Chapter 39: Finding a Way Out of the Countryside

Wu Xiuxiu looked at her family, her heart warm. Suddenly, she remembered the money.

She immediately reached into her pants pocket and pulled out five large unity bills, handing them to her mother.

“This is fifty yuan, it’s what was left after buying these things with the hundred yuan I found. Mom, you take this for household expenses.”

“Brother, sister-in-law, if you need money in the future, just ask Mom.” Her gaze shifted, and she looked at Wu Zhipeng and Dong Xiaoye, giving them a sweet smile.

“No need to wait for the future, Zhipeng and Xiaoye, take some money now and spend it.”

Ding Hongjuan said, reaching out to take the money her daughter handed over. She pulled out two large unity bills and handed them to her son and daughter-in-law.

“You guys don’t have any money now, your pockets are all empty. I know… come on, take ten yuan each and spend it.”

“This…” Wu Zhipeng and Dong Xiaoye looked at each other, both showing hesitant expressions.

“Brother, sister-in-law, take it quickly.” Wu Xiuxiu said immediately when she saw their hesitation.

“These past few years, I’ve relied on your brother’s money to live. It was your brother’s money that supported me. Now I have some money, it’s only right for you to take it and spend it.” She knew why her brother and sister-in-law were hesitant.

“If you don’t take it, then I won’t use the family’s money or eat the family’s food in the future.

Because the family’s money is all my brother’s salary, and the family’s food is also bought with my brother’s salary.” She was afraid her brother and sister-in-law wouldn’t take the money, so she threatened them.

Wu Zhipeng and his wife looked at each other again, then reached out and took the money, each taking ten yuan.

“Xiuxiu, you take ten yuan too, it’s convenient to have money when you need it. I’ll keep twenty for household expenses. Your brother will get his salary in a few days, and then we’ll have more money.”

Ding Hongjuan was afraid her daughter would give her all the remaining money, and then she wouldn’t have any money on hand. She pulled out another large unity bill and handed it to her daughter, holding it out in front of her.

“Mom, you don’t need to give me money, I still have some left. I have money to spend.” Wu Xiuxiu pushed the money back.

Ding Hongjuan saw that her daughter didn’t seem like she was joking, so she took back the money and put all thirty yuan back in her pants pocket.

“Eldest son, Xiaoye, put all the things Xiuxiu bought back in the kitchen.” Ding Hongjuan instructed her son and daughter-in-law.

Wu Zhipeng and his wife followed her instructions. Ding Hongjuan’s gaze quickly returned to Wu Xiuxiu, and she looked like she remembered something.

“Right, Xiuxiu, did you eat dinner?” Ding Hongjuan asked.

“I did, I ate at the hospital. Did you guys eat?” Wu Xiuxiu nodded and asked with concern.

“We did. Seeing that it was already seven o’clock and you hadn’t come back, I figured you were probably staying at the hospital to eat dinner with Captain Jiang. So I didn’t have your brother and sister-in-law wait for you to come back for dinner, I had them eat first.” Ding Hongjuan said.

“Tomorrow I’ll probably be at the hospital to eat dinner with Brother Yunhan too. You guys don’t need to wait for me to come back for dinner, just eat when you’re done cooking, don’t starve yourselves.” Wu Xiuxiu smiled.

“Knock knock knock…” Suddenly, there was a knock on the door.

Wu Xiuxiu and her mother both looked towards the door, curious to see who it was.

“I’ll go open the door and see who it is.” Ding Hongjuan said, then walked towards the door. After opening the door and seeing the person outside, a flash of panic appeared in her eyes.

Oh no!

“Surprised to see me, scared?” The person outside looked at Ding Hongjuan inside the door, curled their lips, and raised a mocking smile.

Zhou Lin’s voice!

It was Zhou Lin, the deputy director of the Street Office! Wu Xiuxiu heard the voice outside the door and a flash of panic also appeared in her eyes.

What is Zhou Lin here for? It’s obvious, she hasn’t seen her fill out and submit the application form for going to the countryside, so she came to find her.

What to do?

What to do? Now that she has Brother Yunhan, she doesn’t need to go to the countryside anymore, she doesn’t need to be afraid of Zhou Lin at all.

Just now when she heard Zhou Lin’s voice, she instinctively felt panicked because Zhou Lin came so suddenly, catching her off guard, and she was instinctively a little scared.

Ding Hongjuan, like her daughter, experienced a brief moment of panic, but then she thought of Jiang Yunhan and regained her composure. She gave Zhou Lin outside the door a smile.

“Director Zhou, you’re really good at joking. You’re not a ghost, why would I be surprised or scared to see you?”

Before Zhou Lin could speak, she spoke again, “Director Zhou, what’s the matter? Come in and sit down, we can talk slowly.”

Hearing this, Zhou Lin raised an eyebrow. Was Wu Xiuxiu’s mother pretending to be stupid? She even asked her what she was here for.

“What else could I be here for, of course it’s about Wu Xiuxiu going to the countryside. Is Wu Xiuxiu here? Didn’t she say she would fill out the application form and send it to me?” Zhou Lin scolded.

“I’ve been sick these past few days and been at home recuperating. I thought that while I was recuperating, Wu Xiuxiu had already filled out the application form and sent it to the Street Office.

“I didn’t expect that when I went back to the street office this afternoon and asked my colleagues, I found out that Wu Xiuxiu hadn’t filled out the application form and sent it in. What does your daughter want to do? She wouldn’t have been fooling me, would she?”

Zhou Lin entered the room with a fierce expression, her eyes scanning the room sharply, searching for Wu Xiuxiu. When she saw Wu Xiuxiu, Wu Xiuxiu immediately greeted her.

“Director Zhou, you’re here. You’re a distinguished guest. Please have a seat.” Wu Xiuxiu immediately pointed to a chair nearby and made a “please” gesture.

Before Director Zhou could react, she said enthusiastically, “Oh, by the way, Director Zhou, have you eaten? If you haven’t, let my mother make you something quick to eat.”

Zhou Lin looked at her sideways, her eyes fixed on her, scrutinizing her for a while before speaking. “Wu Xiuxiu, do you know what it means to be overly attentive?”

“……” Wu Xiuxiu, her mother, and Jiang Zhipeng and Dong Xiaoye, who had just come out of the kitchen, were all a little embarrassed.

“Wu Xiuxiu, I’m telling you, don’t play games with me, it’s useless! Tell me, why haven’t you sent the application form to the street office these past few days? Were you trying to stall me?”

Zhou Lin stared at Wu Xiuxiu, pointing at her nose and questioning her, with an expression that said, “I’ve seen through your tricks.”

“Director Zhou…” Wu Xiuxiu started to speak, but was interrupted.

“Wu Xiuxiu, you can’t hide your tricks from my sharp eyes. You don’t need to explain or argue. I don’t want to waste my breath talking to you.

Go get the application form and fill it out and give it to me. You’ll go to the countryside in two days.” Zhou Lin ordered impatiently.

“Because of the requirements from above, the educated youth going to the countryside has been brought forward. The first batch will leave in two days, and you’ll go with the first batch.”

The more she didn’t want to go to the countryside, the more she wanted to delay, the sooner she would make her go. Humph——

“Director Zhou, you’ve misunderstood. I didn’t want to delay, but something happened that prevented me from going to the countryside.” Wu Xiuxiu said.

Zhou Lin furrowed her brow, “What happened that prevented you from going to the countryside?

Do you know what the consequences of not going to the countryside are?” The last sentence was laced with a strong threat.

“I’m getting married, so I can’t go to the countryside. Doesn’t the policy say that married people don’t have to go to the countryside?” Wu Xiuxiu said with a smile, a hint of curiosity and anticipation in her eyes.

She was curious and excited to see what Zhou Lin’s expression and reaction would be after hearing her words.

She must be a little stunned, very surprised, right?

Zhou Lin was indeed a little stunned, very surprised.

“You’re getting married? Really? Didn’t you have a partner?” Zhou Lin looked incredulous.

“I didn’t have a partner before, but I do now. I recently met a male comrade who likes me, and we’re going to get married soon.” Wu Xiuxiu replied.

Zhou Lin raised her eyebrows, her eyes flickering, as if she was thinking about something.

“You were playing this trick on me!” Zhou Lin suddenly said, her face full of anger. “You cunning and deceitful little girl!”

“Director Zhou, what are you talking about? I don’t understand what you mean.” Wu Xiuxiu tilted her head slightly, looking at her innocently.

“Don’t pretend! I told you that your tricks couldn’t escape my sharp eyes. When I cornered you the other day, you thought of lying to me to take the form home to fill out, but you were actually trying to stall for time.

In these few days, you found a man to marry as quickly as possible, so you wouldn’t have to go to the countryside!” Zhou Lin pointed at Wu Xiuxiu’s nose again, scolding her.

“I was actually fooled by you, this little girl! I believed you! How could you lie to me? Do you have any respect for my trust?” Zhou Lin became angrier the more she thought about it. “You’re a little rascal!”

“I didn’t! Director Zhou, it’s not like you think. I absolutely didn’t lie to you to stall and then find a man to marry to avoid going to the countryside.

I really thought about going to the countryside, but I didn’t expect to accidentally save Regimental Commander Jiang, and he fell in love with me and wants to marry me.”

Wu Xiuxiu shook her head vigorously, waving her hands at the same time, with an expression of “I’m so wronged,” and shouted loudly.

“Regimental Commander Jiang?” Zhou Lin narrowed her eyes.

“My partner’s name is Jiang Yunhan. He’s a soldier, and he’s a regimental commander. He’s a hero. Before he…”

Wu Xiuxiu deliberately told Zhou Lin about her partner’s heroic deeds, hoping that Zhou Lin would know that she was marrying a great hero.

She thought that since her partner was a great hero and a regimental commander, Zhou Lin should be appeased and wouldn’t make things difficult for her.

Zhou Lin kept her eyes narrowed, her eyes flickering, not knowing what she was thinking.

Seeing that she didn’t say anything, Wu Xiuxiu and her family were a little uneasy. Wu Xiuxiu called out, “Director Zhou…”

“Wu Xiuxiu, show me the marriage certificate between you and Regimental Commander Jiang tomorrow. If I don’t see it, you’ll have to go to the countryside with the first batch of educated youth the day after tomorrow.”

Zhou Lin’s eyes fixed, as if she had decided on something, a strange smile appeared on her face, and she said something unexpected.