Chapter 26.2

The villagers who had come with him had already changed their attitude towards Ruan Mingfu.

“What a cruel heart, wanting to wipe out the entire Zhou family…”

“Who would have thought?”

“Some say she’s a vixen, but I think she’s more like a black widow…”

“What a good future Zhou Peng had, and now it’s ruined.”

“By the time he gets out, he’ll be in his forties…”

People tend to pity the weak, and this era was no exception.

“She’s not even injured, and Jiandang has agreed to pay compensation. What more does she want?”

“I think this troublemaker shouldn’t stay in the village. Who knows if someday we offend her and she’ll ruin our families…”

Hearing these comments, Ruan Mingfu frowned.

In her ear, Xie Yanzhao’s deep, pleasant voice came, “Don’t overthink it. You’re right, people should be held accountable for their actions.”

Mother Zhou smugly shook her head, “Hear that? Hurry up and let me go.”

“Be quiet!” The team leader was exasperated with Mother Zhou, glaring at the villagers.

Although he didn’t see it, don’t think he didn’t know that those who were talking were from the Zhou family.

The team leader turned back to Ruan Mingfu, “Educated Youth Ruan, what do you think?”

What does she think? What else is there to think?

Those members of the Zhou family have already clenched their weapons tightly. If she is really determined to hand Mother Zhou over to the police, these people will definitely eat her.

Though she was about to follow Xie Yanzhao to the army, the other educated youths still had to live in the village.

Ruan Mingfu sighed.

“Let’s see what Educated Youth Zhu thinks. After all, she’s the one who was injured.”

The team leader’s eyes lit up!

He knew this was a sign of concession, “Educated Youth Zhu, what do you think?”

“My injuries are not serious,” Zhu Hong’s voice was faint, “…Let’s go with the team leader’s suggestion.”

Xu Zhu, seeing this, released Mother Zhou.

Zhou Jiandang immediately helped her up, only to receive a slap from her.

“You useless!” Mother Zhou, now free, began to tremble. “You little bitch, just wait. I will never let you go!”

Ruan Mingfu smiled faintly, “Yes, next time I won’t let you off either.”

Mother Zhou was so furious that she almost fell over, wishing she could pounce on Ruan Mingfu and scratch her face, but Zhou Jiandang held her back tightly.

She was so enraged that she shouted, “You useless wretch, let me go!”

“Xiaohu’s family, if you cause any more trouble, I’ll have you kicked out of the village,” the team leader thought that he had never faced so much trouble in his life as he had in these past two weeks.

Mother Zhou quieted down, but she still cast a murderous glare at Ruan Mingfu.

The team leader’s eyes flashed with anger, “You caused a scene at the educated youth camp and smashed things inside. After this, you will be required to pay for the damages based on their value!”

Mother Zhou wanted to say something but couldn’t get the words out.

“At the very least, for Educated Youth Ruan and Educated Youth Zhu, I will decide to compensate them 30 yuan a day. Comrade Zhu is seriously injured, so I’ll add another 20!”

“What?!” Mother Zhou couldn’t accept it, “Team leader, they are fine now. Why should I pay? They’re not golden dolls, and you want eighty yuan!”

The team leader sneered, “Then you can go to jail.”

He wanted Mother Zhou to feel the pain. Only then would she stop causing trouble.

Although Mother Zhou was unwilling, the team leader’s pressure and the general frustration from everyone meant no one was going to speak up for her. With no other choice, Mother Zhou had to hand over the money before the team leader would let her leave.

Once the matter was settled, the crowd dispersed.

Ruan Mingfu handed fifty yuan to Zhu Hong, “Here, this is for you.”

“Thank you.”

Since childhood, Zhu Hong had only ever held twenty yuan at most. This fifty yuan was the largest amount of money she had ever received.

Zhu Hong was on the verge of tears.

“Thank you, Educated Youth Ruan.”

Ruan Mingfu smiled at her, “You’re injured, why are you thanking me?”

The educated youth camp was in disarray, as if a storm had passed through. Things were smashed all over the place, leaving no room to stand.

Xu Zhu glanced at her, “Sister-in-law, you can’t stay here.”

With the way Mother Zhou was acting, it was hard to tell what she might do next. Moreover, Zhou Dahu’s wife and two daughters had returned yesterday.

Her father had already been involved, so it was unlikely she would let Ruan Mingfu, whom she blamed, off easily.

Zhu Hong looked at Ruan Mingfu with reluctance, “Ruan Mingfu, are you going to join the army?”

Ruan Mingfu: “…”

How was she supposed to respond to that?

She looked over at Xie Yanzhao.

His face remained expressionless, “The marriage report has just been submitted. It might take a while before we get the housing allocation.”

“Old Xie is right.”

There is a housing shortage in the city, and there is also a housing shortage in the military.

“However, you can go there first in the name of visiting relatives.”

Xu Zhu nodded.

Old Xie was right, he would follow up to ensure the housing allocation was arranged properly for his brother. The brother was about to get married, and it was crucial that no last-minute issues arose.

Ruan Mingfu didn’t say anything.

Everything had already been arranged clearly for her, and there was nothing left to discuss.

“When are we leaving?”

Xie Yanzhao thought for a moment, “In a couple of days.”

He still had a few things to wrap up here.

…

Although they planned to leave in two days, plans changed.

At 2 AM, Ruan Mingfu was awoken by a knock on the door. Just as she was about to get angry, she saw Xie Yanzhao outside. She was momentarily stunned.

“Get your things packed quickly. I need to return to the army ahead of schedule.”

Ruan Mingfu, still groggy from being woken up, took a moment to come to her senses, “What? So soon?!”

Just a moment ago, they had talked about leaving in two days, and now the plan had changed.

“Time is tight. There’s no time to explain,” Xie Yanzhao glanced at his watch, “You have an hour to pack your things. I’m leaving now.”

The man hurriedly came and went.

Clearly, things were urgent.

The cool night breeze woke Ruan Mingfu up, and she quickly started packing.

Though she hadn’t been in the countryside for long, she had accumulated quite a bit. In just over half a year, she had filled every corner of her room.

Luckily, she had done some packing during the day. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have known how to start now.

Ruan Mingfu found a bag and began placing things inside. Just then, there was a knock on the door.

Zhu Hong’s voice came through, “Educated Youth Ruan, do you need help?”

“Come in quickly,” Ruan Mingfu’s eyes lit up as she hurriedly pulled Zhu Hong in, “Thank goodness, I was just worrying about this.”

Ruan Mingfu’s belongings were numerous and scattered.

She was stuffing things in haphazardly, and the bag was quickly filled, but not much was actually packed. Just as she was about to grab another bag, Zhu Hong hurried over to stop her.

“Educated Youth Ruan, that’s not how you pack things.”

Ruan Mingfu had never packed her own things before. Her wardrobe had dedicated staff for cleaning, and clothes were also handled by others.

She didn’t need to worry about it.

Zhu Hong took the items Ruan Mingfu had hastily stuffed into the bag, carefully folded them, and neatly packed them into the suitcase.

She managed to fit all the clothes Ruan Mingfu planned to take, and there was still plenty of room left in the suitcase.

Ruan Mingfu’s eyes widened in amazement, “Zhu Hong, you’re amazing.”

It must be magic!

Zhu Hong saw that Ruan Mingfu genuinely didn’t know how to pack and said, “Educated Youth Ruan, just get out the things you want to take, and I’ll help you organize them.”

Ruan Mingfu had already decided what she needed to bring.

Since it was summer and not cold, she could pack some lighter items now and leave the rest. She could ask someone to send the remaining things later.

Zhu Hong, accustomed to working since childhood, swiftly packed all of Ruan Mingfu’s belongings.

“Thank you so much. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have figured this out until dawn.”

Ruan Mingfu was genuinely grateful to Zhu Hong. Since she arrived, Zhu Hong had been the one helping her the most.

She pointed to the pile of food and supplies she had sorted out. “I won’t need these anymore, so you can keep them.”

Zhu Hong looked over. Those items were all good things, gifts from the aunts and Gu Yilin from the hospital. Since Ruan Mingfu couldn’t use them and it would be a hassle to take them, it was better to give them to the educated youths.

“There’s too much here. I…”

“I can’t take all these things. If you don’t want them, I’ll just throw them away.”

Since Ruan Mingfu insisted, Zhu Hong had no choice but to accept them.

Ruan Mingfu also wanted to maintain a good relationship with Zhu Hong. After all, she was going to the unknown with the man she referred to as a “dog man.” Who knew what the situation would be like there?

It was possible that after he returned to the army and suddenly came to his senses, she might find herself having to return here in disgrace. Leaving a fallback plan would be wise to avoid being stuck in a difficult situation in the future.

After Ruan Mingfu finished packing and left, the female educated youths gathered to see her off.

Looking at these people, Ruan Mingfu felt genuinely touched. She had always thought she was not well-liked, but it seemed she was actually quite popular.

Ruan Mingfu felt a sense of pride.

After exchanging pleasantries for a while, Xie Yanzhao arrived with the car. Ruan Mingfu said goodbye to each of the educated youths before getting into the car.

As the car drove further away, the educated youths retracted their envious gazes.

“I really envy Educated Youth Ruan for marrying a soldier.”

“Yeah, I wonder if we’ll ever have a chance to leave this place…”

As soon as these words were spoken, all the educated youths fell silent.

Someone yawned. “Let’s go back to sleep. We don’t have to work tomorrow.”

“Let’s go, let’s go…”

“It’s still early. We can catch another nap.”

….

Ruan Mingfu, sitting in the car and feeling the bumps, asked, “What about your other comrades?”

Including her, there were only three people in the car. She remembered that they still had several comrades.

“They left earlier,” Xie Yanzhao said, focusing on the road ahead. “We’re heading to the city first, then to the train station.”

Ruan Mingfu’s eyes widened. “We’re taking the train?”

Xu Zhu explained, “It’s quite far from here to the army. The train takes a whole day and night.”

Mainly for safety reasons—driving back could risk encountering highway robbers, and given that it would take a day and night, it wouldn’t be a problem for the two men. But Ruan Mingfu, as a delicate female comrade, might not handle it well.

Ruan Mingfu nodded.