Chapter 18 – Encounter in the Grove
Is this true?
Who is Zhao Hongxing? Everyone in the production brigade knows.
He was just a small troublemaker, a second-rate guy.
Zhao Hongxing lived with a widowed mother, and his mother’s reputation in the village wasn’t great. It was said that she often hid in the cornfields with some men, but whether it was true, no one knew. However, no one had caught them in the act so far.
However, his mother’s kindness towards Zhao Hongxing was indeed genuine.
She treated Zhao Hongxing like a treasure, as if wanting to cradle him in the palm of her hand.
Because Zhao Hongxing complained of fatigue while working, she stopped him from working since then.
Until now, at the age of 21, Zhao Hongxing still hadn’t worked.
Since Zhao Hongxing was 16, his mother had been worrying about his marriage, arranging matchmakers and discussing marriage. However, their situation was not favorable.
They needed a house, but the one they had was just a rudimentary mud-brick house. They needed money, but being an orphan with a widowed mother, there wasn’t much income.
A mother-in-law? Zhao Hongxing’s mother also had a bad reputation.
As for Zhao Hongxing himself? That was even more impossible. Nowadays, girls wanted sturdy and capable men who could support a family.
Just like Xu Xiangdong, who could earn 12 work points a day, had a robust physique, and came from a decent family. His father was a worker, and his siblings also had good jobs. Honestly speaking, many girls in the village liked him. Even neighboring villages had people inquiring about him, and matchmakers came to discuss marriage.
However, all of them were rejected by Xu Xiangdong.
He was entirely devoted to Educated Youth Sun.
But Educated Youth Sun…
Xu Xiangdong wondered if Educated Youth Sun would really kiss someone like Zhao Hongxing, a second-rate guy.
On one hand, Xu Xiangdong felt that even if Educated Youth Sun liked Educated Youth Fu and not him, he believed that Educated Youth Sun was at least pure and virtuous, with good character. On the other hand, the words he heard from Xu Jinning made him doubt.
So, while Zhang Ailian was washing dishes, she saw her eldest son rushing out with a swoosh.
“Hey, it’s so late. Where are you going?”
“Just taking a walk, getting some fresh air, will be back soon.”
Once outside the house, Xu Xiangdong headed towards the small grove.
He decided to personally see if what the little girl said about Educated Youth Sun was true, if she had a bad character and liked to hang so many men.
Although he didn’t quite understand the term “hang,” somehow, he felt like he could comprehend it.
But deep down, Xu Xiangdong didn’t want Educated Youth Sun to be that kind of person. If she really was, it would mean he had been blind before, deceived, and had given his sincere heart to the wrong person.
When Xu Xiangdong left, he didn’t encounter anyone on the way, and the path to the small grove was relatively secluded.
At night, most households didn’t have a reason to go out, especially since they had to work during the day and were already tired. Everyone preferred to rest and sleep at night.
The small grove, surrounded by mountains and dense forests, had even seen wild boars last year.
At night, even fewer people would come to this place.
When Xu Xiangdong reached the small grove, the moon had just come out, casting a bright light. The surroundings were dim, but not completely dark.
However…
Xu Xiangdong stood in the small grove, cold wind blowing, rustling the leaves. It was night, and occasional strange sounds could be heard from the end near the mountains.
Xu Xiangdong stood there for about two minutes, and with a sudden gust of cold wind, he shivered.
The surroundings were eerily silent, not a soul in sight.
Suddenly, Xu Xiangdong chuckled, muttering to himself, “Xu Xiangdong, what are you doing? Are you being deceived by that little girl Xu Jinning?”
He felt foolish for standing there for the past two minutes, even coming out here in the first place.
Who stands around in the small grove at night, blowing cold wind?
Not him, and certainly not Educated Youth Sun and Zhao Hongxing.
“Little girl, you fooled me,” he mumbled, ready to take a step back home.
Just as he raised his foot, he heard a sound not far ahead.
He immediately froze, his eyes filled with confusion.
In the dead of night, who else would be in the small grove?
The sounds of footsteps and voices seemed to be getting closer. Xu Xiangdong thought for a moment, then hid his body behind a large tree. Though he was tall and sturdy, the tree conveniently concealed him from the incoming individuals. At that angle, they wouldn’t be able to see him.
Of course, no one would have thought that someone had already entered ahead of them.
The footsteps and voices grew nearer.
Soon, under the moonlight, Xu Xiangdong could clearly see the approaching pair—a man and a woman.
His eyebrows slightly furrowed.
Indeed, that little girl Xu Jinning was right. It turned out to be Educated Youth Sun and Zhao Hongxing!
Yes, the ones who came to the small grove were Educated Youth Sun, Sun Meiwen, and Zhao Hongxing.
“Educated Youth Sun, here are the meat ticket you wanted and the snowflake cream I bought for you. Look, I got them for you,” Zhao Hongxing said.
Looking at the wrinkled meat ticket, Sun Meiwen couldn’t help but salivate, thinking about the chicken soup and chicken legs Xu Xiangdong had sent over today. Although she didn’t get to taste them, she knew they were delicious since Xu Xiangdong’s mother had made them.
It was a pity that Xu Xiangdong took them away in the end, but this meat ticket was not bad either.
For Sun Meiwen, half a catty of meat ticket was quite a lot. Since she went to the countryside, her family hadn’t sent her anything—no money, no ticket, nothing.
Sun Meiwen knew better than to hope for anything from her family, from her parents.
However, she also wanted to eat meat, to have a meal with white rice, to eat dumplings. She didn’t want to work in the fields, get covered in dust, get sunburned, or develop calluses on her hands.
Since her family wasn’t willing to provide, what was wrong with relying on her own abilities to obtain these things?
Sun Meiwen knew about the snowflake cream; Eductaed Youth Li from the Eductaed Youth Spot had used it. It was said to be a Shanghai brand, and she wanted to try it.
But Eductaed Youth Li was quite stingy and refused to let anyone else use the large can of snowflake cream. There was no spirit of comradeship, no mutual sharing, and no mutual help.
Sun Meiwen had only casually mentioned the snowflake cream to Zhao Hongxing, and she didn’t expect him to actually get it for her, along with a half-catty meat ticket.
It was truly a pleasant surprise.
Sun Meiwen reached out to take the snowflake cream and meat ticket. However, just as her hand reached out, Zhao Hongxing’s hand pulled back.
Zhao Hongxing was tall and thin, with a sharp mouth and monkey-like cheeks. When he squinted his eyes, it looked like he was calculating something. At this moment, his expression towards Sun Meiwen was particularly lecherous.
“Educated Youth Sun, I got the snowflake cream and meat ticket for you. But I can’t just give them away for free, can I? How about…”
I know that she is being painted as a villainess and that she has done some less than good things. But she is still rather pitiful
I don’t see her as a villainess, just a human being, yeah she is pityfull, but she is not special or the only person to have problems, she is a liar and a selfish bitch, she chose that to herself, no one force her. So i don’t see the author showing her as a ”villainess”, bcuz if she was just that, the author would not bother to explain a bit of her life to gain pity from the readers, in the end is up to each reader own view, i see her as a foolish woman, choseing one bad choice after another.