Chapter 28: Going to the County Town

Looking out the window now, he saw that there was no one left in the courtyard.

Li Sui hurriedly grabbed his father, Li Bing, who had just entered.

“Dad, where did they go?”

Seeing his son’s face swollen like a pig’s head, Li Bing impatiently waved his hand. “They all went home to eat.”

This matter had delayed him for so long, and in the end, it turned out to be a case of the thief crying “stop thief.” The more he thought about it, the angrier he got.

That group of educated youths never did anything proper.

They nearly wronged Xiaoxue. How was he supposed to ask that Lu Qinglin for help after that?

“Dad, did Xiaoxue ask about me?”

“Why would she?”

“Like… asking if I was home, how I’ve been lately, that sort of thing?”

Li Bing looked him up and down. “She did!”

Li Sui beamed despite his swollen face. “What did she ask?”

He just knew Xiaoxue still cared about him. He didn’t understand why she was engaged to Lu Qinglin, but he was sure she was forced into it. She couldn’t possibly like Lu Qinglin deep down.

Otherwise, she wouldn’t have asked his dad about him.

Just as Li Sui was immersed in his sweet fantasy, his dad’s next words poured cold water all over his passionate heart.

“Weren’t you the one who told me to pretend I didn’t know you?”

“Dad, was that all she said?” Li Sui looked at him in disbelief.

“You thought she came all the way here just to see you?”

“Can’t she?”

Li Bing scoffed at his foolish son and shook his head as he went inside.

———

When Su Tangxue and Lu Qinglin got home, the chicken soup had reached its perfect state. Unfortunately, the wasp larvae were a little cold now and didn’t taste as good.

The next morning.

Su Tangxue woke up naturally, then lazed in bed for a while. When she finally got up, Lu Qinglin had already chopped all the firewood in the courtyard.

She noticed right away there was a bicycle parked in the yard.

“You borrowed a bike?”

“Mm.”

“Whose?”

“The village head’s.”

Su Tangxue nodded. Uncle Li was pretty nice. He hadn’t made things difficult for them over what happened last night.

Lu Qinglin had wrapped the back seat of the bicycle with a layer of cotton. When Su Tangxue touched it, it felt soft. She didn’t quite understand what it was for—until she sat down.

Then she couldn’t help but admire how thoughtful Lu Qinglin was.

This was her first time riding on the back of a bicycle. At first, it felt novel and even a little fun, but after a few minutes of bumpy roads, she started questioning life.

Afraid of falling off, Su Tangxue hugged Lu Qinglin tightly around the waist.

“Lu Qinglin, are you blushing?” Su Tangxue smirked. When she hugged his waist, she clearly felt him tense up, and the handlebars wobbled.

Lu Qinglin’s face flushed pink, and his heartbeat quickened.

As they passed a field, they ran into Lu Shan, the fourth brother.

After what happened last night, Lu Shan was strictly forbidden from sneaking off again—this time he was personally supervised by Second Uncle Lu.

When they passed him, Su Tangxue waved. Lu Shan looked so pitiful that she nearly burst out laughing.

She felt bad for him, but there was nothing she could do.

It took Lu Qinglin an hour of pedaling to get them to town.

While Su Tangxue was still thinking about how she might come again next time, Lu Qinglin had already solved the problem for her.

“If you want to come to town again, just ask the village head. The village has a tractor. You can ride along with it.”

Su Tangxue nodded. “Got it.”

Sihe Town wasn’t big, but it did have a state-run restaurant. After parking the bicycle, Lu Qinglin took Su Tangxue straight there.

“What do you want to eat?”

Lu Qinglin turned to look at her.

Su Tangxue looked at the menu on the wall. “I want some buns and beef noodles.”

“Then we’ll get two buns and two bowls of beef noodles.”

After ordering and paying with both money and ration tickets, Su Tangxue pulled Lu Qinglin to sit at a nearby table to wait.

Everything they ordered cost less than 1.5 yuan, which made Su Tangxue feel like a rich person.

Soon, the two bowls of beef noodle soup arrived, the surface shimmering with oil. Su Tangxue held a bun in one hand and noodles in the other, eating with great satisfaction.

In this era, seasonings were minimal, so the meat flavor really stood out. The bun had thin skin and lots of filling—she bit into meat on the first bite.

After eating and drinking her fill, she still had half a bowl of noodles left. She really couldn’t eat anymore, so she pushed it in front of Lu Qinglin.

“I’m full. You finish it. Don’t waste it.”

Lu Qinglin glanced at it, then quietly pulled it over and finished everything without a word.

After their meal and some rest, Lu Qinglin took Su Tangxue to the supply and marketing cooperative.

This was Su Tangxue’s first time seeing a supply co-op in this era. It was small but well-stocked. A counter blocked the front, and behind it were labeled shelves filled with goods—clearly organized and visible at a glance.

As she was still marveling at it, someone walked up.

“Brother Qinglin, what are you here to buy today?”

Following the voice, Su Tangxue looked over and saw a girl with two braids and thick bangs.

When she recalled the plot, she immediately recognized the face.

Liu Qianqian, from Shanghe Village. She had liked the male lead since they were kids but had always kept it hidden—unlike Wang Xifeng, who made it obvious. Back then, it was also Liu Qianqian who instigated Wang Xifeng to accuse the original host of running up the mountain.

Otherwise, with Wang Xifeng’s lacking intelligence, she never would’ve come up with that on her own.

In the book, Liu Qianqian was always pushing Wang Xifeng to go against the female lead and had a sketchy relationship with Wang Xifeng’s brother, Wang Baogui. Even this job of hers was obtained through her backup lover in the county.

Without changing her expression, Su Tangxue walked up and linked arms with Lu Qinglin. Liu Qianqian’s gaze dimmed for a second but quickly recovered.

“Brother Qinglin, this is…?”

Liu Qianqian had been staying in the county these past few days and had no idea about Lu Qinglin and Su Tangxue.

“Su Tangxue.”

Before Lu Qinglin could speak, Su Tangxue answered first.

Liu Qianqian gave an awkward smile and held out her hand. “Nice to meet you. I’m Liu Qianqian, I’ve known Brother Qinglin since we were kids.”

Su Tangxue looked at her hand but had no intention of shaking it. “No need for a handshake. Don’t tell me you don’t recognize me?”

She smiled as she said it.

Liu Qianqian’s smile froze. She had been too focused on Lu Qinglin earlier to realize who it was.

“Tangxue? I didn’t expect it to be you! You came without telling me—we haven’t seen each other in so long!”

Who would’ve thought it was Su Tangxue? She thought the girl wouldn’t dare show up again!

In just a few days, she had gotten prettier. But it didn’t matter—Liu Qianqian was confident that things between Lu Qinglin and Su Tangxue wouldn’t last. Especially after what happened when Uncle Lu fell off that cliff.

Even if Su Tangxue showed up now, it would only make people dislike her.

Thinking this, Liu Qianqian felt incredibly smug.

“Brother Qinglin, why didn’t you tell me you were coming with Tangxue? Now I don’t have anything prepared!”