Chapter 73
Ye Qingzhi saw that Yang Fuzhen and the others had darkened faces, and she sneered in her heart.
He Qiming had already made it very clear, yet they still wanted to ask him for a loan. No, wait, they said it was a loan, but she was afraid that even Yangyang knew that this money would never be returned.
“Second Brother…” He Qiwang glanced at Wang Xiuhua, a hint of embarrassment in his eyes. “This is a rare opportunity. I really want to buy this job, but I don’t have enough money on hand, so… can I borrow some from you?”
He Qiming frowned. “It wouldn’t have been a problem, but at the beginning of the year, a comrade’s family had an accident, and I lent it all to him.”
“What? You have such a high salary, you must have a lot of savings. How much did you lend to others? Can you get it back?” Yang Fuzhen asked with a worried look.
He Qiming glanced at her, his eyes full of sarcasm. The old couple must be counting his salary every day.
“My salary is high, but my expenses are also high. I don’t have much savings on hand. In any case, I’ve already lent it to a comrade, and I won’t be able to get it back for a while. You must have money. Fifth, you can borrow from Dad and Ma first, and then slowly pay it back when you get your salary. We just came over to let you know. We still have to pack. We’ll be going now,” He Qiming said, nodding at them. He picked up Yangyang, pulled Ye Qingzhi, and left with the three older children.
It was clear that He Dali and the others’ faces were not very good, especially the third branch couple. Ye Qingzhi was sure that they were cursing them in their hearts, and cursing them very filthily at that.
Back at home, Ye Anjie tugged on Ye Qingzhi’s sleeve and whispered, “Mama, I saw Grandma glaring at you.”
Ye Qingzhi patted his head. “Mama knows. Go and see if you’ve left anything behind. I’ll go and make lunch.”
Yang Fuzhen, as long as things didn’t go her way, would consider them unfilial children and grandchildren. And since Ye Qingzhi had married into the He family, she had gone against her wishes in almost every way. It would be strange if she had a good impression of Ye Qingzhi.
Let her glare. It won’t hurt her. She’s going back to the base soon, and who knows when she’ll be back.
“What are you thinking about?” He Qiming asked, coming in with some firewood.
“I was thinking about the old house. They must be cursing us now. And my mom’s side, they didn’t even come to see us. It’s so strange,” Ye Qingzhi said, looking at He Qiming in confusion. “Did you do something?”
With Ding Aixian and Ye Qingshan’s attitude, they wouldn’t have given up without tearing a piece of flesh off her. How could they not have come to see her?
He Qiming’s lips curved into a slight smile. He had hit the snake where it hurt. To deal with ordinary villagers like Ye Qingshan, the simplest way was to find the Brigade Leader and the clan elders.
The clan elders were his elders, so he had to listen to them. As for the Brigade Leader, as long as they didn’t give them a certificate, they couldn’t even leave the commune.
Seeing He Qiming’s meaningful gaze, Ye Qingzhi looked at him seriously. “Was it really you? Hurry up and tell me, what did you do to make them so obedient?”
In fact, it was nothing. The two villages that had fought had been at odds for many years. Fights were common. Not only Daye Village, but they had also blocked the irrigation water of other villages.
He Qiming had gone to the town leaders of Daye Village. To avoid similar incidents and also for the sake of the people downstream, it was better to build a reservoir, managed by the state. Not only would it solve the people’s problems, but the leaders could also have another achievement.
Then there was the matter of Ye Shuiping. He Qiming had gone to the clan elders of Daye Village and had made it clear that he would not let his father-in-law die in vain. And he had already asked a comrade to have the police investigate carefully. With his own status, the clan elders had naturally chosen to side with him.
Ye Qingzhi looked at He Qiming with admiration. “Amazing. We’ve been together these few days. How come I didn’t notice you did so many things?”
He Qiming pinched her pink and tender cheek. “Don’t think about it. I’ll go and pack. After we’ve eaten and tidied up the kitchen, we’ll leave early.”
Ye Qingzhi used up all the remaining rice and white flour, cooked rice, and also made cut noodles. If they couldn’t finish it, they would take it with them to eat in the car.
He Qiming and the children tidied up the kitchen together, picked up their things, and the family walked towards the village entrance station in a grand procession.
“Qiming, Sister-in-law, are you leaving already?” He Yongyao asked, standing by the roadside. Seeing their large and small bags, he knew they were going back to the base.
“Yes. Brother Yongyao is dressed like this today. Are you going on a blind date?” He Qiming asked with a smile.
He Yongyao glanced at Ye Qingzhi, his gaze dimming, then he smiled and nodded. “Yes, a relative introduced her. She’s twenty-two this year. She was engaged before, but the man had an accident a few days before the wedding and passed away. The young lady’s reputation was a little affected. I don’t think it’s a big deal. What ‘curse’… it’s all foolish superstition.”
Ye Qingzhi looked at him strangely. Why was he telling them so much?
“That’s right. These are all feudal ideas. It was an accident. How can you blame it on the woman?” Ye Qingzhi still said a word of justice for this girl.
His own luck was bad. How could this be blamed on a woman?
But at only twenty-two, she had to marry a widower in his thirties. Sigh, this girl was really unlucky.
“That’s what I think too,” he said. Getting Ye Qingzhi’s approving gaze, He Yongyao was as if he had been injected with chicken blood, very excited.
He Qiming took half a step forward and stood in front of Ye Qingzhi. “Then I wish you success on your blind date. We have to catch a bus, so we’ll go first. We’re afraid we won’t be able to attend your wedding. We’ll have dinner together next time we come back.”
“Alright. You should go. Don’t miss the bus,” He Yongyao said, seeing He Qiming’s action. He sighed softly. He Qiming’s qualifications were better than his in every aspect. Marrying him, Qingzhi could live a good life. That was also good. It was just that he would never forget the woman who had been leaning against the car window, feigning sleep.
Ye Qingzhi felt a burning gaze on her back and couldn’t help but look back. This time, He Yongyao did not avoid it, and their eyes met.
Ye Qingzhi nodded at him, turned around, and shivered. She always felt that that gaze made people uncomfortable.
The bus to the county town was not crowded today. The few of them found seats as soon as they got on. Ye Qingzhi still sat by the window, covered her nose with an orange peel, and slowly fell asleep. When she woke up again, they were almost in the county town.
Next was another three days and three nights on the train, and a day on the bus. They finally arrived at the family compound before dark.
“Is that Qingzhi?” Yang Xiaorou was helping Bai Xue back from the hospital. Seeing Ye Qingzhi moving things, she let go of her arm and ran over excitedly. “Qingzhi, you’re back?”
“Xiaorou, we just arrived. Are you… are you taking a walk?” Ye Qingzhi asked with a smile, seeing Bai Xue behind her.
“No, Bai Xue wasn’t feeling well after dinner. I took her to the hospital to get some medicine,” Yang Xiaorou said, shaking the medicine in her hand. Seeing the children get off one after another, she picked up Yangyang. “Oh my, Yangyang, did you miss me?”
“I did. I missed Auntie Xiaorou the most,” Yangyang nodded heavily.
Ye Qingzhi glanced at this little rascal. Just now in the town, he had said he missed Uncle Wang Heng the most. How had it become Auntie Xiaorou now?
“Hello, Auntie Yang,” the three older ones said, then helped He Qiming move the things.
The things they had brought back to the base were even more than what they had brought back to their hometown. All sorts of dried vegetables, dried fruits, and also herbs, cured meat, and so on.
A small part was from relatives and friends. Most of it was bought by Ye Qingzhi. Although she had grown a lot of vegetables herself, they had eaten some, and had also given some away. She hadn’t been able to dry much. This time, when she went back to her hometown, she had seen an old woman drying vegetables and had bought some.
“So many dried vegetables. Did your parents’ family or your in-laws give them to you?” Yang Xiaorou also helped to carry things.
“Them? They would give me things? They were all bought,” Ye Qingzhi said, having no intention of beautifying them.
Yang Xiaorou had eaten these dried vegetables last year. They were very delicious. She had pestered Ye Qingzhi to give her half, and she could pay whatever she wanted.
Of course, Ye Qingzhi could not take her money, but it was impossible to give her half. She only gave her one-third. She kept one-third for herself, and the other part was for Gu Yao.
As for Li Jinfeng, she had planted so many vegetables in her front and back yards, so she did not have to worry about food. But Ye Qingzhi had given her a bag of dried kelp and a bag of dried shrimp.
“Thanks,” she said. Having gotten one-third of the dried vegetables, Yang Xiaorou was already very satisfied. But since Ye Qingzhi would not take her money, she could not just take them like that.
Thinking of how Ye Qingzhi loved to eat nougat, she would find someone to make more for her later.
After a while, Gu Yao heard the news and came over. She looked Ye Qingzhi up and down. “You’ve lost a lot of weight. Have you handled everything at home?”
“My dad’s matter is not easy to solve in a short time. But Qiming has already asked someone to help. We can’t just let him die in vain. Here, I was just telling Xiaorou, we’ll split these dried vegetables three ways. You take a portion too. They’re not very dry yet. You have to take them out to dry. With such a big sun now, they’ll be ready in two days. You can keep them for the winter. Don’t you also like them?” Ye Qingzhi said, tidying up the dried vegetables and putting them in a large basket for Gu Yao to take away later.
“There’s a portion for me too?” Gu Yao did not refuse and accepted it gracefully, wondering what to give Ye Qingzhi in return.
The Northwest wind and sand were strong. The house had not been lived in for half a month, and there was already a layer of dust inside. It just so happened that they were all travel-worn and dirty. It was better to clean up first.
With the help of Yang Xiaorou and Gu Yao, plus He Qiming and the four children, the room was quickly tidied up.
After sitting down for less than two minutes, Ye Qingzhi went to boil water for a bath, then took some things to see Li Jinfeng.
She was on her fifth child, and with her age, she was preparing to have a 42-day confinement this time, so she was not yet out of it.
“Qingzhi?” Li Jinfeng was breastfeeding the child. Seeing Ye Qingzhi, she was pleasantly surprised. “I just heard from my mother-in-law that you were back. I thought I would only be able to see you tomorrow. Well, have you solved everything at home? Have you finished cleaning here? I’ll have my mother-in-law go and help you clean. And also call Wenshu.”
“No need. The house is already cleaned. Let me see the child quickly,” Ye Qingzhi said, sitting down by the bed and looking at the baby with dark, round eyes. “So beautiful. She’ll definitely be a little beauty when she grows up.”
Li Jinfeng looked down at her fifth daughter and nodded with a smile. “Isn’t she? This child’s skin is fairer than her few older sisters’. And look at this nose, isn’t it very straight?”
She hadn’t seen her for half a month, and Li Jinfeng’s mentality was very different. This was also good, for both her and the child.