Chapter 17

Chen Suihuan returned to the Educated Youth’s Yard and immediately sensed that something was off. The female Educated Youths, including Guo Lan, were all looking at Chen Suihuan, and the familiarity that used to be in their eyes had vanished.

“What’s going on?” Chen Suihuan raised an eyebrow and asked.

Qin Fei was about to speak when Liu Lainan jumped in first. Her eyes were slightly red as she looked at Chen Suihuan and said: “Didn’t you say you weren’t close with Comrade Lu? Then why did he come looking for you?”

Chen Suihuan looked at Liu Lainan, genuinely wondering what was inside this woman’s head to make her ask such a question.

“He came to find me because he had something to say. Why don’t you go ask him? Why ask me? What’s your relationship with Comrade Lu anyway? He can’t say a few words to me?”

After saying that, Chen Suihuan turned to look at Qin Fei and Gao Yue. “Just now Comrade Lu mentioned that there’s a carpenter in the village with the surname Li. He has cabinets and boxes and such that can be exchanged. Do you two want to go?”

Actually, the thing about the carpenter surnamed Li wasn’t something Lu Xingyan had said. It was something she overheard on the road when two village women were chatting.

Qin Fei and Gao Yue immediately nodded. Qin Fei glanced at Liu Lainan, who looked like she was about to cry, and said: “We got on the train with Educated Youth Chen at the same stop. She really didn’t know Comrade Lu at first. Later, Educated Youth Chen helped Comrade Lu catch a thief on the train, and that’s how they met.

Xu Tao and the others also know about this. They were sitting right across from us at the time. If there’s anyone Comrade Lu isn’t familiar with, it’s probably someone else.

Who was it again that ran over to Comrade Lu, all eager to talk to him, only to be ignored and walked away all dejected?

Comrade Lu doesn’t even know you. Why are you taking yourself so seriously? Questioning this and that—where does your confidence even come from?”

After hearing what Qin Fei said, Guo Lan immediately realized she had been used as a tool. She couldn’t help but glare fiercely at Liu Lainan.

Guo Lan then smiled apologetically at Chen Suihuan and said: “I’m really sorry. This afternoon after work, I overheard a few of the eldest aunts in the village gossiping. They said that Comrade Lu had taken a liking to the newly arrived Educated Youth.

She avoided giving me a straight answer just now, so I thought she might be the one Comrade Lu liked.”

It wasn’t entirely Guo Lan’s fault for disliking this kind of situation. Previously, there had been a case where two Educated Youths fought over a man, and it had turned into a huge mess. Things got so bad that the Educated Youths at the site were talked about for a long time.

Chen Suihuan frowned. “Were there many people talking about this?”

Guo Lan nodded. “Yes, basically the entire Production Brigade knows.”

Could it be that Lu Xingyan had this in mind all along? Letting rumors force her into a corner so that she’d have no choice but to marry him?

Wouldn’t that be outright hooligan behavior? Lu Xingyan was a soldier—he wouldn’t stoop to such disgraceful tactics, would he?

Seeing that Chen Suihuan didn’t look too good, Qin Fei and Gao Yue immediately walked over and pulled her outside.

“Didn’t you say we were going to get a cabinet? Let’s go, or it’ll be dark soon.”

As soon as they walked out of the Educated Youth Site, Chen Suihuan’s expression turned even worse. “Do you think this whole thing could have been deliberate on Lu Xingyan’s part?”

Qin Fei was the first to speak. She touched her chin and said: “Although I’ve only met Lu Xingyan a few times, I don’t think he’s that kind of person.

If he liked you, he’d pursue you openly and honestly, win you over, and then marry you properly.

As for rumors and gossip, I really don’t think it has much to do with him.”

Gao Yue added: “It must be those women who rode the carriage with us spreading it around. My mom says women love to gossip.”

“Forget it. Lu Xingyan’s only back for a family visit. He’ll probably leave again soon. Once he’s gone, the rumors will die down on their own.” Chen Suihuan thought it over and could only try to comfort herself with these words.

The three of them had come out to buy cabinets, and it wouldn’t make sense to return empty-handed, so they asked around as they made their way to the home of the carpenter surnamed Li.

Carpenter Li was in his sixties. Besides his elderly wife, who was about the same age as him, he only had a grandson who looked to be six or seven years old.

Because of this, the Captain allowed him to do some carpentry work and trade within the village. While they called it “exchange.” everyone knew it was actually selling. At the time, private buying and selling were prohibited, so they all referred to it as “bartering” to avoid trouble.

As soon as Carpenter Li heard they were there for storage boxes, he immediately led them into a room.

“These are the ones I’ve already finished. Take a look and see if there’s anything you like. If not, just tell me what you need, and I can make it to order.” he said.

Inside the room were seven or eight wooden boxes. No one could quite tell what kind of wood they were made from, but a layer of lacquer had been applied, and the surfaces had been polished smooth. The craftsmanship looked decent.

The styles were all very plain. Each of the three bought two large wooden boxes and also purchased a larger wooden basin each, which could be used for washing up.

After that, they picked out a few smaller items—woven straw hats, back baskets, and two handbaskets.

Since the Shengli Brigade was near the mountains, Chen Suihuan had plans to explore the hills during her days off in the future, hoping to forage for edible things like wild vegetables or mushrooms.

The three of them bought quite a lot, and the total came close to twenty yuan. Carpenter Li was so pleased that he personally pushed a cart to help deliver all the boxes to the Educated Youth Site.

The boxes were arranged along the wall on the kang bed. After placing them down, Chen Suihuan unpacked the contents of her three large bundles and stored everything neatly in the boxes before locking them up.

By now, Liu Lainan’s eyes were no longer red. She just kept staring at the wooden boxes the three had brought back, her eyes darting around as if plotting something.

Noticing her gaze, Chen Suihuan let out a cold chuckle. “What, you’re done crying? Not going to question me about my relationship with Comrade Lu anymore?”

Liu Lainan glared at Chen Suihuan and turned over without responding.

In truth, Liu Lainan knew that Lu Xingyan was not the kind of man she could control. So now, her attention had shifted away from him.

The reason she had caused Guo Lan to misunderstand earlier was simply because she had been feeling upset.

They were all girls—so why was it that she had to go hungry and cold at home, work endlessly day and night, and still be beaten by her father, while the three of them—Chen Suihuan included—clearly came from families that cherished them?

Qin Fei and Gao Yue obviously came from decent households. As for Chen Suihuan, though she was short, thin, and had a scar on her forehead—possibly from being hit by a family member—she still looked like a softer target.

Soft persimmons get squeezed the hardest, and in Liu Lainan’s eyes, Chen Suihuan was exactly that soft persimmon.

On top of that, seeing Chen Suihuan’s three large bundles earlier and then comparing them to her own pitiful belongings made Liu Lainan feel a deep sense of unfairness.

Having more things was one thing—but even Lu Xingyan had gone to seek out Chen Suihuan.

Lu Xingyan was someone she had set her sights on first. So why was he so cold to her and yet took the initiative to approach Chen Suihuan?

Jealousy overwhelmed her. That was why, when Guo Lan asked earlier, she had instinctively spoken ambiguously, leading Guo Lan to misunderstand Chen Suihuan.

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