Gifted: Can you?
Xie Mingtu smiled and shook his head.
Su Xiaomei, holding onto his neck, thought to herself that in this day and age, some things couldn’t be openly discussed.
Characters like Sharp-Eared and Far-Sighted were all figures from mythology and fiction. It was impossible for ordinary people to possess their abilities.
Su Xiaomei just thought that Xie Mingtu’s ears were a bit more sensitive than usual, nothing more.
She reached forward and pinched Xie Mingtu’s right earlobe. His earlobe was slightly cool and soft, the fleshier part of his body.
Xie Mingtu’s body stiffened slightly, tilting slightly to the right, allowing her to knead it freely.
He felt like wherever her fingers touched, it was as if a fire was lit, igniting a blazing heat in his chest and making his heartbeat even faster.
His entire ear was turning red from the spreading heat, buzzing in his ear canal, drowning out all other sounds.
“Sharp-Eared is someone who can hear distant sounds.” Su Xiaomei released her right hand, releasing his earlobe. She didn’t know if she had applied too much force just now, but his right ear was completely red.
The earlobe was even red enough to drip blood.
Su Xiaomei felt inexplicably guilty, wondering if she had gone too far just now.
The guilt made Su Xiaomei slightly lower her head, tilting her head sideways to avoid his crimson ear. Her gaze lingered on his profile.
In the warm glow of the setting sun, the sharp lines of his jaw became even clearer, his lips had just the right thickness, tinged with a slight orange hue. His contours were more defined, with the corners of his mouth naturally curved upwards, captivating the gaze.
Xie Gouzi was truly a handsome dog.
Su Xiaomei thought to herself that if this guy had “cleaned up” earlier, he probably would have been taken away by a certain family to be a “child husband” before she arrived. With Sun Mei’s character, she would definitely be willing to sell her non-biological son for money.
Attractive men were just as sought after as attractive women.
Su Xiaomei: “…”
Does Xie Mingtu really not know if he was handsome or not? Or is he doing it on purpose? Su Xiaomei often felt that he was just a big silly dog, but sometimes she couldn’t help but wonder if this silly dog was not as simple as he appeared on the surface.
Perhaps because she knew he might be the original book’s main antagonist, she couldn’t help but view him with tinted glasses.
Could the big demon king really be just an honest silly dog?
At least in her presence, he was just a silly dog.
She didn’t see any sinister, cunning, or malicious traits in him. Su Xiaomei couldn’t associate him with the term “antagonist.”
What was clearer in her mind was the Xie Mingtu she interacted with – obedient, honest, silly, always smiling foolishly at her, and never going against her wishes… and handsome too.
Her chin rested on his broad back muscles. Su Xiaomei pursed her lips, recalling the saying “clothes make the man.” She suddenly realized that apart from the current one he was wearing, Xie Mingtu might never have worn new clothes in his life, and his pants were always tattered.
Su Xiaomei fell silent, feeling sorry for him.
“Xie Mingtu, when we have time later, I’ll make you a new set of clothes,” she said.
Xie Mingtu’s breath paused for a moment. He struggled to suppress the overwhelming joy surging up in his body and replied calmly, “Thank you, Xiaomei.”
Su Xiaomei relaxed and began to contemplate what kind of suitable clothes she would make for him.
Walking forward with her on his back, Xie Mingtu felt the weight of her, the most important person in his life, on his back.
In the autumn evening, the autumn breeze rustled the leaves, making a sound. The insects and birds in the mountains and forests hadn’t completely stopped their noise, and there were voices not far away. However, at this moment, he couldn’t hear any of these sounds. He could only hear her gentle breathing.
In his childhood, Xie Mingtu’s world was filled with noisy sounds. No matter how he tried to escape, those sharp and harsh sounds would mercilessly penetrate his ears. When he was hiding from someone, there would often be some voices venting their dark and filthy thoughts, as well as some selfish and malicious plans. They thought no one could hear them, but he could.
That’s why he hated crowded places and preferred to be alone quietly on the mountain, listening to the sounds of nature.
But after meeting her, he found that it didn’t matter even in crowded places. The surrounding noises couldn’t affect him.
Manman made him feel at ease and happy.
This time, Xie Mingtu saw many things he had never seen before, and it gave him a deeper understanding of his abilities. He no longer detested his differences from ordinary people. He could hear the sound of machine malfunctions, remember books he had read at a glance, and his computational ability was extremely strong… The outside world was vast, and he could make sure Manman lived a good life.
Xie Mingtu lowered his eyes, and the setting sun cast a golden glow on his eyelashes. He spoke warmly, “Manman, I earned some money these past two days.”
“Well, keep it properly,” Su Xiaomei encouraged him with a smile. She knew he was helping with transportation and repairing machines, so this silly dog’s little treasury was probably quite enriched.
In any era, those with abilities and skills were always in demand.
“Wait until we get back, then buy something you want for yourself,” Su Xiaomei suggested.
Xie Mingtu responded with a gentle “Hmm.”
Carrying Su Xiaomei, Xie Mingtu slowly approached the trio of Zhou Xiaofeng. At this moment, Yang Changgui had already gotten off the car. Zhou Xiaohong called out to Changgui with a sweet voice, irritating Zhou Xiaofeng to the point where she felt nauseated. Only after this did Zhou Xiaohong finally feel a bit relieved.
“In a few days, when Changgui brother and Xiaofeng sister are about to have their wedding banquet, I’ll definitely go. We’ve grown up together since childhood, and our bond is the deepest. I believe that after Changgui brother gets married, he won’t forget our friendship from the beginning,” Zhou Xiaohong said.
Zhou Xiaofeng clenched her fist, but Yang Changgui grabbed her wrist to calm her down. “Zhou Xiaohong, you are Xiaofeng’s elder sister and also my elder sister. When we have the wedding banquet, you are welcome to join as the elder sister,” he said.
The term “elder sister” was specifically used to address older women in their community. Zhou Xiaohong was Zhou Xiaofeng’s cousin, so calling her “elder sister” wasn’t entirely inappropriate.
However, it sounded quite rustic and was a bit of a mood killer.
With one “elder sister” here and another “elder sister” there, Zhou Xiaohong’s face turned green. He was about to address her directly, saying, “Auntie, please move, I have no connection with you.”
Zhou Xiaofeng chuckled, echoing her husband’s words, “Sister Hong, you are welcome to attend our wedding banquet.”
“Don’t worry, I’ll definitely come,” Zhou Xiaohong said through gritted teeth, seeing Zhou Xiaofeng’s smug expression.
“Brother Xie carried Sister Xiaomei over. Let’s go back together. Sister, do you want to come back with us?” Zhou Xiaohong’s expression changed constantly. She was about to retort but couldn’t help but be attracted by Xie Mingtu.
In her mind, she speculated about who this person was. When did such a handsome young man come to their village? He was tall and thin, with features even more attractive than a girl’s. From his appearance, he didn’t seem like a countryman. Could he be one of the young intellectuals who came here this time?
It was said that none of the young intellectuals who came this time were married yet…
Zhou Xiaohong stared at Xie Mingtu without blinking, and Su Xiaomei noticed Zhou Xiaohong’s burning gaze. She felt particularly uncomfortable and hugged the neck of the big dog under her even tighter, pressing closer to him.
“Let’s go,”.
Zhou Xiaohong knew that Su Xiaomei was already married. She had heard villagers gossiping, saying that her husband was unsightly and couldn’t be presented to others. From their appearance, they were like a flower on top of cow dung. Zhou Xiaohong used to envy Su Xiaomei’s beauty, but the thought of her marrying a “cow dung” made her feel much better.
Now, seeing Su Xiaomei being so intimate with a handsome young intellectual because of her leg injury, Zhou Xiaohong couldn’t help but feel a deep sense of disdain.
That young labourer is really unlucky to have been tangled up by her.
Should I take the opportunity to talk to her cow dung husband?
After returning home, Zhou Xiaohong immediately rummaged through her boxes and cabinets, and found a set of red dress that had been kept hidden. It was made two or three years ago, when Zhou Xiaohong cried and complained at home. She cherished this red dress very much on weekdays and rarely wore it out to see people.
Now she put on this red dress, twirled the skirt in the room twice, feeling extremely satisfied, with a smile on her face.
Even though it’s old clothing, the fabric has become somewhat worn and faded, but compared to the clothes of other girls in the village, it’s still a world of difference.
She touched her own cheek and felt secretly pleased: “Only a beautiful woman like me looks good in a red dress.”
No one else can compare to her.
Zhou Xiaohong planned to wear this red dress to attend Zhou Xiaofeng’s wedding.
It’s hilarious, Zhou Xiaofeng’s red cloth was ruined by her own hands, and she still doesn’t know what kind of wedding dress she will wear. Thinking about her plain and ordinary face, Zhou Xiaohong urgently wants to see what expression she will have when she sees herself at the wedding.
It would make her blush with embarrassment.
Late at night, Su Xiaoman was still busy making the wedding dress. When she woke up early in the morning, she would spend one or two hours on it, and then go to the silkworm room. After several days of hard work, this red wedding dress was already more than half finished, ending earlier than she had imagined.
The exquisite embroidery on the hem looked even more beautiful and delicate under the night light, with beautiful buttons adorned with beads, reflecting dazzling light. The patterns on the cuffs were also nearly finished. Su Xiaoman bit off the thread in her hand and picked up the dress in front of her.
She found that her embroidery skills had improved compared to before, probably because she was now in a more relaxed mood, with fewer things weighing on her mind, and the needle and thread in her hand became more natural and agile.
Su Xiaoman gently stroked the embroidery with her hand, feeling very pleased.
“Xie Mingtu, look, isn’t it beautiful?” Su Xiaoman smiled brightly, showing her “hard work” to the person beside her.
“Beautiful,” Xie Mingtu looked at her gently and gave a definite answer. His hand couldn’t help but cover the cloth pouch in his pocket, which contained the fabric vouchers he had exchanged.
He went to the clothing factory again today and found that exchanging vouchers with the factory workers was indeed a wise choice. It was difficult to get low-priced vouchers from ordinary people, but many workers in the clothing factory had extra vouchers.
Xie Mingtu asked Yang Changgui for the details, and in another two days, a batch of new goods would arrive.
Su Xiaoman breathed a sigh of relief. After finishing Zhou Xiaofeng’s wedding dress, she would start making clothes for her sister-in-law, Xu Qin. Xu Qin had collected some fabric vouchers to make new clothes, and Su Xiaoman helped her by using her own vouchers.
Xu Qin thought Su Xiaoman wanted to make new clothes for herself and asked if she wanted to share some fabric. Su Xiaoman refused.
She was going to make a set of clothes for Xie Mingtu.
Su Xiaoman glanced at Xie Mingtu and decided not to tell him about this for the time being.
“Our area also has good water conservancy conditions. Your eldest uncle just built a large dam with people, so we’ll have good days ahead of us. The fish ponds that were abandoned by the team before can also be put to use again.”
“Without coming out to take a look, to see for ourselves, we really don’t know about the living conditions in these areas.”
“People here are living well! Look, everyone is well-fed and well-clothed.”
Standing under a mulberry tree, Uncle Chen couldn’t help but sigh. He had been living in the village before, accustomed to poverty, and generations of his ancestors had lived like this. He never thought about how to change it, advising young people to endure, no matter how hard and tiring life may be, that’s just how it goes.
Now seeing the prosperity of the countryside here, Uncle Chen seemed to have lit a fire in his heart. He tapped the mulberry tree and said, “Plant mulberry trees by the fish pond, feed silkworms with mulberry leaves, use silkworm waste to feed fish, and the mud in the pond can also be used to fertilize the mulberry leaves. We can learn from them.”
“I’ve already written it all down in my notebook and learned a lot of experiences from the elders in their village.”
“Look at the roads they’ve built in their village, the tractors on the road, the transport vehicles, the threshing machines on the threshing floors, and the mills over there… Everyone’s living really well.”
“Li Er took me to see their lotus pond, and in a few more days, the lotus roots will be ready for harvest.”
The eight people who came out to learn about farming and breeding models had been here for a while, and today they gathered for a small exchange and learning session. After summarizing the learning, Uncle Chen pulled Su Xiaoman aside to talk under the mulberry tree.
“Your mother, Liu Shufeng, has foresight.” Uncle Chen sighed while smoking a cigarette. This trip out, Xie Mingtu had changed so much that he almost didn’t recognize him when he saw him just now.
This kid is too handsome. Even when standing next to Educated Youth Jiang at the meeting, he wasn’t overshadowed.
Uncle Chen even felt that this kid looked more handsome than Educated Youth Jiang.
Listening to the head of the Zhou family saying that Xie Mingtu learns everything quickly, not only driving tractors and transport vehicles but also trucks, he’s good at it as soon as he starts. It’s as if he was born to do this. The transportation company in their county even wants to hire him as an employee.
Because not only can he drive, he can also repair vehicles. I don’t know how he learned it, but I heard that he learned to repair vehicles just by holding a manual for some machine. Xie Mingtu not only knows how to repair vehicles, but he can also repair the machines in the clothing factory.
Gee, this is talent!!!
Their village can also produce talents. Xie Mingtu is a talent!!
Before, when Su Xiaoman was forced to marry Xie Mingtu, Uncle Chen felt it was absurd. He wondered how Liu Shufeng, such a capable woman, would be willing to let her only daughter Su Xiaoman marry Xie Mingtu, a poor boy who was unremarkable in appearance, and their Su family didn’t even ask for a penny in dowry.
It wasn’t until now that he suddenly realized that Liu Shufeng had sharp eyes. It was said that Su Xiaoman marrying Xie Mingtu was like a flower being inserted into cow dung, but after wiping away that cow dung, there was actually a piece of jade inside.
Moreover, Xie Mingtu was from their village, rooted and grounded, much better than the unknown when the youth came from outside.
“Xiaoman, live well with Xiao Xie, your days will only get better and better.”
Su Xiaoman smiled and nodded in agreement with Uncle Chen’s words.
Meanwhile, Xie Mingtu was holding scissors to trim Tang Jianqiang’s hair. Tang Jianqiang had been admiring Xie Mingtu’s hairstyle for a long time and finally couldn’t resist asking Su Xiaoman to help him get a haircut like Xie Mingtu’s.
Su Xiaoman: “???”
Su Xiaoman was extremely shocked to hear this request. After all, she really didn’t know how to cut hair. Initially, she just casually wiped and trimmed Xie Gouzi’s hair, and it didn’t turn out badly, mainly thanks to Xie Gouzi’s naturally good looks.
Now, being asked to do it again, she didn’t know how to do it.
She felt really sorry for Tang Jianqiang.
“I don’t know… I just casually trimmed Xie Mingtu’s hair before.”
Hearing Su Xiaoman’s words, Tang Jianqiang showed a simple and hearty smile typical of a rural person: “Then just casually trim mine a bit too. If it goes wrong, I won’t blame you.”
Su Xiaoman: “…”
Even in such impoverished times, young people’s pursuit of “beauty” is unstoppable. They all like beautiful clothes and fashionable hairstyles.
Su Xiaoman was almost persuaded by him. After all, he revered her as “Teacher,” and she also wanted to see if she really had the talent to be a Teacher.
However, Xie Mingtu was unwilling to let Su Xiaoman cut other people’s hair, so he volunteered to cut Tang Jianqiang’s hair himself.
“You? Can you do it?”
Tang Jianqiang looked at him with particularly skeptical eyes.
However, when he saw the determined and handsome face of the other party, he couldn’t help but feel ashamed of his doubts. Handsome people always give others an inexplicable sense of trust.
If it was Xie Mingtu who used to have a bird’s nest hairstyle offering to cut his hair, he would definitely have to fight Xie Gouzi.
The two of them borrowed scissors from the villagers, and Xie Mingtu trimmed Tang Jianqiang’s hair.
Surprisingly, just like Xie Mingtu’s talent for repairing machines, he also had a talent for cutting hair.
Tang Jianqiang looked at his new hairstyle in the mirror and suddenly felt elated, thinking that he was comparable to the male protagonist in a movie.
“Xie Mingtu, from now on, I’ll come to you for haircuts.”
Passing by, Yang Changgui saw it and became eager as well. He was about to become the groom and wanted a stylish and energetic hairstyle. He immediately sat down on the bench in front of Xie Mingtu and asked him without hesitation to help with his haircut.
Yang Changgui was a familiar face in the village, everyone knew him well. Many local young men couldn’t help but gather around to watch the fun, sometimes staring at Xie Mingtu’s head, sometimes glancing at Tang Jianqiang’s.
Tang Jianqiang, with his new hairstyle, looked very charming. He casually let people admire him, asking repeatedly, “How’s it? How does my hair look?”
Xie Mingtu: “…”
He helped Yang Changgui with his haircut as well, a series of snips, and black hair flakes fell like snowflakes to the ground.
The onlookers nodded in approval one after another.
After finishing, Yang Changgui snatched the mirror from Tang Jianqiang’s hand, combed his hair, and was equally pleased with his new hairstyle.
Now, it was like lighting the fuse, and a burst of firecrackers couldn’t stop it.
More people came to Xie Mingtu for haircuts.
At one point, charging 1.5 cents per person, Xie Mingtu, with a poker face, managed to earn two yuan just by his skills, which made Su Xiaoman laugh heartily next to him. She thought Xie Gouzi had found another way to make money.
The more he cut, the better he got. Who knows, maybe after going back, he could open a barber shop in the commune.
It turned out that she wasn’t the Teacher, it was Xie Gouzi who had the Teacher’s talent.
“There’s a fight, there’s a fight, go over there and intervene!”
“Aunt Shun and 3rd Jin’s wife are arguing and about to fight over there.”
“A group of people went over to mediate.”
Hearing that a fight had broken out, Su Xiaoman and her group followed the crowd over. In the village, arguing and fighting were always lively events, especially for those who loved watching the excitement—they all crowded around.
Zhou Yuanfang, the head of the women’s federation, held a megaphone and shouted in the crowd, “Make way, I’m going to mediate the fight!”
Su Xiaoman and Xie Mingtu squeezed into the crowd, and when they reached the front, they found the focus of the circle was Aunt Shun and another woman, Qin Houying, also known as 3rd Jin’s wife.
Qin Houying was an outsider, who had fled famine and arrived in their village, marrying into the prominent Jin family in the village. She had a fiery temper, loved to take advantage of others, and many people were afraid of her, unwilling to get involved in her affairs.
The reason for the conflict between her and Aunt Shun was related to silkworm breeding.
Aunt Shun had cultivated a batch of new silkworms, a good breed with fewer numbers. The silkworms she raised were fat and healthy, the result of her hard work. Earlier, in order to hand over Zhou Xiaohong to the second team’s Zhou Wenwen, she had promised to give part of this batch to Zhou Wenwen. However, when Qin Houying from the third team found out about this, she became particularly unhappy.
Several silkworm breeding groups were secretly competing against each other. Each group wanted to outdo the others, hoping for a better harvest and more dividends at the end of the year. Previously, Aunt Shun’s group ranked first, Qin Houying’s group second, and Zhou Wenwen’s group was at the bottom.
The Zhou family was wealthy and didn’t care much about ranking first or second. However, this time, they had received the hard work of Aunt Shun. If they successfully raised this batch and passed it on from generation to generation, with Aunt Shun’s promise to help take care of their group, they might surpass Qin Houying’s group and reach second place.
Silkworms carefully bred by Aunt Shun were more likely to produce high-quality cocoons.
The higher the quality of the cocoons, the better the price they could sell for. Some people raised silkworms but harvested thin and few cocoons, with the silkworms dying inside. The cocoons were yellowish, the lowest quality and couldn’t fetch a good price.
Zhou Wenwen was feeling extremely proud.
Qin Houying became jealous and came to argue with Aunt Shun, demanding that she also share a batch of well-bred new silkworms with them.
Faced with Qin Houying’s unreasonable demand, how could Aunt Shun agree? She had already reluctantly shared part of her hard work with Zhou Wenwen’s group. How could she possibly give any to Qin Houying, especially since the other side was being so demanding?
Moreover, to prevent her from taking advantage.
The two of them began to argue near the mulberry fields, and the more they argued, the less they held back their words. Qin Houying mocked Aunt Shun’s husband, saying she was a jinx, bringing disaster to the whole family, and that whoever she married would be harmed.
“Surnamed Zeng, you should send this unlucky woman back. Last time it was a waist injury, who knows if next time it will be her head.”
“Disaster.” Qin Houying’s only son, Jin Baobao, stood beside his mother, learning from her example, yelling insults at Aunt Shun. As he cursed her, he even spat at “Aunt Shun.”
At the age of ten, Jin Baobao was the youngest son, with two older sisters above him. Qin Houying cherished him as if he were the apple of her eye, wanting to take him everywhere.
Jin Baobao was also spoiled rotten by her, with a terrible temper at home and causing trouble everywhere outside. Even at the age of ten, his mother still chased after him to feed him.
Before marrying into this family, Sister Shun had a previous husband who passed away due to illness after just over a year of marriage. Shortly after, she remarried to her second husband, Zeng Shaoqiang. Zeng Shaoqiang was much healthier than her previous husband. The two of them lived harmoniously for a period of time. However, half a year after their marriage, Zeng Shaoqiang injured his back while working on the dam. His health deteriorated rapidly, and now he is bedridden. Over the years, the couple has barely managed to get by thanks to Sister Shun’s skill in raising silkworms.
These events are like thorns in Sister Shun’s heart. Seeing Qin Houying so bluntly expose her vulnerabilities in front of everyone ignited a rage within Sister Shun.
“You’re the one with the black heart, raising a brainless dog…”
The two women began to fight fiercely.
Leave a Reply