Chapter 28: Probing, Exposed

Chapter 28: Probing, Exposed

By the time Ye Qing returned to Captain Wu's house, soaked from head to toe, everyone in the yard was looking in her direction.

Captain Wu's house was home to five children. Besides the eldest daughter who was already married, there were three sons and the youngest, Wu Yueying.

Two of the sons were already married with children, but since the youngest son was still in junior high school, the family had not yet split their household.

At this time, after work, the three generations of the Wu family, about a dozen people, were all in the large yard. Hearing the commotion, they all curiously sized up Ye Qing and the group of children she had brought with her.

Fortunately, Ye Qing didn't need to explain herself. The children behind her immediately chattered and described what had happened.

Stripping away the exaggerated and boastful parts, the story was still a 100% accurate recount.

As soon as they heard about the female educated youth falling into the water, Captain Wu's expression darkened. He immediately headed out without even stopping for dinner.

Ye Qing wasn't surprised. As the captain of the production team, he couldn't possibly ignore such an incident. He would definitely need to visit the Meng educated youth to check on her condition and understand the details of what had happened.

Ye Qing had the children help her carry the three wooden boxes she had bought to Wu Yueying's room, stacking them at the end of her kang.

Since Ye Qing hadn't yet purchased quilts or cotton clothes, the items in the two snake skin bags she brought were temporarily placed in one box. The other two empty boxes were stacked at the bottom, and she locked the top box with a lock.

The lock was something she had bought in advance at the supply and marketing cooperative while still in Shen City.

Her main consideration was that she might be staying in a large dormitory with a group of educated youth. With so many people sharing one room, it would be easy for things to get mixed up. Locking her belongings would be safer.

Moreover, since Ye Qing had her own secrets, she needed to be particularly careful about her privacy. It was always better to be cautious.

However, she hadn't expected to use the lock so soon, on her very first day in the countryside.

Finally, after tidying everything up, Ye Qing couldn't help but sigh in relief.

She quickly changed out of her wet clothes and then picked up the two aluminum lunch boxes she had brought from the train.

As she entered the yard, she saw smoke rising from the kitchen, indicating that dinner was being prepared.

Since it was her first day at Captain Wu's house, Ye Qing didn't want to eat alone. She decided to share the food she had brought with everyone.

Two meat dishes should leave a good impression on this family.

Before she even reached the kitchen, she heard muttering and complaints from inside.

It was probably Captain Wu's wife, complaining to her two daughters-in-law about how the captain had arranged for a female educated youth to stay in their home, adding another mouth to feed, and so on.

Ye Qing wasn't surprised by this.

In this apocalyptic time of scarcity, survivors were as meticulous about food as Captain Wu's wife. Even Ye Qing was no exception.

So, she accepted Captain Wu's wife's reaction with understanding and even thought her complaints made sense.

Although the educated youth office provided grain subsidies in the first year of the youth going to the countryside, the amount wasn't much and probably wouldn't be enough to eat.

If the educated youth came from a better-off family, they might use some food coupons to supplement their rations. But if they came from a poor family, they would have no choice but to shamelessly mooch off the commune members.

Staying in a commune member's house also meant using more firewood, water, oil, and salt, which weren't accounted for. This meant that each family took a loss with every educated youth they took in.

So, it was understandable that Captain Wu's wife was so resentful of her husband's arrangement.

Fortunately, Ye Qing was aware of the situation. Captain Wu had allowed her to stay in his home out of respect for Political Commissar Hao, but that didn't mean the entire Wu family had accepted her as one of their own.

To live here peacefully until the educated youth housing was built, she couldn't cause any trouble. She needed to be diligent and helpful, doing chores like gathering firewood, carrying water, and washing. In short, being hardworking would never be a mistake.

Ye Qing lightly knocked on the door, and Captain Wu's wife's complaints immediately ceased.

The three women in the kitchen all looked towards the door.

Ye Qing smiled and brought her two lunch boxes inside.

"Auntie, I have some dishes and rice that I packed from the train. They can be heated up and eaten. If you don't mind, they can be an additional dish for tonight's dinner. What do you think?"

Then, Ye Qing turned to the other two young women.

"These are your daughters-in-law, right? Oh, both of you look so capable and virtuous. You're very fortunate, Auntie!"

Captain Wu's wife hadn't expected Ye Qing to come at that moment. Realizing she had been caught gossiping behind her back, she felt a little embarrassed.

She glanced at Ye Qing, but the city-educated youth's smile was natural and friendly, showing no sign of discomfort.

Captain Wu's wife couldn't help but wonder if the girl hadn't heard her complaints because she had come in too quickly.

If she hadn't heard, then all the better. Captain Wu's wife quickly stopped worrying about it and casually took the lunch boxes from Ye Qing.

Since Ye Qing had brought them so casually, she hadn't expected much from them.

But when she opened them, she couldn't help but exclaim, "Oh!"

The two daughters-in-law, who had been cutting vegetables and stoking the fire, stretched their necks to look over.

When they saw the dishes, their eyes lit up.

Braised pork and taro ribs—these were big dishes with plenty of meat. The two daughters-in-law were so envious they were practically drooling.

Although Captain Wu's wife had just been complaining about the inconvenience of having an educated youth stay in their home, Ye Qing's generous offering of two large dishes made her feel a little awkward. She didn't want to take advantage of the city girl like that.

Seeing Captain Wu's wife's hesitation, Ye Qing quickly explained with a smile,

"Auntie, there's no need to feel troubled. I'm new here and grateful for your and Captain Wu's care. We'll be spending a lot of time together in the future. Please don't stand on ceremony with me. If there's anything that needs doing around the house, just let me know."

"Don't look at me like I'm skinny; actually, I'm quite strong. I'm used to doing household chores back at home, so I'm not one of those who can't carry a load or lift a hand."

"I am from the south, so there might be some slight differences in habits compared to here, but it's okay, I can learn. I hope you and the two sisters-in-law won't dislike me and can guide me a little."

No matter where you go, the most important thing in dealing with people is to be humble and sincere, along with a smiling face, and basically, there won't be any complicated relationships that can't be handled.

Sure enough, seeing how capable Ye Qing was and how beautifully she spoke, the captain's wife's expression immediately brightened, and her gaze towards Ye Qing was no longer full of criticism and dissatisfaction.

"Alright then, I won't be polite with you. To tell you the truth, I haven't eaten train food in almost half my life."

The two daughters-in-law were just over twenty years old, and naturally more lively than their mother-in-law. Seeing the harmonious atmosphere in the room, their curiosity immediately piqued.

"Your name is Ye Qing? Where are you from?"

"I heard that you were sent here by a military car today. Is your family in the military?"

These questions had already been asked by Wu Yueying earlier, and now the two sisters-in-law were asking them too. It seemed that these questions were unavoidable.

She had no choice but to explain, "My family is from Shen City. My parents were originally workers, but when I signed up to go to the countryside, they took my siblings to support the construction of the frontier."

"My family has no connection to the military. However, on the train, I happened to help a leader, and he probably thought that since I was young and unfamiliar with Kao Shan Tun, I might not adapt well, so he arranged for someone to send me."

"So, the political commissar who drove the military car today was actually the first time I met him. We didn't know each other before."

This explanation made sense. The two daughters-in-law had heard Wu Yueying talk about what happened in the afternoon, and after a glance at each other, they understood the situation.

It must be that the political commissar from Gu Weidong's unit knew about the mess with the cancelled engagement and specially came to Kao Shan Tun to deal with it, and brought this educated youth along.

Thinking about the younger sister-in-law, the two daughters-in-law exchanged knowing looks under the table.

With outsiders present, they couldn't say much, but they also couldn't understand why Wu Yueying would cancel her engagement.

Such a good match, others would be fighting to get him, but their younger sister-in-law was doing everything she could to ruin this marriage.

Once Ye Qing entered the kitchen, she didn't rush to go out.

She wasn't just talking nicely; she really could work. She not only helped wipe the tables and set the bowls, but seeing the unfinished firewood piled up in the corner, she immediately picked up an axe and started chopping.

After the extreme cold apocalypse, Ye Qing followed the survivor troops to scavenge wood, chopping up tables and cabinets to burn, so chopping wood was a skill she had mastered and could easily perform.

In no time, quietly, in the time it took to cook a meal, she chopped all the wood in the corner.

Perhaps due to her habit of being a doctor, Ye Qing had a bit of obsessive-compulsive disorder. Chopping wood wasn't just about speed and efficiency for her; it also had to be clean and tidy.

The wood she chopped was almost the same length and thickness, and it was neatly arranged in the corner, looking like a row of soldiers at attention.

When Ye Qing finished cleaning up the remaining wood chips and went out to wash her face and hands, the three women of the Wu family were astonished, their eyes wide like copper bells and their mouths open enough to fit an egg.

Indeed, over the years, many educated youths from the city had come to the village, but this was the first one who was both capable and not pretentious.

This shattered the stereotypical impression these women had of city youths, and for a moment, the only thought in their minds was:

They say northeastern women are fierce, but compared to this new girl from Shen City, they felt they would have to take second place. Just the skill of chopping wood was something they couldn't match!

"Mom, stop daydreaming and watch the pot! Quick, stir the food, it's burning!"

"Ah, oh oh oh..."

Wu Da Niang was so engrossed in watching Ye Qing chop wood that she forgot her tasks, and when she came to her senses, she was in a flustered mess, eventually burning a pot of her usual cabbage and vermicelli stew that she could make with her eyes closed.

At this, Wu Da Niang's face darkened, while the two daughters-in-law wanted to laugh but dared not, their faces turning red from holding it in.

Ye Qing had no idea she had "helped" the kitchen in the wrong way and was quite pleased with her performance.

Although it had been several years since she had done it, she hadn't lost her skill and was very pleased, humming a tune as she went outside to wash her hands at the water basin.

Just then, Wu Yueying returned in a hurry from outside, and as soon as she saw Ye Qing, she demanded sternly:

"They said that this evening, Meng Jia fell into the river and was rescued by an unfamiliar female educated youth. Was it you?"

Ye Qing didn't understand why Wu Yueying was so angry, but since she had done nothing wrong in saving someone, she was particularly calm:

"I rescued her."

Wu Yueying was so angry that her eyes were almost on fire:

"Who asked you to meddle? If you hadn't rescued her, then Zhao—"

Halfway through her sentence, Wu Yueying realized she couldn't say it and swallowed the words back.

She wanted to say that if Ye Qing hadn't intervened, Zhao Ma Zi would have had the chance to be the hero who saved the beauty, and Meng Jia, grateful for his life-saving act, would have married him, creating a beautiful story in Kao Shan Tun.

But now, with Ye Qing's interference, this perfect couple match was ruined!

More importantly, if Meng Jia didn't marry Zhao Ma Zi, the spot for the worker-peasant-soldier university this year would definitely go to that woman Meng Jia. What about Jian Ming?

But Ye Qing had already sensed something was off, and her expression darkened. Her eyes, sharp like a falcon's, stared at Wu Yueying:

"Zhao what? What exactly do you want to say?"

Wu Yueying's heart trembled under Ye Qing's gaze, and a flicker of panic and guilt involuntarily flashed in her eyes.

This Ye Qing, despite her young age, seemed to have quite a temper.

Especially those eyes, like X-rays, made Wu Yueying feel like all her thoughts were seen through.

"Nothing, I just mean you were too reckless. You dared to jump into the water as soon as you arrived. Do you know that the Duckweed River, though it doesn't look wide, has very deep and fast-flowing water, and falling in could cost you your life!"

Wu Yueying quickly changed the subject.

The smile in Ye Qing's eyes didn't reach her bottomless gaze.

She had sensed something odd from Wu Yueying's reaction and the unfinished words.

The incident of Meng Jia falling into the river had always carried a whiff of conspiracy, and now she strongly suspected that it might have something to do with Wu Yueying.

Otherwise, why would Wu Yueying react so strongly upon hearing that Meng Jia had been rescued, even going so far as to confront her about it?

But deep down, Ye Qing knew that without evidence, even if Wu Yueying was involved, she would never admit it.

Ye Qing couldn't understand why Wu Yueying would do such a thing. Was there some conflict between her and the fellow educated youth, Meng Jia? But no matter how big the conflict, to scheme against someone's marriage and even risk their life by pushing them into a river—such methods were far too vicious and cruel.

Ye Qing had never thought highly of Wu Yueying, and now her impression of her had plummeted into the negatives.

A warning bell rang loudly in her heart, reminding her to stay vigilant.

This Wu Yueying was not someone easy to deal with. If she offended her, she might face relentless retaliation.

Captain Wu had been gone for nearly two hours before he returned.

He reported that Meng Jia was likely in shock and had developed a fever after being sent back to a commune member's house by the other educated youth. It was uncertain if she would develop a high fever during the night.

He also mentioned that Zhao Mazi had fallen into the river, his foot caught in the weeds, and had swallowed a lot of water. If not for Zhao Laozhu passing by and calling for help, Zhao Mazi might have drowned.

Even after being rescued, Zhao Mazi was so frightened that he started babbling nonsense, saying that a water monkey had pulled his leg, and that there were ghosts in the water. Zhao Laozhu hastily covered his son's mouth, fearing he would cause trouble with his ravings.

Wu Yongbing wasn't particularly concerned about Zhao Mazi's incident.

This good-for-nothing had always been lazy and unruly in the village, stealing chickens and molesting other people's wives. Many in the village were angry but didn't dare to speak up.

Now that this scoundrel had received his comeuppance, the villagers were secretly cheering, and even Wu Yongbing felt that the bastard had it coming.

As an old fox who had lived half his life, Wu Yongbing only needed to ask a few of the youth who were present to figure out what had happened with Meng Jia falling into the river.

It was a quarrel between two female educated youths, and in a fit of rage, one had pushed the other into the river. Then Zhao Mazi had tried to play the hero to save the damsel in distress, hoping to force her into a corner.

But he hadn't expected Ye Qing to interfere and steal his thunder by rescuing Meng Jia first.

Zhao Mazi not only failed to save anyone but almost drowned himself.

The Zhao family was dirt poor, and for Zhao Mazi to dare harbor thoughts of pursuing a city-born educated youth—disgusting!

When Wu Yongbing realized what that bastard had been planning, he was furious.

If not for saving Zhao Laozhu's face, he would have beaten the brat to a pulp in front of everyone.

But he couldn't say these things in front of his children, and holding it in was driving him crazy.

"Eldest, second, third, who among you is free tomorrow morning? Go check the Duck River. If there are weeds growing in it, use an iron rake to clear them out. It's almost October, how come the river has weeds again?"

Before the meal, Wu Yongbing didn't forget to remind his sons.

But the three Wu sons were too focused on the two meat dishes on the table to pay attention to their father. As soon as Wu Yongbing announced the meal was ready, everyone's chopsticks darted towards the braised pork and ribs, quickly wiping out the meat dishes.

If not for Wu Da Niang having the foresight to save a piece for Captain Wu, he might not have gotten any.

When Wu Da Niang heard how the meat had been devoured by her family before the guests could even have any, she felt ashamed. The family had eaten like starving ghosts, and it was embarrassing.

Ye Qing: ... Although the cornmeal pancakes were quite tasty—she hadn't eaten such authentic coarse grain pancakes in years and found them quite fragrant—it didn't mean she didn't want meat. But the Wu family was so fast, she hadn't anticipated it and was left watching helplessly.

After this incident, Ye Qing had a clearer idea of the living conditions of the families in the village.

Even the captain's family lacked meat. It seemed her life here would be tough, and the only way to get more oil and meat would be to move out and live on her own.

This thought made her desire to move out even stronger. She decided that after the meal, she must talk to the captain and see if there was any vacant house in the village. Even if it was a bit run-down, as long as there was a basic structure, she could fix it up slowly over time.

But before the meal was even finished, someone came to call.

They said the party secretary had gone to the commune and brought back the educated youth assigned this year. They were all at the threshing ground, waiting for the captain to come and decide on their placement.

Wu Yongbing quickly picked up his bowl and chopsticks, shoveling the food into his mouth. He finished the bowl of cabbage and vermicelli with a burnt taste, wiped his mouth, and rushed to the threshing ground.

Seeing this, Ye Qing also gave up on eating and followed him out.

As one of the educated youth assigned this year, and having been escorted down by a military vehicle for special placement, she couldn't take this lightly. The educated youth were all gathered at the threshing ground, and she needed to show her face in front of the party secretary, or he might think she, a city kid, was being rude and acting superior.

Moreover, Ye Qing also wanted to know how the village planned to place this batch of educated youth. If there was a chance, she would prefer to move out and live alone; it would be much more comfortable than staying with someone else's family.

At the threshing ground, Ye Qing saw the pale-faced educated youth.

According to the commune members watching, because the village had no tractor and it was the rice harvest season, the production team's oxen were busy hauling grain all day and were too exhausted to be bothered again. So, the cadre didn't arrange for an ox cart to fetch the youth from the commune.

In other words, these educated youth had walked back to Kaoshan Village from the commune under the leadership of the party secretary.

Ye Qing was shocked. She realized how wise it had been for that old comrade to arrange a military vehicle escort for her.

Good heavens, these youth had taken a long-distance train to Fog City, missed lunch, and then huffed and puffed their way to the county on a tractor before finally walking from the commune to Kaoshan Village.

Ye Qing didn't know the exact distance from the commune to Kaoshan Village, but it was already 9 p.m., meaning these youth hadn't eaten all day.

No wonder they looked like they were about to collapse, and several female youth were weeping, on the verge of a breakdown.

Ye Qing didn't know what to say and could only silently chant Amita Buddha in her heart.

This initiation was too harsh!

However, these educated youths clearly hadn’t realized yet that coming to the countryside wasn’t for them to experience life, but rather to truly become farmers, to engage in physical labor. In this village, there was no room for complaining or for those who had been pampered; crying wouldn’t solve any problems.

Old party secretary’s face was as dark as coal, his hands behind his back. Even Captain Wu didn’t get a friendly expression from him. It seemed that he had been angry most of the way back because of these youths.

"You’ve brought them back, now it’s up to you to handle it. I’m going back. Hurry up and set up the educated youth point, and get these kids out of my sight. They’re annoying!"

With those words, the old party secretary left without looking back, not wanting to spare another glance at the youths.

Wu Yongbing’s mouth twitched. There was nothing he could do about the stubborn old party secretary, so he had no choice but to grit his teeth and handle the youths' resettlement.

This time, a total of eight educated youths had been assigned to Kaoshan Tun. For some reason, both Yin Shuang and Li Juan, who had traveled to Jiaotan County with Ye Qing, were assigned here as well.

The remaining five youths were all male, and they were around eighteen or nineteen years old. This meant that Ye Qing was the "youngest" among this batch of youths.

The male youths were easy to place; they could simply be assigned to any member’s household.

However, placing the female youths was much more complicated due to safety concerns. It wasn’t just a matter of finding a household with an empty room.

If a member’s household had a son of marriageable age, it had to be ruled out.

The main concern was that the village youths might develop improper intentions toward the female youths from the city, like Zhao Ma Zi had. If something happened, it would be difficult to explain to the educated youth office above.

After much consideration, Captain Wu finally selected two suitable households.

One was the home of Zhao Laozhu’s eldest son, Zhao Guosheng.

Zhao Guosheng’s household had no sons, only three young girls, the oldest of whom was fifteen years old. It was quite suitable to place the female youths there.

The other option was the home of Murong Ah Po, a blind widow and a recipient of the village’s five guarantees.

Staying at Murong Ah Po’s would provide a separate room, but there was a condition: the youth would have to work for the old lady, chopping wood, fetching water, washing clothes, cooking, and taking care of her daily needs.

Murong Ah Po was over seventy years old and blind, so household chores were difficult for her. Neighbors usually took turns helping her out. If the youths stayed there, they would have to serve as free labor.

After presenting these two options, Wu Yongbing let Yin Shuang and Li Juan choose for themselves.

After a glance at each other, both immediately chose Zhao Guosheng’s home.

They had already experienced the hardships of the countryside on the way here. Now, hearing that they would have to work in the fields from early morning until late at night without any rest, they knew how torturous it would be. If they also had to take care of a seventy-year-old blind lady, they’d rather die.

The two, who were strangers to each other, both refused to go to the widow’s home. They even started arguing, their faces turning red from the heated dispute.

Ye Qing had followed Captain Wu out, hoping to find an opportunity to move out and live elsewhere. Now, hearing Wu’s introduction, her eyes lit up. After a moment of thought, she realized that moving to the widow’s home was her best option!

Seeing Yin Shuang and Li Juan arguing nonstop, Captain Wu’s face darkened even more. He had never liked these troublesome city youths, and now his impression of them had hit rock bottom.

He had no intention of letting the two choose anymore. He would just assign them directly to avoid further bickering and wasted time.

Just as he was about to speak, Ye Qing, who was standing next to him, suddenly said,

"I’ll go live at Murong Ah Po’s!"

This statement instantly silenced the arguing Yin Shuang and Li Juan. Captain Wu also looked over in surprise, "Are you sure?"

Ye Qing quickly explained, "Uncle, please don’t misunderstand. I don’t dislike your home. On the contrary, I think your home is great, and Auntie and the sisters-in-law have been very kind to me. But I’ve lived alone for a long time, and suddenly sharing a room with someone else makes me a bit uncomfortable."

The original body had lived in a partitioned storage space on the balcony, so she had lived alone... sort of.

Captain wasn't mistaken. The arrangement for Ye Qing to stay at his place was merely due to Political Commissar Hao's face. Now that Ye Qing had proactively suggested moving to Murong Ah Po's place, he certainly wouldn't stand in her way.

He couldn't be bothered to waste any more energy on this matter and made a decisive call:

"Ye Qing will go to Murong Ah Po's place. Yin Shuang, you will go to Zhao Guosheng's house. Li Juan, you will come to my place and share a room with my daughter!"

Upon hearing this, Li Juan was overjoyed, her chin lifting proudly as she shot a triumphant glance at Yin Shuang.

Yin Shuang pursed her lips and sneered, "A petty person reveling in success, let's see how long you can be smug!"

After the insult, she glanced at Ye Qing again, feeling resentful in her heart.

This Ye Qing was truly a nutcase. Instead of staying at the fine Captain's house, she was going to be a free caretaker for some elderly widow, allowing this good-for-nothing Li Juan to take advantage!

Ye Qing, however, paid no mind to whether Yin Shuang was happy or not. She had successfully achieved her goal and was feeling quite pleased. As soon as the Captain dismissed them, she ran straight to the Wu family's house.

She needed to move her things to Murong Ah Po's place immediately so that she could have a room to herself tonight!

Back at the Wu household, the family was also discussing the city youths who had come to stay.

Thanks to Ye Qing's brave act of rescuing someone from the river and her hard work chopping a large pile of firewood in the kitchen, Wu Da Niang had grown quite fond of her.

Thinking of her own troublesome youngest daughter, Wu Da Niang was no longer opposed to her husband's arrangement of having the female youth stay with them. She even thought it might be good for their Yueying to share a room with this young comrade.

This Ye Qing was unassuming and steady, not proud or impatient. Perhaps if their spoiled Yueying spent more time with her, she might learn something and correct her bad habits of being pampered.

But just as Wu Da Niang had settled on this thought, Ye Qing ran in and announced she was moving out. This left Wu Da Niang feeling quite upset. The girl hadn't even stayed for a single day; why was she leaving already?

Wu Yueying was also confused.

From the start, she had been deeply suspicious of this unexpected female comrade. She felt that Ye Qing, like herself, might also be reborn.

So she had been trying to test Ye Qing, attempting to figure out her background.

But whether it was because this female comrade was too guarded or because she had guessed wrong, she hadn't found any flaws in Ye Qing.

Wu Yueying hadn't relaxed her guard. She felt that the lack of flaws was because this Ye Qing hid her true self very well. The more this was the case, the more she wanted to tear off Ye Qing's disguise.

But before she could come up with a surprise test, Ye Qing had started packing her bedding.

Wu Yueying was stunned. "What are you doing?"

Ye Qing was concise. "The Captain has arranged for another female youth to stay at your place. I'm moving to Murong Ah Po's house."

Upon hearing this, Wu Yueying panicked. "You're moving out? No, you have to stay with me. Let that female youth go to Murong's place!"

Ye Qing was annoyed. Was this Wu Yueying a princess who thought the world revolved around her, that everything had to be her way?

Seeing Ye Qing continue packing without listening to her, Wu Yueying angrily threw her comb onto the kang.

Suddenly, it was as if she remembered something and asked:

"Ye Qing, have you heard of the song 'Asian Power'? Do you know how to sing it? Can you teach me?"

What 'Asian Power'? Can't you see she's busy? Asking her to teach a song at a time like this, it's really ridiculous!

Ye Qing secretly complained in her heart.

At this moment, all she could think about was moving to Murong Ah Po's house, where she could enjoy a peaceful life without any disturbances. She didn't notice that Wu Yueying was staring at her intently. Without thinking, she replied:

"I haven’t heard of it and don’t know how to sing it."

Seeing Ye Qing’s natural expression, which didn’t seem like she was lying, Wu Yueying was momentarily confused.

Could it be that she guessed wrong, and this Ye Qing wasn’t reborn?

But that didn’t make sense. Her memory was absolutely correct. In her previous life, among the educated youths who were sent to the countryside in their village, there had never been anyone named Ye Qing. Why had such a variable appeared in this life?

Wu Yueying couldn’t make sense of it and felt like her brain was about to tie itself in knots. She couldn’t help but pull at her hair irritably.

Ye Qing didn’t pay any attention to Wu Yueying’s distress. After putting her things into a box, she carried the box out.

Unexpectedly, the three Wu family sons, seeing her struggling with the box, voluntarily came to help. They even sent her two empty boxes to Murong Ah Po’s house.

Ye Qing was more than happy to let others take charge. With the three Wu sons helping to lead the way, she found Murong Ah Po’s house at the end of the village.

By this time, it was already 10 PM. Murong Ah Po had already gone to bed, but upon hearing that an educated girl was being sent to keep her company, she immediately got up, supporting herself with a cane, and shuffled over to open the door.

As the door opened, by the faint moonlight, Ye Qing saw a bent old lady with silver hair standing before her.

Ye Qing quickly stepped forward and helped the old lady.

As she supported her, she understood why the old lady couldn’t see.

Glaucoma and cataracts, commonly referred to as “one blue, two white,” were two diseases that, when combined and left untreated, had gradually led to the old lady’s blindness.

The old lady’s condition had dragged on for too long and had reached an advanced stage. With the medical technology of this era, there was certainly no way to treat it.

But with Ye Qing’s acupuncture skills and her special abilities, treating it wouldn’t be a problem.

However, since it was their first meeting, Ye Qing definitely wouldn’t bring this up rashly. For one, she had just arrived and didn’t know anything about Murong Ah Po. For another, even if she said she could cure her, the old lady might not believe her.

Entering the house, Ye Qing finally saw the full layout of the old lady’s home.

The old lady’s house had only two thatched rooms, one main room with a kang and another room filled with miscellaneous items.

Perhaps aware of her own poor living conditions, the old lady felt a bit embarrassed:

“Why did they send you to my house, girl? This arrangement by the Wu family was too hasty. At this hour, I should have at least asked someone to tidy up the other room for you. Now, you’ll have to squeeze on the same kang with me, an old woman, tonight.”

Having disturbed the old lady’s rest, Ye Qing already felt guilty. It was already very good of the old lady not to be angry, so there was no room for Ye Qing to be picky.

“It’s okay, Grandma. I can sleep anywhere as long as you don’t mind me staying here.”

Hearing Ye Qing call her “Grandma,” the old lady was pleased. Especially with Ye Qing’s accent, soft and melodious, typical of the Wu region, it sounded particularly pleasant. The old lady felt a sense of familiarity and couldn’t help but ask with a smile:

“Girl, what’s your name? Are you from the Jiangsu-Zhejiang area?”

Ye Qing was surprised.

She hadn’t expected that despite the old lady’s blindness, her hearing was so sharp that she could tell where Ye Qing was from just by her accent.

“Grandma, you’re spot on. My name is Ye Qing, and I’m an educated youth from Shen City who was sent to the countryside.”

The old lady was taken aback for a moment. “From Shen City? That’s quite far from Kaoshan Village. It must have been a difficult journey for you. It’s probably still warm enough to wear short sleeves there, right?”

Ye Qing felt that Murong Ah Po’s speech and knowledge didn’t seem like that of an ignorant old lady living in a remote mountain village. However, she didn’t pry. After chatting with the old lady for a few sentences, she quickly helped her back onto the kang.

The old lady was worried that Ye Qing might not be used to the conditions and kept explaining to her even after lying back down on the bed.

"The house is a bit shabby, so make do for tonight. Tomorrow, I'll tidy up the spare room and ask someone from the village to help build a kang. Also, take a look and let me know if anything else is needed, I'll get someone to arrange it for you."

"I'm an old woman and my way of living is a bit rough. You, being a young girl, should consider this place your own home. You can do whatever you want with these two rooms of mine, so don't stand on ceremony."

Ye Qing had originally been worried that this would be a difficult old lady to deal with, but she hadn't expected her to be so understanding. This touched Ye Qing and made her feel even more that her decision to move out of the Wu family was the right one.

It was also during a pre-sleep chat with Murong Ah Po that Ye Qing learned that the neighbors of the old lady's house were the family of Gu Weidong, the other party involved in the much-talked-about annulment of marriage in the village.

Since Murong Ah Po had gone blind, it had been the Gu family next door who had been helping to take care of her, so the two families had grown quite close. When the old lady mentioned finding someone to help build the kang earlier, she had been planning to ask the Gu family for assistance.

Ye Qing could have tidied the spare room herself, but the kang was something she had only ever seen on TV before. It was only when she arrived at Kaishan Tun that she saw one in real life. How exactly to build one was really beyond her knowledge.

So she didn't dwell too much on this matter. Since there were people in the Gu family who understood this, she would just ask them to build one. At most, she would pay them some labor money; she wouldn't ask for their help for free.

With that in mind, Ye Qing quietly lay down at the end of the kang.

It was her first time sleeping on a kang in her life, and she found it quite novel. Unfortunately, it wasn't time to heat it yet, so she couldn't satisfy her curiosity fully.

But soon, her drowsiness hit her. Last night, she hadn't slept at all because of treating the foreign guest from Loguo, and even though she had caught some sleep on the train in the morning, she was now too tired to keep her eyes open.

However, just as she was about to fall asleep, for some reason, the question Wu Yueying had asked her suddenly came back to her mind.

A thought flashed through her, and she abruptly opened her eyes, her whole body tingling as if electrified, with goosebumps rising instantly.

——"Asian Mighty Wind," have you heard of this song?

"Asian Mighty Wind," she vaguely remembered, wasn't that the theme song of the Ji City Asian Games?

A song that wouldn't appear for another ten or twenty years, how could Wu Yueying know about it?!

Oh boy! Ye Qing belatedly realized that she had, it seemed, uncovered the big secret of Captain Wu's daughter!