RYEY -Chapter 287 The Last Time Collecting Money

Li Huan’s face darkened. He put on his cotton jacket and went out, riding his bicycle to the village entrance. Chen Damao’s home was not far from Chen Tiezhu’s, so Li Huan went straight to knock on the door.

“Village chief, are you looking for Damao?”

Gao Xiaohui opened the door. When she saw Li Huan, a glint flashed in her eyes. She smiled sweetly and asked,

“Where’s Damao?”

“He went to the back mountain to gather firewood. Do you need him for something? Come in and talk; it’s cold outside.”

Li Huan saw Gao Xiaohui open the door wide. He snorted coldly, turned, and left without paying her the slightest attention. Behind the door, Chen Tiezhu was peeking out.

“How shameless. Pregnant and still trying to flirt with the village chief? Can’t she see that Cheng Qiao is as beautiful as a flower? No contest at all. Ridiculous.”

“Chen Tiezhu, what do you mean? Cheng Qiao is beautiful—are you itching to go after her?”

“You old woman, what are you talking about? Garbage out of a dog’s mouth! I, a rough man, could never be worthy of Cheng Qiao.”

“The Li Huan of the past was a rascal and a rough man too, yet he still married Cheng Qiao. Maybe you should learn from him.”

Chen Tiezhu turned his head, looking at the fire in Juhua’s eyes, and suddenly realized: the woman was jealous. He grabbed Juhua by the waist and led her into the house.

A triumphant glint flashed in Juhua’s eyes. “Lazybones, today if you don’t hand over all the public grain, I won’t call you Juhua.”

In his own room, Niqiu eavesdropped and, hearing the door to his parents’ room close, could not help feeling excited. If Mom could have another little sister like Xiaonuan, he would die happy.

“Damao, the village chief is looking for you.”

Damao came in, carrying heavy firewood, and Gao Xiaohui told him Li Huan was looking for him. Damao’s heart leapt; maybe he had agreed to join the security team and could finally go hunting in the mountains.

“I’m going right away.”

But when he returned, his face was bruised and blue-black, and his whole body ached as if it were falling apart. That rogue village chief really hit hard—just for a few words he had exchanged with Zhang Yuefang.

He never imagined Zhang Yuefang could take the college entrance exam and even get admitted to a university. If that was the case, abandoning her back then was a huge mistake.

He had already experienced the feeling of being on top, only for it to be ruined by his eldest sister. Now, he could see no future for himself. Learning that Zhang Yuefang had become a college student stirred his heart.

Unexpectedly, this reached Li Huan’s ears. As soon as he arrived at Li Huan’s house, he was brutally beaten—far harsher than at school.

“What happened to you? Who hit you?”

“Nothing, I fell by myself.”

“Fell? How could you fall like this? Did you go looking for Zhang Yuefang? Did the village chief see you, so he beat you?”

Gao Xiaohui looked at Damao coldly. Out of the fifty students in Xiangyang Village, only eight were admitted to universities. This news had spread, and Zhang Yuefang was one of them.

She had been worried Damao would go after Zhang Yuefang. As she suspected, seeing his bruised face, Gao Xiaohui suddenly felt a wave of disgust.

She leaned on the doorframe and vomited. What had possessed her back then to jeopardize her own reputation and compete with Zhang Yuefang?

Looking back now, Zhang Yuefang divorced gracefully, got admitted to university, and was heading toward a bright future. A university admission like that was far more prestigious than that of a Worker-Peasant-Soldier university.

“Xiaohui, you’re overthinking. I just bumped into her while gathering firewood and said a few words. I didn’t intend for her to report me.”

Gao Xiaohui expelled the sour contents from her stomach and felt somewhat better, but her gaze toward Chen Damao remained icy and disappointed.

The day after Li Huan finished disciplining Damao, he started organizing villagers to hunt in the mountains, preparing for the annual pig-killing feast. Qin Guoqing happened to arrive and went with Li Huan up the mountain.

With Qin Guoqing’s help this year, they hunted more successfully. Everyone now knew this young man was Li Le’s partner—they were about to get married.

“Huan, ever since you married Cheng Qiao, your family’s life has prospered so much! Too bad Cheng Qiao doesn’t have a sister; otherwise, I could introduce her to our Damao. Then I could die content.”

Cuihua, seeing the mountain of game, was in much better spirits. Chen Weidang had already returned home, and under Cheng Qiao’s daily acupuncture and water therapy from the space, he could walk with a cane.

Although Chen Damao had come many times, even kneeling in front of Chen Weidang, Chen Weidang remained unmoved. He still had Ermao and Daniu, Xiaoniu—he didn’t need this son.

“Xuhui, get me the abacus. I want to calculate everyone’s work points. Once the public grain is turned in, we’ll divide the grain and money.”

Xuhui stood by Chen Weidang, helping him calculate and record. Chen Weidang nodded in approval. If this child hadn’t told him about wanting to attend the military academy, he might have been happy to take him along.

“Ermao, come over and learn properly.”

Since Xuhui wouldn’t stay, this knowledge had to be passed to Ermao. He hoped this child could eventually take over his role and become the village accountant in Xiangyang Village.

Ermao looked at Li Huan and, seeing him nod, was overjoyed. If he mastered his father’s skills, he would have a place in Xiangyang Village, and his resentment over not going to university would vanish.

Every year, villagers eagerly awaited the year-end handover of public grain and the division of grain and money to enjoy the pig-killing feast. This time, all the educated youth participated, even Xiaofang, who hadn’t passed the college exam, was busy at the granary.

The villagers had finally reconciled with the educated youth. Since everyone was leaving soon, what old grudges mattered? Besides, they had brought honor to Xiangyang Village.

Zhao Xiaobei received their final work wages and immediately went to the supply and marketing cooperative to buy gifts—intended for Li Le’s trousseau.

Meanwhile, Qin Guoqing went to the post office to call Qin Daqiang, telling him that the wedding date needed to be moved up since Cheng Qiao would take her family to Beijing for the New Year.

After the New Year, Cheng Qiao and the twins wouldn’t return, so the wedding had to happen before the Spring Festival to ensure no one would be absent.

Qin Daqiang, pleased, went to find Xiao Dan, who was now a good driver. Since Guoqing wanted the wedding before the New Year, he could take him on a run.

Xiao Dan was thrilled to attend Qin Guoqing’s wedding. With his father’s help, he prepared some wild food to contribute to the feast.

Jiang Meili, who had just returned home, was also excited upon hearing the news. Of course, she had to attend her sister-in-law’s wedding, especially now that both her sister-in-law and brother’s wife had been admitted to university. She wanted to send her blessings.