Chapter 3: Marriage Announcement

Chen Wanru’s eyes flickered, her face pale as she said, “What nonsense are you talking about…”

Xie Jinyu drew the curtain closed, changed her clothes, and rolled up her bedding tightly with a hemp rope. She packed up the hot water bottle, mirror, washbasin, and all the miscellaneous items, preparing to move to the cowshed with Ye Changzheng.

Chen Wanru had caused her so much suffering in her past life; in this lifetime, there was absolutely no way she would share a room with Chen Wanru again.

“Ye Changzheng, let’s first go get the marriage certificate, then move our things to the cowshed.”

“All right.”

Ye Changzheng took the luggage from Xie Jinyu’s hands, and the two went together to the neighboring courtyard to get the marriage certificate from the old village party secretary.

As soon as they reached the gate, Lu Qianjin emerged from the village office, wincing in pain.

The moment he saw Xie Jinyu, his lecherous eyes gleamed with a sinister light.

“Xie Jinyu, is it really Chen Wanru who sent you to the cowshed?”

Without showing any emotion, Xie Jinyu distanced herself from Lu Qianjin and stood beside Ye Changzheng.

“Don’t ask me about you two!”

Lu Qianjin looked at Xie Jinyu’s porcelain-white, captivating face and couldn’t help but blame Chen Wanru. It was that shameless woman’s loose belt that had ruined everything for him!

If things had gone smoothly, Xie Jinyu would have been his woman!

“Still not leaving?”

The village party secretary shouted from inside.

After giving Xie Jinyu a long, deep look, Lu Qianjin dashed away.

The party secretary’s face was completely lost because his own son had caused such a scandal.

“We’re here to get the marriage certificate.”

The party secretary handed Xie Jinyu the marriage certificate stamped with the seal of the Leap Forward Brigade. He took a slow drag from his dry tobacco pipe and said deliberately, “Teacher Xie, the villagers have complained to me that Chen Wanru’s character is questionable. They want to replace the teacher. Do you think there’s anyone else among the educated youth who could take on the teaching role?”

Xie Jinyu knew well that when Chen Wanru had impersonated her to get into university, the party secretary had also been involved.

Her enemies were not just the despicable Lu Qianjin and Chen Wanru.

Accomplices like the party secretary would also be repaid in kind for their grievances.

“Secretary, I heard the commune leader’s youngest daughter only graduated from middle school…”

Hearing this, the party secretary immediately thought she was the best candidate.

“Teacher Xie, where will you and Comrade Ye Changzheng set up your marital home?”

Xie Jinyu and Ye Changzheng answered in unison, “The cowshed.”

Ye Changzheng had been at the Leap Forward Brigade for a week, and had been preparing the new home in the cowshed during that time.

The party secretary thought it was fitting for a teacher to live alone in a dorm room once they arrived, so he did not let Xie Jinyu stay on in the dormitory.

“Well, I’ll wish you both a happy marriage in advance! May you soon have a child!”

Xie Jinyu smiled warmly and gracefully replied, “Thank you for your kind wishes. We won’t keep you from your work then.”

Watching their backs, the party secretary felt only regret.

He had originally chosen Xie Jinyu as a wife for his youngest son.

But alas, Yan Hongying had already arranged a marriage for them ahead of time.

As Xie Jinyu and Ye Changzheng passed the school dormitory, the sounds of Lu Qianjin and Chen Wanru fooling around inside drifted out.

Carrying their luggage, the two stepped through the thick snow back to the cowshed.

Just after putting down their things, Yan Hongying invited Ye Changzheng and Xie Jinyu to have some hot tea.

Xie Jinyu took the bowl, sipping the tea to warm herself, then held out her wrist before Yan Hongying.

“Teacher, Chen Wanru drugged me today…”

Yan Hongying placed her fingers on Xie Jinyu’s wrist, closed her eyes to feel the pulse, then silently opened her acupuncture kit and inserted a few needles into the acupoints on Xie Jinyu’s hand.

Only when black, ink-like blood oozed from Xie Jinyu’s fingertips did the heavy sensation within her body begin to lift.

Yan Hongying frowned slightly and asked, “Lu Qianjin and Chen Wanru originally intended to frame you?”

Xie Jinyu nodded.

“Yes.”

Yan Hongying was both furious and alarmed; she dared not imagine what would have happened if the ones caught in the act were Lu Qianjin and Xie Jinyu instead.

“Jinyu, you were lucky to dodge that bullet,” Yan Hongying said with a dark expression. “You’ll sleep here with me tonight, and once you get the marriage certificate tomorrow, everything will be settled!”

Yan Hongying’s thoughts perfectly matched Xie Jinyu’s.

Xie Jinyu’s bedding was brought into Yan Hongying’s room and laid out on one side of the bed.

“Teacher…”

In her past life, Xie Jinyu had countless chances to leave Leap Forward Village but never managed to do so for various reasons.

Though she was admired by many students, she had always been trapped here.

If it weren’t for the flashbacks before her death, Xie Jinyu would never have known that the scandal involving Lu Qianjin and Chen Wanru was their deliberate trap.

She would never have known that the villagers, along with the party secretary’s family, were all accomplices who bled her dry.

She would never have known that she could have taken the college entrance exam admission notice and embraced a bright, beautiful future.

She would never have known that her real parents had been searching for her all these years, even treating her like a precious jewel when Chen Wanru impersonated her and returned to their home.

All the regrets, grievances, and bitterness of her past life crystallized into tears that fell drop by drop.

Yan Hongying opened her arms and hugged Xie Jinyu tightly, gently patting her back like comforting a child.

“Jinyu, don’t be afraid.”

After years of solitude, Xie Jinyu broke down in Yan Hongying’s arms, crying like a child.

Hearing the cries from inside, Ye Changzheng’s handsome face darkened.

He turned and went outside, swinging an axe to chop a pile of firewood.

After a long while, Xie Jinyu finally shyly looked up at Yan Hongying.

“Teacher, I’m feeling much better now.”

Yan Hongying took out a handkerchief and wiped away the tears from Xie Jinyu’s face.

“Come on, let’s go make dinner.”

The Leap Forward Brigade still ate communal meals, but since Ye Changzheng was visiting, Yan Hongying didn’t take him to the communal dining hall. Instead, she used food coupons for grain and meat to buy some ingredients and cooked at home.

Outside, the snow was falling heavily.

Inside the cowshed, Yan Hongying, Xie Jinyu, and Ye Changzheng busied themselves with dinner preparations.

A clay pot held some rice and water, simmering by the fire.

Yan Hongying lifted the iron lid from the cauldron above the fire and added chunks of radish into the milky broth with the cured pig’s trotters.

The cowshed was deep in the back mountain, far from any human habitation.

With the heavy snow, all the villagers were holed up in their own homes.

Naturally, no one knew Yan Changzheng was cooking a special meal for his grandson and granddaughter-in-law.

Winter radishes were as nourishing as ginseng.

The pig’s trotters fell off the bone with a single bite. Paired with Yan Hongying’s homemade pickled wild vegetables, the meal was both refreshing and satisfying.

Xie Jinyu had little appetite; after eating a few radish pieces and some pickled vegetables, she set her bowl down.

“Jinyu, eat some more.”

Seeing her put down her chopsticks, Yan Hongying and Ye Changzheng both took it upon themselves to offer her more food.

Xie Jinyu politely declined, “I’m just not feeling hungry right now. You two eat.”

After dinner, Yan Hongying handed Xie Jinyu a cloth bundle.