Chapter 253: Embarrassment

Lu Yichen asked, “After you report to the school, will you need to come back again?”

Luo Qiao replied, “I’ll figure it out once I get to the school. If anything comes up, the village chief can call. I’ll ask for the school’s phone number today.”

Lu Yichen said, “Why not take my workplace phone number instead? I’ll come find you. My workplace isn’t far from your school anyway.”

Luo Qiao glanced at Lu Yichen and asked, “Which unit did you transfer to in the city?”

Lu Yichen replied, “I’m now at the Hongqi Police Station, just a little way in front of your school.”

Luo Qiao smiled, “Brother Lu, you’re really something. Why haven’t you mentioned this before?”

Lu Yichen followed her into the kitchen to help. “Well, Shitou is starting school soon. The other day, his cousin said some pretty hurtful things to him, even threatening that if he attended the village’s elementary school, the village kids would bully him.

I happened to overhear that. Shitou looked quite upset that day. They wanted me to transfer there before, but I hadn’t agreed yet. Since you’re also going to school in the city, and I know Shitou wouldn’t want to be apart from you, I went ahead and completed the paperwork.”

—

After they finished breakfast, the village began to stir. Gao Suhua was found asleep on the roadside by Er Dan, the village idiot, who had started pulling and hugging her.

When Zhao Pulin arrived, Gao Suhua finally woke up. Her first instinct was to check her pockets for money. She searched once but found nothing, then searched again, still nothing. She patted herself all over but the money was gone.

She immediately started hitting and scolding Er Dan, accusing him of stealing her money. Er Dan’s mother, a fierce woman, got into a shouting match with Gao Suhua.

Someone asked, “Suhua, how much money did you lose?”

Gao Suhua’s face turned awkward, but she didn’t say how much.

Another person asked, “Pulin’s wife, why were you sleeping here?”

Gao Suhua, feeling embarrassed, replied, “I wasn’t sleeping here. I fainted this morning. If you don’t know what you’re talking about, don’t say anything.”

The person who’s asking the question said disdainfully, “Look at your clothes, they’re all soaked with dew. Who’s going to believe you just fainted here?”

Feeling humiliated, Zhao Pulin grabbed Gao Suhua and pulled her home. Once they were inside their yard, Zhao Pulin looked at her and asked, “What have you done this time?”

Gao Suhua retorted, “What could I have possibly done?”

Zhao Pulin said, “Your excuses might fool others, but they won’t fool me. Now, tell me the truth!”

Gao Suhua replied, “There’s really nothing. Don’t you trust me?”

With a dark expression, Zhao Pulin said, “You’d better not have done anything out of line, or you’ll regret it.”

Gao Suhua was still heartbroken over the money she had just gotten her hands on, but now it was gone, and she had no idea who had stolen it. She was furious, but she couldn’t tell anyone about it, which only made her angrier.

However, when she thought about how Luo Qiao might never leave the mountains for the rest of her life, she felt a little better. At least her daughter’s future wouldn’t be ruined by Luo Qiao. So, losing the 200 yuan hurt, but it was something she could live with.

Before Luo Qiao left, she specifically found the village captain and told him to call Lu Yichen’s workplace if anything came up. The village chief was aware of Lu Yichen’s situation, and the farm machinery station had already sent someone to take over yesterday.

The new person was from a neighboring village, so it probably wouldn’t be as convenient for the village to use the tractor as it had been before.

After leaving the village office, Luo Qiao headed towards the outskirts of the village. She hadn’t walked far when she saw Shitou and Lu Yichen waiting for her.

Meanwhile, Gao Suhua prepared the meal and called her daughters to eat. When everyone was seated but didn’t see her second daughter, Zhao Xiaomei, she asked, “Xiaocao, where’s your second sister?”

Zhao Xiaocao replied, “I don’t know. I didn’t see her when I got up this morning.”

Gao Suhua turned to her youngest daughter, “Xiaoyun, did you see your second sister this morning?”

Zhao Xiaoyun, staring at the cornbread on the table, said, “No, I haven’t seen her since I got up. Mom, can we eat now? I’m hungry.”

Gao Suhua angrily responded, “Eat, eat, eat. All you think about is eating.”

Feeling frustrated, Gao Suhua got up and went to check the backyard, but after looking around, she still didn’t find her second daughter. Just then, Zhao Pulin said, “Let’s eat first. Maybe she went out for something. Leave two cornbreads for her. She’ll be back when she’s hungry.”

But Gao Suhua had a bad feeling. Ever since that incident, her second daughter rarely went out and mostly stayed at home, doing chores and cooking. Even when she went to the river to wash clothes, she avoided times when there were many people around.

If she had gone out, she would’ve said something. By the time they finished eating, Zhao Xiaomei still hadn’t returned, and Gao Suhua began to panic, feeling that something was wrong.

Hearing a commotion outside, Gao Suhua quickly went out to investigate. It was nearly time for work, and she planned to look for her second daughter again.

Meanwhile, Zhang Guoqing from Zhangshu Village had come to propose to Gao Taohua. As per Gao Taohua’s wishes, Zhang Guoqing brought her two sets of clothes and a lot of fruit candies. Gao Shunyi also kept his word this time, giving Gao Taohua 50 yuan as part of her dowry.