People who eat melon are in 70 - Chapter 37
Jiang Yutao was in an exceptionally good mood, even humming a tune on her way back.
As she entered the village, she saw Xia Heyu walking out, wiping away tears as she went. When Xia Heyu noticed Jiang Yutao looking at her, she glared at her fiercely. “What are you looking at?”
Jiang Yutao was reminded of a popular joke she’d seen online and smiled back at her. “What if I am looking?”
She shifted her stance slightly, ready for Xia Heyu to charge at her so she could fight back. After all, she’d heard from the joke that in Northeast China, this kind of exchange often led to a fight.
However, Xia Heyu only gave her another hard glare before turning and walking away. Jiang Yutao felt like she had prepared for nothing, leaving her slightly disappointed.
As she continued walking into the village, she wasn’t surprised to find Xu Dazui and Fourth Aunt Jiang sitting under the big willow tree at the village entrance, stitching shoe soles. When they saw Jiang Yutao coming, they immediately called out to her: “Yutao, where have you been?”
Since Jiang Yutao had stopped working, it had been a while since she’d seen Xu Dazui and the others. Seeing them suddenly gave her a feeling of nostalgia. She quickly walked over, put her basket down beside her, and crouched down to chat with them. “I went to the county town to take care of some things. What are you all talking about here?”
Fourth Aunt Jiang rubbed the twine in her hands and said, “Talking about the Su family. Oh my, you wouldn’t believe it—things have been really lively over there.” Fourth Aunt Jiang’s house was close to the Su family, so she had all the inside scoop.
With the recent farming season keeping everyone busy, there hadn’t been much time to chat, which left Fourth Aunt Jiang feeling stifled. Even though she had just finished sharing everything with Xu Dazui, she was still full of enthusiasm as she began retelling the story to Jiang Yutao.
“That little wife who just ran out crying—Xia Heyu—Yutao, you saw her, right?” Fourth Aunt Jiang teased, building suspense.
Jiang Yutao nodded vigorously, like a garlic pounder. “I saw her, I saw her. She ran past crying. I looked at her for a bit, and she asked me, ‘What are you looking at?’ So I replied, ‘What if I am looking?’ I even thought she’d charge at me and start a fight, but she didn’t say another word and just ran off.”
Aunt Zhang sneered, “Only an idiot would start a fight over ‘What are you looking at?’ and ‘What if I am looking?’ What normal person would actually act like that?”
In Northeastern slang, being called an “idiot” isn’t a compliment. Jiang Yutao understood the gist of it—it referred to people who are stubborn, not too bright, and easily provoked.
There was someone like that in the village: a man named Xu Dashan. Jiang Yutao had never interacted with him, though.
Seeing the conversation veer off track, Fourth Aunt Jiang became impatient and quickly interjected, “On the second day after her wedding, didn’t she already want a divorce? But Sun Xiaojuan cleverly redirected the topic with some excuse and managed to brush it off. After everyone left, they shut the door, and who knows what the Su family said to her? Suddenly, she let out a sharp scream. We all thought the Su family had hit her! Scared us half to death. We rushed over immediately, but when we asked her, she just said it was because of Su Changshan’s reassignment.”
“Do you think this girl has a problem? Didn’t her family already know about Su Changshan’s reassignment? How could she only find out about it after the wedding?”
Jiang Yutao and the others genuinely didn’t know about this. That day, after watching the drama unfold, they had felt a bit guilty and gone up the mountain to pick mushrooms in the afternoon. As a qualified gossip enthusiast, Jiang Yutao took on the role of encouraging more storytelling. “And then what happened?” she asked.
Fourth Aunt Jiang said, “Well, that’s how it went. Everyone thought she was acting crazy, so they went home. After that, it was time for the autumn harvest, and her house was in constant chaos. She refused to do anything at home—not only did she avoid working in the fields, but she wouldn’t even cook. When asked, she’d just say she didn’t know how, making Zhu Yuemei and Sun Xiaojuan furious.”
The Su family’s drama had been endless lately, so much so that Fourth Aunt Jiang was tired of recounting it all. “On the third day after the wedding, when she was supposed to visit her parents, she refused to go back. Su Yang went back by himself, but no sooner had he arrived than her family sent her back right after him. She caused a big scene wherever she went, throwing tantrums and making a fool of herself.”
“Things finally calmed down for a few days, but now there’s more trouble today,” Fourth Aunt Jiang sighed, adding, “Everyone says you’ve got to be careful when choosing a wife. You can’t just look at the family background. Look at the Su family—what kind of people have they married into their household?”
Jiang Yutao was getting impatient with Fourth Aunt Jiang’s scattered storytelling. “Fourth Aunt, you still haven’t said why she caused trouble today!”
Fourth Aunt Jiang realized she had gone off-topic and quickly said, “Oh, right, it’s because the Su family is splitting up.”
This statement immediately perked up the ears of all the women working under the big willow tree. Until now, Fourth Aunt Jiang hadn’t mentioned anything about this part of the Su family drama.
Xu Dazui was even more eager than Jiang Yutao. “The Su family is splitting up—what does that have to do with her?”
Fourth Aunt Jiang chuckled and lowered her voice. “Ah, you don’t understand, do you? Yesterday, when I went to visit my relatives at my parents’ place, I heard from my grand-nephew that Xia Heyu once had a thing with Su Zhengtang!”
This single sentence caused an uproar among the group under the willow tree. A few of the older women with hearing difficulties even scooted their stools closer to Fourth Aunt Jiang to make sure they didn’t miss anything.
Xu Dazui’s eyes lit up instantly. “Really? Then wouldn’t that mean the nephew took his uncle’s woman?”
Xu Dazui had a particular love for gossip with a hint of scandal.
Aunt Zhang slapped her thigh. “I knew it! That day, when Xia Heyu called Su Zhengtang by name, it felt oddly intimate, but I didn’t think much of it. After all, they’re classmates, so being close seemed normal. But now that you say this—there’s definitely more to it!”
Fourth Aunt Jiang raised her eyebrows. “Let me finish the story.”
“Today, the Su family’s decision to split up was brought up by Su Zhengtang. You all know, ever since Su Changshan was reassigned to the farm, Su Zhengping has been blaming Zhu Yuemei. He hasn’t spoken a single word to her from that day until now.”
“Let me tell you, Su Zhengping really isn’t a decent person. Zhu Yuemei raised him through thick and thin, doing everything for him. Even if she had been at fault—which she wasn’t—he shouldn’t treat her this way, right?”
“His poor treatment of Zhu Yuemei has influenced his kids. They’re following his example. Just the other day, I overheard little Su Guixiang calling her grandmother a troublemaker. Now tell me, if no one had been whispering such things to Su Guixiang, would she dare say that? Back in the day, would she have dared to talk about her grandmother like that?”
Aunt Zhang said firmly, “It’s definitely Sun Xiaojuan or Su Zhengping who said something. Otherwise, Su Guixiang wouldn’t dare talk that way.”
“Exactly. After the autumn harvest was finally over, Su Zhengtang proposed splitting up the family. He wanted to live separately with Zhu Yuemei. Su Zhengping agreed, and the rest of the Su family had no objections. But Xia Heyu threw a fit. She slammed the table, refused to agree, and when Su Yang scolded her, she started crying and ran off. Look, she hasn’t been gone for long, has she? And yet, has anyone from the Su family come looking for her?”
Everyone sighed and shook their heads. In this day and age, newlywed wives had no say in family matters. Even women who had been married into a family for decades didn’t get to participate in major decisions like splitting up the household.
Xia Heyu was clearly overestimating her own importance.
Jiang Yutao didn’t share her opinion. To her, some aspects of this era were downright frustrating—like how newlywed wives had no voice in family matters.
Having had her fill of gossip, Jiang Yutao decided it was time to leave.
“Auntie, I’m heading back. Come visit me at home sometime if you’re free,” Jiang Yutao said, standing up and picking up her things.
Fourth Aunt Jiang quickly tossed her half-finished shoe sole into her sewing basket, grabbed her stool, and ran after her. “Yutao, slow down. I’ve got something to tell you.”
“What is it?”
Fourth Aunt Jiang caught up to Jiang Yutao and whispered to her, “That educated youth, Zhao, from your settlement—tell her to be more careful lately. It’s best not to keep so much money on her. Yesterday, when I was coming back from my parents’ place, I saw Xia Heyu chatting with someone from the Lin family store, gossiping about how Zhao has money in her hands.”
The people of Liushu (The Village) were generally honest and kind. Even though Zhao Yonglan had a significant amount of money, no one had shown any malicious intent—at most, they just thought about borrowing some from her. But it was a different story in neighboring villages, especially in Linjiadian Brigade, which was notorious for its many bachelors and loafers.
Jiang Yutao’s face darkened as she thought about Zhao Yonglan’s fate. She immediately thanked Fourth Aunt Jiang sincerely, “Thank you, Fourth Aunt. If you hadn’t told me, we wouldn’t have known about this at all.”
The news about Zhao Yonglan having money had already spread through the village. But with everyone busy with the autumn harvest—first working on the production team’s fields, then their own—no one had time to visit other villages. Jiang Yutao didn’t know many people outside their village either, so she had no idea about the rumors circulating elsewhere. The only thing she could do now was ensure Zhao Yonglan never ended up alone.
She hadn’t expected this information to come from Xia Heyu, who had deliberately told people from Linjiadian Brigade. As someone who had lived through this once before, Jiang Yutao knew exactly what kind of place Linjiadian was. Did Xia Heyu think Jiang Yutao wouldn’t see through her motives? Jiang Yutao could figure it out with just a bit of thought.
She had clearly overestimated the so-called second female lead’s moral boundaries.
This was nothing more than a vile, malicious person who would go to any extreme to achieve her goals—and who was especially foolish and cruel while doing so!
Fourth Aunt Jiang waved her hand dismissively. “No need to be so polite. Now that things have settled down, people have been visiting other villages more often. It’s only a matter of time before this news spreads to Linjiadian. My point is just for you all to be extra cautious. I’ve got to go now—there’s something I need to take care of at home.”
With that, Fourth Aunt Jiang hurried off.
After she left, Jiang Yutao’s melon-eating system chimed in:
[Ding~~ Congratulations to the host for completing today’s task: “Discover gossip about the female lead.” Reward: 200g of steamed rice, a bowl of black chicken soup, 100g of braised pork, and 2kg of buttered sunflower seeds. Rewards have been sent to the host’s inventory. Please check your pack.]
Jiang Yutao immediately opened her inventory. Seeing the aromatic and delicious-looking food lying in her pack, she felt that the 100 Melon Coins spent on upgrading the system were worth every penny.
Not only did gossiping about random people now come with rewards, but gossiping about the female lead offered even better prizes.
Before Jiang Yutao could finish basking in her happiness, the system issued another task:
[Ding~~ New task: Lead Zhao Yonglan to expose Xia Heyu’s scheme. Completion reward: 5 Melon Coins.]
Jiang Yutao raised an eyebrow and asked, “System, in this second female lead’s story, is anyone being controlled by the Small World Consciousness?”
[Melon-eating System: This is beyond the system’s permissions. Please investigate on your own.]
Jiang Yutao fell silent. The system’s refusal to answer directly was a confirmation in itself—there ‘was’ someone in this book who was under the control of the Small World Consciousness.
But it couldn’t possibly be Xia Heyu. Whether in her previous life or in the book’s storyline, Xia Heyu had always acted without any brains.
So, could it be Su Zhengtang?
When Jiang Yutao returned to the educated youth’s settlement, she saw Zhao Yonglan sitting under the fruit tree in the courtyard, playing her accordion.
She was wearing a pale yellow blouse with a cream-colored knitted vest over it, and her hair was tied into a side ponytail.
The tune she was playing on the accordion was one Jiang Yutao had never heard before—cheerful and melodious.
Putting aside Zhao Yonglan’s personality and temperament, she was actually quite an impressive young woman. According to Zhang Huihui, she had once had a chance to join a cultural performance troupe.
In this era, the selection criteria for cultural troupes were incredibly strict. Without real talent, you couldn’t get in. The fact that Zhao Yonglan was even considered meant she was gifted in this field.
Moreover, based on the trajectory of the previous timeline, Zhao Yonglan ended up falling in love with Su Zhengtang because she believed he was a responsible, reliable man. All their interactions revolved around Su Zhengtang repaying his debts.
Here’s the question: two people who barely knew each other, exchanging only a few words during the repayment process—could Zhao Yonglan really fall deeply in love with a man in that brief interaction? And in this lifetime, Zhao Yonglan was no stranger to the ways of the world. As Zhang Huihui mentioned, there were plenty of people who tried to win her favor with gifts. How could a single egg in a bowl compare to the more precious things she had been offered?
Would someone who had seen so much in life, even if she lacked good food or clothing, really be moved by an egg and develop feelings for the man who gave it to her?
As Zhao Yonglan finished her song, she put down the accordion, and the autumn breeze lifted her hair.
A round of applause broke out, led by Li Yunying and the other female educated youths.
Jiang Yutao also clapped. “That was beautiful. I was completely entranced.”
Zhao Yonglan smiled shyly.
Zhang Huihui added, “The cultural troupe leader who came to our school for recruitment back then said Yonglan’s accordion playing was exceptional. If she hadn’t fallen and injured her hand on the day of the interview, she would’ve already become an honored soldier by now.”
Zhao Yonglan picked up her accordion and headed to the dormitory. “What’s the point of talking about it now? That opportunity is long gone.”
The cultural troupe had only come to her school for recruitment that one time, and missing it had been the greatest regret of Zhao Yonglan’s life. The next year, when she heard they were recruiting again, she tried out but wasn’t selected.
Every time the topic came up, Zhao Yonglan felt deeply sorrowful.
Jiang Yutao stored the grains she had brought home in the house she shared with Gu Nianwei, then made her way toward the dormitory.
Gu Nianwei was also there.
Ever since Zhao Yonglan stopped causing trouble, the atmosphere among the female educated youths became harmonious. Gu Nianwei also liked to come over here more often.
Jiang Yutao noticed that Zhao Yonglan still seemed a bit down, so after thinking for a moment, she decided to share what Aunt Jiang had told her.
Zhao Yonglan was completely confused. “Wait, what exactly is Xia Heyu’s goal in all of this? I have no grudge with her, we’ve never had any conflicts, and we haven’t even spoken to each other!”
“When she married into the family, I had already stopped associating with the Su family. In fact, when I was still in touch with them, I hadn’t even met Su Yang. He considers himself a city person and rarely comes home. Even his wedding was arranged by Zhu Yuemei and Sun Xiaojuan.”
Zhao Yonglan just couldn’t understand why Xia Heyu would want to harm her. She couldn’t make heads or tails of it.
Jiang Yutao, recalling what she had planned to say, reminded her, “I just heard Aunt Jiang say that when she was in middle school, she had a thing with Su Zhengtang. Maybe she’s still holding onto feelings for him and, when she found out Su Zhengtang made you an egg on your own, she got jealous?”
Zhao Yonglan’s face turned pale with shock.
Gu Nianwei’s eyes widened in disbelief. “Xia Heyu and Su Zhengtang had a past? And now she’s married to Su Yang? Wow, this is really an attempt to target both the uncle and the nephew from the Su family!”
Gu Nianwei felt like her understanding of the world was too limited. She had only ever seen those short videos about people marrying into families where they ended up with ex-boyfriends’ aunts, stepmothers, or even aunts-in-law. But this situation was the first time she had heard of someone marrying the ex-boyfriend’s nephew after they broke up.
This whole situation made Gu Nianwei understand just how incredibly messed up Xia Heyu’s actions really were.
What’s going on? Is there no man left in this world? Is she now just going to hover between the uncle and the nephew from the Su family?
“The most ridiculous part is that she married the nephew and still feels hostile towards the girl who has a connection with the uncle,” Zhang Huihui felt like she had lived in Chengli for sixteen years, but still hadn’t seen as much as people in Liushu village.
Watching these events unfold one after another made Zhang Huihui’s excitement surge. She thought, if she wrote to her friends back home about this, they wouldn’t believe it!
“Yeah, it’s kind of sick, right?” Li Yunying joined in with the gossip.
Then she turned to Zhao Yonglan and said, “You’ve just arrived, so you don’t know what Linjiadian is like. It’s way poorer than our Liushu. Their village is deep in the mountains. I heard that fifty years ago, they didn’t even know how to farm and lived by hunting.”
“Later, they cleared land to farm, but they were lazy and thought it wasn’t worth the hard work. They felt that hunting earned them more than farming, so now their village has more land than people. It’s a really poor place, full of good-for-nothings and bachelors. No woman would want to marry into that village.”
Li Yunying’s expression grew more serious: “Yonglan, from now on, you’d better not be alone. Stay with me, or if you want, stay with me or someone else. I know some self-defense techniques, and I’ll help if needed.”
Gu Nianwei also said, “You can stay with me too, I can help as well.”
Jiang Yutao and Zhang Huihui exchanged looks. They both felt the same—neither of them were capable fighters.
Just then, the system came online:
[Breaking news! The system shop is having a massive sale! Special offer: Mighty Pills for only 10 melon coins each! These pills give you the strength to lift a cauldron and punch through walls! Don’t miss out! You won’t need 1,000, 500, or even 100 coins—originally priced at 2,000 coins, do you really want to pass up this deal?]
The broadcast from the gossip system played over and over again, so loudly that it gave Jiang Yutao a headache. She opened the product description, took a look, and then decisively made the purchase.
After all, something that originally cost 2,000 coins was available for just 10 melon coins. Rounded up, it was practically free, right?
Who could resist the temptation of a discounted product?
Jiang Yutao couldn’t.
She bought it.
Meanwhile, Li Yunying had already planned out how to protect Zhao Yonglan. Jiang Yutao suddenly remembered the message Wang Yuan had asked her to deliver.
“Yunying, I saw Wang Yuan this morning when I went to the county. She asked me to tell you to go to her house tomorrow morning.”
Li Yunying’s face instantly changed: “She said that? She asked me to go find her tomorrow morning?”
Jiang Yutao nodded. Li Yunying asked about Wang Yuan’s condition and expression at the time, then rushed towards the door: “Wang Shanxi, Wang Shanxi, something’s happened, something’s happened!”
Wang Shanxi rushed out, putting on his clothes: “What’s going on?”
Li Yunying grabbed his hand and started walking out: “No time to explain, we need to hurry to Wang Yuan’s house.”