"So, that Gu Zhiqing, is she just going to live with us forever?" 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

Gao Cuiyun shook her head. "I don’t know. The educated youth dormitory collapsed under the snow and hasn’t been rebuilt yet, so all the youths were assigned to live with villagers. They pay two yuan a month for lodging. But this Gu Zhiqing is rich. I heard her say her family is from Beijing City, and she has a brother in the army. You have no idea—she gets packages mailed to her every month. Tsk, tsk, so wealthy. And they’re always full of good stuff."

What Gao Cuiyun didn’t mention was that she’d gotten quite a few freebies from her. Why else? ’If it weren’t for all that stuff, who would want to suck up to some educated youth who just showed up here?’

He Ze frowned, lost in thought. He didn’t even notice that Gao Cuiyun had already rummaged through the bag he brought back, emptying it out completely.

With He Ze’s return, Gao Cuiyun took the rare step of cutting off a piece of the pork they’d received from the pig butchering to make dumplings.

That night, after the rare occasion of seeing their child asleep, they embraced and fell asleep, sharing a moment of intimacy.

The next morning, before Xue Yue had even gotten up, she heard the village broadcast announcing for everyone to gather at the brigade headquarters.

Xue Yue had stayed up late reading the previous night. If He Lang hadn’t threatened to never bring her another book if she kept staying up so late, she wouldn’t have been able to put it down.

She’d been reading about Yang Zirong infiltrating Weihu Mountain alone, right in the middle of a battle of wits with Zuoshan Diao, when He Lang interrupted her. Xue Yue was so on edge, she even dreamed about it that night, which was why she overslept.

Xue Yue finally opened her eyes when she heard the broadcast and saw He Lang cooking at the stove.

"What’s the broadcast saying?" Xue Yue’s eyes were heavy with sleep, and her voice was a little hoarse.

He Lang turned to look at her and chuckled. "Get up. The food’s ready. It’s an announcement for everyone to go to the brigade headquarters in a bit."

Xue Yue stretched, sat up, and got dressed.

After eating, the two of them left the house and ran right into Mr. and Mrs. He, as well as Gu Yuwei. A few seconds later, the family from the second branch came out too.

"Second Son, Third Son, have you eaten yet?" Mrs. He asked.

"We have, Mother."

"We’ve eaten."

Gu Yuwei glanced at He Lang several times. Seeing his expression remain unchanged upon seeing her, a flicker of something passed through her eyes, and she looked a little aggrieved.

The group arrived at the brigade headquarters, where many villagers had already gathered.

Gu Yuwei went over to where the other educated youths were standing.

Mrs. He went to stand and talk with He Lang’s paternal aunt.

Xue Yue glanced around the brigade headquarters. It was similar to the one in her own village, but Da Liushu Village had more people, so its headquarters was larger. The courtyard was big enough to hold the entire village.

He Lang took Xue Yue by the wrist and led her over to Shitou and an old woman in her sixties.

Xue Yue looked at the kind-faced old woman and guessed this must be Shitou’s mother.

"Third Brother, Third Sister-in-law, you’re here too?"

"Mhm. I brought my wife over to meet Auntie."

Xue Yue gently called out, "Auntie."

Shitou’s mother sized Xue Yue up, nodding and smiling as she responded.

She took Xue Yue’s hand and patted it. "Good child, you’re so pretty."

Xue Yue blushed, and when she glanced at He Lang, her eyes met his teasing gaze.

Xue Yue shot him a glare. He Lang chuckled and said to Shitou’s mother, "Auntie, you’ve made my wife shy."

Shitou and his mother glanced at Xue Yue’s slightly flushed face and laughed as well.

"Silly girl, there’s nothing to be shy about. I’m just telling the truth. I ate the candies you had Third Boy bring me. They were so sweet! This old lady can tell that you and Third Boy are both good people. Live a good life together from now on. And when you have time, come out for a walk. Come visit this old lady for a chat."

Xue Yue nodded and smilingly agreed.

It wasn’t that Xue Yue disliked going out; it was that she had nowhere to go. In an unfamiliar place where she didn’t know anyone, she could only stay at home.

Just then, the village chief walked in through the gate, leading three people.

The three people all had their heads bowed, their faces obscured. One could vaguely make out an old couple and a middle-aged man.

The village chief stood on the platform and motioned for everyone to be quiet before explaining why he had gathered them all here today.

The gist of it was that these three people would be living in the village from now on and would work like everyone else. Since there was nowhere for them to stay, they could only be settled in the cowshed.

Although the village chief spoke euphemistically, everyone knew exactly what this situation meant.

After all, other villages had seen similar situations, but this was a first for Da Liushu Village.

After he finished speaking, the village chief arranged for someone to take the three people to the cowshed.

The villagers began to murmur among themselves. Xue Yue chatted with Shitou’s mother for a little while longer before heading home with He Lang.

She was in such a hurry to get home and back to her book that He Lang didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

Many people dispersed.

The educated youths stood together, in no hurry to leave, all discussing their situations in the village.

"Yuwei, how are things for you at the He family’s place?"

"The accountant’s family is one of the better-off ones in the village. The food must be pretty good since you’re eating with them, right?"

"It’s alright, I guess," Gu Yuwei replied.

"Sigh, I’m so jealous of you. You guys have no idea. The family I’m staying with—I have to share a kang bed with their three kids. They’re always rummaging through my things. My vanishing cream, the one I could barely bring myself to use, disappeared at some point. When I asked, they all said they hadn’t seen it, and I have no proof. It’s making me so mad."

"Me too. The family I’m with is even worse. The woman of the house keeps asking if I have a boyfriend because she wants to introduce her son to me. Her son is this big, burly oaf. It scares me so much I can’t even sleep at night."

Li Jie felt like she was going to lose her mind. This was worse than living at the dormitory. At least the dormitory was safe. She looked across at Gu Yuwei, her heart filling with even more resentment.

Listening to their chattering discussion, Gu Yuwei grew annoyed. While she didn’t have these particular problems at the He Family’s house, she had now offended He Lang and Xue Yue. Mrs. He hadn’t been giving her any pleasant looks these past few days either, so she probably wouldn’t be able to stay there for long.

’My whole reason for moving into the He Family’s house was He Lang, but now he can’t stand the sight of me. Besides,’ Gu Yuwei was frightened by He Lang’s behavior that day. ’If I ended up with a country bumpkin who curses all the time, doesn’t respect women, and would even hit a woman... even if he is handsome, could I really put up with that?’

Gu Yuwei felt lost. ’It’s true what they say: absence makes the heart grow fonder.’

"Gu Zhiqing, you should have gotten your wish by now. After all, you’ve already moved into the He Family’s house. Becoming part of the He family shouldn’t take much more effort."

"..."

The others were confused.

"Li Jie, what nonsense are you spouting? What do you mean, I’ve gotten my wish?" Gu Yuwei looked at Li Jie in a panic.

Li Jie sneered. "What nonsense? Don’t you have a crush on the He Family’s Third Son? Now you’ve conveniently moved into their house. The pavilion closest to the water gets the moonlight first. I imagine it won’t be too hard to win him over."

The other educated youths all stared at Gu Yuwei in astonishment.

Meng Weijie, in particular, looked at Gu Yuwei in disbelief. "Gu Zhiqing, isn’t the He Family’s Third Son married? We even met his wife last time. You knew that, didn’t you?"

Gu Yuwei’s face turned ugly. She shook her head repeatedly. "I don’t! Don’t listen to Li Jie’s nonsense! She’s just jealous of me."

"Jealous of you? What for? For liking a married man? Or for scheming your way into the He Family’s house just so you can destroy a couple’s relationship?" Li Jie scoffed.

For a moment, Gu Yuwei’s mind went blank. She could only repeat, "You’re lying! You’re lying..."

Then her eyes met Li Jie’s sneering face, and her emotions instantly ignited.

The two of them started grappling with each other.

Back home, Gu Yuwei had never had to lift a finger. In her year-plus in the countryside, she had mostly bribed people with things to do her work for her. Right now, how could she possibly be a match for Li Jie?

And Li Jie was primarily aiming her attacks at Gu Yuwei’s head.