The old woman was taken aback when she heard Xu Yan's words.
Then Xu Yan continued, "The little bit of wealth Xie Zhuo gave us is really not enough. I did the math last night, and there are so many things we'll need for the wedding."
Xu Yan looked at the old woman in front of him and carefully counted on his fingers for her.
"Like new thermos flasks, Double Happiness enamel basins, mirrors, drinking jars, oh, right, and electric fans."
"Although our brigade hasn't been connected to electricity yet, it's only a matter of time. I heard that several production brigades nearby have already been connected, and our brigade will probably be connected soon too."
Xu Yan has only been here for three days, so he definitely has no one to hear about it.
But she had read the book.
So they knew that in a few months, the Qingshan Brigade would be electrified.
She was spouting nonsense as she pleased, and the old woman's face grew darker and darker as she listened.
"These are all our relatives. Aren't you going to help out with Xie Laosan's wedding?"
Xu Yan asked with genuine sincerity.
When the old woman heard that this educated youth was trying to extort money from her, she immediately retorted.
"We're not just from the Xie family!"
Liu Mancang, standing nearby, scoffed, "You think you're worthy?"
The old woman immediately glared at Liu Mancang, but out of the corner of her eye she saw Xie Zhuo walking towards them from the field, and she ran off on her bound feet.
Xie Zhuo took long strides, and it seemed like he reached Xu Yan's side in just a few steps.
He frowned and glanced at the old woman's retreating figure before looking at Xu Yan.
"Are you alright?" Xie Zhuo asked.
"No," Xu Yan raised her hand and pushed the brim of her straw hat up a little, and Xie Zhuo saw her half-closed smiling eyes.
Xie Zhuo looked at her for a few seconds, then looked away somewhat awkwardly. "Mm."
Unexpectedly, Xu Yan did not let him off the hook.
Xu Yan raised her hand and pointed at Liu Mancang's face, the gleaming light bulb beside her, "Is he the one you're calling a wild vegetable thief?"
Liu Mancang: "?"
Third Sister-in-law must have pointed to the wrong person!
He used the handle of the shovel in his hand to nudge Xu Yan's finger to the side, making her try to point to Granny Xie who had just run away.
Xie Zhuo: "..."
It's really speechless; I didn't expect anyone to actually come and steal wild vegetables.
Xie Zhu remained silent for a long time.
Just as Xu Yan was about to say something, she heard him say that he would talk to her in detail when he had time, and then he turned around and went back the way he came without looking back.
Xu Yan: "..."
The people craning their necks to watch the spectacle assumed that Xie Chunmei had been persuaded to leave by Xu Yan with just a few words, and their gazes towards Xu Yan changed.
"This young educated youth, Xu, used to seem so gentle, but I never expected him to be so sharp-tongued."
A woman whispered to the person next to her.
"Even a rabbit will bite when cornered," Li Aihua snorted, then glared at Xie Chunmei, who had just run away on her bound feet.
She looked down on Xie Chunmei.
Back when Xie Zhuo's parents were still alive, she came over very often, bringing back a lot of things from the Xie family to her husband's family.
When they ran out of vegetables, they would borrow them; when they ran out of vinegar, they would borrow them; when they ran out of salt, they would borrow them. Even when her daughter was going on a blind date and didn't have any nice clothes to wear, she would come to borrow some.
Xie Zhuo's grandmother gave birth to six children in her lifetime, but due to bad harvests, none of them survived. In the end, only Xie Zhuo's father and his aunt Xie Chunmei remained.
His father treated his aunt fairly well, and tried his best to help her whenever possible.
Unexpectedly, on the night Xie's parents passed away, Xie Chunmei, who said she was coming to help with the funeral arrangements, searched the entire house where Xie Zhuo's parents lived. When she couldn't find any money, she set her sights on a silver bracelet that Xie Zhuo's mother was wearing.
When Xie Zhuo entered the room, she was squatting down next to her mother's pillow, wiping down her bracelet.
Xie Zhuo was so angry that he almost shoved her into the coffin next to him on the spot.
The feud between the two families was thus established.
In the past two years, let alone greeting each other, people have actually started hitting each other when they meet.
Xie Zhuo once broke Xie Chunmei's son's leg.
From then on, Xie Chunmei and her in-laws would avoid Xie Zhuo whenever they came to work in the fields near Qingshan Brigade.
Others didn't know much about these things, but Li Aihua and the Xie family lived across the street from each other, so she knew more about these sordid matters than others.
“I used to think this young Xu was mute, but I never expected him to have such a personality,” another person said.
“I knew she wasn’t a good person. You didn’t see how she handled Xie Laosan’s money yesterday. She held so much money in her hand without even breaking a sweat.”
"Why is she panting? With her family's circumstances, I think Xie Laosan is the one who got the better deal."
"Of course, just like Xie Laosan's family..."
The conversation kept circling back to Xu Yan and Xie Zhuo.
Xu Yan sat on Xie Zhuo's straw bag, listening half-heartedly, her eyes lowered, seemingly lost in thought.
Liu Mancang ran to Xie Zhuo's side again, and returned with the water bottle a few minutes later.
Xu Yan then looked up at him.
"Third," Liu Mancang coughed before saying, his words choked by the ears of those around him, "Little Xu, Third Brother said you should go back first. He'll take care of that little bit of land for you."
He added that last sentence himself.
As soon as Liu Mancang finished speaking, Xu Yan felt even more intense gazes directed at him.
Especially the female educated youth in the educated youth settlements.
One by one, they couldn't quite tell whether their expressions were of envy or mockery.
They envied Xu Yan for not having to work, and mocked her for soon marrying a country bumpkin.
It's very complicated anyway.
Xu Yan didn't have time to pay attention to them. He only glanced at their faces briefly before looking away at the only figure in the field.
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