Chapter 01 Escape
The road conditions in the early 1980s were not very good. It was not until we got near the city that the dirt road was finally turned into an asphalt road.
Lin Qiao was rocked by the bumps of the long-distance car, with the stifling air mixed with the unpleasant smell of gasoline filling his nose, and the cries of poultry brought on board by his fellow villagers. Even so, he was still as drowsy as the passengers who crowded the seats and aisles.
She was so tired that she almost didn't sleep all night last night in order to escape.
This morning before daybreak, we walked for more than an hour on the mountain road to get to the town, and then took a bus for nearly eight hours. I was almost exhausted.
However sleepy she was, when she felt someone moving the schoolbag she was holding in front of her, she grabbed the other person's fingers and pried them apart without even blinking.
"ah--"
The other party was obviously caught off guard and let out a cry of pain.
The people who were still dozing off suddenly woke up and looked over here in confusion, "What's wrong? What happened?"
"Nothing, just someone stole something."
Lin Qiao's voice was not loud, but everyone was instantly awakened from their sleepiness and began to check their belongings.
Thieves were most rampant in the 1980s and 1990s, especially on buses. When the bus was crowded, some would even rob in broad daylight, and it was difficult to catch them.
Seeing that everyone was on guard, the thin man that Lin Qiao caught got anxious, "Little girl, be careful with your words, who the hell stole your things!"
There was a threat in these words, but Lin Qiao didn't show any fear at all.
She looked at the man's hand that she had grabbed and raised her eyebrows, "He didn't steal anything, so are you trying to be a hooligan?"
It's not impossible that he is a hooligan.
After all, although Lin Qiao was dressed in ordinary clothes, she looked like a country girl on the long bus to Yandu, but she was very pretty. Not the traditional kind of pretty, especially when she raised her eyes to look at people, there was a charming red mole at the end of her narrow eye.
In this era, hooliganism is much more serious than stealing. If someone reports it, you will inevitably be sentenced to a few years in prison, and you may even be shot. The thin man was like someone was grabbing his neck, and he was silent in an instant.
The reason why he chose Lin Qiao was because he saw that Lin Qiao was young, only about 18 or 19 years old, and didn't know anyone around him, so it would be easier to get him. He didn't expect that although he looked like a sheep, he was actually a thorny person, and he didn't even blush when he was called a hooligan.
Suddenly someone cried out in silence, "My money! My money and tickets are gone!"
Lin Qiao didn't need to say anything, the man had already grabbed the thin man and asked him to pay back the money, otherwise he would be sent to the police station. The people who didn't lose money also started to talk and watch the excitement, forcing the man to take out the money and get off the bus several stops in advance.
"Luckily you reacted quickly, or he would have gotten away."
Lin Qiao's neighbor aunt was still worried and even checked the two old hens tied at her feet. "These are for my daughter to eat during her confinement. If they are lost, where can we find them?"
In fact, even if there is no inspection, no thief would steal such a large living thing, right?
Lin Qiao found it a little funny. However, because of what happened just now, the aunt had a better impression of this little girl who didn't quite meet the beauty standards of her elders. She also talked more. "I saw you were taking a car alone. Are you coming to Yandu to go to school?"
Since the college entrance examination was resumed in 1977, more and more people from other places have come to Yandu to study, and everyone has become accustomed to it.
Moreover, since the reform and opening up had just begun, you still needed a letter of introduction to go out. At Lin Qiao's age, it was more like going to school than going on a business trip.
Lin Qiao did not deny it, but in fact, she came to find the child marriage partner of this body and asked the other party to fulfill the marriage contract.
Three days ago, she accidentally fell down the stairs because she stayed up late to revise her thesis. The next time she opened her eyes, she was in this strange world. She was not wearing the 1980s in history, but a book about the period that her friend had told her about.
In the book, she is a cannon fodder female supporting role who comes from a humble background but dreams of marrying up to a rich man, and the male protagonist's ex-wife who is destined to be eliminated by fate.
The reason why she married the male protagonist was also very old-fashioned, that is, her family saved the male protagonist's family. In order to repay the favor, the male protagonist's family arranged a marriage between her and the male protagonist, promising to take care of her for the rest of her life and ensure that she would have no worries in the second half of her life.
This was the 1980s, so of course the male protagonist was unwilling to accept this arranged marriage.
It was just the beginning of the reform and opening up, and he wanted to give up his current job to start a business, but his family did not agree. The two sides clashed many times, and finally each side gave in. The male protagonist agreed to marry her, and his family also agreed not to interfere in the male protagonist's career.
Then the male protagonist was busy with his career and rarely came home; she felt that she was being treated coldly and started to act like a troublemaker.
When the male protagonist was successful in his career and no longer worried about the control of his family, she also lived up to the expectations of the public and successfully made herself disliked by everyone. Not only did she drug the male protagonist, she also went to the male protagonist's company every few days to make trouble, saying that there was a vixen in the male protagonist's company.
The ending is that the male protagonist can no longer tolerate it, and he signs a divorce agreement and marries the female protagonist who has a better family background and is gentler and kinder than her. The two of them live happily together for the rest of their lives and become a famous model couple in the circle. As for her...
Lin Qiao hadn't read the original book, so he wasn't very clear about it.
She only knew that the only solution to her current situation was to marry the hero.
She wants personal freedom, the man wants career freedom, they each get what they need, they can definitely cooperate and win together, and be a fake couple for a while. The original owner of the book did that, but the man still gave a large sum of money for maintenance, and he didn't seem like a unreasonable person.
As I was thinking about it, the car had already slowly moved into the city.
Through the dusty car window, Lin Qiao saw the rows of bungalows and courtyards, which was very different from the Yandu with tall buildings in her memory. It was not until the car stopped near the South Building that she found some familiar shadows in the green brick and green tile courtyards.
There are many things that her friends didn't tell her in detail, but the original body still has some memories.
The Lin family and the male protagonist's elders have a long history of friendship. They are not only comrades-in-arms, but also fellow villagers. However, one of them is honest and dull, illiterate, and went back to his hometown to farm after liberation, while the other has always held a high position.
There is no way that two families with such a huge disparity in status would have been able to get married if it weren't for that life-saving grace.
Maybe the Lin family also knew this, but they never mentioned it.
This matter. It was not until the original owner's grandmother became seriously ill and the original owner had no one to protect her in this world that the old lady took out a few letters before her death and told her to come to Yandu to find the Ji family if she had any difficulties.
Lin Qiao went there according to the address and found that the door lintel of the Ji family was unusually high.
The courtyard house with two entrances and two backs in the center of the inner city is well-preserved. This appearance alone can scare away many people, especially rural people like the Lin family. No wonder the two families have never had any substantial exchanges even though they are not far away.
Lin Qiao did not rush forward, but first took out a photo from his yellow canvas military backpack.
This is a photo of the hero of the original book that the Ji family sent with the letter after the two families got engaged. The young boy in the photo is only about seven or eight years old, wearing a shirt and vest, with a bow tie around his neck, but he doesn't look very happy, with his brows tightly wrinkled.
Of course this is not the point; the point is the background behind the boy.
This photo was taken at the door of Ji's house. Lin Qiao compared the details repeatedly to make sure that he had found the right one before going forward and knocking on the door.
The person who came out to open the door was a middle-aged woman, with her sleeves rolled up high and water stains on her hand wrapped in a thin band. She must be a nanny or something like that.
When he heard that she was going to visit Master Ji, he looked at her cautiously and said nothing.
Lin Qiao was not surprised. First, she was too young and a novice. Second, she was not dressed well. Her clothes and pants were all old styles. The only thing that was not patched was her shoes, and they were Liberation shoes that only boys wore. She didn't look like someone who would have any connection with the Ji family.
The other party was polite by not chasing her away.
Lin Qiao took out a letter from her bag and said, "Please go in and ask the comrades. Just say that I am the granddaughter of Mr. Ji Chunming's comrade-in-arms Lin Chang. If you don't believe me, you can read this."
The middle-aged nanny was skeptical, but she still wiped her hands and took it. She asked her to wait outside the door and went in with the letter.
After a while, the other party came back and returned the letter to her, but his attitude suddenly became a little stiff, "Comrade, you have found the wrong place."
"Did you find the wrong address?" Lin Qiao was stunned holding the letter.
The other party didn't seem willing to talk to her more. He nodded hurriedly and was about to close the door and go into the yard.
Lin Qiao looked at him and squinted his eyes. "Is it because I came to the wrong place? Someone doesn't want to see me, right?"
Although the address was written on the letter and the style of the gate matched the photo, the two families did not have much contact and the last letter was more than ten years ago. If the Ji family moved away during this period, it is possible that she found the wrong place.
But if she really went to the wrong place, the other party would just say it directly, so why bother going in with the letter?
And if this only address is wrong, how did the original owner in the book marry the male protagonist?
Sure enough, when the other party heard this, his eyes flashed with guilt.
Someone really made her say that on purpose...
Lin Qiao felt that this was expected, yet he was a little confused.
Since the male protagonist in the book can marry the original owner, and is forced to marry her under pressure, the Ji family must be in favor of fulfilling the marriage contract, at least the head of the Ji family agrees. Logically speaking, since she has taken out the letter, the other party should not deny it.
"Did Mr. Ji Chunming ask you to say that, or..."
Lin Qiao wanted to test the waters a little more when the door that had just been closed suddenly opened, revealing a face that, though showing signs of aging, was still fair and beautiful.
The woman had a slender figure, and her delicate watch was half exposed at the cuffs of her satin shirt. She stopped at the threshold with a proper posture. "Didn't I tell you that you found the wrong item? Why are you still yelling at the door? If this happens again in the future, just send her away."
His voice was pleasant, even gentle, but his demeanor and tone were full of arrogance.
She even specifically told the nanny, "Don't make it hard for her. I guess she's just trying to get close to me because her family can't make ends meet."
Compared to direct contempt, this seemingly gentle charity is more hurtful. If it were an ordinary girl, she would either be embarrassed by the comparison and unable to say a word, or she would be angry and turn around and leave.
Lin Qiao just smiled and said, "Since you're talking about connections, it seems I've found the right place."
The woman didn't expect her to react like this, and she choked. Then she didn't even want to say anything, and turned to the nanny and said, "Hurry up, you know who lives around here, don't keep talking and disturb others."
As the man was about to close the door, the nanny looked at Lin Qiao in embarrassment, "Comrade, look..."
They were all working part-time, so Lin Qiao didn't want to embarrass him, so he smiled and said, "It's okay, I won't bother you anymore."
The woman before was obviously a member of the Ji family. With her blocking the way, it would not be easy for Lin Qiao to meet Master Ji.
Lin Qiao even suspected that Master Ji might not be at home, otherwise why was she the only one who came out after they had been talking outside for so long?
Instead of getting entangled with the other party and letting him arrest you for some foul play, it is better to think of another way, such as squatting at the entrance of the alley.
After all, no matter whether Mr. Ji is at home or not, he will always pass by there when he goes out.
I just don’t know how long I have to wait. If it takes too long, I’m afraid she’ll starve to death before she even sees anyone…
Lin Qiao had used almost all of the money he had on the bus ticket, so there wasn't much left. Just as he was thinking about withdrawing and figuring out what to do next, a jeep with a special license plate drove up from the alley and slowly stopped at the door of Ji's house.