Chapter 3

The first person to see them was Zhang Jinfeng.

At that moment, caught between her husband and daughter-in-law, she was at a loss for what to do. When she saw Yin Xiaoman, it felt like she had found a savior.

She quickly greeted her, “Xiaoman, why are you here now? Have you eaten yet? Come, let’s eat together…”

At this point, her gaze landed on the several clean, empty bowls on the table, and she couldn’t bring herself to finish the sentence.

Yin Xiaoman didn’t hold it against her and smiled as she replied, “We’ve already eaten, Mother, you all go ahead and eat, don’t mind us.”

The original owner of this body used to complain a lot about her in-laws, feeling that they favored the eldest son’s family and had never treated her well.

But Yin Xiaoman didn’t think the same.

The couple weren’t the type to be in charge. They had been submissive their entire lives, so how could anyone expect them to change suddenly?

Moreover, they hadn’t failed to worry about the second son’s family either.

To name just one thing, from the time of the family separation up until the original owner’s death, how many months had the old couple saved on their rations just to send them food?

Seeing Yin Xiaoman suddenly give her a smile, Zhang Jinfeng was taken aback.

Then, she became excited.

She even stood up from the table, ignoring the disapproving look from the eldest daughter-in-law, and hurried over to them, pulling the two children into her arms.

She constantly touched them, her eyes filled with deep affection and guilt.

Yin Xiaoman wasn’t here to witness their deep familial love.

She allowed her mother-in-law to hug the children, pointed to the west room, and turned to smile slightly at the two girls following her. She said, “This is the room. Feel free to use the furniture and items inside, just be careful not to damage anything.”

As she spoke, she began to lead them inside.

Since her return, Liu Chunxia had been keeping a stiff face.

She no longer argued with her father-in-law and kept her eyes fixed on Yin Xiaoman, as if afraid she might take even a single needle or thread from the house.

At this moment, when Liu Chunxia suddenly heard her speaking like that, she was a bit stunned.

But she quickly reacted and, with wide eyes full of disbelief, rushed in front of them and blocked their way.

“Yin Xiaoman, what are you bringing outsiders back here for?!”

She spread her legs apart and extended her arms wide, blocking the door to the west room, and her voice was shaky from nervousness.

Yin Xiaoman stopped and looked at her in confusion. “Sister-in-law, this room was assigned to our second branch, wasn’t it? Why do I need to explain bringing people back to my own home to you?”

Her words left Liu Chunxia speechless.

She could argue with Yin Xiaoman over trivial matters, even shamelessly refusing to give her food or money, but she couldn’t argue about the house being assigned to them.

This house had been built with money sent by Shen Qingyun, and when it was constructed, the old couple made it clear to everyone—each of the two brothers’ families would get two rooms.

The layout and size of the rooms were identical, fair and equal.

This was something everyone in the village knew, and when Liu Chunxia married in, many families had envied her for it.

If Liu Chunxia were to take this house for herself now, not only the old couple but even the other villagers’ gossip could destroy her.

But—

“Isn’t it true that your houses are always in the same courtyard? You didn’t even give a greeting before bringing outsiders back. What if…”

Her eyes flickered as she added, “What if something goes missing from the house, what does that mean?”

As soon as she finished speaking, before Yin Xiaoman could say anything, the two girls behind her were already upset.

One of the girls with a round face stepped forward and shouted loudly at Liu Chunxia, “Aunt, how can you speak like that? What do you mean, ‘something goes missing’? Are you implying that we’re thieves?”

The tall girl next to her immediately echoed, “Are you looking down on us Educated Youth? We are responding to the call of the leaders and going down to the countryside to serve the revolution. Every one of us is pure and clean, walking with integrity! When you say things like that, you are looking down on us Educated Youth, you don’t want us to go down to the countryside, and you are questioning the leader’s instructions!”

At this point, she reached out and tugged at the sleeve of the girl beside her. “Xiao Yu, let’s stop talking to her. Let’s go find the team leader and the party secretary!”

The girl called Xiao Yu almost made Liu Chunxia’s nose twitch in anger with her “Aunt!” 

She was not yet thirty years old, and she wasn’t much older than the two girls in front of her, so how did she become “Aunt”?

What’s more, when they greeted her earlier, they had called her husband “Big Brother”!

But before Liu Chunxia could lose her temper, the two girls started talking rapidly, overwhelming her with words and leaving her speechless.

She was tough, but not foolish!

Once things were blown out of proportion like this, even the valid points would seem invalid!

She widened her eyes, carefully studying the two girls in front of her, and after a while, it finally dawned on her that these were the new Educated Youth who had just been assigned to the village a few days ago.

Since they hadn’t worked together yet, she hadn’t remembered their faces.

While she was still observing them, the two girls were genuinely angry and marched towards the door in a huff.

While others might not understand the gravity of the situation, the seasoned Shen Mancheng certainly did.

How could he let these two girls actually go to the team and cause trouble with the village leaders?

He couldn’t help but glance at his second daughter-in-law for help.

But Yin Xiaoman seemed completely unaffected. She pressed her lips together and didn’t even glance at him.

The old man Shen was now anxious. He raised his leg and kicked his son, who was standing stunned by the side!

Shen Qingsong stumbled from the kick and looked up in surprise, only to see his father gesturing urgently toward the front door.

He froze for a moment, then suddenly realized what was happening. He quickly stepped forward and blocked the two Educated Youth girls’ way.

“Sorry, my wife doesn’t know how to speak properly. You… you two, please don’t…”

Shen Qingsong had never found himself in a situation where he had to speak face-to-face with a woman, especially unfamiliar young women. His face immediately turned a deep shade of purple-red.

When his gaze met the two girls’ eyes, he was even more flustered and could barely get the words out.

Shen Mancheng quickly approached as well.

“Two Educated Youth Comrades, it was just my eldest daughter-in-law’s mistake, please don’t hold it against her. You both are educated and knowledgeable people, don’t argue with a… with a wife.”

As he spoke, he shot an unhappy glance at his daughter-in-law, looking as if he was about to call her a “shrew.”

As new Educated Youth, Liang Xiaoyu and Li Fang didn’t want to escalate things.

When they saw someone step in to stop them, they naturally backed down.

Liang Xiaoyu carefully examined Shen Qingsong, first surprised, then suddenly smiled.

She warmly addressed him, “You’re Shen Big Brother, right? Oh, we didn’t recognize you earlier. Shen Big Brother, thank you for helping us with our luggage the other day! If it weren’t for you, we wouldn’t have known what to do.”

After hearing her, Li Fang recognized him as well. She stepped forward excitedly and reached out to grab Shen Qingsong’s hand.

This startled him, and he staggered backward several steps, his face now so red it seemed like it would bleed.

“Shen Big Brother, if we hadn’t run into you that day, we wouldn’t have made it back to the village until the afternoon. We would’ve been seriously ill when we got back! We really owe you one. Xiao Yu and I have been saying we need to thank you properly, but we never found the right moment. We didn’t expect such a coincidence that we’re going to live in the same courtyard from now on. Oh, well, we’ll have to keep helping each other from now on!”

After speaking, she exchanged a glance with Liang Xiaoyu, and both of them looked at Shen Qingsong with eager anticipation.

Shen Qingsong was stared at by the two girls, and he became so embarrassed that he didn’t even know how to stand anymore. He was too awkward to say anything.

Liu Chunxia, on the other hand, was completely panicked.

Over the years, the reason she had been able to act arrogantly in the Shen family was simple—she only picked on the weak.

She was relying on the fact that everyone in the family was honest and didn’t argue with her.

However, deep down, she also had her fears. In terms of appearance, she knew she couldn’t compare to her husband, Shen Qingsong.

The two sons of the Shen family were well-known for their good looks in the village.

Her second son, Shen Qingyun, had the added advantage of being a cadre in the military, which made him even more famous. But even Shen Qingsong’s appearance was beyond reproach.

He stood at over 1.8 meters tall, strong and handsome.

Even though he was already a father of two, whenever he walked down the street, young girls and even married women would eye him, their gazes hot and full of admiration. This made Liu Chunxia feel deeply uncomfortable.

That was why she was so overprotective of her husband, even more than her sons. If Shen Qingsong was a little late coming home or walked a bit farther, she would constantly ask him where he had been.

Now, suddenly, there were two young girls surrounding her husband, speaking to him intimately, and each one was young and beautiful. How could she not be enraged?!

However, Liu Chunxia also understood what her father-in-law’s glare meant. It was a warning: these students from the city were not to be offended!

Their words, even when casually spoken, could easily cause trouble, and she knew she couldn’t win in a verbal battle with them.

But… what exactly were they implying?

What did they mean by “we’ll be living in the same courtyard”?

Why were they planning to live with her family?!

At this thought, Liu Chunxia suddenly turned around and shot a fierce, hateful glare at Yin Xiaoman.

Yin Xiaoman had no intention of leaving them to guess. 

She smiled at Shen Mancheng and casually explained, “Dad, I haven’t had the chance to tell you yet. Here’s the thing—there isn’t enough space at the Educated Youth site in the village, and the officials have asked the Educated Youth to stay with the villagers. 

Yesterday, the party secretary spoke to me about it. Since this house has been empty anyway, and everyone is supposed to help each other, I decided to lend it to Liang Educated Youth and Li Educated Youth to stay.”

Her words landed like a thunderclap, leaving the Shen family completely stunned.

Liu Chunxia’s face turned a deep shade, and the other three members of the Shen family were left in a daze. They exchanged quick glances, and their expressions shifted to one of awkwardness.

A flicker of sarcasm flashed in Yin Xiaoman’s eyes, and then, as though nothing had happened, she greeted the two girls with a completely natural expression.

“You two, come over here and take a look. If everything seems fine, you should go back to the Educated Youth site to move your things. It’s good weather now, so don’t wait until it starts snowing.”

The two girls nodded and quickly walked over.

“No! No one is allowed in! This house isn’t for outsiders to stay in, no one can enter!”

Seeing them approach the house, Liu Chunxia panicked completely.

She rushed to slam the door shut and desperately blocked the entrance.

But no matter how fast she was, the others had already arrived at the door.

Through the half-open door, everyone could clearly see the inside of the house. The bedding on the kang (heated platform) was still not folded, and there were scattered items all over the place, clearly indicating that someone was living there.

Yin Xiaoman’s expression darkened instantly. She turned and cast a cold look at Shen Mancheng and his wife.