17
Meanwhile, Zhang Wenfang had been so furious at Jiang Suisui’s decisive break with her that she couldn’t sleep all night, seething with resentment.
At dawn the next day, before she’d even had breakfast, she got up and headed straight to Jiang Miaomiao’s house. Jiang Miaomiao was just getting ready to head out to work—it was the autumn harvest season, and she was busy running around every day, to the point where she barely had the energy to even think about getting close to Song Weizheng.
“Jiang Miaomiao!” Zhang Wenfang called out to her at the courtyard gate.
Jiang Hongjun’s family all looked over at the sound. Zhang Cuihua eyed Zhang Wenfang suspiciously, then glanced at Jiang Miaomiao. “Miaomiao, what’s Zhang Wenfang coming to see you for? Isn’t she friends with Jiang Suisui?”
“How should I know…” Jiang Miaomiao said as she quickly wiped the table down in a few strokes and tossed down the rag. “I’ll go ask her what she wants. You all go ahead I’ll catch up in a bit!” With that, she hurried out.
Zhang Cuihua shouted after her, “Don’t you dawdle! Get to work on time, no being late! You hear me? If they dock your work points, don’t blame me for giving you a beating when you get back!”
Jiang Miaomiao steeled herself and ignored her mother’s yelling, dragging Zhang Wenfang around a few corners to a secluded spot behind the houses. She asked in a low voice, “What are you coming to see me for at this hour of the morning? Couldn’t you have been more careful? What if Jiang Suisui sees us? She’ll make a scene with me, won’t she?”
Jiang Suisui had never gotten along with her. If she caught her hanging out with her so-called “good friend,” she’d definitely throw a fit, wouldn’t she?
Zhang Wenfang curled her lip. “Make a scene my ass. She’s gotten too big for her boots now, she doesn’t need friends anymore!”
“…What do you mean?” Jiang Miaomiao didn’t understand. “Did you two have a fight? Is it about what I told you guys the other day?”
“No kidding!” Just thinking about it made Zhang Wenfang angry. “It’s all because of you—you told us to talk her into breaking off the engagement. But somehow she’s gotten all tough and stubborn, and she pushed back against us!”
“She… she won’t break it off?” Jiang Miaomiao’s heart tightened, and she felt a sinking sensation. If Jiang Suisui refused to end the engagement and kept clinging to Song Weizheng, where would that leave her?
Zhang Wenfang said resentfully, “Not only is she unwilling, she’s head over heels for Song Weizheng. Dumping her friends over some man, just like that. Don’t you think she’s gotten above herself?”
“Who even wants to be friends with her anyway? Look around—besides me pitying her, and Li Daidi sucking up to her, who else even hangs out with her?” Zhang Wenfang sneered, venting her frustration.
Jiang Miaomiao’s mood sank as she listened. She said displeasedly, “Didn’t you guarantee me this would be easy? You said she’d listen to whatever you guys said.”
Zhang Wenfang grew irritable. “That’s how it used to be! And we were the ones who egged her on when she chased after Song Weizheng, it was all just for fun. Who knew she’d take it seriously this time!”
Jiang Miaomiao’s face turned cold, and she fell silent for a moment.
Seeing her like that, Zhang Wenfang grew anxious. “Hey! I’ve fallen out with her over this thing for you—it’s not my fault she won’t listen. You promised to take us to hang out at the educated youth spot, so you’d better keep your word!”
Jiang Miaomiao paused for a moment, then suddenly broke into a smile. “Of course, no problem. Ah… that girl Suisui, she’s always been headstrong and doesn’t like listening to advice. But as her older cousin, I can’t just stand by and watch her make the wrong choices, so I had to ask you all to try and talk some sense into her. Who knew she’d be so stubborn…”
Having gotten her promise, Zhang Wenfang felt a bit better and said dismissively, “If you ask me, why do you even bother with her? Her grandmother already agreed to this match, what business is it of yours to meddle?”
“Could it be… you’ve got your eye on Song Weizheng too?” Zhang Wenfang suddenly asked.
Jiang Miaomiao’s expression stiffened, and she quickly forced a chuckle, denying it: “How could that be…”
Zhang Wenfang curled her lip. “Don’t bother denying it, I’m not stupid… Though I don’t see what’s so great about him. But if you really do like him, just go after him. What’s there to hide?”
Jiang Miaomiao smiled awkwardly, but since she’d been found out, she decided to come clean: “Actually… I liked him first. I was just a step too late, and Jiang Suisui used some underhanded trick to get ahead of me.”
“Whoa!” Zhang Wenfang’s eyes widened in surprise. “So you really do have your eye on him?”
“Tsk, tsk, tsk.” She shook her head and looked Jiang Miaomiao up and down. “You Jiang family girls sure have peculiar tastes going for the poor and stubborn types. Just seeing his cold face annoys me. I really don’t get what’s so great about him!”
“Hey, hang on!” Zhang Wenfang suddenly realized something. “Weren’t you into that… that Educated Youth Shen before? How come you suddenly changed?”
“Who said I liked Educated Youth Shen?” Jiang Miaomiao quickly retorted. “I have no interest in educated youths at all. Don’t talk nonsense!”
Zhang Wenfang wasn’t convinced: “Am I talking nonsense? If you didn’t like him, why were you running over to the educated youth spot every day? And getting all chummy with the educated youths there?”
Jiang Miaomiao forced a strained smile at the corner of her mouth. “I was just curious, wanting to see what the city-educated folks were like. Now I realize they’re not all that, they can’t even work as hard as our village folks!”
Zhang Wenfang disagreed: “That’s not right! City-educated intellectuals weren’t born to do manual labor, they’re meant to hold pens and sit in offices! Not like us, all dusty and grimy every day.”
Jiang Miaomiao laughed inwardly at how naive and foolish she was, but didn’t say it out loud: “Oh, I guess so. Maybe I’m just not cut out for that crowd.”
Zhang Wenfang said smugly, “Tell you what—take me to the educated youth spot sometime and introduce me to people. Especially that Educated Youth Shen let me see what kind of person he is for myself.”
“No problem!” Jiang Miaomiao agreed readily. “Why don’t you bring Li Daidi along too? I heard they’re planning to go to the market together in a couple of days we can all tag along.”
“Why bring her along… She doesn’t have a single cent to her name. Wouldn’t taking her to the market just be embarrassing?” Zhang Wenfang grumbled, somewhat reluctant.
Jiang Miaomiao persuaded her: “She did put in some effort after all. She only has you as a friend now. Bringing her along gives you some company, and if anything comes up, she can lend a hand.”
Zhang Wenfang thought it over and reluctantly agreed: “Fine then. Make sure you give me a heads up in advance so I can get ready.”
“Don’t worry, I will.” Jiang Miaomiao smiled brightly.
After that, she watched Zhang Wenfang walk away with a light, carefree step and a pleasant mood, and her own expression slowly darkened.
“What a waste of effort—can’t even talk Jiang Suisui around.” Jiang Miaomiao muttered to herself, looking in the direction Zhang Wenfang had gone. “Still, she’s not completely useless at least she’s dumb enough to have her eye on Shen Zhiwen.”
Jiang Suisui tucked a still-warm boiled egg into her pocket and made her way to Song Weizheng’s front door.
Her grandmother had boiled the egg for her at breakfast, but she’d held back her craving and kept it in her pocket to bring along.
By this time, most of the villagers had already gone to work. With the busy autumn harvest season, no one would be coming back at midday—the village was quiet and mostly empty.
Before leaving, she’d asked Grandma Jiang and learned that Song Yuxue hadn’t officially started working in the fields yet; she usually stayed home to help with odds and ends.
So, taking advantage of the village being mostly deserted, Jiang Suisui prepared to pay them a visit.
The courtyard gate was half-closed and unlocked, but out of courtesy, Jiang Suisui reached out and knocked first, calling out, “Is anyone home?”
Before long, she heard faint sounds of movement from inside, and a soft, unhurried set of footsteps gradually approached the door.
Jiang Suisui pulled her arm back and stood up straight. Just as the door was pulled open from the inside, she flashed a bright smile and said, “Hi! Little friend Song Yuxue…”
“…?”
Jiang Suisui stared at the person who appeared at the courtyard gate, frozen in place.
It wasn’t Song Yuxue, but a woman of gentle temperament and pale, delicate features.
She stood gracefully, one hand resting on the gate, and looked at Jiang Suisui with a tender smile.
The woman appeared to be in her mid-thirties, with a face that showed some signs of sickly fatigue, but her overall bearing was as elegant as an orchid—gentle, composed, and refined. Her long hair was simply tied back, giving her a modest, understated beauty.
Jiang Suisui was utterly taken aback.
In the half-month or so she’d been here, although she hadn’t gone out much socially, she’d seen plenty of aunts, sisters-in-law, and young village girls coming and going at home. But not a single one of them had the same air of grace and beauty as the woman before her.
“Mom! Who’s here?” Suddenly, a clear, crisp voice called from inside—Jiang Suisui recognized it as Song Yuxue’s.
In a moment, a small figure appeared at the doorway. She looked up, saw Jiang Suisui, and couldn’t help but widen her eyes. “It’s you? What are you doing here?”
“Xiao Xue,” the woman said sternly, “where are your manners? You should call her sister.”
Song Yuxue looked reluctant at that. She fidgeted for a moment, then muttered weakly, “Sister…”
Jiang Suisui quickly waved her hands. “No, no! It’s fine! No need to call me sister—Xiao Xue and I are friends, just using names is perfectly okay!”
Song Yuxue stared at her with big eyes, as if about to say, “Who’s friends with you?” But with her mother right there, she held back.
The woman gently patted Song Yuxue’s head and said with a soft smile, “Xiao Xue is quite straightforward please be patient with her.”
“Not at all, not at all!” Jiang Suisui waved her hands repeatedly, feeling a little shy in front of this gentle aunt. “Auntie, I’m sorry for showing up unannounced, am I interrupting you?”
The woman shook her head and smiled. “You can call me Aunt Lan. And of course not, I’m very happy to have someone visit. What’s your name? Are you a new friend of Xiao Xue’s?”
This woman was none other than Song Weizheng and Song Yuxue’s mother, Song Rulan.
The moment Song Rulan laid eyes on Jiang Suisui, she saw a girl with a radiant smile, warm and sunny, and felt an instant surge of affection. She thought to herself: her two children—her son was like a wolf, fierce and sharp; her daughter, true to her name, was as cold as ice and snow at such a young age, without even a single playmate in the village.
Now here was an open, cheerful girl showing up at her door, claiming to be Xiao Xue’s friend—of course Song Rulan was delighted.
“Aunt Lan!” Jiang Suisui smiled and replied, “My name is Jiang Suisui! I live just around the corner.”
Jiang Suisui?!
Song Rulan’s heart stirred—wasn’t this the girl her son was engaged to?
**