Chapter 273 – Reaping What One Has Sown
Among these people, Feng Zhenzhu had the worst expression.
When she heard the two girls talk about the poem, her expression became quite unpleasant.
Wasn’t that poem about the wind, clouds, and evening glow the one Shen Yifan had once proudly claimed to have written specifically for her?
But in the end, he turned around and gave it to someone else, passing it off as if it had been written for another.
Thinking about this, she felt utterly disgusted, as if she had just swallowed a fly.
If she thought this way, was she not the first person to hear it? And had this poem not been read to numerous other girls before?
She had been moved when she heard it, thinking it was specially written for her.
But then…
Thankfully, she had refused him later on. However, thinking about Li Yalan, who had strongly encouraged her to be with Shen Yifan in the beginning, Feng Zhenzhu felt a bit uneasy.
She believed Li Yalan was intelligent and her best friend. Shouldn’t she have recognized the kind of person he was back then? So why did she advise her to be with someone like him?
Or perhaps even Li Yalan had been deceived by Shen Yifan at the start?
…Would Li Yalan really do something to harm her? Feng Zhenzhu felt somewhat uncertain.
Regardless, she couldn’t help but feel a knot in her heart.
…
After returning to the educated youth spot, Gu Xiangnan held another meeting, mainly directed at the new educated youths. He emphasized the rules of the countryside, urging them to be cautious and not trouble others.
Perhaps due to being continually annoyed by the new educated youths and his own recent bad mood, his tone during the meeting was not pleasant. He directly named names, which left the new educated youths unhappy, feeling burdened by the actions of two male educated youths.
But since they were all in the same situation, causing trouble wouldn’t be good. After all, they were the newcomers, so they had no choice but to listen.
Lu Xia had initially thought that this matter would come to an end with Shen Yifan’s punishment.
However, within a couple of days, she heard that Shen Yifan had been attacked while going to the restroom at night.
He was severely beaten, covered in injuries, and the incident had taken place in complete darkness, making it impossible to identify the assailant.
The attacker had covered his mouth and fled after the assault. When the other educated youths came out upon hearing his cries of pain, they couldn’t spot anyone.
Gu Xiangnan informed the village chief about this incident, and although the village chief promised an investigation, nothing substantial came out of it.
After all, while Shen Yifan had been injured, he hadn’t sustained any major harm that would require a significant response. Besides, everyone knew who was likely responsible—the families of those two girls.
However, everyone understood the situation. Those girls had suffered grievances, and due to concerns about reputation, they couldn’t take open revenge. A subtle retaliation was understandable, and it hadn’t been fatal, so everyone simply feigned ignorance.
Shen Yifan probably guessed who was behind it and was infuriated. He loudly demanded they report the incident to the police at the educated youth spot, but being injured, he could only lie down, and no one was willing to help him report it.
They just let him shout and ignored him.
But he had brought it upon himself.
Even Lu Xia believed he had reaped what he had sown. She really despised people like him—using the pretext of studying to flirt with girls and shamelessly accepting their offerings.
He didn’t even feel a hint of guilt. It was obvious he didn’t consider anyone important, and his arrogant attitude made her sick.
He thought he was so clever.
In reality, who couldn’t see through such petty tricks?
But she couldn’t be bothered with him.
Now, this was simply retribution for his own actions. He deserved it!
…
*
Chapter 274 – Have Another One
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After Shen Yifan’s incident, the new educated youths became even more low-key.
Once Shen Yifan had recovered from his injuries, he realized that everyone was ignoring him. The villagers either avoided him or looked at him with mocking disdain, which put an end to his arrogance.
It had been a while since Lu Xia had heard him play the harmonica.
Fortunately, Jiang Junmo’s harmonica had been sent over from home.
After the spring plowing, they were less busy. Jiang Junmo had accompanied Lu Xia to gather wild vegetables on the mountain a few times and also bought some from Liu Jun, but there wasn’t much else going on.
With the warmer weather, when he had free time from painting, Jiang Junmo would play the harmonica for Kang Kang.
Lu Xia noticed that Kang Kang really enjoyed listening to the harmonica. Whenever Jiang Junmo played, Kang Kang would sit obediently and remain still, as if completely engrossed.
Kang Kang’s vocabulary was increasing, and sometimes he would even point at the cabinet where Jiang Junmo kept the harmonica and say, “Play~”
Even Lu Xia found this surprising. “Could Kang Kang actually want to become a musician in the future, considering how much he enjoys music?”
Jiang Junmo fell silent for a moment upon hearing this, then added, “He also enjoys drawing.”
Lu Xia couldn’t help but respond with exasperation, “Are you talking about the time he put his handprint on your nice painting?”
Jiang Junmo tried to explain on behalf of Kang Kang, “He’s just curious and interested in these things, that’s why he wants to touch them.”
Lu Xia rolled her eyes. “Fine, I get it now. Kang Kang takes after you more, even inheriting your artistic inclinations. It’s ironic—I gave birth to him, but he’s more like you!”
Jiang Junmo knew she was jealous and hurriedly added, “Kang Kang’s eyes look like yours.”
Lu Xia shook her head. “They might have looked that way when he was just born, but as he grows older, he looks more and more like you. Apart from the shape of his face, I can’t see much resemblance to me anymore.”
After hearing this, Jiang Junmo hugged her and said, “How about we have another one? The next one will definitely look like you.”
Lu Xia directly pushed him away upon hearing this. “If you want to have another one, do it yourself. It’s already a lot of work taking care of one, and you want to have another?”
“Have~” Kang Kang imitated his mother from the side.
Jiang Junmo couldn’t help but chuckle. “You see, even Kang Kang wants it. Kang Kang wants a little sibling, doesn’t he?”
Kang Kang thought his father was playing with him and grinned, “Have~”
Lu Xia shoved the two of them away. “Get lost, go ahead and have one yourselves!”
Jiang Junmo chuckled and stopped teasing her, carrying Kang Kang as he went to prepare dinner.
…
Time flew by, and before they knew it, summer arrived. Recently, there hadn’t been any significant news in the village. It was mostly about husbands and wives arguing or mothers-in-law nitpicking their daughters-in-law.
These days, in addition to taking care of Kang Kang, Lu Xia spent more time studying. It was already 1976, and the college entrance exam would resume next year. She felt time slipping away and was worried that her progress in preparing for the exam wasn’t sufficient.
After all, the first college entrance exam after the resumption was like crossing a narrow bridge with a multitude of competitors. If she wasn’t careful, she might not get accepted. Lu Xia was determined to seize this opportunity, so she had to work diligently.
One day, after Jiang Junmo finished work, Lu Xia handed Kang Kang over to him. She planned to wash clothes by the river; reading all afternoon was giving her a headache, so she wanted to relax a bit outside.
Upon returning, she saw Li Yalan standing at the door, looking somewhat shy as she spoke with Jiang Junmo. She would occasionally reach out to play with Kang Kang.
Seeing this, Lu Xia’s expression darkened, and she walked over.
“Why has Educated Youth Li come? Is there something you need?”
Upon hearing Lu Xia’s voice, Li Yalan turned to look at her, her expression changing. She spoke cautiously, “Educated Youth Lu, there’s a misunderstanding. I just find your baby cute, so I wanted to take a closer look.”
Thank you for the chapter (♡˙︶˙♡)