Chapter 64

A perfectly good young girl, yet she offended everyone with her mouth and didn’t even realize it. Only those drooling, like flies to dung, were the ones whistling at her all day long.

This girl has no shame. The way they’re looking at her is to degrade her, yet she thinks she’s popular.

Even Tian Tian from the neighboring Zhao family, for some unknown reason, insisted on mixing with her.

Ye Hongmei didn’t like gossiping behind people’s backs.

She saw Liu Cuifang walk past the riverbank, with the young men working in the fields whistling and some even bending down to peek under her skirt.

This scene made Ye Hongmei shake her head in disbelief. “This girl has no sense. If she keeps acting so conspicuously, something bad is bound to happen.”

“I have to tell Tian Tian’s mother to keep her away from Liu Cuifang.”

“You’re too kind-hearted.”

The aunt talking to Ye Hongmei gave her a knowing look.

“She looks down on us country folks. Every time she opens her mouth, it’s ‘village girl,’ making it seem like the girls in our brigade are nothing. But Liu Cuifang, from the big city, thinks she’s superior.”

“Don’t you realize? Someone like Liu Cuifang, with her nose in the air, hanging out with Zhao Tian Tian—what’s her game?”

“Don’t say I didn’t warn you. Don’t be surprised if your niece’s husband ends up being lost because of her.”

Ye Hongmei paused in her work, lifting her head. “That can’t be true, can it?”

“You say it can’t be true, so it’s not. I’ve told you before, that widow next door is full of tricks. I warned you to stay away from her, but you wouldn’t listen, and now you’re trying to get your niece married off to Zhao Yongsen.”

“You just wait and see, you’ll be sold out without even knowing it.”

While Ye Hongmei was gossiping with the aunt, Liu Cuifang and Zhao Tian Tian were cutting grass on the riverbank. Liu Cuifang suddenly cried out.

“Tian Tian, I cut myself!”

“Ah, it’s a big cut!”

“Liu, don’t move, let me put some herbal medicine on it.”

Zhao Tian Tian picked some grass from the riverbank, chewed it up, and spat it out onto Liu Cuifang’s wound.

What was that?

Chewed-up grass, so dirty, and now she was applying it to her hand?

Liu Cuifang was disgusted and tried to shake off the bundle of herbal remnants on her hand.

Zhao Tian Tian held her hand down. “Don’t move. This herbal medicine is really effective for stopping the bleeding. It’s something Yunling taught me, and she said Weiwei learned it from her grandfather.”

“See, see? Your wound isn’t bleeding anymore. It really works.”

Wasn’t it the grass clogging up the wound?

Liu Cuifang’s eyes reddened, almost on the verge of tears. “Tian Tian, but it still hurts with that stuff on it.”

Liu Cuifang’s eyes were red, and she looked like she was about to cry. “Tian Tian, but it still hurts even after the herbal paste.”

“This is close to your house. Do you have any hemostatic medicine at home?”

Of course, Zhao Tian Tian’s family had hemostatic medicine.

Zhao Yongsen was a carpenter, and it was common for him to cut his hands or have small injuries.

Zhao Tian Tian glanced at the half-cut pigweed in the basket, and Liu Cuifang pulled a piece of candy from her pocket and handed it to Zhao Tian Tian.

Zhao Tian Tian hesitated for a moment before nodding in agreement. “Alright, I’ll come back to cut the pigweed after this.”

Liu Cuifang had only cut a few more pieces of pigweed before she followed Zhao Tian Tian back home. As they walked along the field ridge towards Zhao’s house, the aunts working in the field exchanged looks with Ye Hongmei, their faces showing expressions of “I knew it.”

Ye Hongmei couldn’t believe it. In broad daylight, could Liu Cuifang, this young educated woman, be trying to hook up with Zhao Yongsen?

A city-educated girl like her surely wouldn’t be interested in a country man, right?

But lately, Liu Cuifang had been getting close to the Zhao siblings. Tian Tian’s mother even bragged, saying that educated youth from the big city didn’t look down on anyone, only hanging out with Tian Tian and even teaching Zhao Yongsen and his siblings how to read.

Teach them to read, my foot!

She was already betrothed to Ling Ling and still learning to read from a female educated youth.

Ye Hongmei hesitated, wondering if she should go to Zhao’s house to see what was going on. Just then, she heard the sound of a bicycle bell ringing, and soon, Lu Baiwei and Tang Yunling approached.

Tang Yunling jumped off the back of the bicycle and greeted Ye Hongmei.

“Aunt, what are you looking at? Didn’t see me when I arrived?”

“Oh, Ling Ling, you’re here!”

Ye Hongmei was happy to see the girl from her sister’s family.

There’s no smoke without fire!

She had introduced Ling Ling to Zhao Yongsen for this very reason — to stay close and look out for her.

If Tian Tian’s mother and Zhao Yongsen had any ulterior motives, that wouldn’t be good. She couldn’t let them push her beloved Ling Ling into the fire.

Whether Zhao Yongsen and his siblings were just friends with Liu Cuifang or there was something more to it, the situation had to be cleared up.

“Ling Ling, Weiwei, you’re just in time. Zhao Yongsen finished making that bed for Weiwei. Yesterday, Tian Tian’s mom said they just need to apply another coat of tung oil before it can be moved.”

Ye Hongmei gestured for Lu Baiwei and Tang Yunling to wait as she washed her hands by the stream, then wiped them on her clothes.

“I don’t know if the tung oil on the bed has dried yet, but I’ll go with you to his house and check.”

“That’s great.”

Tang Yunling responded and asked, “Aunt, am I taking up your time?”

Tang Yunling agreed and asked Ye Hongmei, “Aunt, am I taking up your time?”

“No, no, not at all. I’m done with this task. I’ll just go home and have a bowl of water.”

When Ye Hongmei mentioned she was taking Tang Yunling and Lu Baiwei to Zhao’s house, the aunt who was working alongside them became excited. “Hongmei, I’ll come with you to your house for a bowl of water too!”

The weather was very hot, and Zhao Yongsen had taken off his shirt, working shirtless in the living room, carving wood. Zhao Tian Tian led Liu Cuifang into the house.

“Brother, brother, do you still have any of that hemostatic ointment? Zhao Zhiqing cut her hand.”

As soon as they entered the house, seeing Zhao Yongsen without a shirt, Liu Cuifang was so embarrassed that she covered her face and turned away.

Zhao Yongsen noticed her reaction and gave a sly grin.

Not planning to bother putting on his shirt, he walked up to Liu Cuifang and grabbed the area where she had been cut to check the wound.

“Where did you cut yourself? Let me see.”

Zhao Yongsen was standing so close, his bare skin nearly touching hers, and Liu Cuifang was too shy to open her eyes.

Zhao Tian Tian felt that her brother was out of line.

“Brother, put your shirt on first. You’re scaring Liu Zhiqing.”

“Oh, didn’t notice. It’s hot, and I’m used to working shirtless.”

Zhao Yongsen released the hand he was holding and went to the back room to put on a shirt and get the ointment.

In the kitchen, Zhao Yongsen’s mother heard the noise as Zhao Tian Tian brought Liu Cuifang inside.

She walked out with a warm smile, “Liu Zhiqing, you’re here at the right time. I made some green bean soup for Yongsen and Tian Tian to beat the heat. It’s been cooling in the water tank. Have a bowl!”

Zhao Yongsen’s mother handed a bowl of green bean soup to Liu Cuifang.

The weather was so hot that the bowl felt ice-cold to the touch. As Zhao Yongsen went to get the ointment, Liu Cuifang quickly drank the entire bowl of the cold, sweet green bean soup.

Zhao Tian Tian asked from the side, “Mom, where’s mine?”

“Yours is in the kitchen. But you need to go borrow some sugar first. The enamel cup we use for sugar is almost empty.”

Zhou Xiaohong ordered Zhao Tian Tian, “Go borrow half a cup of sugar from next door.”

“I have to get the ointment for Liu Zhiqing first.”

“Tell your brother to get the ointment for Liu Zhiqing.”

Zhao Tian Tian took the empty enamel cup and went next door to borrow some sugar.

Zhao Yongsen’s mother, Zhou Xiaohong, called into the room, “Yongsen, did you find the ointment?”

“Found it, Mom. Tell Liu Zhiqing to come in.”