Aunt Hui scolded him as she struck him with the feather duster.
“So you’ve got the nerve to bully a young girl right outside my house?”
“Do you even know where you are? This is Widow Village! It’s not a place for some stinking young man to wander into whenever he pleases!”
“You may have no shame, but other people do!”
“Get out! Get out!”
“If you don’t leave, I’ll beat you to death!”
Before her words had even fallen, the feather duster came down again.
Song Zhuowei raised his arm to block it and took two solid blows.
Even so, his feet remained planted as though nailed to the ground.
He refused to budge an inch.
In a firm, resolute voice, Song Zhuowei declared,
“Aunt Hui! Even if it’s you, you can’t violate organizational regulations!”
“She’s an educated youth assigned here. She can’t just stay in the village without authorization!”
“Stop shielding her!”
“I’m taking her with me.”
Seeing the two bright red welts already appearing on Song Zhuowei’s arm, Aunt Hui finally stopped hitting him.
Instead, she held the feather duster high as a warning and said,
“I just happen to be looking for an apprentice to gather medicinal herbs.”
“She’ll do nicely.”
She poked Song Zhuowei in the chest with the handle of the feather duster.
“Instead of wasting all that brute strength arguing with me, why don’t you go ask your brigade leader to transfer her here as my assistant?”
“One more person means one more pair of hands to gather herbs.”
“Then we won’t have to worry about the clinic running out of medicinal supplies.”
“It’ll benefit the whole commune.”
“It’s no different from sending her to work on an educated youth farm or fishing team.”
“She’s still serving the people.”
Song Zhuowei replied impatiently,
“Aunt Hui, you’d better think this through!”
“Her health is terrible. She can’t do much work.”
“Dr. Zhang said she’s extremely weak a complete invalid. She barely survived, and only because they almost resorted to injecting rooster blood into her!”
“If you keep her here, sooner or later she’ll work herself to death.”
“If someone dies, can you take responsibility?”
“It’ll ruin your reputation.”
“Forget it.”
“She’d better come with me.”
Instead of getting angry, Aunt Hui suddenly laughed.
“Don’t worry.”
“I guarantee she won’t die.”
Song Zhuowei clicked his tongue, looking as though he had nothing more to say to her.
He turned toward Lin Xizhi.
“Comrade.”
“Please don’t make things difficult for me.”
“Come out and come with me.”
Lin Xizhi quickly hid behind Aunt Hui.
“I’m not leaving.”
“I’ll stay here.”
“I’ll do whatever Aunt Hui asks me to do.”
“I won’t complain.”
Aunt Hui smiled even more broadly.
“Captain Song, you heard her.”
“She wants to stay.”
“Stop worrying so much.”
Song Zhuowei immediately rolled up his sleeves, looking as though he might charge into the house and drag her away.
He growled,
“Lin Xizhi!”
“You’d better think this through!”
“If you decide to stay here…”
“Then I won’t be responsible for you anymore!”
“This is Widow Village.”
“Women who stay here too long end up with no one willing to marry them!”
“And with your pathetic health…”
“To put it bluntly, whatever happens to you afterward will be your own responsibility!”
At last, Lin Xizhi broke into a radiant smile.
Looking at Song Zhuowei, her eyes were filled with gratitude and admiration.
“Mm.”
“I’ll remember that.”
That single look pierced straight into Song Zhuowei’s heart.
His heart pounded like thunder before a storm.
Boom… boom…
It beat so loudly that even his own ears seemed to ache.
He was almost afraid Aunt Hui and Lin Xizhi would hear it.
Still…
Things had worked out.
Lin Xizhi would be staying with Aunt Hui after all.
Although Aunt Hui was harsh with her words, she had a soft heart.
Since she’d agreed to protect the girl, she probably wouldn’t mistreat her.
There was nothing left for him to worry about.
With a cold snort, Song Zhuowei picked up the bicycle he had tossed beside the haystack and sped away.
After Song Zhuowei left, Aunt Hui’s expression immediately turned cold again.
She looked Lin Xizhi up and down several times, her eyes full of reluctance and disdain.
“If it weren’t for the meal you cooked for me…”
“I never would’ve bothered with you.”
“That bunch of educated youths are lazy freeloaders.”
“A fool like you would only end up getting bullied if you lived with them.”
“No matter where you go, you’ll be cooking for someone.”
“So instead of cooking for other people…”
“You might as well stay here.”
“At least you won’t have to squeeze onto a communal sleeping platform and smell everyone else’s stinky feet.”
“But from now on…”
“You’d better work hard.”
“Don’t think you can act like some pampered young lady here.”
“If you slack off…”
“I’ll send you right back to Song Zhuowei.”
Lin Xizhi answered cheerfully,
“Yes, Master! I understand!”
Thanks to Song Zhuowei’s deliberate provocation, she had gotten exactly what she wanted
She was staying at Aunt Hui’s house.
She couldn’t have been happier.
Someday…
She would have to find a way to repay Song Zhuowei for this kindness.
Meanwhile, carrying the commune’s assignment notices, Song Zhuowei returned to the clinic.
He found the four members of the Pei family and instructed them to report to four different production brigades as soon as possible.
“What?”
“We’re not even being assigned together?”
Pei Yuncheng demanded angrily.
Song Zhuowei shot him a cold glance.
“Have you forgotten who you are?”
“You’re here to support rural development as an educated youth.”
“Not to take a vacation.”
“You’ll go wherever the commune assigns you.”
“Why are you asking so many questions?”
Pei Yuncheng’s face turned pale with anger.
“What about Xizhi?”
“Which brigade was she assigned to?”
Song Zhuowei’s gaze immediately grew even colder.
“Mind your own business.”
“And stop asking about hers.”
Pei Yuncheng refused to let it go.
“Did you arrange for her to stay near you?”
“Don’t think I haven’t noticed.”
“The way you look at Xizhi…”
“There’s something off about it.”
The moment those words left his mouth, everyone around them reacted.
Several Sea Guard members immediately stepped forward, ready to pin Pei Yuncheng down and beat him.
“What did you just say?!”
“Our captain is the fairest man there is!”
“He would never play favorites!”
“If you’re going to slander someone, pick somebody else!”
“But don’t you dare insult our captain!”
Just as fists were about to fly, Song Zhuowei suddenly cleared his throat.
The noisy clinic instantly fell silent.
Everyone waited for him to speak.
Lowering his eyes slightly to look at the much shorter Pei Yuncheng, Song Zhuowei said calmly,
“I assigned her to an old widow.”
“She’ll be cooking and helping with household chores.”
“What?”
“Jealous?”
“Want to go too?”
Pei Yuncheng didn’t believe him.
But he wasn’t stupid enough to ignore the situation.
One man couldn’t fight four.
There was no way he could win against them.
As for Lin Xizhi…
He would simply wait for another opportunity to bring her back.
After all, her heart had always belonged to him.
She was only angry for the moment.
Once she’d spent enough time in this godforsaken place where even chickens barely laid eggs…
She would miss her peaceful life in the city.
She would realize that all the men around her were rough country bumpkins.
None of them could compare with someone as refined, cultured, and educated as he was.
The difference would become obvious.
As long as Lin Xizhi wasn’t a fool…
She would come back to him eventually.
There was no need to compete with Song Zhuowei right now.
Grinding his teeth, Pei Yuncheng reluctantly accepted the commune’s assignment.
That evening, Song Zhuowei returned home.
Before he even entered the house, he saw his grandmother reclining in a rattan chair, grinning from ear to ear as if she were waiting for someone.
It was unusual.
He couldn’t help asking,
“Grandma, is there anything to eat tonight?”
“What kind of question is that?”
she scolded affectionately.
“When has this family ever let you go hungry?”
“It’s all on the table.”
“It should still be warm.”
“Hurry inside and eat.”
“I have something to ask you.”
Song Zhuowei didn’t pay much attention.
Every time his grandmother questioned him, it was always about work.
The old woman constantly worried that her only grandson the sole heir of the Song family might one day be killed fighting sea pirates.
He understood her concern.
But he also had his own ambitions.
He would never abandon the elite Sea Guard unit he had personally trained simply because his family feared he might die.
So he usually ignored those conversations.
Assuming she was about to ask about today’s pirate attack, he lifted the large bowl covering the dishes while mentally preparing to play deaf.
But then his grandmother sat down beside him…
And opened with a bombshell.
“I heard you were taking advantage of some young lady this afternoon?”