Lin Miaoyin sat on a small stool under the roof, staring gloomily at the dark, cloudy sky.
The author of this novel really went all out.
It was one thing to make the characters villains, but why did they also have to make two lazy people end up together? Wasn’t that just asking them to starve to death?
She had just searched through everything in the house. There was only some sorghum flour and half a basket of sweet potatoes. They did have vegetables, but those had been provided by her parents’ family. She herself had not planted anything.
Then she remembered the bedsheets and quilt covers, which clearly had not been washed for months since they got married, as well as the greasy, dirty kitchen.
Her head started to hurt just thinking about it.
For lunch, she steamed two sweet potatoes and cooked some sorghum rice. Their food supply was immediately reduced by a lot. Oil and salt were scarce commodities, so she used only a tiny amount and stir-fried a bowl of water spinach.
She waited for a while, but Meng Yuanzheng still had not returned, so she started eating by herself.
She was almost finished when Meng Yuanzheng finally came back, walking in with long strides.
Lin Miaoyin ignored him and continued eating. But since he had repaired the roof, she had still left quite a lot of food for him.
Meng Yuanzheng washed his hands and very naturally served himself some rice before sitting down to eat.
Lin Miaoyin asked, “Why did it take you so long to return the things?”
Hearing her question, Meng Yuanzheng stopped his chopsticks and explained, “A group of educated youths arrived earlier. The Party Secretary asked us older educated youths to welcome them and help carry their belongings.”
After saying this, he noticed Lin Miaoyin staring at him.
He asked in confusion, “What’s wrong?”
Lin Miaoyin’s heart skipped a beat.
It seemed that the new group of educated youths included the female lead from the original story!
After meeting the female lead, Meng Yuanzheng had completely changed. He became completely devoted to her. The more she rejected him, the more he wanted her.
No matter how coldly the female lead treated him, he would still shamelessly chase after her.
“Were there many women among the newcomers?” she asked, poking the bottom of her rough ceramic bowl with her chopsticks. She was suddenly in a bad mood.
The appearance of the female lead meant that a whole lot of trouble was about to begin.
Meng Yuanzheng did not suspect anything and answered naturally, “Quite a few. Four or five, I think.”
“Then where will they stay? The educated youth dormitory is already full, right?” she asked tentatively.
In the original story, the new educated youths were arranged to stay with local villagers.
And the female lead happened to move into the male lead’s house.
Then Lin Miaoyin remembered another female educated youth who had come to the countryside with them.
The author had arranged for this woman to fall in love with Meng Yuanzheng.
After discovering that Meng Yuanzheng liked the female lead, this female educated youth became jealous and turned against her. She joined forces with the original Lin Miaoyin and bullied the female lead.
If I can get this female educated youth and Meng Yuanzheng together, wouldn’t that solve everything?
They could become a family, and then they wouldn’t have to bother anyone else.
Lin Miaoyin thought this was an excellent idea.
Maybe she should try to bring them together.
If it worked, perhaps she could get divorced smoothly.
Besides, that female educated youth came from a fairly well-off family. Meng Yuanzheng probably would not look down on her.
Meng Yuanzheng held his bowl very elegantly. Even though it was just a rough ceramic bowl, it somehow looked pleasing in his hands.
Hearing Lin Miaoyin’s question, he frowned.
Instead of worrying about where the female lead would stay, he said, “Isn’t that something the Party Secretary and the others should worry about?”
Lin Miaoyin: “…”
“What if each family with an empty room takes in one of them temporarily? My father said that after the grain harvest, they’re going to build a new educated youth dormitory.”
“The Party Secretary and the others will arrange it,” Meng Yuanzheng said.
Lin Miaoyin: “…”
She gave up.
There was no point trying to communicate with him.
It seemed she would have to handle this herself.
The first step was to get on good terms with that female educated youth, then persuade her to stay at their house. After all, their house still had one empty room.
Most importantly, she could not let Meng Yuanzheng meet the female lead again. Otherwise, he might fall for her all over again.
“Did you help them carry their things today?” she asked.
“Yes.”
“Were there any female educated youths?”
“Yes.”
Meng Yuanzheng answered with another quiet “yes.”
He remembered how all the female educated youths had wanted him to help carry their belongings. Meanwhile, the male educated youths standing nearby had been tanned almost black from working under the sun, and they had already become rough and weathered from living in the countryside for years. The women had clearly ignored them.
Of course, Meng Yuanzheng could not very well refuse them. Since he could help, he simply did.
“Well, well. Good job, young man. You have a bright future ahead of you.”
Feeling pleased, Lin Miaoyin carried her empty bowl back to the kitchen.
Meng Yuanzheng watched her retreating figure in confusion and lightly shook his head before continuing his meal.
After eating, he automatically washed the bowls. Then he told Lin Miaoyin he was going out and left again.
Lin Miaoyin was more than happy to see him leave.
It would be even better if he went to meet those female educated youths.
She was not worried about him meeting the female lead.
According to the original story, on the female lead’s first afternoon after arriving, she would go to the commune to buy some things.
There, she would meet the male lead.
It would be their first meeting, and they would leave with a beautiful memory of the hero saving the beauty.
As for Lin Miaoyin, she simply lay down and took an afternoon nap.
It was raining anyway, so there was nothing else to do.
Besides, since she and Meng Yuanzheng had only recently gotten married, they had not been given their own vegetable plot yet. Even if she wanted to grow something herself, she could not.
How could she get some meat to eat?
It was really difficult.
Should she go into the mountains to hunt?
She certainly did not have the skills. She might end up becoming the prey instead. There were still quite a few wild animals and dangerous beasts in the mountains at this time.
If only the economic reforms had already begun.
She had so many ideas for making money, but there was nowhere to put them into practice.
As she thought about it, something suddenly occurred to her.
There were less than two years left before the college entrance examination would be restored!
Her mind immediately became active.
If she could get into college, she could completely turn her life around.
College students in this era were basically guaranteed a good future. It was like stepping straight into a secure, respected career.
Thinking about this, she eventually fell asleep.
When she woke up, it was already getting dark.
The rain had started again, falling with a soft, steady patter.
She lit the kerosene lamp but had no desire to cook. Instead, she sat inside the bedcovers and stared blankly into space.
Meng Yuanzheng still had not returned.
She kept telling herself that she did not care about him, but deep down, she was beginning to worry.
Besides, being alone at home made her a little scared.
Maybe I should go to my parents’ house for a while.
She got out of bed, put on some thicker clothes, then wore a bamboo rain hat and a straw rain cape. After putting on her rubber shoes, she headed toward the Lin family’s house.
Unexpectedly, when she had only gone halfway, she saw a large group of people ahead.
They were making quite a commotion and arguing loudly.
It was already dark, with only a faint bit of light remaining. The rain was getting heavier, yet none of the people ahead were wearing rain capes or bamboo hats.
They continued arguing as they headed toward the Lin family’s house.
Could something have happened?
Lin Miaoyin quickly quickened her pace and followed them.
As she got closer, she heard a woman crying and a man shouting angrily.
The road had already become a muddy mess from everyone’s footsteps.
The Lin family’s house was brightly lit. Hearing the commotion, Lin Miaoyin’s father and the others also came outside to see what was happening.
The group stopped in the Lin family’s courtyard and immediately began shouting at each other.
Lin Miaoyin followed them inside.
She heard a woman crying hysterically and screaming,
“My poor father! My father! You died such a terrible death!”
Through a gap in the crowd, Lin Miaoyin saw a simple wooden stretcher on the ground.
An old man was lying on it.
Was that a… corpse?
Lin Miaoyin was horrified and instinctively took a step backward.
What was going on?
Why would they bring a dead person to the Lin family’s house?
How unlucky!
And they were even letting the corpse get soaked by the rain.
Wait…
She seemed to have spotted a familiar figure.
Two men were holding his arms and restraining him. His head was lowered, and he looked rather miserable.
But why did his figure look so much like Meng Yuanzheng?