Chapter 3 : The Scum

After hearing this, Wang Xiaomei’s face showed a hint of embarrassment. She had been tidying up in the room and, hearing the commotion, guessed that her sister-in-law, who had been unconscious for two days, must have woken up. She hurried over to listen to the conversation.

On the surface, she was openly criticizing Junqiang, but what mother would truly blame her own son? It was more like she was indirectly criticizing her daughter-in-law.

But this was really unfair. With so many people coming and going during the banquet two days ago, and the couple being newlyweds having to entertain guests, how could they pay attention to Liang Qingqing?

Besides, she wasn’t a child who needed constant supervision.

Before she married into the Liang family, Liang Qingqing was treated like a precious jewel by her family, known for her domineering and difficult personality. Everyone advised her to reconsider, saying that once married, she would surely face a lot of trouble from this sister-in-law.

But she hadn’t paid much attention to this at the time, thinking that no matter how formidable Liang Qingqing was, she couldn’t possibly make her life difficult as a sister-in-law. Moreover, she was getting older and would soon be married off, so how much trouble could she really cause?

To her surprise, seeing was indeed believing. She had not even met her sister-in-law properly yet, and she had already received a harsh impression from her, leaving a bad impression with her mother-in-law. Who knew what other tricks Liang Qingqing might pull in the future?

Wang Xiaomei bit her lip, hesitating for a while. She didn’t know whether to move forward or pretend she hadn’t heard and retreat. After two seconds of hesitation, she decided to turn and go back to the room.

Entering now would only make things awkward and might even upset her mother-in-law further. It was better to go back and tidy up. Starting the day after tomorrow, she would be working in the village and wouldn’t have so much time to organize.

In the time it took for her to turn around, Wang Xiaomei missed Liang Qingqing’s next words.

“This has nothing to do with my second brother. I just wanted to try something new and didn’t realize how strong the alcohol was. I drank a few more cups, felt dizzy, and wanted to take a walk, but who would have thought that I would slip and fall into the field.”

Liang Qingqing was thoroughly embarrassed after hearing Ma Xiuzhi’s words. The title of “the most spoiled daughter” in the book was truly well-deserved. Look at her—she could even shift the blame onto others.

However,Fan Yanxing? Could it be referring to the man from last night? The thought of him brought a complex look to Liang Qingqing’s eyes, mostly angered.

Although he did save her and didn’t leave her, a girl alone in the wilderness at night, she hadn’t forgotten the series of events that had happened between them!

Hearing this, not only did Ma Xiuzhi’s eyes widen, but even Wang Xiaomei looked at Liang Qingqing in surprise, wondering what she was talking about.

Seeing the change in their expressions, Liang Qingqing realized she had subconsciously said something wrong. She quickly tried to shift the topic: “Excuse me, I need to use the bathroom.”

It was better not to say anything, but now that she had, Liang Qingqing felt like her bladder was about to explode. She couldn’t be bothered to see the others’ expressions and hastily tried to get out of bed. However, as soon as her feet touched the floor, her calves weakened and she almost fell. Fortunately, Wang Xiaomei was quick to catch her.

“Why speak so formally? Just say you need to pee. Why make it sound like you’re going to the bathroom?” Ma Xiuzhi muttered under her breath. Seeing her daughter hadn’t eaten properly for two days and was too weak to walk, she quickly instructed Wang Xiaomei to help Liang Qingqing to the outhouse.

Ma Xiuzhi then hurried to the kitchen to prepare some noodles for Liang Qingqing. She had specially sent her eldest to the brigade leader’s house to exchange for some white flour the day before, waiting to make it for her when she woke up. She planned to use some of the meat and eggs hidden from the banquet a few days ago, adding a few drops of chili oil—delicious.

The reason she had to hide the meat was that such good food was rare throughout the year. The dishes from the banquet were almost all eaten up, and any meat or fish was quickly devoured. Luckily, she had managed to hide a small bowl of meat, otherwise, she wouldn’t have had anything good to give Liang Qingqing to help her regain her strength.

But just as she started to prepare the meal, a heart-wrenching scream came from outside the courtyard.

This was Liang Qingqing’s first encounter with the “power” of a rural outhouse. It was a separate wooden structure, not even really a house, just a square box made of a few broken wooden planks. It swayed precariously in the wind, and she was afraid that if she opened the door, it would collapse.

Seeing Liang Qingqing stunned in place with a shocked expression, Wang Xiaomei thought she was too weak to manage and kindly helped her push open the door.

At that moment, Liang Qingqing could not bring herself to step into the space between the two wooden planks, infested with maggots.

In the end, she had to cry and use the night pot her nephew had used as a child.

After the pot was filled with liquid, the smell filled the whole room. Not wanting her only private space to be contaminated and feeling too embarrassed to ask for help with her waste, Liang Qingqing struggled for a long time. Finally, she had no choice but to hold her breath and run to the outhouse to empty it.

She cried again after returning.

For the next half month, Liang Qingqing lay on the bed, staring at the gray ceiling, pondering about how humans are the most adaptable creatures.

Fortunately, this aspect was not much different from the original character, which confirmed her lazy and indulgent nature. No one noticed anything unusual; in fact, they thought this was the proper way to be.

After pondering for so long, she finally reached the most important conclusion escape from poverty in the countryside and rush into the city for a better life.

At the very least, she needed a clean and tidy bathroom!

But what time was it? The summer of 1975, when even traveling far required getting a pass from the local authorities. For ordinary people to transform from sparrows to phoenixes, there were only two ways: either secure a formal job or marry someone from the city.

To get a job, one could either go through official recruitment or rely on connections or money.

For official recruitment, it starts with internal positions, then external ones, starting with cities and then rural areas. It could take ages before one even has a chance to encounter an opportunity. Otherwise, there wouldn’t be so many unemployed youth choosing to work in the countryside every year. It’s better to get by in the countryside than to starve in the city.

As for the second route, the Liang family was poor and had been honorable poor farmers for generations, without connections or money.

Moreover, formal jobs at that time were ironclad, passed down to future generations. Jobs were only transferred under extreme circumstances; normally, no one would willingly give up such opportunities.

In short, Liang Qingqing had only one option left: marriage.

It seemed the original character hadn’t chosen the wrong path, just the wrong person. Competing with the female lead for a man was only asking for trouble. She wasn’t going to wade into that muddy water again. Besides, the male lead’s refined appearance wasn’t her type at all.

What she liked was a tough man who could lift her with one hand! Preferably someone who was a gentleman but also had a wild side, both in bed and out.

Ahem, let’s set that aside for now. Before ensuring basic survival conditions, romantic matters should be put on hold.

However, marrying wasn’t easy, especially for a rural girl aiming to marry a city man. This was like a toad wanting to eat swan meat. Yes, Liang Qingqing was that toad.

Men, to some extent, are far more practical than women. Matching social status is a basic requirement.

The likelihood of a city man marrying a rural woman was almost zero. If someone was eager to marry, it meant there was likely something wrong with him, either mentally or physically.

Of course, true love was a possibility, but Liang Qingqing didn’t believe in it.

It was truly a reversal of fortune. In the real world, even top-notch bachelors with impeccable appearances had to queue up for her favor, and it wasn’t guaranteed she’d choose them. Now, she never expected that one day she would be among those queuing to be selected.

The other person was a city man whose name and appearance she didn’t even know.

This world was too surreal!

Moreover, she had to spend most of her time in this village. Finding a suitable marriage partner that met her standards was already impossible, let alone seeing any city men. How could she even think about marriage?

Yes, she was a stickler for looks. If the person was unattractive, no matter how good their material conditions were, she wouldn’t be able to bring herself to marry them!

Looking at it comprehensively, finding a job might be a more reliable option. Or she could endure for a couple of years at home, wait for the college entrance exams to resume in the country, and use her academic knowledge to escape from this hardship.

But asking her to waste two years of youth in the countryside? With poor food and inadequate clothing? She’d rather be killed.

So troubling, so troubling!

Find a job, get married, find a job, get married, find a job, get married…

These two paths kept spinning in Liang Qingqing’s mind. At this moment, a gust of hot wind blew, and she impatiently furrowed her brows, turning over with force, reaching out to push away the strands of hair sticking to her forehead, and forcing herself to ignore everything around her.

However, the little boy standing next to her didn’t understand why she was so irritable. Seeing her suddenly changed expression, he was startled and worked harder to fan her, not daring to slack off for even a moment. The constant cool breeze he generated made his face soon covered in fine beads of sweat.

When Liang Qingqing had been still for a while, he finally dared to stop and take a break.

The little boy looked around five or six years old, the age when children are the most mischievous and restless. He often ran around the village, his skin tanned darkly from the sun. But fortunately, his features were cute and he didn’t seem too rustic. His large, round eyes darted around, occasionally glancing outside the courtyard, seemingly thinking of some mischief.

At that moment, a small figure suddenly appeared at the gate of the courtyard. After peeking out for a while, the two finally made eye contact.

“Songzi, come out quickly.” The boy’s voice was very low, as if he was being cautious about something.

Songzi shook his head vigorously, silently mouthing, “My aunt is sleeping.”

“If you don’t come today, I won’t call you next time.” The boy, known as Huto, made a face at Songzi but didn’t move a step.

“Hmph, not calling me? Who among you can climb a tree? It’s not like…” It relies on me.

Before he could finish the last three words, a clear, slightly husky voice interrupted him softly.