Feeling increasingly agitated, Qin Xiaoxiao decided she didn't want to stay any longer. She told Grandma Qin that she was going home to make mung bean soup.
Qin Wei stayed at home for three days, just as the wheat harvest was finished. After conspiring with Qin Aiguo and Qin Feng for more than an hour, he took Yang Tianzhen back to the city.
Qin Sheng and Xu Zhi also left, but they went to the county town to visit Qin Hai and Sun Zhirou. They also took Qin Yue with them, saying they would return her before he left.
Without the little tail behind her, Qin Xiaoxiao felt the whole sky was bluer and the air was much fresher than usual.
Su Lu took the goods that Qin Xiaoxiao had packed to the provincial capital. After returning, he gave Qin Xiaoxiao a large sum of money. The couple stayed up all night, sitting on the kang (a heated brick bed) counting the money.
Time flies, and a month has passed in the blink of an eye. Qin Sheng took Xu Zhi back to the army. Qin Yue came to Qinjiagou again, causing Qin's grandmother a lot of headaches. Finally, she couldn't stand it anymore and called Qin Hai to pick her up and send her to her maternal grandparents' house for a while, so that Grandma Sun could also experience her hard life.
That day, Qin Xiaoxiao was sitting under a big tree with Aunt Liu and Aunt Song enjoying the cool shade when she saw a familiar figure walking towards them from a distance.
The figure walked cautiously, looking left and right, turning back and forth, and holding her stomach with one hand and her lower back with the other, looking like a pregnant woman.
Qin Xiaoxiao blinked. "Isn't that Zhou Zhiqing? What's wrong with her? Did she eat too much? She and Huang Zhiqing seem to be doing quite well!"
Aunt Liu and Aunt Song, being experienced women, could tell at a glance that Zhou Ying's appearance didn't seem like she had eaten too much, but rather like she was pregnant.
The two exchanged a glance and frowned slightly.
Soon Zhou Ying walked up to Qin Xiaoxiao and the other two.
Zhou Ying first glanced at Aunt Liu and Aunt Song, then greeted them with a smile, "Aunties, are you enjoying the cool air?"
Aunt Liu and Aunt Song didn't like her, but since she was talking to them so eagerly, it wouldn't be good to ignore her. So they smiled and nodded, "Ah, take a break, it's too hot."
Zhou Ying didn't care why they were sitting there. She just smiled and then looked at Qin Xiaoxiao.
"Little...Qin, the educated youth."
Qin Xiaoxiao didn't know what Zhou Ying was up to, but it couldn't be anything good, so she narrowed her eyes and said in a cold voice, "You want to see your great-aunt?"
When Zhou Ying saw that Qin Xiaoxiao was still taking advantage of her, her face immediately darkened.
"Qin Zhiqing, I've already told you, my memory has returned. Don't try to lie to me anymore. Why are you still making me call you 'Grandma'?"
Qin Xiaoxiao didn't want to pay attention to her and replied indifferently, "I may not be related to you in terms of seniority, but I can still accept being called 'Grandma' by you. Who told you to do so many things to wrong me? What's wrong with you calling me that?"
Zhou Ying gritted her teeth in anger, but she was in the wrong and could only swallow her anger. However…
She can find it elsewhere.
Zhou Ying gave a stiff smile, touched her stomach, and said softly, "Qin Zhiqing, I came to you today to ask for your help. I was wondering if you have time?"
"No."
Zhou Ying was taken aback, not expecting Qin Xiaoxiao to reject her so readily, without even a second's delay.
"Qin, we're all educated youth, we should help each other, you and I..."
Before Zhou Ying could finish speaking, Qin Xiaoxiao raised her hand to signal her to stop. "Zhou Zhiqing, I have absolutely nothing to do with you. If you have any problems, go find someone else. I can't help you, and I don't have time to listen to you talking about your business here. I don't care."
Zhou Ying frowned. "How come you don't have time? Aren't you resting?"
Qin Xiaoxiao rolled her eyes. "I said I don't have time, and I mean it. If I had time to listen to you, I'd rather close my eyes and take a nap."
Besides, didn't you see Aunt Liu and Aunt Song are here too? Do you think they can't hear you? You're not only disturbing my rest, but also theirs. Have you considered the consequences of disturbing their rest?
If they don't get enough rest, they can't work in peace. It's so hot, and people are naturally sleepy. Working under the sun makes them even more sleepy. If they can't work, who will earn their work points? Without their work points, what will their families eat next year? The whole family depends on these work points to survive. Without them, won't they starve to death?
People are too hungry to work, and if they keep doing this day after day, their family will be left to die next year.
If they die, what good will happen to the village? If we find out they starved to death, won't the brigade be criticized by the higher authorities? Next year's advanced brigade title will be gone.
With the Advanced Brigade gone, the fertilizer that originally belonged to Qinjiagou was also gone.
Without chemical fertilizers, the land will yield little, and the villagers won't have enough to eat the year after next. If they don't have enough to eat, they won't be able to work. How many people will be left in our village the year after that? Won't they all starve to death?
Okay, Zhou Zhiqing, I see. So that's what you were planning. Do you know what you're doing? You're sabotaging production.
Tell me, are you an enemy agent?
Don't deny it. Your behavior is exactly like that of enemy agents. Isn't sabotage a specialty of enemy agents?
Not only was Zhou Ying stunned, but Aunt Liu and Aunt Song were also increasingly confused. It took them more than half a minute after Qin Xiaoxiao finished speaking for them to come to their senses.
When Zhou Ying finally understood what Qin Xiaoxiao had said, her face turned pale, but at the same time she was filled with admiration for Qin Xiaoxiao.
Isn't this just a classic chicken-or-egg problem? Chickens lay eggs, eggs hatch into chickens, chickens lay more eggs, eggs hatch into more chickens, and so on, endlessly.
Qin Xiaoxiao's ability to go from asking her if she had time to fabricating a story about being connected to enemy agents was truly admirable.
Zhou Ying took a deep breath.
No, everything else is negotiable, but we absolutely cannot admit to anything related to enemy agents, otherwise she will truly have no way out.
"Qin Zhiqing, it was my fault for not thinking things through. I apologize to you."
Qin Xiaoxiao narrowed her eyes slightly.
Zhou Ying reacted quickly enough, but you think that's the end of it? Haha, dream on!
It's a fact that we can't get involved with enemy agents, and that would disrupt production, right?
"Apologize to me? No way, I can't accept that. You should explain things properly to the captain."
Qin Xiaoxiao got up to leave, but Zhou Ying quickly stopped her.
"Qin Zhiqing, you've really misunderstood me. I just want to ask you to help me ask for leave."
Qin Xiaoxiao was taken aback. "Ask for leave? You didn't ask! Can't you ask for leave yourself? Don't you know what kind of relationship we have? Do you think I'd ask for leave for you?"
With red eyes, Zhou Ying looked at Qin Xiaoxiao in disbelief. Just as she was about to speak, Qin Xiaoxiao slapped her across the face.
"Damn it! I was just trying to tease you, but you're being rude. What are you trying to do? Who are you trying to impress with those red eyes? There are no men here, and nobody pities you. Are you trying to frame me by putting on this show?"
Aunt Liu and Aunt Song are still here. I didn't bully you. I wouldn't have hit you if you hadn't tried to cry.
Aunt Liu and Aunt Song rolled their eyes. "What are you talking about? We didn't see anything."
A woman who cries at the drop of a hat and always acts like she's been bullied is the most annoying kind of woman.
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