Chapter 24: Attending a Dinner

　　After work, Gu Nianwei went to find Li Yunying first. Li Yunying was very worried when she knew that she was in the Lin family: "There are rumors flying everywhere now. Aren't you confirming the rumors by going to Lin Weihong's house?"

　　Gu Nianwei knew this, but she still decided to go: "You can only steal for a thousand days, but you can't be on guard against thieves for a thousand days. This time they spread rumors to hurt me and force me. If I don't make it clear this time, what if they escalate their tactics in the future? I have to go and take a look. Don't worry, they can't do anything to me."

　　Gu Nianwei was confident in her skills, but what really made her rely on were the hot weapons in her space. After the space was opened, she went abroad and bought a lot of hot weapons through illegal means.

　　It is no exaggeration to say that if she wanted to, she could trim the mountain behind the educated youth site within ten minutes.

　　Li Yunying was still worried: "No, I can't let you go alone, I'll go with you."

　　Three years ago, in a place called Linjiazhuang Brigade, ten kilometers away from Liushugou Brigade, a family fell in love with a female educated youth who had gone to the countryside. They deceived the educated youth into trusting them and raped her. In the end, the educated youth had no choice but to marry that man.

　　Li Yunying was afraid that Gu Nianwei was in the same situation. After all, Lin Weihong had a history of fraud.

　　When Gu Nianwei saw the worry on Li Yunying's face, she couldn't say no.

　　A warm feeling passed through her heart.

　　She has been in the countryside for almost a year, and her relationship with Li Yunying can only be described as normal, and neither of them has the intention of becoming good friends. But as long as she needs help, Li Yunying will spare no effort.

　　She would help everyone at the educated youth site, even Zhao Yonglan's reasonable requests.

　　Gu Nianwei thought that maybe Li Yunying had wanted to make friends with her, but she always keep a distance from her.

　　"Okay." Gu Nianwei said, "Thank you."

　　Li Yunying smiled and said, "You're welcome. We are all educated youth, and it's only natural for us to help each other."

　　The two went to find Jiang Youtao together.

　　Jiang Youtao's reaction was the same as Li Yunying's: "Lin Jianzhong is back. If she invites you to dinner at this time, she will definitely say something at the dinner. Can you really do it?"

　　Gu Nianwei knew what Jiang Youtao meant, and she said to Jiang Youtao: "Do you still remember what I said to you that day? Just do as I said."

　　What Gu Nianwei meant was that if she became abnormal and out of control, Jiang Youtao could use any means to stop her from doing anything.

　　The two looked at each other for a long time, Jiang Youtao nodded, opened the system mall and spent 1 melon coin to buy a bottle of anesthetic.

　　The description of this anesthetic on the system was amazing, one drop could immobilize an elephant. She had been eyeing this anesthetic for a long time.

　　This time she finally bought it.

　　The melon-eating system almost cried with joy. It was not easy. After being bound to the host for about a month, she was finally willing to spend money in the mall.

　　The stingy guy has been plucked out of her wits! He finally gets his commission!!

　　Just as Jiang Youtao nodded, the task of the melon-eating system came into being.

　　[ Host, please go to Lin Weihong's house to watch the famous blind date between the male and female protagonists, and stop this blind date. Mission success reward: 5kg rice, 500g lard, 2kg green tea flavored melon seeds. ]

　　"Let's go." For Jiang Youtao now, even if there was no reward from the melon-eating system, she could not stay out of Gu Nianwei's affairs.

　　The three of them returned to the educated youth site together, cooked together, and after eating, they went to Lin Weihong's home together.

　　Before leaving, Li Yunying opened her box, took out a very small scimitar and held it in her hand. The blade was so sharp that Jiang Youtao felt scared just by looking at it.

　　Li Yunying hid the scimitar and said to the stunned Jiang Youtao and Gu Nianwei, "I didn't tell you that my second grandfather was from Shaolin Temple. Later, when the country was in crisis, he returned to secular life and joined the revolution. After the war, he retired and went back home. We kids all grew up with him. We didn't learn anything else, but we learned all his kung fu."

　　When Li Yunying was young, she wanted to join the army, but unfortunately, the number of vacancies was limited and she could not get a number.

　　Jiang Youtao opened and closed her mouth: "Excuse me, I'm sorry, but we have a martial arts master among us?"

　　Li Yunying was overjoyed when she heard this: "Please don't make fun me. Let's go."

　　Gu Nianwei said: "Since you have exposed the secret to me, I won't hide it anymore."

　　Gu Nianwei went up to the kang and took out two sharp daggers. She pointed them at the sunlight and there seemed to be a flash of cold light.

　　Jiang Youtao looked at Li Yunying and then at Gu Nianwei, and felt that it would be a bit out of place if she didn't get anything.

　　She took out chili powder and a green spray bottle. She mixed chili powder and water into the spray bottle and then put it on her body.

　　"Don't underestimate the water mixed with chili powder. If this stuff gets into people's eyes, it can cause serious damage." To be honest, she exchanged five candies for the green spray bottle from a small stone in Aunt Jiang's house.

　　After replacing the spray bottle, Aunt Jiang scolded the person who stole the spray bottle when she went to work again.

　　Gu Nianwei's eyes suddenly changed when she looked at Jiang Youtao, while Li Yunying looked at Jiang Youtao with admiration: "Taotao, you are so smart. This thing really hurts your eyes."

　　Jiang Youtao knew that Gu Nianwei would definitely be suspicious of her once she took out the chili powder mixed with water, but she was not panicked at all: "It's all based on experience."

　　Jiang Youtao sighed in her heart: "The elder brother my stepmother brought was a member of the Red Army in the school. Every time he didn't like me, he would find an excuse to put me in the Revolutionary Committee."

　　"Sometimes you'll see them interrogating people. Pepper water is free and is a torture device they often use." Jiang Youtao still felt heartbroken when she talked about this. She felt sorry for the original owner and also for the person who was sprayed with pepper water.

　　He was a teacher at the original owner's school, a 30-year-old Chinese teacher. He was a very good lecturer and a very nice person, but he was a little strict with his students. The reason they wanted to interrogate him was simply because this teacher had seen them not studying seriously and had given them a few lectures.

　　The original owner later met the teacher twice. He was half blind because of the pepper spray in his eyes. When he saw the original owner's former student, he smiled and said several words to her, every word was encouraging.

　　The original owner cried for a long time, and later she did not dare to resist Jiang Jiabao, which might not be the reason.

　　Gu Nianwei and Li Yunying were both silent.

　　Gu Nianwei looked at her with a distressed look on her face. Jiang Youtao smiled and said softly, "It's all over."

　　Gu Nianwei said: "What a piece of shit! People like this should go to hell."

　　The revolutionary committee were a terrifying existence in this era.

　　After Gu Nianwei finished speaking, the room fell silent. After a long while, Gu Nianwei said, "I'll give you a dagger. Give me the pepper spray and I'll help you hide it."

　　After all, the spray bottle is quite large, and Gu Nianwei was afraid that Jiang Youtao could not hide it. But it was different for her. She could put the bottle of pepper water in the space and take it out when needed.

　　Jiang Youtao took her dagger, looked at the sharp blade, and exclaimed: "Good knife."

　　Li Yunying also came over and said, "It is indeed a good knife. If my second grandfather saw this knife, he would kneel down and call you grandpa."

　　Jiang Youtao and Gu Nianwei couldn't help laughing after hearing this, and the atmosphere became a little more relaxed.

　　The three of them went out together, and Wang Shanxi already knew where they were going.

　　He was waiting by the well in the yard. When he saw the three of them, his eyes stayed on Li Yunying's face for a long time before he moved to the others: "You go, I'll call you in half an hour."

　　Wang Shanxi handed them a package. When they opened it, they found two small bags of biscuits, the kind sold in bulk at the supply and marketing cooperative. "It's not good to go to someone's house for dinner empty-handed, right?"

　　This was indeed something Gu Nianwei and the others had not expected. They thought that they were going to attend the Hongmen Banquet and were only concerned with filling their stomachs and preparing weapons.

　　Li Yunying was not polite to Wang Shanxi: "Okay, I'll take it. I'll give you the money when we come back."

　　The three of them walked out carrying their things.

　　Jiang Youtao turned around and glanced at Wang Shanxi, then whispered to Li Yunying, "Sister Yunying, does he like you?"

　　Li Yunying shook her head: "I don't know. The future is unknown now, and I don't want to think about personal matters."

　　Li Yunying didn't want to get married or date. She had liked Wang Shanxi when she first went to the countryside. So many years had passed, and Wang Shanxi was just a fellow villager and a "comrade-in-arms" to her now.

　　Jiang Youtao didn't say anything else, and neither did Gu Nianwei.

　　The sun came out today and had just set. Following the afterglow of the sunset, the three of them arrived at Lin Weihong's house.

　　Lin Weihong was looking around in the center of the yard. Her grandson and the Lin Wenping brothers were laughing and playing in the yard.

　　When Lin Wen'an saw Gu Nianwei, his eyes lit up immediately, and he ran towards Gu Nianwei like a cannonball: "Sister Gu, Sister Gu, why did you come just now? An'an has been waiting for you for a long time."

　　Compared with Lin Wenping, Lin Wen'an seems more lively. As the main characters in the book, the three Lin brothers are all good-looking. Lin Wen'an is silly, but very energetic. He is the favorite child of the elderly.

　　You can tell he's in a good health at a glance.

　　For a second, Gu Nianwei wanted to touch Lin Wenan's head, but she held back. She broke free from Lin Wenan's arms and said, "I was a little busy, so I came a little late."

　　Lin Weihong's face drooped for a moment when she saw Jiang Youtao and Li Yunying, but she smiled again when she saw Lin Wen'an running towards Gu Nianwei: "Weiwei is here? Why are you here so late? We have prepared dinner at home and are waiting for you."

　　Lin Weihong came forward and Li Yunying handed the bag to her: "Aunt Weihong, why can you only see Weiwei and not us? Don't be angry that I came uninvited. These are the cookies I brought for your little grandson. I heard from your Yunyan that he doesn't like to eat recently. Why don't you try soaking the cookies in water for him?"

　　Lin Weihong perfectly inherited her parents' behavior. She was clearly a victim of the idea of favoring boys over girls, but when she got older, she became a supporter of favoring boys over girls.

　　The eldest granddaughter born to her daughter-in-law is like a weed in the field, and the younger grandson is like a little emperor. Anything good that the Zhao family has must be used by her younger grandson first.

　　Lin Weihong has been worried recently about her grandson's refusal to eat.

　　Looking at the cookies handed over by Li Yunying, Lin Weihong was happy: "You are all Weiwei's friends. Why do you bring gifts when you come? Come in quickly."

　　Lin Weihong said this and took the bag from Li Yunying's hand.

　　The group entered the east room of Lin Weihong's house. There was a circle of people sitting on the kang table, and Lin Jianzhong was among them.

　　Hearing someone coming in, Lin Jianzhong looked towards the door. Seeing Gu Nianwei, he acted as if he was surprised. Then his expression softened and he nodded to Gu Nianwei.

　　Gu Nianwei pretended not to see him and sat down on the edge of the kang. Lin Jianzhong's face suddenly darkened and the hand holding the chopsticks tightened slightly.

　　Lin Weihong acted as if she didn't see this scene and enthusiastically called on her daughter-in-law to serve the dishes.

　　Because the dinner party was a hastily planned event, Lin Weihong's family was not fully prepared. Most of the dishes on the table were vegetarian, with only a plate of scrambled eggs with leeks and a plate of stewed cabbage with bacon considered meat dishes.

　　Lin Wenping and other children did not eat at the same table with the adults. Lin Weihong set up a separate table for them on the floor. There were no meat dishes on their table.

　　Seeing this, Lin Wenping said nothing. Lin Weihong's granddaughter Hua Niuer had long been accustomed to not having her share of good things, but Lin Wenrong pouted, looking particularly unhappy.

　　While eating, he glanced at the table on the kang.

　　Jiang Youtao and the others had already eaten, but they moved their chopsticks twice and then stopped.

　　Lin Weihong was still warmly treating them to dinner, while Zhao Manzhu drank without saying a word.

　　Lin Weihong also noticed that Gu Nianwei and the others were not in high spirits. She suppressed her displeasure and felt that these educated youth were too pretentious. She had kindly invited them to dinner, but they didn't even want to eat a bite.

　　She put down her chopsticks and said to Gu Nianwei with a smile on her face: "Weiwei, this is my nephew, Lin Jianzhong. I often mentioned him to you. Jianzhong, this is Comrade Gu, Gu Nianwei, whom I mentioned to you."

　　Lin Jianzhong nodded and said in a light tone: "Nice to meet you."

　　Lin Weihong said without waiting for Gu Nianwei to speak: "Weiwei, I'm not bragging, my nephew is really outstanding. He is only 30 years old, but he is already a battalion commander in the army, managing hundreds of people. If his parents were not really bad, he would have been promoted in two years. But don't worry, although he has retired now, he has a very good job. He is the director of our commune's supply and marketing cooperative..."

　　"Our Jianzhong treats his wife well. If you really follow him, I promise that you won't have to do any work. You can just stay at home and enjoy your life. You don't have to take care of the children Wenping and Wen'an. Just feed them and keep them warm, and don't beat or scold them. As for my sister-in-law, just pretend she doesn't exist. Jianzhong said that after you get married, he will go to separate the family property. When the time comes, your family will live in a commune, and you'll become city dwellers."

　　Lin Weihong clapped her hands as she spoke. When her daughter-in-law heard that the family was splitting up and moving to the commune, she looked at Gu Nianwei with envy in her eyes.

　　If a young girl who has never seen the world had seen much, she would have been moved by Lin Weihong's words.

　　Gu Nianwei came from the future, and the city she lived in was also one of the first-tier cities among Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen. She grew up in the city. The Zaoxiang Commune, where several people lived side by side and could not leave, had nothing to do with the city she knew.

　　Living in a commune means moving to the city? I'm afraid I'm dreaming.

　　Jiang Youtao found it very funny, and Li Yunying couldn't hold it in. Lin Weihong didn't notice at all and continued to brag. She praised Lin Jianzhong to be the best in the world. Facing her praise, Lin Jianzhong remained calm.

　　Even when Lin Weihong talked about certain things, he sat up straighter unconsciously. Obviously, in his opinion, he deserved all the praises from Lin Weihong.

　　Gu Nianwei liked reading novels when she was young. There was a period of time when she loved reading Qing Dynasty time travel novels, especially the one with the expressionless face. Later, when she read other novels, she also had a special preference for the male protagonists of this type of novels.

　　But when facing Lin Jianzhong at this moment, she did not feel any ripples in her heart towards him.

　　It seemed as if the reluctance and shyness she felt when they met for the second time in the county town had never appeared.

　　Gu Nianwei placed her chopsticks across the rim of the bowl and said, "Aunt Wei Hong, your nephew is very good. I don't know this, and I don't want to know it. I came here today because you said that I bought medicine for Uncle Manzhu last time, and Uncle Manzhu wanted to thank me. I think I deserve his thanks, so I came here."

　　Two months ago, Zhao Manzhu fell ill with a serious cardiovascular disease. The town's clinic was out of medicine. Gu Nianwei happened to be going to town, so Lin Weihong asked Gu Nianwei to help buy some medicine. She was grateful for Lin Weihong's care at the time, and she looked for several people before she could buy the medicine. It took her a lot of effort, and she even owed several favors.

　　At that time, Lin Weihong only said thank you to her several times after getting the medicine, and even the money for the medicine was delayed for a month before being given to her.

　　Gu Nianwei felt that she deserved to be treated to this meal.

　　The smile on Lin Weihong's face froze, Zhao Manzhu also looked at Gu Nianwei, and Lin Jianzhong frowned.

　　Gu Nianwei looked at Lin Weihong and said, "Aunt Weihong, I have been working with you since I went to the countryside. You have taken good care of me. But I don't think I have been bad to you. I have brought you a lot of food and daily necessities. You said you wanted to introduce me to someone, but after listening to you, I felt that it was not suitable and rejected it immediately. But you are not right to spread rumors and slander me behind my back, right?"

　　Gu Nianwei knew Lin Weihong better than she thought. When she heard the rumors, she knew who spread them. Gu Nianwei had been planning to break up with Lin Weihong, but Lin Jianzhong came back at this moment. But it didn't matter, she could just talk it out face to face.

　　Gu Nianwei stood up, and Jiang Youtao and Li Yunying also stood up. Gu Nianwei's pretty face was as cold as ice: "Aunt Wei Hong, I'll tell you again, I have no interest in your nephew, and your nephew is not as good as you say."

　　"I'm not so bad that I have to be someone's stepmother. I went to the fields to respond to the country's call to build the vast rural areas, but if I didn't want to go to the fields, I wouldn't starve to death. The commune is a city to you, but it's not a city to me."

　　"That's all I have to say. If I hear any bad rumors in the village again, I will come directly to you, Aunt Wei Hong."

　　Gu Nianwei and the other two went out together, and when they came out they saw a lot of people standing around the yard outside Lin Weihong's house.

　　When they saw Gu Nianwei and the other two coming out, they were not embarrassed and greeted them very naturally.

　　The three of them walked through the crowd, and male educated youth including Wang Shanxi also arrived.

　　"Comrade Gu Nianwei, can we talk alone?"