, took the pen, and signed her name on the list.
Xie Yan glanced at him out of the corner of his eye, looking at him with surprise. He hadn't expected this guy to have such good handwriting!
Xie Yan, who had nothing to do, turned to look at the people who had been assigned to their village.
Zheng Hedong was hunched over, and his injured leg dragged small marks on the ground with every step he took. The protruding bone at his knee looked like a misaligned gear.
After studying for a period of time, Xie Yan's medical skills have become quite proficient. It is clear that the old man's leg looks like it was broken and then reattached, but the reattachment was not very good, and the bone is obviously crooked.
Out of a doctor's instinct, Xie Yan glanced at that leg a few more times.
But those few glances clearly caught the old man's attention, and he looked up at Xie Yan.
It was in that one glance that Xie Yan felt as if he had been seen through.
This feels very strange.
Another elderly man, Wang Tao, had vacant eyes, like a stone statue whose edges had been worn away by time, letting the autumn wind lift the hem of his faded clothes.
Xie Yan frowned slightly and turned his face away from them.
Their appearance was so pitiful that Xie Yan was afraid that he would soften if he looked at them too much, so he forced himself not to look.
After signing the document, Yu Yuehua said politely, "Officer Li, I'm taking these two people with me."
Officer Li remained expressionless, merely nodding slightly in response, "Take it with you if there are no problems."
Yu Yuehua smiled and nodded, then led the two of them towards the gate.
After walking for a while, Yu Yuehua said to Xie Yan, "Take some people and wait for me here. I'm going to buy some steamed buns."
Yu Yuehua rubbed her frozen hands and turned to leave, but Xie Yan grabbed her sleeve. "Money and coupons," Xie Yan said, reaching into his pocket, but Yu Yuehua pressed down on her wrist: "I have some!"
Xie Yan chuckled and said, "I know you have money, but you still have tickets, right? I won't pay, I'll just give you the tickets, okay?"
Yu Yuehua said speechlessly, "You talk as if you have the tickets!"
Xie Yan: He really does have one.
But Yu Yuehua didn't believe it!
He said, "Stop bragging. Tickets are more valuable than gold. Where did you get them?"
Without giving Xie Yan a chance to speak, he turned directly to the two elderly people and said, "Do you want to buy them? If so, give me the money and tickets, and I'll buy them all together."
Both old people slowly shook their heads.
They're already in this state, where are they going to get the money and tickets?
Seeing this, Yuehua ignored them and turned to leave.
Xie Yan led the two elderly people to a sunny corner, where they waited against the wall.
After a long time, Yu Yuehua slowly walked over.
Xie Yan glanced at his brother-in-law with some curiosity. To be honest, this man must have done something else over such a long period of time; it couldn't have been as simple as just buying steamed buns.
But Xie Yan wasn't stupid, so he didn't say anything, took the steamed bun, took out a water bottle from his pocket, unscrewed the lid, and poured Yu Yuehua a cup.
Turning to the two elderly people, he asked, "Grandpas, did you bring your own cups again?"
Zheng Hedong was shakily unfastening the luggage buckle, and pulled out a large, chipped, pitted, and dented enamel mug from the innermost layer. The red five-pointed star printed on the mug had long since faded, and a ring of brown tea stains around the rim told the story of the vicissitudes of time.
Wang Tao kept his head down the whole time, his withered fingers hanging limply, as if everything around him was irrelevant.
The setting sun cast long shadows of the four men. After pouring water for Zheng Hedong, Xie Yan tilted his head back and gulped down a mouthful of warm tea. As his Adam's apple bobbed, he glanced at Wang Tao out of the corner of his eye, only to find that Wang Tao showed no reaction, as if he had lost all awareness of the outside world.
Just then, Yu Yuehua took out four steamed buns made of three kinds of flour from her bag and gave two to each of them.
Xie Yan looked at his brother-in-law with surprise.
Yu Yuehua glanced at him but said nothing.
"Eat up." Yu Yuehua stuffed the remaining buns into Xie Yan's hand, took a big bite of her own, and the steam condensed into white mist in the cold air.
Xie Yan nodded, and the four of them stood by the roadside and began to eat and drink.
A bite of steamed bun followed by a sip of hot water, the warmth slowly flowing into my stomach, as if soothing my internal organs.
After they finished eating and drinking, they packed their things and set off on their way back to the village.
Along the way, the cold winter wind blew, raising some dust, but only now did Xie Yan understand why two people were needed to pick up two people who were being sent down to the countryside.
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