Hu Nianchun had returned and was standing at the gate, speaking quietly to Zhao Shunsheng. Zhao Mingyue knew they were talking about her. Her parents probably felt it was a pity; Cheng Yonggang was such a good catch, which girl wouldn't want to marry him? Yet she had refused. If she hadn't been reborn, she would have thought Cheng Yonggang was a good catch, which was why she had agreed to marry him in her previous life.
She served all four people their meals and placed them on the table: "Dad, Mom, dinner's ready."
Hu Nianchun looked at his daughter and sighed softly, "Let's eat." After a while, Hu Nianchun added, "Mingyue, I've already asked Aunt Luo to cancel that matter."
Zhao Mingyue nodded: "Okay."
While eating, Hu Nianchun casually asked, "Mingyue, what kind of family are you looking for?"
Zhao Mingyue looked up at her mother, then lowered her eyes after a while: "I don't know either."
After washing his face and hair, with water still dripping from his hair, Zhao Minglang walked over and picked up his rice bowl: "Mom, don't worry, my sister is definitely going to marry someone from the city in the future."
Zhao Mingyue scolded him, "Nonsense." She hadn't even considered getting married yet.
Zhao Shunsheng, who had been silent until now, said, "Mingyue, let's be realistic about this. Let's not get our hopes up too high, or we'll be disappointed. These things aren't something we can control. We should assess our own capabilities. You're not young anymore. If there are suitable people, let's keep an eye out for them, meet them, and if we feel it's a good fit, then we can start dating." Zhao Shunsheng's words were very practical; he had always been a very pragmatic person.
Having experienced a utterly disappointing marriage in her previous life, Zhao Mingyue didn't really have any expectations for marriage: "Dad, I'm really not in a hurry. Let's not talk about this for now, and we don't need to trouble others to keep an eye out for me. I have my own plans." She hadn't received much education in her previous life, which she always felt was a regret. Now that she had a chance to start over, she was determined to make up for that regret. As for marriage, she would leave it to fate and not force it. She could live without a man.
Hu Nianchun and Zhao Shunsheng exchanged a glance, sighed, and shook their heads. Their daughter was young, but she had quite the ideas.
After finishing their meal, Zhao Mingyue and her brother didn't rest much before rushing off to paint slogans. They had only painted about ten that morning, and there were still more than ten to go in the afternoon. If they didn't hurry, they wouldn't be able to finish their task for the day.
They ran to the brigade compound, but Yu Youfen hadn't arrived yet. Shen Xuyue was already painting the last slogan with one of the educated youths. Shen Xuyue was painting it himself. Zhao Minglang quickly ran over: "Secretary Shen, we're here. Leave this to us, thank you."
Shen Xuyue, holding the lime brush, glanced back at the Zhao siblings, but didn't stop, saying, "There aren't many words left, I can do it."
Zhao Mingyue stood to the side watching Shen Xuyue paint slogans. He was painting the row in front of the educated youth dormitory that read, "The countryside is a vast world." It was because of this one sentence that countless educated youth went to the countryside, dedicating their most precious youth to villages and rural areas across the country. This period of history is the most unforgettable memory for this generation. One wonders what Shen Xuyue and his friends will think when they recall this time in the future.
Shen Xuyue was very tall, and his rural life had made him quite strong. In an era when even getting enough to eat was a struggle, his physique was quite impressive. He held a brush dipped in lime paste, wielding his powerful arm, and with a forceful stroke, the stroke was complete. Unlike Zhao Minglang, who filled in the original characters with lime paste, he rewrote the characters himself. Although they weren't a perfect match, his handwriting was undeniably more beautiful.
Zhao Mingyue and Zhao Minglang couldn't help but admire him secretly. After Shen Xuyue finished writing the last character and put a period, he handed the brush to Zhao Minglang: "Alright, the rest is up to you."
"Thank you for your help, Secretary Shen. Your handwriting is beautiful," Zhao Minglang said sincerely as he took the brush from Shen Xuyue.
Shen Xuyue smiled and said, "It's just random writing, please excuse my poor writing."
Zhao Mingyue also said, "It's really well written."
Shen Xuyue glanced at Zhao Mingyue and smiled with a slight embarrassment: "You flatter me."
Zhao Mingyue looked down at the lime slurry in the bucket and saw that a new bucket had already been mixed: "Secretary Shen has already mixed the lime slurry for us, thank you so much."
Shen Xuyue nodded: "You're welcome, I'm leaving." He waved his hand lightly, turned around and left with his companion, his steps very light and quick.
Zhao Minglang said, "I didn't expect Secretary Shen to be such a nice person." He used to think that the educated youth were all aloof, that they all clung to one another, and that they only wanted to deal with their own people and disdained to associate with the villagers.
Zhao Mingyue looked at Shen Xuyue's tall and slender back and nodded.
The next morning, when Zhao Mingyue went to work at the banquet hall, she found that everyone was looking at her strangely, and then they lowered their heads and whispered among themselves. Wang Qiulan even glared at her fiercely, her eyes full of jealousy and dissatisfaction.
Zhao Mingyue greeted everyone and then went to work next to Yu Youfen. Yu Youfen lowered her voice and said, "They were just saying that you wouldn't even marry a soldier from the People's Liberation Army, is that true?"
Zhao Mingyue glanced at Cheng Meilai, guessing that she had heard something from Aunt Luo Wu and told everyone about it, and now everyone was talking about her. "That's nonsense. There's no such thing as the People's Liberation Army. Don't listen to their lies."
Everyone agrees that Zhao Mingyue is ambitious and looks down on even the People's Liberation Army. She definitely wants to marry into the city and secure a government job. Beautiful girls are naturally prone to attracting jealousy, especially if they are also arrogant and haughty. They become even more repulsive, the more beautiful they are, the more detestable they seem.
Zhao Mingyue had no interest in paying attention to that. She was no longer the timid and fearful Zhao Mingyue she used to be. What was there to be afraid of in these rumors? She wasn't living for others.
Her only focus now is on making money and studying so she can prepare for next year's college entrance exam. Although she only completed junior high school, her grades have always been excellent. The 1977 college entrance exam was very easy, and she could study high school courses on her own for a year before taking the exam. She still has a chance of getting into university.
These days, making money is extremely difficult. Doing business is considered speculation and profiteering, which is punishable by being labeled a capitalist remnant. People avoid it like the plague, so the idea of making money has to be temporarily suppressed. Of course, it's not impossible to make money, but it's only a small amount, such as selling a few eggs or some homegrown vegetables. Alternatively, one can learn a trade, such as being a tailor, bricklayer, or pot mender. These are necessities for people's livelihood and are not prohibited.
However, these small crafts didn't earn much money. For example, a tailor would earn two yuan a day to make clothes, but he had to pay one yuan to the production team and then pay 25 cents for the thread scraps. He'd only earn 75 cents a day, plus a meal at the employer's house. Even so, it was better than working for the production team, where he'd only earn a maximum of 50 cents a day. Zhao Mingyue wasn't worried about how long it would take to make a fortune with this kind of small income. The reform and opening up was coming soon, bringing endless business opportunities—it would be like gold everywhere! Why worry about not making money?
When Zhao Mingyue finished work at noon that day, she left relatively late. As she came out of the banquet hall, she ran into Shen Xuyue and two other educated youths carrying hoes as they returned from outside. Shen Xuyue glanced at Zhao Mingyue and stopped: "I've already borrowed the book you wanted for you. Come with me to get it."
Zhao Mingyue perked up: "Okay, thank you, Secretary Shen."
The two male educated youths with Shen Xuyue glanced at Zhao Mingyue, then patted Shen Xuyue on the shoulder and said, "So you've been running around these past few days to help people."
Shen Xuyue coughed twice: "Be gentle, be gentle." He then turned around and glanced at Zhao Mingyue who was following behind.
Zhao Mingyue followed behind them with her head down. When they arrived at the brigade's courtyard, Zhao Mingyue stopped and said, "Secretary Shen, I'll wait for you here."
Shen Xuyue nodded: "Okay, I'll be right there." He then quickly ran back to his dormitory.
Zhao Mingyue stood under the camphor tree in the courtyard, looking at the dormitory of the educated youth. She heard the noisy voices of the educated youth coming from the room, guessing that someone was making fun of Shen Xuyue.
A short while later, Shen Xuyue came over with a stack of books and walked up to Zhao Mingyue: "I forgot to ask you last time if you wanted humanities or science books. I only managed to borrow humanities textbooks. Is that alright?"
Zhao Mingyue shook her head: "It's okay, humanities is fine too. Thank you, Secretary Shen." She reached out and took the book.
Shen Xuyue looked at Zhao Mingyue, hesitated for a moment, and finally asked, "Why do you want to look at high school textbooks?"
Zhao Mingyue looked up at Shen Xuyue and smiled, "I think it might be useful in the future, so it's always good to learn some knowledge. I'm just idling around anyway. Did Secretary Shen go to high school?"
Shen Xuyue nodded: "Yes, I went to school early. I graduated from high school in 1968 and went to the countryside right after graduation."
"Those are the 'Old Three Classes' (referring to students who graduated from high school in the late 1960s and 1966)," Zhao Mingyue said. "If I encounter any difficulties in my studies in the future, can I come and ask Secretary Shen for guidance?"
"Sure, whenever I'm free."
Zhao Mingyue bowed slightly to him: "Thank you so much, Secretary Shen."
Shen Xuyue waved his hand lightly: "No need to be polite."
"Then I'll head back now." Zhao Mingyue turned to leave, but after a moment's thought, she turned back to Shen Xuyue and asked, "Secretary Shen, if you could retake the college entrance exam in the future, would you still take it?"
Shen Xuyue looked at Zhao Mingyue with slight surprise. His father had mentioned this issue in a letter, saying that he might have another chance to go to school in the future and that he must not give up his studies. He had wondered if the college entrance examination would be reinstated in the future. But how did Zhao Mingyue know this? This girl was truly unexpected.
Zhao Mingyue didn't get a reply from him, so she could only smile and prepare to leave. Suddenly, she heard Shen Xuyue say, "If I could, of course I would."
Zhao Mingyue laughed, turned and left. She saw a young woman in a white shirt and military green pants pushing a bicycle, standing at the gate of the compound, looking at her with icy eyes, as if she had stolen something from her. Zhao Mingyue felt a chill run down her spine. She heard Shen Xuyue call out behind her, "Wu Jie, you're here?"
The woman pushing her bicycle slowly approached from the doorway, giving Zhao Mingyue a very unfriendly glance as she passed. Zhao Mingyue, clutching her books, quickly walked away. It turned out this was Wu Jie, Shen Xuyue's later wife. Zhao Mingyue secretly sized her up; she was of ordinary appearance, but couldn't hide her arrogance. Zhao Mingyue knew Wu Jie came from a good family; her father and Shen Xuyue's father were comrades-in-arms. Shen Xuyue marrying her was a good match in terms of social standing.
Looking back now, Zhao Mingyue realized that the relationship between Shen Xuyue and Wu Jie might not have been that deep. Not long after Shen Xuyue's accident, she heard that Wu Jie had remarried, which caused a great sensation in society at the time. But what could outsiders say besides shaking their heads and sighing?
Zhao Mingyue had a wide social circle at the time, which overlapped somewhat with Shen Xuyue's. She heard gossip that Wu Jie had relentlessly pursued Shen Xuyue, determined to marry him. However, the marriage wasn't actually very happy; Shen Xuyue and Wu Jie had long been estranged, their only reason for not divorcing being for financial reasons and saving face. Zhao Mingyue remarked at the time, "Every family has its own troubles."
I wonder if Shen Xuyue will still marry Wu Jie. If possible, could I do something for Shen Xuyue to prevent the tragedy from happening again?
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