Chapter 8.1

Today, Lu Che was assigned to carry sugarcane. Although the work was hard and tiring, he was satisfied to have a job.

He worked hard in the sugarcane field in the morning, and the shoulders of his clothes were already worn out, so he planned to bring a torn towel to pad his shoulders in the afternoon, but he forgot it in a hurry when he left.

It wasn’t until he was halfway there that he remembered, so he hurried back home, only to see his grandmother holding a woman when he entered.

The woman had her back to him, but from her back, he knew who she was.

Before he could figure out what was going on, his grandmother announced directly that this woman would be staying at their house.

Lu Che was confused, and his first reaction when he regained his senses was to express his opposition, but at this moment, Lu Qing signalled him to calm down.

“Mom, Mom…” The voices of a boy and a girl came from outside the door. Lu Qing took the opportunity to say to Jiang Yao, “Yao Yao, my two little ones are in the backyard. Could you please help me check on them? Since we’ll be living together from now on, you should get to know them first.”

Jiang Yao could tell from Lu Che’s face that he was reluctant to have her stay, and she also knew that the three of them, would hold a family meeting about this matter, so she stood up tactfully, smiling, “Alright, I’ll go meet my little buddies.”

Grandma Lu looked at Jiang Yao’s cheerful figure and couldn’t help but admire, “She looks gentle and delicate, but encountering so many things, she can still maintain optimism, not bad.”

In Lu Che’s memory, Grandma Lu was always cold to outsiders except for family members. This was the first time she had shown appreciation to an outsider and even gave such high praise.

As soon as Jiang Yao’s figure disappeared into the backyard, he couldn’t wait to speak up, “Grandma, I disagree with her staying in our house.”

“Why do you disagree?” Grandma Lu asked calmly.

“Of course, it’s to avoid trouble.” Lu Che said matter-of-factly, “Grandma, you stay at home all day and don’t know. This Jiang Zhiqing just came down to the countryside not long ago, but she’s already famous in our production team. It’s not beneficial for our family to have any relationship with her.”

“Lu Che, what are you worried about? Grandma and I understand.” Before Grandma Lu could speak, Lu Qing had already spoken first, “What you’re worried about, I was also worried about before, but what you don’t know is that now people in the team are secretly talking nonsense.”

“What nonsense?” Lu Che’s face couldn’t help but darken.

“It’s…” Those words were too harsh. Lu Qing hesitated, and it took a while before she said, “Several women who work at the paper mill today said they heard a few scoundrels in the team saying that wherever Jiang Yao goes to stay, they will go there to peek at her… taking a bath.”

“Ridiculous!” Grandma Lu stomped her cane in anger.

Lu Che didn’t say anything, but his face was as dark as Bao Gong.^[1]Bao Zheng, aka Bao Gong, was a well-known government official in ancient China. The historical accounts and depictions of Bao Zheng often show him with a black face. This representation is a symbolic … Continue reading

“Who said it’s not!” Lu Qing sighed lightly, “In the whole Qingyuan, except for our family’s high walls, the walls of other people’s houses are half the height of the kids. If we don’t take her in, she will be peeped at by those scoundrels. If we don’t catch them, she’ll suffer. If we catch them, she’ll still be gossiped about.”

This society is always particularly harsh on women. When men make mistakes, they can always blame women, saying they seduce or provoke them.

“Also, I usually work at the paper mill, and I often hear those gossiping women saying bad things about Yao Yao. As long as a man talks to her, if he has a wife, his wife scolds Yao Yao. If he doesn’t have a wife yet, his mother scolds Yao Yao. Those words, how ugly they are.

“Obviously, those men took the initiative, but in the end, it’s all blamed on Yao Yao. Being beautiful is a good thing, but definitely not here. I’ve almost been bullied before, so I really can’t watch her jump into the fire pit without pulling her out.”

At the end, Lu Qing couldn’t help but turn red-eyed, for herself and for Jiang Yao.

Looking at his own sister, Lu Che suddenly couldn’t say anything.

Jiang Yao knew that Lu Che was not easy to deal with, but she had confidence in Grandma Lu and Lu Qing. Since they both agreed to let her stay, they would definitely find a way to get her in.

At the moment, she was having a good time playing with Lu Qing’s twins, Zhou Yang and Zhou Xin.

Zhou Yang and Zhou Xin were fraternal twins, five years old now. Zhou Yang was the elder brother, and Zhou Xin was the younger sister.

The younger sister looked like Lu Qing, a beauty, while Zhou Yang’s appearance should follow his father’s, also a handsome boy.

“Sister Yao Yao, is chocolate really that delicious? Is it better than sugar?” The siblings looked at Jiang Yao with anticipation.

“Of course, next time there’s a chance, I’ll buy some for you to try. You’ll definitely like it.” Jiang Yao patted their heads and said.

“That’s great! Thank you, Sister Yao Yao!” The siblings jumped up happily.

“Thank you, Sister Yao Yao for what? You’re not asking Sister Yao Yao for things, are you?” Behind them came Lu Qing’s voice. Jiang Yao immediately stood up and turned around, then heard her say, “I’ll go with you to the captain’s house now to register your stay.”

“Okay!” Jiang Yao grinned, not asking why Lu Che had agreed. As long as the result was what she wanted, she wouldn’t fuss about it, and it was important to move in quickly.

Lu Qing asked the siblings to find Grandma Lu, then left with Jiang Yao.

Among these educated youth, the one who gave Lu Dazhou the most headaches was Jiang Yao. She had a somewhat arrogant personality, and he guessed that in the end, he would have to arrange everything for her. Such a beautiful female educated youth, no matter where she went, made people worry.

So, Lu Dazhou never expected that Jiang Yao would be the first to find a ‘new home’, but the ‘new home’ she found was worse than not finding one at all.