Chapter 24

The older educated youths had grain rations, and the newly arrived ones could go over and buy some with money.

Most of them didn’t buy any; only a few did.

Jiang Cheng bought twenty jin of rice and twenty jin of coarse grain. Lin Muyu also bought some, but not much.

Chen Xiaocao, who didn’t have much money, only bought five jin. Jiang Cheng also got twenty jin of rice—she planned to stop eating with the Xie family and cook for herself. She was confident she could manage her own meals.

Ever since Jiang Ying had left the educated youth dorm, Jiang Cheng and the other two had been living quite comfortably. Even Lin Yue had visibly put on some weight.

When Jiang Ying saw the three of them walking together arm in arm, a pang of bitterness rose in her chest.

When she returned to the Xie household, she had barely stepped through the door when she saw Madam Xie and Chen Meiling standing in front of her room.

“Auntie, Sister Meiling, what did you need me for?”

Ma Yueying and Chen Meiling had originally come to demand an explanation from Jiang Ying, but when they spotted the grain she was holding, their eyes flickered, and they put on smiling faces.

“Comrade Jiang,” Ma Yueying said, “we just noticed you’ve gotten thinner lately. Now that rations have been distributed today, why don’t we improve our meals a little? You need to nourish yourself.”

Jiang Ying shook her head. She had already made up her mind to cook her own meals. With so many mouths in the Xie family, she never managed to get enough food. If this went on, she wouldn’t even have the strength to work in the fields come spring.

“Auntie, Sister Meiling, I’ve decided to cook for myself. I’d rather not trouble you anymore.”

The moment the words left her lips, Ma Yueying’s eyes widened.
“How can that be? Comrade Jiang, cooking separately will waste more firewood!”

Just as Jiang Ying was about to answer, Chen Meiling cut in with an officious air.
“Comrade Jiang, if you insist on that, then you’ll have to supply the extra firewood yourself.”

Hugging the sack of grain tightly to her chest, Jiang Ying suddenly said,
“In that case, I won’t live here anymore. Return the rest of my money, and I’ll move back to the educated youth dorm.”

Ma Yueying’s smile disappeared instantly.
“That won’t do. Once you’ve moved in, we don’t give refunds.”

Jiang Ying raised her voice sharply.
“Fine! Then I’ll go straight to the village head. The way your family eats, it’s like you haven’t had food in eight hundred years—every time I pick up a bite, it’s gone before I can even eat. You took my grain but never let me have a full meal. I’ll see whether there’s any justice in this!”

She turned to leave.

Ma Yueying hurried after her and flopped down at the doorway with a thud.

“Oh my, Comrade Jiang, how could you push me? You even tricked us before, saying Jiang Tian abandoned my son in the mountains—you sounded so convincing, but when we went to check, he was perfectly fine. Because of you, our family even broke ties with Jiang Tian!”

She deliberately brought this up, hoping to mend relations with Jiang Tian’s family.

Meanwhile, Jiang Tian, busy sewing clothes at home, had no idea she’d been dragged into trouble again without even stepping outside.

Ma Yueying’s wailing drew a crowd of onlookers. Since everyone lived close by, they had heard her words clearly. Now, all eyes turned toward Jiang Ying with a strange look.

Flushing red, Jiang Ying shouted,
“That’s not true! It’s because you mistreated Xie Chen that he wanted to cut ties with you. I wasn’t eating properly in your house, and when I ask for my money back, you refuse. I’ll take this straight to the village head!”

By now, the onlookers had pieced together what was going on.

Still, no one wanted to intervene—on one side was a troublesome educated youth, on the other was the Xie family. Neither was easy to deal with, and no one wanted to risk being dragged into it.

Jiang Ying turned to leave. Chen Meiling hurried to grab her but stumbled over a stone. To steady herself, she accidentally shoved Jiang Ying.

Jiang Ying pitched forward and fell flat on the ground.

Blood began to seep out, staining the snow crimson. She lay motionless.

The crowd, shocked by the sight, quickly sent someone to fetch the village head.

Lin Jingguo rushed over. Seeing the blood on the ground, his face darkened.
“What’s going on here? Second Xie daughter-in-law, did you kill her?”

Chen Meiling waved her hands frantically.
“No, I didn’t! I just tripped and pushed her by accident!”

With a stern face, Lin Jingguo barked,
“Get her to the hospital right away. She may not be one of our villagers, but if someone dies here, none of us will have a peaceful New Year.”

“Xie family! Why are you still standing around? Take her to the hospital!”

Ma Yueying scowled.
“She was the one who pushed, let her be the one to take her. I’m too old for that sort of thing.”

Reluctantly, Chen Meiling stepped forward—but before she could touch her, the person on the ground suddenly moved.

Jiang Ying rose to her feet, blood streaming down her face, a frightening sight.

After a moment, she said coldly,
“Village head, you came just in time. Not only did this Xie family mother and daughter refuse to return my money, but they even went so far as to try to kill me. If I weren’t lucky, I’d be a corpse in a foreign land by now.”

Before the village head could respond, Jiang Ying was already standing before the Xie women.

“Ma Yueying, you know full well how you fell. I didn’t touch you, and I won’t admit to it.

If you keep this up, we can involve the Public Security Bureau. They can check for fingerprints, and I haven’t laid a hand on your mother. I have nothing to fear.

As for those so-called family ties, that has nothing to do with me—you brought that on yourselves.

And I said I won’t live here anymore, so I won’t. Just give me back the rest of my money.”

She stood there, blood on her face, and the onlookers felt a chill.

Lin Jingguo couldn’t help giving her a long look. Her whole demeanor had suddenly shifted—her words were crisp and sharp.

“Village head,” Jiang Ying continued, “I hope you’ll handle this fairly. If not, I’ll report the matter truthfully to the Educated Youth Office in the county.”

Her words jolted him. He quickly stepped forward to mediate.

“Xie family, you know very well that you’re more at fault in this matter. If you insist on denying it, we’ll have no choice but to call the Public Security Bureau. If Comrade Jiang doesn’t want to live here, return her money. Then it’ll be settled between you—payment for lodging, finished.”

Jiang Ying gave a cold snort.
“Village head, my head is bleeding like this, and all you’re asking is for them to return my rent? Isn’t that a little unfair? So in Dayang Village, if someone shoves you and you get hurt, there’s no responsibility for medical expenses?

Fine then. Just let me push Chen Meiling so she ends up with her face covered in blood like mine, and we’ll call it even.”

Seeing she really meant it, the village head quickly blocked her and turned to glare at Ma Yueying.

“Hurry up and return the money—and pay for her medical treatment too! A head injury isn’t something you can brush off. If it leaves aftereffects, your whole family will be torn apart.”

Lin Jingguo knew enough about medicine to understand: a blow to the head must be checked at the hospital, or he’d never have peace of mind.

Besides, if something happened to an educated youth in his village, his position as village head would be finished.