CHAPTER 10:  Baiyun Village

“Yuanyuan, you’re so beautiful! I finally get to see you in person!”

Ye Jie pulled her into a hug, just like a mother reunited with her daughter after years apart—full of warmth and affection.

Beside them stood a dark-skinned young man, who interrupted gently,
“Auntie Ye, your heart’s not in the best shape. You shouldn’t get too worked up.”

Su Yuan and Ye Jie were both momentarily taken aback, then remembered—they still had to keep up the act until Su Aimin returned to the capital.

Ye Jie quickly loosened her embrace, casting the young man a look of approval.
“Right, I almost forgot. Seeing Yuanyuan again really lifted my spirits!”

Following her gaze, Su Yuan looked toward the man, curious about who he was.

“Let me introduce you—this is my nephew, Jiang Song. He lives in Baiyun Village.”

Su Aimin raised his brows in surprise.
“Is that the Baiyun Village where Yuanyuan was sent for the rural support program?”

“Yes! There’s only one Baiyun Village in all of Qingshan City.”

Su Yuan gave a polite nod and introduced herself to Jiang Song. Faced with her, the man looked a bit shy—he smiled, scratched the back of his head, and pointed toward the distance, signaling for them to follow him to the bus stop.

Remembering the task at hand, Su Aimin unconsciously slowed his pace.
“Where are we headed now?” he asked.

“While there are still buses running, we’ll head home.”

Ye Jie didn’t live in the city. She was from Xihe County—an hour’s bus ride away, and about another hour from Baiyun Village.

The three locations formed a triangle, almost perfectly equidistant.

Su Aimin stopped in his tracks, clearly reluctant.
“Why don’t we stay in the city for the night? Tomorrow I can take you to the hospital for a checkup. Heart problems aren’t something to take lightly; you can’t delay treatment.”

Ye Jie turned back, firmly tugging him forward by the arm.
“The equipment in big-city hospitals isn’t much different from what we have in the county. I’m not going. Don’t waste your money.”

Dragged along, Su Aimin completely lost his usual fiery temper. Helpless, he shot Su Yuan a look, signaling her to help persuade Ye Jie.

Catching his hint, Su Yuan joined in.
“Godmother, the doctors in big hospitals really are better. How about we stay in a guesthouse tonight and go tomorrow?”

Ye Jie put on an exaggeratedly conflicted expression, then finally relented.
“Alright then, we’ll stay in the guesthouse tonight and go to the hospital tomorrow.”

Relieved, Su Aimin happily took out his introduction letter and found a guesthouse near the train station.

The room was small, but fairly clean.

Once they were settled, Jiang Song led them out to eat.

Compared to the towering buildings of the capital, Qingshan City felt quaint and unpretentious. The streets weren’t wide, single-story houses lined the roads, and in addition to bicycles, donkey carts and horse carts could be seen trundling along—yet not a single car in sight.

The bustle of the streets carried a faint, leisurely charm.

They ended up in a state-run restaurant, eating cold noodles. In the sweltering summer heat, a chilled, refreshing bowl of naengmyeon was even better than sitting in front of a fan.

Su Aimin hadn’t had such authentic Korean-style cold noodles in years. He wolfed them down without a care for appearances, which made Ye Jie frown.
“Slow down. If it’s not enough, order another bowl. Eat too fast and you’ll give yourself indigestion.”

In contrast, Su Yuan ate slowly, each bite refined and elegant. The more Ye Jie looked at her, the more she liked her.

“Yuanyuan really is such a lady—so beautiful too! I’ve always said, with Su Jianguo’s long horse-face, there’s no way he could’ve had such a pretty daughter. And sure enough—she’s not his biological child!”

Cough cough!

Su Aimin choked hard on his noodle broth, quickly pulling out his handkerchief to wipe his mouth.

Ye Jie patted his back and went on talking as if nothing had happened.
“When you get back to the capital, tell Su Jianguo that from now on, Yuanyuan is my daughter. If he dares play any tricks or bully her, don’t blame me for turning against him.”

Still coughing too hard to speak, Su Aimin could only let her talk.

….

That night, Su Yuan lay awake in bed. This was her first time spending the night away from home, and she hadn’t yet adjusted to the unfamiliar environment.

On the bed across from her, Ye Jie was also awake, eyes open.

She rolled onto her side to face Su Yuan.
“It’s normal to have trouble sleeping in a new place. You’ll get used to it. But going to the countryside is hard work—are you really ready for that?”

In the quiet of the night, her voice was low but clear.

Su Yuan bit her lip, thought for a moment, then replied,
“Physical hardship is better than the pain in my heart. If I don’t find out the truth about my birth, I’ll never be at peace. Besides, I believe that as long as you do your best, gold will shine wherever it is.”

Her gaze was firm, glittering like starlight. Seeing that, Ye Jie smiled with satisfaction.

….

The next morning, the four of them went to the Qingshan City Central Hospital.

Su Aimin bustled about, making sure Ye Jie completed every checkup. Ye Jie cooperated fully, even praising him as a devoted son—much better than his own father.

Having grown up under constant criticism, this rare compliment pleased him immensely. He became even more attentive, enduring the nearly thirty-degree heat without complaint.

After a full round of tests, the results came back: Ye Jie did have a heart condition, and her kidney function wasn’t great either—she needed long-term rest.

Hearing this, Su Aimin’s brows knit in genuine concern. He sincerely suggested she go to the capital for treatment.

But Ye Jie was stubborn—she refused to leave, and no amount of persuasion worked.

With no other choice, Su Aimin went to the post office to call his father.

The voice on the other end asked for every detail, and he answered truthfully, hiding nothing.

After listening, the reply was simple:
“Buy a ticket to come back the day after tomorrow. Ye Jie’s situation isn’t your concern anymore.”

“…?”

Su Aimin was baffled. If they didn’t care what happened to Ye Jie, why send him all the way to the Northeast to take her to the hospital in the first place?

It didn’t make sense.

“Dad, you’re sure about this?”

“Yes. Once you’ve been to Baiyun Village, head straight back.”

After hanging up, Su Aimin sat in silence for a long time.

….

Back at the guesthouse, Su Yuan was packing her things, teasing with a smile,
“Godmother, you nearly scared me to death. I really thought those checkups were real.”

“They were real—the results were fake. I’ve got connections here; fooling Su Jianguo is nothing.”

Still, Su Yuan worried.
“What if my dad insists you go to the capital for tests? You don’t have contacts there—you can’t pull the same trick.”

Ye Jie waved it off without a hint of concern.
“He won’t. I know him too well. If he truly believed I was sick, he’d never let me go to the capital.”

Su Yuan paused in the middle of packing her things. She thought for a moment, and a faint understanding began to dawn on her.

Her mood sank. “Godmother, for my sake you not only lied and deceived people, but even had to owe favors everywhere. I’m really sorry.”

Seeing her guilt, Ye Jie let out a soft laugh, stepped forward, and put an arm around her shoulders in comfort.
“I believe in your kindness. And I also believe Su Jianguo is rotten to the bone. Those little favors are nothing—you don’t need to worry about them.”

“Thank you… truly.”

Su Yuan returned the embrace, unwilling to let go of that warmth.

….

The educated youth registration was scheduled for tomorrow. After checking out of the guesthouse, they took a car to Xihe County, planning to stay at Ye Jie’s place for one night before setting out for Baiyun Village the next morning.

As a Baiyun local, Jiang Song told Su Yuan all sorts of things about the village—

Which households had loafers you mustn’t cross, which family was the richest and ate meat every day, even which family had just had twins—he told her everything.

Su Yuan listened earnestly, only lacking a little notebook to jot it all down.

Su Aimin, on the other hand, was distracted the whole time. His father’s words kept replaying in his head, and he had the nagging feeling something wasn’t right.

Ye Jie noticed his unusual mood and deliberately spoke up. “What’s wrong with you? You look so gloomy.”

Snapping back to himself, Su Aimin muttered, “It’s nothing.”

He looked calm enough, but the flicker in his eyes betrayed him.

That guilty look was easy to read. Ye Jie sneered inwardly and, in her heart, cursed Su Jianguo to the distant horizon: That bastard.

….

The next day.

With everyone seeing her off, Su Yuan rode a horse-drawn cart to Baiyun Village to report in.

At the village entrance, Ye Jie stopped Su Aimin, not letting him enter.

“Yuan Yuan is here to learn from the masses. Having family tagging along doesn’t look good—it’ll definitely stir up resentment from the locals. If you have anything to say to her, say it now.”

Su Aimin was caught off guard. He hadn’t expected he wouldn’t be allowed into the village. That meant he couldn’t carry out his father’s instructions. Irritated, he said, “Can’t I just sneak in? No one will know I’m related to her.”

Jiang Song spoke up at that moment. “Our villagers are sharp. The moment a stranger sets foot inside, within five minutes the whole village will be out watching. Last year a loafer nearly beat an outsider to death thinking he was a child-snatcher. Best if you don’t go.”

Picturing that scene, Su Aimin gave up on the idea. He handed Su Yuan fifty yuan, instructing, “This is from Mom, Dad, and me. Remember to write home. When the Spring Festival comes, come back—Mom won’t stay angry forever.”

Su Yuan nodded and wished him a smooth journey.

After watching him and Ye Jie leave, Jiang Song flicked the reins, driving the cart into the village.

Villagers who spotted them couldn’t help glancing at Su Yuan twice, calling out teasingly, “Songzi, who’s this girl? Is she your new bride-to-be?”

“Go, go, go—don’t talk nonsense!”

Jiang Song’s dark face flushed red. He quickened his pace, and in less than five minutes they reached the educated youth registration office.

….

The office was in the village committee building. An old man sat at the door, one leg crossed over the other, sipping tea. He was the cadre in charge of receiving educated youths.

His undershirt had several unpatched holes, and his whole appearance was casual.

Su Yuan hopped down from the cart and went straight to him. She greeted him politely, handed over her papers, and introduced herself.

“I’m the new educated youth. My name is Su Yuan.”