The small storage room connected to the large kitchen in the backyard is not large, about fifteen square meters.
Upon entering, one sees a single earthen bed, with miscellaneous items piled up in the four corners, and cobwebs covering the ceiling.
"Ah!" Chen Zhaodi, who came to help clean, let out a small gasp and pointed in panic at the brown stains on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed):
"Is this blood?"
At the dinner table, she overheard the male educated youth next door say that someone had died in this room, and that the death was not honorable. After hearing this, the girl inevitably felt sympathy and fear.
Ruan Xianxian threw down the rag and climbed onto the kang to take a look. Sure enough, there were many brown marks on the inner wall, which blended into the dark wall and were not very clear.
Mu Xia pulled out a piece of sandpaper from somewhere and rubbed it on the mark, saying in a nonchalant tone, "What house doesn't have people dying in it? Don't make a fuss."
Ruan Xianxian didn't think it was a big deal. After she finished cleaning up, she went to the recycling station to buy more newspapers to paste on the walls.
After being comforted by the two men, Chen Zhaodi overcame her fear. She worked diligently and efficiently. While the two men were squatting by the wall rubbing off the scabs, the other man had finished cleaning the entire kang (heated brick bed) and was now sweeping the roof with a broom.
Dust fell in a flurry.
Liu Xiatian barged in uninvited, her two smug eyes locking onto Chen Zhaodi. "Who gave you permission to use the girls' dormitory's things without permission?"
Ruan Xianxian and the other woman didn't respond. They were about to move out of that house, and Zhao Di had to stand up for herself, otherwise she would be bullied to death by others.
Of course, she wouldn't let Chen Zhaodi, who helped her clean the room, suffer an injustice; she had her big bag ready!
Chen Zhaodi gripped the broom handle nervously, looked up and stared directly at Liu Xiatian's cunning face, her voice timid yet firm:
"The broom belongs to the collective. I'm also a sent-down youth. What's wrong with using it?"
"You..." Seeing that she was about to utter some harsh words, Ruan Xianxian glanced at her and said, "Get lost! Don't force me to slap you."
If a person doesn't care about their reputation or face, then she's basically invincible. Thinking of this guy's feat of planting rice seedlings upside down while sleeping in a hammock, Liu Xiatian shrank back and immediately took a step back.
He thought she was useless, and reached out to support her from behind, but his words were like a soft knife:
"It's not wrong to use collective property, and it's right for female educated youth to help each other, but could you please ask me before you use public resources for private purposes?"
When I got home from work and started cleaning the yard, I found the broom was missing. I thought some scoundrel was even stealing something like that.
On her second day in the countryside, Ruan Xianxian went to the farm. There were many things she needed to buy that she hadn't had time to get. She sneered, stepped forward, grabbed Wenrou by the collar, and pulled hard...
Wenrou stumbled and fell in front of the broom. Ruan Xianxian grabbed a rag and smacked her head repeatedly. "Open your dog eyes and see clearly. Did your godfather let some scoundrels steal it?"
She fell to the ground, her gentle hands scraped by the pebbles, leaving small cuts. She looked up, her eyes red and swollen.
"You were assigned by the brigade leader to live in a room where someone had died violently. Now that you're separated from the group, what makes you so arrogant?"
Then Feng Bai heard the words: "Someone died? Someone died is still better than your head full of lice. You can taste meat when you kiss your partner in the future. Whoever marries you will be lucky!"
Wenrou, feeling humiliated, tried to run away, but Ruan Xianxian grabbed her and forced her, "Tell me! Did your godfather let those scoundrels steal him?"
Seeing that she didn't speak, Ruan Xianxian threatened, "What are you trying to say by repeatedly emphasizing that someone died in this house? Are you promoting feudal superstition?"
Recognizing a tree as a godfather is an ancient folk custom in some regions. The tree grows old, and people grow taller, which is the elders' beautiful expectation for the younger generation to grow up healthily.
Ruan Xianxian actually made her recognize a broom as her godfather? That's outrageous!
Then she heard her being threatened again, and the smelly rag was being swung around her head repeatedly. It wasn't very harmful, but it was extremely humiliating. She broke down, "No! No, okay!"
She rushed out of the room, wiping away her tears, and almost ran into the arms of Chu Li, who had come to help her after work.
Chu Li moved with cunning and dodged the attack with ease.
A hint of regret flashed across Wenrou's eyes. She wiped away her tears and stood up straight. "Comrade Ruan said that Broom is my godfather. She went too far and made Comrade Chu laugh at her."
Although not explicitly stated, it was implied that she was practicing feudal superstition.
Didn't Ruan Xianxian say she was involved in feudal superstition? Let's shift the blame back to her first.
Wu Xueliang, who followed closely behind, asked curiously, "So, have you accepted this marriage proposal?"
gentle:? ? ?
"Pfft!" Laughter came from inside the house. "Uncle Chu, Comrade Wu! Come in quickly and help us move the clutter on the floor."
The small house was already at its limit, with three girls crammed in. The two men didn't go inside; they stayed at the door to help move odds and ends.
In no time, the storage room was transformed. Ruan Xianxian washed her hands in the Muxia porcelain basin, turned around and smiled: "Come over after work tonight and have my housewarming dinner."
None of them were the type to be coy or hesitant. After helping her with her work all morning, it was only right that they should eat a meal from her, but none of them wanted to come empty-handed.
After the meal, Chu Li pulled Wu Xueliang directly into the mountains.
Mu Xia went to the kitchen to check and confirmed that the earthen stove, which had been drying for three days, was dry enough to be used. She then returned and took Ruan Xianxian to the village to exchange for necessary supplies.
Chen Zhaodi, who had actually worked half a day, did not come with them. She said goodbye and went back to her room to rest.
“You can get these things like kang cabinets, kang tables, and mats in the village. I’ll take you there.”
Ruan Xianxian, who had been sent to work in Pingtou Village in her previous life, naturally knew this. She did not refuse Mu Xia's offer to lead the way, and was stopped by Wenrou, who had regained her gentleness, when they passed the front yard.
"Wait a minute."
Starting today, the male educated youth will be responsible for the firewood at our settlement. To be fair, the female educated youth will be responsible for washing the male educated youth's clothes, and you two will be responsible for that for the first month.
Hmph! She knew perfectly well what Ye Guo was up to: ruining Ruan Xianxian's reputation and forcing her to marry him.
Once word gets out that she washes men's pantyhose, it'll be far more damaging than her doing handstands in the fields.
If she does a handstand, people will say she's sick. Once she gets a reputation for being immoral, she'll find it hard to move an inch in this rural area where gossip can be devastating!
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