"I didn't, I didn't." Facing that face, Tian Tian found it difficult to calm down quickly; her face burned like fire, and it took her a while to say:
“My cousin has some misunderstandings about me. I have a letter from an elder here, and to prevent further conflict when we meet, I thought I would slip it into her through the window crack.”
"Is that so?" The boy chuckled casually, raising his hand. "Give me the letter, and I'll help you."
The wooden window frame was so small that even with a shovel inserted from the inside, it could be easily pushed open with a little force. Yuan Haochu took the envelope, glanced at it, and then slipped the letter through the small gap.
"That's enough, let's go back now, the banquet is about to start."
Wenrou and Jinfei got married and held a two-table wedding. They invited not only the entire educated youth settlement, but also all the brigade cadres.
You can't come empty-handed, and even if you don't want to come, you have to give the platoon leader face. Fortunately, the dishes were quite plentiful, with both vegetables and meat, so the money you gave as a gift could be recouped at the banquet.
Just as she started eating, Ruan Xianxian, with a large hedgehog perched on her shoulder, walked in from outside the courtyard.
It's rare to see a hedgehog with a head as big as a human's. At first glance, it looked like Comrade Ruan had two heads, and she was talking as she walked.
"Why do you all like to perch on my shoulders? Huang Er is one, and so are you. My shoulders are too wide to fit someone as big as you. Aren't you uncomfortable sitting on them?"
As she turned her head, she saw that all the guests at the two tables in the front yard had stood up and were staring at her and the large hedgehog on her shoulder.
Ruan Xianxian waved and smiled, "You guys eat, don't worry about me."
Jin Fei, who had already recovered the scattered bicycle parts but didn't know how many were missing, gave a dry laugh:
"Comrade Ruan, I just went to invite you but you weren't here. Why don't you sit down and have something to eat with us?"
Ruan Xianxian glanced at her shoulder with a smile, "It's not convenient, you guys eat by yourselves."
"Then why don't you take some back to your room to eat?" Jin Fei persisted.
She remained silent as she looked at the enamel bowl, where most of the meat was already gone after just one bite.
Jinfei, being sensible, quickly walked a few steps into the house and brought out a majestic rooster with its wings and feet tied with rope.
"Then take this chicken back and add it to your dish."
Wenrou wanted to say no, but when she met Jin Fei's warning and threatening gaze, her eyes welled up with tears of grievance.
That chicken was clearly one of the betrothal gifts.
In her hometown, there's a custom where the groom presents the bride with a pair of geese during the wedding procession, symbolizing commitment and fidelity.
Later, when there were fewer geese, the gift was replaced with a rooster, just for good luck.
How could Jin Fei give such an important dish to Ruan Xianxian?
Reflecting on the events of her wedding day, nothing had gone smoothly. She clenched her fists so tightly that she dug her palms open, using the pain to calm herself down.
She forced a smile and echoed her husband's words, "Yes, yes, Xianxian!"
She couldn't say anything more, no matter how hard she tried; her smile was even more strained than it was on the day of her husband's funeral.
Ruan Xianxian looked at this and then at that, then flicked the rooster's comb with a smile, took the rooster, and coincidentally, a pile of chicken droppings landed on her new wedding dress.
Wenrou could no longer hold back. She abandoned her friends and family, turned around and left, returning to her dormitory where she buried her face in her bed and sobbed uncontrollably.
The sound of crying reached the banquet outside, making Jin Fei lose face and the guests feel awkward as well.
Unable to resist starting a conversation, he asked, "Isn't that the one on Comrade Ruan's shoulder the one from the cemetery behind our hill?"
It's impossible that the villagers didn't notice such a large hedgehog going in and out.
Because hedgehogs never harm the village's livestock, and out of a sense of awe, the two have always kept to themselves.
“It must be this one,” a villager chimed in. “When I was a child, my grandfather told me that during the war, he personally witnessed this giant hedgehog killing Japanese soldiers.”
Until my grandfather died, every year on the eve of the Lunar New Year, he would send a dish of stewed pork to the back mountain.
"If you put it that way, my grandmother still sends food to the mountains, and she won't say anything when asked. The family thinks it's out of filial piety towards the ancestors!"
The villagers whispered among themselves, the topic being rather sensitive, so they spoke very quietly.
Upon hearing this, Tian Tian's hands trembled. Another piece of evidence had been added to the list of Ruan Xianxian's crimes of engaging in feudal superstition.
Sitting next to her, Yuan Haochu turned his gaze away from Ruan Xianxian's disappearing figure and said, "Your cousin has quite a unique hobby, keeping so many little creatures around."
"Pshaw! She's been strange since she was little. No kids in the neighborhood wanted to play with her. She could sit under a tree and play with ants, entertaining herself all day long."
She didn't want Yuan Haochu to pay too much attention to Ruan Xianxian, and she didn't want the man she liked to be distracted by that vixen and relentlessly slander her.
It's not exactly a smear campaign, is it?
Children from this social class have social circles that are related to the relationships between adults and elders from a young age, and a large compound is divided into many small groups.
But for a child like Ruan Xianxian, who is neither loved by her parents and has a somewhat strange personality, it's true that no one makes friends with her, and she often spends all day playing with ants by herself.
Yuan Haochu seemed to be deep in thought, and lowered his head to pick up some food.
Seeing that he put down his chopsticks after only a couple of bites, Tian Tian worried, "Eat some more, you're eating too little."
Yuan Haochu explained, "I'm not used to the food in the countryside yet, but I'll get used to it after a while."
After a hearty meal and the wedding banquet, the educated youth winked at the newlyweds, saying, "We have to go to work this afternoon, so you can use that room. Hurry up."
In the countryside it's alright, but in the city housing conditions are tight, with parents and children crammed together in one room and half a kang (heated brick bed).
Even after their children get married, they still live together. Not to mention the old married couple, they can just pull up a straw curtain and do things regardless of who's around.
The newlyweds, who were shy and reserved, had their parents take the rest of their children out for a walk every evening, giving the young couple time and space.
This is how this generation has all come through.
Wenrou and Jinfei didn't have a house in the village. The educated youth, who were well-fed and sensible, would voluntarily make room for each other before work started, laughing and joking.
"That matter can't be rushed, or we educated youth from Wenzhou will suffer to death!"
A few words were enough to make the bride blush, the blush spreading all the way to the back of her ears. Making the bride shy was considered a form of teasing during the wedding night.
The educated youth left in twos and threes.
After the door closed, the two sat side by side on the edge of the bed. Gently, suppressing her shyness, she tried to unbutton Jin Fei's shirt, but he subtly avoided her.
She stood frozen in place, "Ah, Ah Fei, what's wrong?"
Jin Fei's expression was somewhat inscrutable. He suddenly stood up, took a deep breath, and tried to soften his voice, "You forgot?"
Ruan Zhiqing's bicycle broke down on the way. In case she comes looking for us and ruins our wedding night, I'd better get it fixed for her first.
Wenrou thought about it and agreed.
Knocking on the door at a crucial moment is something only a bastard would do.
Stepping out of the house and sitting on a bench to repair the car, with no one else around, Jin Fei finally stopped hiding his emotions that he had been controlling all day.
His face was sinister, and his eyes revealed a deep-seated disgust. No one knew that while looking for a car to leave, he also found the scoundrel who had lent Wenrou the tape recorder before...
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