People who eat melon are in 70 - Chapter 18

Jiang Youtao stepped out the door and called out to the system: “What’s going on? Explain it to me.”

Jiang Youtao remembered clearly that in the original book, there was no such scene where Gu Nianwei and Lin Jianzhong met before their arranged date. In the book, their first meeting was at the matchmaking party hosted by Lin Weihong.

Melon-eating System: “The book was published, and this scene is a special sweet extra that the author added for the print version. It’s not in the online version; you have to buy the physical book to see it.”

This was an answer Jiang Youtao hadn’t expected at all. She grumbled: “That lousy book actually got published? If the publisher can’t see how bad it is, they should donate their eyes to someone who needs them.”

“System, this is an emergency! Download the extra content for me right now!” Jiang Youtao demanded, eager to see just how “sweet” this extra scene was.

The Melon-eating System trembled: “I… I don’t have the permission… You have to place an order and buy it first. You can’t find it online.”

Jiang Youtao: …Useless at critical moments. What good are you?

The Melon-eating system was on the verge of tears, hurriedly assuring her: “Host, don’t worry, I’ll definitely find the extra chapter as quickly as possible.”

Jiang Youtao had already decided she wasn’t interested in that ridiculous sweet extra story anymore. No matter how sweet it was, breaking them up was the goal—simple, brutal, and oh-so-satisfying.

The rain hadn’t stopped yet. Jiang Youtao walked briskly along the muddy countryside path with her umbrella. She hadn’t reached the commune yet when she heard the sound of a car engine. Turning her head, she saw that it was a car from the neighboring Wangjia Village heading toward the county town.

Delighted, Jiang Youtao waved to stop the car. When the driver stopped and opened the door, she quickly got in.

There weren’t many people on the bus, mostly young folks. Judging by their attire, most of them were likely educated youths.

As soon as Jiang Youtao sat down, a round-faced girl behind her leaned over the seat and started talking to her.

“Comrade, are you an educated youth too?”

It was still raining outside. Although Jiang Youtao had brought an umbrella, she still got a bit wet when she put it away and boarded the bus. The rain was heavy, and her hair was damp.

Jiang Youtao reached into her pocket, but actually retrieved a handkerchief from the system’s inventory to wipe her head and face. She answered the round-faced girl’s question: “Yes, I’m a new educated youth assigned to Liushugou Brigade this year. Are you all as well?”

The round-faced girl smiled brightly. “We’re assigned to Liujiayingzi in Wangjia Village commune. I went to the countryside in 1972. My name is Zhou Lingling, what’s yours?”

After speaking to Jiang Youtao, she turned to her neighbor and said, “I told you she was definitely an educated youth, but you insisted on betting with me. Now you owe me lunch. I want meat-filled wontons.”

As soon as she finished speaking, Jiang Youtao heard a man’s voice pretending to wail: “Oh no, Zhou Lingling, why do I always lose to you? Let’s make a deal—can I treat you to vegetable wontons instead?”

“No way, it has to be meat-filled. Otherwise, I won’t go easy on you,” Zhou Lingling replied with mock stubbornness.

Then Jiang Youtao heard the man’s voice reluctantly agree, “Alright, alright, there goes my pocket money for the month.”

Jiang Youtao heard Zhou Lingling’s cheerful laughter. Zhou Lingling didn’t even seem to care about Jiang Youtao’s name, as she was happily bantering with the male-educated youth.

Jiang Youtao also smiled. It was clear that this wasn’t really a bet. The male-educated youth was just looking for an excuse to treat Zhou Lingling to a meal, and Zhou Lingling was simply using the bet as a pretext to go along with it.

Zhou Lingling then turned to Jiang Youtao and asked, “How’s Li Yunying from your educated youth point doing lately? We haven’t seen each other for a month or two; everyone’s been too busy. The last time we met, she had a cold. Is she better now?”

Wangjiatun Brigade wasn’t far from Liushugou Brigade, so after the autumn harvest and during the winter downtime, the educated youths from both places would visit each other. Li Yunying had a good personality, and Zhou Lingling was warm and outgoing, so they got along well.

“She was already better by the time I went to the countryside,” Jiang Youtao replied casually.

Zhou Lingling was familiar with the other educated youths at Liushugou Brigade, too. After finishing their conversation about Li Yunying, they naturally started talking about the others. The two of them chatted and laughed the whole way, with other educated youths occasionally chiming in, making the journey anything but dull.

By the time they parted ways in the county town, Jiang Youtao had already agreed to meet up with Zhou Lingling and the others after the autumn harvest.

Once Zhou Lingling and the rest had gone, Jiang Youtao stood at the bus station entrance, looking around blankly. This was her second time in this county town; the first time was the day she had just arrived as an educated youth.

The gossip system immediately came online, projecting a map of the county town in front of Jiang Youtao. There were three points on the map: a red one representing Gu Nianwei, a blue one representing Lin Jianzhong, and a green one with an arrow representing Jiang Youtao herself.

It looked pretty legitimate, though Jiang Youtao wondered which game the gossip system had drawn its inspiration from and whether it had even paid the copyright fees.

Melon-eating system: …Why do I feel underestimated again?

Jiang Youtao carefully examined the map. She looked at the system that had meticulously marked even the large stones in the corners of every alley and thought about taking this system to a mountain city in the future, a place reputed to be the nemesis of all navigation systems.

She had no other intention, just a desire to see how her system would fare compared to those navigation systems.

The Melon-eating system, detecting Jiang Youtao’s thoughts, felt like it was in over its head.

On the map, the red dot representing Gu Nianwei was moving rapidly, while the blue dot representing Lin Jianzhong was desperately chasing after it. Then, Jiang Youtao watched as the blue dot took a shortcut through an alley and got ahead of Gu Nianwei, causing the two of them to eventually meet.

The spot where they met was right near Jiang Youtao, so she hurried over.

When Jiang Youtao arrived, Gu Nianwei was leaning against a wall, and the man in the olive-green clothes was squatting on the ground, holding Gu Nianwei’s foot. He occasionally looked up to say something to her.

This scene—with a beautiful woman and a decent-looking man—would make anyone who saw it think of a romantic atmosphere, like “a fierce tiger gently sniffing a rose.” People would naturally admire such a perfect couple.

However, Jiang Youtao found it glaringly unpleasant.

She charged toward the two of them, yelling internally: “You scoundrel, take your dirty hands off her!”

Gu Nianwei could feel the rough calluses on the man’s hand rubbing against the top of her foot, causing an indescribable mix of itchiness and discomfort. She felt very uneasy.

When she heard Jiang Youtao’s voice, Gu Nianwei wondered if she was hearing things. Jiang Youtao called out again, and Gu Nianwei immediately looked in the direction of the voice. Seeing that it was indeed Jiang Youtao, she breathed a sigh of relief and smiled brightly, “Tao Tao, I’m here.”

Jiang Youtao quickened her pace.

Gu Nianwei looked at the man holding her foot and, feeling uncomfortable, moved her foot slightly. “Comrade, my friend has come to find me, so you don’t need to take me to the hospital.”

The man, still squatting, responded with a soft “hmm,” and for a moment, his downcast eyes turned cold. But within seconds, he returned to his usual self, gently released her foot, stood up, and gave Gu Nianwei a deep look before saying in a low voice, “If that’s the case, I’ll be on my way.”

This man wasn’t particularly handsome, and moments ago, he had forcefully grabbed her foot despite her objections. Yet, for some reason, Gu Nianwei didn’t feel any aversion towards him.

Hearing that he was leaving, Gu Nianwei suddenly felt a bit anxious, though she didn’t understand why. She took a deep breath to steady herself and asked, “Comrade, thank you for helping me again. May I ask your name?”

Upon hearing this, Jiang Youtao almost blurted out, “Oh, come on!”

Things were progressing way too fast. They hadn’t even spent much time together, and now they were already exchanging names. If she had arrived any later, who knows if they would have ended up together on the spot?

The man paused his steps for a moment, said nothing, and walked away in the opposite direction from Jiang Youtao.

“Wei Wei, what happened to you?”

Gu Nianwei suppressed the disappointment in her heart and tried to sound cheerful as she spoke to Jiang Youtao. “I accidentally twisted my ankle.”

“Let me help you to the hospital.”

Not wanting to be pretentious, Gu Nianwei leaned on Jiang Youtao’s shoulder and let her guide her toward the hospital. “Why are you here?”

Jiang Youtao had already prepared an answer to this question. “I ran out of sanitary pads, and the supply and marketing cooperative had no stock. So, I came to the country to buy some. I took the car from Wangjiatun Commune. This was my first time in the county, so I was walking slowly. Just now, when I was at the alley entrance, I saw someone inside who looked like you, so I called out, and it turned out to be you.”

Jiang Youtao had heard about the shortage of sanitary pads in the car from an old lady who boarded at the supply and marketing cooperative stop. The old lady’s daughter had just started her period and needed them urgently, but coincidentally, the cooperative had run out of stock.

They had to go to the county town to buy it, and the old lady was so annoyed. She even started complaining on the bus, not caring if anyone recognized her.

After hearing that, Jiang Youtao immediately decided to use this as an excuse. Anyway, both she and Gu Nianwei were very private people, and since Jiang Youtao hadn’t had her period since she transmigrated, Gu Nianwei wouldn’t know whether she actually had any sanitary pads or not.

Moreover, it was a plausible reason, and even if Gu Nianwei had doubts afterward, she wouldn’t have been able to find out anything if she checked with the supply and marketing cooperative.

Jiang Youtao took the opportunity to ask, “What happened to you? Do you know the guy from earlier?”

Jiang Youtao had to ask about Lin Jianzhong because, in this situation, anyone with a clear conscience would ask about the man they saw with their close friend. If she didn’t ask anything, it would make Gu Nianwei suspicious.

“It was raining, and when I left my aunt’s house, I didn’t watch my step and twisted my ankle.” After saying that, she paused for a moment. “The comrade who just left saw that I was having trouble walking and offered to take me to the clinic.”

Jiang Youtao nodded. “Well, that comrade seems pretty nice. Do you know his name? If we see him again, we should properly thank him.”

Gu Nianwei shook her head. “I asked, but he didn’t say.”

“Wow, a real Lei Feng, huh?” The two of them supported each other as they walked out of the alley.

This county town was called Yangping County. It wasn’t very big, with only three intersections, and the hospital and main buildings were in the center of the town, not far away. Even though they walked slowly, Jiang Youtao and Gu Nianwei reached the hospital in just over twenty minutes.

The hospital in Yangping County wasn’t large, consisting of only two buildings. The one at the back was for inpatient care and doctors’ residences, while the one at the front was for the outpatient department.

Jiang Youtao took Gu Nianwei to the emergency department. When she returned after paying the fee, a doctor in his sixties was adjusting Gu Nianwei’s foot while chatting with her about unrelated matters.

Jiang Youtao’s arrival distracted Gu Nianwei, and at that moment, the old doctor quickly set her dislocated foot back in place before she even realized it.

The old doctor went back to his desk and wiped his hands with a wet towel. “It’s nothing serious. Just be careful and rest for a while. You’ll need at least a week.”

Gu Nianwei got off the examination bed and cautiously tested her injured leg, taking a couple of steps. It really didn’t hurt anymore.

She found it quite miraculous.

In her previous life, Gu Nianwei had also twisted her ankle. At the hospital, they did an examination, took X-rays, and did blood tests. After more than an hour of back-and-forth, the conclusion was that she hadn’t injured any bones, but they still prescribed a bunch of medication.

Gu Nianwei had seen people fixing dislocated bones with a simple move, but only in short videos; she had never encountered it in real life.

Jiang Youtao also found it incredible. “Is it better now?” She was a bit taken aback.

“It’s better. You can go now,” the old doctor said before calling for the next patient.

Jiang Youtao and Gu Nianwei walked out together. When they arrived, Gu Nianwei had needed to rely on Jiang Youtao as a human crutch, but now she was walking on her own, albeit a bit slowly, with no other issues.

As they walked, they discussed the experience. After leaving the hospital, they went straight to the department store. The place was as crowded as ever, and after squeezing through the crowd and standing in line, they finally bought what they wanted after half an hour. When they came out, Jiang Youtao was sweating all over.

Gu Nianwei, worried about injuring her foot again, didn’t go inside with her. However, before Jiang Youtao entered the store, Gu Nianwei had given her the chili powder she had asked for the day before.

“So many people. Let’s go,” Gu Nianwei handed Jiang Youtao a soda. It was something she had taken from her space, identical to the sodas of this era, which she had bought from a retro store.

To be honest, it tasted really good. She had kept it chilled in the fridge within her space, and in this hot weather, drinking a bottle gave Jiang Youtao the sensation of bubbles dancing on her tongue—it was truly refreshing and uplifting!

After downing the entire bottle of soda, Jiang Youtao held the cold glass bottle and sighed, “I wonder when I’ll be able to drink soda freely.”

In her previous life, Jiang Youtao didn’t particularly like carbonated drinks. She preferred the bland taste of mineral water over soda.

When her classmates and colleagues raved about how great soda was, she had argued against it, and now it seemed like karma had come for her.

She drank natural, unpolluted mountain spring water every day, and getting a sip of soda was harder than anything.

The idea of achieving “freedom” to do something was something Gu Nianwei had mentioned to Jiang Youtao a few days ago. When Jiang Youtao brought it up now, it didn’t feel out of place. Gu Nianwei smiled and said, “Maybe one day when you really achieve the freedom to drink soda, you’ll start thinking it’s unhealthy again.”

Jiang Youtao laughed at that. “I hope that day comes soon.”

Only by truly experiencing the transition from the well-fed, worry-free life of the 21st century to the scarcity of food and clothing in the 1970s can one fully appreciate the strength of the motherland. Jiang Youtao constantly looked forward to the rise of her country.

In this world, she was nothing more than a tiny speck of dust. The butterfly effect caused by her time travel might at most change the fate of those around her, but it would hardly make a significant contribution to the nation.

However, with the system in her possession, which contained technology far more advanced than this world, who knows—maybe one day she could accumulate enough “melon coins” to buy those high-tech products and donate them to the country?

After all, for those of her generation who grew up in the 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s, who didn’t have a patriotic heart?

Gu Nianwei looked at the rainbow that had appeared in the sky at some point, a determined smile on her face. “I think that day is coming soon.”

Neither of them had eaten breakfast that morning, so they decided to go to a state-run restaurant together.

The state-run restaurant wasn’t large, about fifty to sixty square meters in size, with a few square tables neatly arranged inside. In the center of the room were two large pillars. Since it wasn’t mealtime yet, the restaurant wasn’t crowded—only one table was occupied.

In front of the customers sat a plate of cold dishes, a plate of peanuts, and a bottle of alcohol. The two were enjoying their cold dishes and sipping on their drinks, chatting comfortably.

The two women sat at a table farthest from the other guests. The waitress, who had been knitting a sweater, put it down and came over to take their order.

Jiang Youtao had lived two lives as a Southerner, and although Gu Nianwei had been a Southerner in her previous life, she was now in the body of a Northerner. They both decided to order rice.

For the dishes, they chose braised pork and stir-fried vegetables—simple, hearty dishes that went well with rice.

The head chef served the dishes quickly, and in no time, the two dishes were placed in front of them.

Both dishes were generously portioned, and the chef’s skills were excellent. The braised pork had a rich, red color, with the fatty parts not being greasy and the lean parts not being dry. The meat melted in the mouth with just a gentle bite. The stir-fried vegetables were bok choy, crisp and sweet, with the broth making the rice so flavorful that Jiang Youtao could have easily eaten three bowls.

Jiang Youtao hadn’t had meat or rice in a long time, while Gu Nianwei often sneaked in some special meals when no one was watching. She wasn’t particularly craving rice or meat, but seeing how much Jiang Youtao was enjoying the meal, she ended up eating quite a bit herself. By the time they left the restaurant, both of them were feeling a bit stuffed.

Since the state-run restaurant was a bit of a distance from the bus station, they strolled leisurely, treating it as a way to help digest their food.

Once they boarded the bus back to Liushugou, and the bus started moving, they both closed their eyes to rest.

In the darkness, with the hum of the bus in her ears, Gu Nianwei’s thoughts became even clearer.

She had gone to the county today mainly to gather information, but as soon as she approached the room she had rented, she keenly sensed that someone had been inside. Being a cautious person, she always left a mark when leaving her rental house. Every time she returned from the countryside, the mark was intact—except this time, it was gone.

Considering the previous incident, Gu Nianwei immediately became alert. She pretended she had gone to the wrong door and left the rental, only to realize a few steps later that she was being followed. After a few minutes of brisk walking, she started running, with the person following her in hot pursuit.

After sprinting through several streets, she finally managed to shake off her pursuer, but she accidentally twisted her ankle. If she hadn’t run into Jiang Youtao, she might have been caught. As for the man in the military uniform who had helped her with her foot, once she left his side, the joy and shyness she had felt completely vanished.

Gu Nianwei furrowed her brow, her mind racing with thoughts.

In contrast, Jiang Youtao was happily waiting to receive her mission rewards.

“Mission accomplished: Successfully disrupted and ruined the first meeting between the male and female leads. Rewards: 3 meat buns, 500g of beef jerky, 1kg of cream-coated sunflower seeds. Items have been placed in your inventory. Please continue your efforts.”

“Ding~~ Mission completed successfully. You have prevented the deepening of the relationship between the male and female leads. The female lead’s awakening progress is now at 5%. You are awarded 5 Guabi (melon coins). Please continue your efforts.”

Jiang Youtao was surprised by the sudden jump in Gu Nianwei’s awakening progress. But after thinking it over, she realized that the progress bar hadn’t moved up enough. After all, according to the system, this side story was meant to patch some of the bugs in the original story, such as why Gu Nianwei’s intelligence seemed to drop whenever she encountered Lin Jianzhong, making her completely compliant and overly fond of him.

By directly disrupting Gu Nianwei and Lin Jianzhong’s meeting, Jiang Youtao effectively severed part of the logical chain. Without the preliminary context, it was normal for Gu Nianwei to have some awakening.

She looked at the items in her system inventory with satisfaction. Not to mention the meat buns, the beef jerky and Guabi were really appealing. With the Guabi she had from before, she now had 6 Guabi!

Six Guabi! Jiang Youtao felt suddenly rich.

However, she wondered why there were so many sunflower seeds. She hadn’t finished the two pounds of seeds from the previous reward yet. Jiang Youtao negotiated with the system: “System, I haven’t finished the sunflower seeds from the last reward. Since you’ve given me so many again, can you exchange them for something else?”

Jiang Youtao thought that with so many items in the system shop, surely she could exchange the sunflower seeds for something cheaper.

“Sorry, Host, once rewards are issued, they cannot be exchanged or refunded.”

Jiang Youtao couldn’t tell if it was just her perception, but she felt like the system was gloating.

Given the Guabi, meat buns, and beef jerky, Jiang Youtao decided not to quibble over this small matter with the system.

Unable to sleep and feeling bored, Jiang Youtao asked about the side story sweet treat. The system was already prepared and had been waiting for the host to ask. As soon as Jiang Youtao’s thoughts turned to it, the system presented the side story directly in front of her.

Wanting to save some face, Jiang Youtao understood the principle of giving praise for good work. She complimented the system, making it feel pleased and satisfied.

Reluctant to look at the artificial mishaps, Jiang Youtao opened the side story. After only a few glances, she felt her blood pressure rise.

In the side story, Lin Jianzhong is not yet the director of the commune’s supply and marketing cooperative. At this time, he is assisting the supply and marketing cooperative and the public security bureau in investigating a batch of refined grain recently leaked into the black market.

This is not the first time he has met Gu Nianwei. He had previously encountered her when she accidentally collided with him in a panic while fleeing.

According to the book’s logic, Lin Jianzhong had already suspected Gu Nianwei’s identity, but he chose not to report it and instead kept it hidden. This decision involved considerable inner conflict.

He helped Gu Nianwei realign her dislocated bone and took her to the hospital for an examination. During this time, they exchanged names. He appeared charming and virtuous, which led Gu Nianwei to develop a strong positive impression of him, setting the stage for their future matchmaking.

Jiang Youtao: …This makes sense now. The logic is coherent. Lin Jianzhong is even more of a fool. It confirms that his marriage to Gu Nianwei was entirely driven by his ulterior motives. This also explains why he could have taken Gu Nianwei out of her situation but chose not to act.

This idiot was initially fixated on the supplies in Gu Nianwei’s space!!!