Qin Xiaoxiao obediently followed Aunt Liu and Aunt Song and worked all morning. At noon, she first went back to the Qin family home for lunch, and then ran back to the educated youth settlement to enter the space to cook crayfish.
This time, she made an extra garlic flavor so that Grandma Qin could eat more.
Qin Xiaoxiao doesn't plan to take out these crayfish for now; she intends to wait until Su Lu returns.
After taking a shower and changing her clothes to wash away the smell of garlic crayfish, Qin Xiaoxiao saw that there was still time after leaving the space, so she boiled a pot of mung bean water, added rock sugar, and poured it into a pot before it had completely cooled down.
In the afternoon, Qin Xiaoxiao helped Aunt Liu and Aunt Song weed. During this time, two older women who usually chatted with her came over to gossip. In order to hear new stories, Qin Xiaoxiao took out a handful of melon seeds from her pocket and offered them to them.
The leisurely afternoon passed in a flash. Qin Xiaoxiao carried her little stool and walked back home contentedly. Just as she returned to the yard, she heard a commotion coming from ahead.
Qin Xiaoxiao's gossip instincts kicked in again, and she threw down her stool and rushed to the front yard.
Fortunately, Mu Jin was away at the county hospital for training and had given her the key to the small door in the middle for safekeeping. Otherwise, she would have had to go around to it, and her interest in reading gossip would have been halved.
Qin Xiaoxiao quickly ran to the corner of the front yard wall, where Su Yu was standing against the wall, with Liu Meijuan standing next to her.
Qin Xiaoxiao quickly ran over and stood behind the two of them.
"What's going on? What's all the noise about?"
When Liu Meijuan saw that it was Qin Xiaoxiao, she rolled her eyes and said, "Where did you come from? How did you appear so quietly? You scared me to death."
Su Yu happily hugged Qin Xiaoxiao's arm, "Xiaoxiao, look over there, Zhou Ying and Huang Yuan are back."
Qin Xiaoxiao was startled and looked up. She saw a man and a woman standing in the courtyard. They were so thin that they were skin and bones. They looked unwell. Their clothes were patched and mended, and their hair was yellow and messy. Even from a distance, Qin Xiaoxiao could smell a sour odor.
"What are they doing...?"
Su Yu excitedly tiptoed to look at Huang Yuan and Zhou Ying in the courtyard, "I heard they've had a really tough time these past three months, haven't you seen how thin they've become?"
Qin Xiaoxiao looked at Su Yu in confusion, "Who told you that?"
How did Su Yu know things that she didn't even know? Does she have a stronger network of connections than Su Yu?
When asked this, Su Yu suddenly became shy, blushed, and lowered her head without saying a word.
Qin Xiaoxiao frowned slightly.
Something's up here!
Qin Xiaoxiao suddenly thought of someone, so she looked to the left where the male educated youth were standing. Sure enough, she saw Zou Jing looking at them with deep affection, and his target was Su Yu next to her.
Qin Xiaoxiao rubbed her forehead, "You got someone take you down? Does your sister know?"
Su Yu twisted her body and said shyly in a low voice, "I haven't had a chance to tell my sister yet. He said that when he's less busy in a few days, he'll tell the family and then prepare things to go to the Qin family in person so he can tell my sister in person."
Qin Xiaoxiao felt relieved after hearing this.
It seems that Zou Jing is quite reliable; he even knows to report to Su Yun personally instead of leaving the matter to Su Yu to handle herself.
They're quite responsible!
Qin Xiaoxiao glanced at Zou Jing with admiration, which puzzled him, but it made her feel a little better.
Qin Xiaoxiao turned to look at Liu Meijuan again, "Sister, you look radiant after just a few days. Is there some good news you're keeping from us?"
Liu Meijuan glared at Qin Xiaoxiao without any politeness, rolled her eyes, and turned her head to the side. "Stay put and be honest. I'll tell you first when I can talk."
Qin Xiaoxiao was delighted and leaned closer to Liu Meijuan, whispering, "Okay, sister, don't forget to let me know first when you get to meet your brother-in-law. I'll help you make the selection."
Liu Meijuan turned her head and glared at Qin Xiaoxiao again, then said softly, "You little devil, nothing can be hidden from you. Just wait, it'll be over soon."
Qin Xiaoxiao's eyes lit up, "Is this a deal?"
Liu Meijuan stopped talking, but the corners of her mouth turned up slightly, showing that she was in a good mood.
While the three on this side were happy, Zhou Ying and Huang Yuan in the courtyard were feeling distressed and wanted to cry.
Three months! A full three months! Those three months on the farm felt like an eternity. If it weren't for the fact that it was only three months and there was still some hope, they would have wanted to die.
No, to be precise, I had suicidal thoughts from the very first day.
On their first day at the farm, the two were subjected to inhumane treatment. They lived in a straw hut and ate rice bran. Bathing was out of the question; even washing their faces was a luxury.
Moreover, the farm manager had a covetous eye on Zhou Ying, staring at her behind all day long, which scared Zhou Ying so much that she dared not leave Huang Yuan's side for even a moment, even though she didn't like Huang Yuan either.
Huang Yuan almost died on the farm these past three months. He had to get up before dawn to work every day, without even a midday break, and he would work all day long until it got dark before he was allowed to go back to rest.
Moreover, if the assigned work is not far away, they are not allowed to rest. In addition to doing his own work, he also has to help Zhou Ying. Otherwise, neither he nor Zhou Ying can rest, simply because the two are husband and wife, and they are held jointly liable.
Huang Yuan was so exhausted that even when Zhou Ying slept close to him every night, he didn't react much. He would fall asleep as soon as he lay down on the bed. Sometimes he would even think that he could just not open his eyes the next day, or that it would be better to just die.
This thought only existed for the first three days. But on the fourth day, when he learned that Zhou Ying would not survive if he died, Huang Yuan no longer wanted to die. He wanted to live, he wanted to leave this place alive, and then torture Zhou Ying after returning to the educated youth settlement.
He felt that everything he had suffered today was caused by Zhou Ying. If she hadn't tried to harm Qin Xiaoxiao and Su Yun, he wouldn't be in this situation today.
He and Qin Xiaoxiao had already broken up because of Miao Feifei. Back then, at least he could live a decent life at the educated youth settlement. Although it was tiring, he wasn't constantly contemplating suicide. But now...
Now there's even less chance for him and Qin Xiaoxiao, and Qin Xiaoxiao is even less likely to forgive him. So how can he expect to have a good life in Qinjiagou in the future?
Leaving aside Qin Feng, even the brigade members from Qinjiagou wouldn't let him off easily.
Therefore, he had to drag someone down with him, and who else but Zhou Ying could be that person?
Huang Yuan hated Zhou Ying intensely. Of course, he hated Miao Feifei the most, but now that she was dead, he couldn't take revenge. He could only torment her as the second person to suffer.
As for Zhou Ying, after three months of living in constant fear, she finally returned to Qinjiagou. When she saw the educated youth at the settlement, she almost burst into tears.
Just as she was about to express her feelings and shed a couple of tears to gain some sympathy, the way these educated youths looked at them frightened her so much that she dared not utter a sound.
The educated youth looked at them as if they were dead, their eyes calm and devoid of any emotion. They didn't express any opinion on their suggestion to clear out a room for the two of them; in other words, not one of them uttered a word of approval or disapproval.
Zhou Ying knew that she and Huang Yuan were being ostracized by these educated youth. (End of Chapter)
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