People who eat melon are in 70 - Chapter 22

Zhang Huihui was stopped by Jiang Yutao, and Zhao Yonglan had no chance against Gu Nianwei.

Gu Nianwei was a civilized person; aside from the initial slap, she didn’t strike Zhao Yonglan again.

However, every time she hit Zhao Yonglan, it was with her palm: “Can a slap make a sound? Does it hurt? There are plenty of flies outside. Come on, let me show you whether flies land on eggs with no cracks.”

Gu Nianwei’s least favorite sayings in her life were: “Flies don’t land on uncracked eggs,” “A slap can’t make a sound,” and “Why do they talk about you and not others?”

Unfortunately, Zhao Yonglan had said all three of those phrases, which triggered a triple anger buff for Gu Nianwei. The more she thought about it, the angrier she became, grabbing Zhao Yonglan by the collar and pulling her outside.

In the north, summer mosquitoes are not many, but flies are everywhere. Only when it rains do the flies decrease a bit.

Gu Nianwei dragged Zhao Yonglan towards the livestock shed by Chai Peng. They, as educated youth, had kept a few chickens there, and two of them had started laying eggs.

With the heavy rain today, the eggs in the chicken coop hadn’t been collected yet.

Gu Nianwei gave Jiang Yutao a knowing glance. Jiang Yutao, grinning inwardly, went over to collect the eggs and placed them on the firewood. Flies in the chicken coop immediately swarmed toward the eggs.

Gu Nianwei slapped Zhao Yonglan on the shoulder again, saying, “Is there a crack in this egg? No, right? So what were you just talking about? Huh? Flies buzzing around an uncracked egg?”

Zhao Yonglan had always had a foul mouth and frequently made sharp remarks as if they were jokes. If her father wasn’t so high-ranking, with her temperament, she would have been dealt with long ago.

In her previous life, Gu Nianwei was a young woman living alone, with decent looks and money in hand. She had received specialized training and spent a lot of money on it. Not only could she handle someone as weak as Zhao Yonglan, but she could also hold her own against someone like Lin Jianzhong.

Otherwise, she wouldn’t have had the courage to venture into the black market of the county town alone and escape from those people twice.

Zhao Yonglan was crying out loudly, “You’re all bullying me! You’re all bullying me!” She cried and shouted as she complained.

She felt completely isolated by everyone. She had only said a few words, and while Gu Nianwei could have disagreed if she didn’t like what she heard, why did she have to resort to violence? And Li Yunying—wasn’t she in charge of the young women? Why didn’t she stop Gu Nianwei? Isn’t that leading in isolating her? And Zhang Huihui—just thinking about her made Zhao Yonglan resentful!

They came together, so they should support each other. Zhang Huihui’s father was a subordinate of her father—wasn’t it expected for her to help? Instead, she turned out to be useless. Just one word from Jiang Yutao had scared her into inaction.

As for Jiang Yutao, Zhao Yonglan didn’t consider her at all. Ever since seeing Jiang Yutao restrain and beat Liu Erhua, Zhao Yonglan had instinctively avoided her.

Gu Nianwei laughed at Zhao Yonglan’s words: “Oh, is it because you didn’t handle things well that we ended up bullying you? Otherwise, why would we only target you and not anyone else? Zhao Yonglan, don’t you think it’s time to reflect on yourself?”

Jiang Yutao immediately chimed in: “Yes, exactly. Comrade Zhao Yonglan, you really should reflect on yourself.”

Zhao Yonglan was infuriated.

Wang Shanxi arrived with a few male intellectuals at this time. He glanced at Zhao Yonglan being dragged by Gu Nianwei, then at the eggs in front of Jiang Yutao, and asked Li Yunying, “What’s going on here?”

Li Yunying looked at Wang Shanxi and said, “Zhao Yonglan was just teaching Gu Nianwei how to be a stepmother and said some unpleasant things. Gu Nianwei ended up hitting her.”

In the context of young intellectuals, conflicts and fights were quite common. Two or three years ago, Li Yunying and Wang Shanxi had also had their share of fights, so they were quite calm about it.

Anyway, since she won’t die from it, whoever wins the fight gets to claim victory. It’s better to let out anger and conflicts on the spot rather than keep them bottled up and settle things later.

Wang Shanxi nodded, thinking that with Zhao Yonglan’s mouth, getting beaten was hardly unjust. Even without hearing it, he knew what kind of things Zhao Yonglan would say.

Gu Nianwei had money and looks, and judging by her usual demeanor, her family background was likely also good. Many of the male intellectuals from other groups pursued her. Wang Shanxi felt she had no need to become a stepmother, especially to someone from the countryside.

So what if he’s a military officer? He has three children and is rumored to be retiring soon. In the end, he’ll still be living in the countryside, just like anyone else. What is Gu Nianwei after? Is it his age, or is it because he has children?

“Isn’t it possible to have children if you like them? Even if you can’t have your own, can’t you adopt one or two orphans?

Zhao Yonglan is just looking for trouble by pushing others to be stepmothers; isn’t that just asking for a fight?

Wang Shanxi decided not to get involved.

Zhou Zhenfeng looked around, thought for a moment, and walked over to Gu Nianwei and Zhao Yonglan.

‘Comrade Gu Nianwei, although Comrade Zhao Yonglan sometimes speaks harshly, that’s just her nature. If you don’t like it, just ignore it—there’s no need to hit her. Besides, it’s also about your usual behavior; otherwise, why would people only say things about you and not others?’”

Zhou Zhenfeng spoke with an air of righteousness. Li Yunying and the others focused their attention on him, and Zhao Yonglan looked at him with gratitude.

At that moment, Zhou Zhenfeng felt particularly tall and imposing.

He puffed out his chest.

Jiang Yutao thought that Zhou Zhenfeng was nothing more than a walking disaster.

Why was he meddling in a girls’ fight?

Gu Nianwei immediately retorted, “What does this have to do with you? Why are you making a fuss here? Just because you have a mouth? You think you’re special?”

Gu Nianwei had always looked down on Zhou Zhenfeng from the bottom of her heart. Before she took over the original Gu Nianwei’s body, this man had even written poems for her.

The lewdness and grease of his words seemed to ooze out of the text and paper.

For example: “Today’s sun is bright, but it still can’t compare to the moment you smile at me.”

Just reading it gave her goosebumps.

Moreover, the original Gu Nianwei had never smiled specifically at Zhou Zhenfeng. She only smiled socially, showing courtesy to everyone, not just to him.

After Gu Nianwei’s transmigration, Zhou Zhenfeng continued to court her for a while, mainly by writing poems for her and reading them aloud in her presence.

Gu Nianwei had subtly hinted a few times, but when she saw that Zhou Zhenfeng was completely uncomprehending, she directly told him off in public, leaving no room for leniency. Since then, Zhou Zhenfeng has developed a strong dislike for her.

He even spoke ill of her to the village youth, which, by coincidence, she overheard. Gu Nianwei immediately gave him a kick. Since then, he had dared not make any more moves and would avoid her whenever he saw her.

It hasn’t been long since then; it hasn’t even been a year. Has Zhou Zhenfeng already forgotten the pain and humiliation?

Listening to Gu Nianwei’s unceremonious words, Zhou Zhenfeng felt a pang in his chest. He still couldn’t forget the humiliation and pain from when Gu Nianwei kicked him to the ground.

However, thinking about Zhao Yonglan’s background, he steeled himself.

“Comrade Gu Nianwei, don’t be unreasonable and don’t create trouble.”

Wang Shanxi, feeling exasperated, stepped forward and grabbed Zhou Zhenfeng’s arm. “Zhenfeng, as men, we shouldn’t get involved in disputes between women. Let’s go.”

Wang Shanxi dragged Zhou Zhenfeng away, and Zhao Rongguang, yawning, also left.

Liu Yingjun didn’t join the commotion and sat reading on the kang. Zhao Rongguang plopped down next to him and asked, “What’s wrong? Aren’t you worried that the one getting beaten is your Huihui?”

Zhao Rongguang was sensitive about matters of the heart, and Liu Yingjun’s affection for Zhang Huihui was not a secret to him.

Liu Yingjun turned a page in his book and said, “Huihui can be a bit cautious, but she’s not bad. I doubt anyone would hit her. Since it wasn’t her getting beaten, why should I go out?”

As for Zhao Yonglan, Liu Yingjun couldn’t care less if she dropped dead.

Zhao Rongguang clicked his tongue, finding the whole affair extremely uninteresting.

He glanced at Zhou Zhenfeng, who stood by the door looking sullen and kept glancing around. Zhao Rongguang rolled his eyes, thinking that Wang Shanxi sometimes meddled too much. Why did he have to manage Zhou Zhenfeng? It would be better for him to get a taste of his own medicine and get beaten a bit. At least it would save him from acting like an octopus, trying to get involved with everyone.

Despite being so unattractive, why did he have so much self-confidence?

Zhao Rongguang really couldn’t understand.

…

In the end, Zhao Yonglan apologized to Gu Nianwei, and promised that she would never speak out of turn again or say anything inappropriate in front of Gu Nianwei. With her anger relieved, Gu Nianwei let her go.

Back in the dormitory, Gu Nianwei discussed with Jiang Youtao, and they decided to go find the brigade leader together. They wanted to move out as soon as possible.

“I have a bag of milk candies here; I’ll send them over. The brigade leader’s wife loves to take advantage of small perks, and the brigade leader listens to her. As long as you flatter her properly, you can achieve twice the result with half the effort.” Gu Nianwei could take time off from work occasionally by following the same approach with the brigade leader’s wife.

The brigade leader’s daughter-in-law had just become pregnant, and this would be the first grandchild in the brigade leader’s family. Jiang Yutao said, “I also have a lot of brown sugar; I’ll bring that.”

The next morning, after two days of rain, the weather finally cleared up. Jiang Yutao and Gu Nianwei took advantage of the time before work to visit the brigade leader’s home.

The brigade leader’s wife was picking vegetables in the yard. When she saw Gu Nianwei and Jiang Yutao coming together and noticed the items they were carrying, her eyes lit up instantly. “Oh, isn’t this Gu the educated youth and Jiang the educated youth? What brings you to our home? It’s a rare visit, a rare visit—please come in and sit down.”

She went to the door to wash her hands and warmly invited them inside.

The brigade leader’s house didn’t have a living room; once inside, it led directly to the kitchen. There were two stoves in the kitchen, one against each wall. The brigade leader’s wife led them to the east room, which was their living quarters.

All women in the world love cleanliness, and the brigade leader’s wife was no exception.

The packed earth was swept so clean that not a speck of dust could be seen. The bedding and clothes were neatly arranged in the corner of the kang, and the kang was covered with a reed mat she had woven herself. She was skilled, and the mat had intricate patterns woven into it. A small broom for sweeping the bed was casually placed on top, and a small, low kang table was set in the middle of the kang.

Jiang Yutao and Gu Nianwei sat on the edge of the kang, and the brigade leader’s wife poured them each a cup of hot water.

After taking a sip, Gu Nianwei, who was more familiar with her, spoke up, “Aunt Tao, is the brigade leader not at home? We need to see him about something.”

The brigade leader’s wife, Aunt Tao, had a much more sincere smile on her face.

“Well, it’s good that you’re here to see the brigade leader. Coming to see him means you have something to ask of him. If you have something to ask, it means there’s something to gain.”

“It’s been raining heavily these past couple of days. He’s worried the millet might get knocked down by the rain, so he insists on going to check it out himself. He left before dawn, and we don’t know when he’ll be back.”

In Aunt Tao’s words, “millet” refers to what is commonly known as “millet” in modern times.

Before hybrid rice and other high-yield varieties of rice became widespread, millet was used in many northern regions as a standard for measuring grain prices.

For example, last year, the villagers in Dui Village had their work points valued at one cent each, calculated based on that year’s millet price.

In Liushuikou, the main grain crops are corn and millet. As the brigade leader of Liushuikou, he thinks about the millet in the fields and whether his eyes are closed or open.

He worries about the millet being blown down by the wind or affected by drought if it doesn’t rain. In short, farmers are always anxious throughout the year.

“It’s about four o’clock now, and it’s already bright. My uncle really works hard,” Gu Nianwei used the opportunity to flatter her.

Aunt Tao smiled even more warmly. As the brigade leader’s wife, she would gladly broadcast any good deeds her husband did to the entire village, fearing that people wouldn’t know how competent her husband, the brigade leader, was.

“What’s the hardship? This is what the brigade leader should do. What do you need from him? Tell me, and I’ll pass it on when he comes back.”

With this, Gu Nianwei and Jiang Yutao had achieved their purpose for the day. They took the opportunity to request to build their own houses and move out.

Aunt Tao thought for a moment and said, “That land for you young intellectuals was originally a village wasteland, and the vegetables grown there are of lower quality compared to other areas. If you want to build houses on your reserved land, it should be feasible.”

After all, young intellectuals aren’t villagers, and even if they build houses, they can’t take them with them if they ever return to the city. The houses would remain in the village, which is like getting two houses for free. No one in the village would oppose that.

Moreover, that piece of land was originally allocated to the young intellectuals’ area. Even if they disagreed, they couldn’t plant anything on that land. They would still account for this.

“Make sure you remember to mention this to the team leader, okay? We need to leave now and still have to get to work later.”

Gu Nianwei and the others stood up and left, leaving the items they brought on the kang.

Aunt Tao glanced at the items on the kang but said nothing. She warmly saw them out of the house, saying, “Sure, I’ll make sure to tell him. Don’t worry.”

After seeing Gu Nianwei and Jiang Youtao off, Aunt Tao went back home, looking at the brown sugar and milk candy with a beaming smile.

…

As Jiang Yutao and Gu Nianwei left the team leader’s house, they saw a man in olive-green clothing hurrying toward the Lin family’s place. The figure looked somewhat familiar. Gu Nianwei paused for a moment, while Jiang Yutao scoffed inwardly.

With at most half a month left before the autumn harvest, according to the plot, Gu Nianwei and Lin Jianzhong should be at the stage of matchmaking. It seemed that Lin Jianzhong had finally returned.

Xu Dazui had just finished her meal and was strolling out of her house when she saw them staring at Lin Jianzhong. She approached and said, “Look, that’s Zhao Chunhua’s eldest son, Lin Jianzhong. He came back last night, and it’s said he rushed back immediately after retiring from the army. He had a huge argument with Zhao Chunhua last night; we could even hear them fighting from our house.”

Jiang Youtao and Gu Nianwei exchanged a glance, and Jiang Youtao asked Xu Dazui, “Aunt Xu, did he say himself that he rushed back right after retiring from the army?”

“Yes, it’s true, how could it be false?” Xu Dazui, seeing that Jiang Youtao didn’t believe her, raised her voice slightly. “We heard it clearly last night from under the wall; he said it himself.”

Jiang Youtao nodded and didn’t say more.

Xu Dazui’s grandson, Xiaosi, ran out of the house. “Grandma, Grandpa is calling for you.”

Hearing this, Xu Dazui immediately stopped gossiping with Jiang Youtao and the others. “Let’s talk more about it when we go to work. I need to go home now.”

After Xu Dazui left, Jiang Youtao and Gu Nianwei headed back to the educated youth compound. Jiang Yutao said, “Weiwei, wasn’t that man the one who was supposed to take you to the hospital? It turns out he’s Lin Jianzhong? What a coincidence.”

“But why did he say he just returned from the army? Wasn’t he already back?” Jiang Yutao noted.

She believed that with Gu Nianwei’s level of awareness, she would definitely notice something odd about the situation.

Gu Nianwei kept her head down and didn’t speak. She turned her gaze towards the path where Lin Jianzhong had disappeared.

Their first meeting was on the day their transaction was disrupted. She was panicking and bumped into him. After apologizing, their exchange was limited to a simple “sorry” and “it’s okay.”

Their second meeting happened when she was being tracked and pursued. Coincidentally, they encountered each other again at her most desperate moment. If Jiang Yutao hadn’t shown up in time, he would have been the one to take her to the hospital that day.

Things in this world can often be described as coincidences, but a single coincidence can be one thing; if it happens repeatedly, it’s hard to call it just coincidence, right?

Given that Lin Jianzhong had clearly returned a long time ago but claimed to have just returned, and considering his profession, Gu Nianwei’s expression turned cold for a moment.

Could it be that Lin Jianzhong is actually on a secret mission? He appeared at the scene of the incident twice—could this secret mission be related to investigating the black market?

What could be his intention in repeatedly appearing around her?