Chapter 13 : Jiang Li is not that person

Zhuang Guoliang was distracted when suddenly a large piece of fat fell into his arms. The young woman’s face turned a variety of colors, and she gave him a flirtatious look.

His hair stood on end, and he pushed her away. Jiang Hongmei lost her balance and fell to the ground.

“Brother Zhuang, what are you doing?”

Jiang Hongmei twisted her braids, looking timid. Wang Juhua helped her up and said, “Hongmei, are you alright?”

Zhuang Guoliang felt disgusted. Not only was the young woman strange-looking, but she was also unkempt, with greasy hair. His hands were covered in grease.

However, thinking that she was a member of the Jiang family and might be a relative in the future, he suppressed his nausea and apologized, “Are you okay? I’m sorry.”

“I’m fine. I know you didn’t mean it, Brother Zhuang.”

Widow Liu never expected Jiang Hongmei to be so shameless as to throw herself into a man’s arms in broad daylight.

Seeing Zhuang Guoliang’s unhappy expression, she quickly tried to smooth things over, “Juhua, where is Jiang Li?”

When Widow Liu mentioned Jiang Li, Jiang Hongmei quickly said, “She dressed up beautifully and went out early in the morning. It seems like she went to the county.”

“What?”

“When did she go out? This brat…”

Wang Juhua had just started to curse but stopped when she remembered there were outsiders in the house.

“You saw her go out and didn’t even try to stop her?” Wang Juhua was furious. This unruly girl had been acting out ever since she got sick two days ago. She was like a completely different person.

Could it be that she’s possessed by some evil spirit?

“Mom, you know how it is.”

“Jiang Li usually likes going to the county. When she comes back, she carries a lot of bags. If I asked her again, she’d get mad. How could I dare to stop her?”

Widow Liu looked displeased. Everyone in the village knew that Jiang Li was virtuous, so how did she become this restless person in Jiang Hongmei’s words?

Zhuang Guoliang looked even more upset. Jiang Li was running around all day? If a woman is so restless, who will do the housework?

Do we have to ask the men who work in the fields to come back and cook for themselves?

“Mom, it’s rare for Brother Zhuang and Aunt Liu to come over. Why don’t you stay for lunch? I’ll cook a couple of dishes for you.”

Wang Juhua wasn’t happy. Jiang Li was going on a blind date, and now her family had to pay for the food. She just couldn’t catch a wolf without sacrificing her own child.

Since she’d already received the 200 yuan betrothal gift, she figured she should at least get 50 yuan from this.

So, gritting her teeth, she agreed.

Widow Liu pulled Zhuang Guoliang aside and advised, “Don’t listen to these women’s nonsense. Lizi isn’t like that. Who knows, maybe there’s some urgent matter she needed to go to the county for today.”

“You’ve come all the way here, why don’t we wait a bit?” Widow Liu suggested.

Zhuang Guoliang was filled with anger. Did Jiang Li look down on him this much?

She knew she was going on a blind date but still went to the city? He sat down, frustrated. He had to find out the truth today.

The sun was high, and Jiang Li got off the bus and headed straight for the supply and marketing cooperative.

She didn’t have much money: five yuan from her pension, five yuan extorted from Jiang Hongmei, and seventy-two cents she’d found last time in the east wing altogether, ten yuan and seventy-two cents.

There was a department store in the county, but the clothes there were expensive, so Jiang Li never considered it.

After a round of shopping at the supply and marketing cooperative, she realized that not only could she not afford ready-made clothes, but even buying cloth required cloth coupons.

There were very few colors to choose from, mostly black, blue, and gray.

Even so, the counter was still crowded.

Jiang Li felt a little discouraged, and her stomach began to growl. She walked toward the snack section.

If she couldn’t afford clothes, at least she could buy some food.

“Comrade salesperson, give me a pound of calcium milk biscuits and another pound of egg cakes.”

“Please wait a moment, customer. I’ll be right back with your order.” The salesperson at the food counter was unusually polite today, none of the usual indifference.

Jiang Li was a little surprised but didn’t think much of it. She watched the salesperson scoop the biscuits.

Most of the loose biscuits were defective products from the production line. They might not look good, but they still tasted fine.

Some of the biscuits were relatively intact, while others were broken into crumbs. They were usually sold together, but the salesperson only picked out the broken ones for Jiang Li.

Jiang Li quickly spoke up, “Comrade salesperson, the biscuits you scooped for me are crumbs. How can I eat these?”

Feng Liping had been smiling all morning but was starting to lose her patience.

When Jiang Li asked this, some of the resentment in her heart showed on her face. Country people just loved to take advantage of others.

She threw the shovel down and said, “This is how we sell our bulk cookies. Besides, you’ve already picked out the good ones. Who would want the bad ones?”

Jiang Li said patiently, “Okay, I don’t want the cookies. I’ll take two pounds of egg cake.”

“I already weighed it, but now you don’t want it. Why come here to make fun of me?”

Feng Liping was the type who couldn’t stand being challenged. She was used to receiving requests, and this country girl had the nerve to ask her for something, which made her furious.

“You have to buy these cookies today! Don’t leave the supply and marketing cooperative unless you buy them!”

Jiang Li was also angry. She preferred to mind her own business, but she wasn’t going to let this woman bully others.

“I don’t want them today. Do you think I can’t leave this door?”

Feng Liping snorted, “I see you don’t have any money, but you’re pretending to be rich. How can a country girl pretend to be rich?”

“I may be poor, but I have dignity. What’s the matter? Do you look down on our peasant comrades? The food you eat is grown by me.”

“The leaders have said that workers and peasants are one. Do you mean you don’t respect the leadership?”

More and more people gathered around, most of them like Jiang Li, dressed in patched clothes, glaring at Feng Liping with dissatisfaction.

“That’s right! You blame us country folk. Without us, you’d starve!”

“Isn’t this how a landlord’s daughter behaves?”

“Report her to the leaders! This is outrageous!”

Feng Liping noticed the angry looks and was being criticized by everyone. She was so scared that she didn’t know what to say.

Moreover, Jiang Li’s accusation of disrespecting the peasant class made her sweat cold.

Her eyes suddenly reddened, and she ran off, covering her face.

A pair of bony hands picked up the shovel that Feng Liping had thrown aside, and Qi Shaoqiang quickly filled a paper bag with the egg cakes.

He weighed it on a fair scale, and it was exactly two kilograms. His movements were quick and efficient.

“Comrade Jiang Li, two pounds of egg cake, right? It’s ready, please take it.”

He looked up at the crowd and said, “Everyone, I apologize on behalf of Comrade Feng Liping. She was rude. I’ll report this to the supply and marketing cooperative director and ensure she’s appropriately punished.”

“Who are you? Are you their boss?. Don’t let that woman come back in two days like nothing happened!”

“I’m the deputy director of Wuyang Food Factory. As a veteran, I guarantee what I just said. The supply and marketing cooperative will make a decision in three days, and we welcome public oversight.”

After these words, the onlookers had nothing more to say and slowly dispersed.

Jiang Li handed over the money for the two pounds of egg cakes, then thought for a moment and took out another dollar.

“Thank you for the meat buns you gave me last time. This is to pay you back.”

The banknote, still warm from her hand, fell into Qi Shaoqiang’s palm. It felt as if he was holding a branding iron, burning him, making him uncomfortable all over.