Yun Yuzhi whispered: "I guess Xia Lin dragged him to the captain's house for dinner. He's practically the Xia family's prospective son-in-law now." As she finished, she saw Lu Jingqiu walking into the house and added: "I talked to Jingqiu today. Jingqiu said she's over it and won't entangle with Gao Shu anymore."
"Really?" Li Yinger was surprised, then a bit skeptical: "She wouldn't just say that to make you happy, would she? She chased him all the way from the city to here. It's been two years... no, they were childhood sweethearts."
"I think she's really given up this time. She was a bit sentimental when she talked about it, and also mentioned missing her parents. She wants to visit them after the busy season. She looks so pitiful."
Li Yinger breathed a sigh of relief: "After a breakup, no one feels great. That day she ran out and didn't come back until midnight. I guess she cried for a long time. The next day, when she had a high fever, her eyes were swollen badly."
Actually, Li Yinger sympathized with Lu Jingqiu. After all, she came from the city to the countryside out of genuine feelings. She couldn't stand Gao Shu's indifferent attitude.
Yun Yuzhi knew this too, but neither of them mentioned it. They worried about her in their hearts but were afraid that asking about it would embarrass Lu Jingqiu: "It's good to let go. Gao Shu is great, but his heart and mind are full of Xia Lin."
Lu Jingqiu didn't know about the conversation outside. She returned to her room, hurriedly rummaging through her little suitcase, which had over a hundred yuan, some cloth and grain coupons, brown sugar, malted milk, and milk. These were all mailed to her by her parents and aunt.
They were afraid she'd suffer here.
Sigh, if she hadn't been so generous, she could've saved quite a bit.
Her parents had only one daughter, fearing anything bad might happen to her. Both earned decent wages, spending most of their money on their daughter.
In this era, having only one daughter wasn't rare. It's not that her parents didn't want more children. Her father had come back from the battlefield injured and had trouble having kids for years. Eventually, her parents gave up. Her father didn't have a preference for boys over girls, always treating her as a treasure.
Sadly, she wasn't filial. She secretly ran to the countryside for a man. Her aunt said in a letter that her mother cried for an entire day and night, blaming her for being disobedient, while also worrying she'd be bullied in the countryside. Even her strong father's eyes turned red, causing them endless concern.
Her uncle and aunt lived in the same courtyard. Her aunt gave birth to two sons, and since they didn't have a daughter, both families were close. Her uncle and aunt treated her like their own daughter.
Her eldest cousin joined the army, while her second cousin got a job. The four-member family all had work. Her aunt worked as a chef in a state-owned restaurant, often sending her delicious foods over the past two years.
She gave a lot to Gao Shu, but Gao Shu avoided her, and in the end, Li Qian ended up with it all.
Looking back, thinking about all those good things she gave away, it made her heartache with regret. How dumb she had been, truly foolish.
Lu Jingqiu tidied up her things, taking out a can of malted milk and a pound of brown sugar, planning to visit the captain's house in a few days to request leave for a family visit.
She had just finished packing when Yun Yuzhi and Li Yinger walked in. Seeing the items in Lu Jingqiu's hand, Li Yinger assumed they were for Gao Shu and, with a disappointed expression, said: "You're not giving these to Gao Shu as a wedding gift, are you?"
Lu Jingqiu actually regretted not getting to know them sooner. Yun Yuzhi was from Beijing, had many siblings, and she and her younger sister went to the countryside. She was straightforward and the most experienced, so the educated youths all called her Sister Yuzhi.
Li Yinger arrived a year earlier. Her family lived nearby, with decent conditions, and she was talkative. Within a year, she was recruited to teach at the primary school.
When she first arrived, Lu Jingqiu was pampered and often offended people without realizing it, so the two didn't talk much to her. Plus, there was the two-faced Li Qian hovering around her, making them like her even less.
If it weren't for Li Qian deceiving them a while back, they probably wouldn't have paid much attention to her.
Though they didn't get all their money back, gaining two close friends was good nonetheless.
"I won't be as blind as before. I, Lu Jingqiu, if I like someone, I'm open about it. Before marriage, it's fair game, but now that they're getting married, I naturally wouldn't shamelessly become the other woman. As for Gao Shu, I concede; there's no shame in that."
In her past life, she found out about Gao Shu and Xia Lin's marriage and fought with Xia Lin, then fled to the mountains, pretending to go missing. A lot happened afterward, but she never interfered in their marriage until they divorced.
Li Yinger said: "Right, there's no shame in it. Breaking up their marriage would make me look down on her. Jingqiu, while you were a bit willful before, you always had a sense of propriety."
Lu Jingqiu smiled, a bit shy: "Thank you for wanting to be my friends. I was...
Yun Yuzhi quickly interrupted with a smile: "The past is the past. Who hasn't been seventeen or eighteen? We all come from ignorance. Having the ability to change is our greatest progress."
Li Yinger nodded: "Yes, right, you haven't done anything wrong. Don't think poorly of yourself."
Jingqiu thought the same, who hasn't been young? She didn't do anything outrageous or immoral, mostly just saying bad things about Xia Lin at the Educated Youth Spot, running over with hostility to argue a bit, declaring her "sovereignty," warning Xia Lin to stay away from Gao Shu.
In front of Gao Shu, she'd say things like Xia Lin was close to the village riffraff.
But Xia Lin really was close to the riffraff. She did hear that riffraff liked her.
Of course, the two had disagreements over that riffraff, but the misunderstanding was resolved. Those two got along famously. Now thinking back, she felt like a clown jumping around, making others laugh at her.
"I brought these to visit the captain's house. I want to ask for leave. Do you think the captain would allow me to return home at this time?"
Yun Yuzhi and Li Yinger hesitated, too, because it was such a busy time.
Especially since the captain was Xia Lin's dad, and Li Jingqiu had quarreled with Xia Lin several times, which Captain Xia knew. Captain Xia loved his daughter the most. Because of this, Captain Xia used to assign Lu Jingqiu the toughest tasks as punishment.
And the whole Ten-miles Village knew she liked Gao Shu.
Xia Lin also liked Gao Shu. The last thing she wanted was Captain Xia refusing her leave for his daughter's sake.
Yun Yuzhi said: "Try it first. If Captain Xia refuses, we'll think of another way."
Li Yinger suggested: "I think you should wait until the wheat harvest is over before going; it's only a few days difference."
Lu Jingqiu nodded, putting the items back.
The group hurried to rest while they could since they'd be working late into the night, threshing the grains.