"When I arrived, there were clearly only the three of us."
Some villagers, never ones to shy away from stirring up trouble, chimed in, "Er Lai, you saved two at once—who do you want to marry?"
"You can’t possibly want both, can you? Acting like a hooligan could get you shot."
Hearing the mention of being shot, Er Lai immediately retracted his statement about marrying both.
His gaze swept over the two women before finally settling on He Fangfang. "Of course, I’ll marry Comrade He Fangfang. I’m a responsible and upstanding comrade. When we came ashore, I held Comrade He Fangfang in my arms. As for Educated Youth Wu, I only grabbed her clothes. There’s nothing improper between us."
Up in the tree, Song Siyi and Aunt Cuihua were munching on melon seeds, with Aunt Cuihua’s face full of disdain. "Tsk, tsk, this Er Lai really dares to dream. That’s the accountant’s only daughter. Isn’t he afraid of getting his legs broken?"
Song Siyi asked curiously, "Isn’t Er Lai worried about offending Accountant He by saying that?"
Aunt Cuihua looked mysterious. "You don’t know the half of it. There’s a lot more to this story."
Crunch, crunch. Song Siyi’s curiosity was piqued. "Could it be that Er Lai deliberately tried to ruin He Fangfang’s reputation?"
Aunt Cuihua leaned in closer and whispered, "Let me tell you, many years ago, Accountant He used to harass Widow Zhang. One time, Er Lai caught him in the act. I heard he hit Accountant He with a candlestick, burning a hole in his pants and nearly scorching his… you know."
"It scared Accountant He so much he never dared to go to Widow Zhang’s house again. But Er Lai must still hold a grudge over what happened back then."
The auntie on the right lowered her voice. "Wasn’t that story just a rumor?"
Aunt Cuihua insisted, "It’s definitely true. That night, Accountant He and his wife had a huge fight. I happened to be passing by and heard everything clearly."
Song Siyi stared intently at Aunt Cuihua. Was she really just passing by?
Over there, Wu Nan breathed a sigh of relief and quickly expressed her gratitude. "This comrade is right. I should thank him for saving me. I’ll definitely prepare a gift and visit him to express my thanks."
He Fangfang was furious when she heard this. That bitch Wu Nan—if she hadn’t jumped into the water, the soldier would have surely saved her instead.
She slapped Wu Nan across the face. "You bitch! It’s all your fault!"
Wu Nan covered her cheek, looking angry but not daring to speak up. "Comrade He Fangfang, just because you’re the accountant’s daughter doesn’t mean you can hit me."
"I came to the countryside to answer the nation’s call and contribute to rural development. You can’t hit me just because I have no one to rely on here in the village. I’m going to ask the brigade leader to judge this fairly."
"The brigade leader is here!"
The crowd parted as the brigade leader walked over with a dark expression.
Behind him followed a large group of people.
Accountant He, his face equally grim, walked up to He Fangfang and, without a word, slapped her.
He Fangfang looked at him in disbelief. "Dad, why did you hit me?"
Accountant He was seething with anger. "You’ve completely disgraced the He family, and you still have the nerve to ask why?"
"Go home!"
Accountant He dragged her away without another word.
Wu Nan looked at the brigade leader with a pitiful expression.
"Brigade leader, Comrade He Fangfang hit me for no reason. You have to stand up for me."
The brigade leader’s expression remained stern. "Educated Youth Wu, you came to the countryside to participate in rural development. It’s best if you keep your scheming to a minimum. Otherwise, I won’t hesitate to report you to the Educated Youth Office."
Wu Nan immediately panicked. "Brigade leader, I don't understand what you're saying. Since coming to the countryside, I've worked hard to contribute to the construction efforts and have never dared to slack off for a moment."
The brigade leader beckoned to Goudan and the others, and several little kids immediately came over.
The brigade leader said, "They saw everything that just happened clearly."
"As for the truth of the matter, I advise you, Educated Youth Wu, to think carefully before you speak."
Upon hearing this, Wu Nan's face instantly turned deathly pale.
Whispers arose among the crowd.
"I wondered why it was such a coincidence that she fell into the water. Probably saw that Song Sijia succeeded and decided to copy her, huh?"
"That's just shameless."
"Tsk, and to think she's an educated youth from the city. She's not even as good as us country bumpkins."
"Better tell our younger relatives to stay away from that river from now on. What good can come from scheming so desperately? Shameless."
Wu Nan knew she was finished. Covering her face, she ran off directly.
The brigade leader said, "Everyone disperse. Don't all crowd around like this. It's unseemly."
Hearing this, the crowd immediately scattered.
Auntie Cuihua said regretfully, "Why did they scatter already? I hadn't seen enough."
Song Siyi found this quite amusing.
As if remembering something, Song Siyi took ten yuan from her bag and handed it to Auntie Cuihua.
Auntie Cuihua looked puzzled. "What's this for?"
Song Siyi said, "The Song family compensated me twenty yuan, remember? The brigade leader had Zhaozhao give it to me this morning. Thanks to you last time, they were willing to pay the compensation."
"And you got hit too, Auntie. The compensation should be split half and half."
Auntie Cuihua hurriedly pushed it back. "Take it back quickly. What kind of person do you think I am? Besides, last time, Song Sijia overheard me talking. If anything, I got you involved. That compensation is rightfully yours."
"You just keep it with peace of mind."
Song Siyi offered it to her again. "That won't do, Auntie Cuihua. You have to take it. Even if it's just to buy some ointment, it would be good."
Auntie Cuihua pretended to be angry. "If you give it to me again, I'll get upset. That Sun Hongmei didn't get the better of me. I'm perfectly fine, no need for ointment."
Seeing this, Song Siyi had no choice but to take the money back.
She reached into her bag, grabbed several pieces of White Rabbit Creamy Candy, and handed them to her.
"For your little grandson to have a sweet treat."
Auntie Cuihua grinned, reaching out to take the candy. "This I'll accept."
The two smiled at each other, and Song Siyi and Auntie Cuihua climbed down from the tree one after the other.
Seeing this, Xie Jingzhou quickly came over to help her down, his tone concerned. "Take it slow."
Song Siyi said, "It's fine."
Auntie Cuihua watched their interaction, smiling like the Maitreya Buddha.
She chuckled teasingly, "Ohoho, from now on, our Siyi girl has someone to care for her too."
With that, she ran off before the two could react.
Both Song Siyi and Xie Jingzhou felt their faces grow a little warm.
Xie Jingzhou said, "Let's go."
Song Siyi nodded.
When the two arrived, Zhou Xun and Shen Zhiheng were still waiting by the roadside.
Seeing Song Siyi, they immediately greeted her with smiles. "Sister-in-law."
Song Siyi smiled in response, then asked with concern, "You weren't scared, were you?"
Zhou Xun rubbed his head. "Of course we were scared. Almost thought I was going to end up with an extra wife."
Song Siyi found this rather funny. "Our brigade suddenly has two such young and outstanding officers. It's only normal for the unmarried girls to have some thoughts. Anyway, just be careful in everything. Don't go out alone, don't eat or drink anything of unknown origin, and avoid places like the riverbank, and you'll be fine."
Zhou Xun looked at Song Siyi gratefully. "Thank you for the reminder, sister-in-law, but we’re leaving tomorrow."
Song Siyi understood. Of course, soldiers had little leave time—they couldn’t stay here every day.
Xie Jingzhou said, "You two come over to the house for dinner later."