Youth League

Song Shixia used his connections to get a phonograph, and Ji Yanran was very curious.

"Why did you buy a phonograph when you already have a radio at home?"

Song Shixia fiddled with the phonograph and thought it would be a good idea to put it on the corner of the sofa.

"This is convenient. When I get tired of studying, I can listen to music to relax and cultivate my sentiments, so I don't have to be tense all day long."

Ji Yanran has improved a lot compared to before. As the second mock exam is approaching, it is easy for her to become anxious and make mistakes due to long-term stress.

Ji Yanran seemed to understand, but she was not quite sure. She organized her words in her mind.

"Sister-in-law, I want to go home to get some clothes and homework books."

Song Shixia agreed without hesitation.

"Okay, I'll give you a day off today. You don't have to rush back. You can rest at home for one more day."

Ji Yanran brought back lots of things, all of which were vegetables and bacon that her sister-in-law asked her to bring back.

As soon as she arrived at the door of her house, she met Yu Fang and an uncle standing in the yard talking.

She greeted him subconsciously, then regretted her hasty words.

Yu Fang's tone was gentle.

"Yanran is back. Isn't today Wednesday? Why are you on vacation?"

Ji Yanran laughed.

"I'm going home to get some clothes."

Yu Fang said to the man beside her,

"This is my neighbor's sister. We are very close."

The man was not tall, had a shaved head, was a little fat, had an ordinary square face, and looked like a small leader.

"Hello, little classmate."

Ji Yanran greeted him awkwardly.

"Hello."

Yu Fang didn't seem to want to continue chatting with the other party, and kept pulling Ji Yanran to ask about her well-being.

"You will be taking the college entrance examination next month. Do you have confidence?"

Thinking of the weak points her sister-in-law had helped her with during this period, she nodded heavily.

"It's not a big problem, I can get into university." She was not bragging, if her sister-in-law said she could do it, then she would definitely be able to do it.

The man is very interested in Yu Fang, and is also particularly interested in Yu Fang's friend Ji Yanran.

"Studying for college? That's amazing! You are such a hidden talent."

Yu Fang smiled and said, "Her sister-in-law is even more amazing. I heard that she ranked first in several joint mock exams of several schools. She might even be the top female student this year."

Unexpectedly, the man did not follow Yu Fang's question, but showed interest.

"First in the joint entrance exam? Is it the female classmate named Song Shixia?"

Ji Yanran originally wanted to slip away, but when she heard that her sister-in-law was so famous, she didn't want to leave anymore.

"Uncle, do you know my sister-in-law?"

Yu Fang's face twisted for a moment. Ji Yanran called her sister, but called her blind date uncle. Does he look that old?

The man didn't care about the name, but was happy.

"We've all heard of Song Shixia's name. She's the dark horse in this year's college entrance exam. I didn't expect it to be such a coincidence. Does she live here?"

Ji Yanran held her head high and said, "My sister-in-law lives in the family quarters of Yenching University."

The man nodded, and Yu Fang talked to him about Song Shixia. If Yu Fang hadn't known that he had never met Song Shixia and was wary of his position as director, she would have started a fight with him.

When Ji Yanran returned home, her mother was weeding in the backyard.

"Mom, who is Yu Fang and who is at the door?"

Han Rong didn't look up. "How was the conversation between Yu Fang's blind date?"

Ji Yanran stuck out her tongue.

"How can I understand such a thing when you ask me, a little kid?"

Han Rong didn't even raise her head. "You're poor, tell me now."

Ji Yanran confessed truthfully.

"When I left, that uncle was still praising my sister-in-law."

Han Rong smiled and said,

"I don't know who you inherited this personality from. If you say you are stupid, you are smart. If you say you are not stupid, you are stabbing Yu Fang in the wound."

Ji Yanran shuddered and quickly clarified,

"I didn't stab anyone!"

Han Rong shook her head helplessly, "You call Yu Fang sister and call the blind date uncle. Do you think Yu Fang would feel uncomfortable?"

Ji Yanran lowered her voice and said guiltily,

"Isn't that my uncle? I can't call him brother. My brother is so young that I should call him brother."

Han Rong was both amused and confused.

"Forget it, at least you said hello to them. Let Yu Fang feel bad, she will feel bad again in the future."

Ji Yanran squatted down to help pull out the weeds. "Why?"

"She has a sensitive personality and likes to compare herself with others. How can she not feel bad if she marries someone casually? The gay man she is dating has a child in junior high school. It is said that he has to support his ex-wife's family. Although the position sounds decent, the salary is not enough to support three families."

Ji Yanran was still worried, "The adult world is so troublesome. They can easily handle marriage issues."

"Don't learn from her. We women should respect ourselves and be good to ourselves before making any decision. Don't just settle for something casually. Our family can support you."

Ji Yanran nodded randomly. It was still too early for her to have a big event in life. She couldn't keep a secret in her heart. After helping to pull the weeds, she wanted to call her sister-in-law to share gossip.

Han Rong found it funny.

"You missed your sister-in-law just two years after leaving her?"

Ji Yanran chuckled twice.

"My sister-in-law is the best. She cooks delicious food and is gentle. Fortunately, she is my sister-in-law."

She wanted to slap herself to death for being fooled by Yu Fang and foolishly questioning her brother why he didn't marry Yu Fang.

If Yu Fang became her sister-in-law, she was petty and sensitive...she couldn't help but feel scared.

Han Rong patted the mud off her hands.

"Okay, I'll go cook for you."

Ji Yanran made a phone call and organized her words in her mind. If her sister-in-law knew that Yu Fang had given up her brother, she would definitely be very happy.

However, the operator answered that the line was busy. Ji Yanran's energy instantly collapsed. It was so boring without her sister-in-law to share gossip.

Song Shixia was making green rice dumplings at home, chatting with a phone on her ear.

Qingming Festival was coming, and she had the opportunity to make some Qingtuan. She made Qingtuan in advance not only to satisfy her and her children's cravings, but also to send some to Aunt Feng, Principal Hu's family next door, her mother-in-law and eldest sister's family, and the old professors who had taught her.

The amount of cakes made by hand is quite a lot. The cakes made by hand are suitable for professors who are engaged in academic research, and are more suitable than the cigarettes and alcohol bought from the supply and marketing cooperative. It is said that many of them were Ji Weiqing's former teachers, and the relationship between teachers and students should show the thoughtfulness of the gift.

Yao Xue on the other end of the phone was as generous as ever. She heard Yao Xue tell people that she had plenty of money and it was okay to make a call of a dozen dollars, and that the phone was just for chatting. She presumably was chatting with the owner of the convenience store.

She specifically asked, "Brother, who is my sister-in-law talking to?"

Song Qiusheng said with a sly smile,

"The shop owner was worried that our call would time out, so Yao Xue gave her two big reunion tickets."

It turned out to be just as I guessed.

"Now that the fruit trees have been planted, I think it's time for our brigade to plan an orchard. I think it will take about half a year for the trees to take root. After just a few days of watering, they seem to have grown in the yard since childhood and can survive without careful care."

Song Shixia was not so anxious.

"Brother, have the vegetables in the village been sold yet? Everyone needs to have money in hand."

"It's been a few days since we sold them out. We took them to the provincial capital and sold them all out."

"You should first count the people in our team who are willing to join. If you are not sure at all, don't agree to the partnership, so as to avoid regrets in the end."

Song Qiu Sheng took this matter to heart.

"Okay, I'll do whatever you say."

Song Shixia thought of another thing.

"By the way, has the man you were talking about been caught?"

She received a call two days ago saying that her house was thieved and two chickens were stolen. Her brother caught her red-handed when she tried the third time.

Song Qiusheng felt depressed when he mentioned this.

"He was arrested. His mother came to our door every day and sat there crying and complaining about her poverty. Our chickens are sold at 1.5 yuan per pound. Two chickens weighed 6 pounds, which is equivalent to stealing 10 yuan. He deserves to be jailed."

Ever since Song Qiu Sheng saw Huang Laizi in the village, he suspected that he was related to his lost chicken. Sure enough, he stayed up all night and finally caught him in the act.

Huang Laizi could run away, but he could not escape the temple. The police found chicken bones behind his wall. Huang Laizi's family did not raise chickens, and no one in the village had ever seen his family buy meat and bring it home.

Moreover, it was said that a theft had occurred in the county town before, and Huang Laizi was responsible. He must have stolen at least thirty yuan in property.

Song Shixia was extremely relieved, "Fortunately you and your sister-in-law went home. If my parents met such a person, they would not be able to deal with it."

Both of his parents are honest farmers. Huang Laizi's nickname is well-known. If his parents were to handle the matter, he would only suffer a loss.

This was the first time that Song Shixia clearly expressed her dislike for someone. "Mrs. Huang should go to jail with her son. There must be something hateful about pitiful people."

Song Qiusheng had not originally disclosed the details of what Huang Laizi had done. Everyone thought that they were on different paths and Huang Laizi had found a better tree to take shelter under. This matter cannot be judged as right or wrong. After all, people always strive for higher goals. If I had the opportunity, I might have made the same choice as Huang Laizi.

But when Huang Laizi went to scout the site that day, he saw Yao Xue. After meeting Yao Xue, he was convinced that everything Song Qiu Sheng had now was thanks to Yao Xue.

Huang Laizi deliberately spread rumors in the village that Song Qiu Sheng was a gigolo and Yao Xue was the child of a black-hearted capitalist... The villagers didn't believe it at first, until they found that Yao Xue wore different clothes every day, and then most of them believed it.

In the middle of the night, Huang Laizi went to steal chickens and was beaten by Song Qiu Sheng with a sack on his head. The reason he was able to escape was that he lay on the ground pretending to be dead and ran away when Song Qiu Sheng was not paying attention.

The grudge between Song Qiusheng and Huang Laizi cannot be explained in a few words, mainly because there is no evidence to prove that Huang Laizi has done anything evil. Huang Laizi also deliberately said that Song Qiusheng's business failure was all because of Yao Xue, in order to disintegrate the Youth League of the Song Family Brigade from within.

Yao Xue was not affected at all. Ever since the rumor in the village spread that she was a capitalist, she simply stopped wearing plain clothes and started to dress up brightly. Since everyone knew her identity, she stopped pretending.

Including when she made a phone call today, the boss lady was hesitant at first because she was afraid that she would damage the phone, so she slapped two big balls on the counter, and the boss lady's expression immediately changed.

Song Qiu Sheng couldn't say these words on the phone, but Song Shixia could imagine how nice it would be to be slapped in the face just by listening to his sister-in-law's voice.

"How's your family doing? Is business going well?"

"Don't worry about home. The most urgent thing is to study. My brother-in-law has quit his job and set up a stall with me. He won the lawsuit. Don't worry."

Song Shixia asked for more details before hanging up the phone. Everything at home was now moving in a positive direction.

She moved two orange trees out of the space and prepared to plant them at the door. After considering for a long time, she decided to plant them in the yard. If she planted them outside, she was afraid that she would not be able to eat any of the oranges.

After planting the orange trees, the other side of the yard was left bare. She planned out a space in the yard for planting fruit trees. She couldn't hold the trees, so she could only wait for the laborers to come home.

She fished out a few loquat cores and threw them into the small flower bed outside the door, then poured some spiritual spring water on them. It depended on luck as to when they would grow back.

The small vegetable garden was full of greenery, and every day we had to pick a batch of uneaten old green vegetables to feed the chickens and ducks. The tomatoes were still green, and they should actually be called cherry tomatoes, but Aunt Feng thought they were tomatoes, so she followed suit and called them tomatoes.

The steaming green rice dumplings came out of the pot. She only made sesame, red bean paste, pork floss and egg yolk fillings.

The kids went home, washed their hands, and saw the cute little pig head on the plate.

Song Shixia patiently explained to them,

"This is a Qingtuan. Each person can only eat one. No more than that." She had nothing to do so she sketched a pattern on the surface of the Qingtuan.

Ji Yuan couldn't bear to eat it, "The pig is so cute."

Song Shixia touched his head and said, "It's okay, pork is delicious too."

Ji Yang finished his qingtuan in a few bites.

“It tastes like red bean paste.”

Ji Yuan's eyes lit up like little light bulbs, and he forgot about the cute pig. It was bean paste!

......

Song's mother knocked on the door cautiously.

"Let's talk for a while."

"Go out and talk, Mom,"

Song Qiu Sheng took his mother to the farm to talk.

"Mom, I know what you're worried about, just don't worry."

Song's mother was filled with sorrow.

"You said Yao Xue is from the city and didn't tell us that her family is so well off. Don't you feel uncomfortable being with her?"

"To be honest, it happened before. Her father also came to me and said some unpleasant things to me, so I came back from outside."

Song Qiu Sheng briefly fell into his memories. He did not tell everyone the content of the conversation, as it was all old and rotten things.

He tried to reassure his mother.

"I'm doing OK now, and her father has become more relaxed."

Song's mother was not optimistic. She knew the importance of marrying someone of the same social status.

"Ah, Mom doesn't want to break you up, but your conditions are so different that sooner or later there will be problems. Take the simplest example, how expensive is a piece of clothing? Do you want her to live a hard life with you?"

Song Qiusheng advised earnestly,

"Mom, I've thought about all these issues. Don't worry about them. Yao Xue is not stupid. If she thought it would be hard to be with me, she would have broken up with me a long time ago. I won't harm her."

Song's mother had to change the subject, "Does your sister know about Yao Xue's family conditions?"

"She knows everything. My sister supports my business and she has a good impression of Yao Xue. You have been in contact with Yao Xue for so many days, don't you like her?"

Yao Xue, who was holding the snack, paused and took a few steps back.

"It's because I like her that I think you two are not suitable. You've heard of the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl, right? The Weaver Girl was a fairy from heaven. She married the cowherd and had to serve him, farm and have children. What do you think she wanted?"

Song Qiusheng didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

"You are really my biological mother. I thought you were afraid that I would become a live-in son-in-law, but I didn't expect that you thought I was incompetent and unworthy of him."

Mother Song sighed.

"I'm afraid. To be honest, Yao Xue is a good girl, and you're a good kid too. Since your sister knows, I won't say much, lest you think we're too controlling. You have to make progress. It doesn't matter what others say about you. The more they think about you, the harder you have to work. Not for the sake of your father and me, but for your own reputation."

When Huang Laizi was taken away, he shouted loudly to let the whole village know that Song Qiu Sheng had found a wealthy daughter of a capitalist.

Yao Xue's family background is not that of a capitalist, but of a patriotic entrepreneur. However, the villagers don't care about this, as long as the family is extremely rich, they are capitalists.

Yao Xue did not explain, and Song Qiu Sheng was too lazy to clarify. The whole village knew that Song Qiu Sheng was a gigolo.

Song Qiusheng held his mother's shoulders.

"As long as you believe in me, I will prove it with my actions. I have also signed a guarantee with Yao Xue's father. Don't worry, I will leave her a way out no matter what."

Song's mother turned her head to the side, her voice was unnatural.

"Well, I'll take a look around the factory. You can go back first."

As soon as Song Qiusheng came out, he saw Yao Xue squatting on the ground counting ants. He smiled and said,

"How long have you been eavesdropping here?"

Yao Xue lowered her head and said, "I didn't hear anything."