Chapter 71 – Calculations Fall Through
And Zhou Lai’er’s expression finally fell when she saw everyone’s attitude.
After a while, she chuckled self-mockingly.
“So, you all think I obtained this marriage through calculations and look down on me, right? But if I didn’t scheme, I wouldn’t get anything. You don’t understand me or my life. You don’t know the kind of family I grew up in. Why do you look down on me?
“Do you know? I wasn’t called Zhou Lai’er when I was a child. How could my old-fashioned parents give me such a fancy name? Before the age of seven, I was called Zhou Laier, ‘laier’ as in ‘come.’ They wanted a son, so they gave me a name that wasn’t even as good as a dog’s.”
“It was during school when the teacher realized my name was too straightforward and changed it to Zhou Lai’er.
“I’ve known since I was little that if you want something good, you have to fight for it or snatch it. Otherwise, it won’t be mine!
“So, whether you look down on me or dislike me, it doesn’t matter. Because I’ve gained the benefits, I’ve achieved my goals, and I can leave here soon. I won’t have to repeat the heavy chores every day anymore.
“So, I don’t care what you think because we won’t be on the same path anymore.”
With that, she lifted her chin high, looked down at them as if from a superior position, and walked away with her belongings, not even leaving behind the wedding candies.
The others exchanged looks, except for Chen Xue who was in the room; everyone didn’t know what to say.
Of course, they couldn’t agree with her words.
No matter how bad her childhood was, at least there should be a moral bottom line in being a person. Using means to steal someone else’s man was something they looked down upon.
“Tch,” Cheng Yujiao said, “Isn’t she just marrying a platoon leader? She’s acting like she’s married to the country’s leader.”
“Don’t talk nonsense!” Gu Xiangnan interrupted her.
Su Man didn’t even look at Zhou Lai’er, she continued eating, clearly looking down on her.
Liu Xia was the same, but the only impact Zhou Lai’er’s marriage had on them was that their bed in the room now accommodated four people again.
Sleeping at night became a bit easier.
But the news they heard the next day when they went to work made Zhou Lai’er the subject of everyone’s ridicule again.
It turned out that Hu Jianjun had left the village early in the morning and returned to his military unit.
However, he went alone, and Zhou Lai’er didn’t accompany him.
It was said that the Hu family had split, and Mother Hu would be living with the eldest son, Hu Jianjun, from now on.
Hu Jianjun had just been promoted to platoon leader, and the available rooms were very small. If he were to bring his mother to the army, there wouldn’t be enough space. So Zhou Lai’er was left behind to take care of his mother.
When Liu Xia heard this, she laughed. Zhou Lai’er’s efforts seemed to be in vain again. After all the fuss, she would still have to stay in the village.
Liu Xia strongly suspected that it was intentional on the part of Mother Hu since anyone could tell she didn’t like this daughter-in-law.
But all of this was none of their concern.
Regardless, it was her own choice.
Liu Xia didn’t know if Zhou Lai’er regretted it or not. Anyway, she would see her coming to work in two days, but she didn’t join the educated youths or greet them. It seemed like she was drawing a clear boundary and probably felt ashamed herself.
The educated youths didn’t care.
That afternoon, it suddenly started raining, and it was not light. So they didn’t go to work.
Sun Shengnan looked at the weather outside and guessed that the rain wouldn’t stop tomorrow either. So she planned to go to the county and asked if anyone wanted to join her.
Lu Xia hesitated. She didn’t currently need anything, but she wanted to go and have a look. However, she didn’t know what to buy, so she asked, “Shengnan, is there anything you want to buy?”
*
Chapter 72 – Going to the County Town
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Sun Shengnan smiled and said, “My younger sister is getting married, I plan to go and see her and buy a gift.”
Upon hearing this, everyone understood, but there was also a sense of melancholy.
They had heard Sun Shengnan mention before that she had two younger brothers and one younger sister.
The eldest brother was only two years younger than her and took over their mother’s job after graduating, staying and working in the city. The second brother was still young, around 15 years old.
The younger sister was five years younger than her, just turned 18 this year, and it was unexpected for her to get married so early. She probably didn’t want to go to the countryside.
In comparison, their 23-year-old eldest sister hadn’t gotten married yet.
Lu Xia could also see the complexity in Sun Shengnan’s eyes when she mentioned these things, but she was still willing to use the little money she earned in the countryside to buy things for her family.
Perhaps going to the countryside before was also voluntary.
Lu Xia didn’t dwell on these thoughts and decided to go to the county town with her the next day.
After hearing the news, many of the educated youths who were informed also planned to go and have a look, including Su Man, Gu Xiangnan, and Cheng Yujiao.
As for Jiang Junmo, due to health reasons, he didn’t dare to go out on rainy days. Otherwise, catching a cold could be life-threatening.
So he had to stay obediently at the educated youth spot.
The next day, the people going to the county town woke up early, braving the drizzle, went to the town, and then took a bus to the county town.
This was Lu Xia’s first time riding the local bus, and it was especially small and run-down. It had a strong smell inside, and because it passed through several villages on the way, it kept stopping and going, with people getting on and off. By the time they reached the county town, Lu Xia felt like she had almost lost half of her life from the ordeal.
Finally reaching their destination, everyone separated to attend to their own business. Sun Shengnan looked a bit worried about Lu Xia.
“Do you want to find a place to rest for a while?”
Lu Xia shook her head. “I’m fine, just a bit carsick. I’ll feel better after walking around and getting some fresh air.”
Sun Shengnan felt relieved. “Okay, let’s take our time and go to the department store.”
“Sounds good.”
Lu Xia followed behind Sun Shengnan and arrived at the county town’s department store. Although it was called a department store, it was actually just a small two-story building.
But in this county, it was definitely an iconic structure.
After entering, they saw various items for sale. While the styles couldn’t compare to the capital city, there was still a wide variety. However, most things required tickets, so they could only look.
Lu Xia accompanied Sun Shengnan first to buy a gift for her younger sister. It took her a while, but in the end, she chose a pair of large red Mandarin duck pillowcases, which were quite expensive.
Nevertheless, Sun Shengnan gritted her teeth and bought them.
Lu Xia watched as she carefully took out the tickets wrapped in a handkerchief and paid with them, feeling a pang of heartache. But when Sun Shengnan received the pillowcases, she was still very happy.
Seeing this, Lu Xia felt a bit complicated and didn’t understand the significance behind Sun Shengnan’s actions.
During her time here, Sun Shengnan hadn’t received anything from her family, only a letter, probably a notice about her younger sister’s marriage.
But her own thoughts couldn’t represent others, and she could only say that it was their own willingness.
After Sun Shengnan finished buying the items and felt happy, she didn’t plan to stay there any longer since she couldn’t afford much. Instead, she decided to go to the post office to send the package.
Lu Xia, on the other hand, still wanted to explore the area, so they went their separate ways.
Later, Lu Xia strolled around the department store, but because she didn’t have many tickets, she couldn’t buy the things she liked. After a lap, she left.
She planned to have a meal at the state-owned restaurant and see how skilled the chefs were in the county town.
However, on the way to the state-owned restaurant, when passing an intersection, she spotted several sneaky figures from a distance, some of whom were holding things in their hands.
She understood in her heart that this was probably the black market of the county town. She could come and take a look later.
Thank you for the chapter (-ㅂ-)/ ♥ ♥ ♥