Since An Moxue returned, she has noticed that the new educated youths always seem to bump into her, both men and women. She finds it troublesome, so she always arrives at work on time and finishes her tasks a little early, thus perfectly missing any encounters with them.
But tonight, after dinner, several educated youths came to her home.
"Comrade An, Comrade An, are you home? We've come to visit you."
"Comrade An..."
Seeing that she couldn't avoid it, An Moxue opened the door and came out, then closed it again behind her. Standing at the door, she asked, "What brings you educated youth here?"
The group initially thought that An Moxue had opened the door, so they could go in, sit down, chat, and if they came a few more times, they would naturally become familiar with each other, making it easier to pursue other matters later. However, they didn't expect that although she came out, she didn't let them in.
The group exchanged awkward glances, their embarrassment evident. After all, they had taken steps forward when they saw An Moxue emerge, but then abruptly stopped in their tracks. Anyone would feel awkward in that situation!
"Nothing much, I just came to chat with you and get to know you better," Zhu Yan said softly, suppressing her dissatisfaction.
“Oh! Sure! Let’s chat! You guys go ahead.” An Moxue said with a smile, holding a book of quotes from a great man in her hand.
"Comrade An, won't you invite us in for a seat?" It was Zhu Yan who spoke again.
"Oh? Are you sure? Let's make this clear beforehand! We can go in, but..."
But what?
Several people simultaneously had this question in their minds; she didn't look well!
An Moxue paused for a moment, then continued, "If I scare you, I won't be responsible! Don't even think about trying to pin it on me and make you pay for your medical expenses, okay?
"An Zhiqing, you're really joking!" said Wang Yu, a male educated youth, incredulously.
"I'm not kidding, I have two guard animals. They're very wary of strangers, so I rarely have anyone in my house. They're quite fierce," An Moxue said sincerely.
"We still want to go in and take a look," Zhu Yan said gently.
"Alright! It's settled then, don't come looking for me if you get scared, I won't care, I've already reminded you all," An Moxue said with a hint of helplessness.
She opened the door, and just as the group was about to step inside, they saw two fierce dogs glaring at them, as if to say, "Try going any further."
“It’s alright, they’re just two animals, don’t be afraid,” said Li Dezhi, a male educated youth. He was the first to step into the courtyard.
In that instant, two wolves howled and pounced on him.
"Ah!" He was tackled to the ground with a sharp scream. The others were so frightened that some ran away and others dared not move, especially the two girls whose faces turned pale.
"Stop!" An Moxue shouted, and the two wolves, poised to attack, did not bite.
"Quick, back out, it'll be fine if you stay away. Little Wolf, Little Little Wolf, let him go, he won't come in."
Li Dezhi nodded frantically.
The two male educated youths had already run far away, while the female educated youths were too frightened to move. An Moxue had no choice but to pull them away from the gate, and the two of them, like puppets, let An Moxue drag them along.
Li Dezhi was still lying on the ground screaming, "Comrade An, save me!"
An Moxue walked up to the two children and said, "Alright, let him go! He won't go in."
The two little ones let out two "woofs," as if to say to Li Dezhi, "Kid, come on if you dare!" Then they jumped off Li Dezhi, stood to the side, and stared at him with fierce eyes.
As soon as the two little ones left, he immediately scrambled out.
An Moxue gave the two little ones a thumbs up, and the two little ones let out two "woofs" and went back to play in the yard.
She closed the gate, walked up to the group of educated youth, and said without any apology, "See? This is what happens when you insist on coming in."
The group dared not speak out, fearing that the creature, whether dog or wolf, would come out and chase them again. They could only leave in resentment, but they knew it was far from over.
People nearby had come out to watch the commotion after hearing Li Dezhi's scream, but they stayed in front of their own houses and didn't go any closer. They all knew what kind of people those educated youths were and didn't want to cause any trouble.
Once the person had gone some distance, a large group of people swarmed around them, chattering incessantly.
"Mo Xue, what are these educated youth doing here?"
"Who knows! I'm not familiar with them. They insisted on coming inside, and that's how this got them in trouble."
"None of these educated youths are easy to deal with. Can we just let this go like this?"
"It's alright, come if you have the guts," An Moxue said nonchalantly.
"You still have to be careful. That Zhu Yan always speaks so gently, but she always makes people suffer in silence. She's not easy to deal with. What's that old saying?" Tiger's mother reminded her.
Someone added, "A Buddha's mouth but a snake's heart."
"Yes, that's it."
And so, everyone started digging into the background of these educated youths.
"That Chen Hong is the same, she's like a firecracker, she'll ignite at the slightest touch. The worst part is that she's stupid. As soon as Zhu Yan urges her on, she rushes forward without a care in the world. It's unbearable to watch."
"That guy named Li Zhao talks the least, but I feel he's the most insidious and we should be wary of him."
"That guy named Li Dezhi is a perfect match for his name. He's the epitome of a petty person who becomes arrogant when he gets ahead."
“That Wang Yu is no good either, An Zhiqing. Think about it, fish follow fish, shrimp follow shrimp, turtles follow turtles. They’re always together. How could they be good people?”
"I don't know what kind of parents raised such children. Why is our village so unlucky this year? We were assigned several educated youths with bad character. It would have been better to have assigned a few honest and hardworking people who couldn't work!"
"That's right. Luckily, there are no children the same age, otherwise I would have to worry so much."
"Don't even mention it. I heard that the girl from the Erhuai family has recently started hanging out with these educated youths. Her parents are preparing to find her a husband as soon as possible so she won't get upset."
"That's right, our children are all grown up, they're a debt to us, we really owe them."
Tiger's mother stood next to An Moxue and asked softly, "Moxue, they won't cause you any trouble, will they?"
"It's hard to say." An Moxue genuinely didn't know either.
"I saw a military officer leave your house at noon today."
"I had something to do at the military base, so I left after saying that."
"That young man is quite handsome and energetic!"
"Sister-in-law, be careful Tiger's dad gets jealous if he finds out you're praising other men for being handsome," An Moxue teased.
"What? He's good-looking, so can't I say anything? But isn't your brother good-looking too?" Tiger's mother spoke of her husband with a proud expression.
"That's right, otherwise we wouldn't be able to have such a cute child as Tiger."
"Everyone says Tiger is a lot like me, don't you think?"
"Yes, just like my sister-in-law, cheerful and kind."
......
An Moxue chatted with the nearby villagers outside until dark before returning home. She felt that if she could continue in this way, working at sunrise and resting at sunset, it would be quite nice.
However, this was also a rare moment of leisure in her life.
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