Chapter 47

Li Goudan thought for a moment, then told Li Yuechan everything she had heard.

Li Goudan bit her lip and said, “Meili is also helpless; she never expected to get married so easily.

But that educated youth is quite good. He looks refined, and I heard his family is from Haishi!”

Li Yuechan chuckled, rubbing her chin. Her cousin was no simple person. The last time she looked at her, her gaze was strange.

What happened yesterday, and now she’s getting engaged tomorrow? This was like an arrow shooting straight through the air!

There’s definitely something fishy here. It’s probably her cousin who’s causing all the trouble.

Could this Xu Guoqing be particularly special? She shrugged. Anyway, it didn’t concern her.

“I’m heading back, Dongmei. Time for lunch.”

“Okay, you go ahead. I’ll finish with the pigweed and then head out.”

Li Yuechan went back home directly.

When Huang Hehua saw that Li Yuechan had returned so late, she glared at her, “Oh, now you’re coming home just in time for dinner? You busy thing, you know how to come back at least?

You haven’t done any work while you’ve been here! You didn’t feed the chickens, didn’t water the garden. You’re always running around aimlessly.

At this rate, when will you get married!”

Li Yuechan scratched her ear, “Grandma, what do you mean? Am I supposed to prepare my own dowry?”

Huang Hehua placed her hands on her hips and pointed at Li Yuechan angrily, “You lazy girl, you want me to prepare your dowry? Dream on, go work now!”

Li Yuechan rolled her eyes at her grandmother, “When I came back, Mom specifically told me that I didn’t need to do anything for now.

She said she’d give you extra money when we send the filial piety gift at the end of the year.”

As soon as Huang Hehua heard that there was an extra two yuan, her attitude immediately softened, “Fine, I won’t argue with you since it’s from your mom.”

“I’ll eat lunch and then go home, won’t bother you any longer.” Li Yuechan shook her head.

Huang Hehua’s eyes rolled around, and she immediately shouted, “Go back? Meili’s engagement is tomorrow! You, as her cousin, aren’t going to be there?”

“She’s getting engaged, why should I stay?”

“What do you think? Our family is big, it shows we care about Meili. Don’t you understand this principle?”

“Alright, I’ll go back after the engagement,” Li Yuechan shrugged.

Not long after, her second aunt came out of the kitchen, calling for dinner.

Li Yuechan ate a bland meal, then went back to her room, slamming the door behind her. She then entered her space.

Looking at the barren land, Li Yuechan couldn’t help but wonder, “What am I going to do now?”

Well, never mind. Time to roll up my sleeves and work!

Seeing the big red apples on the tree, she couldn’t wait to pick one, took a bite, and wow, it was so sweet!

She worked for another hour, planting the fields. This time, she planted half wheat and half rice.

But she saved a few acres for fruit trees since she had picked so many wild fruits, and they would be wasted otherwise.

After working most of the day, the little bit of lunch she had earlier was already digested.

She steamed some rice, slaughtered a chicken, and added a few soybeans and radishes to stew together.

After eating her fill, she took a comfortable bath and went to the second floor to sleep soundly in bed.

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Time rewinds to the previous night. Xu Guoqing, exhausted, returned to the educated youth site, only to be surrounded by a few people.

Although they weren’t very familiar with each other, they had greeted each other that morning.

Who would have thought that Xu Guoqing, who had just arrived in the morning, would be getting married to a village girl by nightfall?

“Guoqing, don’t tell me you’ve been set up?”

Xu Guoqing shook his head as he looked at his childhood friend, Liu Shehui. “I don’t think so. I went to chop firewood and then decided on a whim.

Besides, Comrade Li really sprained her ankle, so I thought I’d help her out.”

“Guoqing, you’re too naive. How could things be that coincidental? These rural girls all want to marry a city guy so they can follow them back to the city in the future.”

Xu Guoqing pursed his lips and said, “But we don’t even know if we’ll be able to go back to the city.”

The group of educated youth lowered their heads at the mention of returning to the city. No one knew if they’d ever make it back.

“Anyway, Guoqing, just be careful.”

Xu Guoqing nodded. “I understand, thanks, Shehui.”

“No need to thank me. We grew up together, we’re closer than brothers! Have you eaten? I saved some food for you.”

“Thank you, Shehui, but I already bought some grain this morning.”

“Alright then, go ahead and eat.”

Xu Guoqing nodded, though he still felt a bit unsettled. He thought for a moment, then shook his head.

After all, he had just arrived this morning and didn’t even know Comrade Li.

How could anyone possibly be scheming against him? He smiled helplessly.

With his family’s circumstances, what could anyone possibly want to scheme about? Moreover, he thought Li Meili’s family seemed quite well-off.

As long as he could live a stable life with her in the future, he would be happy to live well with her.

Meanwhile, Gu Zhixing had just gotten off the bus. He squinted at Feng Chuan, who was not far away, and tugged at the brim of his hat.

He never expected that the train ticket Feng Chuan had bought to Changning City would be a decoy. Feng Chuan had directly exchanged it for a train to Jing City.

Thankfully, he and Zhou Tao had made enough preparations. They quickly disguised themselves again.

At that moment, Gu Zhixing wore a tattered hat, patched-up clothes, and had a bulging sack on his back. Zhou Tao, on the other hand, wore a pair of small glasses, a white shirt, black trousers, and carried a briefcase, looking like someone on a business trip.

They watched Feng Chuan enter a guesthouse. Gu Zhixing winked and signaled to Zhou Tao.

Zhou Tao nodded, following Feng Chuan into the guesthouse and booking a room.

After observing for a while, Gu Zhixing quietly left.

He looked up at the city. In his past life, he never returned before he died. Now, the feeling was both unfamiliar and familiar. He stepped towards the familiar street, and his figure slowly disappeared into the night.

At this time, the lights were still on in the third-floor office of the municipal government building.

Secretary Jiang spoke, “Secretary, it’s so late. It’s time to go home.”

Gu Yongchang, who was reading through documents, replied, “Alright, I’ll leave soon.”

Half an hour later, Gu Yongchang turned off the lights, walked out of the office, went downstairs, and got into the car.

Gu Zhixing watched the man in a formal suit. His eyes grew red as he thought, In this life, we’re all still doing fine. That’s great.

He watched the car get closer and timed it perfectly to rush forward.

Then, there was a loud screech of brakes.

“What’s going on?”

“I’m sorry, Secretary, I think I hit someone.”

“Quick, get out and check!”

“Understood.”

Secretary Jiang and the driver quickly ran out. Gu Zhixing sat on the ground, continuously groaning, “Ow, ow…”

The clothes in the sack spilled out onto the ground. Secretary Jiang hurriedly squatted down, concerned. “Comrade, are you alright?”

“It’s nothing serious. I think I just sprained my ankle,” Gu Zhixing replied.

“Should I still send you to the hospital for a check-up?”

“No need. Just help me pick up the clothes.”

“Alright!”

Meanwhile, Gu Yongchang, sitting in the car, observed the situation outside. After a moment of thought, he opened the car door and got out.

Gu Zhixing looked up briefly and quickly lowered his head again as Gu Yongchang approached. He asked, “Comrade, are you alright?”