On the other side, Old Madam Wang was hurrying home in small steps. When she got tired, she sat by the roadside to catch her breath.
Yu Dingguo, who had run out after her, soon caught up. The two met on the path, and the moment she saw him, the old lady exploded with anger.
“You black-hearted thing! I was almost ruined by you!”
“Grandma, you can’t say that carelessly. How could I possibly harm you?” Yu Dingguo replied, his face dark.
Old Madam Wang glanced at him and, thinking of the twenty-five yuan betrothal gift, raised her voice:
“Don’t think I don’t know what you’re up to. The house may be small, but it’s still livable. You want the girl, I want the place let’s be clear about it. No need for either of us to pretend to be good people.”
Hearing his little scheme exposed, Yu Dingguo froze for a moment. He thought to himself that Old Madam Wang was truly shrewd he’d better keep the matter of the compensation money tightly under wraps.
To avoid future trouble, he figured he might as well marry Yu Nian’an first. The girl looked decent enough; he wouldn’t be at a loss. Once he got the money, he could always find some excuse to get rid of her later.
With that in mind, Yu Dingguo stepped forward obsequiously, sat beside Old Madam Wang, and said with feigned concern:
“But Grandma, you saw it too Sister An is a bit impulsive. She doesn’t even respect you. This won’t be easy to handle.”
He shouldn’t have brought it up once he did, the old lady’s anger flared again.
That wretched girl actually dared to ignore her elders and even lay hands on her?
In her sixty-plus years, aside from one setback with that “good-for-nothing” back then, she had never lost. Whatever she wanted, she always managed to get in the end.
Since the girl wouldn’t obey, then she’d just find a way to control her.
“Enough. I’ve got my own plan. Take me home first,” the old lady said. She already had something in mind and would think it through after returning.
Yu Dingguo immediately stood up, helped her to her feet, and headed toward the neighboring village.
At the Yu production team, at Aunt Chunxing’s house, Uncle Jianping was sitting under the eaves smoking his pipe. After venting his anger from earlier to his wife, he had calmed down considerably.
Aunt Chunxing sat nearby, sewing shoe soles and sighing from time to time.
“What kind of situation is this? Anni is already having a hard time living alone, and now she’s stuck with such a grandmother!”
Uncle Jianping nodded. “Exactly. That girl really is pitiful.”
No matter what, they were still grandmother and granddaughter outsiders like them couldn’t interfere.
The courtyard fell into a gloomy silence until a knock sounded from outside.
“Ma’am, are you home?”
It was Yu Nian’an’s voice.
The couple exchanged a glance, and Aunt Chunxing quickly got up to open the door. “We are, we are.”
When the door opened, she saw that besides Yu Nian’an, there were two men and a woman behind her likely the newly arrived educated youths who greeted her in unison.
Aunt Chunxing was surprised. “What brings you here?”
Yu Nian’an explained, “Auntie, we came to find Uncle Jianping. About earlier I’m really sorry.”
“Oh, nonsense! What does that have to do with you? If anything, blame that old woman she’s practically a shrew!”
As she spoke, Aunt Chunxing stepped aside to let them in.
Under the eaves, Ye Xiao took the initiative to bring out stools, and everyone sat together. Yu Nian’an first apologized to Uncle Jianping, then explained why they had come.
Yu Jianping took a couple of puffs, exhaled a ring of smoke, and waved his hand. “Don’t worry, girl. I’m not unreasonable. I’ll come by early tomorrow.”
“So you’re not working today?” Yu Nian’an asked, puzzled.
“Can’t. Those two nephews already went home just now.”
So that was the reason. Yu Nian’an breathed a sigh of relief she had thought he’d really been angered.
She had already paid the wages, and it wasn’t calculated by the day, so losing half a day didn’t matter much to her. But Lin Zhi and the others didn’t know this, and upon hearing it, they were even more anxious than she was.
It wasn’t easy for Comrade Yu to save money they couldn’t let it go to waste.
Lin Zhi pointed at Ye Xiao and Gu Shen and asked, “Uncle, does digging a well require exactly three people? Could the two of them give you a hand?”
Hearing this, Uncle Jianping tapped his pipe against the side and smiled. “Girl, it’s not about the number of people. Digging a well is skilled work you can’t just do it casually.”
He didn’t say it outright, but he was clearly refusing.
Seeing Lin Zhi about to speak again, Yu Nian’an grabbed her hand and shook her head.
They dropped the matter of continuing the work.
At that moment, Aunt Chunxing muttered, “You know, it’s strange. Old Madam Wang hasn’t had any contact for years why did she suddenly come to our team today looking for Anni?”
Yu Nian’an knew the answer well.
Thanks to Wang Zhaonan’s warning, she shared the key parts of what she had heard.
After listening, Aunt Chunxing was shocked. “That scoundrel how can he be so vile!”
Who would scheme against their own cousin like that?
Besides, back then, if not for Yu Nian’an’s parents helping him, Yu Dingguo might not even have grown up alive.
“This is repaying kindness with betrayal!”
Aunt Chunxing slapped the table, so angry she wanted to go confront Yu Dingguo’s family, but Yu Nian’an stopped her.
“Auntie, her health isn’t good. Let’s not let her know about this for now.”
Years ago, after losing the family’s pillar, she had already suffered a heavy blow. Combined with her chronic illness, when Yu Nian’an last saw her, she was not even forty yet but already had a full head of white hair.
If she found out what Yu Dingguo had been doing behind the scenes and got too upset, the consequences could be serious something Yu Nian’an didn’t want.
Unless absolutely necessary, she still wanted to cover up those disgraceful deeds for now.
Aunt Chunxing clicked her tongue. “Girl, you’re just too kind. Anyway, stay away from that man. If anything happens, come to me and your uncle.”
Yu Nian’an nodded repeatedly.
They chatted about other things for a while. Ye Xiao was talkative, Lin Zhi sweet-tongued, and Gu Shen occasionally chimed in. Unlike some other educated youths, they showed no airs, and soon had Aunt Chunxing smiling broadly.
The old couple’s children weren’t around, so it was rare to have such liveliness.
Only when Uncle Jianping started dozing off did they quiet down and prepare to leave.
Before they left, Aunt Chunxing cheerfully walked them out and called after them, “Girl Lin, come visit when you have time! And Ye and Gu, don’t forget either!”
Yu Nian’an couldn’t help but smile to herself Aunt Chunxing was truly simple and warm-hearted.
On the way back, Lin Zhi sighed, “When we came, the older educated youths all said the villagers didn’t like us. But now it seems that’s not entirely true.”
“Indeed. Most people in this team are quite friendly to us,” Ye Xiao agreed.
Walking behind them, Gu Shen said nothing, but his softened gaze showed he agreed.