Chapter 67: Showing Off

As soon as the siblings left, Cheng Hongying took He Ziqing and the baby out to show off.

The moment they stood under the big tree at the entrance of the village, people came over to ask, “Why are you out with the baby today? Where’s Yinuo?”

Cheng Hongying straightened her back slightly. “She went to work.”

“What? What kind of job?”

“How come you didn’t tell us?”

“Yeah, where is Yinuo working? Tell us quickly.”

“A few days ago, our girl went to Taolin Village to fix a tractor, remember? Who would’ve thought it would turn into something big. She impressed even the director of the tractor factory there. They were so taken by her skills that they insisted on hiring her as a technical consultant at Tractor Factory No. 3.”

“Sigh, I don’t know much about it. What’s a technical consultant anyway?”

“Tractor Factory No. 3 in the city is the best factory in our county—maybe even the whole city. My sister-in-law’s cousin’s son works there too. It’s a guaranteed job for life. I’ve heard it’s really hard to get into that factory.”

“Hongying, your girl’s got a bright future ahead of her.”

“Oh, not at all. It’s all because of that child’s own hard work. Back then, her father didn’t even let her read books. And now, look at her—those books really taught her how to earn a living.”

Immediately, many people looked at Cheng Hongying with admiration. But there were always those who couldn’t stand to see her so pleased.

“Cheng Hongying, don’t be too happy just yet. Do you even know your Jinzi’s been flirting with that educated youth, Qian Zhiqing? Don’t say I didn’t warn you—those female educated youths have big ambitions. They’re not going to be content living in our remote mountain village. When the time comes, your Jinzi might end up with nothing—no wife and no money.”

If she hadn’t been holding Erbao in her arms, Cheng Hongying would’ve slapped Wang Hongxia’s mouth shut right then and there.

“Who’s flirting with who? I think you’re just jealous of my daughter and spreading rumors about my Jinzi.”

Wang Hongxia laughed. “Cheng Hongying, don’t tell me you don’t know about the commotion at the educated youth quarters yesterday afternoon? I heard it even reached the commune. Your girl stood up for that female comrade too. Are we going to be drinking your family’s wedding wine soon?”

Everyone in Ping’an Village knew that Qian Zhiqing had high standards—she would never look twice at a village farm boy.

Wang Hongxia said all this just to embarrass Jinzi.

After all, someone like him would never marry a girl like Qian Zhiqing. He could only stare longingly, like a toad dreaming of a swan. Thinking of this made Wang Hongxia even more enthusiastic. “Hongying, you better start getting ready. Who knows, in a few months, some good news might be too obvious to hide.”

At that point, Cheng Hongying couldn’t take it anymore. She shoved Erbao into He Ziqing’s arms.

“Qingqing, take the baby and get away from here.” With that, she rolled up her sleeves and caught Wang Hongxia off guard with a slap.

“You just love to run your mouth, don’t you? Since your mouth doesn’t know how to behave, I’ll smash it for you.”

“Hey! Cheng Hongying, you dare hit me?” Clutching her burning cheek, Wang Hongxia charged at her like a madwoman. In front of everyone, the two rural women began to brawl, eventually rolling onto the ground.

Physically, Wang Hongxia had a slight advantage over Cheng Hongying. But with He Ziqing standing by, every time Cheng Hongying was about to be overpowered, she would step in and push them apart with her foot.

In the end, Cheng Hongying fought with all her strength, yanking at Wang Hongxia’s hair. “Wang Hongxia, if you keep slandering my son, I swear I’ll beat you to death!”

Around the corner, an old man was pacing anxiously. He wanted to go out and stop the fight, but was afraid he’d bring more trouble upon himself.

So instead, he pulled aside a child who had been watching the commotion and handed him a piece of candy. “This candy is for you. Go tell the Village Head there’s a fight happening here. But don’t tell anyone I gave it to you, or they’ll come take your candy.”

Faced with candy, how could a child possibly refuse? He quickly stashed the treat away and ran off happily to find the Village Head.

The Village Head had already been feeling regretful for calling the commune officials in a fit of impulsive anger the day before.

Now, hearing that Wang Hongxia had gotten into a fight with someone from Qiu’s family, he scowled. “What is wrong with these women? Always making trouble—what are they even trying to do?”

When he arrived and found out that Wang Hongxia had been spreading rumors again, whatever little regret he had left quickly vanished. Qiu Yinuo had been right—unless someone made a real scene, these people would never learn to be afraid.

“What are you all causing trouble for now? The commune is already launching an investigation into this. Wang Hongxia, if you’ve got something to say, save it for them.”

“Fine, I’ll talk. Who’s afraid?”

“Good. If the commune finds out you lied, whether you end up being sent to the Northwest for reeducation or land in prison won’t be up to me anymore.” The village head pointed randomly at someone nearby. “You, go to the commune and invite them here.”

When Wang Hongxia saw the person actually start running and realized the village head wasn’t just bluffing, panic set in.

She rushed after him. “Hey, hey, wait! Don’t go! It was just my big mouth spouting nonsense. Please don’t call the commune!”

The Village Head didn’t stop her, only gave everyone else a cold look. “Until the commune finishes its investigation, you’d all better watch your mouths. If I hear any more nonsense, then get out of Ping’an Village. We don’t need troublemakers destroying our unity.”

It was the first time the villagers had seen the village head this angry. No one dared make a sound. Everyone stood still, silent and stiff with fear.

Village Head Sun sighed inwardly. It was true—when you accept help, you lose the upper hand. If he had known that Qian Zhiqing would stir up so much trouble, he never would have given her any special treatment.

As for that Qiu Yinuo and her brother, they clearly weren’t the kind to be messed with either.

After the village head left, Cheng Hongying didn’t rush home. “Qingqing, you take the baby back first. I want to talk to them a bit more.”

It took her almost forty minutes to finally piece together what had happened the previous day.

She was so furious, she wanted to beat that brat of hers to a pulp. That worthless fool—why did he have to fall for Qian Zhiqing?

Within just half a day, the whole village had heard that Qiu Yinuo had landed a job in a big city factory as some kind of consultant.

They said the job was easy and not physically tiring at all.

When this news reached the Village Head, he quietly breathed a sigh of relief that he hadn’t ended up offending her.

After the midday rest, the old couple from the Qiu family came by to ask about their granddaughter’s job. When they found out she had secured a position in the city, they were overjoyed.

For the old Qiu family, this was something to be genuinely proud of.

They also casually brought up their eldest grandson and the matter of that female educated youth.

Seeing her in-laws asking, Cheng Hongying immediately perked up and composed herself. “There’s nothing going on between them. That day, Qian Zhiqing wasn’t feeling well and I happened to see it, so I asked Jinzi to help out a bit. That girl’s having a hard time—it doesn’t hurt to offer a hand when we can.”

She absolutely couldn’t let the old couple find out that Jinzi liked Qian Zhiqing. Who knew what kind of mess that would bring in the future?

All she wanted was for Jinzi to find a wife who was kind and dependable, and for the two of them to live a steady, honest life together.