The mountain descent was rather steep. Wei Ye carried a large basket of pig fodder on his back, while his strong arms supported Su Qiu on both sides.
Su Qiu could barely walk on her own, let alone go down the mountain. The entire way down, she relied on Wei Ye’s support.
To be precise, it was less “support” and more like Wei Ye was carrying her as if she were a child.
At first, Su Qiu had felt slightly awkward. But later, she simply gave up on caring. Being able to be carried down the mountain at all was already good enough—why bother being pretentious?
By the time they reached the foot of the mountain, there were more people passing by.
Wei Ye immediately put distance between himself and Su Qiu, only letting her hold onto the wooden handle of the sickle for support.
Mainly because villagers had loose tongues, and his own reputation was not exactly good either.
This little girl was an Educated Youth from the city. If people caught sight of them and started gossiping, it would certainly not be anything pleasant. A young girl like her would likely feel wronged and end up crying.
Once Su Qiu lost his support, her walking slowed down significantly as she held the handle.
However, she also understood that in the 1970s, men and women needed to maintain propriety. Wei Ye doing this was also for her reputation.
Tsk, tsk—he really was a rare good man.
“Oh my, isn’t this the new Educated Youth? What happened to you?”
A few enthusiastic village women gathered around to ask.
Su Qiu briefly explained that while cutting pig fodder on the mountain, she had been bitten by a snake. Fortunately, Comrade Wei had passed by and saved her.
“Oh my, then you’d better go to the clinic and get medicine quickly. Don’t leave any aftereffects.”
Everyone else focused on her injury. Then a woman with high cheekbones suddenly looked the two of them up and down and said:
“Wei family boy, what a coincidence you had—playing hero and saving a beauty? Or were you following the city Educated Youth up the mountain on purpose? Are you taking an interest in her?”
Wei Ye’s face darkened. His gaze turned cold as he looked at the gossiping woman.
“People with dirty hearts see everything as dirty. I helped someone and it still becomes a problem. Don’t worry—next time you get bitten by a snake, I’ll stay far away.”
The woman with high cheekbones immediately turned red with anger.
“You little bastard! How dare you talk like that! No manners at all—no wonder your biological father and mother didn’t want you and threw you away. It was Old Wei who was kind enough to pick you up, otherwise you wouldn’t even have survived!”
Seeing her insult the benefactor who had raised him so viciously, Su Qiu stood closest to her. She deliberately pretended to faint and bumped hard into her.
“Ah, my head feels so dizzy…”
The woman staggered and fell hard onto the ground.
“Ah! Heaven! You wretched girl, why did you bump me! Do you know how much my bones hurt? Can you afford to pay for this?”
Su Qiu held her forehead and groaned in a weak voice. Then, as if unable to continue, she rolled her eyes and slowly leaned against another aunt’s shoulder, pretending to pass out.
The aunt was startled. She tried to push her away but did not dare.
“Hey, hey! Is she poisoned to death? Quickly, someone move her away—I can’t carry her!”
The others all stepped back. Only Wei Ye saw through the act and stepped forward helplessly.
He extended a finger and gently pressed her philtrum, reminding her: “Educated Youth Su, wake up.”
Su Qiu did not expect these village women to lack so much sympathy and even fear being implicated. She had no choice but to open her eyes.
She weakly held onto the wooden handle of the sickle that Wei Ye had handed her and asked as if confused: “What happened to me? Where am I?”
Everyone immediately distanced themselves from her. The woman with high cheekbones on the ground scrambled up angrily.
“You still ask? Why did you bump into me for no reason? My old bones are aching all over now—you must compensate me!”
Su Qiu looked at her in confusion. “Huh? I didn’t bump you.”
The woman glared fiercely. “You still dare deny it? Everyone saw it! If you don’t pay, I’ll report this to the Production Brigade and have you Educated Youths criticized!”
Seeing her hostility toward Educated Youths and her unreasonable behavior, Su Qiu would not indulge her at all.
“Oh my, you’re shouting so loudly my brain hurts. If I really got poisoned in my head, it must be because of your yelling. Everyone here can be my witness—if I have any aftereffects, I’ll come find this aunt!”
Several women pulled the quarrelsome woman aside and lowered their voices. “Ma family’s one, she was bitten by a snake. Why argue with her? If she really dies, you’ll be blamed for it.”
Liu Lijuan’s face turned dark with anger. She glared fiercely at Su Qiu and cursed with hands on her hips:
“You little brat, trying to frame me? Don’t you know who I am? I’ve got four sons backing me—I’ll skin you alive!”
Wei Ye frowned and coldly shouted: “Try laying a hand on her! This is a lawful society. If anything happens to Educated Youth Su, I’ll be the first to send you all to jail!”
Su Qiu was not afraid at all. In fact, she found it somewhat amusing.
“How impressive. You even want to skin me alive? You might as well wait for a bullet.”
Liu Lijuan was so angry her temples throbbed. She stomped her feet repeatedly. “You—!”
She had always been the one bullying Educated Youths, who usually cried and did not dare to argue back. She had never met such a stubborn one before.
The villagers watching the scene all looked at Su Qiu with surprise.
This girl was small and thin, looking like a fourteen or fifteen-year-old child, yet her tongue was sharp enough to even curse Liu Lijuan back.
Liu Lijuan had always been a notorious troublemaker in the village. Her married family, the Ma family, was also unruly, and with four sons backing her, she usually walked around the village arrogantly.
People usually avoided them whenever possible.
While watching the scene unfold, some people also worried about the young Educated Youth.
Wei Ye was fine—he had returned from the army, strong and capable, and the Ma family would not dare provoke him.
But this young Educated Youth had no support. Offending such a family of troublemakers meant she would likely have no peaceful days ahead.
Su Qiu glanced at the furious woman, raised her middle finger, and stopped arguing. She pulled Wei Ye away and left.
Liu Lijuan, after being calmed down by others, finally realized the little girl had already disappeared. She felt even more displeased and immediately held a grudge.
Just a city girl with no backing in the village—she would regret offending her!
……
Meanwhile,
Wei Ye sent Su Qiu back to the Educated Youth Station. Thinking about how fiery-tempered she had been earlier, he could not help but remind her:
“Don’t bother with those people in the future. They’re like flies. If they ever try to fight you, your small frame will suffer.”
Su Qiu instinctively replied: “Aren’t you there?”
Wei Ye opened his mouth, seeing that she showed no fear at all, like a newborn calf unafraid of a tiger.
He continued: “There will always be times I’m not around. You must protect yourself first. Stay away from those Ma family troublemakers. If something feels wrong, don’t confront them—run first.”
He would naturally not allow her to be bullied when he was present. But there would always be times when she was alone, so he had to remind her more carefully.
Su Qiu listened seriously and thought those people must indeed be difficult to deal with.
Since they had already provoked her, then she would just respond accordingly.
“Alright then. Next time I meet them, I’ll just run faster.”