In modern times, a lack of discipline in male-female relationships is merely something to be condemned, but in the 1970s and 80s it was a very serious moral issue.
Duan San mingled in the crowd, recalling Li Xian's instructions, and began to curse with great fervor: "These two are simply outrageous! Outrageous! When Gaoshan Village was in trouble, it was the people of our Luxian Village who rushed to rescue them overnight. After they were rescued, we even gave them our own houses to live in. I never expected that Gao Aimin would repay kindness with enmity and actually squander everyone's good intentions like this."
The Chang family encountered such a thing, and it was exposed in public. They could no longer hide it, and Chang Youxin lost all face, so he decided not to hide it anymore.
In his rage, he heard Duan San say from the side, "Captain, these two can't be let off the hook. If we let them go, people will laugh at our Luxian Village to death. I think we should find an excuse and say that these two were too ashamed to live and jumped into the pond to commit suicide."
Chang Youxin looked up suddenly, quite impressed with Duan San. Unlike the others in the production team, he had attended a private school in his early years and even worked in the county for a few years. He was familiar with the current organizational atmosphere.
If the act of "drowning" someone were reported to the organization, the entire production team would likely be criticized. However, if the two people committed suicide by drowning themselves, it would have nothing to do with them.
As times have progressed, some feudal customs have been gradually abandoned, but in the remote villages of Luxian County, no one has any objection to Chang Youxin's statement that "Shen was shameless and had an affair with a man from another village. Overwhelmed with shame and indignation, she drowned herself in the lake."
The two were stuffed with rags and dragged all the way to Youlongtan, where they found a large stone and tied it to a rope.
With a "plop," Shen Cuiping's eyes turned bloodshot, filled with despair and confusion, as she was enveloped by the foul-smelling and suffocating lake water.
Her mother always said she was lucky. She married into the Chang family at the age of seventeen. Although she never had a son, her parents-in-law and husband treated her well.
She was injured during her first pregnancy, so the Chang family arranged for her to go with Chang Zigeng to look after a coal mine. Although Chang Zigeng was dull and lacked romantic understanding, he treated her very well.
She still doesn't understand.
How could Shen Cuiping have ended up like this overnight, her reputation ruined and her life in danger?
Shen Cuiping couldn't help but recall that a few weeks ago, she had greedily taken a bottle of moisturizing oil from Xu Nuo's bag. That moisturizing oil was truly magical; after applying it for only a few days, her peeling and dry face became much more moisturized and fair.
On that very day, Gao Aimin struck up a conversation with her, praising her for having a pleasant scent.
It smells just like the moisturizing oil I've applied.
During her stay at the Chang family's house, Shen Cuiping was overjoyed by his praise and gradually became bolder, often seeking opportunities to chat with him.
Shen Cuiping felt resentful. The root of all this was clearly Xu Nuo's bottle of moisturizing oil. It was Xu Nuo who caused her to end up like this, but while Shen Cuiping suffered such a fate, Xu Nuo remained unharmed.
Shen Cuiping was unwilling to give up and struggled desperately, but gradually sank to the bottom of the lake.
Chang family.
The woman didn't enter the Chang family's gate. Standing at the entrance, she bid farewell to Pan Yinhua, whose eyes were red. Her expression was upright, and her words were earnest: "With the college entrance examination just around the corner, I still have to go back to focus on preparing for the exam. I won't be able to come to Luxian Village to teach the children anymore."
Pan Yinhua knew perfectly well that this was just an excuse, but after what had happened, she felt guilty and ashamed, her eyes darting around, unable to look at her: "Okay, Comrade Xu Nuo, you... focus on your exam preparation. I'm so sorry to have made you suffer."
Xu Nuo didn't say anything. There's a reason for the grievance, and the one who wronged her was Shen Cuiping. But Chang Youxin and the others did believe it, which is why they brought people to the classroom to find her.
She smiled faintly and said, "Then I'll be going now. Goodbye."
Pan Yinhua hesitated, trying to speak, but said nothing, only whispering, "Comrade Xu Nuo, take care."
Chang Xiaohong was not sleeping soundly. She got up when she heard the knocking on the door. She hid behind the door and peeked out, where she saw Teacher Xu Nuo.
She was still gentle and beautiful, but her smile this time seemed quite different from usual.
She didn't dare go over.
He simply watched as the figure turned and disappeared through the Chang family's gate.
Xu Nuo came out of the Chang family's house and saw the man who had been standing in the distance.
He followed her from a distance all afternoon, going with her to the educated youth dormitory and then to the Chang family's house.
Although there was no one else around, Li Xian didn't dare to get too close. As soon as she came out, he turned and walked towards the foot of the mountain.
Xu Nuo followed.
After passing a small bend in the road, with no forks in the road and towering mountain walls on both sides, Li Xiancai turned around and strode towards her.
Xu Nuo stopped and waited for him.
Seeing that he didn't look well, Xu Nuo softly called out, "Li Xian."
The next moment, she was pulled into someone's arms.
His body was taut, perhaps from excessive tension, and trembled slightly.
"I'm so scared."
Xu Nuo was taken aback.
He closed his eyes and whispered in her ear, "I'm so scared, Nuonuo."
Xu Nuo stepped out of his embrace and looked at him.
Li Xian's eyes were filled with a deep melancholy, and the corners of his eyes were red. He recalled how that group of people had surrounded her aggressively, just like when they smashed down his front door and dragged the exhausted and unconscious Li Chengyan out of his house.
For a fleeting moment, Li Xian wanted to burn the village down and make all those people disappear.
Noticing his tension and lingering fear, Xu Nuo tiptoed and gently stroked his hard cheek, smoothing it away with her fingertips. Her voice was soft and sweet: "Li Xian, it's alright. Shen Cuiping's little tricks can't hurt me at all. Don't be afraid, okay?"
Li Xian reached out and gently placed his hand on her hair, as carefully as if he were handling a fragile porcelain doll.
Xu Nuo snuggled up to him, leaning against his chest, her little hands wrapped around his waist as she said coquettishly, "Li Xian, I'm tired, carry me on your back."
"good."
He bent down, slipped his hands between her legs, and held her tightly in his arms.
Xu Nuo was truly exhausted. She wrapped her arms around Li Xian's neck, rested quietly on his shoulder, and felt the care and tenderness in his steps. The unhappiness in her heart slowly dissipated.
There was a main road leading to the mountain, and no one would take the mountain path. So Xu Nuo let Li Xian carry her the whole way without any worries until they reached the foot of the mountain, at which point she got off and walked on her own.
Xu Nuo was a little disoriented, and being with Li Xian, she was just wandering around in a daze. When they reached the entrance of the state-run restaurant, she looked at him curiously and asked, "How did we end up here?"
"You ate too quickly at lunch and didn't eat much."
Xu Nuo smiled with her eyes narrowed. This smile not only dazzled Li Xian, but also made the passersby around her hold their breath for a moment.
Xu Nuo was wearing a white shirt with ruffles and black pants that made her legs look long and straight. Her exquisite features were already eye-catching, and with her sweet smile, even Liu Yushan was a little stunned.
When she looked at the tall figure next to Xu Nuo, she was even more surprised.
During this period, Li Xian often came to the state-run restaurant, but he always took the food away and never stayed to eat. Liu Yushan watched coldly and cursed him for being stupid in her heart.
How many ordinary families can afford to eat out every day? And always order meat dishes? Probably not many people would be willing to spend that much money. Besides, this man looks like a poor boy from some village. It's obvious that his girlfriend is extravagant and greedy, and he has no choice but to buy her meat every day.
But Li Xian today is quite different.
Dressed in all black, his black shirt and trousers made him appear even more extraordinary. Standing silently in the crowd, he exuded a powerful aura. His presence alone was enough to convince anyone that he was Liu Yushan, the young master of some wealthy family.
His face was stern, but it softened when he looked at Xu Nuo, and he carefully asked her, "What would you like to eat?"
Xu Nuo glanced at the menu: "Shredded pork noodles".
"Anything else?"
"I don't want anything else." Xu Nuo felt that one bowl of shredded pork noodles was enough, and she definitely wouldn't be able to eat anything else.
"Okay, sit here and wait for me." Li Xian led her to a seat and helped her settle in before turning around to order food.
Liu Yushan had been paying close attention to the interaction between the two and felt that Li Xian's behavior was not at all like that of a rural person.
"Hello, comrade."
Liu Yushan blushed and looked up at him, only to realize that he was really tall, probably over 1.85 meters. Looking at him up close, his features were even more handsome and dashing, and his voice was so pleasant too. Right, his voice!
Liu Yushan was secretly delighted. When she first met Li Xian, he was so poor that she didn't even notice his accent. His voice was deep and magnetic, and his Mandarin was not awkward like that of a country person. Instead, it had the flavor of a big city.
Li Xian's fluent Mandarin was entirely taught by Li Chengyan. Li Chengyan met Li Xian's mother when he was seventeen, went abroad together and returned to China. After living there for many years, he also developed a bit of a Shanghai accent.
Liu Yushan felt that Li Xian was not a rural person at all, but perhaps an educated youth sent to the countryside from elsewhere.
Back then, the country called on intellectuals to go to the countryside, and many educated people were sent down to the countryside. Among them were the children of some cadres. In order to respond to the country's call, they sent their children who had graduated from junior high school, high school, and university to the countryside.
Normally, Liu Yushan wouldn't have any particular thoughts about the educated youth who could only farm in the countryside, but just recently, not long after the national college entrance examination was reinstated, some educated youth successfully returned to their hometowns.
Perhaps he will be able to return to his hometown soon.
Thinking this way, Liu Yushan felt that everything made sense. How could he have so much money and tickets? It must be a subsidy sent from his family. Liu Yushan was more enthusiastic than usual. She nervously touched her hair and asked softly, "Comrade, what would you like? We have braised lion's head meatballs today, would you like some?"
Li Xian nodded: "Yes, and two more shredded pork noodles."
Remembering Xu Nuo's appetite last night, he said, "I'd like another spicy chicken and braised pork."
He quickly took out his money to pay the bill. When he was getting the ticket, Liu Yushan accidentally saw what was in his pocket, gasped, and her eyes lit up even more eagerly.
Liu Yushan worked at a state-run restaurant and had handled a lot of money, but she had rarely seen such a stack of cash. Moreover, if she wasn't mistaken, there were even a few hundred-yuan bills in there.
Ordinary families can't afford to send so much money to their children.
After Liu Yushan received the money, seeing that no one else came to order, she thought she could chat with him for a bit, and asked with a smile, "Comrade, you're not from our Lu County, are you?"
Li Xian waited for her to give him change, and upon hearing this, he gave a cold "hmm," his eyes fixed on Xu Nuo, reminding Liu Yushan, "Comrade, give me change."
"Oh, oh." Liu Yushan gave him some change, feeling a little uncomfortable. Before she could say anything more, he turned and walked towards Xu Nuo.
When Liu Yushan saw him walk over and pour water for that woman and blow on it to cool her down, she secretly cursed Xu Nuo for being spoiled.
A man should marry a virtuous woman. A woman like her, who is extravagant, lazy, and has a bewitching appearance, would definitely not be favored by the elders in the family.
Seeing Liu Yushan actively chatting with people and constantly staring at them, her colleague scoffed disdainfully, "Some comrades, I don't know why, are shameless, they want to pounce on any single man they see."
Liu Yushan understood, but dared not get angry.
Those who can work in state-run restaurants all come from families with some connections. Coincidentally, Liu Yushan's father was one rank lower than the other woman's father, so Liu Yushan could only pretend not to know about her daily sarcasm.
Liu Yushan thought that once she married into a good family, she would have plenty to cry about.
Xu Nuo sat obediently in her seat, her little hands clenched into fists and placed in front of her chin, her big round eyes watching Li Xian blow on her to cool her down.
Li Xian pushed the cooled water in front of her and said softly, "Drink slowly."
"Okay." Xu Nuo took it, took a small sip, felt a little warmth in her throat, and felt her heart warm as well.
Is it hot?
She shook her head, her two little braids swinging back and forth, and said coquettishly, "It's not hot anymore."
Looking at the two neat little braids, Li Xian blushed a little.
Xu Nuo ate slowly at noon, and fearing she wouldn't make it back to the Chang family in time, she asked Li Xian to take the comb from the table to tie her hair.
Li Xian, a young man in his twenties, didn't know how to braid his hair before. It was Xu Nuo who taught him yesterday. He was quick-witted and learned it after watching it once.
With one hand up and one down, he braided two loose braids.
He thought she would be dissatisfied and was prepared to unravel and re-knit it, but Xu Nuo looked at it from left to right and said with satisfaction, "It's fine, just like this, it doesn't look good if it's tied too tightly."
Actually, Li Xian thinks she looks good even with her hair tied up tightly.
Xu Nuo saw Li Xian staring at her braids, so she leaned closer and said in a soft voice, "You stinky Li Xian, you're spacing out again. The noodles are ready."
Li Xian snapped out of his daze, resisting the urge to pat her head, and smiled at her: "I'll go get it."
Xu Nuo nodded, and seeing him return with a load, then turn back, she asked curiously, "What's wrong?"
"We haven't finished taking them yet."
He went back again, brought all the dishes back, and then sat down again.
"Why are there so many? I can't finish them all." Xu Nuo's mouth was stuffed with half a braised lion's head meatball, and her speech was indistinct.
"fine."
Seeing how adorable she was, like a little hamster, Li Xian handed her his cooled water and instructed, "Don't choke, chew slowly."
The lion's head meatballs were a bit hard from steaming, and Xu Nuo took a bite that was too big. She chewed for a long time but couldn't chew it properly. Her cheeks ached from chewing, and she was about to swallow it in one gulp when she got stuck in her throat.
"Ugh." Xu Nuo puffed out her cheeks, feeling nauseous and wanting to vomit, but found there was no empty bowl on the table. Just as she was wondering where to vomit, a large hand reached out.
Li Xian said, "Nuonuo, spit it out."
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