People who eat melon are in 70 - Chapter 40

Jiang Yutao suddenly didn’t feel the cold outside. With a shared purpose, they found a place sheltered from the wind. Jiang Yutao casually took out some sunflower seeds from her pocket and shared a bit with Gu Niangwei and Zhao Yonglan.

They all began to shell the seeds in unison.

Meanwhile, Su Zhentang never expected that Xia Heyu would stop him, nor did he anticipate that she would ask such an awkward question: “Xia Heyu, you’re already married. According to our family’s hierarchy, you’re now my nephew’s wife. What’s the point of asking me such questions now?”

So, have some shame—what’s the point of asking such things? It makes no sense at all.

But Xia Heyu didn’t listen. She was a very stubborn person. Once she had made up her mind, no one could change it, not even a thousand oxen.

It was like in her previous life, when Su Zhentang had saved her from the water, but she unilaterally convinced herself that it was actually Su Yang who saved her.

“If it weren’t for your indifference to me, I wouldn’t have gotten together with Su Yang,” Xia Heyu still felt wronged when talking about this matter.

In the second semester of her second year in middle school, she started dating Su Zhentang. She had thought that once they were in a relationship, Su Zhentang would show more enthusiasm for her, but instead, he spent most of his time reading books and barely gave her any attention.

Xia Heyu was the type of person who needed a lot of attention. Su Zhentang’s behavior made her increasingly dissatisfied, and before long, she started planning to break up with him.

She began to cause trouble for Su Zhentang, bothering him in various ways, including but not limited to taking his pens and tearing up his books and notebooks.

The two months they were dating were the most exhausting time for Su Zhentang. When Xia Heyu went to high school and broke up with him, Su Zhentang felt a bit sad, but mostly relieved—after all, Xia Heyu was really hard to please.

After Xia Heyu went to high school, the two of them no longer kept in touch. However, sometimes when Su Zhentang was in the county, he would always see Su Yang taking Xia Heyu out for fun, but Su Zhentang didn’t have any particular feelings about it.

Su Zhentang really couldn’t understand why Xia Heyu, now his nephew’s wife, would say such things to him today.

He couldn’t be bothered to argue with her and turned to leave: “Xia Heyu, what happened yesterday is in the past. You were the one who initiated the breakup, and you chose to be with Su Yang and get married. I never forced you into any of it. Don’t come here and make a scene. I don’t think I did anything wrong during those two months we were together. Now, we have different roles. I hope you show some respect, or else I’ll have to tell Su Yang about this conversation.”

Xia Heyu didn’t expect Su Zhentang to be so heartless. She stood there, tears falling, and as she watched him walk away, she immediately chased after him.

Jiang Yutao, who had been hiding in the corner watching the scene unfold, stepped out from behind the eaves.

Her “melon-eating system” promptly went off: [Ding~ Watching the entanglement between the male and female leads, and eating sunflower seeds. Host rewarded with Excellent X Milk Tea Powder X10, Garlic-flavored Sunflower Seeds 2kg.]

Gu Niangwei clicked her tongue: “Xia Heyu’s methods aren’t too great. She’s now Su Zhentang’s nephew’s wife, and asking such things so blatantly… Even if she has some ulterior motives, she can’t be so obvious about it.”

Jiang Yutao responded with a mysterious smile: “When a woman pursues a man, it’s like a layer of gauze between them. Once she becomes bold and proactive, men rarely know how to resist. Maybe Su Zhentang is rejecting her on the outside, but deep down, he might already be tempted. After all, they were once lovers, and first love is always unforgettable.”

Jiang Yutao’s gaze occasionally drifted to Zhao Yonglan.

Isn’t that the case in the book? At first, Su Zhentang didn’t even give Xia Heyu the time of day, right? But under Xia Heyu’s passionate pursuit and her relentless advances, didn’t they end up together in the end?

If you remove the romantic filter around the male and female leads, wasn’t Su Zhentang already involved with Xia Heyu while she was still married? Isn’t that considered improper?

Jiang Yutao’s moral standards aren’t that high, but when it comes to people, whether male or female, who destroy other people’s families, she looks down on them.

And didn’t the things Su Zhentang faced later on all become his own karmic retribution?

He did the same with Xia Heyu and Su Yang, so naturally, someone would do the same to him with Xia Heyu. Isn’t there a saying about this? What goes around, comes around.

At first, when reading the novel, Su Zhentang seemed quite pitiful. During their marriage, he was cheated on, and when the company faced a financial crisis, Xia Heyu took advantage of the situation, dividing the assets and running away. Later, their child was even abducted.

How tragic. But if you know the full story and think about it carefully, you’ll realize that all of this was caused by Su Zhentang himself. If he had been more determined and resisted Xia Heyu’s temptation, could he have ended up where he is today?

And in Xia Heyu’s previous life, was Su Zhentang really good to Zhao Yonglan? A man who can’t resist temptation—would he truly be devoted to Zhao Yonglan? Was the depiction of Su Zhentang and Zhao Yonglan in that book, which centered on Xia Heyu, really accurate?

Jiang Yutao remained cautious about it.

Zhao Yonglan cracked a sunflower seed: “I heard from the older women in the village that men are the most susceptible to temptation. As long as a woman takes the initiative, even if she’s not that attractive, they’ll sleep with her—after all, they’re not losing anything. Su Zhentang and Xia Heyu have the added thrill of being first loves and uncle and niece—doesn’t that double the excitement?”

The older women in the village are never shy about speaking bluntly. Since Zhao Yonglan had a fight with Zhu Yuemei, she had dropped some of her superior city dweller attitude, and now she could join in the conversations with the village women too.

With no more drama to watch, people chatted as they headed back.

After working lazily at peeling hemp sticks all morning, the group walked toward the youth commune.

As they just exited the dam, they saw Zhao Chunhua, dressed in dull clothes and carrying a large basket, searching the streets for manure. Ever since she was labeled a “fallen woman,” Zhao Chunhua’s life had become difficult.

The son she once pampered, Lin Jianhua, publicly denied her as his mother, and Lin Laozhuang ended their marriage on the very day Zhao Chunhua was taken away.

With the two major pillars of support in her life collapsed, she had no place to stay when she returned to the village and was forced to live in the livestock shed at the commune. Lin Jianzhong, busy fighting Lin Jianhua for a house, successfully secured one, but he never once thought to bring Zhao Chunhua back to live with him.

Zhao Chunhua was abandoned by everyone. Now, as she walked ahead, Lin Wenping and Lin Wen’an followed behind her, each holding a stick, occasionally striking her. If Zhao Chunhua dared to get angry, Lin Wenping would wave a banner of labor reform, threatening to parade her through the streets. Zhao Chunhua, afraid of being publicly humiliated, didn’t dare to say a word.

When they saw Jiang Yutao and the others, Lin Wen’an picked up a stone and aimed it at Gu Nianwei, but was stopped by Lin Wenping. “What are you doing?”

Lin Wen’an pointed at Gu Nianwei. “Hit her! Didn’t you say it? Our family ended up like this because of her. If she had just married our dad, none of this would have happened.”

Lin Wen’an hated Gu Nianwei intensely. The day his father returned, wearing a military uniform and walking with great dignity, Lin Wen’an became the envy of all the children in the village. He was the son of a soldier, a descendant of heroes.

His father had even brought them delicious food and beautiful clothes. But just a few days into their good fortune, the village children stopped envying him. Instead, they said his father had no shame, that he had set his sights on a young educated woman, and when she refused to marry him, he used his power to force her. They said his whole family was bad.

During those days, Lin Wenping would often curse at Gu Nianwei at home, and Lin Wen’an especially despised her.

“We can’t fight them, there are too many of them. We won’t win. Let’s go, let’s go quickly.” Lin Wenping pulled Lin Wen’an away. As they walked farther, Lin Wenping looked back at Gu Nianwei and gave her a slight smile, just like before the trouble had started.

Zhang Huihui said, “Those two kids are really annoying. The younger one is okay, not very smart, but the older one has all sorts of tricks. Look at how he acted just now—he doesn’t seem like an eight-year-old at all. He has more schemes than a sieve.”

Zhang Huihui disliked Lin Jianzhong, so it was only natural that she also started disliking his children. The younger one was still small, so there wasn’t much to see. But the older two were easy to figure out at a glance—one was clueless, and the other had so many schemes he could be compared to a sieve.

Gu Nianwei didn’t pay much attention to them. Ever since she had a falling out with Lin Jianzhong, she no longer felt sorry for the Lin Wenping brothers. To her, these children were no different from the other kids in the village.

She also wasn’t as generous with the village children as she used to be.

“Let’s go quickly. The wind is really strong; it’s making my face hurt,” Gu Nianwei said.

Zhao Yonglan touched her face. “Do you still have any of that snow flower cream? Mine’s almost gone, I’ll have to go to the commune to buy some.”

The northern weather is dry, and they’re not quite used to it. They use a lot of snow flower cream, and a bottle is used up in less than a month.

Jiang Yutao’s cream is also finished. “Mine’s gone too. Let’s wait for a day when the wind isn’t so strong, and we can go together. I need to buy some loose cream. That one’s fine for applying to my hands and feet—it’s not as expensive.”

The system shop has everything, and in the future, skincare products will be abundant and cheap. Jiang Yutao bought a set of skincare products for her space and uses them every morning. However, next year, she’ll still need to use the snow flower cream from this era. The quality of this era’s snow flower cream isn’t bad at all, and it works great as hand cream and body lotion; it’s very moisturizing.

Gu Nianwei’s space also has many skincare and cosmetics. Like Jiang Yutao, she also makes sure to keep up with the surface-level things and buys a bottle every month or two.

“Then we’ll go together. Otherwise, when it gets even colder, we won’t want to go out.” With one of the five girls going, Zhang Huihui and Li Yunying also decided to go.

Wang Shanxi and the other male sent-down youth heard about it and decided to go as well. They couldn’t relax unless they went with Jiang Yutao and the other girls.

When they returned to the youth commune, they saw someone standing at the entrance from a distance, with a bicycle parked nearby.

Jiang Yutao immediately recognized that it was Fu Shaohua. Her steps involuntarily quickened, but after a few steps, she felt a bit shy. Gu Nianwei walked over and put her arm around Jiang Yutao’s shoulder.

“They say a graceful lady makes a good match for a gentleman. The reverse is true too, right?” Gu Nianwei said with a mischievous smile.

They all lived in the same courtyard, so no one could hide anything from the others. Everyone knew Jiang Yutao had some feelings for the new postman from the commune. Jiang Yutao turned to look at Li Yunying and the others and saw they were all looking at her teasingly.

Zhao Yonglan chimed in, “Yeah, yeah, this Fu, he’s so handsome. Who wouldn’t be moved by him?”

Everyone has a love for beauty, after all.

Everyone started laughing.

Seeing their reaction, Jiang Yutao stood up confidently. “Yonglan is right. I’m just looking around, is that a problem?”

“No problem, no problem,” everyone laughed and joked as they reached the entrance to the youth commune.

No one said anything, and they all silently gave Jiang Yutao the chance to speak to Fu Shaohua.

“Comrade Fu, have you been waiting long?”

“I just arrived not long ago. There are several letters for you at the youth commune. I’ve brought them over.” Fu Shaohua took out the letters from the Liushu village youth commune, five in total, meaning most people had received letters.

Jiang Yutao’s letter was placed at the front. “Comrade Fu, it’s pretty cold out. Why don’t you come in and have some water?”

Fu Shaohua was about to decline, but when he met Jiang Yutao’s bright, sparkling eyes, he found himself agreeing without thinking. By the time he realized it, he was already sitting in the kitchen at the youth commune, the place they used for receiving guests and meals, holding a cup of warm water that Jiang Yutao had poured for him.

The warm water flowed through the enamel cup into his hands, making him feel cozy and warm.

Everyone was curious about Fu Shaohua’s transition from working on the farm to becoming the postman for the commune. Since he was right there, they decided to ask him.

Fu Shaohua had answered this question hundreds of times already. He glanced at Jiang Yutao and said, “Actually, it’s not that complicated. I had a classmate who was assigned to Zaoxiang Commune, but he didn’t want to go, so we swapped assignments. When I arrived at the commune, I couldn’t get used to working in the fields, so I figured something out and became the commune’s postman.”

Being a postman was a highly sought-after job in this era. Many people were eyeing it, and you couldn’t get in without some connections. As an outsider, Fu Shaohua becoming a postman meant his family background must be impressive.

They chatted a little longer, and then Fu Shaohua decided it was time to leave. Wang Shanxi invited him to stay for dinner, but he declined.

Jiang Yutao saw him off, and as soon as she opened the kitchen door, the wind blew straight into her face, causing her to cough twice.

Fu Shaohua smiled, his eyes narrowing into crescent moons, and the dimples on his cheeks flickering: “You’re from Shencheng, right? The autumn there isn’t as cold, is it?”

“Yes, the wind isn’t as strong there. This northern wind is so harsh, it’s almost like it’s cutting my face,” Jiang Yutao casually replied.

Fu Shaohua’s gaze rested on Jiang Yutao’s face for a moment before quickly moving away: “Autumn and winter transitions are when colds are most common. Dress warmly, don’t get sick, or you’ll suffer.”

His voice was clear and youthful, a balance between maturity and immaturity, with a slight Beijing accent that made it particularly pleasant to listen to.

Jiang Yutao smiled and nodded: “You too, always out in the cold, make sure you dress warmly and wear a hat.”

“Alright.” As he spoke, they reached the outside, and Fu Shaohua mounted his bicycle. “I’m leaving.”

Jiang Yutao waved at him and watched him go.

Once she couldn’t see his figure anymore, Jiang Yutao turned around to go back. After taking a couple of steps, she saw Zhu Yuemei coming out from next door.

Zhu Yuemei had a long face: “Oh, isn’t this educated youth Jiang? Who were you talking to?”

Having been scolded by her eldest son and two daughters, Zhu Yuemei was in a particularly bad mood, and when she saw Jiang Yutao and the other youths, she couldn’t hide her disdain.

She had thought about it carefully recently, and realized that the reason things had escalated between her and Su Changshan was because of Zhao Yonglan. If she hadn’t insisted on having her repay the money and hadn’t fought with her, Su Changshan wouldn’t have scolded her. If he hadn’t scolded her, she wouldn’t have been so angry and revealed the affair between Su Changshan and Zhao Chunhua.

If she hadn’t revealed it, she wouldn’t have walked right into the trap Zhao Xiaotao had set for her.

She had figured it all out. That day, Zhao Xiaotao had done it on purpose, deliberately pulling her into the complaint while she was in a rage.

Jiang Yutao had no sympathy for Zhu Yuemei.

She might have been a victim of infidelity for years, which deserved some sympathy, but the fact that she had tricked Zhao Yonglan into giving her money was unforgivable. In a moment of impulsive retaliation, she reported Su Changshan, and now, after realizing her mistake, she was blaming them for it. Was she out of her mind?

Jiang Yutao didn’t indulge her at all.

“None of your business.” Jiang Yutao entered the youth commune and slammed the door shut behind her with a loud thud.

Zhu Yuemei was furious and cursed as she went back into the house. Su Zhengtang was sitting with a carving knife, carving something. From the shape, it looked like a hairpin for women.

When he saw Zhu Yuemei storming in, he didn’t put down the carving knife. “Mom, what’s wrong with you?”

Zhu Yuemei sat down heavily on the kang. “What else could it be? I’m mad because of those youths next door. I don’t know what you’re thinking, with so many places to build houses in the village, why did you have to build it here? You know how much it annoys me to see those youths.”

“If it weren’t for that bitch Zhao Yonglan, your dad and I wouldn’t have ended up like this. She’s the root cause of all this trouble, a disaster, and wherever she goes, misfortune follows.”

A trace of impatience flashed in Su Zhengtang’s eyes, and he finally put down what he was holding. “Mom, I’ve told you so many times, what happened back then was your fault. You should’ve found a way to apologize to educated youth Zhao.”

“I won’t apologize!” Zhu Yuemei would never apologize to Zhao Yonglan in this lifetime.

Su Zhengtang completely ignored her, grabbed his things, and went to the west room’s kang.

He lay back on the pillow, thinking about the incredibly vivid and coherent dreams he had been having recently.

In those dreams, Zhao Yonglan was his wife.