Chapter 29 : No Confirmed Evidence

“She probably doesn’t want to acknowledge her parents, otherwise she wouldn’t have changed her surname in secret,” Shu Ruxue said with a hint of dissatisfaction. She thought that if Yun Siying acknowledged her birth parents, then her marriage would fall under their control. At that point, she would have to marry whoever they arranged for her.

“I didn’t expect her to be so heartless,” Li Yanyan said with some displeasure. She was also curious to see what this so-called biological sister looked like.

“It’s better not to acknowledge such a sister. Let’s see how she manages without her family,” Li Minglang said coldly, though he had once looked forward to meeting Yun Siying.

“Don’t think of her that way. After all, she is our parents’ biological daughter,” Shu Ruxue tried to soften the mood, attempting to steer the family toward accepting Yun Siying.

Li Minglang, now gloomy, entered Shen Subai’s room and began helping him clean and tidy up.

While talking with Li Yanyan, Shu Ruxue also went into the room to clean and made the bed. The room was bare, with no furniture except for a kang (heated brick bed).

Li Yanyan looked around and asked, “Sister, you don’t even have a wardrobe in here. Do you want to buy one from the brigade?”

“I’d like to, but unfortunately, my money was stolen on the train. I reported it to the police, but I’m not sure if I’ll get it back,” Shu Ruxue replied with a hint of pride. Seeing Li Yanyan’s shocked and envious expression made her feel satisfied.

“What? How much was stolen?” Li Yanyan asked in shock, certain that it was a large sum.

“One thousand yuan from me, and fifteen hundred from Shen Subai,” Shu Ruxue said painfully. Her satisfaction faded immediately as regret washed over her for not being more cautious.

Li Yanyan was speechless from the shock. She had originally admired Shen Subai’s gentle demeanor, but now her thoughts began to shift.

“That’s such a shame. One thousand yuan! That could buy so much meat, eggs even a bicycle,” said Li Minglang, who had just come to help and was clearly distressed by the news.

“Sister, everything’s ready. Should we go home now?” Li Yanyan looked at Shu Ruxue’s somber expression, wiped the sweat from her forehead, and asked.

Shu Ruxue checked the time and said, “Yanyan, you and Minglang go home first. We’ve been on the train for days and haven’t rested properly. We’re exhausted and need to rest a bit now.”

“Alright, Sister. Brother Subai, Minglang and I will head home first,” Li Yanyan said, glancing shyly at Shen Subai.

“Thank you, Yanyan and Minglang, for your help today,” Shen Subai said with a smile, eager to see them off so he could finally lie down and get some much-needed sleep.

That day, Li Zhengyang and the other veteran educated youths got off work early due to the arrival of the new recruits. When they returned to the educated youth courtyard, they saw Nangong Ruochen still reading under the tree.

They recognized the two winnowing baskets nearby as Nangong Ruochen’s. But he had just milled corn and wheat three days ago, so the grain wasn’t his.

They exchanged glances, understanding what it meant, and entered the courtyard together. Wang Haixia couldn’t help but comment sourly, “I really didn’t expect Comrade Nangong to be someone who helps others.”

Her tone carried resentment. When she first came to the countryside, she had fallen for Nangong Ruochen at first sight. But he had shown no interest in her. She had bravely confessed her feelings, only to be coldly rejected.

In fact, he had rejected all the women in the brigade and the female educated youth. She thought he simply wasn’t interested in anyone, which gave her hope. But now, it seemed one of the new female educated youths was receiving special treatment from him.

This realization sounded the alarm in her heart. She was dying to know what kind of girl had managed to make him treat her differently.

“That Comrade Yun and Nangong seem to get along well. They probably knew each other before,” Li Zhengyang said seriously.

“Wang Haixia, what are you trying to say about Nangong? It’s not your place to be sarcastic,” Han Yuecheng said angrily, unhappy that she was eyeing their boss.

“Hmph! If you’re so bold, go say it in front of Nangong. Stop gossiping here,” Chen Banghua added, glaring at Wang Haixia with visible irritation.

Wang Haixia fell silent, her expression bitter. But this was the path they had chosen. No matter how hard it was, they had to grit their teeth and carry on.

They had come to the countryside full of enthusiasm, determined to use their knowledge to build something meaningful. But the government had no real plan for the educated youth. Once they arrived, their work units ignored them and the local government avoided responsibility. Every day, they labored alongside villagers in the fields, with no platform to put their ambitions to use.

Six years had passed. Their hands had become calloused, their skin roughened, and their high ideals slowly withered. Now, all they wanted was to return to the city. But there were no available quotas. They were filled with regret. Their families had stopped sending money after the first year. Their daily work points barely earned them anything, and they were now struggling just to get by.

“Say less, don’t let the new educated youth laugh at us. We got off work early today to welcome them. Tonight’s dinner will be handed over to the female educated youth,” Li Zhengyang said, glancing up at the sky with a trace of melancholy.

Some of the educated youths went back to their rooms to get water, clean themselves, change into fresh clothes, and wash their dirty ones in the courtyard before hanging them up to dry. Others simply washed their hands and rested.

Han Yuecheng and Chen Banghua walked over to Nangong Ruochen.

Han Yuecheng winked and asked, “Boss, we heard you’re treating a certain female educated youth very specially?”

Instead of answering, Nangong Ruochen replied with a question, “Do you two know who the new educated youth are this year?”

“Who is it? Don’t tell me it’s someone we know!” Chen Banghua exclaimed, standing up with a start and staring intently at Nangong Ruochen.

At that moment, the doors of two rooms opened, and Shu Ruxue and Shen Subai came out one after another. Shu Ruxue smiled and said, “Han Yuecheng, Chen Banghua, you’re all back from work?”

“No way, why is Shen Baiji also to the countryside? Did his mother actually let him come here?” Han Yuecheng jumped up in disbelief. The two had always clashed, this was a reunion of enemies.

Chen Banghua was more composed. He looked at Shu Ruxue with surprise and asked, “Comrade Li, why are you also in the countryside? You were supposedly taken back to Beijing by your biological parents this year. What happened, did the fake daughter bully you out?”

“Yes, I didn’t expect you all to get off work so early today,” Shu Ruxue replied with a smile, her eyes occasionally drifting toward Nangong Ruochen.