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Chapter 24
Aunt Xu San saw his attitude and felt relieved.
However, she still needed to arrange a blind date for him as soon as possible.
She had previously set her sights on Lu Lanlan, but unexpectedly, the next day, Lu Lanlan became Fu Chunian’s girlfriend.
Aunt Xu San wanted to find someone educated for her son, especially since Xu Xiangdong himself had finished high school.
She didn’t want her son to settle for less, and Xu Xiangdong himself wasn’t willing to either—otherwise, he would have been married long ago.
Among the village girls, only Xu Xiaoxia had completed high school.
There were also some educated young women from other villages, but Xu Xiangdong hadn’t taken a liking to any of them. That’s why she turned her attention to the educated youth in town and had initially considered Lu Lanlan.
Now that Lu Lanlan was taken, the only one left among the educated youth was Gu Yu.
The other female educated youths had been around for years, and Aunt Xu San had heard various things about them, so she never considered them.
Compared to Lu Lanlan, Gu Yu was slightly less attractive, but in other aspects, she wasn’t lacking.
—-
While lining up to receive tools, Aunt Xu San saw Gu Yu and Lu Lanlan approaching and walked over with a smile.
Lu Lanlan thought Aunt Xu San was coming to see her since they were quite familiar with each other. But unexpectedly, after just greeting her, Aunt Xu San started chatting with Gu Yu.
Lu Lanlan was puzzled—since when did these two become so close?
Beside her, Fu Chunian tugged at her sleeve and led her a little farther away.
“When you see Aunt Xu around, you should step aside and let them talk,” Fu Chunian said.
Lu Lanlan looked at him in confusion. “Why?”
Fu Chuyan lowered his voice. “Gu Yu likes Xu Xiangdong. You should give her a chance.”
Lu Lanlan’s eyes widened slightly upon hearing this. She then secretly glanced over at Gu Yu and noticed she was indeed happily chatting with Aunt Xu San.
“How do you know?” Lu Lanlan asked, puzzled. She and Gu Yu shared a room, but she had never noticed this before.
“The first time we went to town, Gu Yu got lost. It was Xu Xiangdong who found her. Ever since then, she’s looked at him differently,” Fu Chunian explained. “But since she hasn’t admitted it herself, just pretend you don’t know.”
“Got it,” Lu Lanlan nodded.
Gu Yu chatted with Aunt Xu San for a while, then realized Lu Lanlan was still standing there. She felt she had ignored her and was about to say something when she turned around and saw Lu Lanlan and Fu Chunian talking and laughing together.
Aunt Xu San noticed her gaze and also looked over.
“Look at them—Lanlan and Chunian have such a great relationship. At your age, you should also be enjoying a sweet romance.”
Gu Yu chuckled. “Auntie, your thoughts are surprisingly modern for someone your age.”
“Of course! I’m very open-minded. If Xiangdong gets married in the future, I’ll treat his wife like my own daughter and never interfere in their lives,” Aunt Xu San said.
Gu Yu felt even closer to her upon hearing that. “Whoever becomes your daughter-in-law will be very lucky.”
Aunt Xu San sighed. “Sigh, but my son is so uncooperative. He refuses to date or even go on blind dates. I don’t know when I’ll finally have a daughter-in-law.”
“If Brother Xu doesn’t want to date or go on blind dates, does that mean he already has someone in his heart?” Gu Yu asked tentatively.
“Who would he have in his heart? He rarely interacts with girls and barely speaks to them. Even if he does, it’s only about farm work. Honestly, the only girl I’ve seen him talk to a few times is you,” Aunt Xu San said, looking troubled.
Gu Yu felt a surge of joy upon hearing that.
Aunt Xu San felt that if she continued this topic, it would seem too deliberate, so she changed the subject. “Let’s go get our tools.”
“Okay.”
—-
Gu Yu and Lu Lanlan were assigned to work together, while Fu Chunian, Xu Xiangdong, and Aunt Xu San were grouped separately.
Aunt Xu San turned to Fu Chuyan and said, “Chunian, the weather is getting hotter. I wonder if Lanlan can handle it.”
Fu Chunian knew exactly what she meant and smiled. “I’m worried too, Auntie. I think I should go talk to Gu Yu and swap places with her. That way, I can stay closer to Lanlan and take care of her.”
“Good idea! You should go ask. Lanlan is still recovering from an injury, so she shouldn’t overexert herself,” Aunt Xu San agreed.
Fu Chunian nodded and went to talk to Gu Yu.
As soon as he brought it up, Gu Yu was more than happy to switch and quickly ran off.
Watching her swift departure, Lu Lanlan couldn’t help but laugh. “She’s not even trying to hide it.”
“You work with Brother Xu often—do you think he likes Gu Yu?” Lu Lanlan asked Fu Chunian.
Fu Chunian shook his head. “Not sure. But whether he likes her or not, or whether they’re a good match, they’ll figure it out by spending more time together.”
“True.”
With that, they got back to work.
Around ten o’clock, as the heat intensified, Fu Chunian saw Lu Lanlan sweating and said, “You should take a break.”
Lu Lanlan wiped her sweat. “No need. It’s only May—if I can’t handle this now, how will I manage in July and August?”
She then bent her head down and continued working, missing the look of concern in Fu Chunian’s eyes.
By eleven, Fu Chunian couldn’t bear it anymore. “Lanlan, it’s getting late. Why don’t you go back and cook lunch today?”
Lu Lanlan glanced at the sun, then nodded. “Alright.”
At quitting time, the kitchen was always crowded, so they usually left work ten to twenty minutes early to cook before the rush.
Usually, it was Fu Chunian who left early, but today, Lu Lanlan took the turn.
Once she left, Fu Chunian didn’t continue working. Instead, he went to find Xu Xiangdong.
“Brother Xiangdong, is there any lighter work available in the village right now?”
Hearing the question, Xu Xiangdong immediately understood what he meant and said, “Actually, there is.”
Xu Xiangdong glanced at Aunt Xu San, then whispered, “Xiaoxia is leaving for a county job, so the scorekeeper position will be vacant. Right now, no one knows about it yet, but the village head is planning to assign it to someone from his own family.”
“You can give it a try. The village head likes drinking.”
“Got it.”
—-
Fu Chunian told Lu Lanlan that he had to go to town in the afternoon and asked if she needed anything.
Lu Lanlan shook her head and asked, “Why are you going to town?”
“To buy something,” Fu Chunian replied vaguely. He didn’t want to say more until it was confirmed—no need to get her hopes up.
—-
The village head sighed as he looked at his son, Xu Jianguo.
The county was hiring workers, and their village had two spots. He had pushed for his son and Xu Xiaoxia to go.
Xu Xiaoxia got accepted, but his son was sent back.
“If I’d known you were this useless, I would’ve used that spot to curry favor with someone instead of wasting it on you!” the village head scolded.
“I told you I didn’t want to go, but you insisted! You want me to study for university and also take job interviews—what exactly do you want me to do?!” Xu Jianguo retorted, clearly frustrated.