Chapter 249 – Zhou Lai’er’s New Gossip
Lately, Kang Kang couldn’t stay idle. He kept fidgeting and moving around all day long, making Lu Xia a bit worried about him being by himself. She had to bring him along wherever she went, which increased her activity levels quite a bit.
Since Jiang Junmo had to go to work, Lu Xia also learned to change Kang Kang’s diapers when he wasn’t around. However, Jiang Junmo didn’t let her wash the used diapers, fearing that the water might be too cold.
He saved them up and went to the riverside to wash them in the afternoon and evening after work.
But now that summer was approaching, the weather had become hot, and the river water wasn’t that cold anymore. So, one afternoon, Lu Xia didn’t wait for Jiang Junmo. She used a baby carrier to carry Kang Kang on her back and took the used diapers to the riverside to wash them herself.
As a result, when she returned from washing, she unexpectedly saw Zhou Lai’er. She was holding a child, smiling and playing with her.
Well, it was clear that the child was a little girl. She looked quite young, maybe around one or two years old, but she had her hair tied in a high ponytail and was dressed neatly. It was evident that she was cherished at home and stood out from the village folks.
Lu Xia didn’t know who this child was, but she found Zhou Lai’er’s attitude strange. Could it be that she liked children?
Thinking this, she shook her head with a smile, not understanding what was going on.
However, in the following days, when she sat under the big tree in the village with Kang Kang, she overheard the villagers gossiping about recent events. Suddenly, an auntie asked her about Zhou Lai’er’s news…
This auntie, surnamed Wang, had many sons in her family. With her sons marrying and having children, they were all contributing to the household income, so she didn’t need to work outside. She stayed home, taking care of cooking, and enjoyed sitting outside when there wasn’t much to do in the afternoon. So, Lu Xia and she were quite familiar.
Now, Auntie Wang was directly curious and asked her, “Educated Youth Lu, are you familiar with that Educated Youth Zhou from your educated youth spot? The former daughter-in-law of the Hu family?”
Lu Xia found her description of Zhou Lai’er a bit amusing and replied, “Not really. I hadn’t been in the countryside for long before she got married. By the time she moved back, I had already left.”
Auntie Wang seemed a bit disappointed with her response. “Ah, I see. I was hoping to ask you…”
Hearing this, Lu Xia was puzzled. “What’s the matter? Is there something you need to find Educated Youth Zhou for?”
Auntie Wang shook her head, “Oh, it’s nothing much. I heard about some things related to her and thought since you both are educated youths, you might know something. Just curious, that’s all.”
Curious about what Auntie Wang was talking about, Lu Xia asked, “Oh? I wonder what Auntie Wang is referring to?”
After looking around to ensure no one was eavesdropping, Auntie Wang continued in a hushed tone, “Promise me, Educated Youth Lu, don’t say it was me who told you!”
Lu Xia immediately assured her, “Auntie, don’t worry. I definitely won’t mention that you told me.”
Satisfied with Lu Xia’s promise, Auntie Wang’s face lit up with gossip as she said, “A few days ago, I saw Big Sister Xu visiting Educated Youth Zhou. It seems Educated Youth Zhou has been frequently visiting her son-in-law, Teacher Li, and even helps take care of the child when the Xu family isn’t watching!”
“What?” Lu Xia was so surprised by this revelation that her jaw almost dropped. “Are you saying Teacher Li, Li Aiguo?”
“Exactly! Since Girl Hong left, Teacher Li has stayed here and continued to live with his in-laws, just like before. He takes excellent care of Big Sister Xu and her son, not to mention the child. That little girl is so pampered; she’s practically a city kid by now. Big Sister Xu is beyond pleased. Who would’ve thought Educated Youth Zhou would show up at this time, being so attentive to them? I don’t believe she has no ulterior motives.”
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Chapter 250 – Refusing Face-to-Face
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Lu Xia found it a bit difficult to accept this information. “But, hasn’t Teacher Li’s wife passed away just a year ago?”
“Yeah, that’s right. No wonder Big Sister Xu was upset. Her daughter has only been gone for a year, and already someone is being attentive to her son-in-law. Who could stand that?
Moreover, Big Sister Xu isn’t an unreasonable person. Her daughter left behind this only child, and she’s a girl. She definitely wouldn’t hinder Teacher Li from finding someone else, but that would have to wait another two years. The child is so young now; how could she possibly feel at ease?”
Lu Xia nodded in agreement. “You’re right. And does Teacher Li have such intentions?”
“Probably not. If he did, he wouldn’t still be living at his in-laws’ house. Plus, everyone knows about his good relationship with the Girl Hong. How could he forget her in just a year? It’s likely Zhou Lai’er is making a move on her own.”
At this point, Auntie Wang’s face showed an expression of helplessness.
“I wonder what’s going on in Educated Youth Zhou’s mind, always getting involved in such matters.”
Lu Xia also felt speechless hearing this. However, as fellow educated youth, she couldn’t help but feel ashamed. After chatting with Auntie Wang for a while, she left with Kang Kang.
The next day, she went and talked to Sun Shengnan about this matter.
Ever since becoming pregnant, Sun Shengnan hadn’t been paying much attention to village affairs. So, when she heard about this, she was quite surprised.
“Is it true? Is she really doing this?”
Lu Xia nodded and sighed, “It seems so. I saw her holding a child before, but I didn’t know who it was at the time. Now, it seems likely it’s Li Aiguo’s child.”
Sun Shengnan was left speechless, not knowing what to say. Li Aiguo’s wife had only passed away a year ago, and now someone was rushing to become a stepmother. Who would be willing to accept that?
And Sun Shengnan also thought of something else. “Now that you know about it, the village will probably hear about it soon. Oh, our educated youth spot’s reputation will likely take another hit.”
Lu Xia also nodded helplessly. She thought of the disdainful look Auntie Wang gave when mentioning Zhou Lai’er, and she felt ashamed. After all, many people viewed the educated youths as a group.
“Ah, I really don’t know what to say.”
“Yeah,” Sun Shengnan sighed, “but I’m relieved now. If I were still in charge of the educated yout spot, I would have to handle this. Let’s leave it to Educated Youth Gu now.”
Hearing Sun Shengnan’s words, Lu Xia couldn’t help but smile, thinking about how Educated Youth Gu, a young man, would deal with these messy rumors. It was a bit amusing to see. “Well, let’s leave it to Educated Youth Gu to handle.”
In the next few days, the village rumors indeed grew louder, and those who hadn’t known before were now aware of it too.
After all, Li Aiguo was still a teacher. This kind of reputation wasn’t beneficial for him. At first, he thought that ignoring Zhou Lai’er would make her understand, and she would back off.
But she seemed to pay no heed and let things escalate. This situation left Li Aiguo quite irritated.
He didn’t care about saving face anymore and directly confronted Zhou Lai’er, refusing her face-to-face.
Nobody knew what he said, but it was rumored that Zhou Lai’er returned home in tears that day. She took several days off work afterward and likely felt too embarrassed to show her face.
However, this incident had a negative impact on the reputation of the educated youth spot. Gu Xiangnan found time to hold a meeting and urged everyone to be careful in the future, so that one person’s actions wouldn’t tarnish the entire reputation of the educated youth spot.
As everyone listened, their eyes occasionally shifted towards Zhou Lai’er. But she maintained a thick-skinned appearance, seemingly oblivious to the stares, which was quite impressive.
Afterward, Zhou Lai’er returned to work, but it seemed that this incident had hit her hard. She became more low-key and didn’t care about others’ opinions.
She focused on her work, and hopefully, she would keep her misconduct in check!
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Thank you for the chapter (♡˙︶˙♡)