The miscellaneous items added up to over a hundred yuan, and Song Yunqiao had written every single entry clearly.
Ma Xiaoping snatched the bill from He Suxia’s hands.
After reading it, her face completely darkened. She never expected Song Yunqiao to remember everything so precisely.
The only reason Song Yunqiao could list everything so clearly was because the original owner had a habit of keeping a diary. That’s how she was able to reconstruct all the expenses.
“You say it’s that much, so it’s that much? I could also say you’re faking it!” Ma Xiaoping snapped, refusing to admit it. She simply couldn’t take out that much money at once, so she decided to be shameless and drag it out as much as possible.
“If that’s the case, should I bring out my diary and read it to everyone page by page?” Song Yunqiao said, already turning as if she were about to go back into the room to get it.
“Wait!” Ma Xiaoping quickly stopped her.
Song Yunqiao raised an eyebrow, watching her. She wanted to see what tricks Ma Xiaoping still had. She had time—plenty of it.
When force didn’t work, Ma Xiaoping switched to acting pitiful.
“Xiao Qiao… we’ve known each other for years. Do you really have to be this heartless?”
“Stop talking nonsense. Pay me back.” Song Yunqiao didn’t fall for it at all.
Ma Xiaoping immediately teared up, looking like she was the one being bullied.
If it had been someone like An Yanyan crying like that, the male educated youths might have stepped in to defend her. But Ma Xiaoping wasn’t pretty enough for that effect. Instead, most people were more inclined toward Song Yunqiao—she was usually pleasant, good-looking, and reasonable. Besides, Ma Xiaoping was the one who owed money.
Seeing that no one was speaking up for her, Ma Xiaoping was thinking of how to weasel out of it when Gu Guanghua stepped in.
“Comrade Song, you should be more forgiving. How much does she owe you?”
At this, Ma Xiaoping looked at Gu Guanghua as if he were her savior. She already had feelings for him, and this only deepened them.
An Yanyan, watching this, felt a bit uncomfortable.
Song Yunqiao curled her lips slightly. “A total of 148 yuan and 5 jiao. Since Comrade Gu is speaking up for her, let’s make it an even 150 yuan.”
Gu Guanghua: “……”
He hadn’t expected it to be this much. He thought it was just over ten yuan.
Everyone around sucked in a breath. One hundred and fifty yuan was no small amount in this era.
“Didn’t Comrade Ma just say you two have years of friendship?” Song Yunqiao deliberately emphasized the word “friendship,” full of sarcasm.
“Comrade Gu, how much are you planning to help her pay?”
Gu Guanghua’s face stiffened. He didn’t have that much money. His family wasn’t well-off, and although he had earned some money since coming to the countryside, it was nowhere near 150 yuan. He immediately regretted speaking up.
Ma Xiaoping also realized Gu Guanghua couldn’t cover it all.
Song Yunqiao saw their reactions and sneered inwardly. No money but still playing the hero—did he think his face was a bank card?
Clenching his teeth, Gu Guanghua said, “No one can take out that much at once. She can pay in installments.”
“Too much? It’s only 150 yuan.” Someone suddenly spoke up—it was Jiang Xueming, sounding casually wealthy.
Song Yunqiao wasn’t mistaken—he was clearly just enjoying watching Gu Guanghua embarrass himself in front of An Yanyan.
She went along with it. “Exactly. It’s not much. After all, Comrade Ma didn’t think it was too much when she spent it.”
In the end, only Song Yunqiao and Jiang Xueming thought 150 yuan wasn’t a big deal.
Finally, Captain Wan Changsheng stepped in to mediate. Song Yunqiao also took the opportunity to settle.
Ma Xiaoping paid 50 yuan on the spot and still owed 100. Under Song Yunqiao’s demand, she wrote an IOU and agreed to repay it within a year.
With money and the IOU in hand, Song Yunqiao happily returned to her room. Seeing the matter resolved, everyone went back to their own business, leaving only Gu Guanghua and Ma Xiaoping in the courtyard.
Ma Xiaoping looked at him gratefully. “Comrade Gu, don’t worry—I’ll return you the 20 yuan today.”
Gu Guanghua didn’t want to deal with her anymore. Because of her, he had lost 20 yuan for nothing.
In fact, for the 50 yuan just paid, Ma Xiaoping only had 30 yuan of her own. Song Yunqiao refused to accept less, and since Gu Guanghua had spoken up for her, he had no choice but to “save face.” In the end, he reluctantly added 20 yuan himself.
Seeing him spend money for Ma Xiaoping made An Yanyan completely upset.
Meanwhile, Jiang Xueming looked on very pleased.
After things settled at the educated youth compound, more excitement spread through the village.
Rumors about Jiang Jiyuan and Song Yunqiao became more and more exaggerated and ugly—saying he not only kissed her but even touched her. The village head eventually came to speak with Jiang Jiyuan about it.
Wu Dexiang had watched Jiang Jiyuan grow up and knew his character well. He had already warned villagers not to spread rumors, but it didn’t help. In the end, to protect Jiang Jiyuan’s reputation, he went to the educated youth compound to speak with Song Yunqiao.
“Captain, don’t worry. I understand. If it weren’t for Comrade Jiang, I might not even be here talking to you right now,” Song Yunqiao said calmly.
Seeing how reasonable she was, Wu Dexiang nodded in relief. She looked delicate, but her behavior these days had surprised him.
After he left, Song Yunqiao went to town and bought a lot of things. In the afternoon, when work ended and people were returning, she carried a large bundle straight to the Jiang family.
Because she was beautiful, people couldn’t help but look at her wherever she went. Now, carrying so many things openly through the village only made people more curious.
After she passed, villagers began whispering:
“That educated youth Song… she’s been here so long, why hasn’t she tanned at all? She’s even getting prettier.”
“Exactly. Among all the educated youths, only she and Comrade An still look the same as when they arrived. The others have all gotten a lot darker.”