"Oh! Little Xu, the educated youth," Yang Shulan said with a smile as soon as she saw Xu Yan.
As he spoke, he walked towards Xu Yan.
"Auntie," Xu Yan said, though she didn't recognize the person in front of her, she smiled back when she met her kind eyes.
"Are you not busy?" Yang Shulan said with a smile. "If you're not busy, keep your aunt company and chat with her."
As she spoke, she glanced at Xie Zhuo again.
Xu Yan immediately understood what she meant.
"Come on, let's go inside and talk," Yang Shulan said, pulling Xu Yan's hand and walking towards the kitchen with its door wide open. "This is my first time visiting your educated youth settlement. Let me introduce you properly in a bit."
"Hey! His aunt!"
Someone saw this and immediately spoke up to stop her.
"Just say what you want to say. We know why you're here. Why are you hiding anything?"
The person speaking was a notorious gossip in the village, who loved to talk about other people's affairs.
But what she loves to talk about most is her daughter-in-law.
She can't sleep at night unless she curses at the villagers for several hours after a full meal.
Yang Shulan looked down on her and felt annoyed whenever she saw her.
She glared at the man.
"That's right, Aunt Yang. We live in the same village, it's only a matter of time."
Others, not wanting to miss out on the excitement, quickly joined in with a shout.
"Go ahead and say it."
"Is the bride price too low? Are you too embarrassed to ask for more?" the old woman who had started the trouble earlier said again.
"What's it to you whether it's more or less?"
Yang Shulan had a fiery temper and didn't hold back her words. She was very polite to Xu Yan, but she wasn't so civilized with that old woman.
"Mind your own business. If your family is so rich, why did you only give twenty when you married your second son's wife?"
The old woman wanted to say something, but someone next to her tugged at her clothes, and she reluctantly shut her mouth.
After listening to their conversation, Xu Yan roughly understood what was going on with the people in the courtyard.
People are just there to watch the show.
Too.
In this day and age, there's not much else to do for entertainment, let alone cell phones or TV. Qingshan Brigade still doesn't have electricity.
The villagers spend their free time gathering together to gossip.
If there's even the slightest disturbance in the village, the news spreads throughout the entire production brigade, from east to west and north to south, without even waiting until the next day.
Xiao Xu, a former educated youth, and Xie Laosan have been the most talked-about figures at the village entrance these past two days.
First, Xiao Xu, an educated youth, fell into the river; then Xie Laosan was beaten by the other educated youths while delivering a message; then Xiao Xu's belongings were stolen; Xie Laosan's engagement was broken off; and finally, Xiao Xu suddenly said she wanted to marry Xie Laosan!
The excitement of the last two days is almost equal to the total excitement of all the years combined.
The older women were curious about how much dowry Xie Zhuo would give.
Young men and single men are curious whether Xu Yan can really marry Xie Zhuo.
After all, the two of them are worlds apart and could never possibly be together.
"Yang Shulan, did you even understand the situation? That young Xu, the educated youth, has very high standards. Don't risk your reputation by coming here only to end up being kicked out because you don't have any money."
"People should know their own limitations!"
Granny Qian had somehow blended into the crowd, her slightly cloudy eyes staring straight at Xu Yan as she shouted this.
What standards?
Someone in the crowd immediately asked.
"They want a three-wheeled watch and a radio, and a bride price of two hundred yuan..."
Before Granny Qian could finish speaking, she was interrupted.
"What's wrong with that? When the brigade leader's family married Wu Zhiqing, this was the standard. I heard that other brigades asked for even more."
"Ha," Granny Qian sneered.
"You think that's all? There's more!"
The man perked up when he heard her words.
"besides?"
"She also wants two pairs of calfskin shoes and two sets of dresses," Granny Qian said to the man. "She wants to be in charge, to control the money, and she says that if she tells someone to go east, they go east, and if she tells someone to go west, they go west."
Upon hearing this, the villagers' gazes towards Xu Yan changed instantly.
"Goodness gracious, did we just marry a tyrant?"
"You didn't make this up, did you? Little Xu, the educated youth, has trouble even speaking. How could she possibly be in charge with her personality?"
"Pah!" Granny Qian spat at the man. "If I'm lying, may I be struck by lightning."
"If you ask me, it's better to marry a girl from our village; they're efficient at work."
"That's right, that's right..."
Yang Shulan hadn't heard Xie Zhuo say these things before, but now that she heard them, she subconsciously looked at Xu Yan.
But Xu Yan's face remained expressionless, always smiling, as if she couldn't hear what others were saying.
Yang Shulan went to see Xie Zhuo again.
Xie Zhuo had no expression, his face was serious.
As the noise in the courtyard grew louder, he pulled a red handkerchief from his pocket and handed it to Xu Yan.
Xu Yan subconsciously reached out to take it.
Then a hint of surprise appeared.
She felt the thickness of the handkerchief wrapped around her neck; something seemed off.
Just as she was about to say something, the man in front of her spoke again, "This is all my savings, and it's all yours starting today."
Xu Yan was taken aback.
Her fingers unconsciously tugged at the handkerchief again.
A thick stack of documents.
She suddenly felt that the handkerchief was a little hot.
The crowd fell silent the moment Xie Zhuo uttered those words.
One by one, they craned their necks to look into Xu Yan's hands.
But all you can see is a red handkerchief; you can't see what's inside.
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