Shen Zhiyi: “…”
Wang Xiaoxia hurried over and helped her up. “Are you okay? Are you all right?”
Those legs had twisted so badly—she hoped they weren’t broken.
Shen Zhiyi leaned on her and stood up. “I’m fine.”
Her legs were perfectly fine—it was just incredibly awkward.
Zheng Hansong noticed this beautiful girl at once, his eyes fixed on her.
Zhou Hong, on the other hand, was taken aback. “Zheng, what are you doing here?”
Zheng Hansong acted as if he hadn’t seen her at all, walking straight toward Shen Zhiyi.
“Comrade, are you all right? Did you hurt your leg?”
Shen Zhiyi shook her head. “I’m fine.”
Zhou Hong watched him treat her like air while fawning over Shen Zhiyi, and she wished she could slap that vixen’s face off.
She stubbornly sidled up to him again. “Zheng, it’s me, Zhou Hong.”
“We were middle school classmates—don’t you remember?”
Zheng Hansong took two big steps back, frowning. What was wrong with this woman? They weren’t related, and she was practically plastering herself against him!
“Um… you are?”
She did look somewhat familiar, but…
What was she even wearing? A floral dress with green PLA shoes?
And… wasn’t this woman awfully slovenly?
That collar was dark and shiny with grime—it was disgusting to look at.
He brushed her off casually. “Is that so? I don’t remember.”
Then he immediately turned back to Shen Zhiyi. “Are you sure you’re all right?”
“You’re a sent-down youth too, right? We have bicycles over here. If you’re hurt, we can lend you one.”
Shen Zhiyi waved her hand. “Really, I’m fine.”
She didn’t find anything unusual about a man paying her attention—after all, plenty of men had pursued her before she’d traveled through time.
She turned to call Zhao Xinghua and the others. “Let’s go. It’s getting late.”
As they walked, Zhang Sumei sidled up to Zhou Hong. “See? Didn’t I tell you?”
“She’s always been good at seducing men.”
Zhou Hong glared at the figure ahead and gritted her teeth. “Just you wait!”
They had set out early that morning, and after rushing the whole way, they arrived back at the sent-down youth point right at lunchtime.
Zhou Hong carried two jin of pork, swaying gracefully as she walked over, smiling sweetly. “I bought two jin of pork at the supply store today—let’s all eat together.”
“I’m a straightforward person, and I speak bluntly. If I do anything wrong in the future, please forgive me.”
Life in the countryside was hard, and everyone had gone months without a taste of grease. Naturally, they were overjoyed at the news.
“Oh, don’t say that!”
“Yeah, we’re all one family here at the youth point…”
In that moment, Zhou Hong felt immensely pleased with herself.
But when she turned her head—huh? Where was Shen Zhiyi?
Shen Zhiyi wasn’t one for all that drama. She had gone back to her room, taken half a jin of brown sugar and half a pack of pastries, and headed out.
Zhou Hong watched her retreating figure and rolled her eyes dramatically. “Hmph.”
“With that shabby room of hers, she still locks the door. What’s there to lock, I’d like to know!”
She couldn’t afford the food on the train, couldn’t shop at the supply store, and couldn’t even go to the state-run restaurant.
She didn’t have two cents to rub together in her pockets, yet she still made a show of locking her door when she went out. What a poser.
Meanwhile, Shen Zhiyi carried her things and arrived at the Brigade Leader’s house.
Just as she reached the courtyard gate, she spotted Jinbao and Little Xigua squatting on the ground, playing a game of pebbles.
“Grab one, grab one.”
“Grab one, grab two.”
Shen Zhiyi: “Little Xigua, Little Jinbao, what are you two doing here?”
The two of them froze, then scrambled up from the ground, abandoning their game entirely.
“Big sister!”
“Zhiyi sister!”
Shen Zhiyi waved them over. “I’m here to see your grandma. Is she home?”
When she’d asked about the location of the cowshed that day, among the gaggle of kids had happened to be the Brigade Leader’s two grandsons, which had made things much easier for her.
Jinbao and Xigua nodded eagerly. “She’s here! She’s here!”
Little Xigua hadn’t even stepped through the gate before she was shouting at the top of her lungs.
“Grandma! Grandma! Stop napping—big sister’s here to see you!”
Every household, especially the older folks, liked to take an afternoon nap.
Aunt Yinju had just lain down when her two grandsons called her up.
“Who is it?”
Who would come at this hour?
One of the new sent-down youths?
She lifted the door curtain to look—and sure enough, it was one of the new arrivals.
“Little girl, why are you here at this hour? Is something the matter?”
Shen Zhiyi walked over with a smile. “Auntie, I’m Shen Zhiyi, who just arrived at the brigade yesterday.”
As she spoke, she handed over the things in her hands. “I’m new here and there’s a lot I don’t understand or know how to do. I hope you can help me out in the future.”
Aunt Yinju was stunned. Good heavens, not only was this girl stunningly pretty, she was also so thoughtful and well-mannered?
“No, no, I couldn’t possibly accept this.”
“If there’s anything you don’t understand or don’t know how to do, just ask me anytime.”
Shen Zhiyi kept pushing the things into the other woman’s arms. “Oh, dear.”
“Auntie, I call you auntie because I truly and sincerely see you as my aunt.”
“What niece ever visits her aunt empty-handed? What kind of nonsense would that be?”
At this moment, Aunt Yinju’s heart felt perfectly at ease. “Oh my, look at you, such a sweet girl.”
Shen Zhiyi finally managed to hand the things over, and she smiled. “That’s more like it.”
“If you wouldn’t even accept this little token, then if I ever need help with something in the future, how would I dare come bother you?”
Giving gifts out of nowhere would make her seem like she had ulterior motives, so she brought out the excuse she had prepared in advance.
“Auntie, my room is so plain—there’s nothing in it at all.”
“I wanted to ask you, does our brigade have a carpenter? I’d like to order a wooden chest and a set of table and chairs.”
Aunt Yinju finally breathed a sigh of relief. Since she had accepted the gifts, she was afraid she wouldn’t be able to help in return.
“Pfft, look at you, such a girl.”
“For such a small matter, why did you even bring gifts? You could’ve just come and said the word.”
Shen Zhiyi quickly said, “Hey, Auntie, once a gift is given, there’s no taking it back.”
Aunt Yinju sighed. “Alright, I’ll take you there right now.”
In the capital city, at the Lu residence.
Lu Xiaowu was absolutely furious. “You little brat, get over here! See if I don’t break your legs today!”
“I’ve been close friends with your Uncle Liang for years, and you actually dared to break Zhigang’s legs! How am I supposed to face your Uncle Liang now?”
Lu Zhaoheng bared his teeth in a grin. “How you face him—what the hell does that have to do with me?”
Lu Xiaowu’s vision went dark, and he nearly fainted from rage on the spot. “You…”
“You little bastard, I’m your father!”
“Hey, hold on.” Lu Zhaoheng immediately pulled a newspaper from his pocket and unfolded it with a rustle.
“I already published a notice in the paper severing our father-son relationship. Don’t spout nonsense and try to claim me as your son.”
“Enough of this bad luck!”