Chapter 19: The Sulky Little Girl

Upon hearing this, Lu Liqin became even more convinced that this troublesome girl was just throwing a tantrum. He absolutely refused to believe that she would sincerely wish to marry someone from the countryside, especially someone like Li Sheng, whose family background was so questionable.

Once he had made up his mind, Lu Liqin’s mood improved considerably, and even the way he looked at Li Sheng became more amicable. If Tang Xin hadn’t gotten involved, out of a sense of sympathy, Lu Liqin might have considered befriending Li Sheng. He simply couldn’t stand to watch any longer, wanting to help him out, since the rest of the team were so ignorant and hostile toward Li Sheng’s father.

But now, Lu Liqin’s good mood vanished without a trace the moment he saw Tang Xin giving Li Sheng a sweet smile.

Tang Xin had already taken out her little wallet, but Li Sheng reached over her and paid for the phone call himself.

A man who takes the initiative to pay for a woman can’t be a bad man!

“Don’t worry, we’ll come back at noon tomorrow and call again. I’ll make sure your mother-in-law speaks to you herself,” Tang Xin said confidently, certain she could persuade her mother.

Turning her head, Tang Xin spotted Lu Liqin sulking nearby. She looked at him in surprise and asked, “Your sister Meng Jia was looking for you early this morning. Did you sneak away without taking leave?”

Lu Liqin responded with a cold snort.

Tang Xin continued, “How could you do that? Skipping out on work isn’t right.”

She was merely throwing back at him the very words the male and female leads had once said to her.

By the time Li Sheng and Tang Xin returned to the team, it was already late. Li Sheng dropped her off at the path leading to the youth camp.

Tang Xin quickly said, “Brother Li Sheng, when you get home, discuss the wedding with your family. I still need to buy wedding candies and wine. Oh, and should I formally visit your family too?”

It was the perfect excuse to make a trip into town under the pretense of buying gifts.

Tang Xin had already seen what the so-called commune looked like today, and to be honest, it hadn’t done much to improve her opinion of the county town either.

Alas, television had deceived her. She had never imagined, from watching TV dramas, that the seventies could be like this.

Li Sheng listened to her babble on without interrupting. After a while, he finally said, “Let’s wait until your parents agree.”

He tried to put himself in their shoes. If he had a daughter like that, he wouldn’t want her marrying far away, especially not into a family like his.

After a moment’s thought, Tang Xin decided to burn her bridges and said directly, “My mother will definitely agree. As for my father—well, I might only have a mother, not a father, from now on.”

This was, in fact, something that happened later in the novel: that old man always treated Meng Jia as his daughter and never mentioned that he had a biological one.

Li Sheng saw the beaming, radiant girl’s face dim, her smile fading. He said to her, word by word, “You once said you wouldn’t accept support from my family. But what if I told you that not only will there be no support in the future, there might even be a mother-in-law who will just drag you down? Would you still agree to marry me?”

After saying this, Tang Xin looked up at him with wide, expectant eyes.

Suddenly, she regretted blurting that out so soon. He wasn’t exactly eager to marry her yet—surely this was only going to scare him away.

A strange, indescribable feeling wrapped itself tightly around Li Sheng’s heart, making it ache as if someone had seized it in their fist.

After spending the whole journey avoiding the little witch’s attempts to touch him, the tall man suddenly reached out and gently touched Tang Xin’s hair. “It’s all right. I can manage to support one more person.”

He didn’t ask what had happened. He only felt deep down that this little witch should always be smiling.

She should always be this happy.

Sure enough, Tang Xin broke into a bright, joyful grin.

This was the man she had chosen: responsible, dependable—a truly good man.

But she suddenly glared at him and scolded, “You’ve messed up my hair.”

Then, with a cheerful skip, she bounced back to the youth camp.

Since she had already taken leave, Tang Xin didn’t go to work that afternoon. She labored in the fields for a while, then allowed herself a satisfying nap. When she woke, Meng Jia and another female youth, Li Xuewei, were preparing dinner together.

Tang Xin couldn’t be bothered with Meng Jia. Instead, she took out a tin of biscuits, opened it, and let Li Xuewei help herself to two.

Li Xuewei was taken aback by the gesture. She knew Tang Xin’s family was well-off and often sent her things, but Tang Xin had only ever shared with Meng Jia—never with any other girls.

Li Xuewei had seen these tin biscuits at the supply cooperative, but never bought them herself. Without needing ration tickets, they were pricier than ordinary pastries. And since they couldn’t substitute for a meal, and her family back in the provincial capital didn’t have much, Li Xuewei, as the eldest daughter, had always been frugal.

Though embarrassed, she really wanted to try them. She took two dainty biscuits, then glanced nervously at Meng Jia.

Tang Xin had never intended to offer any to Meng Jia. Once Li Xuewei had taken hers, Tang Xin put away the tin. These were from Li Sheng, after all, and even giving away two was a sacrifice.

Seeing that Tang Xin would rather give her biscuits to someone else than let Meng Jia have any, and thinking of all she had endured recently, Meng Jia was consumed by grievance.

In her previous life, by this time, Lu Liqin and Tang Xin were already preparing to wed, and Uncle Tang had pulled some strings to have them transferred back to the city. Naturally, as her best friend, Meng Jia had gone with them.

But now, because of her own scheming, Tang Xin wasn’t marrying Lu Liqin, so there was no talk of returning to the city. Lu Liqin himself was moody and sarcastic, making Meng Jia anxious.

If she couldn’t go back and had to stay in the countryside, how would she ever seize a chance to make a better life?

Even Tang Xin, who had always looked out for and helped her, had turned on her—Meng Jia’s days had become miserable indeed.

Was it possible that her meddling had just made things worse?

No, she couldn’t let things go on like this. Meng Jia resolved to take leave tomorrow as well and go to the commune to make a phone call!

But when she tried to request leave the next day, the team leader not only refused but also gave her a stern scolding.

The team leader was furious. What was wrong with these educated youths? Did none of them have any sense? They were sent to the countryside to be reformed and contribute to the nation, yet all of them wanted to take leave during the busy wheat harvest. Wasn’t this deliberately making things difficult for the team?

Meng Jia burst into tears on the spot. It was so unfair! Why was Tang Xin’s leave approved, but not hers? She had been working in the fields every day—well, not very much, and she often needed help, but still, it was better than Tang Xin, who had taken leave several days in a row and hadn’t worked at all.