"Sweetie, you're willing to go on a blind date?" Mother Ji looked at her daughter with hopeful eyes.
Her feelings were conflicted.
On one hand, she wanted her daughter to find a good man, get married, have children, and live a warm, fulfilling life.
On the other hand, she wanted to keep her daughter by her side.
It was truly a dilemma.
Ji Yanshu: "I'll go visit eldest brother and his wife, and while I'm at it, I'll go on the blind date. If I don't meet anyone suitable, I'll just treat it as a relaxing trip. I'll be back in a while."
If she stayed home any longer, Zhou Heng and Xu Huifang would surely keep causing trouble endlessly.
The more contact she had with them, the more misfortune she encountered.
Ji Yanshu kept this firmly in mind.
At this critical juncture, unexpected problems kept popping up.
It would be better to go far away and only return after estimating that the situation had settled down.
Mother Ji had always wanted her daughter to find a soldier, so she was overjoyed that she agreed to the blind date.
Moreover, she also wanted her daughter to lay low for a while.
To avoid those outsiders who kept looking at Little Five with pitying eyes and saying all sorts of unnecessary things to her.
Although Little Five appeared calm, hearing those words repeatedly would surely make her uncomfortable.
And then there were Zhou Heng and Xu Huifang – they had already gotten their marriage certificate, yet they still kept appearing before Little Five.
Like annoying flies – utterly detestable!
Today Zhou Heng and Xu Huifang dared to falsely accuse Little Five, tomorrow they might do something even worse.
Going to Hai Dao would be good – she could both visit the eldest son and his wife, and broaden her horizons.
Even if the blind date wasn't successful, after seeing men from outside, Little Five wouldn't be so easily deceived anymore.
Young girls really need to see more of the world!
This was a good thing!
"Mom will pack your luggage for you. You can leave tomorrow."
Then she said to Ji Xiangbei: "You take Little Five to the train station and buy her ticket."
Ji Yanshu didn't know whether to laugh or cry, "No need to be in such a hurry. I'm going to visit second brother's family tomorrow, and I'd like to stay overnight in the county town too."
Mother Ji patted her forehead, "Look at me, my memory isn't what it used to be. Then you go to second brother's place first, then head straight to Hai Dao. No need to come back home and make an extra trip – that would be troublesome."
Ji Yanshu: "Then I need to request leave and find someone to temporarily cover my work."
Mother Ji nodded repeatedly, "There are quite a few things to arrange, we need to get everything properly settled."
The Ji household became busy.
Ji Yanshu went to hand over her work.
Because Zhou Heng had been reported, his position as team leader was temporarily filled by the deputy leader.
This actually worked in Ji Yanshu's favor.
Otherwise she would have had to deal with Zhou Heng.
How annoying.
The Ji sons were successful, and those who stayed in their hometown benefited too.
They were usually highly respected.
Whenever the family needed anything, everyone was willing to help.
When Ji Yanshu requested leave to visit relatives in Hai Dao, the newly appointed team leader immediately agreed.
He even wrote her a letter of introduction.
"I'll find an Educated Youth to cover for you temporarily. When you return, the job will still be yours. Don't worry."
Compared to working in the fields, Ji Yanshu's tasks were much lighter, and she could still earn full work points. Many people wanted this position.
This was reassurance for Ji Yanshu.
Ji Yanshu didn't come empty-handed – she brought a package of milk candies that her younger brother had bought a few days earlier.
Placing them on the table, she said, "For the children to enjoy something sweet."
The team leader's wife beamed, "You're always so polite, child. It's not a big deal, was it necessary to bring gifts?"
Ji Yanshu: "There are no children in our family, and none of us really like candy."
This was polite conversation. The team leader's wife smiled and said, "When you see your eldest brother and his wife, send our regards."
When people from the Production Team spoke of Ji Xiangdong while away from home, they did so with great pride.
He was the pride of their Production Team!
Ji Yanshu replied, "Definitely."
The team leader's wife said, "There have been many worries lately. It's good that you're going to Hai Dao. Your eldest brother and sister-in-law can't often return to visit, so they must miss their family a lot. Seeing you will put their minds at ease."
Ji Yanshu nodded. "There are still things to do at home, so I'll head back now."
"Go ahead, go ahead."
The team leader's wife cheerfully saw Ji Yanshu to the door and watched her leave.
Once she was out of sight, the wife quickly turned back to the main room.
She put away the milk candies Ji Yanshu had brought. "She must be going to a matchmaking meeting."
The team leader said, "She's twenty already. It's normal to go to matchmaking meetings."
"It's normal for others, but not for her. It's only been a few days since she and Zhou Heng parted ways."
The team leader retorted, "Zhou Heng has already registered his marriage. Can't Ji Yanshu go to a matchmaking meeting?"
"That's not what I meant. It's not like Yanshu can't find a husband. There's no need for her to rush into matchmaking. Zhou Heng probably went to cause trouble, and she's fed up with him. She just wants to get away from it all."
The team leader thought about it and found this quite reasonable.
He hadn't been the one to report Zhou Heng.
But Zhou Heng had gone too far—how could he change his marriage partner at the last moment?
Wasn't that just bullying?
Fortunately, the Ji family was well-off and had the means to handle it. Otherwise, after such a great injustice, Ji Yanshu might have taken a long time to recover.
"If Zhou Heng got involved with a capitalist's daughter, he should have been prepared for the consequences. What's the use of causing trouble at the Ji family?"
The team leader's wife wore a look of schadenfreude. "He must be out of his mind. Otherwise, why would he do something like switching brides?"
That capitalist's daughter might be educated, but Ji Yanshu was no illiterate.
Ji Yanshu was also younger and prettier than Xu Huifang.
Most importantly, Ji Yanshu came from a family with a clean class background, and her brothers were all successful.
Only someone as foolish as Zhou Heng would make such a stupid mistake.
"Thank goodness he was foolish. Otherwise, you'd only ever be a deputy team leader."
"Don't say things like that outside."
"I'm not stupid."
Snorting, the team leader's wife went to cook.
She was in high spirits.
She took a few eggs she had saved in the rice jar. Today was a good day—they deserved to eat well!
When Ji Yanshu returned home, Mother Ji brought out all the good things in the house.
"Bring these eggs to your second brother and his family. Tomorrow morning, I'll go to the field to pick some vegetables—radishes, cabbage, eggplant, cucumber, string beans, tomatoes, chili peppers… I'll pick a little of each. We can also pick some pumpkin vine tips. In a couple of months, we'll send them some potatoes and old pumpkins. Those are filling and keep for a long time."
"Vermicelli, dates, peanuts, dried sweet potato… and take that jar of pickled pears to Hai Dao. An Educated Youth from the southwest taught me how to make them. I'm not sure if they taste good, but bring them for your brother and sister-in-law to try."
Ji Xiangbei chimed in, "If they don't taste good, wouldn't Little Five have wasted her effort?"
Mother Ji looked at the jar. It couldn't weigh more than ten pounds.
But her daughter had a long journey ahead, and carrying too much would indeed be inconvenient.
"Never mind, let's not bring it. I'll pack more dates for you instead. They're good for nourishing the body."
Ji Yanshu said, "It's rare that I'm going. It's fine to bring a bit more."
Mother Ji replied, "Then I'll use a canned jar to pack some for you. If you like the taste, I'll ask the Educated Youth comrade to write down the recipe and mail it to you. Then you can make your own pickled pears whenever you want."
"That works too."
Ji Yanshu reminded her, "Pack some for my second brother and the others too."
"Wouldn't forget them!"
Mother Ji said, "Go pack your own luggage. I'll take care of the rest, no need for you to worry."
Seeing how delighted her mother looked, Ji Yanshu didn't stay to get in the way.
This was their elderly mother's gesture of affection for her two sons leaving home—as long as it made her happy, that was what mattered.
However much she prepared, Ji Yanshu would take it all.
No matter how troublesome, she'd carry it along!