It was already past five in the afternoon when they returned to the village. As they passed the village office, Li Yi saw a dozen or so women standing there chatting idly. It was obvious they had just returned from working in the fields and were waiting to hand in their work reports.
Since the fields weren’t very busy at this time of year and there weren’t many production quotas to meet, they finished work relatively early each day.
Those who finished early and couldn’t hand in their work just yet had no choice but to hang out and chat at the village office—a form of leisure unique to rural life.
Just as this group of young women and housewives was chatting away, someone suddenly spotted the bright red mule cart in the distance and couldn’t help but exclaim, “Oh my, isn’t that Yi from the Shan family? Has he come back from the city?”
Everyone looked toward the main road and sure enough, they spotted that familiar bright red mule.
“It is Yiwa. That kid’s a real gem—he takes those little ones out every day to gather and sell mountain produce. My Huzi has already earned over 20 yuan!” said a middle-aged woman in her forties, her face full of gratitude.
Immediately, someone nearby chimed in, “Only twenty yuan? My Shitou has already brought home nearly fifty yuan—that covers the tuition for the little ones next semester!”
“Fifty yuan? Shitou’s mom, you’re not pulling our leg, are you?”
“Why would I make that up? Old Liu’s two kids have earned at least seventy or eighty yuan this past while…”
Just as they were talking, someone suddenly exclaimed, “Hey, look! There seems to be a little girl on the cart too!”
The rural women’s curiosity was instantly piqued, and they all craned their necks to look at the mule cart behind them.
“I can’t see very clearly, but it looks like there are two girls back there?”
“Dongzi’s Mom, you’re not seeing things—it really is two!”
“There’s Na, and the other one looks like Tang, the educated youth…”
“So Yiwa took his wife into town? Should we go take a look?”
“Let’s go, let’s go, let’s go take a look…”
Li Yi and Tang Xue were just talking when suddenly they saw a dozen or so women walk out onto the main road and block their path.
Li Yi was a bit taken aback and was about to ask what was going on when Shitou’s mother spoke up first: “Yi, have you brought your wife into town?”
“Yeah, we’re taking mushrooms to town and picking up some wedding supplies for my wife while we’re at it!” Li Yi replied immediately.
Hearing this, the women finally noticed the large and small bundles of goods in the back of the mule cart!
Since the mule cart had no cover, they could see at a glance the festive bedsheets and pillowcases inside, along with the snow-white cotton and other items.
This made the women incredibly envious!
Think back to their own weddings—which family didn’t arrive at the groom’s house carrying just a small bundle?
Families with better means might have bought a few new outfits, while those with less might not have even had half a yard of fabric.
But look at this family—their wedding trousseau filled nearly half the cart!
For a moment, the women all looked at Tang Xue with eyes brimming with envy.
“Tang Zhiqing is so lucky—she’ll live a life of luxury with Yiwa from now on!”
“Comrade Tang is so handsome—he and Yiwa make such a perfect match, just like the golden boy and jade girl you see on TV!”
“You’re absolutely right. Your children are sure to be the most beautiful of the lot…”
Tang Xue had never seen anything like this before. Faced with such a barrage of praise from the married women in the village, her face had long since turned bright red.
She could only stand there with her head down, smiling awkwardly, not knowing what to say!
Li Na knew her best friend was shy, so she quickly said, “Ladies, we have to go pick up the kids from the back mountain in a bit, so we can’t stay and chat with you!”
Li Yi chimed in, “Ladies, we’ll chat later. We’ve got to go!”
Then, Li Yi gave the big red mule a few light tugs on the reins. The mule cart quickly picked up speed and soon left the village office far behind.
But even so, Tang Xue’s face remained bright red, like a perfectly ripe peach, making Li Yi’s heart flutter!
…….
He had originally planned to drop Tang Xue off at the educated youth commune first, then head to the back mountain to pick up the little rascals.
The kids had gathered quite a lot of mountain produce lately, so Li Yi usually had to drive the mule cart to the back mountain to pick them up.
To Li Yi’s surprise, however, Tang Xue took the initiative today and asked to go with him!
Naturally, Li Yi was more than happy to oblige.
When they got home, they found that neither of their parents was there!
The three of them immediately unloaded everything from the cart into the house. Li Na stayed behind to watch the house while washing the bamboo cups and chopsticks.
Meanwhile, Li Yi took Tang Xue and drove the mule cart to the back mountain.
With Li Na—that super third wheel—out of the picture, Li Yi noticed that Tang Xue didn’t seem as reserved as she had been before.
“Honey, how was your trip to the city?”
Hearing Li Yi call her “wifey” with increasing ease, Tang Xue didn’t bother correcting him—she knew he wouldn’t change it anyway.
“It was nice, but I feel like you spend way too much money!” Tang Xue said honestly.
“Hahaha, isn’t this all to throw us a grand wedding? Actually, I’m pretty frugal in my daily life!” Li Yi said with a laugh.
“You’re frugal? Don’t act like I don’t know—you never even ask the price when you buy things. How is that frugal?”
“Honey, do you know what the most painful thing in the world is?” Li Yi suddenly asked.
“Um… loving someone but not being able to have them?”
“No!”
“Then what is it?” Tang Xue asked curiously.
“The most painful thing in the world is when you’re broke but still alive!” Li Yi said with a serious expression.
“Ha!”
Tang Xue burst out laughing at Li Yi’s remark, then covered her mouth and said, “You’re always spouting nonsense!”
But Li Yi just smiled and said, “Honey, money is something you can’t take with you when you’re born or when you die. Don’t take it too seriously—spend it whenever you want!”
“But what if we run out?” Tang Xue asked playfully.
“As long as I’m here, there’s nothing to worry about!”
Hearing this, Tang Xue felt a sudden pang in her heart—a warm sensation, but more than that, a sense of reassurance. It was as if she’d suddenly found a courage that came straight from the depths of her soul.
“Mm!”
And Tang Xue’s soft “Mm” filled Li Yi’s heart with immense joy.
Li Yi had actually been subtly testing Tang Xue with those words just now. He knew that when a man tells a woman, “I’m here—don’t worry,” he’s secretly conveying, “I can protect you, and I’m willing to stand by you.”
If a woman is interested in you, she’ll respond positively; otherwise, she won’t.
Although Tang Xue’s reply was just a soft “Mm,” it signaled her willingness to accept his protection, indicating that she was gradually opening up to him.
Moreover, Li Yi had noticed over the past few days that Tang Xue’s attitude toward him had indeed changed significantly.
Regardless of whether she loves him or not, at the very least she’s willing to communicate with him and no longer rejects his kindness toward her.
Although Li Yi has always known that love is nothing more than a two-way exchange of hearts, the prerequisite is that the other person is willing to exchange with you.
If she won’t let you get close or accept your kindness, what’s the point of exchanging anything?
That’s not an exchange—it’s just throwing yourself at someone who’s not interested. To put it bluntly, that’s being a “lapdog”!
And what Li Yi disliked most was being a “lapdog”—not even if the person being fawned over was Tang Xue.
It seemed now that his wife wasn’t indifferent to his efforts after all; she was starting to respond positively.
Li Yi believes that although their relationship started as a marriage before love, the outcome will surely be a beautiful, mutual love story.