In order to finish the autumn harvest sooner, everyone worked overtime day and night. For several evenings, Hu Jiao Jiao had the uneasy feeling that someone was following her on the way back to the educated youth station after work. Just to be safe, she started walking back with others, and things were quiet for a few days.
At last, after the harvest ended, the production team gave everyone a day off to rest.
Hu Jiao Jiao slept until she woke up naturally—what a luxury. After getting up, she ate some snacks from her apartment stash instead of making breakfast, tidied up her room, then took her dirty clothes, slung a basket on her back, and headed out. She planned to wash clothes by the river and see if she could catch a couple of fish for a better meal.
While squatting by the river scrubbing clothes, that strange feeling returned. She slightly turned her head and saw a shadow moving behind a tree not far away. Keeping calm, she quietly packed up her clothes, hoisted her basket, and headed toward Dongling Hill, deliberately choosing more secluded paths. Sure enough, before long, she heard footsteps behind her.
Hu Jiao Jiao slipped her hand into the basket—actually taking out a wooden club from her hidden apartment space. She turned around and swung it hard in a full arc. A sharp cry rang out. Without stopping, she continued striking the person in front of her. Once she recognized who it was, she hit even harder.
“Stop hitting him! If you keep going, you’ll kill him!” a voice suddenly came from the side.
She turned her head—it was Cheng Chen. “What are you doing here?” she stopped, though still pointing the club at the man writhing on the ground.
“I went to the river for a walk. I saw you heading into the hills, and he was following you, so I came to take a look,” Cheng Chen replied, clearing his throat.
The person being beaten was Wu Jian, a notorious loafer in the village—despised by people and even dogs. His mother was just as shameless and troublesome, and together they were a pair no one wanted to deal with. Their family survived by exploiting the youngest daughter, Wu Erni. She was tough and sharp-tongued like her mother; though she worked in the fields, no one had come to propose marriage to her.
“Talk. Why were you following me?” Hu Jiao Jiao prodded Wu Jian with the club.
“I—I just… took a liking to you,” Wu Jian groaned from the ground.
Hu Jiao Jiao didn’t believe it. They had never interacted before. Wu Jian usually left early in the morning to loaf around and only returned at night. Ever since he’d been dealt with by the team leader in the past, he didn’t dare act recklessly in the village.
“If you don’t tell the truth, I’ll keep beating you until you’re crippled. Believe it or not.” Without caring that Cheng Chen was there, she aimed the club toward his lower body.
“I’ll talk! I’ll talk! Don’t hit me!” Wu Jian panicked, clutching himself. “It was Li—the educated youth Li from your station. He gave me five yuan to scare you. Said if it worked, I’d get a wife for free. If not, no loss…”
Hu Jiao Jiao didn’t think she had anything particularly attractive about her current self, when Wu Jian added, “He said you might not look like much, but you cook well and somehow always get meat to eat, so I just…”
She hadn’t expected that after all this time, Li Gang still hadn’t given up. He had always seemed a bit scheming, but she hadn’t thought he harbored such vicious intentions.
An idea crossed her mind. “I heard your sister is already twenty and still hasn’t found a match?”
Wu Jian didn’t understand why she asked but answered honestly, “Yeah. People in the village dislike her—say she’s just like my mother.” At least he was self-aware.
“Do you want to find your sister a husband? That way your family gets another laborer, and you can eat more too,” Hu Jiao Jiao said with a smile, lightly swinging the club as if to say: refuse, and I’ll keep hitting.
“Of course I do! But no one wants her,” Wu Jian said, sounding almost aggrieved.
Hu Jiao Jiao crouched down and whispered a plan to him. Then she casually took the five yuan from his pocket and put it into her own. “This is compensation for frightening me—I’m confiscating it.” Cheng Chen twitched at the corner of his mouth but said nothing, only adding a few suggestions. The two of them then left.
When Wu Jian returned home bruised and battered, his mother immediately shouted about who had dared to bully him and that she would skin them alive. Wu Jian quickly pulled her back—he didn’t dare provoke that female educated youth again; she might actually kill him. He didn’t name names, just whispered the plan to his mother. The more Old Lady Qian listened, the brighter her eyes became. As soon as he finished, she couldn’t wait to go out and find her old gossip circle.
Soon, a new rumor spread through the village: Wu Jian’s sister had been taken advantage of by Li Gang from the educated youth station.
In truth, Wu Jian had followed Hu Jiao Jiao’s plan. He lured Li Gang out, explained everything to his sister, and she didn’t object. Her reputation was already poor, and she couldn’t find a better match anyway. Marrying an educated youth sounded respectable, and there was even a chance she could go back to the city in the future—so she agreed.
The siblings then beat Li Gang up together at Dongling. After that, Wu Jian had his sister mess up her clothes and arranged for someone to “accidentally” witness the scene.
At first, Li Gang refused and even wanted to report to the team leader. But Wu Jian threatened to expose how Li had hired him—there were witnesses—and said if Li didn’t agree, he’d report it to higher authorities at the commune. In the end, Li Gang had no choice but to swallow his pride, pack his things, and move into the Wu household. A hasty wedding was arranged, and that was that.
On the day he moved out, everyone congratulated him. Hu Jiao Jiao joined in with a smile that held an unreadable meaning. Li Gang understood he had already been exposed and didn’t dare meet her eyes. He could only accept his loss.
After marriage, things were peaceful for two days. Then came small arguments every three days and big fights every five. Li Gang was alone, while they were three against one—he suffered plenty, getting beaten and still having to do work. Even the ten yuan he had left was taken from him. Truly, evil meets its match.
Wu Erni proved quite capable—before long, news came that she was pregnant. No matter how careful Li Gang had tried to be, he failed. Reluctantly, he went to officially register the marriage. Meanwhile, the mastermind behind it all quietly stepped back after accomplishing her goal.
At this point, Hu Jiao Jiao finally let out a long breath of relief. But she still worried—getting rid of one Wu Jian might just bring another Li Jian, Wang Jian… This wasn’t a real solution. She still had three years to stay here—who knew what might happen during that time?
Thinking of this, she sighed.
Beside her, Cheng Chen also sighed.
The two looked at each other and shared a helpless smile.