Tao Lizhen hung her head in shame. Seeing her parents shrink back and refuse to step forward, she had no choice but to explain, “My parents found out that Brother Zhao knows an officer involved in the exams, so… they wanted to ask him to pull some strings.”

“My daughter is going to marry him! What’s wrong with asking him for a small favor?” Tao Lizhen’s mother said, her tone full of righteous indignation.

Brigade leader Zhao’s face instantly turned darker than the bottom of a pot. Furious, he saw that they still didn’t think they had done anything wrong, as if Zhao Rencheng marrying Tao Lizhen would be a huge advantage for him. His eyebrows shot up in anger.

“You really have no shame! It’s my fault for thinking you were honest and simple people. Turns out, you’re just like a dog that bites without barking!”

He turned his bicycle around, mounted it, and pedaled away.

What a despicable family.

Tears streamed down Tao Lizhen’s cheeks. If she couldn’t marry Zhao Rencheng, she would be sold off.

“Cry, cry, cry! What are you crying for? If you’re going to cry so pitifully, why don’t you cry in front of Zhao Rencheng? What’s the use of raising you for so long if you can’t even seduce a man? You always managed to win your father’s favor, tricking him into letting you finish middle school. I think all that education went to waste—completely useless!”

Tao Lizhen’s mother scolded her harshly.

Tao Lizhen opened her mouth to speak but stopped herself.

Her second brother suddenly roared, “Enough! If Little Sister doesn’t want to, then forget it. At most, I won’t get married. Back then, I even said I wanted to die. Why did you stop me?”

Tao Lizhen’s mother burst into heart-wrenching sobs.

Tao Lizhen stood frozen, unsure whether her second brother was defending her or pressuring her.

…

Brigade leader Zhao pedaled back to the brigade, panting heavily, and told Zhao Rencheng the truth about the situation. “I don’t know where they got their information from, but they really have no shame. Don’t worry, next time I’ll make sure to find you a better match.”

“No need.”

Zhao Rencheng wasn’t interested.

Brigade leader Zhao ignored him and continued muttering, “Look at you, already so old and still no one by your side. Right now, you can still marry a young girl, but in a few years, I’ll only be able to introduce you to widows. By then, you’ll be raising someone else’s…”

Zhao Rencheng stood up just as Zhang Yunxi arrived. He sat back down, cleared his throat, and said to Brigade leader Zhao, “A Zhiqing is here.”

Brigade leader Zhao took a sip of water from his enamel mug and looked up at Zhang Yunxi. “Zhang Zhiqing, what’s the matter?”

“I want to buy some roof tiles. The dormitory is leaking,” Zhang Yunxi said.

Out of the corner of her eye, she glanced at Zhao Rencheng, who was sitting there with a serious expression, and secretly chuckled.

Zhao Rencheng shot her an annoyed look.

Still laughing.

He was furious!

Even though he knew deep down he had no right to be angry, he couldn’t help it. And it was precisely because he had no right to be angry that he was even more furious!
The two of them exchanged subtle glances.

Only Brigade leader Zhao was genuinely and earnestly thinking about the number of tiles in the warehouse. “Go talk to the accountant. Ask him how many are left in the warehouse. If there are any extras, you can take them. If not, you’ll have to wait until we borrow a tractor to get more from the tile factory.”

“Alright!” Zhang Yunxi nodded.

After flipping Zhao Rencheng a quick glare, she ran off.

Zhao Rencheng stood up to follow her.

Brigade Leader Zhao called out to him, “You need to sort out the tile supply from the tile factory. The end of the year is coming, and everyone will be repairing their houses. There definitely won’t be enough.”

“Got it.”

Zhao Rencheng quickly agreed and hurried out, wanting to catch up with Zhang Yunxi to ask her something.

With all the rain these past few days, the rabbits at home were starting to smell. He wanted to ask Zhang Yunxi if air-drying them would work. Even though it wasn’t winter solstice yet and the weather wasn’t cold enough, it might still be possible.

Just as Zhao Rencheng was about to speak, someone else called out to him, “Brother Zhao, come quick! Widow Li’s house is leaning!”

Zhao Rencheng wanted to curse but had no choice. He turned and headed in that direction. A leaning house was no small matter and needed immediate attention.

Zhang Yunxi went to ask the accountant for some tiles.

The accountant checked the ledger. “There aren’t any left. As you know, some houses in the brigade had their roofs blown off. We’re rebuilding them with thatched roofs for now. As for tiles, unless you go to the tile factory to buy some, but it’s far, and it’s not worth it to go all that way for just a few tiles.”

“How long will I have to wait?” Zhang Yunxi was frustrated at the thought of having to get up repeatedly during the night.

“Not sure. It depends on when our militia captain goes to the tile factory. The head of the tile factory’s logistics department is his aunt. If he goes, he can bring back some defective tiles, which would save us a lot of money,” the accountant explained.

“Alright.”

Zhang Yunxi was disappointed.

But that night, when the rain started again, she couldn’t go up the mountain.

The two mothers and their children who had slept there the previous night came back. Zhang Yunxi once again slept in the middle, but today, Deng Damei seemed off. She didn’t even try to squeeze Zhang Yunxi. “Our dearest, most adorable Comrade Damei, what’s wrong?”

“Nothing.”

Deng Damei was sullen.

“Did Zhao Xiaobing upset you?”

“No, he’s avoiding me. He runs away as soon as he sees me!” Deng Damei had called out to him several times, and even though he clearly heard her, he turned and ran without a word.

She had no idea what was going on with Zhao Xiaobing.
They had even agreed to get married, so why was he suddenly acting so cold? Was there something else he wasn’t happy about?
Deng Damei was truly confused.

Faced with Zhang Yunxi’s questions, her eyes welled up with tears, full of grievance.

“Do you think he’s like my previous blind date candidates, who all thought my dowry was too high and decided to abandon me?”

Zhang Yunxi didn’t think that was the case.

But she didn’t dare jump to conclusions.

“Try again tomorrow. Grab him and force him to explain what’s going on. Even if it really is a breakup, we need to get to the bottom of it. We can’t just drag this out. It’s too painful for you.”

Deng Damei agreed.

“Then I’ll talk to him tomorrow!”

“Go for it!”

Zhang Yunxi sincerely hoped Deng Damei’s love story would have a happy ending.

He Xiaoxiao stared at the ceiling, feeling exasperated. Why were they always so upset over a man? It was so annoying.

She didn’t understand, nor did she particularly want to.

The sound of dripping water woke them up again.

Another round of filling and emptying buckets.

Zhang Yunxi secretly resolved to find a chance to talk to Zhao Rencheng and urge him to hurry up and get the tiles from the factory. Otherwise, she wouldn’t be able to get a good night’s sleep.

“Yunxi, I’m going to find Zhao Xiaobing,” Deng Damei said, psyching herself up.

After all, she had no regrets about this relationship. For Zhao Xiaobing, she had even threatened her ex to get a hundred yuan.

“Go ahead,” Zhang Yunxi made a cheering gesture. “By the time you get back, I’ll have breakfast ready.”

“Okay!”

Deng Damei went to Zhao Xiaobing’s house.

Zhao Xiaobing refused to come out when he heard her voice, but Deng Damei called for Zhao Xiaobing’s mother and asked her to bring him out.