Chapter 17

Tian Mi had decent skills, and with the clever opportunity for a surprise attack, she managed to land a good punch and kick while covering her target with a sack.

Of course, being a girl, her strength was inherently limited. When she charged out, she picked up a wooden stick used for compressing hay bales to add some heft to her assault.

Her intention was simply to teach that scumbag a lesson, letting him know what it felt like to be hit by fists and sticks. She didn’t want to cause any major incidents, so she deliberately avoided any critical areas while striking.

In moments like these, the benefits of a girl learning martial arts became evident.

Liu Xiangdong was no softie among ordinary people, but he had never formally trained in martial arts, missed the chance to strike first, and was quickly covered by the sack. Before long, he was knocked to the ground and unable to fight back.

Seeing this, Tian Mi didn’t linger. After hitting him a few more times, she grabbed the gold and dashed out.

Of course, in a fight, both sides sustain injuries, and her shoulder and calves were hurt as well.

However, these minor injuries were insignificant in her eyes; after all, she had dealt with a scumbag and felt refreshed.

The only thing that bothered her was that Liu Xiangdong remained relatively tough. Despite being struck by the stick, he only grunted a few times and didn’t beg for mercy.

Tch…

But regardless, the pent-up frustration from over a month finally dissipated at this moment.

=

It was still early, and carrying the gold was inconvenient.

Tian Mi decided to hide it before thinking about its proper place.

Although the Liu family no longer posed a threat, she preferred to avoid trouble and continued to dress like a middle-aged woman.

As she passed the post office, she unexpectedly spotted two familiar faces—two lackeys who usually followed Liu Xiangdong.

Tian Mi rolled her eyes internally; she had planned to return to Chaoyang Village to inquire about the situation and report her safety.

Now, it seemed the journey home wouldn’t be peaceful either.

Thinking of this, she turned on her heel and headed straight for the bus station…

As the saying goes, the enemies in the world know you best.

While Tian Mi was casually hunched over, heading towards the bus station with her hands in her pockets, she encountered an unexpected person who recognized her immediately.

When pulled into an alley, Tian Mi rolled her eyes and said, “You can still recognize me even when I’m dressed like this?”

Chun Xiu held her tightly in the alley before letting go, joking, “Don’t worry, even if you turned to ash, I’d recognize you.”

“Ha ha… thanks, but if you turned to ash, I definitely wouldn’t recognize you; our relationship isn’t that good.” The two had never gotten along well. Tian Mi inherited the original body’s memories and emotions, and she responded without hesitation.

After a few exchanges of sharp words, Tian Mi finally grew impatient. “What do you want to pull me over here for?” She was busy.

Although Chun Xiu didn’t get along with the original, she hadn’t really done anything bad.

When it came down to it, it was just a matter of childish rivalry between girls.

The original body had a more honest personality, but curiously, she only spoke sharply in front of this cousin.

Chun Xiu paused her sharp retorts, her gaze complex as she stared at Tian Mi, who was wearing a triangular scarf. Despite trying to cover it up, her good complexion and growing beauty were undeniable. Suddenly, she said out of the blue, “If only I were half as good-looking as you.”

Chun Xiu looked like her father—her features weren’t bad, with thick brows and big eyes. However, because she resembled her father so much, she inherited his square face shape, which made her appear less delicate.

She also inherited her father’s skin tone; while she wasn’t exactly charcoal black, she had no connection to being fair-skinned whatsoever.

When they were kids, Chun Xiu enjoyed playing with her cousin, who was a few days older.

However, as they reached their teenage years, Chun Xiu discovered that most of the boys in her class liked Tian Mi, even the one she had a crush on.

Moreover, her mother often compared her unfavorably to Tian Mi, complaining that she fell short in every aspect and saying that in the future, the bride price would be significantly less than Tian Mi’s…

After hearing such belittling remarks repeatedly, her mindset gradually began to shift.

What frustrated her even more was that everything she valued or was annoyed about didn’t seem to matter to Tian Mi at all. Her cousin, who was as clueless as a goose, only made her feel like a clown.

Chun Xiu’s ramblings, however, surprisingly resonated with Tian Mi.

To be honest, while it might sound a bit showy, good-looking people do hold advantages in many aspects.

In both her past life and this one, they bore an 80% resemblance, and in her previous life, she had various external enhancements, such as hairstyles, outfits, cosmetics, and accessories, which made her appear even more beautiful than in this life.

As a beneficiary of good looks, she had no standing to criticize anyone; she could only sincerely suggest, “It’s not good to focus solely on appearance. In long-term relationships, compatibility in personality and the value of one’s character are what truly matter.”

Just like her own feelings for Lou Luhui.

No… to put it more plainly, that man was practically the embodiment of her aesthetic preferences.

But… whether they were suited for each other could only be determined when she went to her eldest sister’s place and spent time together up close.

She hoped that if she and Lou Luhui ended up together, it would be because it started with looks and was sustained by character.

“That Sun Jun-Zhiqing, keeps accepting your help but never gives you a clear answer. He’s also involved with other girls in the village. Clearly, he’s not a good person…” Tian Mi wasn’t one to meddle in others’ affairs, but life was hard for women, especially in such a social environment, so she couldn’t help but speak up.

“What do you know? He’s from Suzhou; people from big cities are reserved.” Chun Xiu brushed it off, but then seemed to realize something, her expression turning wary: “You’re not trying to steal him from me because you can’t marry Liu Xiangdong, are you?”

Tian Mi looked blank: “No thanks, I’m not interested in picking up trash.”

Upon hearing this, Chun Xiu still harbored some doubts but didn’t press further. She pouted and stated her main reason for stopping her: “Uncle has been looking for you these days. Why haven’t you gone to Second Aunt’s house?”

Tian Mi glanced behind her and, not spotting anyone watching, asked, “This is too complicated to explain in a moment. I went to a classmate’s house. By the way, did Tian Chang Qing go back?”

“He did, he went back this morning.” Talking about this perked Chun Xiu up: “You won’t believe it. After the commotion at the Liu family early this morning, Wang Hongyan received news. I don’t know if she was afraid Uncle would cause her trouble, but she ran to the Revolutionary Committee, saying she wouldn’t file a complaint and was willing to settle privately. How it turned out, I have no idea, but Tian Chang Qing has already returned to his grandparents’ house.”

Speaking of Tian Chang Qing, all their relatives felt disdain for him.

Not to mention that the person himself was annoying, but the key was that in the eyes of their grandparents, only that coward mattered. They didn’t care for any of the other grandchildren, which understandably stirred public outrage among the other kids.

If Tian Chang Qing had any skills of his own, it might be excusable, but he was as useless as a lump of mud that couldn’t even prop itself up.

“By the way, I don’t know how Wang Hongyan managed it, but ever since Uncle brought Chang Qing back, he’s been insisting on marrying her. Do you think he’s completely lost his mind? By the way… this Wang Hongyan is quite capable herself…” Chun Xiu babbled on, and by the end, her tone held a hint of envy. If she had such skills, Sun Zhiqing would have been taken down long ago.

Sigh…

Tian Mi, however, was thinking a bit more deeply. After Tian Chang Qing came out, not only did he not hate Wang Hongyan, but his resolve to marry her had only strengthened, and there could only be three reasons for that.

First, the two had collaborated on this incident.

Second, he had completely lost his mind.

Third, Wang Hongyan was pregnant, so he had to marry her.

Aside from the first guess, Tian Mi didn’t care about the other two at all. Who Tian Chang Qing decided to marry was irrelevant to her; after all, he wasn’t an important person…

After asking about the family situation, Tian Mi didn’t rush to go back. She looked at her younger cousin and said, “Please give a message to my dad and Si Mei.” As for San Mei and Xiaodi^[1]Little brother, San Mei was smart enough to know what to do.

Chun Xiu lifted her square jaw and looked at her through her nostrils: “Why should I help you deliver a message?”

Seeing this, Tian Mi sighed and turned to leave.

“Hey? What do you mean? We haven’t even talked yet. Who knows… if you beg me, I might help you.” Chun Xiu quickly reached out to pull her back.

Tian Mi stopped in her tracks, turning back: “I was actually thinking of giving you a new hairstyle to make you look prettier, but now it seems…”

“What… what method?” Chun Xiu was intrigued by this and didn’t want to let her go, gripping Tian Mi’s clothes tightly.

“Let go; you’re going to tear my clothes.”

“I won’t let go. You tell me first, then I’ll let go.”

“Then you’ll have to beg me.” Tian Mi mimicked her, lifting her delicate chin and looking at her through her nostrils, smiling sweetly as she threw her own words back in her cousin’s face.

Chun Xiu…

In the end, the two plastic cousins reached an agreement: Chun Xiu would help convey that Tian Mi was safe and would return home in a few days, while Tian Mi would help design a new hairstyle for her.

Chun Xiu had a square face; her features weren’t bad, but her face shape was her downfall.

Tian Mi squatted down, picked up a small stone, and sketched a bob hairstyle commonly seen in later generations on the ground.

Believing in the principle of “sending the Buddha to the West,” she also went on to explain the benefits of this hairstyle to Chun Xiu.

Even if the barber couldn’t grasp the essentials, as long as they could cut a student’s hairstyle with straight bangs, it would be better than her current style, which emphasized her flaws with a middle parting and tightly braided pigtails.

To be honest, the first time she saw Chun Xiu’s tightly braided middle parting, she thought to herself that her cousin was quite the tough girl!

Sure enough, regardless of the era, women were always keenly aware of beauty.

Chun Xiu’s face lit up with a smile, as if she could already imagine how beautiful she would look with her new hairstyle.

The two enjoyed their first collaboration immensely.

After the deal was made, Tian Mi slung her bag over her shoulder and headed out.

As she was about to exit the alley, for some inexplicable reason, Tian Mi turned back to glance at Chun Xiu, who was also looking at her. She asked, “What’s up?”

Chun Xiu pursed her lips awkwardly and said, “You should stay outside a few more days. The house is really chaotic, especially with Grandpa, Grandma, and Auntie—they have a lot of opinions about you…”

“…I understand. Thank you, Chun Xiu.” Tian Mi wasn’t so ungrateful as to ignore the kindness shown to her.

Before leaving, she hesitated and added, “Chun Xiu, I’m serious. Think carefully about Sun Zhiqing. He will eventually return to the city; even if he doesn’t, you should look at things from different perspectives and think about it more.”

After saying this, she didn’t look back at Chun Xiu’s stunned expression and turned to leave.

In truth, she wasn’t the kind of person who meddled in others’ affairs, but in this era, marriage essentially meant a lifetime commitment for women.

Given Sun Jun’s character, even if he ultimately chose Chun Xiu for various reasons, he would still leave her after 1977.

Not to mention that every girl is a little fairy; why should any of them be someone’s last resort?

With someone like Sun Jun, who was slippery and had unclear relationships with several girls in the village, how could he possibly bring Chun Xiu back to the city in the future?

In that period of history, there were far too many tragedies, and Tian Mi genuinely hoped that Chun Xiu wouldn’t become just another unfortunate soul left behind…

=

Carrying gold on her back, always worried it might be lost or stolen, Tian Mi decided to follow the Liu family’s example and hide the gold in the safest place—under the sea.

Concerned about being discovered by fishermen, she specially sought out deep waters and used a snake-skin bag to hide the packed gold in a coral cave.

If someone still found it, it could only be said that it was their destiny.

After hiding the gold, Tian Mi, embracing the mindset of having come this far, took another stroll around the seabed.

However, this time, she didn’t linger for long; after just two hours, she sold the spoils with Aunt Wang and the others and headed to the county guesthouse.

Generally, guests aren’t allowed to use the phone if they aren’t staying at the guesthouse.

But a few days before, when Tian Mi had left, she slipped a dollar to the attendant, successfully getting the chance to answer a call.

She arrived at the guesthouse five minutes earlier than the time she had agreed upon with her sister.

The attendant happened to be on the phone when she walked in; perhaps she had received a dollar, so she gave Tian Mi a perfunctory smile and said, “You’re here? Just in time.”

Tian Mi, surprised, asked with a smile, “Is it my call?”

“Yes, it’s your sister’s. You’re a few minutes early.” The attendant said as she set the receiver on the table, then took her yarn and sauntered over to a chair not far away to start knitting.

Tian Mi hurried over a few steps, just as she picked up the receiver, her sister’s voice came through: “…Hello? Hello? Mi Yatou, is that you?”

“Da Jie, it’s me.”

“Good that you’re here. I guessed you’d arrive early, feeling anxious, so I called to check.”

“Isn’t it a coincidence? I just walked into the guesthouse when your call came through.”

After hearing this, Tian Yu on the other end of the line chuckled and wanted to chat a bit more. However, Chen Gang beside her gently urged, “Hurry up, we can’t chat for too long.” Special circumstances could allow for some flexibility, but as a soldier, it wouldn’t be appropriate to keep using state resources indefinitely.

Having lived in the military for eight years, Tian Yu felt she was a pretty conscious military spouse, so she immediately focused and said, “Er Mei, let’s keep it brief. Time is of the essence.”

Upon hearing this, Tian Mi tightened her grip on the receiver. “Alright, you go first, Jie.”

“About that guy who’s been pressuring you, what’s his surname again?… Ah, never mind, that’s not important. He can’t threaten you for now, right?”

Tian Mi was surprised by the question but not too much. “Did Jie fu ask someone to help?”

“Your Jie fu would love to, but when he asked someone for help, they said the issue had already been resolved. Only later did we find out it was because of Regiment Commander Lou’s intervention.” As she said this, Tian Yu couldn’t hide her delight in her tone. After all, no matter how you looked at it, a guy who takes the initiative and gets things done always earns a bit more respect.