Meng Yuanzheng did not get to eat any corn. He stood under the eaves looking rather pitiful, like a big, clueless man.
He was still wearing those leather shoes.
When Lin Miaoyin first opened her eyes, she had seen him standing there with one bare foot. She had no idea whether he had later gone back into the water to retrieve his leather shoe.
Lin Miaoyin’s mother and Cui Fen were busy cooking in the kitchen, so they didn’t notice that Meng Yuanzheng hadn’t gotten any corn.
After a while, the sun began to set.
Lin Miaoyin picked up a bamboo clapper made from split bamboo and shook it. The loud clattering sound immediately made the three hens return to their coop.
Her father and her older brother, Lin Miaojun, also came home.
They drew water from the well and washed their hands, then went to the private vegetable plot and picked a few crisp cucumbers to eat.
Meng Yuanzheng quietly glanced at the two men several times before walking over to greet them.
“Dad. Big Brother.”
Her father gave a faint hum and sat on the stone mill, smoking his pipe.
Lin Miaojun completely ignored him.
Meng Yuanzheng did not seem embarrassed. He simply pressed his lips together and quietly returned to standing under the eaves, staring into space.
The more obedient and harmless he acted, the more Lin Miaoyin suspected that he was up to something.
Her father and Lin Miaojun had also heard from her mother that Lin Miaoyin wanted a divorce.
Although neither of them particularly liked Meng Yuanzheng, they did not agree with the divorce either.
Her father thought that since his daughter would continue living nearby, the family could keep an eye on her and make sure Meng Yuanzheng never bullied her again.
After what happened, Meng Yuanzheng would no longer be able to work as a teacher. He would have to go work in the fields.
If he didn’t work properly, it would be very easy for her father, as the brigade captain, to make things difficult for him.
Then they would see whether he would behave himself.
During dinner, Lin Miaoyin asked, “Dad, Brother, what did the Party Secretary decide to do about this?”
“What?”
“The matter involving Meng Yuanzheng and Zhang Hui having an improper relationship, and Zhang Hui pushing me into the pond. Sister-in-law said you decided not to punish Meng Yuanzheng?”
Her mother stopped eating and glared at her.
“You’re a young woman. Why do you keep talking about these things?”
Lin Miaoyin remained expressionless.
“I’m only responding to the country’s call. We can’t allow these rotten and corrupt ideas to spread. We must fight against them.”
The “rotten and corrupt” Meng Yuanzheng lowered his head and quietly ate the sweet-potato porridge in his bowl, as though they weren’t talking about him at all.
Her father cleared his throat.
“The Party Secretary and I have our own arrangements for this matter.”
This had happened in the brigade under his management, and both people involved were educated youths. If word got out, it would also damage his reputation.
Since Meng Yuanzheng and Zhang Hui hadn’t actually done anything, it was better to keep the matter as small as possible and simply make Meng Yuanzheng reflect on his behavior.
After all, he was his son-in-law, and he had saved Miaoyin’s life. That could be considered making up for his mistake.
As for Zhang Hui, she could not escape punishment for deliberately hurting someone. She would receive the appropriate disciplinary action.
Her father briefly explained his thoughts.
Lin Miaoyin felt that it was a pity they couldn’t drag Meng Yuanzheng through the streets and publicly shame him, but she also understood that her father would never want a son-in-law who had been publicly branded and disgraced.
After dinner, Lin Miaoyin and Meng Yuanzheng were “chased” out by her mother.
Her mother believed in the old saying that even if a married couple fought at the head of the bed, they would make up by the foot of the bed.
If the young couple slept under the same blanket tonight, perhaps everything would be fine by tomorrow morning.
Lin Miaoyin had originally wanted to pretend that she had a headache and felt unwell so she could stay at her parents’ home.
But her mother refused.
“If your head hurts, let Yuanzheng carry you home.”
When Meng Yuanzheng actually came over and prepared to carry her, she quickly said that she could walk by herself.
Niutouwan Brigade was poor.
Only a small part of the land was paddy fields. Most of the area consisted of hills with steep slopes, which were unsuitable for growing rice. So the villagers mainly planted corn, peanuts, and soybeans.
Because of soil erosion, the land was not very fertile, so crop yields were low.
The rice grown at that time was also nothing like the high-yield hybrid rice of later generations, and fertilizers were much less effective than those used in the future. As a result, rice production was also low.
Only the Party Secretary’s office in the brigade had electricity. Even the brigade captain’s family still used kerosene lamps.
When Lin Miaoyin and Meng Yuanzheng got married, her father had applied to the brigade to renovate an old, run-down house and turn it into their new home.
They had only managed to get permission because of his connections.
For other families, especially those with many sons, it was common for newly married couples to continue sharing the same kang bed with the rest of the family.
When Meng Yuanzheng first arrived in the countryside, he lived in the educated youth dormitory.
It was basically a large shared sleeping area where more than a dozen people slept together.
The educated youths came from very different family backgrounds.
Some were used to it. Others were not.
Meng Yuanzheng definitely wasn’t.
What kind of place had he lived in before?
A Western-style house.
A private bedroom.
And now?
Every night, he was surrounded by the sound of snoring. When he pulled back his blanket, all he could smell was the stench of people’s feet. Sometimes, just as he was falling asleep, someone’s arm would come crashing onto his face.
Before he could even sleep properly, he would be woken by the sound of people shouting that it was time to go to work.
Meals consisted of dry steamed buns with pickles, or watery porridge with sweet potatoes.
He desperately wanted meat and refined grains.
Other educated youths who went to the countryside could occasionally receive grain coupons and meat coupons from their families.
But his own family was already struggling because of his father’s problems. They had no way to spare anything for him.
He was practically going crazy.
In just two weeks, he had lost ten pounds. He felt weak even when walking and dreamed about eating meat every night.
When he went to work in the fields, he couldn’t lift heavy things or carry anything properly. Whenever he stopped to rest, the overseers would scold him.
The other educated youths also laughed at him.
Later, he was even assigned to carry manure.
The rubber shoes made his ankles hurt, but he struggled through an entire load anyway.
Then he fell.
He ended up covered in manure and was scolded again.
After that, he felt that he couldn’t go on any longer.
He had to find a way to change his situation.
That was when he set his sights on the original Lin Miaoyin.
This was mentioned in the original novel, so Lin Miaoyin knew what had happened.
By now, it was already getting dark.
To save kerosene, the villagers finished their work early and went to bed.
The two of them walked home in the darkness.
Lin Miaoyin walked in front, while Meng Yuanzheng followed behind.
Neither of them spoke.
She kept her hands in her pockets.
Knowing that Meng Yuanzheng was walking right behind her made her uncomfortable.
They silently walked all the way home.
They entered the small courtyard where the two of them lived and pushed open the wooden door.
Under the faint moonlight, Lin Miaoyin reached into her pocket and took out the key.
It took her several tries to unlock the rusty lock.
As soon as she entered the house, she was hit by a damp, chilly smell.
The room was pitch-black.
Following the memories in her head, she lit the kerosene lamp on the table.
Then she turned around and realized that Meng Yuanzheng wasn’t behind her.
Honestly, having someone walking behind you suddenly disappear at night was rather frightening.
She went back outside.
Hearing noises coming from the kitchen, she walked over and took a look.
Meng Yuanzheng was crouching there, fiddling with something.
“What are you doing?”
“Boiling water. I want to take a bath.”
He poured a ladle of cold water into the pot and rinsed it out.
Then he scooped the water out, took out a box of matches, and very seriously lit a handful of dry leaves.
He quickly stuffed them into the stove, adjusted them with the fire tongs, and waited for the flames to catch.
Once the fire was burning, he added some thicker pieces of firewood.
Then he filled the pot with a large amount of water.
Lin Miaoyin stared at him in surprise.
Hadn’t this man never even stepped into the kitchen before?
When he ate, he practically expected people to feed him.
Now, just to gain sympathy, he was really going all out.
She glanced at Meng Yuanzheng, who was coughing and wiping his face because of the smoke.
Still, one thing about him hadn’t changed.
He was obsessed with cleanliness.
The moment he returned home, the first thing he thought about was taking a bath.
Lin Miaoyin had already taken a quick bath at her parents’ home that afternoon, so she only needed to wash up tonight.
Forget it.
She wouldn’t fight him for the hot water.
She could bathe after he was done.
Lin Miaoyin returned to the room and began thinking about where she was going to sleep.
There was one bed, two chairs, four long wooden benches, several small stools, one wardrobe, two suitcases, and one large table.
That was everything they owned.
Considering Meng Yuanzheng’s personality, she knew she wouldn’t win if she fought him for the bed.
She might as well sleep on the floor.
She searched through the wardrobe.
Fortunately, there were two quilts they had bought when they got married.
Once the water was hot, Meng Yuanzheng poured it into a large bucket.
He came into the room and asked,
“Where are you going to bathe? I’ll carry the water there for you.”
Lin Miaoyin froze.
She looked at him, then pointed at the bucket.
“You boiled this water for me?”