Chapter 1634 Unrequited love is the purest form of affection.
"What Iron Lady?! Don't talk to me like that, what kind of Iron Lady am I?"
Li Ye's comment about her being an "Iron Lady" made Jiang Xiaoyan blush, so she quickly denied it.
But Han Xia retorted loudly, "Xiao Yan, aren't you an iron lady? We're all family, everyone knows each other! Back then, you not only got out of Qingshui County, but you also brought your aunt to the capital!"
Now your aunt's restaurant has become a chain, and you yourself have become the deputy factory director. You haven't stopped for a moment all these years; it's all about work. If you're not the Iron Lady, then who is?
"Yes! You've always been so slow to understand things, we thought you were going to dedicate your whole life to the country! Now that we've heard your good news, we can finally rest easy."
“.”
Among the eight-person group, Li Ye's story is undoubtedly the most legendary. He went from being a well-known simpleton to suddenly becoming a genius.
But if we're talking about who's the most inspiring among the eight, then it has to be Jiang Xiaoyan.
Back in Qingshui County, Li Ye could barely be considered a second-generation rich kid, and no matter what he did, someone would bail him out. Jiang Xiaoyan, on the other hand, was a poor girl who couldn't even afford to pay for her repeat year of high school.
It's not terrible for someone to be born into poverty; what's terrible is when relatives and friends around them constantly prevent them from overcoming adversity.
If it weren't for Jiang Xiaoyan's mother, Chen Jinhua, being so assertive and supporting Jiang Xiaoyan by selling baskets, Jiang Xiaoyan would have gone back to farming before meeting Li Ye.
How much money could one earn weaving baskets in the 1980s? Jiang Xiaoyan ate nothing but cold water and steamed buns at school, swallowing all her grievances and resentment with her.
Everything changed when Jiang Xiaoyan got into university. She took her mother and left Qingshui County, leaving behind those who were relentlessly holding them back.
Chen Jinhua opened a noodle shop, which has grown into a chain of dozens of stores in more than ten years. Jiang Xiaoyan went to Beifeng Machinery Factory and has become the first deputy factory director, second only to one person and above thousands of people. The mother and daughter have come this far, and can be described as Mulan who crawled out of a pile of mud.
So when her classmates called her an Iron Lady, they weren't joking.
In particular, this girl has never expressed any longing for love from high school to college and then to work. Everyone thinks she is stuck in a rut, only loving her career and not dating.
Today, listening to Chen Jinhua's loud and boisterous words, Jiang Xiaoyan's biggest regret is about to be fulfilled, and her brothers and sisters are truly happy for her.
"Little Yan, Little Yan, after all these years of careful selection, what kind of virtuous husband did you finally choose?"
"He's a soldier. Our unit has military production tasks, and we met through work."
"Oh, that's excellent, very good. Nationally selected, it's guaranteed to be top-quality."
"Hahaha, Li Ye is so witty! 'National Selection,' that's interesting."
“.”
A group of people surrounded Jiang Xiaoyan, asking her all sorts of questions, creating a lively atmosphere.
But after a few minutes of excitement, everyone suddenly felt that it was a bit "inappropriate" because there was a single woman present!
Hu Man was our class monitor at the No. 2 Middle School in the county. Later, she and Jiang Xiaoyan were admitted to the Beijing Aviation Academy. She stayed on to teach at the academy and, after many years of promotion, is now an associate professor qualified to supervise master's students.
However, she has not been married in all these years, so Chen Jinhua's comment about "college students being too picky about finding a partner" probably included her as well.
Li Ye chuckled and said to Hu Man, "Um, class monitor, we're all on the same side, so please don't mind what I say. I just met a few handsome young engineers. If you have some time lately..."
“.”
Hu Man looked at Li Ye and suddenly smiled gently: "Thank you, Li Ye, but I'm already married."
The entire room fell silent. Everyone was quiet. Even Chen Jinhua and Wu Juying, who were far away, looked over as if they had grown super hearing.
Seeing how much "concern" people were about her, Hu Man simply explained frankly, "It's true. He's a colleague of ours at school. We got our marriage certificate last year. We were thinking of having a wedding ceremony later, but then we thought it wasn't necessary, so we didn't make any further arrangements."
“.”
"That's too much! That's way too much!"
"Human, we're not trying to criticize you, but the eight of us made a pact back then that our friendship would last a lifetime. You didn't even tell us about something this big. You don't treat us like friends at all."
"Exactly, even if you're not having a wedding, you should at least tell us, right? We've been saving up money for your wedding gifts for so many years."
"Okay, okay, you can keep the money for my child's wedding and give it to them when they get married, okay?"
"Wow, Hu Man, you're even pregnant? Goodness, you've really learned your lesson and are now striving to catch up!"
Men and women over thirty are more relaxed when joking around. Several girls hugged Hu Man with smiles and even touched her stomach.
However, Li Ye had some doubts.
Logically speaking, given Hu Man's background and status, it would be impossible for her not to have a wedding, since even if the young couple is fashionable and avant-garde, their elders would not agree.
Therefore, there must be some special circumstances.
Wen Leyu said calmly, "What? Are you worrying about others again?"
Li Ye chuckled: "No, outsiders shouldn't concern themselves with such matters."
"Alright, I'll go find out for you."
Wen Leyu winked at Li Ye and grinned as she moved closer.
A short while later, Wen Leyu returned with a beaming smile.
"We found out that Hu Man and her boyfriend are quite different in age, and she probably didn't want to listen to the gossip from her relatives, so she skipped the wedding."
"Hey, what's the age gap? Does it have to be like us, a few months apart? Older men are usually more caring!"
Li Ye breathed a sigh of relief, as long as there wasn't a third party involved.
But Wen Leyu shook her head and said, "Hu Man is seven years older than her husband, and her husband is Hu Man's graduate student."
[Holy crap, an old cow eating young grass!]
Li Ye was shocked.
These days, relationships between older men and younger women are quite common. Many older revolutionaries are still alive, and a twenty-year age gap is normal. However, relationships between older women and younger men are not as easily accepted as they are decades later.
Hu Man found a boyfriend who is seven years younger than her. She's really brave.
After Wen Leyu's probing, Jiang Xiaoyan and the others also became interested in Hu Man's young husband, chattering away and asking questions incessantly.
Li Ye was too embarrassed to ask, so he could only use his most acute hearing to eavesdrop quietly.
"Human, are all the young men these days so bold? Daring to pursue their teacher like you!"
"He's not bold at all. He's too embarrassed to talk to me and just blushes. I didn't realize anything at first, but later when we were working on a project, he kept making mistakes. I scolded him and asked what was going on in his head. He just laughed it off."
“.”
Li Ye suddenly didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
Isn't this just like Li Dayong back then? Unrequited love is the purest form of affection.
(End of this chapter)
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