Chapter 20: Trouble

“Linlin, you were impulsive just now. If you manage to get the cloth, that’s fine, but if you don’t, it could cause trouble for you,” Hu Yingying said, looking at Li Lin with a furrowed brow after they had brought the packages into the house, paid the driver, and sent him away.

“I know, but I already said it, and now I’ll do everything I can to make it happen. Don’t worry,” Li Lin replied confidently. Then, after a brief pause, she added, “Let’s hurry and unpack the packages. We still have time to wash clothes, or we’ll be too lazy to do it tomorrow.”

“Alright,” Hu Yingying agreed, heading inside. She took out some stationery and began writing a letter home, asking if her family could buy some inexpensive, defective enamel cups or enamel basins. If they could, she wanted them to send it over.

Since Li Lin had helped her so much, if Li Lin couldn’t get the cloth, having these items would at least prevent the villagers from complaining.

Meanwhile, Fang Mingyi had the same thought. He was considering reaching out to his friends in Beijing, so that it wouldn’t cause trouble for Li Lin’s family and she wouldn’t be blamed. It seemed like the perfect solution.

At the same time, Li Lin, unaware of the silent efforts being made on her behalf, was unpacking her packages. As she took everything out, a wave of homesickness washed over her. She missed her parents terribly.

The cotton-padded jacket, pants, sweaters, and woolen socks made her eyes well up. Her parents had sent her their best belongings, things they could have used themselves, and it hit Li Lin hard.

But she knew there was no turning back. The things were already here, so she would have to use them.

She decided that the next time she went to the commune, she would take some dried goods from the market and send them home, pretending they were from a local exchange. This way, the villagers wouldn’t suspect anything.

Thinking this way, Li Lin felt better.

She continued pulling things out of the packages: two large tins of milk powder, Big Rabbit Milk Candies, two big bags of dried meat, and a pile of fruit candies.

There were also socks and cotton shoes, and the most precious item was a set of genuine women’s military uniforms. Li Lin couldn’t help but touch them lovingly.

Then, she found a letter and started reading it. The dried meat, her brother had written, was something he had hunted on a mission and made himself. The military uniform had been swapped by her brother with a female soldier, and he had made great sacrifices for it.

Li Lin chuckled when she read this.

After that, she quickly organized everything. The things she would use, she placed in the cupboard and wooden box, and the things she wouldn’t use for now were temporarily stored away.

She changed into a new set of clothes, put her dirty ones into a basin, grabbed some soap, and went outside to wash them.

“Linlin, we didn’t buy any grain this time, so don’t forget to get some next time,” Hu Yingying called out as she came outside holding her own dirty laundry.

“Got it,” Li Lin nodded.

The two of them continued washing their clothes while chatting, the time passing quietly.

Days went by.

One day, after finishing the pigweed, Li Lin and Hu Yingying were picking up firewood by the river when a group of unruly men suddenly appeared out of nowhere and blocked their path.

“Hey, little sisters, we’ve been watching you for a while. It’s such a nice day today, why don’t you come spend some time with us?” one of the men leered as he approached.

Seeing this, Li Lin and Hu Yingying quickly threw their baskets to the side, grabbed each other’s hands, and started running toward the river, yelling for help.

“Don’t bother screaming, no one’s going to hear you. Everyone’s at work right now, so you’re on your own,” one of the disheveled men said, slowly advancing like he was teasing a dog.

“Yingying, don’t be scared, we’ll be fine,” Li Lin reassured her friend. She reached to her waist and pulled out a sharp knife, then charged at the men.

The small-time thugs didn’t expect that the girl had a knife in her hand, and they all stepped back for a moment.

At that moment, as they backed away, Li Lin quickly pushed Hu Yingying out.

“Go call someone, I’ll wait for you to come back.”

“Lin Lin.” Hu Yingying called out, tears in her eyes.

“Go quickly.” Li Lin blocked the way of the thugs with the knife, giving Hu Yingying a little more time.

Hu Yingying could only wipe her tears quickly and ran off. Even when she tripped over a stone and fell, she got up and continued stumbling forward.

“Yi Ge, that’s Hu Zhiqing, isn’t it? It seems like she’s in trouble.”

Zhu Liyan was lazily looking around when he suddenly saw someone limping toward them. It wasn’t really running—it was more like a limp walk.

He took a closer look and realized it was Hu Yingying from the youth station. He quickly nudged Fang Mingyi, who was working beside him.

Fang Mingyi raised his head, saw it was indeed Hu Yingying, and then looked behind her. There was no one following. This made his heart skip a beat. He threw down the hoe he was holding and ran toward her.

“Yi Ge, wait for me!” Zhu Liyan shouted and ran after him. The people around them, curious, followed them too.

“Fang Zhiqing, quickly go to the river and save Lin Lin, she’s been…”

Hu Yingying was almost in despair, still hadn’t met anyone, but suddenly saw someone coming from afar. Without waiting for Fang Mingyi to ask, she blurted out, but before she could finish her sentence, Fang Mingyi had already disappeared.

At this point, after the thugs knocked the knife from Li Lin’s hand, and seeing no one around, she tried to flee into the mall.

But before she could get in, Fang Mingyi arrived, knocking the thugs to the ground.

Li Lin saw this and, feeling her legs go weak, collapsed into the river.

“Li Zhiqing, are you okay?” Fang Mingyi saw her sitting in the river and was so frightened that his heart nearly stopped. He rushed over to help her up and asked.

At that moment, the thugs realized they couldn’t do anything more today, so they exchanged glances, stood up, and ran.

Fang Mingyi noticed they were running and shouted at Zhu Liyan, who was coming over: “Xiao Yan, tie them up!”

“Understood.” Zhu Liyan knew from the tone of Yi Ge’s voice that he was angry.

Without saying another word, he quickly moved forward, kicked the thugs down, and used a vine to tie all four of them up.

As they were tying them up, the other villagers who had followed out of curiosity also arrived.

“What’s going on here? Why are they tied up?” A middle-aged woman, seeing the thugs bound on the ground, asked in confusion.

“What else could it be? Didn’t you see Li Zhiqing, drenched, being helped up by Fang Zhiqing? These animals must have bullied her again,” another woman observed, noticing Li Lin’s pale face and wet clothes. She said sympathetically.

“But now she’s fine, right? Why is she still holding onto Fang Zhiqing? Could they be… dating?” A gossiping woman, squinting, remarked.

“Yeah, yeah, look at Li Zhiqing, all wet, and still holding on to Fang Zhiqing. If they’re not dating, then they’ve got no shame,” another woman chimed in.

Liu Lan, who had run over, followed up with malicious glee.

Li Lin was so furious that her body trembled. She looked at Fang Mingyi and said, “Fang Zhiqing, sorry for causing you trouble.”

“It’s fine, don’t mind them. They’re used to gossiping,” Fang Mingyi shook his head, trying to comfort her.

Li Lin forced a smile, lowered her head, picked up the knife that had fallen into the river, and walked step by step toward the crowd.

Let me know if you’d like me to continue or if you need more details!