Chapter 15: Crisis Reemerges

Tears of fear welled up in Xie Jinyu’s eyes; she did not understand what Yan Hongying’s departure this time truly meant.

In her previous life, Yan Hongying never left Yuejin Village until her death.

Since Yan Hongying had been confined by the Lu family in that lifetime, Xie Jinyu was unsure whether anyone had come to take Yan Hongying away for questioning at this point.

A heavy sense of unease weighed down on Xie Jinyu’s heart.

“Grandma, I…”

Yan Hongying looked at Xie Jinyu’s tear-filled eyes and calmly handed her a key.

“Xiao Yu, don’t cry. I will be fine. No matter how hard it gets, you must not give up learning medicine. When we reunite, I will test you.”

Like Yan Hongying, many had been sent to the cattle shed as part of the re-education, but the others in neighboring villages lived far tougher lives than Yan Hongying.

Ultimately, it was because Yan Hongying possessed medical skills.

People eat grains and inevitably fall ill.

When villagers were sick, they would seek Yan Hongying’s help. She never charged fees and was kind-hearted.

Over time, she developed a close bond with the villagers.

“Grandma, I will study medicine diligently.” Yan Hongying reached out and embraced Xie Jinyu. “Xiao Yu, as long as you and Changzheng stay well, trust me—we will be reunited soon.”

The man who had come to take Yan Hongying did not give her much time.

After changing clothes, despite her terror, Xie Jinyu quietly packed Yan Hongying’s belongings and secretly slipped all the money she had into the pockets of Yan Hongying’s cotton-padded jacket.

“Yan Hongying, it’s time to go.”

Yan Hongying picked up her luggage and stepped out of the cattle shed.

Xie Jinyu silently followed behind, escorting her onto the vehicle.

Only when the black car had left Yuejin Village did Xie Jinyu’s tears finally spill uncontrollably.

Zhan Xinyue quickly reached out to embrace Xie Jinyu, asking with concern, “Xie Jinyu, are you alright?”

“I’m fine.” Xie Jinyu forced a faint smile and asked, “When are you leaving?”

“Tomorrow.” Zhan Xinyue, worried about Xie Jinyu’s mood, said, “Xiao Yu, I’ve packed my things. Can I sleep with you tonight?”

“Yes,” Xie Jinyu replied.

As Xie Jinyu and Zhan Xinyue prepared to return to the cattle shed, the postman arrived.

He handed a stack of letters to Xie Jinyu.

“Teacher Xie, here’s your mail.”

“Thank you.”

Xie Jinyu glanced through the letters and immediately noticed a registered letter mixed in with the ordinary envelopes.

She tucked the ordinary letters into her cotton jacket pocket and opened the registered letter.

The letter was from Ye Changzheng.

He wrote that the military attachment application had been approved but only for one person.

In other words, between Yan Hongying and Xie Jinyu, only one could accompany the army.

A few hours earlier, Xie Jinyu and Yan Hongying might have deferred to each other over this spot.

But now, the only person who could go with the army was Xie Jinyu.

“Xinyue, come with me to find the village party secretary.”

Carrying the documents sent by Ye Changzheng, Xie Jinyu sought out the village party secretary.

The military attachment paperwork from Ye Changzheng’s side had been approved.

Naturally, the village party secretary did not cause trouble and promptly issued the relevant certification for Xie Jinyu.

With the village’s and Ye Changzheng’s documents, Xie Jinyu could now take a vehicle to find Ye Changzheng.

“Thank you, Secretary.”

As soon as she left Yuejin Village, she planned to send the denunciation materials against the village party secretary’s family to the provincial authorities.

Then… she could avenge the grievances from her past life when the party secretary had stolen her college entrance exam notice and identity, handing them to Chen Wanru for misuse.

The village party secretary took a drag from his pipe and asked, “Teacher Xie, if you and Yan Hongying both leave, what about the things you can’t take?”

Xie Jinyu understood his meaning—he wanted to leave those belongings for Chen Wanru and Lu Qianjin.

Even if she had to burn everything down, Xie Jinyu would never let those scoundrels benefit.

She smiled faintly. “Secretary, what I can take I will bring to the army; what I cannot take I will leave in the cattle shed.”

Seeing that Xie Jinyu understood, the secretary said, “Then pack well tonight. Tomorrow, go with the other sent-down youth returning to the district.”

“Alright.”

Xie Jinyu did not tell Chen Wanru about her impending departure with the army.

She was still unclear about the situation on Ye Changzheng’s side, so she calculated that she must take everything she could.

Despite the snow not yet melting, she borrowed a sickle and went into the mountains, cutting many palm leaves and twisting them into ropes herself.

When Yan Hongying left, she took some of the items.

Xie Jinyu did not have much to bring.

She bundled the quilt tightly with hemp rope and placed the enamel kettle and cups in a conspicuous place.

When she picked up the pillow, she found money hidden beneath it by Yan Hongying at some unknown time.

She did not touch the money but packed it along with the pillow.

In less than three hours, except for the quilt needed for sleeping that night, Xie Jinyu had packed everything else.

After finishing, she and Zhan Xinyue ate from the communal pot and headed back to the cattle shed.

Zhan Xinyue placed her luggage in Xie Jinyu’s room and, realizing she had left something at the sent-down youth camp, decided to retrieve it before dark.

Only then did Xie Jinyu have time to read through the other letters—twelve in total.

Two were rejections; the rest were acceptance letters and payment slips for her manuscripts.

Xie Jinyu gathered the payment slips and went to return the sickle.

After returning the sickle, she hurried back to avoid running into Lu Qianjin.

Carrying the key, she unlocked the door and was about to enter when Lu Qianjin suddenly appeared behind her, shoving her inside roughly.

Night had fallen.

The room was pitch black.

The disgusting stench from Lu Qianjin’s body made every hair on Xie Jinyu’s skin stand on end.

“Lu Qianjin!”

Since the last time he was caught in the act at the school dormitory, Lu Qianjin had lost his manhood.

He blamed everything on Xie Jinyu.

If it weren’t for Xie Jinyu and Ye Changzheng catching him, how could he have become impotent from fright?

Lu Qianjin roughly grabbed at Xie Jinyu’s collar.

Xie Jinyu seized the enamel kettle on the table and swung it backward, striking Lu Qianjin hard on the head.

After her rebirth, she had guarded against everything, but still failed to avoid this scoundrel.

Lu Qianjin clutched his bleeding head, gritting his teeth: “Xie Jinyu, you filthy woman, just wait—I’ll make you submit tonight…”

Though Xie Jinyu fought back all along, Lu Qianjin was a man, strong and ruthless.

The toggles on Xie Jinyu’s cotton jacket were violently torn open, exposing her snow-white, delicate skin in the dark night.

“You bitch! If you have the guts, call for help!”

Xie Jinyu knew the cattle shed was remote; even if she screamed, no one would hear.

Rather than hope for a miracle, she decided to save herself.

Feigning surrender, she stopped struggling.

Lu Qianjin sneered and reached out.

Xie Jinyu bit down fiercely on his hand, clamping hard on his fingers, trying with all her might to bite them off.

“Ahhh…”

Lu Qianjin screamed in pain.

At that moment, Ye Changzheng kicked open the door, grabbed Lu Qianjin’s collar, and slammed him to the ground with force…