By the time he returned to the village, it was already past four in the afternoon.
After unloading the supplies he’d bought into the house, Li Yi picked up his bags and headed to the educated youth commune!
Although they weren’t married yet, Li Yi had already decided that Tang Xue was his wife. Plus, knowing how harsh life was at the educated youth camp, he couldn’t resist bringing his future wife some nutritional supplements.
Besides, Li Yi knew that, barring any surprises, Tang Xue was already carrying his little one.
Right now, Tang Xue was eating for two, so she absolutely had to ensure she was getting proper nutrition.
When Li Yi arrived at the sent-down youth camp, he found Tang Xue’s dormitory locked tight—she wasn’t inside.
It didn’t take a genius to figure out that the girl had gone off to work!
Although the nationwide mass return of educated youth to the cities had already begun, and the college entrance exams had been reinstated for three years, some of the academically outstanding educated youth had already left the countryside through the college entrance exams.
However, the first batch to return to the city were not ordinary people—they either had connections or had excelled academically.
Yet this group remained a minority; the vast majority of educated youth were still biding their time in the countryside, waiting for an opportunity.
Take the educated youth settlement at Nianzishan Brigade, for example. Originally, there were 16 male and female educated youths, but in recent years only five have returned to the city, leaving 11 still at the settlement.
Life for these remaining educated youth remained much the same as before: every day they had to go to work with the production brigade to earn work points, otherwise they would face the hardship of food shortages and hunger come autumn.
However, with the new path to university admission now available, many of them stayed up late studying after work.
In short, the unmarried educated youth are all desperate to return to the city!
Li Yi asked around and found out that today’s work assignment was weeding, and the location was over at Xiahewan.
Xiahewan wasn’t far from the village—no more than a kilometer or so—so Li Yi simply grabbed his things and headed over.
In the cornfield, Tang Xue was hoeing the ground alongside the rest of the production team.
The corn was already over a foot tall, so it was time to loosen the soil and weed the field, while also pulling out the excess corn seedlings to ensure the remaining ones had enough nutrients.
As they weeded and thinned the plants, their fellow villager Zhang Xinyao asked, “Xiao Xue, are you really going to marry Li Yi?”
Tang Xue nodded and said, “With things as they are, do I really have any other choice?”
“Well… you’re right, there really aren’t any other options. But once you marry Li Yi, your household registration will be transferred to Qing Shan County, and it’ll be impossible for you to return to the city afterward. Don’t you think that’s a shame?” Zhang Xinyao said.
Thinking that she might have to spend the rest of her life toiling in the fields, working these hard-to-tend farmlands, Tang Xue’s spirits sank.
“I guess this is just fate,” Tang Xue sighed.
“Li Yi really isn’t a good match. If you truly don’t want to marry him, just pretend this whole thing never happened!”
“How could that be possible?”
“Why not? You’ve already received the notice to return to the city. As long as you get a certificate from the village committee, you can leave here.”
Zhang Xinyao continued, “Once you’re gone, you’ll likely never cross paths with the people or events here again. You can just treat everything that happened here as a dream!”
Hearing Zhang Xinyao’s words, Tang Xue froze!
The whole thing had happened so suddenly—and she’d been cornered right there on the kang—that she’d completely lost her bearings, leaving her in a daze for the past two days.
Whether it was the marriage or anything else, she had simply gone along with the Li family’s wishes without thinking too deeply about it.
Now, hearing Zhang Xinyao say this, Tang Xue suddenly felt as though she might have other options.
But when she thought about her family’s situation, Tang Xue hesitated again.
Life in the countryside was hard, but it was only physical hardship.
Returning to the city and facing her family, life might not be much better than it is now—it might even be worse.
“Never mind, Xinyao. Some things have happened and can’t be undone. Even if I could escape them for a while, could I really run from them for the rest of my life?”
“That may be true, but if you marry Li Yi, what about your brother Cheng? Can you really let him go?”
Zhang Xinyao and Tang Xue were from the same place and were very close, so she was well aware of Tang Xue’s situation.
She knew that Tang Xue had always had a crush on someone named Tan Cheng, a childhood friend she’d grown up with in the same neighborhood.
If it weren’t for this whole situation, Tang Xue would likely have married Tan Cheng after returning to the city.
At the mention of Tan Cheng’s name, Tang Xue’s hand gripping the hoe trembled uncontrollably.
But soon, Tang Xue’s expression returned to calm; she knew she was no longer worthy of Brother Tan Cheng.
He was so outstanding, like a prince from a fairy tale, so utterly out of reach.
And she? Abandoned by her parents to the countryside during the Cultural Revolution, having lost her virtue—she wasn’t even worthy of being called Cinderella. How could she possibly dare to hope to stand by his side?
“Xinyao, don’t say anymore. It’s over. Everything is over!”
Looking at Tang Xue’s eyes, which were struggling to hold back tears, Zhang Xinyao sighed deeply and said, “Xiao Xue, don’t be too upset. We have to look forward in everything!”
“All these years in the countryside, what hardships haven’t we endured? What trials haven’t we faced? I believe there’s no obstacle in this world we can’t overcome—as long as we don’t give up!”
“Mm-hmm!”
“As things stand, Li Yi may not be the ideal match, but the Li family’s values are second to none. If you’re truly planning to marry Li Yi, with in-laws like that supporting you—plus your good relationship with Li Na—life certainly won’t be too bad!”
Zhang Xinyao continued, “If Li Yi can settle down after marriage, it might just work out!”
Tang Xue gave a wry smile. “You know what Li Yi is like. Do you really think he’ll settle down?”
“Well… maybe… perhaps… possibly…”
Everyone knows what kind of person Li Yi is—lazy, good-for-nothing, and a complete ne’er-do-well.
It would be a miracle if a guy like that didn’t get even worse—expecting him to settle down? Forget it!
So, even though Zhang Xinyao wanted to comfort Tang Xue, she couldn’t bring herself to say anything that felt too insincere.
Just as Zhang Xinyao was struggling to find the right words, she spotted a tall figure approaching them.
Once she got a clear look at the man, Zhang Xinyao said nervously, “Xue, isn’t that Li Yi?”
Tang Xue looked up and saw that it was indeed Li Yi; her heart immediately began to race.
For some reason, she couldn’t help but recall the words he’d spoken in front of so many people yesterday—every sentence had carried such weight.
“I… I’ll go check it out first…”
Zhang Xinyao smiled and said, “Go ahead, I’ve got your shift covered!”
Tang Xue blushed and mumbled a quick thank you, then hurried over to Li Yi.