15
The Girl He Likes
Zhou Xiye watched Jiang Zhizhi, who had been keeping her head down, with great surprise. Was this really the reason she stayed in Qingquan Village?
Although he hadn’t interacted with her much, his intuition told him that Jiang Zhizhi wasn’t someone easily manipulated. If she didn’t want to do something, probably no one could persuade her. Moreover, with her impressive martial arts skills, who would dare to commit domestic violence against her?
Old Liang, however, believed it, having seen similar situations often around him. He looked at Jiang Zhizhi sympathetically: “Comrade Jiang, as long as you can draw these blueprints, and if Captain Zhou says it’s feasible, you’ll become our team’s technician. I’ll arrange accommodation for you. I guarantee no one will dare say anything.”
Jiang Zhizhi was astonished—was the housing issue going to be resolved so easily?!
Without caring about Zhou Xiye’s thoughts anymore, she smiled at Old Liang: “Great, thank you, Uncle.”
Old Liang waved his hand: “No need for thanks. We’re counting on you to help our entire village.”
Zhou Xiye discussed the road construction and mountain blasting with Old Liang again, reiterating that no one should enter the mountains recently. After a brief conversation, Zhou Xiye turned to Jiang Zhizhi: “The paper and pens you need—I’ll have Zhang Zhao deliver them first thing tomorrow morning. Can you manage with your left hand? Do you need someone to assist you?”
Jiang Zhizhi waved her hand: “No need, no need. I work better when I take my time to figure things out myself. Having someone help would make me nervous.”
She thought to herself—wasn’t anyone sent by Zhou Xiye essentially his eyes? She had already told one lie and didn’t know how many more she’d need to fabricate to cover it up.
Fortunately, their interactions would likely be limited. Once they helped the village complete the road construction, they probably wouldn’t see each other again.
…
Early the next morning, Zhang Zhao delivered a thick stack of white paper, several pencils, a dual-colored pencil (red on one end, blue on the other) for marking, and a steel ruler.
Looking at the supplies, Jiang Zhizhi sighed inwardly—Zhou Xiye was truly considerate. The girl he liked would be fortunate indeed.
After breakfast, everyone went to work, and Jiang Zhizhi went to the riverside again.
Since it was Sun Xiaoyue and the others’ first day, they didn’t need to work and were instead familiarizing themselves with the environment. Hearing there was a small river nearby, Sun Xiaoyue invited Chen Shuangyan and Li Simin to wash clothes by the river, mainly wanting to explore the village and confirm whether the person she encountered yesterday was indeed Jiang Zhizhi.
She also aimed to build a good relationship with these two to get closer to Jiang Donghua.
Li Simin was initially unwilling. The way Sun Xiaoyue looked at Jiang Donghua was like a fly sticking to a piece of meat. She and Jiang Donghua had been childhood sweethearts, betrothed since young, though Jiang Donghua disliked this feudal tradition and forbade her from mentioning it, saying they would marry once they returned to the city.
Therefore, she didn’t want to get too close to Sun Xiaoyue, but Chen Shuangyan was excited to go and insisted on dragging her along.
The three of them carried washbasins with dirty clothes toward the river.
As they walked, Sun Xiaoyue carefully observed her surroundings, hoping to spot the familiar figure from yesterday.
Chen Shuangyan complained along the way: “I didn’t sleep well last night. This place is too shabby—I think there are fleas. I’m itching all over and it’s unbearable.”
Li Simin shook her head: “Maybe you were too tired. I slept quite well. But Xiaoyue—I heard her tossing and turning all night, unable to sleep.”
Chen Shuangyan looked at Sun Xiaoyue with an ingratiating expression: “That’s certainly different. Xiaoyue is the commander’s daughter, raised in privilege since childhood—she definitely wouldn’t be used to living in a place like this. Right, Xiaoyue?”
Sun Xiaoyue smiled without responding. Although Jiang Zhenhua’s position was still far from that of a commander, she enjoyed the feeling of being fawned over.
Li Simin, who already harbored hostility toward Sun Xiaoyue, remarked: “The commander’s daughter—why would she come to the countryside?”
Sun Xiaoyue smiled generously: “I applied voluntarily. Over the years, I’ve followed my father to many grassroots areas and visited plenty of places with harsh conditions, so I wanted to come down myself for some training. Look how dark my skin is—it’s from running around outside every day.”
Chen Shuangyan gasped in admiration, her eyes filled with envy and admiration: “Your ideological awareness is so high! My family had no choice, and we’re still hoping to get assigned jobs when we return.”
Both she and Li Simin, as well as Jiang Donghua, came from ordinary working-class families with many children. Only one child could inherit their parents’ positions, so the rest had to rely on themselves. That’s why they hoped that by going to the countryside, they could secure job assignments upon returning.
Now, hearing Sun Xiaoyue’s words, Chen Shuangyan suddenly had an idea: if she could just curry favor with Sun Xiaoyue, wouldn’t it be much easier to return to the city? She could even ask Sun Xiaoyue for help in securing a good job afterward.
Immediately, her attitude toward Sun Xiaoyue improved even more: “Xiaoyue, let me wash your clothes for you later. You can take a walk around and see what fun things there are for us.”
Having lived two lifetimes, Sun Xiaoyue had seen all kinds of facades. Chen Shuangyan’s petty scheming was clear to her at a glance. She curled her lips slightly—what a fool, someone she could use in the future. But aloud, she said: “How could that be? Let’s wash together and go afterward. Working together is what makes it enjoyable.”
As they chatted, they reached the hillside, with a small river flowing at the bottom.
Sun Xiaoyue spotted Jiang Zhizhi at once—sitting by the riverbank in a white shirt!
It really was Jiang Zhizhi!
Hadn’t she gone to find Zhou Xiye? Why was she here? Had she failed to find Zhou Xiye?
Or was she here to see Jiang Donghua?
No, in her previous life, Jiang Zhizhi and Jiang Donghua hadn’t even met at this point.
Whatever the reason, she couldn’t allow Jiang Zhizhi and Jiang Donghua to have any interaction. Since Jiang Zhizhi hadn’t gone to find Zhou Xiye, she might as well never go looking for him in the future!
She needed to find a way to ruin Jiang Zhizhi’s reputation in Qingquan Village—better yet, have her die here.
The more she thought about it, the angrier she became. Her fingers dug tightly into the edge of her basin, and she nearly rushed over to push Jiang Zhizhi into the river.
Chen Shuangyan noticed Sun Xiaoyue’s unpleasant expression and asked with concern: “Xiaoyue, what’s wrong? Are you feeling unwell?”
Sun Xiaoyue snapped back to reality, her lips pale as she forced a smile: “I suddenly have a stomachache. Maybe there was something wrong with the porridge I had this morning. I’ll head back to use the restroom. You all go ahead and wash the clothes.”
Chen Shuangyan exclaimed, “I knew you didn’t look well! Hurry back then. Give me your clothes—I’ll wash them for you.”
Without waiting for a reply, she snatched the clothes from Sun Xiaoyue’s basin and placed them in her own: “Go back and rest if you need to. We’ll return as soon as we’re done washing.”
Sun Xiaoyue pretended to be weak and nodded: “Then I’ll trouble you. When I’m better, I’ll wash your clothes next time.”
She couldn’t let Jiang Zhizhi discover she was in Qingquan Village yet. She needed to figure out what Jiang Zhizhi was doing there first, then she could properly plan how to deal with her.
Watching Chen Shuangyan and Li Simin carrying basins toward the river, getting closer and closer to Jiang Zhizhi.
Sun Xiaoyue’s eyes filled with venomous malice. This persistent Jiang Zhizhi—she shouldn’t blame her for what was coming!