The stars in Su Lina’s eyes plummeted, the hope that had just ignited instantly extinguished.
Her face immediately twisted into something ugly.
“If it weren’t for you, would I have fallen to this state? I was already in university, I should have had a bright and brilliant future. I should have been working in the city, not here, worn down into a haggard woman, and still have to marry a wretched old man!”
Su Lina covered her face and broke down crying.
The memory of wearing a beautiful dress and little leather shoes to dance in the city now felt like a lifetime ago.
See.
This is the downside of raising an ungrateful wretch.
Shen Fujuan had been willing to spend almost her entire salary on Su Lina.
In the end, she was still blamed for dragging her down.
“You only lived that life before because you were benefiting from us. Your mother worked hard in our home back then, and we took you in out of pity for her.”
Shen Fujuan’s voice faltered slightly, feeling even more heartbroken.
The wave of criticism had almost passed, and Su Jiaxuan’s matter could have been quietly overlooked.
It was Su Lina’s report that truly destroyed their family’s peaceful and happy life.
Huang Wenqiang was getting a headache from Su Lina’s crying. He waved his hand, signaling her uncle to quickly take her away.
“When you really get married, remember to invite everyone in the village to the wedding feast!”
Zhang’s uncle chuckled. “Even if I don’t invite anyone else in the village, I must invite Secretary Huang!”
Though his frame was also thin, he was, after all, a grown man. Dragging Su Lina along was like hauling a torn sack, pulling her forcefully toward home.
Huang Wenqiang still wore a faint smile on his face. He withdrew his gaze and looked back at Shen Fujuan and Su Jiaxuan, the smile gradually fading.
“What are you still standing around for? Hurry back to work! Do I need to invite you two?”
When it was time to finish work in the evening, Huang Wenqiang led a few people, standing proudly on the ridge of the field, watching the people below bustling like ants.
“You’re in luck today!” Huang Wenqiang raised his voice again, shouting to the people below.
After a long day of work, their hearts had long grown numb, only hoping to hurry home and rest. They looked at Huang Wenqiang with expressionless faces.
“Today, comrades from the art troupe have come especially to show a movie for our village! The higher-ups have specifically instructed that you bad elements must watch it carefully and strive for early reform!”
As soon as Huang Wenqiang said this, the people below quickly dropped their farming tools and raised their hands to applaud.
“The movie we’re showing today is a newly filmed one, called Taking Tiger Mountain by Strategy!”
Shen Fujuan remembered that in her previous life, when they had first arrived, they had also watched a movie.
But back then, the whole family’s spirits were low, and Xiaorou was on the verge of a miscarriage.
During the movie, the whole family had been in no mood for it.
For this, they had been harshly singled out and criticized by Huang Wenqiang, who had pointed at their noses and scolded them.
“Do we really have to go? Secretary Huang, I’m not feeling well,” a young girl said, clutching her stomach, her face pale.
Huang Wenqiang immediately flared up, his eyes widening like bronze bells.
“Whenever it comes to critical moments like this, you bad elements suddenly feel unwell here and there! In my opinion, you’re just pretending! You just don’t want to accept positive ideas. At your core, you’re rotten to the bone, opposing the people and the revolution!”
These words made Shen Fujuan’s head spin.
She had heard them for several years in her past life, and Shen Fujuan was almost triggered.
“Line up in a row, and follow me obediently to the small square to watch the movie! If anyone embarrasses our commune, don’t blame me for turning my back on them!”
Ignoring the girl’s plea for help, Huang Wenqiang put on a stern face and led the way to the island’s small square.
Shen Fujuan gave Su Jiaxuan a reassuring look, then walked to the back of the line, watching the young girl clutching her stomach as she struggled to keep up with the group.
“Is it that time of the month?” Shen Fujuan asked with concern.
The girl looked to be in her early twenties, appearing quiet and gentle, making it hard not to feel sorry for her.
She nodded, her thin lips already bitten pale.
She seemed on the verge of fainting at any moment.
“Take deep breaths,” Shen Fujuan whispered to her.
“Are you a doctor?” the girl asked softly.
Shen Fujuan shook her head gently. “I was a teacher before, and I’ve read some medical books on my own.”
The girl had been sent down here alone, with no one to take care of her. Shen Fujuan felt genuinely sorry for her and thought she should help as much as she could.
Shen Fujuan walked side by side with the girl, subtly extending her hand and placing two fingers on the back of her hand at the Hukou point, the endpoint of the second metacarpal bone, to show her.
“This spot is called the Hegu point. Press it gently, and the pain should ease after a while.”
“If the pain gets really bad, just pretend to faint.”
They were among the lowest-ranking people in Heihe Village, and Shen Fujuan had little say in matters. She could only do her best to help.
After a quick jog back to the front of the line, Su Jiaxuan subtly stepped back to make a little room for Shen Fujuan.
“Is everything okay?” Zhao Xiaorou asked.
She had also wanted to help the girl earlier, but seeing Shen Fujuan had already gone, she decided not to follow.
“Dysmenorrhea, nothing serious,” Shen Fujuan explained quietly.
In this era, entertainment was scarce. With a rare opportunity to watch a movie, the villagers of Heihe Village had flocked to the small square.
All the chairs at the front of the square were already taken, leaving those sent down to the countryside to stand on the sidelines.
After all the fuss, the movie screen remained dark.
“Secretary Huang, we just discovered that the generator seems to be broken. We probably won’t be able to watch the movie today…”
The troupe leader said to Huang Wenqiang with a troubled expression.
“Should we watch it tomorrow instead? We’ll go back and check the equipment first.”
Huang Wenqiang frowned. “Do you know how much effort I put into convincing the higher-ups to let Heihe Village watch the premiere? If you delay today, other villages will get to watch it tomorrow. What’s the point of us competing for the premiere then? How am I supposed to report our ideological progress to the leaders?”
As the saying goes, one must strive to be first in everything. Huang Wenqiang had no intention of giving this opportunity away to others.
As they were talking, they completely failed to notice that Su Jiaxuan had already walked over to the generator.
Just as Su Jiaxuan crouched down to inspect it, Huang Wenqiang caught sight of him out of the corner of his eye. Alarmed, he shouted, “What do you think you’re doing?!”
Su Jiaxuan’s gaze didn’t waver in the slightest, remaining fixed intently on the generator.
“This generator can be fixed and used,” he said succinctly.
Huang Wenqiang snorted, “Stop causing trouble for us, alright? Get back in line quickly, I’ll go find a technician to fix it!”
But Su Jiaxuan completely ignored Huang Wenqiang’s words, even reaching out to try and examine the generator.
“Both of you, hurry up and hold him down for me!” Huang Wenqiang kicked one of the nearby men in the rear, fuming with anger.
If they ended up damaging the generator, their commune couldn’t afford to pay for it!