The two on the ground were only separated when the village chief ca over, his hands clasped behind his back.
Wang Shumin stood up and lifted her head, revealing her face. Instantly, quite a few people were startled.
It wasn’t just because Wang Shumin was very pretty, but because she actually bore a slight resemblance to Xue Yue.
Wang Shumin’s skin was a bit fairer, the kind that showed she didn’t do much manual labor. Xue Yue, on the other hand, had more delicate features, but her skin wasn’t as snow-white from years of working in the fields.
People looked back and forth between Wang Shumin and Xue Yue. If they hadn’t known Wang Shumin was an educated youth from the city, they would have thought the two were sisters.
When Xue Yue saw Wang Shumin’s face, her gaze faltered, but only for a mont.
’This world is full of strange things. It’s not that rare for people to look alike. Nothing to be surprised about.’
Wang Shumin saw Xue Yue too. Her eyes widened and her mouth fell slightly open, clearly surprised as well.
"You educated youths, what are you causing a scene about now? Can’t you just behave for once?" The village chief had a troubled expression, clearly fed up with the constant trouble these youths caused.
Gu Yuwei pointed at Wang Shumin while crying and said, "It was her! She hit first."
The village chief looked at Wang Shumin. "Why did you hit her?"
"Village Chief, I wasn’t the one starting trouble. She called a vixen first, so I hit her." Wang Shumin spoke bluntly, not denying that she had thrown the first punch.
The village chief’s brow furrowed deeply. "Gu Zhiqing, why did you insult her?"
Gu Yuwei seed a bit sheepish now. She had been stunned when she first saw Wang Shumin yesterday—the girl’s face was so similar to Xue Yue’s. She hated and envied Xue Yue but could do nothing about her. Now, with Wang Shumin’s arrival, who looked so much like Xue Yue, the re thought of having to see that face every day filled her with an unbearable rage. That’s why she couldn’t stop herself from calling her a vixen. She hadn’t expected this Wang Shumin to be so fiery, attacking her without a second word.
"Gu Zhiqing, speak up. Why did you do it?"
Gu Yuwei glanced at Wang Shumin with a hint of hatred in her eyes, but still lowered her head and said softly, "I didn’t an to. It won’t happen again."
The village chief didn’t make things difficult for her. "Fine. Since you’ve admitted you were wrong, apologize to Wang Zhiqing."
Gu Yuwei’s fists clenched, but she still said quietly to Wang Shumin, "I’m sorry."
Wang Shumin didn’t respond, only giving her a single glance.
Only then did the village chief turn to the group of educated youths. "I’ve said this many tis: don’t cause trouble. Don’t cause trouble! Since you’ve co here, you must follow the rules here. If you don’t want to stay, you’re free to leave. From now on, if anyone causes trouble again, I won’t be so lenient. I’ll deduct your work points directly. If you don’t have enough grain to eat at the end of the year, don’t bla . Alright, get back to work. Stop gathering around."
With that, the village chief walked away, hands clasped behind his back.
The villagers dispersed as well. The remaining educated youths looked at each other, then also returned to their work.
Wang Shumin stared at Xue Yue’s retreating back, lost in thought.
"Shumin, what are you spacing out for? I’ve called your na several tis," Liu Nana said from the side. Both of them had co from Beijing City together; they were forr classmates who had been assigned to the sa place for re-education.
"It’s nothing. Let’s get back to work."
anwhile, Mrs. He sidled up to Xue Yue and asked, "Yue’er, that new educated youth... she does look a bit like you, doesn’t she? She isn’t so relative of yours, is she?"
Xue Yue smiled and shook her head. "What relatives could I have? Mom, lots of people look alike. It doesn’t an they’re related."
Mrs. He thought for a mont. "That’s true. I heard from your father that these new educated youths are all from Beijing City. That’s so far away, it really isn’t possible."
Then she asked casually, "Has He Lang gone to work?"
"Mm."
"Alright, you go on then. I’m heading back too."
"Okay."
Since the plot of land assigned to Xue Yue was in a different area from Mrs. He’s, Mrs. He walked off in another direction.
It wasn’t just Mrs. He; the others working with Xue Yue also curiously asked her the sa question. Xue Yue simply smiled and shook her head each ti.
「That night」
Xue Yue told He Lang about what had happened.
"Do you two really look that similar?"
Xue Yue nodded, then shook her head.
He Lang chuckled. "So, is that a yes or a no?"
"I’m not sure myself, but everyone else seems to think so."
Her words piqued He Lang’s curiosity as well.
Xue Yue couldn’t help but laugh. "Mom even ca over specifically to ask if she was a relative of mine. How could that be possible? She’s from Beijing City, and my family is in Yang Shugou. We’re a world apart. What kind of relative would that be?"
After laughing, He Lang asked Xue Yue, "Speaking of relatives, how co I’ve never heard you ntion any from your side of the family?"
In the countryside, even a mouse in its hole has a few relatives, let alone people. In those days, every family had many children, which ant they had many relatives too.
Xue Yue fell silent. It was true, her family had no relatives. They were the only family with the surna Xue in Yang Shugou. Growing up, Xue Yue had never t or even heard of any relatives.
He Lang spoke softly, "Not a single one? You’ve never t your paternal grandparents, or your maternal grandparents?"
Xue Yue shook her head.
He Lang fell silent as well.
After a long pause, He Lang gently stroked Xue Yue’s head and said, "It’s okay. My family has plenty of relatives. From now on, they’re all yours, too."
Xue Yue let out a PFFT of laughter.
He Lang laughed too, pulling Xue Yue into his arms. "There, there. If you don’t have any, you don’t have any. Having too many relatives isn’t always a good thing anyway. We’ll just have more children in the future, and then you’ll have plenty of family... Hiss! Hey, be gentle!"
In his arms, Xue Yue’s eyes were filled with laughter as her hand pinched the flesh at his waist.
Then, He Lang blew out the lamp, pulled up the quilt, and covered them both.
"Hey, what are you doing? Mmph~"
The March nights were still a bit chilly. A spring breeze blew, making the tree branches sway and RUSTLE.
「At the end of the month」
He Zhendong was getting engaged. The two families had already t and agreed on the betrothal gift. Now they were holding the engagent, with plans to marry next year.
First Aunt ca over early in the morning to tell He Lang and Xue Yue to co over soon. He Lang happened to have the day off, so the two of them went over after breakfast.
When they arrived, Mr. He and Mrs. He were already there, along with people from the first and second branches of the family.
Gao Cuiyun’s baby bump was already showing, and she had put on quite a bit of weight. Guo Jinfeng, in contrast, had lost a lot of weight. She no longer seed as friendly as before; she was sullen and quiet.
Not long after Xue Yue went inside, Third Aunt He and her family, along with the family of He Lang’s fourth uncle and aunt, also arrived. The house was packed with people.
First Aunt offered them candy and lon seeds to eat.
"First Sister-in-law, which village is the girl from? How old is she?" Mrs. He asked while cracking a lon seed.
First Aunt smiled and said, "She’s from Taohua Mountain. She’s one year younger than my Zhen Dong. She’s quite pretty and delicate, just not very tall. But that’s fine, we’re not picky about that."
Mrs. He nodded. "True, being short is no problem. Your Zhen Dong is tall, so any children they have won’t be too short."
"Yes, that’s the reasoning."
Third Aunt He took a piece of candy, unwrapped it, and popped it in her mouth. She comnted, "First Sister-in-law, a child’s height usually cos from the mother. If the children take after her, it might be hard for the boys to find a wife."
The smile vanished from First Aunt’s face. "Third Sister-in-law, who can say what the future holds? You’re tall, but isn’t your Mingjie still short?"
Mrs. He nodded. "Exactly. Let’s see him get a wife first. With no wife in the picture, what’s the point of being picky about height?"
Third Aunt He’s expression turned a little awkward. She bit down hard on the candy in her mouth. ’So what if he’s getting married?’
’My son will get married sooner or later too. What’s there to be so smug about?’
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