Hearing: It suits him very well.
“Where is Educated Youth Jiang’s hometown?”
“Where is he from?”
…
Sun Mei met Educated Youth Jiang’s roommate Lin Baijun at the youth village and bombarded him with several questions about Educated Youth Jiang’s family situation and his childhood.
Although Lin Baijun was puzzled, he knew a lot about Educated Youth Jiang. He shared some information that was well known among the group with Sun Mei.
Sun Mei’s sudden interest in Educated Youth Jiang confused Lin Baijun. What did this mean?
“Are his parents good to him?”
“Where did he go to school as a child?”
— Everything matched up.
Sun Mei’s heart was filled with excitement. She increasingly wanted to hear more about Educated Youth Jiang. She wanted to know everything that had happened to him. He was her child, her poor child. If it weren’t for him being born jaundiced, crying like a mosquito, on the verge of death… He wouldn’t have…
He was her child! Her healthy child!
He was so outstanding!
Sun Mei’s heart raced, and she couldn’t wait to see Educated Youth Jiang, to see that outstanding child. He was more outstanding than her second son, handsome and well-educated. Everyone who met him praised him…
Such a talented person was her biological son.
Sun Mei couldn’t wait to see Educated Youth Jiang.
“Educated Youth Lin, do you know when they’ll come back?”
Lin Baijun was stunned. “How would I know? You’ll have to ask the brigade leader.”
“They’ve been studying outside for so long…” Sun Mei wished these days would pass quickly. What was there to learn outside? She wanted to see Educated Youth Jiang. She had been thinking about this every day, unable to eat or sleep.
At that moment, a female youth came out from behind the door, and it happened to be Wang Lan, who had caused a commotion before. She overheard Sun Mei and Lin Baijun’s conversation.
Wang Lan was full of resentment towards Su Xiaoman and anything related to her. When she heard Sun Mei inquiring about Educated Youth Jiang, she couldn’t help but sneer sarcastically. “Ha—What does it matter to you when Educated Youth Jiang will come back? Are you his mother or something?”
“You come here every day asking questions. If I didn’t know any better, I’d think you were Educated Youth Jiang’s mother.”
Sun Mei’s face turned pale, and she shrunk back, feeling a cold chill crawl up her spine.
Wang Lan didn’t realize how terrifying her words were to Sun Mei. “Su Xiaoman used to eagerly pursue Educated Youth Jiang. What’s going on now? Is her mother-in-law following suit?”
Wang Lan was just venting her emotions. She thought Sun Mei was inquiring about Educated Youth Jiang during this time to prevent Su Xiaoman from getting involved with him.
However, she also had another suspicion in her heart.
Sun Mei, the village shrew, seemed unreasonable. If Su Xiaoman managed to get involved with Educated Youth Jiang while studying away from the village, Sun Mei would likely cause trouble over it. So, she might have come to inquire about Educated Youth Jiang’s background, hoping to see how much money she could extort from him in the future.
“You better be careful. Coming here to ask about Educated Youth Jiang, huh.”
…
Sun Mei felt a chill run down her spine, and her mind went blank. She didn’t pay much attention to what Wang Lan said, but the first sentence had scared her out of her wits.
She became paranoid, afraid that others might guess the truth based on her actions.
Wait…
No, she couldn’t.
Sun Mei circled back to the Xie family’s home. For the next period of time, she didn’t dare to go to the youth village or inquire too conspicuously about Educated Youth Jiang’s affairs.
Although Su Xiaoman had injured her leg, she could still help with silkworm rearing. The silkworm room was only about thirty square meters, making it convenient for people with mobility issues.
Moreover, the process of cocoons stripping was suitable for elderly people or those with limited mobility. This way, more labour could be mobilized to participate in work and earn work points.
Su Xiaoman and Zhou Xiaofeng took care of the batch of silkworms that had previously suffered from a disease. After they took over, the condition of the silkworms improved significantly. Today, only one or two more diseased silkworms appeared, and the rest were in good condition.
Aunt Shun was also surprised. “After you two took over this batch of silkworms, they’ve improved a lot. Yesterday, I was worried they’d all be affected by the disease.”
“Let’s see how the quality of the cocoons turns out in a few days.”
Su Xiaoman smiled. They had replaced all the equipment and disinfected it, so there shouldn’t be any major accidents again.
In the past, when she raised silkworms, some people said that Su Xiaoman had a special connection with them. The cocoons she had raised by hand were thick and of excellent quality.
The large silkworms in front of me are about to start spinning silk. They don’t need to sleep anymore. They eat and drink voraciously every day. After several days of continuous feasting, they will start turning yellow and spinning cocoons.
Therefore, the amount of mulberry leaves consumed these days will also be the highest.
Su Xiaoman watched the large silkworms nibble on fresh mulberry leaves and felt that they were truly diligent workers.
—Diligent workers, with a diligent spirit.
Aunt Shun walked in, and Su Xiaoman chatted with her for a while. They discussed the management of both large and small silkworms. There are also some scientific and labour-saving methods for raising silkworms, such as controlling the amount of mulberry leaves used, how to feed small silkworms appropriately, and how to feed large silkworms to harvest high-quality cocoons…
They had a very harmonious conversation. Aunt Shun was increasingly fond of Su Xiaoman. “If you were from our village, I’d want to keep you in our group. By then, the production in our group would probably double.”
“I’m going to see Sister Wen in the silkworm room. She asked me to send her a batch of well-raised small silkworms…”
With that, Aunt Shun left.
Su Xiaoman sat on a small stool, checking the freshness of a batch of mulberry leaves and selecting some unsuitable ones.
Suddenly, there was a sound of arguing outside, two women’s voices, one of whom was Zhou Xiaofeng.
“Zhou Xiaohong! You’ve come again. Aunt Shun already told you not to come.”
That was Zhou Xiaofeng’s voice.
The voice of the other woman was soft and weak, with a hint of crying in her tone, revealing infinite grievance. “Xiaofeng, let me work with you guys. I know I was wrong. I won’t do it again next time. It was just a careless mistake… Give me another chance, please.”
Zhou Xiaofeng sneered a few times. “Zhou Xiaohong, what kind of person are you? Do you think others don’t know? You made a mistake, and no one will give you another chance.”
Zhou Xiaohong was extremely aggrieved. “I really realize my mistake. Everyone makes mistakes. I just made a mistake that any silkworm girl would make.”
“Aunt Shun won’t, and neither will I. You clearly have no sense of responsibility. You’re just lazy. Aunt Shun won’t give you another chance. Leave.”
“It’s all because of you, Zhou Xiaohong! You caused that batch of silkworms to get sick. Think about the losses suffered by Aunt Shun and the others. So many days of hard work and effort all went to waste.”
“And you still have the nerve to cry here, Zhou Xiaohong. If I were you, I would feel too ashamed to face Aunt Shun. Yet you still come running over here. How shameless can you be? How many chances have the villagers given you?”
Zhou Xiaofeng wasn’t good at arguing. Faced with Zhou Xiaohong, she was angry but couldn’t bring herself to say anything too harsh.
Zhou Xiaofeng had disliked Zhou Xiaohong since they were children.
Zhou Xiaohong had secretly taken quite a few things from her. When Zhou Xiaofeng found out, she would cry and complain, saying it was an accident, which made Zhou Xiaofeng seethe with anger.
There was one time when Zhou Xiaofeng was so upset that she wanted to report Zhou Xiaohong to the police station, but the Zhou family in the village all refused to support her. They were all surnamed Zhou and were relatives, so they believed in letting things go and not making a scene that would harm their reputation. Even if an arm were broken, the bone would still be connected by the tendons.
At that time, Zhou Xiaofeng was young and easily deceived. Every time Zhou Xiaohong apologized, she would be extra nice to Zhou Xiaofeng for a few days, making her believe that everything was fine, only to start scheming against her again once Zhou Xiaofeng was convinced.
Now, Zhou Xiaofeng no longer trusted Zhou Xiaohong.
She just hoped that this troublemaker would marry out of their village soon.
“Zhou Xiaofeng! Aren’t you also shameless?” Zhou Xiaohong, who had been speaking in a weak and aggrieved tone, seemed to have lost her patience. She raised her voice: “I may have made a small mistake, yes, I killed some big silkworms, but you, I heard that you ruined the red cloth that Brother Changgui sent.”
“Those dead silkworms were worth only so much. How much did those red cloths cost? Do you have the face to criticize me? Those red cloths were hard-earned by Brother Changgui. How much of his effort did you waste?”
“You’re the one who’s really shameless!!!”
“No, you’re the shameless one!”
Zhou Xiaofeng’s eyes turned red as she stared at Zhou Xiaohong. Zhou Xiaohong also didn’t back down. The two were on the verge of a fight.
Su Xiaomei, coming out with a cane, said, “…”
Zhou Xiaofeng felt a bit relieved when she saw her. “Sister Xiaomei.”
When Zhou Xiaohong saw that there was an outsider present, her eyes turned red again, and she reverted to her soft, vulnerable look, as if she was being bullied. Because she was pretty, many men in the village fell for her act. “Xiaofeng, how could you do this—”
After seeing Su Xiaomei’s face clearly, Zhou Xiaohong’s expression showed a hint of something strange. This unfamiliar yet beautiful woman seemed to be an outsider learning in their village. But she was just too beautiful. This woman was more beautiful than the peach blossoms in March, yet she exuded grace and confidence, not at all like a village girl. Perhaps she was an educated youth from the city, lacking any hint of rusticity, seeming like a daughter from a wealthy family.
Zhou Xiaohong’s face revealed a trace of jealousy and resentment. She hated women who looked good, especially those who looked better than her.
“How can you do this? You’re too much.”
“Those silkworms before were the ones I raised. Now they’re about to spin cocoons, and you’re kicking me out just like that. That’s too much!” Zhou Xiaohong’s eyes were red, looking like she had suffered a great injustice.
Su Xiaomei stared at her. “I heard about your situation from Sister Shun. When they were young silkworms, Sister Shun raised them with great effort. You only came to raise them for a few days, and now there’s trouble. Do you still have the nerve to call it unfair?”
“After they spin cocoons, I’ll get my share of points. Why should I work for free?”
Zhou Xiaofeng gritted her teeth. “You’ve already been getting your share every day.”
“After they spin cocoons, we’ll see about the quality, and then I’ll get a portion of the quality points.”
Zhou Xiaofeng truly found the person in front of her despicable. “You have only raised them for a few days, and yet you have the nerve to ask for a share?”
“Fine, Xiaofeng, count her for a day’s work. Come and join us.” Su Xiaomei gave Zhou Xiaohong an approving look. “We’ll wait for Sister Shun to come back.”
Zhou Xiaofeng felt anxious.
Su Xiaomei gave her a reassuring look and mouthed, “Let’s wait for Sister Shun.”
Zhou Xiaofeng endured, watching Zhou Xiaohong smugly go to get mulberry leaves.
“Xiaofeng, I apologize for my tone just now. It was a bit harsh. Don’t mind the excessive parts. We’re still good sisters.” Having achieved her goal, Zhou Xiaohong wore a bright smile and her tone became extremely soft, sounding like a sensible and agreeable person.
“I’ll listen to both of you now. Whatever you say, goes.”
Zhou Xiaofeng rolled her eyes. Who said you’re my good sister!
Su Xiaomei: “…”
Su Xiaomei also admired Zhou Xiaohong’s ability. Her thick skin and quick change of face were impressive. To put it nicely, she could adapt to situations; to put it bluntly, she was shameless.
Dealing with someone like her is really difficult.
Especially for honest people, she can bully them to death.
“I’ll feed the silkworms now.” Zhou Xiaohong, who had benefited and now pretended to be obedient, appeared especially diligent.
“Xiaohong, the three of us are together now, so we have to follow orders. You go clean up these silkworm droppings. Make sure you clean them up nicely,” Su Xiaomei commanded her without any reservation.
Zhou Xiaohong’s expression turned ugly. Just as she was about to say something, Su Xiaomei added, “Sister Shun will be happy to see you working when she comes back. Clean it up nicely.”
Zhou Xiaohong: “…”
With a forced smile, Zhou Xiaohong stiffly decided to endure and obediently clean up the pile of silkworm droppings that made her scalp tingle.
She comforted herself inwardly, telling herself that she had completed today’s task. She would work honestly for a while, and afterward, she could relax a bit.
After an hour of work, Sister Shun returned. Seeing Zhou Xiaohong working here, her complexion improved significantly. Zhou Xiaohong was the type to exaggerate even the smallest achievement, making it seem like she had accomplished a lot. She immediately ran up to Sister Shun to claim credit.
“Sister Shun, I now realize my mistake and will correct it in the future. Please forgive me and let me stay in the group to continue working.”
“Sister Shun, I cleaned up all these silkworm droppings today. Take a look, it’s very clean.” Zhou Xiaohong looked pleased with herself. At first, she wanted to put on a show, but Su Xiaomei, this woman, had sharp eyes and always reminded her at crucial moments.
There was no way to slack off; she had to work honestly, even if it was dirty and tiring.
But there were benefits to this; at least she could gain Sister Shun’s forgiveness.
Sure enough, Sister Shun nodded in satisfaction. “Xiaohong, you did a great job today.”
Zhou Xiaofeng, standing nearby, said unenthusiastically, “Give her credit for a day’s work.”
Zhou Xiaohong clenched her sleeves, cursing Zhou Xiaofeng and Su Xiaomei inwardly.
“It’s only fair,” Sister Shun didn’t dwell on the matter, instead gently pulling Zhou Xiaohong aside.
Zhou Xiaohong felt extremely pleased at this moment, feeling that everything was developing in the best possible direction.
Sister Shun didn’t dare to provoke the Zhou family, so she had to give Zhou Xiaohong some face by letting her earn work points. As for Zhou Xiaofeng, this defeated subordinate was always being taken advantage of by her. And as for that annoying Su Xiaomei, she would sooner or later realize how powerful she was.
“I just went to Sister Wen’s place, Xiaohong. They need more manpower over there. From now on, you’ll go there.”
“What?!” Zhou Xiaohong was shocked and dismayed. “Sister Shun, I want to stay in your group.”
“We already have enough people in our group. Don’t come here tomorrow. Sister Wen’s group needs help, and you know Sister Wen’s temperament. I’ve already spoken to her about it. Make sure you go there early,” Sister Shun explained.
The “Sister Wen” she mentioned was also surnamed Zhou, Zhou Wenwen. She was married into the village and was known far and wide for her tough attitude. Sister Shun agreed to send a few batches of silkworms over there, and only then did Zhou Wenwen agree to let Zhou Xiaohong join her group.
If anyone dared to be sly or cause trouble under her supervision, Sister Wen would directly scold them to their faces, and she not only dared to scold, but she also dared to hit.
Being of the Zhou family herself, with many relatives on her maternal side, few people dared to provoke her in this area.
After Sister Shun arranged Zhou Xiaohong properly, she gave Su Xiaomei a grateful look. It was during their conversation today that Su Xiaomei came up with the idea of openly sending away the troublemaker.
Evil needs to be dealt with by evil.
“Xiaomei, I’m really happy today,” Zhou Xiaofeng said, holding Su Xiaomei’s hand, feeling like she had finally let out a breath of bad air.
Su Xiaomei smiled and shook her head.
They walked out of the silkworm room, and a familiar blue transport truck was parked nearby. Zhou Xiaohong stood by the window and coquettishly called out, “It’s Brother Yang Changgui!”
Hearing this, Zhou Xiaofeng’s fists clenched. She used to like sticking to Yang Changgui’s side too. If you went to argue with her about it, she would say she regarded him as a brother. Others only had dirty minds if they misunderstood their relationship.
“We grew up together, he’s like a real brother to me. How could you misunderstand our relationship?”
Before, Zhou Xiaofeng and Yang Changgui had almost had a fight because of Zhou Xiaohong, almost breaking their relationship.
It was Sister Shun who woke her up. “If you two fight because of her, it’s the loved ones who suffer and the enemies who rejoice.”
“She’d love nothing more than for you two to fight over her.”
Yes, Zhou Xiaohong didn’t like Yang Changgui. At the moment, she was just trying to annoy Zhou Xiaofeng on purpose.
Yang Changgui in the car had a dark expression. He really didn’t want to see this troublesome star Zhou Xiaohong, and he was especially afraid that his future wife would misunderstand.
“Brother Changgui, why don’t you come down yet?”
“You must be tired after a day’s work outside. Have some water.”
“Poor thing, you’ve been waiting for so long…”
“You should come down now.” Zhou Xiaohong knew that Yang Changgui had come at this time for Zhou Xiaofeng, but the way she spoke under the car now sounded like Yang Changgui had come just to pick her up.
“Brother Yang, the girls in your village sure are pretty,” joked Zhao Dong, another transport driver from the county town, who was driving in front today. Seeing the coquettish girl outside the window, he couldn’t help but speak up.
Yang Changgui’s face turned sour immediately, and he almost gestured for Zhao Dong to drive the car away.
“Let me get off.”
A clear and cold male voice came from the back.
Xie Mingtu, with a black face, was in the back of the car. The back door was filled with goods, so he couldn’t get off until they were unloaded. He could only get off from the front, but the two people sitting in the front didn’t move.
He was eager to see Su Xiaomei.
“Xie buddy, you can get off and pick up your wife.” Yang Changgui patted Zhao Dong on the shoulder and gave Xie Mingtu room to get off.
Zhao Dong: “…”
What’s going on here?
Xie Mingtu agilely flipped out of the cramped front compartment, opened the door, and got off.
Outside the car, Zhou Xiaohong was stunned. She had thought that Yang Changgui would get off, but in the blink of an eye, a swift “black cat” popped out of the front compartment and got off.
The man who got off was tall and thin, dressed in all black. The appropriately sized clothes wrapped around his lean and powerful muscles. His already tall figure was elongated by the sleek lines of black, and when he landed, his black hair was blown up by the wind.
A few strands of hair brushed across his handsome face.
When Zhou Xiaohong saw the man’s face clearly, she froze on the spot. She had never seen such a handsome man before.
But the man’s expression wasn’t very pleasant. His handsome eyebrows were slightly furrowed, and his light-coloured lips were tightly pursed into a line.
Ignoring her, Xie Mingtu turned his head and caught sight of Su Xiaomei standing not far away beside Zhou Xiaofeng. In an instant, his features softened, and he strode over to them.
“Xiaomei…”
Su Xiaomei was also stunned when she saw Xie Mingtu approaching. It was the first time she had seen Xie Mingtu dressed all in black, and she couldn’t help but think that he looked incredibly handsome!
The previous Xie Mingtu had a tall and thin body, wearing loose and baggy old clothes that made him look skinny and unkempt.
Now, with this well-fitting outfit on, he was practically a male model figure that was hard to come by.
All dressed in black, he appeared both cool and handsome!!!
Indeed, clothes make the man, and black was extremely suitable for him.
Su Xiaomei couldn’t help but smile when she realized it. “Xie Mingtu, why did you change your clothes?”
The changes in him over the past day or two were too significant, like a complete transformation of a stray dog.
Xie Mingtu smiled and winked, transforming from the “cool and aloof” appearance Su Xiaomei had seen to a “big silly grin” appearance.
“Do you like it, Xiaomei?”
Su Xiaomei: “…These are your clothes. What does it matter if I like them or not? Even if I like them, they’re not suitable for me to wear.”
As soon as she finished speaking, Zhou Xiaofeng nearby clicked her tongue twice, covered her ears, and took two steps away, walking towards the transport vehicle, as if she didn’t want to hear the conversation between the couple.
“It’s from the clothing factory.”
Xie Mingtu put Su Xiaomei behind him and told her about what happened today. They were running transportation today, and one of the goods was at a clothing factory in the city. Hearing that Xie Mingtu could diagnose and fix tractors by listening to their sound, the factory found it interesting. Coincidentally, they had a machine that broke down and couldn’t figure out the cause, so they jokingly asked him to “listen for a sound”.
As a result, he actually found the cause of the machine failure.
To show their gratitude, the clothing factory sent him two sets of clothes for him to choose from.
“Really? That’s great.” Their Xie Dog earned clothes with his skills.
Su Xiaomei hugged Xie Mingtu’s neck. They were already accustomed to each other, and she was used to being carried on his back. When Xie Mingtu said he would carry her back, she didn’t stubbornly insist on using the crutches and climbed onto his back without hesitation.
Hearing about this incident from Xie Mingtu’s mouth, Su Xiaomei felt both happy and amazed.
Xie Mingtu’s ears seemed to be much more sensitive than those of ordinary people.
“Your hearing is amazing! Xie Mingtu, have you heard of the mythical story of ‘Sharp-Eared’ in ancient legends?”
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