Set Off: Sacrifice Yourself to Save Others.
At this moment, Su Xiaoman took the initiative to come to collect her debt, publicly demanding repayment amidst the crowd. Even those who didn’t want to repay her couldn’t avoid it and had to cough up the money.
“Su Xiaoman, you really…”
“Lin, lend me some money.”
…
Su Xiaoman got her money back, counting it carefully. It amounted to exactly twenty-two yuan and thirty-six cents, enough to buy a few pounds of meat.
Zhao Qingqing, sitting on a chair, grinned as she watched Su Xiaoman count the money.
Having reclaimed her money and not intending to stay longer at the commune, Su Xiaoman was about to leave when Educated Youth Jiang suddenly called out to her.
“Su Xiaoman, you asked me to borrow a book last time, saying you wanted to read it. I have it now, do you still want it?”
Su Xiaoman didn’t expect Educated Youth Jiang to suddenly say these words to her. It was true that she had asked Educated Youth Jiang to borrow a book before, but that was with ulterior motives, aiming to get closer to him.
But now, Su Xiaoman shook her head, “No need.”
She didn’t want to stir up more trouble after getting her money back. Su Xiaoman left the commune directly.
“Educated Youth Jiang, you initiated a conversation with Su Xiaoman, yet she refused.”
“It’s just a book, why suddenly want to lend it to her?”
“Has she really given up on Educated Youth Jiang?”
“Could it be a strategy to make him want her more?”
“Su Xiaoman is different from before. She’s already married. Don’t speak recklessly and watch your influence.”
Lin Baijun joked with other educated youths, still amazed by Su Xiaoman. As Educated Youth Jiang’s roommate, he had witnessed Su Xiaoman’s entanglement with Educated Youth Jiang. However, now Su Xiaoman was ignoring Educated Youth Jiang, which made him feel quite emotional about the contrast.
“Lin, call Jiang out.”
Lin Baijun glanced at Zhang Lili and went to call Educated Youth Jiang out for tea. When he went in, Educated Youth Jiang was still staring at the book in a daze. “Jiang, come out for tea.”
Educated Youth Jiang shook his head, “I’m not going.”
“You’re not going? How can that be?” Lin Baijun guessed that the tea was specifically for the person in front of him.
“Jiang, you’re really lucky. You lost one admirer but gained another. Although this one isn’t as pretty as the previous one, the previous one is already married.”
Educated Youth Jiang glared at him and said, “What nonsense are you talking about?!”
“Alright, alright, I won’t say anymore.” Lin Baijun shook his head and pushed the person out. His task was halfway done.
Outside, Zhang Lili couldn’t help but smile even brighter when she saw Educated Youth Jiang.
Although she didn’t notice any change in her facial expression, everyone around her did, but they pretended not to understand.
Most male educated youths watched the scene with amusement, while female educated youths were somewhat puzzled. Of course, there was one with clenched fists, He Liang.
He Liang was the scumbag who abandoned Zhang Lili in her previous life. In this life, their ambiguous relationship was cut off by Zhang Lili before it could develop further, and He Liang didn’t understand what had happened.
Now, seeing Zhang Lili being so attentive to Educated Youth Jiang, He Liang felt he had figured out the truth. It seemed that Zhang Lili, this woman, had changed her mind and fallen for Educated Youth Jiang.
Zhang Lili filled a cup with tea, gently smoothed her hair, and came over. She was deliberately here to inquire about news.
Upon hearing that Su Xiaoman had entered the commune, Zhang Lili worried that Su Xiaoman might rekindle her interest in Educated Youth Jiang and thus came in under the pretext of delivering tea.
Upon hearing that Su Xiaoman was here to collect a debt, Zhang Lili relaxed.
Zhang Lili felt that she had to do good deeds this time around. Educated Youth Jiang was a good person, and she couldn’t let Su Xiaoman, this kind of woman, latch onto him again.
“She took the money and left?”
“Yeah, she didn’t say anything.”
“Educated Youth Jiang even took the initiative to say a few words to her. I think Educated Youth Jiang is also a kind-hearted person. He asked her if she still wanted the book she previously asked to borrow.”
“Su Xiaoman didn’t want it.”
“Huh, it seems she wasn’t sincere about borrowing the book in the first place.”
…
After listening to the female educated youths, Zhang Lili’s smile never disappeared. Later, when Educated Youth Jiang and Lin Baijun walked over, Zhang Lili restrained her smile and hesitated to ask Educated Youth Jiang to borrow a book.
Zhang Lili thought about resuming her college entrance examination preparation in two years. She needed to find a proper way to study.
Educated Youth Jiang agreed to lend her the book.
With the book in her hands, Zhang Lili was overjoyed. “Jiang, can I come to you for help if I have any questions in the future?”
Jiang shook his head and pointed to Lin Baijun. “You can ask Lin if he’s available.”
Lin Baijun immediately jumped up upon hearing this. He didn’t want to get involved in these matters anymore. “Zhang Lili, didn’t you get along well with He Liang before? You can go ask him.”
When He Liang, the scumbag, was mentioned, Zhang Lili’s expression changed.
Su Xiaoman, coming out of the commune, felt particularly pleased. Money naturally brought joy, and her steps were light as she walked back, stepping on the crackling dry branches and leaves.
Just a few steps away, she heard a faint call from behind a big tree.
“Manman…”
Su Xiaoman’s body stiffened. This familiar word slowly made her scalp numb. She turned her head in the direction of the big tree and, sure enough, saw a furry head poking out.
The familiar hairstyle, familiar face, familiar upper and lower faces mismatch… It was still the familiar Xie Mingtu.
She couldn’t believe how he managed to hide behind the tree without making a sound with his big build.
Worried about Su Xiaoman’s mood upon knowing she was going to the commune, Xie Mingtu, feeling inexplicably uneasy, followed her secretly and hid behind a big tree near the commune.
Upon hearing that Su Xiaoman was there to collect a debt, Xie Mingtu’s restless heart immediately calmed down. He happily tore off a leaf.
But when he heard Educated Youth Jiang calling her name and her refusal, Xie Mingtu let out a sigh of relief and plucked off three more leaves.
“Why are you here, Xie Mingtu?”
“Waiting for you,” Xie Mingtu emerged from behind the tree, still holding a small backpack in his hand, which seemed to contain something.
Su Xiaoman subconsciously leaned in to take a look and found a snow-white rabbit inside.
Her eyes widened in shock. “!!!!!!!”
A live rabbit!
A very cute little white rabbit.
Xie Mingtu handed the small backpack to Su Xiaoman. Trembling, she held the backpack and faced the red-eyed little white rabbit cowering in the corner.
The fluffy snow-white rabbit remained motionless in the corner, its two long ears drooping down obediently, looking like a soft ball of cotton.
“For you, Xiaoman…”
“For me?” Su Xiaoman pointed to herself. “Why are you giving it to me?” No pain, no gain.
“You teach me how to study.”
Su Xiaoman’s face darkened a bit. Xie Mingtu still had the nerve to bring that up. That was a mistake, making Su Xiaoman, a poor ordinary person, feel crushed by the genius.
It had been extremely difficult for her to calm herself down.
“Xiaoman?” Seeing her expression, Xie Mingtu was a bit puzzled.
Su Xiaoman hugged the backpack close to her chest, staring at the rabbit’s red eyes. She felt she had to accept Xie Mingtu’s “tribute.”
—She, this elementary school student, had a hard time.
“Xie Mingtu, I want to eat roasted rabbit.” Su Xiaoman gently stroked the soft fur of the white rabbit. It felt very plump under her palm, so she wanted to eat roasted rabbit.
People in this era were just too fond of meat.
Even though the rabbit in front of her was really cute, she just wanted to eat it.
Su Xiaoman felt like she was shedding crocodile tears. She took the trembling little rabbit out of the backpack and gently stroked its back in her arms.
“The rabbit is really cu—”
Before she could finish the word “cute,” the “adorable rabbit” in her arms suddenly exerted force, seizing the opportunity to use a rabbit’s kick, and “whoosh,” it leaped out of Su Xiaoman’s arms.
The rabbit’s speed was extremely fast. Su Xiaoman almost saw a white shadow pass in front of her eyes, and the “meat” in her hands flew away right before her eyes.
Su Xiaoman: “…”
My roasted rabbit!!!
Just as Su Xiaoman was about to exclaim, she saw Xie Mingtu leap to the side, and when he stopped again, he accurately held the rabbit’s ears in his right hand.
—The rabbit that flew away came back again.
“Manman…” Xie Mingtu held the rabbit and called her.
Su Xiaoman’s heart was pounding, prompting Xie Mingtu to quickly put the rabbit back in the backpack, fearing that the roasted rabbit he had finally caught would escape again.
There was no need for crocodile tears; she needed to find a place to eat the roasted rabbit quickly.
Hearing Su Xiaoman say she wanted to eat roasted rabbit, Xie Mingtu, who seemed to be quite experienced, led her to a secluded corner. Soon, a fire was started, and he skilfully cleaned the rabbit.
Su Xiaoman leaned on her chin and watched him work. Xie Mingtu’s way of handling the rabbit showed that he was experienced, and she wondered how many rabbits he had secretly eaten before.
His movements in catching the rabbit just now were also very swift, as if he had some extra agility attribute compared to ordinary people. He caught the rabbit in the blink of an eye.
When he looked at her while holding the rabbit, he looked like a Samoyed holding a rabbit in its mouth.
Su Xiaoman couldn’t help but laugh, feeling that he really resembled a big dog.
Xie Mingtu, the expert in eating rabbit, took care of all the work. Although there weren’t many other seasonings, just a bit of salt, the roasted rabbit still looked delicious to Su Xiaoman.
Could meat be bad?
The rabbit roasting on the fire was very fat, and sizzling oil dripped from it. Xie Mingtu held a knife and sliced the rabbit meat, sprinkling fine salt grains in between, and the enticing aroma of roasted meat kept wafting out.
Xie Mingtu gave her the meaty thigh. Su Xiaoman blew on the roasted rabbit in her hand and said with some regret, “It would have been better if it had been marinated with soy sauce and cooking wine and sprinkled with some scallions.”
Xie Mingtu blinked and remembered her words.
The rabbit, neither too big nor too small, was enough for Su Xiaoman. After eating two thighs, she couldn’t eat anymore, and Xie Mingtu finished the rest of the rabbit meat.
Su Xiaoman ate to her heart’s content, and the two of them secretly enjoyed their roasted rabbit together.
As the saying goes, when you take advantage of others, your mouth becomes soft. Su Xiaoman now found Xie Mingtu very pleasing to the eye.
—Xie Gouzi is really nice!
I hope the other person will continue to invite her for future gatherings.
The two of them obliterated all traces of the roasted rabbit and walked back to Xie’s house shoulder to shoulder.
Feeling a bit guilty, Su Xiaoman went back and dug out Xie Mingtu’s several pieces of clothing, repairing all the torn areas for him.
Xie Mingtu held the repaired clothes in his hands, already reluctant to wear them.
He found a pattern behind the repaired big hole and curiously asked her, “What is this?”
Su Xiaoman didn’t answer directly but instead asked him, “Is it nice to look at?”
Xie Mingtu smiled lightly and gave a definite answer, “It’s nice.”
Su Xiaoman had sewn the silhouette of a big dog on the back for him. She didn’t tell him what it was, just watched Xie Mingtu’s face with joy.
There was a kind of joy in the success of this prank.
When will this silly dog shave his beard…
In the early morning, before the sky had fully brightened, a group of eight people were already standing at the village entrance, each carrying a large bundle and bringing many things. This trip to the provincial capital would last at least ten days or more.
They were going to take the village’s ox cart to the county town.
The team leader, Liu Zhaoqiang, hurried over to see them off, giving them many reminders and words of encouragement.
The wild grass in autumn was mixed with a layer of frost. Two ox carts were parked on the muddy road, enough for eight people. Besides the cart drivers, each cart could seat four people along with their luggage.
Liu Zhaoqiang assigned the passengers to the carts, saying, “Let three of the young villagers sit in one cart, take the lead in this one.”
Several young villagers nodded in agreement.
Several young villagers nodded.
Among the eight people, the oldest, Uncle Chen, interrupted, “I want to sit with people from our village!”
Uncle Chen found those sophisticated young people annoying. He felt their way of speaking was too refined. He hadn’t been in their village for long, and his dialect was incomprehensible to the educated youth, making communication difficult and the journey less enjoyable. Therefore, he didn’t want to sit alone with the educated youth.
As an elder, Uncle Chen’s words couldn’t be criticized by the others.
Liu Zhaoqiang smiled and said to him, “Alright, Uncle Chen, you come on this trip.”
“Three educated youth will sit in one cart. We need one more person to make it even…” Liu Zhaoqiang, with a cigarette in his mouth, looked at the other four people, Su Xiaoman, Zhang Lili, Xie Mingtu, and Tang Jianqiang.
Liu Zhaoqiang’s gaze lingered on Tang Jianqiang and Zhang Lili. He planned to choose one of these two people.
“They are both men, so let’s have a woman accompany me.” Qingqing, who was already sitting on the cart, spoke up.
“Okay!” Liu Zhaoqiang decided in his mind to let Zhang Lili go.
However, Qingqing continued, “Let Su Xiaoman come over!”
She waved to Su Xiaoman and shouted, “Su Xiaoman, let’s chat together, talk about what books you’ve been reading lately. I admire what you said the other day, and I want to learn from you.”
The others were a bit stunned by her words, and Su Xiaoman was also surprised. She hadn’t had much communication with Qingqing before.
“Let Zhang Lili come over. Su Xiaoman wouldn’t be appropriate.” He Liang glanced at Educated Youth Jiang sitting opposite him and suggested bringing Zhang Lili over.
He Liang considered himself good-looking. Although he wasn’t as good as Educated Youth Jiang, he still looked cultured with his refined demeanour. He was also popular with girls before going to the countryside because of his emotional recitations of poetry. Although he hadn’t been interested in Zhang Lili, a girl from the countryside, before, he did have some genuine feelings for her. Now that Zhang Lili seemed to be interested in Educated Youth Jiang, He Liang couldn’t swallow his pride. Instead, he felt even more concerned about Zhang Lili.
He wanted to talk to Zhang Lili and clarify things.
Thinking this, He Liang smiled at Educated Youth Jiang. “What do you say, Educated Youth Jiang? Let Lili come over.”
He Liang knew Educated Youth Jiang didn’t like Su Xiaoman getting close, so he would surely agree to let Zhang Lili come over.
Zhang Lili, on the side, felt a pang in her heart. She detested He Liang and definitely didn’t want to sit with him. However, Educated Youth Jiang was sitting next to He Liang…
Zhang Lili breathed a sigh of relief. She had already prepared herself mentally to go over there. When she heard He Liang’s question, she knew that Educated Youth Jiang, between her and Su Xiaoman, would definitely choose her, Zhang Lili.
So she reluctantly sat over there, bearing her disgust, but she was determined not to have anything to do with He Liang.
Zhao Qingqing, eager for excitement, followed up by asking Educated Youth Jiang, “Educated Youth Jiang, what do you think? Should we let Zhang Lili come over, or should we let Su Xiaoman come over? I mean, for the journey to the county…”
They were all waiting for Educated Youth Jiang’s response.
“Let Su Xiaoman come over,” Educated Youth Jiang replied, staring at his watch without even lifting his eyelids, and uttered a name.
Su Xiaoman?!!!
Educated Youth Jiang actually chose Su Xiaoman. He Liang and Zhang Lili were stunned, while Zhao Qingqing looked surprised.
Liu Zhaoqiang, with a cigarette in his mouth, was dumbfounded. This was chaotic. How could he let Xiaoman come over? He glanced at his niece.
Su Xiaoman tugged at Xie Mingtu’s sleeve and said firmly, “I want to sit with my husband.”
That’s right!
“Zhang Lili, you come…”
Liu Zhaoqiang shook his head, thinking, what a mess this was. The sooner they got on the cart, the sooner they could get rid of these young people.
It was just about seating arrangements.
However, at this moment, Tang Jianqiang, a young man from the village, with his bag in hand, casually ran over and sat on the educated youth’s cart. “Let me come over.”
Impatient with their indecision, Tang Jianqiang couldn’t stand their dithering, so he decided to take matters into his own hands.
As he sat on the cart with the educated youth, Tang Jianqiang glanced back at Xie Mingtu’s hair a few times with a hint of envy in his eyes.
The ordinary countryside youth Tang Jianqiang, with his simple and honest bird’s nest hairstyle, really wanted to sit with Xie Mingtu.
When he saw Xie Mingtu’s hairstyle this morning, he suddenly liked it. He felt Xie Mingtu’s hair was better looking than that of other young men in the village, even better than the educated youth’s hair. It was simply a trendy hairstyle that only city barbers could create.
The pursuit of fashionable hairstyles by young people is inexplicable. Therefore, the twenty-year-old Tang Jianqiang really wanted to sit beside Xie Mingtu and carefully observe his hairstyle.
Su Xiaoman, who caught Tang Jianqiang’s “reluctant farewell” expression, was at a loss for words. She looked at Xie Mingtu, wondering if he and Tang Jianqiang were good friends.
Xie Mingtu, on the other hand, looked puzzled.
After the seating arrangements were sorted out, Liu Zhaoqiang breathed a sigh of relief. He didn’t bother with any further instructions and watched as the two carts left the village.
The first cart carried three educated youth plus Tang Jianqiang, who couldn’t forget about Xie Mingtu. The second cart carried Uncle Chen and Zhang Lili, along with Su Xiaoman and Xie Mingtu.
Uncle Chen occupied the most advantageous position, happily fanning himself with a handheld fan. Su Xiaoman and Xie Mingtu sat together, while Zhang Lili sat in the corner, holding her bag, far away from the other three.
At this moment, Zhang Lili felt extremely bad. She couldn’t understand why Educated Youth Jiang had chosen Su Xiaoman over her…
Zhang Lili harboured a grudge over this matter, but she didn’t realize why she cared so much about it.
He Liang turned his head to look at Zhang Lili. He still wanted to reconcile with her. Zhang Lili, sitting alone in the corner holding her bag, seemed very pitiful to him.
Educated Youth Jiang, sitting beside him, casually glanced back at Su Xiaoman.
Xie Mingtu, being vigilant, discreetly blocked Su Xiaoman’s line of sight behind him, not allowing her to succeed.
“Xiao Man, do you want to rest? Lean on this side,” Xie Mingtu suggested, indicating that she could rest on him since the cart was quite bumpy and uncomfortable.
Su Xiaoman shook her head, refusing.
Seeing her refusal, Xie Mingtu felt a sense of disappointment, but he maintained his distance honestly.
At this moment, Su Xiaoman felt a bit regretful. She thought her refusal just now had hurt Xie Mingtu. After all, he had good intentions, and she had acted as if she was repulsed by him.
They had studied together and shared the experience of roasting rabbits in the revolution. There was no reason for them to reject each other.
Su Xiaoman placed the bundle of clothes between them, leaned back, closed her eyes, and fell asleep.
Xie Mingtu lowered his head, and no one could see the corners of his mouth turning up incessantly.
*
The Xie Family.
An old lady named Zhang, who had a good relationship with Sun Mei, came to visit the Xie family.
“Your Fifth Brother Xie is doing well now, selected into some study group. He’ll be impressive in the future. It’s said that he can even learn to drive, those with four wheels… You’ve chosen a good daughter-in-law for him,” Zhang said with a hint of sarcasm. Previously, she had sneered at Sun Mei behind her back, thinking she only cared about saving money, but she didn’t expect Su Xiaoman to be such an unpredictable daughter-in-law.
Zhang had initially expected to see a joke from the Xie family, but she didn’t expect Su Xiaoman, for some reason, to actually settle down with Xie Mingtu.
Su Xiaoman had three elder brothers who were good to her, and her eldest uncle was the production team leader, her mother was the head of the women’s association…
Thinking that the Xie family had gotten such a daughter-in-law for free, and now Fifth Brother Xie had also caught a good deal, Zhang couldn’t help feeling sour, and her whole body exuded a sense of jealousy in front of Sun Mei.
Sun Mei, smelling the sourness emanating from Zhang, felt quite proud. However, although she wanted to be happy, she couldn’t find it in herself to do so.
Only family members knew their own affairs. Su Xiaoman, this daughter-in-law, could be described in two words — “troublesome.”
As for Xie Mingtu catching a good deal, Sun Mei wasn’t necessarily all that happy.
“What learning outside? What can they possibly learn? I think that surname Liu’s just making everyone work for nothing. Wouldn’t everything be fine if we just stuck to the way things were?” Sun Mei expressed her disapproval of this matter, coldly sarcastic.
“I’m even happier about the good fortune of our second son.”
“Speaking of your second son…” Zhang narrowed her eyes. She had been paying attention to Su Xiaoman recently and had carefully observed everyone related to her for a while. “It’s a bit coincidental, but I think your second son looks a bit like Educated Youth Jiang.”
Of course, mainly because Educated Youth Jiang was much better looking than Second Brother Xie, who Sun Mei favoured.
Therefore, Zhang intentionally brought up this matter because she felt uneasy in her heart and wanted to provoke a reaction from Sun Mei.
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