25
Tell Zhou Xinye that her awareness is low
Zhou Xiye turned and looked coldly at Zhang Zhao: “I sent you to the village to inform Secretary Liang about the three o’clock blasting. Did you go there to gossip instead? Was the notification properly delivered?”
Zhang Zhao nodded: “It was delivered. I also told him about the secondary blasting time.”
After speaking, he left resentfully.
Zhou Xiye, however, was pondering that after the blasting here was completed and personnel safety confirmed, he would go to the city to meet with leadership.
…
Sun Xiaoyue had been anxiously waiting in the dormitory. Li Simin’s unusual gaze toward her made her deeply uneasy.
She waited until Li Simin went out, then Chen Shuangyan returned with disheveled hair and grass blades stuck to her clothes.
Looking at Chen Shuangyan’s face – in her previous life, she had disliked Zhou Xiye’s coldness and never became true husband and wife with him, but she had experienced the pleasures of intimacy between men and women. She clearly recognized what Chen Shuangyan had just gone through, especially since she had gone out with Jiang Donghua and returned with him.
Her throat suddenly felt as if blocked by an egg, unable to make a sound.
After a long while, Sun Xiaoyue finally found her voice and asked Chen Shuangyan tremulously: “Did you sleep with Jiang Donghua?”
Being asked so directly made Chen Shuangyan blush: “Well, that medicine on me… I couldn’t help it.”
Thinking of this, she counter-questioned Sun Xiaoyue: “Xiaoyue, the medicine you gave me was supposed to be ordinary diarrhea medicine, right? How did it become that kind of drug? If it weren’t for Jiang Donghua being there today, I would have been finished.”
Sun Xiaoyue, currently distraught, said: “I don’t know either. What I gave you was diarrhea medicine. Jiang Zhizhi must have switched it.”
She couldn’t confront Chen Shuangyan yet, fearing she might bite back. But since Jiang Donghua and Chen Shuangyan had already slept together, they would probably get married. Where would that leave her?
No, she couldn’t let them be together.
And Jiang Zhizhi – she had escaped this time, but would likely soon discover she was here too.
She had to destroy Jiang Zhizhi before she found out!
…
Jiang Zhizhi had some suspicion about who was behind the schemes. Besides being surprised by her presence here, she didn’t take proactive measures.
Since she wanted to hide, let her hide. Let’s see what else she could do in secret.
She just wanted to comfortably spend two years in this village, experiencing the joy of being idle. Everything else could wait until the policy changed in two years.
But if someone wanted to bring some excitement, then bring it on!
After returning, Yang Fengmei cooked her a bowl of poached eggs – two eggs poached in plain water with a spoonful of brown sugar added. This was brown sugar Yang Fengmei had saved for a long time.
She insisted Jiang Zhizhi eat it, saying she had worked hard fighting today: “Your body hasn’t fully recovered yet, and you still had to fight that shameless person. How exhausting. Eat this to replenish yourself, then get some sleep.”
Unable to refuse Yang Fengmei’s enthusiasm, Jiang Zhizhi could only eat this bowl of brown sugar poached eggs that seemed like confinement food. Instantly, warmth spread comfortably through her stomach.
Yang Fengmei looked satisfied: “After eating, get some good rest. There’s mountain blasting at three o’clock – it might be very loud. Don’t go to the riverside yet.”
Jiang Zhizhi knew about this and nodded: “I’ll go to the riverside to do laundry later.”
Yang Fengmei exclaimed with some displeasure: “What laundry do you need to do? Your body just recovered – you should rest properly. Give me those clothes of yours, I’ll wash them for you.”
Jiang Zhizhi smiled, “Then I’d like to take a walk by the river too. Lying around like this all the time makes me feel uncomfortable.”
Most importantly, after regaining her senses today, she vaguely remembered that it was a man who had pulled her from the river—those firm, powerful arms had nearly squeezed the breath out of her.
It seemed the man had spoken too, his voice gentle and pleasant.
So she wanted to stroll by the river, hoping it might help her remember something.
Seeing her like this, Yang Fengmei nodded in agreement, “Then go around five or six when it’s cooler. I still have to work in the fields this afternoon, otherwise I’d accompany you.”
She was mainly worried that if Jiang Zhizhi went alone and happened to run into those educated youths, she might end up at a disadvantage in any conflict.
Hearing this, Jiang Zhizhi felt somewhat embarrassed, “My arm is injured, so I can’t help with much. Otherwise, I could have done something for you.”
Yang Fengmei waved her hand, “No need, no need. Dazhuang’s father said your diagram is very impressive. Soon you’ll be our great contributor here.”
Jiang Zhizhi felt bashful from Yang Fengmei’s praise and gave an awkward laugh. After Yang Fengmei left, she lay down peacefully.
She had a comfortable nap but was awakened by the sound of Mountain Blasting. After washing her face and simply combing her hair, she checked the time and headed to the river.
The adults had all gone to the fields to earn Work Points, while a group of children stood on this side of the river, watching the opposite bank. Liang Dazhuang stood nearby with a stick, responsible for keeping the children from entering the river.
Seeing the noisy crowd, Jiang Zhizhi walked toward the downstream area. Beyond the bend, it was more desolate, and the water was deeper—places the children usually avoided.
Jiang Zhizhi looked around, but her mind remained blank. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t recall what happened after she was pulled from the water.
Unconsciously, she had wandered quite far. Rounding another river bend, she unexpectedly saw Zhou Xiye and Zhang Zhao, along with an unfamiliar man. The three were talking while observing the opposite bank, seemingly discussing something.
Jiang Zhizhi thought about it—she had eaten the chicken Zhou Xiye sent and drunk the Malt Extract he gave her. It would be too impolite to turn and leave without even greeting him when she saw him.
She stopped walking. When Zhou Xiye glanced over, she curved her eyes, revealing her little canine teeth in a sweet, adorable smile.
Zhou Xiye’s gaze darkened slightly. He handed the blueprint he was holding to Zhang Zhao, said something to the two men, and walked toward Jiang Zhizhi.
He even felt somewhat nervous. When he reached her and saw her calm expression, her eyes sparkling with a smiling light, he wondered if she didn’t care about last night’s events or had simply forgotten them.
Seeing Zhou Xiye approach, Jiang Zhizhi smiled and spoke first, “What are you all doing here? Isn’t it Mountain Blasting time? Is the road construction starting soon?”
Zhou Xiye glanced at her again and nodded, “We’ll all head into the mountains tomorrow. What did the commune say about your blueprint?”
Mentioning this, Jiang Zhizhi felt happy. Her eyes curved as she replied in a clear voice, “The secretary said he’ll come to discuss the details with me in a couple of days. He thinks very highly of my blueprint.”
Zhou Xiye looked at Jiang Zhizhi once more, noting her complete lack of restraint or awkwardness. Could she have forgotten what happened last night?
He felt a sense of relief, but at the same time, there was a faint, unnoticed disappointment in his heart.
Unable to resist, he brought up the old topic again, “You have strong capabilities. Why not consider joining the military?”
He still felt it was a pity—what a waste that Jiang Zhizhi wasn’t going into the army!
Jiang Zhizhi froze for a moment, never expecting Zhou Xiye to be so persistent!
With a serious and earnest expression, she said: “I’m afraid of hardship. My ideological awareness is low, and I lack any spirit of dedication. I just want to find a place to laze around and live my days.”