When the final results were tallied, Li Qiuping had received the most votes. The moment the Team Leader announced the outcome, Li Qiuping covered her mouth, sobbing with suppressed emotion. Hearing her trembling, tearful cries, Ye Yihan felt a sudden ache in her chest, a strange and poignant sense of sorrow.
Looking at the others—especially the older educated youth who had moved out and started families—she saw their eyes were bloodshot, tears welling up incessantly. Ye Yihan understood their pain; Li Qiuping had mentioned that these veteran youth were among the first to arrive. They had responded to the national call, volunteering to go to the countryside, but they never imagined they would be stuck here for years, with no hope of ever returning home in sight. Their vote counts were pitifully low, barely enough to count on one hand. Seeing the vigilance and unease in the eyes of their wives and children—who clearly did not want them to leave the village—it was evident they were trapped. Perhaps the veteran youth understood this too, so when Li Qiuping began to cry, they joined her, weeping both for her success and for their own grievances.
The only person standing out of place in the crowd was Zhang Wenli. She had come in last with only a single vote. Watching her expression, which was a mix of fury and embarrassment, it was not hard to guess where that single vote had come from.
Chapter 106