Big news had broken in Liujiatun: Mingyuan, the son of the production team leader, was in a relationship. The girl was none other than the educated youth he had rescued a few days prior.
Once the news spread, the entirety of Liujiatun was abuzz. Everyone knew Lin Mingyuan. Initially, he was famous because his looks were top-tier—unmatched in all the surrounding ten miles and eight villages. Furthermore, he had finished high school and was the son of the team leader.
He should have been a highly sought-after “prized catch,” but that reputation had soured. Once he started working in the fields, he proved to be utterly useless. In a real comparison, he couldn’t even keep up with a ten-year-old child.
This was something everyone had seen with their own eyes. Consequently, Lin Mingyuan shifted from being a “prized catch” to someone far less desirable. After all, in the countryside, what use was a man who couldn’t work?
Still, some argued that having the team leader as a father made him better off than anyone else. Others countered that the Lin family had two capable older sons; Lin Guoqing couldn’t possibly be biased only toward this one.
Furthermore, they had caught wind that the female educated youth wasn’t a hard worker either. It stood to reason—city children struggled to even feed themselves, let alone handle farm work.
So, even if these two got married, their lives wouldn’t be easy.
Some privately asked Sun Zhaodi why she was letting her son find such a wife, arguing that good looks were useless. However, most people were simply waiting to watch the drama unfold.
The Lin family’s circumstances were considered quite good in the village. The father was the team leader, the older sons Weidong and Weiguo were both capable, and the two daughters-in-law handled farm work with ease. Then there was the third child, Mingjuan; Sun Zhaodi had raised her to be so capable that not only did she marry into a wealthy family, but she also called the shots in her husband’s household, bringing back plenty of gifts every time she visited.
But then there was the fourth child, Mingyuan. Aside from being handsome, he was incompetent in every other way. He got beaten every day but never learned his lesson. And now, look—the partner he found wasn’t a capable local girl, but an educated youth who was just as useless as he was, save for her looks.
You could say it was a “collection of wastes.” The villagers couldn’t contain their excitement for the spectacle; they were practically praying for the two of them to get married as soon as possible.
When the news reached the educated youth station, it caused an even greater uproar.
Didn’t Li Baoling like Shen Xiangyang? How did she end up dating Lin Mingyuan?
And she had only been here for such a short time—how did she manage to latch onto the team leader’s son? Could it really just be because he rescued her?
Everyone at the station had their suspicions, but no one dared to ask her directly. If she really became the team leader’s daughter-in-law, they were afraid she might find ways to make their lives difficult in the future.
However, there was one person who couldn’t accept it. Zhang Lihua was utterly distraught and dragged Li Baoling out on the spot to interrogate her.
“What are you doing? Let go!” Li Baoling threw off Zhang Lihua’s hand. She had worked all day and was exhausted. If it weren’t for the sake of leaving a good impression on everyone—especially Lin Guoqing—would she have bothered?
“Why on earth are you dating the team leader’s son? Are you after his family’s status? Don’t forget, if you get married here, you’ll never be able to go back to the city.” Zhang Lihua was conflicted; she didn’t want Li Baoling to live a better life than her, but she also didn’t want to see her throw herself away in marriage so casually.
“I’ll say it again: what does it have to do with you? Besides, even if I am greedy for his family’s status, so what? Is that against the law?”
“But haven’t you asked around? That Lin Mingyuan—he doesn’t know how to do anything.” Ever since seeing the two of them chatting by the river a few days ago, Zhang Lihua had felt something was off. While working, she would proactively chat with any Liujiatun local nearby, eventually steering the conversation toward Lin Mingyuan.
She had gathered a very detailed report.
“Because of his incompetence, his father beats him every day. His mother dotes on him, and the two daughters-in-law in the house are already dissatisfied. I heard he has an older sister who is even harder to deal with.”
Li Baoling glanced at her. “You’ve certainly done your homework.”
However, didn’t Lin Mingyuan say everyone in his family treated him well except for his father? Did he even have his facts straight?
“It’s true. If you’re doing this because of the falling-into-the-river incident, don’t. He was just being kind; he would have saved anyone else too. And no one is gossiping about it anymore—it’s in the past,” Zhang Lihua continued to plead.
“Look, even my parents aren’t worried about me, so why are you so anxious? And don’t forget, you played a part in me being forced down to the countryside in the first place.” Li Baoling truly couldn’t understand her.
“I told you, I was just worried your parents would marry you off to just anyone. And besides, you clearly like Brother Xiangyang.”
“Oh, shut up. Stop making excuses. You were just bitter about being sent to the countryside yourself and were terrified I’d live a good life in the city. Once I got here, you tricked me into doing your work and nearly worked me to death. Actually, now that you mention it, I have you to thank for me and Lin Mingyuan dating. If I hadn’t been so exhausted from work, I wouldn’t have fallen into the river, I wouldn’t have been saved by him, and we wouldn’t be dating.”
Zhang Lihua hadn’t expected the credit to circle back to her. For a moment, she was speechless.
“Anyway, you can’t just get married like this. You’ll regret it sooner or later.”
“Wait a minute. Given your jealous heart, shouldn’t you think it’s a good thing that I’m marrying a random villager? Now you’re suddenly playing the earnest advisor. You made me accompany you to the countryside, but you won’t let me get married… Zhang Lihua, you don’t actually like me, do you? Think about it—if I and your Brother Xiangyang both fell into the river, who would you save first?” The more Li Baoling thought about it, the more horrified she became.
“What nonsense are you talking!” Zhang Lihua thought she was crazy, but she persisted. “Li Baoling, why do you always have to cause so much trouble? Since we’re already in the countryside, can’t you just behave yourself?”
“Because every time I ’cause trouble,’ I end up better off than I was before.”
After saying this, Li Baoling suddenly had a moment of clarity. Two years ago, everyone thought she was bound for the countryside, but she didn’t give up. She looked for jobs everywhere and studied like mad for exams. In the end, she beat out the crowd to secure a permanent job position. That was “causing trouble.”
Now, she had been schemed against and sent to the countryside anyway. But she still wasn’t resigned to it. Instead of working obediently, she was going to get married. This was also “causing trouble.”
Wait, that wasn’t right. Getting married was taking the easy way out; it was essentially giving up. How did that count as “causing trouble”?
Li Baoling asked, “Is it just that as long as I don’t walk the same path as you, you think I’m ‘causing trouble’?”
“Why can’t you just be like me? We grew up together,” Zhang Lihua said, bewildered. She didn’t understand why Li Baoling always had to be unique, making her look like a fool in comparison.
Li Baoling understood now. She realized Zhang Lihua probably didn’t hate her that much; she just didn’t want to work hard herself, and she didn’t want others to work hard either. Seeing someone else succeed by “causing trouble” made her miserable.
Case closed. It was purely a mental illness.
“Why should I be like you? I’ll do whatever I want. Stop trying to control other people.” Li Baoling refused to coddle her; she decided she had wasted enough time analyzing her.
Li Baoling resolved that once she married into the Lin family, she would immediately cut ties with Zhang Lihua.
After the argument, she ran straight into Shen Xiangyang. Li Baoling muttered a curse under her breath.
However, what needed to be said had to be said. “By the way, when are you going to pay me back? I’m getting married soon, and I need the money.”
The expression of regret and sadness Shen Xiangyang had just begun to put on was shattered by her words, replaced instantly by anger.
“Your family won’t agree to you doing this.”
Mentioning that family only made Li Baoling angry. Just wait until she fought her way back to them.
But if Shen Xiangyang thought he could dodge the subject, he was dreaming. “Pay me back, pay me back, pay me back.”
“I told you, I’ll pay you back when I have it.” Shen Xiangyang’s face darkened again. What was the rush?
“And when will that be? You’re so poor, your family won’t give you anything, and you can’t earn any money.” Just as Li Baoling finished her insult, she saw Geng Jiajia come out and immediately said, “Oh right, weren’t you going to pay the money back for your Brother Xiangyang? Has your family sent it yet?”
Geng Jiajia’s footsteps faltered. She had spoken in the heat of the moment that day, but later realized that the money Shen Xiangyang owed wasn’t a small amount. “I… I’ve already written to them, but it hasn’t been sent yet.”
“Enough. I said I’d pay back the money I borrowed myself.” Shen Xiangyang was getting even more anxious. He truly hadn’t expected Li Baoling to be this kind of person—selfish, lazy, gluttonous, and even willing to sell her own body just to avoid work.
Growing up with such a woman was truly a disgrace to him.
Seeing Shen Xiangyang’s disgusted expression, as if he had swallowed a fly, Li Baoling got even angrier. “Then hurry up! What you borrowed was my dowry. If you don’t pay me back, am I supposed to marry into that house empty-handed? I’m warning you, you must pay me back before I get married, or I’ll send someone else to collect it!”
Though she didn’t specify who “someone else” was, everyone present knew she meant the Lin family.
Li Baoling didn’t feel the slightest bit of guilt for using the Lin family’s name as a threat. One had to be ruthless with people like Shen Xiangyang. The money she had saved over two years had been squandered by him in just a few days, and she had no idea where it had gone.
Wait! This place was in the middle of nowhere; where could Shen Xiangyang have spent it? Nowadays, everything required coupons, and in the few days they had been here, they had done nothing but work and hadn’t even been to town. Where was the money?
Under Li Baoling’s stare, Shen Xiangyang looked a bit guilty. The money was, of course, still in his hands—there were over thirty yuan, after all. Even if he wanted to spend it, he couldn’t spend that much. At most, when he was starving, he had secretly traded some for food.
Looking at him, Li Baoling became certain: Shen Xiangyang definitely still had money.
“I’ll give you two more days. If you haven’t paid me back by then, just wait for someone else to come looking for you,” said the “wild” Li Baoling.
Before Shen Xiangyang could speak, Geng Jiajia protested, “Two days? How is that possible?”
“If it’s impossible, then you pay it.”
Geng Jiajia went silent. She didn’t quite dare to cross Li Baoling now. Although her family had some connections, they were only enough to get her sent to a slightly better location; the person who decided what she actually did every day was still the team leader.
It was infuriating. How could Li Baoling have secured such a partner without a word?
Having confirmed that Shen Xiangyang had money, Li Baoling’s mood improved. She decided to use the “huge sum” of eight-odd yuan she had on her to treat Lin Mingyuan to a meal. After all, since he was being so loyal, she had to show some appreciation.
Besides, she still had to discuss with him how to get married as quickly as possible.