Chapter 33

Jiang Manzhu originally planned to go back to her room to rest, but listening to the two of them tutoring homework made her smile joyfully.

"Our little Bei is so filial, knowing to share good things with his sister-in-law. He deserves praise," Jiang Manzhu complimented warmly.

The praised little Bei smiled adorably, completely ignoring how angry his third brother, who was tutoring him, had become.

"Haha, little Bei, your third brother is really mad. You should stop teasing him. Linxi, your way of teaching doesn't suit me. You should teach in your own way, haha…" Jiang Manzhu laughed heartily, looking at Li Linxi, who was fuming, and pretended to offer some serious advice.

Li Linxi thought that since little Bei had already adapted to Jiang Manzhu's teaching style, plus he saw little Bei as just a child who hadn't been exposed to much learning, he naturally had to use a coaxing method.

Jiang Manzhu's teaching style was particularly suitable for school-age children—quite childish. After all, it was his little brother, so Li Linxi didn't mind being a little childish himself.

But unfortunately…

Brotherly love was there, but it wasn't enough. Li Linxi glanced up at the smiling Jiang Manzhu, "You should go take a nap."

Don't disturb little Bei while he's doing his homework.

"Little Bei just started school, after all. The other kids have already been in school for a whole semester. How can he catch up so quickly? You need to be more patient," Jiang Manzhu spoke up for little Bei. "Why don't you teach him how to write his name and recognize characters? I think little Bei will have no problem with addition and subtraction within ten."

Jiang Manzhu was confident in her teaching style and little Bei's learning progress. Before, she had thought little Bei could manage simple tasks on his own. As for recognizing characters…

Oh, she really had overlooked that problem at first. Teaching little Bei had initially taken a lot of effort.

Moreover, she had her own studies to attend to. In order to achieve a good score in the college entrance exams, she couldn't slack off either.

She only spent time playing 'math addition and subtraction within ten' games with little Bei when she was free or bored. For this, she patted little Bei's head, "It will be more convenient for you in the future once you learn to read."

"Sister-in-law, homework comes first," little Bei was a principled child. The homework assigned by the teacher had to be completed. After speaking, he looked up at Li Linxi, "Third Brother, isn't that right?"

"Yes, homework comes first." As the tutor, Li Linxi couldn't possibly encourage the student to skip homework, even if the student wasn't from his own class.

"Since your sister-in-law says you can do it, go ahead and solve it on your own." Li Linxi hadn't previously checked Jiang Manzhu's teaching results with little Bei, so this was a good time to see.

Little Bei lowered his head and continued doing his homework, occasionally counting on his fingers, muttering to himself, "Today, Third Brother ate one of my candies…"

Li Linxi remained silent. Was this how math problems were solved in the fourth-grade final exams? The image of students muttering "candy, candy, candy" in the exam room flashed through his mind. The picture was too vivid, leaving him speechless.

…

If life is going well, time tends to pass quickly.

Jiang Manzhu had been living quite well lately. With Liu Jumei, her hardworking and helpful mother-in-law, gone, it was now Li Linxi who prepared breakfast in the morning.

However, when it came to doing laundry, the task fell to both of them. Yes, that's right—Li Linxi felt too awkward to let Jiang Manzhu wash his clothes, and he was also too embarrassed to help wash hers, so they just washed their own.

Li Linxi would even wash his younger brother's clothes. If he took a bath earlier in the evening, he would wash the clothes before going to bed.

At noon, when he came home from work, they followed the "you fetch water, I cook" routine. When little Bei helped with the fire, Jiang Manzhu would go to the garden to pick vegetables.

In the afternoons, after school, it was back home to boil water, cook, bathe, eat, and sleep.

As for the heavier chores, like fetching water and chopping firewood, those were left to Li Linxi.

During the day, he only had two or three classes, so aside from drinking more water, there were no major issues. The remaining time could be used for studying, and everything was well-organized.

In no time, more than a month had passed. Jiang Manzhu suddenly thought of something important. "Linxi, Qingming Festival is coming soon. Should we…"

"Destroy the Four Olds. No ancestor worship," Li Linxi understood what Jiang Manzhu was about to say, and before she could finish, he reminded her.

"Oh…" Jiang Manzhu nodded dumbly. So, they weren't allowed to do that? Oh right, destroying the Four Olds—old ideas, old culture, old customs, and old habits. So, this fell under… old customs? Or old ideas?

"I get it, I get it," Jiang Manzhu suddenly remembered. No wonder her mother-in-law's grave didn't have any kind of tombstone. Sometimes, she almost forgot this was the 1970s and they were still in the midst of a movement.

Just when she thought Li Linxi had no plans to worship ancestors, that very night, she heard the door opening.

Jiang Manzhu hurriedly got up. Could it be a thief? Did someone know there weren't many people at home and came to steal?

There was a wooden stick hidden behind her door, so she grabbed it and walked out. A kerosene lamp was lit in the living room, and seeing a figure, Jiang Manzhu's eyes widened.

She held her breath, quietly poking her head out. "Li Linxi?? What are you doing scaring people like this?"

Seeing that it was Li Linxi, Jiang Manzhu relaxed, her voice filled with mock anger.

She had guessed it might be Li Linxi or someone else. If it hadn't been Li Linxi, she would have gone to wake him up to deal with the thief.

Li Linxi, already dressed and ready to go out, heard her voice and looked over. Seeing Jiang Manzhu holding a wooden stick, glaring at him angrily, he asked, "What are you…"

"Why are you going out in the middle of the night without telling me? If I wasn't so alert, the house could've been emptied by thieves!" Jiang Manzhu fumed. You could go out, but at least tell me, so I could lock the door!

"So, you're mad about that?" Li Linxi had thought she'd ask him where he was going so late at night.

"What else? It's important! When you go out, you either don't lock the door, or you lock it from the outside. How am I supposed to get out if that happens?" Jiang Manzhu was, of course, upset. Sleeping with an unlocked door was a serious issue.

What if someone came to rob or harm them? That would be disastrous.

"I understand. I'll probably be back around midnight. You can lock the door first, and I'll wake you when I return," Li Linxi said after a moment of silence.

"Or you could lock it from the outside… No, I'll lock it." Jiang Manzhu was worried that something might happen to Li Linxi and he wouldn't come back. Wouldn't she be trapped inside then?

"Can you wake up? Don't sleep too deeply and leave me stuck outside all night." Li Linxi knew that Jiang Manzhu was a heavy sleeper. Once, during a rainstorm, she had slept through the thunder and only asked in surprise the next morning if it had rained the night before.

There had been lightning and thunder, with the wind rattling everything outside, yet it hadn't woken her.

"I won't! Don't underestimate me, okay?" Jiang Manzhu glanced at the black bag he was carrying, which seemed to hold quite a lot. He was surely going out for something not entirely proper.

"Even if it's late, be careful. Don't get caught, okay? I can't take care of little Bei by myself." Jiang Manzhu gave him a heads-up. If something happened to him, she'd run away.

"Hmm." After Li Linxi left, Jiang Manzhu hurriedly locked the door and kept the kerosene lamp burning.

She wondered where the male protagonist was off to at this hour. Could it be he was heading to town? Was there still business happening so late?

Yawning, Jiang Manzhu had originally planned to wait for Li Linxi to return, but after just a few minutes, she found herself too sleepy to stay awake.

Forget it, I'll get some sleep.

She thought Li Linxi would be back soon, but in fact, it wasn't until dawn that she heard someone knocking on her window.

"Jiang Manzhu, wake up, make breakfast!" Li Linxi thought he was such a fool for believing what Jiang Manzhu had said. How long had he been calling her?

Afraid of waking the neighbors, he had refrained from calling out loudly and could only knock on her window.

Jiang Manzhu woke up with a start, hearing a familiar voice outside. Only then did she remember that Li Linxi was back.

"Coming, coming." Jiang Manzhu felt a little guilty. After lighting the kerosene lamp, she came out to open the door.

Now, it was just barely dawn, and the early spring morning was a bit chilly. Jiang Manzhu looked at the man, damp from the morning mist. "Come inside quickly. Look at you, you're all wet. Change your clothes and dry your hair."

"Your hands are cold. Don't catch a cold. I'll go heat some water for you." Jiang Manzhu tugged his hand slightly, and sure enough, it was icy cold. It was still so cold outside, he must have had a hard time.

Feeling full of guilt, Jiang Manzhu hurried to the kitchen to heat water for him, whether it was for wiping his body, soaking his feet, or washing his hands…

"Oh right, there's also some ginger tea. Remember to drink it. It's all my fault, I slept too soundly." Jiang Manzhu wasn't doing it on purpose. She always slept well; she didn't stay up late at night, nor did she have a phone to play with.

Moreover, she had no bothersome issues to worry about. Why wouldn't her sleep quality be good?

Jiang Manzhu gave him a gentle tug, the warm and soft feeling fleeting as quickly as it came. Li Linxi lowered his deep, dark eyes, without looking at her again.

Jiang Manzhu didn't mind. She thought Li Linxi was probably tired from being busy and didn't feel like talking.

A bowl of ginger tea was placed beside him, and a towel was handed over. "Wipe yourself off. Then rest for a while. I'll call you when breakfast is ready."

Jiang Manzhu didn't ask where Li Linxi had gone. She really was a good wife… No, a virtuous sister-in-law. All she needed was for him to remember her kindness when he became successful.

Jiang Manzhu felt satisfied with her efforts and praised herself inwardly. Whether Li Linxi would actually remember her kindness? Who cared—she wasn't his mother.

Every day, Jiang Manzhu could find new reasons to praise herself, and this increased her confidence. On her beautiful, exquisite face, her confidence radiated as dazzling as the stars.

Li Linxi glanced at her a few times before finally starting to move.

By the time morning came and breakfast was ready, Jiang Manzhu had made it all by herself. Oh, it really must be hard for Linxi usually.

"Wake up! It's time to eat!" At Li Linxi's bedroom door, she didn't bother being polite and knocked loudly on the door. The sound startled Li Linxi awake from his dream.

…

Jiang Manzhu had been living comfortably for the past half month, but Su Qianqian was not having such a good time.

She tried to stir up trouble for Jiang Manzhu by inciting the village wives, but not only did she fail, she even got laughed at.

Still, she held on to hope. A bachelor like Zhu Dachun, who couldn't get a wife, would surely be happy to marry a beautiful widow.

So, Su Qianqian waited eagerly for good news. She was in such a good mood every day that even Luo Liangce was surprised. Had this crazy woman changed her ways?

At night, he even tried to hug her, only to get kicked away.

Crazy woman! Still as crazy as ever.

After waiting for over a month with no sign of good news, and seeing Li Linxi and Jiang Manzhu coming and going like a family of three, Su Qianqian's face twisted in anger. What was going on? Zhu Dachun had promised her, but he wasn't doing anything?

Damn it! Was he useless? Couldn't he even handle a widow?

Finally, Su Qianqian couldn't wait any longer. She decided to confront Zhu Dachun while everyone was out working. She needed to ask what was going on with him.

The first time she went, Zhu Dachun wasn't home.

The second time, she caught him just as he was returning. Seeing his timid expression, Su Qianqian looked at him with disdain.

"Zhu Dachun, what's going on with you? I've been looking for you twice, and you weren't home." Su Qianqian's questioning left Zhu Dachun confused.

Zhu Dachun thought: What's wrong with not being at home? Just because you're looking for me, I have to be home? Who do you think you are?

"Miss, what do you want from me?" Zhu Dachun was a bit puzzled and annoyed. He had just lost a game, could things get any worse?

If it weren't for the fact that she was a woman, Zhu Dachun wouldn't have bothered with her at all.

"Didn't you say you were going to marry that widow Jiang Manzhu? Why haven't you made a move yet?" Su Qianqian, unaware of Zhu Dachun's irritation, asked directly.

Maybe because of her rebirth, the politeness of the villagers towards her had made her forget that they were only respectful because her father was the village leader.

Facing Zhu Dachun now, she might have been misled by his earlier politeness, thinking he was just a cowardly man.

"Jiang Manzhu? The widow? Who?" Zhu Dachun didn't recall at first, but after a while, it clicked—oh, that highly connected Jiang Manzhu, the educated youth?

The mention of this made Zhu Dachun furious. He yelled, "No way! Are you trying to set me up? You know what kind of background that educated youth has? Are you trying to get me in trouble?"

Even if Zhu Dachun was willing to risk everything, he wouldn't cause trouble at the brigade. In these times, indecent acts could land someone in jail, or worse.

Was he looking for death?

"Zhu Dachun, no wonder you're still single at your age. Look at your peers. They don't just have sons—they have grandsons by now. But you, being such a coward, deserve to be alone."

"It's just a woman. No matter how powerful her background is, it's not her family. Besides, once you're married, do you think she'll ruin you?"

"Just keep her from going to town, and she won't have a chance to report anything."

Su Qianqian was about to explode with frustration. How could a man be this clueless? He deserved to be alone forever, dying in his house with no one even knowing.

Listening to her, Zhu Dachun looked Su Qianqian up and down, still hesitating, his brow furrowed. "But what if she tells someone? What if I can't keep her from escaping and she reports me to her family?"

Zhu Dachun was tempted but torn. It seemed like a hard decision.

"As long as she's carrying your child, would she still want to run? She's already yours. Once you get married, she won't be able to leave even if she wants to."

Su Qianqian's eyes gleamed with malice. If she got pregnant with another man's child, how could she still marry Li Linxi?

"Oh? What if her family really comes looking for her?" Zhu Dachun stared hard at Su Qianqian, waiting for a good solution.

"What are you afraid of? If they come, just say she seduced you. She's a widow—now that her husband is gone, she's desperate to latch onto anyone. Cowards starve, but the brave thrive. Do you have the guts or not?"

Su Qianqian was exasperated. How could a man be so useless that he couldn't even deal with one woman, and still needed her help?

Had she known this, she would have looked for someone else.

"Is that so?" Zhu Dachun looked at Su Qianqian, who had come to him twice on her own to scheme and plot. This girl… or rather, this venomous woman, was eager for him to ruin the educated youth's reputation.

The villagers already disliked Zhu Dachun, avoiding him at all costs. "I heard you got married?"

"You married that educated youth from the city? You must be living quite comfortably, right? But can that city boy really work in the fields? Can he support you?"

Su Qianqian didn't understand why Zhu Dachun was babbling nonsense. She didn't have time for his idle chatter.

"That's none of your business." She had no need to explain anything to him, nor did she share her plans with anyone.

"Judging by your sharp tongue, you're not doing well, are you? Then again, those city boys can't handle fieldwork, and they're probably no good in bed either."

Su Qianqian suddenly raised her head. The latter part of his comment sounded ominous.

Suddenly, she turned and ran, realizing she had walked right into the lion's den by coming to Zhu Dachun's house alone to plot.

Unfortunately for her, Zhu Dachun's house was in a secluded area. He was already angry after losing a game, and this shrew had the nerve to question him?

Who did she think she was?

But he hadn't expected… Haha… No wonder she was looking for another man. That city boy probably couldn't satisfy her!

…

"I heard we're getting more educated youths in our village this year? Ugh, how annoying. Why are there so many of them?"

"Exactly, they're useless in the fields but eat a lot. We're running out of food."

"We still need to lend them food. How many educated youths are coming this year? What? Six of them? Are they crazy?"

The team leader sent someone to pick them up, but forget about the tractor; they'll take the ox cart instead.

Last year, things were busier, and the tractor was used a lot. Seeing the wear and tear on it this year made both the tractor driver and the team leader distressed.

Every year, so many educated youths come to the countryside. In the past, it might have been novel, thinking that they were specially sent by the higher-ups, so they would treat them politely and use the tractor to pick them up.

But now… not anymore!

When the educated youths arrived in town and saw that it was an old man with only an ox cart picking them up, the two girls among them were clearly dissatisfied.

"What? Just one ox cart?"

The old man sized up the group of six, noting that four of them were male. He examined them, wondering if they were capable of working.

Pale and delicate like chickens—clearly not suited for hard labor. He couldn't understand why so many educated youths were sent to their village. Did the authorities think they had too much food? With a dismissive tone, he spoke up, "Get on quickly. If we don't leave now, it'll be dark by the time we arrive."

"Uncle, how far is it from here to our village?" one of the girls asked as she placed her luggage on the cart. Space was limited, and she hesitated, wondering if it would be better to walk.

"If you walk, it'll take at least an hour and a half," the old man replied while puffing on his pipe, checking if their luggage was secure before getting ready to leave.

"There's so little room—who's going to sit?" one of the male youths frowned, glancing at the other three male companions, hoping someone else would offer.

"Let the two female educated youths sit. They're girls, after all. We can walk with Uncle."

"Are you looking down on female comrades? What's so special about being a girl? We're all comrades building the countryside's modernization, so why make distinctions between us?" Damn, he knew some people were shameless—why should they have to give up their spot?

Everyone's human, whether male or female. Why should boys be treated any differently? They get tired too!

Hearing this, the two female youths were a bit embarrassed. "Let's take turns sitting. We all took the train here, so we're all tired."

"Stop being so fussy, just squeeze in! Hurry up and get on, or we'll leave without you. My ox is already exhausted!" As if you're tired—how about my ox, which had to walk all the way from the village to town and now has to go back again?

If it weren't for the team leader's orders, the old man wouldn't have even brought the ox out. Well, it wasn't technically his ox; it belonged to the village. He was just responsible for looking after it.

Whoever takes care of the ox feels the pain.

After the old man shouted at them, they realized that he didn't seem too happy about picking them up. Afraid of being left behind in this unfamiliar place, they quickly climbed onto the cart, squeezing in as best they could.

As they rode, they introduced themselves to each other, filled with anticipation as they approached the Leap Forward Production Team.

In the village, the gossiping women got their first bit of news:

"Six educated youths, four men and two women. This time it's not so bad—there aren't as many girls. Oh dear, those girls really can't work, and they're so delicate."

"But they're quite good-looking, especially one of the male youths. Oh, my, he's so fair and handsome…"

"Really? How handsome? Is he more handsome than Luo, or is he better looking than Yuan?"

"In my opinion, none of those educated youths are really that handsome. They're all like pale-faced boys. My son, tall and strong, is what I call handsome."

"Pfft, your son?"

"What about my son? Isn't he handsome? With his square face and solid build, he looks like someone who's blessed with good fortune and is capable of hard work."

As they continued talking, the topic veered off into a debate over who was more handsome.

Don't think that these old women don't know how to appreciate looks. Fair, clean-cut, and refined is, of course, nice to look at, but looks won't put food on the table. In these times, you need someone who can work in the fields!

When the six educated youths finally arrived at their living quarters, the old man quickly left, leaving it to the group leader to welcome them.

The six of them surveyed the place and then smiled warmly as they greeted everyone.

"Hello, everyone. My name is Tang Shengyan from Province S. It's a pleasure to meet you all." The first to speak was a tall, bright young man with a sunny smile. His skin was fair, and he looked completely different from the others, who had spent long hours working in the fields.

However, the clothes he wore and his luggage indicated he came from a wealthier family than most of them. His face showed no signs of worry, and he seemed to have fully accepted his fate of coming to the countryside—he even looked happy about it.

"Hello, I'm from…" The other five introduced themselves as well, even if they weren't entirely happy about being here. No one openly complained.

The group leader was polite. Despite not being thrilled about more educated youths taking up their space, they had already prepared beds for them. After the greetings, everyone went back to their business.

Tang Shengyan smiled cheerfully, then went off to tidy up his space. He even fetched a basin of water to clean up and spent a good amount of time organizing.

Once he finished, the other educated youths had already prepared some wild vegetable soup and rice, calling him to join them for the meal.

With his characteristic bright smile, Tang Shengyan responded, "Coming!"

But as he sat down, instead of focusing on the meager meal in front of him, his attention went elsewhere.

"Comrades, may I ask, is Jiang Manzhu a part of our production team?"

His question drew surprised looks from the others. "You know Jiang Manzhu?"

"She's really here? But where is she? Isn't she here with us? Should we save some food for her?" Tang Shengyan seemed alarmed at the possibility of her not being here, fearing he had come to the wrong place.

"Yes, Jiang Manzhu was here, but she no longer lives at the youth center. May I ask who you are…" the speaker trailed off, wondering if this was a relative of Jiang Manzhu's.

However, before they could finish, Tang Shengyan, in a panic, exclaimed loudly, "What? She's gone? Did something happen to her? Why wasn't this reported? What exactly happened? Could it be that the people here are harboring ill intentions?" His barrage of accusations shocked everyone at the table.

"Wait, no, no, Tang Comrade, please calm down! Jiang Comrade is fine. She's staying at the Li family's home in the village," they quickly explained, alarmed by his sudden change in demeanor. Just moments ago, he seemed like such a sunny and cheerful young man.

After hearing this, Tang Shengyan sheepishly rubbed the back of his head, apologizing for his outburst. "Sorry, I got a bit too emotional. My apologies for interrupting your meal. I'll go find her now."

Without further delay, he rushed out to look for Jiang Manzhu, leaving the others at the table to speculate.

"Does he know Jiang Comrade?"

"It sure seems like it. He immediately asked about her as soon as he got here and got all worked up when he thought something had happened. Maybe they used to be… involved?"

"Unlikely. They could just be relatives."

"One's surname is Tang, and the other is Jiang. If they were cousins, would he really come all this way with her? Would you go out of your way to accompany a cousin?"

Good point. It didn't seem to add up.

Meanwhile, Tang Shengyan wandered through the village, asking for directions to the Li family's home.

"Auntie, excuse me. Do you know where Jiang Manzhu is staying?" he asked a villager with a bright smile, full of polite charm.

The old woman, charmed by the handsome young man, replied warmly, "You're looking for Jiang Comrade? She's staying at the Li family's house. Just go straight down that road, through the bamboo grove, and you'll find it. By the way, do you know Jiang Comrade? You're one of the new educated youths, right? Did you know each other before?"

Tang Shengyan thanked her and, without waiting for further questions, hurried off in the direction she pointed.

The woman stood there for a moment, watching him dash off with a perplexed look. This young man was like a gust of wind—here one moment, gone the next.

Following the directions, Tang Shengyan eventually arrived at a distinctive brick house, which looked much better than the other homes in the village.

No wonder Manzhu was staying here—it must've cost a pretty penny. Poor Manzhu, she must've had a hard time.

"Comrade Jiang, Jiang Manzhu!" Tang Shengyan called out formally at the door, refraining from using a more intimate name like "Manzhu" right away.

Jiang Manzhu heard that new educated youths were coming to the countryside today, but she wasn't interested at all. After all, she didn't know them, and they weren't taking her place.

She thought, "With this free time, I might as well rest."

However, just after she had finished eating, there was a commotion outside—someone was calling for her?

"Is someone causing trouble again?" Jiang Manzhu set down her chopsticks and raised her head to look at Li Linxi, a bit puzzled. It wasn't surprising that she thought this way, as recently, every time someone shouted outside, it was to stir up trouble.

Whether it was Aunt Meihua or Ergouzi's mother, they were always causing a scene.

But this time, it was a man? Was he looking for Li Linxi?

"I'm not sure." Li Linxi, who had been about to clean up the dishes, paused and stepped outside to see who was bold enough to cause trouble at his door, thinking that their family was now weak and easy to bully?

Li Linxi walked out, and Xiaobei and Jiang Manzhu exchanged glances before quickly getting up to follow. Even if a fight broke out, they could at least cheer him on!

However, when Li Linxi stepped outside and saw the unfamiliar young man, he was a bit confused. "Who are you?"

I don't know you.

On the other hand, the young man's eyes lit up when he saw Jiang Manzhu behind Li Linxi. His face broke into a bright, sunny smile. "Manzhu!"

Jiang Manzhu looked at the cheerful young man, grinning radiantly, but… did they know each other?

She was momentarily stunned and searched her memories. Oh, he was… the original host's neighbor? Childhood friend? Playmate?

His father and Jiang Manzhu's father were close friends, the kind that were very good friends, and the two of them had grown up together.

Jiang Manzhu fell silent. She wasn't the original host; their personalities and temperaments were different. Li Linxi didn't know this, but Tang Shengyan, who had grown up with the original host, certainly did.

If he realized she wasn't the original host, who knew what he might do?

Not sure how to handle this, Jiang Manzhu awkwardly asked, "Tang Shengyan? Why have you come to the countryside? And why here?"

"Manzhu, I knew you were sent to the countryside, so I came here on purpose. How are you doing? Don't worry, I—I can take care of you." Tang Shengyan raised his voice excitedly, looking at her with hopeful, puppy-like eyes, completely ignoring Li Linxi and Xiaobei.

"There's no need. I'm doing fine. Just take care of yourself." Jiang Manzhu chuckled dryly. Was this character supposed to appear? She searched through her memory of the book…

Oh, it's been too long. The book wasn't etched into her brain, and no matter how hard she tried to recall, she couldn't remember much.

How frustrating! If she had known she would transmigrate, she would've memorized that book a hundred times over!

She wondered, what would happen if Tang Shengyan found out the original host's fate after coming to the countryside?

"That's good, that's good. I was just worried you weren't doing well in this production brigade. As long as you're okay, I'm relieved." Tang Shengyan grinned widely, scratching the back of his head in a goofy manner.

At this moment, he finally seemed to notice the two people next to him. "Manzhu, who are these two?"

His gaze towards Li Linxi was filled with wariness. Who was this guy? Could he be… Manzhu's…?

Wait, why wasn't Manzhu living at the educated youth point, but rather in a villager's house?

Don't tell me there wasn't enough space at the educated youth point. He saw it with his own eyes—there were so many people there. How could there not be space for one girl? The two female educated youths who came with them had space.

This meant that before he came, there was space at the educated youth point.

Either Manzhu wasn't used to the living conditions at the educated youth point and paid to live in a villager's house, or she had married into a villager's family and become one of them.

As he looked at the young man in front of him, with his clear and masculine appearance, Tang Shengyan's heart sank. Could this man be… Manzhu's husband?

"Oh, I forgot to introduce you. This is Li Linxi, and this is Xiaobei—both are my… brothers-in-law." Jiang Manzhu, having adopted the virtuous wife and good sister-in-law role, was now following the script.

Earning money outside, managing household affairs inside. Sigh, I've really taken on a lot.

After saying this, she realized she hadn't introduced Tang Shengyan to Li Linxi. "This is Tang Shengyan, the son of my father's good friend. He's a newly arrived educated youth and a good kid."

"What do you mean, 'good kid'? Manzhu, you make it sound like we're from different generations." Tang Shengyan pouted, his puffed-up cheeks resembling an annoyed dolphin.

"Wait, brothers-in-law? You're married? How come I didn't know? When did this happen?" His eyes widened in surprise, and he exclaimed.

Perhaps due to Tang Shengyan's loud exclamation, or the rumors from that aunt earlier, several villagers knew about the newly arrived educated youth who seemed to know Jiang. As they passed by, they kept peeking, wondering about their relationship. Were they old acquaintances from the city?

Could this educated youth have come all the way to the countryside just for Jiang? Oh my, how infatuated (or foolish) would that be?

"Alright, let's talk inside." Li Linxi, realizing this was someone Jiang Manzhu knew and not someone here to cause trouble, also noticed the nosy villagers pretending to peek around. He spoke up.

"Yes, let's talk inside. The people in this village are very gossipy. By this afternoon, rumors about you will have spread all over. Have you eaten yet?" Jiang Manzhu was well aware of the village's gossip tendencies. After all, with no other entertainment, what else could the villagers do but chat and pass the time?

As for that last line, it was a common greeting, a typical Chinese small talk question: "Have you eaten?"

"Not yet. When I found out you were in the village, I rushed over." Tang Shengyan seemed unaware that this was just a polite question and answered it directly.

Jiang Manzhu: …

Li Linxi: …

She often said he had low emotional intelligence and didn't know how to talk to people. But what about the guy in front of her?

"Linxi, do we still have some food left? Sweet potato rice. Want some?" The latter question was directed at Tang Shengyan. "Life isn't as comfortable as it was in the city. You'd better head back sooner rather than later. Working in the fields isn't the kind of life for you."

Jiang Manzhu kindly advised him. The original host had been pampered and couldn't adapt to life in the village. Surely, Tang Shengyan, who had grown up with her, would struggle just the same. He would probably cry after two days of hardship.

Unfortunately, her good intentions fell on deaf ears. Tang Shengyan dismissed it lightly. "It's no big deal. If you can adapt, why can't I?"

Jiang Manzhu remained silent. The original host hadn't adapted, and neither had she.

"I'll pass on the food." Tang Shengyan knew that the villagers didn't have much food, and even the soup and wild vegetable dishes at the educated youth point were probably only made because they had just arrived.

In reality, they were just saying it was for them. Who would really give their food to a few strangers?

It wasn't worth it. Besides, he would get to know everyone soon enough.

"I won't go in either. My luggage is still at the educated youth point and I haven't unpacked yet. Seeing that you're doing well is enough. I'm heading off." After learning that Jiang Manzhu was married, Tang Shengyan's expression turned somewhat strained.

He still answered cheerfully and briskly, but there was a hint of regret. Why hadn't he followed Manzhu to the countryside last year?

He didn't want to disturb her anymore, fearing that others might become suspicious of her.

Without leaving any parting words, he turned and walked away.

As Jiang Manzhu was preparing to head back inside, she heard Li Linxi's casual voice, "How did he come straight to you after arriving in the countryside? The son of your father's good friend? You two must have grown up together, right?"

Though it seemed like a lighthearted remark, there was a hint of jealousy in his tone. Li Linxi suddenly realized this, and his expression subtly changed.

It couldn't be—was he actually feeling… jealous?