Chapter 17 Competition

He Xuebing's words had barely settled when Xia Xiao let out a faint smile and felt an inexplicable sigh of relief at the bottom of her heart; she too had thought about considering marriage only after a decade or so, as she felt herself still too young.

She indeed found He Xuebing quite pleasing to the eye, but the thought of Li Shengmei held her back from taking any initiative—a second life called for living a bit more comfortably.

Gao Jiaxing, standing off to the side, quietly said, "Your mother mentioned that Educated Youth Dong seems quite decent; it's best to arrange a good girl's marriage early, or else someone else might snatch her up." He said this while patting He Xuebing's shoulder, not giving a single glance to Xia Xiao.

Seeing Gao Jiaxing act this way, Xia Xiao clenched her teeth in frustration; it felt as if Gao Jiaxing was deliberately opposing her. And what did his words imply, that she wasn't a good girl?

This time, Xia Xiao became fixated on the issue, feeling as if the whole village was looking down on her, even though she hadn't considered her future marriage prospects or thought about whom she might marry in the village.

But the feeling of being despised was truly unpleasant; Xia Xiao turned around to leave. She didn't want her mood to be affected by these peoples' words; she didn't live based on their opinions.

"Do you have your eye on her?" asked He Xuebing as soon as Xia Xiao had walked away.

"How could I?" Gao Jiaxing retorted. "Who would be interested in an elementary school kid? That would be absurd."

"I heard from my mother that you saved Educated Youth Xia; my mother likes her a lot and takes good care of her, wanting to bring her into the family as your wife."

As soon as He Xuebing finished speaking, Gao Jiaxing shot him a disdainful look. "You believe what your mother says? But your mother sure is petty, always targeting Xia Xiao because my mother takes care of her, making things difficult for Xia Xiao. At her age, to hold a grudge against a little girl—your mother should really be ashamed."

"My mother's not a bad person; that's just who she is, and it hasn't changed over the years."

"It's all your father's fault for spoiling her," Gao Jiaxing grumbled. "If my mother had any ill intentions, do you think I would still sit here and talk to you?" If Li Shengmei were really malicious, the first one she'd go after would definitely be Zheng Xianghong—that's what everyone silently understood.

He Xuebing chuckled and raised an eyebrow at Gao Jiaxing, "My dad is your uncle by marriage, your great-nephew."

"Go to hell, who's your great-nephew? Don't think just because you're wearing a military uniform, I wouldn't dare to hit you," Gao Jiaxing glared.

"I've had a year of military training, too; it's hard to say who would win or lose."

"Let's see then," Gao Jiaxing said, sweeping a leg kick at him.

He Xuebing dodged; the two of them started to scuffle.

"Hey, are you really not going to join the army?" He Xuebing asked while trading blows with Gao Jiaxing.

Gao Jiaxing didn't answer, instead responding with a heavy punch to He Xuebing.

"No hitting the face; you're breaking the rules," He Xuebing quickly countered.

Their fight quickly drew the attention of the spectators at the New Year's performance, especially the young men and boys who thoroughly enjoyed it, shouting and cheering on the side.

Xia Xiao, who hadn't gone far, looked back and saw the scene but didn't come over again. Instead, she stood at a distance. She didn't believe the two would actually fight; from what she saw today, although Li Shengmei and Zheng Xianghong didn't get along, their children were still very close.

He Xuegang and Gao Jiazhi got along well, and so did He Xuebing and Gao Jiaxing. It was Zheng Xianghong who prevented the two children from joining the army. Otherwise, the four of them might have already been mixing it up in the military by now.

He Xuegang and Gao Jiaxing, seeing He Xuebing and Gao Jiaxing come to blows, tried to break it up. At this point, the New Year's meeting couldn't even start.

But Gao Jiaxing was set on a contest and even started hitting He Xuegang. Naturally, the two sets of brothers began fighting.

Li Shengmei screamed, running towards Zheng Xianghong, who had just come out, "Aren't you going to stop your son? During the New Year's, fighting with his cousins, showing no respect for his elders, fighting with soldiers could lead to a criminal offense."

"Li Shengmei, are you serious? It's just a match, and you're screaming like a hen laying an egg. It's so annoying," Zheng Xianghong rolled her eyes. Although she also wanted to rush over and give her son a thrashing, she would not show weakness in front of Li Shengmei.

"You may not care about your son, but I care about mine. They rarely come home, and your son is so troubling. He fights and causes trouble all the time. It's no wonder Auntie doesn't like him. Just look what you've turned your sons into."

Li Shengmei brought up Old Lady Gao to put pressure on Zheng Xianghong, and Old Lady Gao, who was sitting not far away, frowned but didn't want to speak to Zheng Xianghong. Instead, she sent someone to find the village chief, Gao Guoqiang.

Zheng Xianghong didn't get upset and only laughed, "They used to fight all the time, it's not strange now. Xuegang and Xuebing went to the army together for a year. It's a good opportunity to see how much Jiazhi and Jiaxing have progressed in their absence."

At that moment, Gao Guoqiang and He Hongjun came over. Unlike Gao Guoqiang, He Hongjun leaned on a walking stick.

Xia Xiao noticed that He Hongjun had a deep scar on his face, which looked somewhat terrifying.

On the surface, Gao Guoqiang seemed much stronger than He Hongjun. Both were former soldiers, but He Hongjun looked about a decade older than Gao Guoqiang. However, being able to be an officer indicated significant skill and experience, something Gao Guoqiang couldn't match.

But to Li Shengmei, it looked different. He Hongjun held a high status, but he was ugly in her eyes.

And aside from not having been an officer, to Li Shengmei, Gao Guoqiang was better than He Hongjun in every aspect. That was the source of her discontent over the years.

Despite He Hongjun always catering to Li Shengmei and indulging her for many years, he couldn't eliminate the resentment in her heart. Always competitive and ambitious, she felt that He Hongjun's age and ugliness, as well as his limp, were no badges of honor. She didn't feel proud. On the contrary, she felt hugely disadvantaged marrying someone like him, given her own youth and beauty.

He Hongjun knew Li Shengmei often clashed with Zheng Xianghong but also knew that Li Shengmei wasn't malicious. He turned a blind eye and pretended to be deaf and dumb.

Although Zheng Xianghong was his cousin's daughter, Li Shengmei was his wife and had given him three sons. For that reason alone, He Hongjun had always cherished Li Shengmei.

The villagers still had great respect for He Hongjun. Seeing He Hongjun and Gao Guoqiang stepping out, they made way.

Li Shengmei said to He Hongjun, "Dad, hurry up and tell them to stop."

He Hongjun waved his hand dismissively, "These kids are just full of youthful vigor. It's good for them to practice. It's a good thing. Don't make a big deal out of it. If you can't handle this, how are you supposed to make it in the army?"

He Hongjun was quite laid-back about it, and so was Gao Guoqiang. In the army, they went through life-threatening training; on the battlefield, they fought with real guns and live ammunition. Stronger skills meant less danger to life.

He Hongjun and Gao Guoqiang had both slogged their way through battlefields. No one understood the army's grueling training and the battlefield's brutality more than them. As they watched the children fight, He Hongjun and Gao Guoqiang even found seats and sat down to watch.