Chapter 70: Chapter 70: Going Big

Today, with the rare occasion of Xu Huaian accompanying her, Gu Qinghuan decided to go big.

She’d always wanted to collect a batch of animals to raise in her space, but had hesitated out of concern for potential danger. Now, with two people to watch each other’s backs and the protection of her space, she figured—why not just go for it? After all, she’d already faced a Siberian tiger; what could be scarier than that?

So, the two of them began experimenting with ways for Gu Qinghuan to capture more animals at once.

In the end, it was Xu Huaian who came up with the plan.

First, they bought a large net from the vending machine and set it up between some trees. Once the animals were lured in by the spiritual spring water, they’d drop the net and catch them all in one go—quick and efficient.

Following Xu Huaian’s experience, they found a suitable patch of forest. After setting everything up, they climbed into the trees. From above, Gu Qinghuan sprinkled a handful of spiritual spring water on the ground below, and then they waited quietly for their prey.

In less than a minute, all sorts of animals came sniffing their way over, as if bewitched.

Wild rabbits, pheasants, foolish roe deer, wild boars, badgers…

Soon, the ground beneath the tree was packed with animals, shoulder to shoulder.

Gu Qinghuan shot Xu Huaian a look, signaling him to pull the net.

Just as they pulled the net, a flash of purple streaked past—so fast neither of them saw what it was—and it fell right into the net with the rest.

Xu Huaian jumped down in a couple of moves, Gu Qinghuan close behind. She reached out, and the whole net, animals and all, vanished into her space.

According to their plan, they took off running, fast.

They moved to a new spot and repeated the trick.

After several rounds of this, the livestock area in Gu Qinghuan’s space was packed with all kinds of animals.

Once inside the space, the animals were completely under the owner’s control—docile as could be.

It was worth mentioning that the purple flash they’d seen earlier turned out to be a sable. It was tiny, barely the size of a palm, and clearly not yet an adult.

Gu Qinghuan was instantly smitten by its cuteness and fed it a handful of spiritual spring water.

The sable seemed quite intelligent, even licking her hand and looking at her with a fawning expression.

Gu Qinghuan set it down outside the space and said, “Go find your family! And don’t be so greedy next time.”

She wasn’t heartless enough to skin such a tiny creature.

But the sable had other ideas. Instead of leaving, it “teleported” right onto Gu Qinghuan’s shoulder and plopped itself down.

No matter how many times Gu Qinghuan put it back on the ground, it would climb back onto her in no time.

“All things have a spirit. Maybe you and it are fated. Just keep it,” Xu Huaian advised.

Gu Qinghuan suspected the little thing was just greedy for her spiritual spring water, so she didn’t insist anymore and simply put it into her space.

The two of them were so busy they forgot all about lunch.

Luckily, Zhong Zijun had brought them food that morning—leftover dishes from last night and fresh steamed buns from breakfast.

Gu Qinghuan reheated the food on the villa’s stove.

Since she had some free time today, she decided to fish a king crab out of the small pond, cleaned it, and set it to steam.

Men are born with a desire to conquer, and seeing so many animals, Xu Huaian couldn’t hide his delight. He was eager to get them all settled.

Gu Qinghuan simply ordered a bunch of tools for him and let him do as he pleased.

He was handy, and in no time had mapped out the animal pens: large, destructive animals each got their own area, and every species had its own designated space.

Wild boars, mountain goats, deer, roe deer, and so on.

Smaller animals were grouped together, separated by nets—pheasants, rabbits, doves, hazel grouse, etc.

As for animals that weren’t good to eat, Gu Qinghuan let them go. She wasn’t about to waste effort on something unrewarding.

Those animals, thanks to their own luck, got a new lease on life.

This was also the first time Gu Qinghuan had seen a wild hazel grouse—the legendary “flying dragon.”

There’s a reason it’s called a flying dragon: its neck bone is long and curved like a dragon’s spine, and its claws are covered with scales, resembling a dragon’s talons.

She’d eaten flying dragon meat in her previous life, but those were farm-raised and couldn’t compare. Wild flying dragon meat was said to be a true delicacy.

In the future, wild flying dragons would become a protected species, but for now, they weren’t hard to find.

This time, they caught a total of nine flying dragons. Gu Qinghuan made a mental note to cook up a flying dragon soup when she had the chance and savor this gourmet treat.

For now, she’d settle for the king crab to satisfy her cravings.

She whipped up a special dipping sauce, and it was time to eat.

It was the first time the two of them had eaten together alone. Gu Qinghuan held out a crab leg dipped in sauce and highly recommended, “Try this crab meat—it’s absolutely delicious.”

Xu Huaian seemed to misunderstand her and leaned in, taking a bite right from her hand.

Gu Qinghuan watched in disbelief as half of her crab meat disappeared into Xu Huaian’s mouth. Good grief, did this man not have hands of his own? It’s not like he was tied up!

“I worked so hard to make this, and I haven’t even tasted it yet!” Gu Qinghuan muttered under her breath.

Xu Huaian pretended not to hear, grinning mischievously.

Gu Qinghuan simply put the rest of the crab leg in front of him.

Hmph!

She grabbed another leg to eat.

Xu Huaian didn’t tease her anymore and focused on his meal.

His appetite seemed to grow by the day. Not only did they finish the lunch Zhong Zijun had brought, but they also polished off the huge king crab.

Once they were full, it was time to get to work.

Gu Qinghuan decided to take a nap first.

Xu Huaian picked up the tools Gu Qinghuan had bought him and started organizing the space.

After settling all the animals, he fixed up the two fish ponds to make fishing easier in the future.

He even used leftover materials to build a special little nest for the sable.

As for feeding the animals, Xu Huaian had it all planned out. All the animals they’d brought in were omnivores.

Take wild boars, for example—they eat just about anything: acorns, grass, greens, corn, winter melon, potatoes, sweet potato vines, peanut vines, pumpkin, fruit, and so on.

He simply ordered a batch of the cheapest pumpkins, radishes, and cabbage from the vending machine.

All the animals could eat these, so they’d be fed this for a while.

Soon, when the vegetables in the space grew, they wouldn’t need to spend money buying food.

Oh, and they should plant another patch of vegetables just for the animals. There was plenty of land here, and for Gu Qinghuan, it was just a thought away.

When Gu Qinghuan woke up, the two of them tidied up and packed the things they wanted to take home.

Gu Qinghuan opened the storeroom door. Inside were all the supplies she’d stocked up—this would be their food for the winter.

They’d finished the persimmons at home, so she packed some more, along with some pears, hawthorn, red dates, and black fungus.

She also took some pine nuts and hazelnuts home.

Oh, and the lingzhi mushroom they’d found last time—she’d take that too. It could be sliced for tea or used in soup.

All in all, it was quite a haul—she filled a whole basket. But this time, at least, she didn’t have to carry it back herself."

"Chapter 71: Men Only Slow Me Down

The two of them first went to check the traps they had set earlier.

To their surprise, Xu Huaian turned out to be quite skilled—out of five traps, three had caught something. That was an impressive success rate.

They got two wild rabbits and a pheasant. All three were injured and couldn’t be kept alive, so they decided to just take them back to eat.

On the way down the mountain, they also picked a good amount of wild mushrooms and spread them on top of their baskets.

As they descended, they ran into Qiu Shuxia and Jiang Xue from the educated youth compound.

Gu Qinghuan pretended not to see them, not interested in making conversation.

As they brushed past each other, Jiang Xue suddenly called out, “You must think I’m ridiculous, don’t you? Competing with you for so long, only to have someone else swoop in and take him.”

Her tone was tinged with sadness, her eyes swollen—clearly, this had hit her hard.

It was understandable. After putting in so much effort and seeing the finish line in sight, only to have it all snatched away at the last moment...

In the original story, she and Chen Jianghe did end up together. But in this life, for some reason, Xu Meiling beat her to it.

Still, maybe that wasn’t such a bad thing for her.

Misfortune may be a blessing in disguise, and vice versa.

“What’s it got to do with me? Don’t drag me into this. Three-legged toads are rare, but two-legged men are everywhere. You’re the only one who treats Chen Jianghe like he’s some kind of prize! Are you out of your mind?”

That was all Gu Qinghuan had to say—hopefully Jiang Xue wouldn’t get herself in any deeper.

Jiang Xue was stunned. The next second, she squatted down and started crying hysterically, “Yes, I’m crazy! There’s something wrong with me!”

It was all her own doing. Back then, there were plenty of decent men interested in her, but she was too ambitious, always wanting more, dreaming of marrying the handsome and wealthy Chen Jianghe. That’s how she ended up wasting her own time.

Gu Qinghuan didn’t bother with her anymore and just walked off.

Once Jiang Xue’s cries faded into the distance, Xu Huaian suddenly said, “You… you…”

“What is it? Cat got your tongue?” Gu Qinghuan thought he was still hung up on Jiang Xue’s drama.

Xu Huaian trailed behind, head down like a quail, and quietly asked, “Have you ever been married? Do you… have someone you like?”

He’d already noticed back at the villa that she seemed to live alone—there was no sign of anyone else.

But Jiang Xue’s words had reminded him: even if there was no man in her house, maybe she already had someone in her heart?

The thought made him a little uneasy.

Gu Qinghuan knew he was asking about her previous life. She burst out laughing, “Ha! Why would I ever want to get married? Isn’t it great being on my own? Why would I rush to have kids and play housemaid for someone else?”

“I can earn my own money, buy my own house, drive my own car—what do I need a man for?”

“Men only slow me down.”

Gu Qinghuan deliberately laid her cards on the table. She was smart enough to see what Xu Huaian was thinking.

No matter the past or present, her aversion to marriage was unwavering. She did admire Xu Huaian—he was special, and she felt a slight softening toward him.

But it was nowhere near enough to make her change her pace for him. She just wanted to treat him as a partner.

Gu Qinghuan’s words sounded reasonable, yet somehow off, leaving Xu Huaian completely stunned.

He hadn’t expected her to be so averse to marriage and men. Even if that meant he had a shot, with her current attitude, the road ahead looked tough.

But as long as there was a chance, he wouldn’t give up.

She wasn’t just anyone—she was the most unique, the best Gu Qinghuan in the world, worth giving everything for.

Xu Huaian silently cheered himself on.

They made it home without a hitch.

The two kids were still out. Zhong Zijun saw all the things they’d brought back and couldn’t stop praising Xu Huaian.

Gu Qinghuan rolled her eyes. “Mom, you never praise me like that. Guess it’s true what they say—mothers-in-law love their sons-in-law the more they look at them!”

“Of course! Huaian is much more considerate than you!” Zhong Zijun poked her in the forehead, half-joking.

After some playful bickering, Gu Qinghuan went off to wash up, leaving the “battlefield” to Xu Huaian.

Now that he was better, it was time for him to pull his weight around the house—she wasn’t about to do everything by herself anymore.

Xu Huaian dutifully sorted all the wild goods, laying some out to dry and storing the rest.

He and Zhong Zijun boiled a pot of hot water, plucked the pheasant, and skinned the rabbits—planning to use the rabbit pelts to make hand warmers for Gu Qinghuan in winter.

He didn’t plan to give any of the two rabbits and one pheasant to the Xu family. They’d eat them at home first, and whatever they couldn’t finish could be dried and saved for winter.

As for the Xu family, he’d go up the mountain again tomorrow morning.

He’d already reset the traps after collecting the game, so there’d likely be another haul tomorrow.

Gu Qinghuan finished washing up and came out bundled up warm. Xu Huaian had already cleaned the pheasant and rabbits.

“Let’s have the pheasant tonight—make chicken stew with mushrooms and fry up some wild greens?”

Xu Huaian nodded immediately. “Sure, whatever you say.”

Zhong Zijun watched their interaction and couldn’t help but laugh. Huaian was completely under this girl’s thumb. Never mind a pheasant—if she wanted to throw everything into the pot, he’d probably help stoke the fire.

The two of them were like Zhou Yu and Huang Gai—one willing to hit, the other willing to take it. Let them be.

The kids had gone out with Erdan to glean the fields and came back with a basket of sweet potatoes and a bag of peanuts.

By local custom, whatever kids found in already-harvested fields belonged to their own family.

Dabao and Beibei were over the moon.

The sweet potatoes were all small, but if they weren’t, they wouldn’t have been left behind. Size didn’t affect the taste.

Zhong Zijun roasted two sweet potatoes for the kids on the stove. Homegrown sweet potatoes—so fragrant and sweet.

Gu Qinghuan was still the head chef for dinner, with Xu Huaian prepping ingredients and learning by her side. Once he mastered it, Gu Qinghuan would be free from kitchen duty.

Xu Huaian thought a lot about what Gu Qinghuan had said that afternoon. He didn’t have any answers yet, but he understood one thing:

Gu Qinghuan didn’t want to play housemaid. He and the kids couldn’t become her burden.

Before, they had no choice but to rely on her. Now that he was healthy, he could do a lot himself.

—

The Great Northwest.

Zhong Ziyan placed a few bricks into the stove, using the leftover heat to warm them up. Later, he’d put them in the bed, so when it was time to sleep, he could pull them out and jump under the covers while they were still warm.

His wife, Bai Jie, had been in poor health since an injury two years ago. She’d been sick ever since, coughing all winter, which worried him.

Fortunately, the local Party Secretary was a relative of an old comrade, so they’d been given this rundown cave to live in. Otherwise, if they’d had to stay in the cowshed, she might not have survived.

Winter was coming again, and the hard days were about to return. Zhong Ziyan was truly afraid Bai Jie wouldn’t make it through.

As he thought about this, he kept busy, taking two black wheat buns out of the pot.

“Bai Jie, time to eat.”

“Cough, cough—coming!” Bai Jie was good with her hands. She’d been saving up wool scraps to make warm clothes for winter.

Before it got dark, the two of them sat down with a pot of water and gnawed on the wheat bran buns—that was dinner.

It wasn’t so bad now, but in the height of summer, even a mouthful of water was a luxury. The Great Northwest lacked everything, especially water. The couple couldn’t remember the last time they’d had a proper bath.

The wheat bran buns scratched her throat, and Bai Jie coughed as she ate, as if she’d cough her lungs out.

Zhong Ziyan quickly helped her catch her breath."

"Chapter 72: Zhong Ziyan and Bai Jie

“Having a meal?” A deep, hearty man’s voice rang out as the tattered burlap sack at the entrance of the cave dwelling was lifted.

“Secretary Li, you’re here?” Zhong Ziyan quickly put down the steamed bun in his hand and stood up.

Li Dacheng walked in, carrying a large bundle.

“I went to the commune post office today and saw you had a package, so I brought it back for you.”

Zhong Ziyan didn’t have time to wonder who could have sent the package and hurriedly thanked him, “Thank you so much for the trouble.”

Li Dacheng was an honest, simple man. He wasn’t old, but his face was already weathered by the elements.

“No need to be so polite, it was on my way.” Li Dacheng set down the bundle, dusted off his hands, and was about to leave.

Zhong Ziyan wanted to invite him to stay for a meal, but he was embarrassed—there were only two coarse wheat buns left at home—so he could only awkwardly see him out.

“Who sent this? Last time Ningning wrote, she didn’t mention sending a package,” Bai Jie asked curiously, eyeing the large package on the ground.

Who could have sent such a big parcel?

“It can only be one of a few people. Who else would send us something these days?” Zhong Ziyan squatted down, picked up the package, and examined it carefully.

“It’s… from Qinghuan?” Zhong Ziyan was surprised as he read the label. He’d thought it might be from his daughter or his wife’s family, but he hadn’t expected it to be from his niece.

In the past five years, his niece had rarely even written, let alone sent anything. This was truly odd.

Of course, he didn’t blame her. On the contrary, he was grateful to the girl.

He knew she was struggling too, especially after being sent down to the countryside. She could barely make ends meet herself, and still had to look after her parents and older sister.

Eagerly, he opened the package, wanting to see what she had sent.

A pungent, foul odor wafted out, making both of them quickly cover their noses.

Enduring the smell, Zhong Ziyan took out the smaller bundles inside. When he opened them, he found two old, tattered cotton jackets. They felt soft to the touch.

Judging by the length… Zhong Ziyan suspected they were repurposed army coats, but he couldn’t figure out why they smelled so bad.

Sure enough, Bai Jie turned one inside out and found an opening—she could remove the ragged outer layer. Inside, the two shabby jackets were actually brand new army coats.

These coats were long enough not only to keep out the cold, but also to double as quilts in winter.

Bai Jie ran her hands over the jackets, feeling something odd. She checked again and found some bulging spots in the corners.

She fetched a knife and carefully cut one open. Inside was a five-yuan bill.

Following the same method, she found ten such bulges in the two jackets, totaling fifty yuan.

The two of them stared at the army coats and the fifty yuan on the kang bed, dumbfounded.

Had the girl struck it rich? Why had she suddenly sent so many valuable things?

Zhong Ziyan couldn’t shake a sense of foreboding.

“Ahem, isn’t there more in the package? Check if there’s a letter,” Bai Jie said calmly.

“Oh, right, I almost forgot.”

Zhong Ziyan rummaged through the package and pulled out two more bags—ten jin of black flour, ten jin of cornmeal, and a bundle of black “sticks.”

Finally, at the very bottom, he found a letter.

Zhong Ziyan read it through and a knowing smile appeared on his face.

Bai Jie, thinking there must be good news, snatched the letter from him. “What did Huanhuan write? Let me see.”

She read it and was immediately baffled.

What did this mean?

“If you can help me collect refined grain, please reply to my letter.

Even numbers.”

“Huanhuan wants you to use these things to exchange for refined grain and send it to her?” Bai Jie guessed.

Zhong Ziyan shook his head, amused. “Not at all! This is actually a code I taught her when she was little. I never thought she’d use it after all these years.

Look, it says ‘even numbers’ below. That means you only read the even-numbered lines. So the message becomes: ‘If you can collect grain, reply.’

Even if someone else got this letter, they probably wouldn’t understand what she meant.

Huanhuan must have her concerns, so she wrote this letter to test the waters. I bet she deliberately made the clothes smell bad, too, to make sure the package reached us safely.”

“Huanhuan is so thoughtful. But… can we really accept all this?” Bai Jie was uneasy. She knew her husband was proud and wouldn’t want to accept help from his niece.

She touched the brand new army coats on the kang. With these, this winter wouldn’t be so hard.

Their old cotton jackets and quilts had long since lost their warmth. Every winter, they had to wear all their clothes and still shivered, huddling on the kang, barely moving to save food and firewood.

Here, even water was a luxury, and firewood was hard to come by. They had to rely on the straw allocated by the team, which was barely enough for cooking, let alone heating the kang.

After a moment’s thought, Zhong Ziyan gritted his teeth. “We’ll accept it!”

When you’re on the brink of death, dignity doesn’t matter.

He’d find a way to repay his niece in the future, but if his wife didn’t have these things, she might not survive the winter.

With this food and money, they could get by for a while, and maybe he could find a way to treat her cough.

“There’s also twenty jin of grain and these black sticks. I think they’re food.” With that, Zhong Ziyan took a bite—almost breaking his teeth.

“So hard?”

Unconvinced, he tried again, scraping off a layer of flour. A rich wheat aroma filled his mouth.

It seemed to be some kind of dry rations.

“This actually tastes pretty good—better than those coarse wheat buns. You should have it,” Zhong Ziyan said, packing the things away.

“Ziyan, why do you think Huanhuan suddenly sent so much? She thought of food, clothing, even money. And from her letter, it sounds like she plans to keep sending things?”

After all, she’d never done this before, and now she’d sent so much at once—it was hard not to be suspicious.

Zhong Ziyan was puzzled, too.

“I’ll write her a letter later and ask the secretary to mail it for us when he goes to the commune tomorrow.”

The two of them put everything away.

They put the ragged covers back on the army coats and left them on the kang—they didn’t stand out at all.

“Huanhuan is such a good girl. She really deserves all the care I gave her when she was young,” Zhong Ziyan said with emotion.

“Ahem, yes. I just wonder how they’re doing.

And Ningning and little Youran—I wonder if Xu Jianguo is making things hard for them.

Ningning hasn’t written in a long time.”

Mentioning their daughter, Zhong Ziyan sighed. “No matter how heartless Xu Jianguo is, he shouldn’t hurt them. Even a tiger won’t eat its cubs. Youran is his own flesh and blood.”

“Ahem, after Ningning gave birth to Youran, her health was ruined and she can’t have more children. Xu Jianguo never says it, but deep down, he still wants a son to carry on the family line.

He used to hold back for the sake of the Zhong family and us, but now that we’re like this, won’t he…” Bai Jie trailed off, but Zhong Ziyan understood.

As a father, he couldn’t help his daughter; as a husband, he couldn’t save his wife. Sometimes, he thought it might be better to just die.

“Sigh!”"

"Chapter 73: Eighteen Yuan, Five Jiao, and Three Fen

The day after returning from the hunt.

Gu Qinghuan made a special trip to the commune to send a letter and thirty yuan to Gu Lanting.

She also sent some mountain goods—hazelnuts, pine nuts, wild mushrooms, and the like—things that would keep well.

She had originally wanted to send some fine grains too, but considering that he was currently staying at home, she didn’t want to let those heartless people benefit from the food, so she decided against it.

At the same time, she received a letter from her younger brother. In it, he asked after their well-being, wished them a happy Mid-Autumn Festival, and enclosed exactly eighteen yuan, five jiao, and three fen.

This was the first time Gu Lanting had ever sent money home. Before, at most, he’d only managed to save up a little grain for them.

Back when he and the original Gu Qinghuan lived at home, it was like walking on thin ice.

That woman controlled all the household expenses. She wouldn’t openly withhold their living allowance, but there was never a cent more than absolutely necessary.

So where did he get this money?

If it had just been eighteen yuan, she wouldn’t be so worried. But it was such an odd amount: eighteen yuan, five jiao, and three fen.

Gu Lanting was just a second-year high school student. Aside from his living expenses, where could he have gotten so much money?

Still, she decided not to mention this to Zhong Zijun. Her health was already poor, and there was no need to make her worry even more.

So Gu Qinghuan quickly wrote another letter, this time to her cousin Zhong Luoning, who was also in Beijing, asking her to check in on Lanting’s situation.

She sent some mountain goods to her as well.

Distant water can’t put out a nearby fire; for now, this was all she could do.

When she got home, she didn’t mention the money Lanting had sent—she only showed the letter to Zhong Zijun.

Early that morning, Xu Huaian had gone up the mountain to collect the traps he’d set the day before, catching two pheasants and a rabbit.

He planned to take one pheasant to the Xu family as a token, and leave the rest for their own household.

If it weren’t for not wanting to completely fall out with them, he wouldn’t even want to give them that one pheasant.

After cleaning their own pheasant and rabbit, he asked Gu Qinghuan excitedly, “Huanhuan, how about rabbit for dinner tonight? The kind you made last time, with green peppers?”

Gu Qinghuan didn’t respond.

He asked again, and only then did she snap out of it. “Huh? Sure! You go ahead and cut it up and marinate it, we’ll cook it tonight.”

“What’s wrong? You seem distracted.”

Gu Qinghuan herself wasn’t sure. Ever since she’d received the money from Gu Lanting, she couldn’t stop thinking about it, and couldn’t focus on anything else.

After all, he was her original self’s younger brother—she had to look out for him.

So she quietly told Xu Huaian about it.

They both felt something was off, but couldn’t quite put their finger on it. For now, they decided to keep it quiet and wait for a reply from cousin Luoning.

To get news faster, she’d sent Zhong Luoning’s letter by express delivery, so she should hear back soon.

But there was another matter at hand.

That was helping Zhong Zijun get her revenge.

Since they were all in the same boat, Gu Qinghuan didn’t hide it from Xu Huaian. She really did need someone reliable to help her pull this off.

When Xu Huaian learned that his mother-in-law had been deliberately pushed down the slope and seriously injured, he was furious at the culprit.

“Don’t worry, I’m not going to take his life. I just want to give him a taste of his own medicine.

Since the law can’t reach everywhere, I’ll handle it myself.” Gu Qinghuan knew he’d been a soldier before, and worried he might disapprove of her plan.

“Don’t act rashly. Know yourself and your enemy, and you’ll never lose a battle. Let’s find out more about this person first, then make a plan.

Before we do anything, we need to make sure we’re not implicated, so we don’t end up on the defensive.

I’ll help you.”

Xu Huaian’s words gave Gu Qinghuan a strange sense of reassurance.

The two of them began to plot.

The rough plan was for Xu Huaian to first figure out the man’s daily routine, then arrange for an “accident” so he could experience what it felt like to roll down a slope himself.

—

Xu Huaian took the pheasant over as a token, but Xu Mingshan and Liu Guifang were, of course, dissatisfied.

Before they could say anything, Xu Meiling, ever the thoughtless one, jumped in first.

“Did you catch more game and hide it at your place? There’s no way you only got one pheasant in two days!

You used to be able to kill wild boars! You just don’t want to help me. What kind of brother are you?”

Xu Huaian couldn’t be bothered to argue. He just tossed the pheasant down. “Take it or leave it! I don’t owe you anything.

I earned the most money for this family, but when we split up, I didn’t get a single cent. So I’ve already contributed to your dowry, both with money and effort. If you’re still not satisfied, there’s nothing I can do.”

He said this deliberately to warn Xu Mingshan and Liu Guifang. By rights, he should have gotten a share of the family property when they split, but because he’d been mentally unstable at the time, he got nothing.

Sure enough, this made Xu Mingshan and Liu Guifang swallow whatever they’d been about to say.

They were terrified he’d use this as an excuse to demand his share—like cutting flesh from their own bodies.

This kid—how did he get so sharp after recovering? He used to be so easy to manipulate.

Xu Mingshan waved it off. “One pheasant is fine. We’ll stew a big pot, at least there’ll be some meat on the table.”

Xu Meiling, however, wouldn’t let it go. “Dad, how can one pheasant be enough for so many people? The banquet will look so shabby! I don’t care, you have to find a way to get more meat.”

Xu Huaian didn’t even bother responding, swaggering off without a backward glance.

Xu Mingshan was furious—how could his daughter be so stupid?

“Chen Jianghe didn’t even give you a bride price, treats you like a fool, and you’re still fussing over the banquet?” Xu Huaiyu said, emerging from his room, still half-asleep.

Xu Meiling immediately turned into a shrew, flying at Xu Huaiyu with fists and kicks. The siblings started fighting again.

“I’m just telling the truth. With the way Chen Jianghe treats you, don’t come crying to us later,” Xu Huaiyu said, dodging her blows.

Men know men best. Honestly, if he were Chen Jianghe, he’d want to tear Xu Meiling apart—no way would he treat her well.

This marriage only looked good on the surface; Xu Meiling was in for a hard life.

Everyone in the family knew this, except Xu Meiling herself, who was still deluding herself with dreams of a happy future.

Xu Mingshan couldn’t be bothered to watch the siblings bicker—out of sight, out of mind.

Liu Guifang was injured herself and couldn’t break up the fight.

Xu Meiling nearly scratched Xu Huaiyu’s face to ribbons.

Finally, Xu Huaizhi came back from outside and broke them up.

He brought back a bucket of fish, big and small. He’d been trying to catch fish these past few days to add to his sister’s wedding banquet.

Though he didn’t approve of the marriage either, he still doted on his little sister.

Xu Meiling finally managed a smile when she saw the fish.

“At least big brother’s reliable!” With the fish, the pheasant, and over a jin of pork, the banquet wouldn’t look so bad.

Lin Xiaomeng, inside, was hemming the wedding dress and sneering to herself.

That sister-in-law was completely spoiled by Liu Guifang—she was in for a bitter life ahead.

At least this would be the last time. Once she finished this wedding dress, Xu Meiling would be married off and wouldn’t be able to come back home to leech off them anymore."

"Chapter 74: Bickering

Today is Xu Meiling’s wedding day—a day of great joy.

But as always, some are happy, some are not.

The Xu family’s house is plastered with red wedding characters everywhere; it’s fair to say the whole place is decked out in festive decorations.

Ten banquet tables fill the big courtyard.

At first, they thought a few tables would suffice, but when they started planning, they realized that just one or two people from each household in the village would fill six or seven tables. Add a table for the educated youths, one for the family, and one for relatives, and it quickly added up to ten tables.

For the past couple of days, no one from the Xu family has gone to work—they’ve all been busy preparing for the wedding. Even Xu Huaizhi took an extra day off.

The vegetarian dishes were easy enough; the real problem was the lack of meat.

Fortunately, Xu Huaizhi had caught a bucket of fish, Xu Huaian brought a wild pheasant, and there was over a pound of good fatty pork.

Still, it wasn’t quite enough. In the end, Xu Mingshan gritted his teeth and agreed to slaughter their two big hens for the banquet.

After all, he’s the village secretary—he can’t let his daughter’s wedding look too shabby. It was already embarrassing enough that there was no bride price, but with such a good son-in-law, he figured it was worth the loss of face.

Xu Meiling was so happy she hugged her father for ages.

Early in the morning, the village aunties came over to help, as had been arranged beforehand. That’s just how things are done—when there’s a big event, close families pitch in together.

Lin Xiaomeng was the head chef—her cooking skills are well-known!

Gu Qinghuan slept in until the sun was high in the sky. By the time she got up, Xu Huaian had already made cornmeal porridge.

Ever since Xu Huaian got better, she’s finally been living the carefree life she always dreamed of.

She doesn’t even need to look after the two kids—they’re independent and don’t need to be carried or fussed over.

She washed up quickly and enjoyed a hot bowl of porridge.

After dawdling around the house for a while, she and Xu Huaian got ready to head out with the kids.

Today was another day of mooching food and drink. They’d already contributed a wild pheasant as a gift, which was more than generous, so they went empty-handed.

At the gate, Xu Huayu was recording the gift money. Most villagers gave just a few coins; only those especially close would give one or two yuan.

“Second Brother, Second Sister-in-law, you’re here? How much are you giving? Meiling’s wedding—you’d better be generous!” Xu Huayu called out loudly on purpose.

He figured Xu Huaian would be embarrassed into handing over at least a few coins.

But Xu Huaian was completely shameless now.

“Money? I already gave my gift, didn’t I? Or do you think it wasn’t enough? If so, I’ll just take it back.” Xu Huaian made as if to head for the kitchen.

After all, he’d given a wild pheasant. If people found out the village secretary was the first to take from the collective, that would be awkward.

Xu Huayu quickly backed down. “Oh, right, I forgot! Go on in, we’re busy inside.”

Gu Qinghuan made a show of wandering through the kitchen before heading out.

While she was there, she overheard quite a show.

A few aunties were whispering:

“That Huaian’s wife, she’s really something. Even though they’ve split off from the family, her sister-in-law’s getting married—she should at least come help, but she left the eldest sister-in-law to do all the work.”

“Exactly! And who knows what spell she cast on that crazy man—he suddenly got better. Liu Guifang must be furious. She thought she’d gotten rid of a burden, but ended up losing a strong worker. Huaian used to be one of the best workers around.”

“Gu Qinghuan really is lucky. She was at the end of her rope, and out of nowhere, she married the best man in our village,” someone said sourly.

That aunt, surnamed Yang, had once wanted to marry her own daughter to Xu Huaian. She’d spoken well of him to Liu Guifang, but then Xu Huaian suddenly went mad, so she quickly married her daughter off elsewhere.

Who’d have thought the young man would recover one day? What a miscalculation.

Gu Qinghuan hid in a corner, listening to gossip about herself, but she wasn’t angry at all.

In fact, she almost wanted to laugh.

If a woman has to work herself to the bone, always be self-sacrificing, just to win everyone’s approval—she’d rather be “no good.”

Why should she make herself miserable just to please others?

As for what Yang Fengmei said, Gu Qinghuan didn’t agree. The reason she’s doing well isn’t because of Xu Huaian—it’s because she’s always been capable.

She was about to step out and say something when someone else spoke up for her.

“Yang Fengmei, that’s not fair!

Back then, it was Liu Guifang who agreed to marry your Chunhua to Huaian. But as soon as you saw Huaian go mad, you married Chunhua off right away.

Now that he’s better, you’re here making sour remarks. Gu Qinghuan’s good fortune is her own. Huaian got better right after she married him—that’s fate.”

The speaker was none other than Erdan’s mother, the brigade leader’s wife, Chen Fengqin.

She was also the women’s director of the village.

Officially, she was in charge of women’s affairs and protecting their rights.

She’d come to help today and hadn’t planned to say anything, but as the gossip got nastier, she felt she had to speak up.

Her impression of Gu Qinghuan had always been that she was a gentle but strong girl, but lately, she’d found her more and more impressive.

Just yesterday, Gu Qinghuan and her eldest had brought over some homemade soap.

It smelled nice and worked well—much better than pig pancreas soap.

She hadn’t dared ask for the recipe, but secretly planned to buy more when she ran out. Her kids loved it.

Gu Qinghuan hadn’t expected Chen Fengqin, whom she’d only met once, to speak up for her. She found her quite likable.

Erdan was a good kid too—fair and upright, no doubt thanks to Chen Fengqin’s upbringing.

“Chen Fengqin, what’s that supposed to mean? Are you saying Gu Qinghuan is lucky and my Chunhua isn’t?

You’d better explain yourself!

Others might be afraid of you as the women’s director, but I’m not!” Yang Fengmei, feeling guilty, flared up like a hen with ruffled feathers.

Everyone gathered around to watch the show, sensing a fight was about to break out.

Gu Qinghuan knew she couldn’t just stand by any longer.

“Director Chen is right! I am lucky. Whoever marries me will have a good life!

Other people can be jealous all they want.

Some people looked down on others before, short-sighted as can be, and now they regret it and talk sour—don’t you think that’s a bit much?”

Yang Fengmei blushed, not expecting the subject of the gossip to show up, but she wasn’t about to back down.

“Who’s jealous? Who regrets it? My Chunhua is doing great! Your crazy husband is still dragging around two kids, and you act like you’re some prize!”

Yang Fengmei blustered on, but only she knew the truth.

Gu Qinghuan didn’t bother arguing—she just slapped her across the face, not giving her any leeway at all."

"Chapter 75: Protecting Each Other

The atmosphere was electric, leaving everyone at the scene stunned.

Gu Qinghuan, who usually appeared so delicate and frail, surprised everyone by daring to stand up to these domineering women today.

A few of the educated youths who had arrived early at the compound quickly gathered around.

Xu Huai’an was just about to step in to help when he saw Gu Qinghuan slap someone without hesitation.

Well, it seemed his wife was even tougher than he’d imagined.

Since she wanted to handle things herself, he decided he’d just play backup.

“You little wretch, how dare you hit me?” Yang Fengmei snarled, practically itching to tear into her. If it weren’t for the people holding her back, she would have lunged at Gu Qinghuan right then.

Gu Qinghuan’s expression didn’t change; she looked at Yang Fengmei calmly.

“I hit you, and I meant it! Xu Huai’an is not some crazy lunatic, and those two children are not burdens.

He once dedicated himself to his country and people, giving everything he had.

He’s been on the battlefield, fought enemies, earned first-class honors, and exchanged a body full of medals for a lifetime of illness. His sickness is the price he paid to protect the people.

He’s a true hero, and you’re not worthy to say a word about him.” Gu Qinghuan’s voice was firm and resolute, every word sincere and powerful, making it impossible not to believe her.

She was protecting Xu Huai’an in her own way.

Everyone present was stunned.

Partly by Gu Qinghuan’s courage.

And partly by what she had said.

Xu Huai’an had never been one to boast about himself, never mentioning his past achievements or mistakes.

Only now did everyone realize that the man they’d once looked down on as a “crazy” outcast was actually such an outstanding soldier.

Winning a first-class merit award—most people would brag about that for a lifetime, but Xu Huai’an had never brought it up.

Those who knew him were deeply moved.

Many others regretted not helping him when he was at his lowest. The second son of the Xu family was clearly no ordinary man; even after falling so far, he managed to turn things around. Who could say what the future held for him?

The scene fell silent, then whispers started to spread.

Some thought Gu Qinghuan was exaggerating, trying to give Xu Huai’an a good reputation.

Even the entire Xu family, who had come over to see what was happening, were shocked by this revelation.

Liu Guifang had always thought the second son’s medals were just useless junk—who knew they were actually so impressive?

Were those medals worth money?

Xu Mingshan’s face darkened and lightened by turns. He knew the value of such things. For a soldier of his brother’s caliber, was a simple retirement payout all he got? Surely there was more to it?

Had he been hiding something else?

Too bad he’d already split the family, so any benefits were out of reach now. What a mistake.

Xu Huaizhi was happy to see his brother being protected by his sister-in-law.

He’d found a good match through misfortune, and everything would go well for him from now on.

Lin Xiaomeng hadn’t expected such a big shot to be hiding right beside her. In her previous life, he’d died young—could it be that this time, fate had changed?

Or maybe he had some kind of lucky space, too, and had changed his destiny?

No, she had to find a chance to test him out.

Everyone had their own thoughts.

So much so that they all forgot today was supposed to be Xu Meiling’s wedding day.

The atmosphere grew awkward.

Yang Fengmei, seeing that everyone was siding with Gu Qinghuan, stubbornly shouted, “Who knows if what you’re saying is true or not? I’m still your elder, and you dare hit me? Secretary Xu, you tell me—how should this be handled?”

She was sure Secretary Xu wouldn’t let his son and daughter-in-law have the last word.

Sure enough, Xu Mingshan put on a righteous face and said, “No matter what, your Aunt Yang is your elder. You shouldn’t have hit her. Apologize.”

Yang Fengmei shot Gu Qinghuan a smug look, as if to say, “Let’s see if you can get away with this.”

Gu Qinghuan’s temper flared.

Xu Huai’an squeezed through the crowd and stood firmly in front of her.

“My wife did nothing wrong. There’s no need to apologize.

Even though I’m retired, I was once a soldier. Yang Fengmei’s insults and attacks—I could report her. All of you here would be witnesses.

Right and wrong are clear for all to see. If a dog bites me, do I owe the dog an explanation?”

Looking at his broad back, Gu Qinghuan felt a sense of security.

So this is what it feels like to be protected.

Last time, when they faced the Siberian tiger, he’d stood in front of her just like this.

And now, he was doing it again.

A layer of ice in her heart quietly melted.

Xu Mingshan was furious at being contradicted by his second son. Ever since the split, whenever it came to Gu Qinghuan, this son became stubborn and uncompromising.

He regretted ever agreeing to let Gu Qinghuan marry into the family.

Just as Xu Mingshan’s face was turning all sorts of colors and he was at a loss for what to do, Qian Caihua suddenly shouted, “The food’s burning!”

Chaos erupted.

And so, the farce finally came to an end.

Gu Qinghuan had won a small victory, earning Xu Huai’an some much-needed respect.

Yang Fengmei was left humiliated.

Of course, Xu Huai’an standing up to protect Gu Qinghuan also set a good example for Dabao and Beibei.

A man should bravely protect his loved ones—there’s no shirking that responsibility.

Everyone thought this commotion would be the biggest mishap of the wedding, but unexpectedly, even after the ceremony began and all the guests were seated, the groom was nowhere to be found.

Xu Meiling was frantic.

Xu Huaizhi rushed to the educated youth compound to look for him.

In the end, he found Chen Jianghe still passed out drunk in bed.

Feeling sorry for his sister, Xu Huaizhi punched Chen Jianghe awake, leaving his face swollen.

The groom showed up at the wedding in long underwear, a mismatched jacket of unknown origin, hair sticking up like a bird’s nest, stubble all over his face, and one cheek swollen—dragged to the ceremony by his brother-in-law.

Everyone was dumbfounded, and the Xu family lost all face.

What groom doesn’t show up happy and neatly dressed for his own wedding?

But Chen Jianghe had completely forgotten, looking more like a beggar than a bridegroom.

Xu Meiling was furious, but with the ceremony about to begin, she had to swallow her anger.

Xu Mingshan felt utterly disgusted, like he’d swallowed a fly. He began to wonder if marrying his daughter to this man had been a mistake. If he couldn’t even take the wedding seriously, what good could come of this marriage?

But there was no turning back.

The ceremony was finally completed, albeit awkwardly.

At last, it was time to serve the food.

Xu Huai’an and his family didn’t sit at the main table, but joined the villagers instead.

Gu Qinghuan sat next to Chen Fengqin, who had helped her earlier.

Xu Huai’an was chatting with the team leader.

“Big Sister Chen, thank you for standing up for me just now.”

“Oh, don’t mention it. I’m in charge of women’s affairs anyway, and I was just speaking the truth. You don’t need to take it to heart.

By the way, thanks for the soap you gave us—the whole family loves it. The kids can’t wait to bathe every day now.”

“Haha, as long as you like it! If you run out, just come to my place for more. It’s nothing expensive, just something I make with the kids for fun.”

The two of them hit it off and chatted happily."

"Chapter 76: A Joyful Gathering

Today’s banquet was prepared by Lin Xiaomeng as the head chef, with several aunties helping out.

There were nine dishes and one soup in total, making a perfect ten for good luck.

Chicken stewed with mushrooms is a must-have dish at northern weddings.

They used two old hens mixed with some wild pheasant, stewing two big iron pots full—one large bowl per table. Potatoes were added, and all the meat was cut into small pieces, since there were ten tables to serve.

A big slab of fatty pork, over a pound, was sliced thin and stir-fried into twice-cooked pork. Each table only got a few slices, just for the taste, but the flavor was decent.

The last meat dish was fish from the river—free for the taking.

Lin Xiaomeng decided to make two big pots of braised fish with tofu, again one bowl per table. The flavor was rich, reminiscent of the fish hotpot popular in later years.

As for the rest: there was steamed eight-treasure rice, pickled vegetables with cornbread, fish-fragrant eggplant, vinegar-sautéed cabbage, cold wild greens, stir-fried mushrooms, and tomato-egg soup.

Lin Xiaomeng’s cooking skills were solid, and even with such a big batch, the food turned out tasty.

All you could hear was the sound of people eating heartily.

It was rare to have such a meaty, delicious meal, and since everyone had given a wedding gift, they were determined to eat their fill to get their money’s worth.

Many people even snuck some meat into their pockets, hoping to bring it home for their families.

Most had brought their own bowls, planning to take some food back for their kids.

Xu Huaian was very thoughtful, using his long arms to help Gu Qinghuan and the two children get food, worried they wouldn’t be able to reach.

This caught Chen Fengqin’s eye, and she kept glancing over, winking as she teased, “Qinghuan, you’re really lucky. There’s not another man in the whole village who dotes on his wife like that—he guards you like you’re his precious jewel.”

Gu Qinghuan blushed at the attention.

Their table was all the village’s prominent families, with the brigade leader and women’s director present, so everyone ate with a bit more restraint—no sneaky grabbing.

At the other tables, everything was already picked clean. People were either stuffing themselves or stashing food away.

After the meal, Gu Qinghuan took Xu Huaian and the kids and slipped away—they were guests now, so there was no need to stay and help.

For a while after, the whole family focused on “fattening up for autumn.”

Xu Huaian, with his military background, recovered well—his legs were getting stronger and he was able to return to work.

He became the family’s main, and only, laborer.

The two kids often tagged along to the fields, happily helping out, and every day they studied with Zhong Zijun at a set time.

Come spring, they planned to send the kids to the commune’s primary school.

Gu Qinghuan became a bit of a “floater”—she didn’t go to the fields, but did everything else.

Under the pretense of going to town, she’d slip up into the mountains to gather wild goods, buying and selling to earn some money, and bringing back supplies for the family.

Now, the household was fully stocked—not just with food and drink, but even meat was on the table almost every day, cooked in different ways.

Most of the meat came from Xu Huaian’s traps and snares, which always yielded something.

There was so much meat that they couldn’t finish it all, so they dried and stored a lot in the cellar, to be enjoyed in the winter—delicious and fragrant.

As for the animals she was raising in her space, Gu Qinghuan decided to let them breed for now.

In her previous life, Gu Qinghuan had been a food vlogger, so she kept inventing new dishes, completely winning over the two kids’ appetites.

One night, something worth mentioning happened: the two grandparents showed up in the dark, each carrying a basket full of schisandra berries.

They’d heard schisandra could be sold for money, so they’d spent their spare time picking them in the mountains, saving up two full baskets to ask Gu Qinghuan to help sell.

Gu Qinghuan readily agreed.

Unexpectedly, the two elders insisted that all the money from the sale should go to her.

They’d estimated that the two baskets weighed about three hundred jin (about 150 kg). At ten cents a jin, that was thirty yuan.

If they could do this a few more times, they’d have a hundred yuan—enough to repay their granddaughter for the money she’d spent on her mother’s medical treatment.

It was their way of making up for the money they’d had to borrow for their daughter’s arm treatment back then, when they had no other choice.

Gu Qinghuan immediately understood—the two elders didn’t want her to feel she owed anything in her marriage because of that hundred yuan, or to be looked down on by her husband’s family.

Even though Xu Huaian would never do that, the elders’ thoughtfulness was deeply touching.

Despite their age, they were still willing to go to such lengths for their granddaughter. That kind of love meant more than anything.

Zhong Zijun was moved to tears, hugging her mother and crying hard.

Though she was middle-aged and in a tough spot, with loving parents above and caring children below, she suddenly stopped resenting the hardships life had given her.

Adversity reveals true feelings. After weathering this storm, the family would only get better from here.

The first reply came from her eldest uncle.

In his letter, he sent greetings to everyone, especially thanking his niece for her help, and said that with the support of the locals, they were getting by.

But there was one problem: Aunt Bai Jie’s health was poor. She’d been sick for years, and every winter she coughed constantly.

He also asked where Gu Qinghuan’s supplies and money were coming from.

He was probably worried she’d gotten involved in something shady.

Gu Qinghuan was relieved to hear he was receiving the supplies safely.

She immediately sent another package—dozens of jin of fine grain. Even if they didn’t eat it themselves, they could trade it for more coarse grain, which was more cost-effective than sending coarse grain directly.

She also included wild mountain goods they’d recently gathered: hazelnuts, pine nuts, wild mushrooms, hickory nuts, and so on.

She packed in some dried wild pheasant and rabbit as well.

She’d already sent money before, so this time she didn’t include any.

The most important things, of course, were the spiritual spring water and medicine.

Based on Zhong Ziyan’s description of Bai Jie’s illness, Gu Qinghuan bought several courses of special medicine from the vending machine, removed the packaging, wrapped them in plain brown paper, and wrote out the instructions.

Besides Bai Jie’s special medicine, she also bought a batch of common medicines—cold, fever, diarrhea, and so on—each labeled with usage and dosage.

As for the spiritual spring water, it was hard to transport, especially in this era. If it spilled and ruined the medicine, it would be a huge loss.

After thinking it over, Xu Huaian suggested using the spring water to make food to send instead—the effect would be almost the same.

Just like with the persimmons before.

But persimmons were too soft and hard to mail.

Actually, the nuts and dried goods from her space also contained the spring water’s effects—eating them was good for the body.

The vending machine’s previous stock had long since sold out, earning thousands of rave reviews.

Gu Qinghuan thought Xu Huaian’s idea was good, so she made some long-lasting foods by hand and packed them up to send.

Once again, it was a big, heavy package.

When her uncle and aunt received it, they were stunned.

Through her letters, they learned that Gu Qinghuan had gotten married—to a retired soldier who treated her well and was willing to help her family through hard times.

The couple couldn’t help but sigh: “It’s easy to find treasure, but hard to find true love.”

Though their niece lived in a poor, remote place, she’d found a good marriage—truly a blessing from above.

They wrote back with their blessings.

Aunt Bai Jie even sent Gu Qinghuan her family heirloom—a jade pendant she’d always worn—as a wedding gift.

Since their niece now depended on someone else, they worried that her helping them might cause resentment from her husband, so they wanted to make it up to her.

This jade pendant was Bai Jie’s last valuable possession—she hadn’t sold it even when they had no food. But now, she was willing to part with it."

"Chapter 77: Ming Ruxue, A Happy Event at the Educated Youth Spot

“Hey, Xiao Gu, come over here and help carry the guests’ luggage upstairs,” the manager called out loudly.

Gu Lanting put down the rag in his hand, quickly wiped his hands, and hurried over to help the guests with their suitcases.

The suitcase was quite heavy. Gu Lanting used all his strength just to lift it, struggling to carry it upstairs.

By the time he finally made it to the second floor, he couldn’t help but gasp for breath.

The female guest, perhaps seeing how hard he was working, politely took out a banknote and handed it to him. “Thank you for your help.”

She actually had the habit of tipping. Gu Lanting was a little surprised. He hesitated for three seconds but still reached out to accept the money.

“Thank you!”

Ten yuan.

That was half a month’s wages for him.

The woman looked at his face and suddenly exclaimed in surprise, “Are you… Xiaotingzi?”

That nickname instantly uncovered memories Gu Lanting had long buried.

Looking closely, he realized the person in front of him was his childhood best friend, Ming Ruxue.

Didn’t she go abroad with her parents? Why had she suddenly come back?

She was dressed in fashionable clothes, staying at the best overseas Chinese hotel, and could casually tip ten yuan.

Meanwhile, he had become a waiter, living a hard life, relying on pleasing others to get by.

The difference between them now was like heaven and earth.

He instinctively avoided her gaze.

“You must be mistaken. My name isn’t Xiaotingzi.”

With that, he turned and fled in embarrassment, even tripping and falling flat on his face at the door.

After work that evening, for some reason, he found himself standing at the gates of his old high school, looking at the lit-up classrooms inside, feeling empty inside.

“Gu Lanting? Why haven’t you been coming to school? There’s a letter and a package for you—they were sent to our school. The teacher asked me to pass them on, but I haven’t been able to find you,” the class monitor suddenly called out to him.

Puzzled, Gu Lanting followed the class monitor to pick up his letter and package.

Along the way, the two of them chatted about many things.

“Gu Lanting, I hope that no matter what situation you’re in, you never forget that knowledge is power. Learning is a lifelong journey,” the class monitor encouraged him before leaving.

“Okay, thank you.”

When Gu Lanting opened the letter, he realized it was from his sister. He opened it right away.

To his surprise, there were thirty yuan inside the envelope.

His sister was in the countryside—how could she have so much money?

He couldn’t help but start to worry.

The next day, he wrote a reply right away.

—

The autumn harvest was exhausting, but the whole family had visibly put on weight, like balloons being inflated.

Especially Xu Huaian, who used to be skin and bones.

Now, he was filling out nicely.

Not only had he gained weight, but it was all solid muscle. When he came back from work, his sweat-soaked shirt outlined his well-defined muscles, making it hard for anyone to look at him for long, for fear they wouldn’t be able to look away.

One night, Gu Qinghuan went to the bathroom and happened to catch Xu Huaian taking a cold shower in the yard. At first, she was startled, but then she started to drool—was this physique even human?

Every muscle was perfectly placed—not overly bulky, not too skinny—just right, hitting her right in the heart.

It was just a pity he was wearing shorts; otherwise, it would have looked even better.

Xu Huaian was worried he’d scared Gu Qinghuan and hurried to put on his clothes.

But he noticed that a certain someone kept sneaking glances at him, especially at his lower abdomen, her eyes lingering.

Suddenly, he felt enlightened—he finally understood how to “seduce” Gu Qinghuan.

Doesn’t matter if it’s a black cat or a white cat, as long as it catches mice, it’s a good cat.

So, for a while after that, Gu Qinghuan found herself “accidentally” running into Xu Huaian changing clothes all the time.

Whenever they were working in the space, he always claimed he was hot and walked around shirtless, making her sneak glances at him. Sigh, what a body—too bad she could only look, not touch.

With Chen Jianghe and Gu Qinghuan both married and moved out, there were some changes at the educated youth spot.

Jiang Xue was depressed and sick for a while.

Her sidekick, Qiu Shuxia, suddenly married Qian Caihua’s son, Tugen.

Tugen was infatuated with Gu Qinghuan. Qian Caihua had tried to set him up with several village beauties, but none of them were interested, so she set her sights on the educated youth.

She knew her son wanted someone educated.

After sizing up the options, Jiang Xue was too much trouble and was Chen Jianghe’s backup—no good.

Lin Shengnan was tall, strong, and ate a lot—a rice bucket. She might eat the family out of house and home, and her son probably wouldn’t like that.

There was another educated youth, Luo Ruyue, who looked okay but was too short—what if she gave birth to a short kid?

Qiu Shuxia, on the other hand, was fairly well-rounded, decent-looking, hardworking, and obedient—easy to handle.

So Qian Caihua steeled herself, brought 110 yuan as a bride price, and with her silver tongue, successfully convinced Qiu Shuxia to marry Tugen.

Tugen knew Gu Qinghuan was out of reach, but at least Qiu Shuxia was an educated youth, gentle and soft-spoken, so he happily agreed.

Qiu Shuxia understood that she was getting older, and if she had no hope of returning to the city, she needed someone to rely on—the older she got, the harder it would be to find someone.

And the men at the educated youth spot couldn’t even support themselves—she didn’t dare take that gamble.

She knew Qian Caihua’s son Tugen—he was quite decent-looking, one of the better young men in Xujia Village.

If she was destined to spend her life in Xujia Village, it was better to find a local, like Gu Qinghuan did—being a local’s wife was better than being an educated youth.

You had to admit, this girl might be muddle-headed in daily life, but she was clear-headed when it came to big decisions.

Unlike Jiang Xue, who aimed too high and ended up missing her chance.

If this were in modern times, Jiang Xue would be a young woman yearning for freedom, but in these days, she was already considered an old maid—over twenty and still unmarried, while her peers were all married.

It would only get harder for her in the future.

Qiu Shuxia and Tugen’s wedding was quite respectable.

Qian Caihua was tough-talking but soft-hearted—she might be loud outside, but she was good to her family.

For their wedding banquet, Gu Qinghuan was invited by Qian Caihua. Qiu Shuxia, perhaps feeling guilty for having offended Gu Qinghuan before, didn’t dare invite her herself.

But Qian Caihua came over openly and invited Gu Qinghuan to the wedding feast.

So Gu Qinghuan went and gave fifty cents as a wedding gift.

After Qiu Shuxia left, there were only three female educated youth left at the spot: Jiang Xue, Lin Shengnan, and Luo Ruyue, along with three male educated youth: Zhu Chunlin, Song Chunlai, and Jiang Hong.

No one was left to manage the big and small affairs of the educated youth spot.

In the first few days, a lot of problems cropped up.

No one was managing the communal supplies like grain and firewood. When it came time to pick someone new, no one seemed suitable.

There were a few disputes at the educated youth spot.

Not long after, Lin Shengnan and Zhu Chunlin announced that they had officially formed a “revolutionary friendship” and would be living separately.

The two of them moved in together, living in Zhu Chunlin’s room—after Chen Jianghe moved out, he had it to himself.

Although they still lived at the educated youth spot, their food and kitchen were completely separate.

To be honest, the two of them were quite a good match—both had good personalities and were willing to work hard, not taking shortcuts.

Lin Shengnan might seem a bit silly on the surface, but she was actually quite shrewd—things would work out for her.

Gu Qinghuan also gave them fifty cents as a wedding gift.

Lin Shengnan felt a little embarrassed—they hadn’t given Gu Qinghuan anything when she got married.

A lot of people got married in the winter, since it was the only time of year when things slowed down, there was enough grain to eat, and some extra money.

So lately, there had been quite a few weddings in the village."

"Chapter 78: Zhong Luoning’s Life

Gu Qinghuan had expected to receive a reply from her cousin Luoning first, but to her surprise, there was no response for a long time. Instead, the second letter she received was from Lanting.

He wrote that he was doing well and asked why she had suddenly sent him money and things.

He kept the items but returned the money.

In his letter, he especially sent regards to their grandparents and mother.

Gu Qinghuan didn’t tell him about Zhong Zijun’s injury, nor did she mention her own marriage.

First, she didn’t want him to worry and add to his sadness.

Second, she truly didn’t know how to bring it up, so she decided to leave it for now.

For some reason, she always felt that Gu Lanting was hiding something.

—

Xu Family, Beijing.

Zhong Luoning stared at the envelope in her hand, her face dark with anger.

Her mother-in-law had actually hidden her letter.

If she hadn’t been helping her mother-in-law clean the room today, she would never have accidentally found the letter under the bed.

It was rare for Huanhuan to write to her, asking for help—she had almost missed it.

Thinking of this, Zhong Luoning clenched her teeth. The Xu family was truly too much to bear.

She went straight downstairs with the letter and slapped it down on the dining table in a fury.

“Mom! Why did you hide my letter? Do you know I almost missed some very important news because of you?”

Mother Xu showed no guilt at all, acting as if it was only natural. “At a time like this, I have to personally check every letter that comes to this house. Is there a problem with that?

Zhong Luoning, you’re only able to scrape by because of our Xu family. You weren’t sent down, and yet you’re still in contact with those stinking intellectuals?

If I catch you doing this again, I’ll have the family discipline you myself!”

Xu Youran had been sitting at the table eating just fine, but was so startled by her grandmother’s yelling that she fell off her chair, scrambling to hide behind her mother, her big round eyes brimming with tears.

Zhong Luoning, heartbroken, picked up her daughter and comforted her in her arms, feeling as if her heart had been torn to pieces.

“Don’t cry, Youran. Mommy’s here, Mommy’s holding you.”

Xu Youran clung tightly to her clothes.

Mother Xu spat in disgust.

“Cry, cry, cry! You have the nerve to cry? Such a coward, just like a little chick—how embarrassing!

Zhong Luoning, after all these years, you’ve only given birth to a girl, and you won’t let Jianguo go find another woman to have a son with. Are you trying to cut off the Xu family line?

I’m telling you, if your belly doesn’t show any signs soon, don’t blame me for being ruthless! Our Xu family has been single-heir for five generations!”

With that, Mother Xu left the house. She had a mahjong game with some ladies and was running late—otherwise, she wouldn’t have let Zhong Luoning off so easily.

Xu Youran kept crying, and after a while of comforting her, Zhong Luoning herself began to weep silently.

She hated it all.

She hated her own blindness, her foolish devotion.

She hated the unfairness of fate, hated the hardships of the world.

She hated the Xu family’s cold-bloodedness, hated her own weakness and helplessness.

There was just too much to hate.

When her parents were falsely accused and sent down, she had just given birth to Youran and was still in her confinement period.

She had already been weakened by heavy bleeding, and because she hadn’t recovered properly, she was left with a body full of ailments.

The true nature of the Xu family gradually revealed itself.

There was not only verbal humiliation and attacks, but also constant psychological pressure.

She used to be a piano teacher, but after that incident, the school let her go.

To comply with the policies, the Xu family even dismissed their maid, leaving all the household burdens on her shoulders.

She had once been a pampered young lady who never did any chores—her hands were meant for playing piano, not for cooking and cleaning.

Yet, from her confinement period onward, she had to cook, clean, do laundry, and take care of the child—everything fell to her.

At first, she thought the family should stick together through hard times, so she gritted her teeth and endured. She never expected that what she got in return was even more humiliation and harm.

Over the years, her health deteriorated and she couldn’t conceive again. Her in-laws said all sorts of nasty things, and Xu Jianguo started fooling around outside—she knew all about it.

But for Youran’s sake, she kept enduring.

Sometimes she asked herself, what was the point of such an empty marriage? She couldn’t help her parents, nor could she raise her child well.

Xu Jianguo was a complete scoundrel. The vows he made when courting her had long since vanished; now, all that was left was mutual torment.

He would often resort to violence, frightening their child so much that she’d hide trembling under the bed. At five years old, she was as timid as a chick.

Zhong Luoning felt her life had sunk into utter darkness.

But as a mother, she had to be strong. After crying enough, she pulled herself together and patiently soothed her child.

Her cousin had rarely reached out to her—no matter what, she had to find out the truth for her.

She went straight to the old house where the Zhong family used to live to ask around.

Only then did she find out that her younger cousin had already left home some time ago.

Apparently, after a big argument with the family over his brother, he stormed out and stopped going to school.

Her uncle didn’t care about his eldest son at all, focusing all his attention on the younger one.

At the end of last year, he’d just had a big, healthy baby boy.

She could imagine that her uncle from the Gu family was probably the same kind of person as her in-laws in the Xu family.

Opportunistic, petty.

When they needed support, they’d act all friendly and flattering, but once someone fell on hard times, they’d immediately show their true colors, eager to kick them while they were down.

Last year, when her cousin Huanhuan was sent to the countryside, she already felt something was wrong. She didn’t expect that not long after, Lanting would also be forced out of the house.

It must have had something to do with that woman.

Even a tiger won’t eat its own cubs, but her uncle from the Gu family was truly heartless.

No—he was no longer her uncle.

After much effort and asking around, Zhong Luoning finally found Gu Lanting in a communal apartment building.

He was working hard to light a coal stove.

This kid had been a pampered young master all his life, never having suffered hardship, but now he’d tasted it all.

“Lanting…”

Gu Lanting looked up in surprise.

“Cousin, what are you doing here? Where’s the child?” He stood up and brushed the dust off his clothes.

“I left her with a neighbor. But what about you—what’s going on?”

Gu Lanting invited her in. “It’s a bit shabby here, don’t mind it. With what I earn now, this is all I can afford.”

So young, yet already with a hint of maturity beyond his years.

Zhong Luoning felt a pang of sadness.

“Why would I mind? But why did you leave school and run away from home?

Your sister Qinghuan wrote to me not long ago, asking me to check on you—she’s very worried.

Unfortunately, I saw the letter late because my mother-in-law hid it.”

Hearing this, Gu Lanting became anxious.

“Luoning, please don’t tell my sister about my situation. She’s already having a hard time in the countryside—if she knew about this, it would break her heart.”

The siblings had relied on each other ever since their mother was sent down, and their bond was far deeper than that of ordinary siblings.

Zhong Luoning sighed. “Then tell me honestly—what happened to you?”"

"Chapter 79: A Gentleman’s Revenge

Gu Lanting fidgeted with her fingers, head lowered as she spoke, “It’s not just one or two incidents. Ever since that woman had a child, there’s been nonstop trouble at home.

Last time, she went out to play mahjong and left the baby sleeping alone on the bed. The child woke up, fell off, and broke a bone.

She told that man it was me, that I was jealous and deliberately pushed the child off the bed to break her bones.

After that, he tied me to a bench and beat me until my skin was split open.

A while ago, she brought over a distant niece, saying it was to help look after the child.

But that girl snuck into my room in the middle of the night. Luckily, I woke up in time—otherwise, she would’ve accused me of being a pervert.

Afterward, she even wanted me to marry her niece.

And that man actually said it wouldn’t be a bad idea.

So I had a huge fight with him and ran away.

That’s when I ran into Uncle Yu from the Overseas Chinese Hotel. He’s a good man—he not only found me a job but also helped me find a place to stay.”

Gu Lanting didn’t even want to call him “Dad”—she only referred to him as “that man.”

Calling him “Dad” would be an insult to the word itself.

What kind of father was he!

Zhong Luoning hadn’t expected that someone who once treated his two children so well could one day be so cruel to his own flesh and blood.

Once again, reality had shown her, bloody and raw, that there’s no such thing as absolute family love in this world. In the face of self-interest, human nature is so fragile.

“What about her daughter? Why not let her take care of the child? What’s the point of bringing over a niece?” It was just disgusting.

At this point, Gu Lanting was seething with anger.

“That Chen Zhaodi must have used some kind of trick. She actually got accepted by the Yun family and got together with Yun Nianzhou.

I heard they’re getting married soon. That mother-daughter pair—each one is more ruthless than the other. No wonder that man gave up on me and my sister so easily.”

“Yun Nianzhou? Wasn’t he Huanhuan’s former fiancé?” Zhong Luoning was stunned. How could this be?

He abandoned his real daughter and is marrying his stepdaughter? Yun Nianzhou must be out of his mind.

No matter how you compare, Qinghuan is the better one.

“That’s him. I heard Uncle and Aunt Yun are always away and don’t really care about him. He’s always lived with Grandma Yun in the capital, so he’s grown up spoiled and willful.

Oh, Luoning-jie, please don’t tell my sister about any of this, especially the stuff about Yun Nianzhou. I’m afraid she won’t be able to handle it.”

Zhong Luoning understood. Gu Qinghuan had once cared deeply for Yun Nianzhou. If she found out, she’d be heartbroken.

“I understand.”

The cousins chatted a little longer.

Gu Lanting had to go to work, so they said their goodbyes.

At the post office, Zhong Luoning prepared to write a letter to Gu Qinghuan. She hesitated for a long time, unsure whether to tell her the truth about Lanting’s situation.

The fact that Qinghuan had specifically asked her to help showed how much she cared for her brother.

If she knew what Lanting was going through, she’d be devastated. But if she didn’t tell her…

In the end, Zhong Luoning decided to tell Gu Qinghuan the truth about Gu Lanting’s situation, but left out the part about Yun Nianzhou.

What she didn’t know was that, after mailing the letter and returning home, what awaited her would be another beating—without rhyme or reason.

—

At this time, Gu Qinghuan was busy carrying out her plan for revenge.

Zhong Zijun had been staying with them for over a month, well-fed and well-cared for, with the help of spiritual spring water. Her injuries had healed remarkably well.

She could even take off her bandages and move around on her own.

She hadn’t expected to recover so quickly. It just so happened that one day, while Gu Qinghuan was cooking, she accidentally knocked into a bowl of hot oil. Disaster was about to strike.

Zhong Zijun panicked and, forgetting her hand was supposed to be injured, reached out with both hands to shield the bowl. Gu Qinghuan was spared.

But Zhong Zijun’s hands were covered in blisters from the burns.

A while later, they realized that Zhong Zijun’s hands could move again.

So Gu Qinghuan quietly took her to the county hospital for a checkup.

The doctor said her recovery was excellent.

Now that her hands were healed, Zhong Zijun was eager to return to the cowshed. Her daughter worried about her, but she also worried about her elderly parents.

She’d stayed at her son-in-law’s house only because of her injury. Now that she was better, she couldn’t keep imposing.

Young people need their space. With her gone, the couple could have some time alone and grow closer.

On a dark, windy night, Xu Huaian and Gu Qinghuan packed up Zhong Zijun’s things—along with dozens of pounds of grain, wild goods from the mountains, snacks, fruit, and more—and escorted her back to the cowshed.

Zhong Zijun knew they weren’t lacking in these things, so she accepted them without protest.

Gu Qinghuan even bought her a small, easy-to-carry knife for self-defense.

After reminding Zhong Zijun not to overwork herself, the two returned home.

With Zhong Zijun back, it was finally time to move forward with their revenge.

They’d held back before, worried that if things got out of hand and Zhong Zijun wasn’t seen at the cowshed, it could cause trouble.

So they’d waited.

Over the past half month, aside from working, Xu Huaian had been scoping things out. He’d learned all about Wang the Cripple: a lifelong bachelor with no family to worry about, just an older brother with lots of kids and his own life, who didn’t care about him.

Wang loved to drink, and when drunk, he’d get rowdy.

That made things simple. Xu Huaian, a former special forces soldier, could easily arrange a little “accident.”

One day, Wang the Cripple was heading home with his bottle of liquor. As he passed a small hill, he suddenly shivered, then felt as if someone gave him a gentle push. He was already unsteady and tumbled down the slope.

Xu Huaian struck and quickly slipped away.

Wang wasn’t found until the next morning, unconscious at the bottom of the hill.

He was still clutching his bottle—clearly drunk.

When he woke up, he complained of pain all over. After being taken to the town clinic, the doctor said he’d broken the other leg this time.

Now both his legs were ruined. Even if they healed, he’d have trouble walking. But he had no money for treatment, so who knew how things would turn out.

He shouted that someone had pushed him on purpose.

Everyone asked, “Who?”

He wanted to say Zhong Zijun, but remembering he’d been the first to attack her, he couldn’t bring himself to say it. He was afraid of being forced into labor reform or having to pay medical bills.

So he swallowed his anger, vowing to take his revenge another day."

"Chapter 80: Ji Linhai Seeks Help, Gifts of Medicine