Bai Na glanced at Lu Yi from afar and saw him staring straight at her, her heart skipped a beat. This man's reputation had already been ruined by that woman, and now she was just walking into the line of fire, purely trying to annoy him.
She pondered for a moment, and seeing that everyone in the village was listening intently, she cursed inwardly:
'No wonder he's lived his whole life in the countryside, always gossiping; he has no future.'
On a sudden inspiration, he pointed at Zhang Xinhua and said:
"What man? You...you must have misheard me."
Seeing that she was pointing a sword at her, Zhang Xinhua felt a little strange. They were clearly in the same boat, so why was she turning her back on her? Nowadays, the educated youth, apart from those with a bit of education, were good for nothing.
Jiang Yu watched the two of them with amusement, remaining silent. Others might not understand the intricacies of the situation, but she certainly did. She might be fine with it, but if Bai Na were to bring that pretty boy Lu Yi along, she'd be the first to object.
"Everyone, please be quiet. We'll go home after we collect our things. It's almost Chinese New Year, and we'll probably be throwing away lots of New Year's goods, right?"
Shen He'an carried boxes of goods to the door and kept order. He called over several strong men to help, and in no time, half of the goods had been distributed.
When it was Jiang Yu's turn, the calendar was out of stock. Shen He'an went back to the house to get it, thinking of a letter that had been sent from the city, which he assumed was from Shen Ying, and gave it to her as well.
The freebies included a calendar, a towel, and a cup. Jiang Yu held the envelope in her hand, examining it curiously. The sender's name was Li Xue, and she had a feeling that the deal with the clothing store in the city was probably done.
On her way home, there weren't many people around. Jiang Yu strolled leisurely and bumped into Bai Na when she looked up.
She stared at her with a murderous look, her expression terrifying. Jiang Yu racked her brains but couldn't recall any conflict between the original owner and her, so she simply asked:
"Comrade educated youth, is there something you want to do by stopping me?"
Seeing her innocent look, Bai Na felt a surge of anger. What was she pretending to be, acting like a little white rabbit? She wasn't like this when she was clinging to Lu Yi. Her shamelessness was so extreme, it would confuse anyone. But letting her go like this felt like giving her a free ride.
"Stop trying to mess with Lu Yi in the future. You're a mother of two now, don't you know how to be careful? Yesterday you were carrying two pounds of pork and you didn't even glance at us when you passed by the compound. Why did you suddenly become so restless at night? If we didn't know you were carrying five pounds of pork to find him, people who didn't know the truth would really think you had given up."
Bai Na spoke with absolute certainty, not at all like she was lying, catching her completely off guard. What? Carrying five pounds of pork to find Lu Yi? Was she crazy or what? On second thought, she figured that Lu Yi, that pretty boy, probably lost face last night and ran into someone on his way home, so he was making up an excuse to build up his image here.
Jiang Yu thought this reason was perfectly plausible. She looked up and thought that Bai Na was completely fooled by Lu Yi, but she didn't deserve any sympathy.
"First of all, I don't need you to remind me that I'm a mother of two, but you should also know that I have another identity: a military wife. As a former educated youth, you know what the consequences are for picking a fight with a military wife. If you don't want to be a good educated youth and do your job properly, we can go and have a talk with the leaders. And the leaders I'm talking about aren't your uncle, Cui Jin."
Jiang Yu didn't seem to be joking, which startled Bai Na, leaving her unsure how to react. Compared to Lu Yi, she had more experience growing up. Moreover, she had family members in the military, so she naturally knew how serious the consequences could be.
Bai Na stared at her, tears welling in her eyes. She simply liked Lu Yi; what was wrong with that?
"To clarify, I didn't bring him any pork last night. You can try asking him if you don't believe me."
Seeing the woman on the verge of tears, Jiang Yu worried that if someone with ulterior motives saw this, they would spread the word and accuse her of bullying educated youth.
Bai Na bit her lip, a stubborn streak that left her feeling somewhat helpless. It was ultimately that scoundrel's fault, and now it had come back to haunt her; she was even more wronged than Dou E.
During the standoff between the two, a figure crossed the courtyard of the educated youth and looked somewhat familiar.
Bai Na seemed to have thought of something. Forgetting about Jiang Yu's question, she made a few subtle threats, hoping that Jiang Yu would keep her word or write to the army to complain about her.
Jiang Yu smiled, noticing that it wasn't too late yet, and decided to go see a good show.
Youth Quarter:
Jiang Meier slipped in through the back door. Hearing that the educated youth wouldn't be going home for the New Year this year, she happily stole a fish from her father, intending to use the pretext of paying a New Year's visit to hear Lu Yi recite a few sentimental lines of poetry.
She looked around but didn't see the man, so she waited outside for a long time. No one noticed her as they passed by, and Jiang Meier didn't dare ask any questions.
Even before she met Lu Yi, he had said that because of her sister's harassment, the other educated youth always thought he was a playboy. So, for the sake of a man's dignity, she humbled herself and went underground.
Besides, compared to Jiang Yu, she was very confident. If it weren't for wanting to squeeze something out of her so-called older sister, she would have been Lu Zhiqing's boyfriend long ago.
Moreover, Lu Yi's brother had promised her that once she returned to the city and her job was stable, he would bring her along so she could also become a city dweller and see who would look down on her then.
After standing outside in the cold wind for nearly half an hour, holding onto the promise the man had made, Jiang Meier's hands turned red from the cold, and she couldn't help but sneeze.
Lu Yi had just returned from outside, holding an envelope in his hand. It stated that his elderly mother was ill and urgently needed money to be wired to her. He didn't have much money left, so he had to make other plans.
After considering various options, he ultimately decided to focus on Jiang Yu. He had no choice; among all the women, she was his first choice.
It was a certainty that Jiang Meier was poor, and her father wasn't someone to be trifled with; Lu Yi didn't want to cause that trouble. Although Bai Na came from a wealthy family, the image he cultivated in front of her was roughly the same. If his true colors were exposed, his dream of marrying a rich man and becoming a "phoenix man" would be shattered.
After what happened last night, I was still hesitating about how to approach Jiang Yu, but unexpectedly, the opportunity came my way.
Lu Yi looked at Jiang Meier not far away, hurriedly walked over, first asked her about her well-being, his words full of heartache.
"Mei'er, why did you come in this freezing weather? Are you cold?"
Hearing the familiar voice, Jiang Meier looked at the man before her with deep affection and shook her head. As long as he was happy, anything was worthwhile.
“Brother Lu Yi, I heard you’re not coming home this year, so I brought you a fish.”
She was worried the man would be homesick, so she came to keep him company. He should be touched, right? Unlike that heartless sister, who was so indifferent to her savior. She was truly ruthless.
As soon as Jiang Yu arrived, she saw Lu Yi holding Jiang Meier's hand in an ambiguous manner.
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