Help others? It's better to help yourself - Chapter 44

Xu Jianshe sat on the train, holding his luggage and thinking about what he should do next. Once he reached H City, the only person he could rely on was his third sister, Xu Jing’an.

In the past, when his third sister was always busy at home, he used to think she was naive and too honest. But then, like a bolt from the blue, she jumped out of the troublesome Xu family and ran away.

When he finally made contact with her, he realized that no one in the family could do anything to stop her.

First, she was too far away, and second, the information gap was too wide. The family didn’t know much about her life in H City, but she knew everything about them.

Both sides had their own jobs and responsibilities. Moreover, they were family. “One prospers, all prosper; one suffers, all suffer,” and many tactics became ineffective.

After all, no one lives just for the present day or can just leave after packing up. Reputation and face still matter!

Once things escalated and the family faced a confrontation, neither side would come out unscathed. Furthermore, they weren’t in a situation where they couldn’t survive, so it wasn’t worth fighting over something trivial.

Xu Jing’an also wrote letters every month, each one expressing deep concern for the family, showing immense filial piety. Xu mother couldn’t even open her mouth to complain.

From that moment on, he understood that his third sister was the “smart one.” Her actions were decisive and clean, and she remained unscathed.

After the incident of him being sent to the countryside, his second sister had actively reached out, saying she wanted to help him. He had always known his second sister was shrewd, but after seeing how she handled the eldest couple, he realized that she was truly a “ruthless” person!

Though his eldest sister had previously stirred things up, encouraging their mother to go along with the second sister to demand benefits and take advantage, he knew that this time, if they went back, they would not only not get anything but would likely have to pay back as well!

He finally realized that no one in the Xu family was easily deceived. Those who were unclear-headed had long been taken advantage of. Especially the two older sisters—they were the epitome of filial daughters!

The entire train car was filled with educated youth. Despite how exhausting it was to go to the countryside, there were still girls bickering and competing for the attention of the man next to him, offering him braised pork and dumplings.

“What’s the difference between him and the guy next to me? I’m taller and better looking than him. Why has no one ever fought over giving me things?” Xu Jianshe couldn’t help but feel sour inside.

The next day, the few educated youth across from him got off the train. Xu Jianshe secretly sighed in relief. Otherwise, he was afraid he wouldn’t be able to control his jealousy, as there were several times he almost blurted out something bitter.

Fortunately, he controlled himself. When out in the world, one had to be careful with their words and actions, and not make enemies easily! Every time he didn’t know what to do, he would think about how his two sisters would handle it, and that would help him figure things out.

Why didn’t he want to think about what the eldest brother would do? A failure like him had no right to say anything!

But before he could celebrate for even three minutes, a large group of educated youth surged into the car. The seats across from him filled up again, and the train started moving once more.

This time, it was a “competition.” Several male educated youth surrounded a beautiful female educated youth. They were offering her candy, holding her water, and giving her snacks and canned fruit.

Xu Jianshe’s eyes turned red as he watched. Why wasn’t he a woman? If someone could take his place and go to the countryside, he wouldn’t care about gender—he’d have children with them!

The guys across from him were clearly just bored and stuffed. What good was a pretty woman if she couldn’t help with hunger? He was good looking too!

The female comrade was clearly another “Second Sister,” proud and aloof. Every word she said seemed to turn over in her mind several times before she spoke it.

From the way she spoke and handled things, it was clear she was fishing for attention! This was a game that Second Sister had played before, but her methods were still far behind!

Second Sister always handled things in a way that left others with no room to doubt. After all, how else would Second Sister’s partner and job come about? She had carefully selected them from a group of people she could access.

Day in and day out, feeling exhausted—what good was having a pretty woman around? It was only useful for a short moment of pleasure, but not for daily use. That would only lead to losses!

Xu Jianshe was filled with anger toward the male comrades and envy for the female comrade. He had to close his eyes, hoping that out of sight would be out of mind.

With life being so hard right now, couldn’t there be some normal people around?

But the normal people didn’t show up, and Xu Jianshe got off the train when it reached his stop.

The female educated youth across from him quietly sighed in relief. She had always felt that the gaze of the man who had just gotten off the train was strange—his eyes seemed to burn with anger whenever he looked at her. It was the kind of gaze that was often directed at other women, but she had never felt it from a man before.

Oh my God! This was such a terrifying feeling!

She had to calm herself down with a can of food! The new round of “fishing” had already begun.

…

After Xu Jianshe got off the train, he carried his luggage toward the gathering place for the educated youth.

Along the way, several female comrades asked for his help with their luggage, but Xu Jianshe chose to ignore them.

Wasn’t he carrying his own luggage? Was his strength just free? Did his family get food without paying for it? He had been traveling for so long and was exhausted himself. Yes, he was tall, but his body was weak!

No one, not even his two sisters, could take advantage of him again. Both of his sisters had already set the example. His own mother couldn’t get a single penny from Third Sister, but Eldest Brother had managed to milk some benefits from Second Sister through their mother. Yet, Second Sister quickly sent both of them off to the desert.

Such an idea never even crossed his mind. When he first heard about being sent to the countryside, all he felt was anger and panic.

Was Second Sister’s advantage so easy to take? He guessed that Eldest Brother would regret it deeply when the time came.

He was also a member of the Xu family, born to the same parents—how could he be much worse than his two sisters?

By now, the sky was getting dark. The staff in charge of receiving the newcomers informed everyone that they would stay at the guesthouse for the night and go to the city’s educated youth office the next day for further arrangements.

At this point, Xu Jianshe approached a staff member and said, “I have relatives in the city. I’d like to stay at their place for the night. Can I go to the youth office tomorrow with the others?”

The staff member was surprised but didn’t stop him. “Just make sure you go early tomorrow. Don’t be late!”

“I remember. Thank you, comrade,” Xu Jianshe said, quickly heading out. It would be difficult to find the address once it got dark.