Hu Guangcai grabbed the chicken and sprinted toward the back mountain like a streak of smoke. Only when he was certain no one was following him did he let out a sigh of relief, whistle a tune, and break into a wide, ear-to-ear grin.
"Won't let me eat? Heh, I'll eat chicken!"
He weaved this way and that, expertly ducking into a mountain cave that he knew by heart.
Inside, the cave was lined with straw, and a dirt stove had been built with a rusted iron pot set on top.
This pot was the one Erzhuzi had stolen from his own house earlier. Iron pots were in high demand—you couldn't buy one even if you had the money, and Erzhuzi had nearly gotten his legs broken for stealing it.
Fortunately, he was a loyal friend and stubbornly refused to confess where the pot was hidden. Otherwise, where would they get the fun of sneaking in here for a bite to eat every now and then?
"Cluck, cluck, cluck, cluck!" The rooster fluttered desperately in Hu Guangcai's grip, driving him crazy with the noise.
He picked up a nearby knife, and with one swift motion, slit the chicken's throat. After draining the blood, he tossed the carcass aside and turned to go find Sanzhuizi.
Out of the three of them, Sanzhuizi was the best at cooking.
...
"Have you guys heard? The Hu family made an absolute fool of themselves today!" In the educated youth quarters, the four remaining educated youths gathered together to eat.
At its peak, the educated youth point in Qingli Village had housed over a dozen people. Gradually, some were sent off to state farms, some couldn't take it and found ways to return home, and others passed the exams back in '77.
Now, only four were left.
"The Hu family? Which Hu family?" Most people in Lishu Village shared the surname Hu, so just saying "the Hu family" didn't give any clue which one was meant.
"The team leader's younger brother's family." Yu Xiaohong wore a face full of gossip. "I heard things got really intense just now. You guys know Hu Guangjin, right? The one who's seeing Xu Lijuan."
"What are you talking about!" Xu Lijuan slammed her bowl down with a heavy *thud*, the bottom of the bowl ringing with a continuous vibration. "Hu Guangjin and I are not seeing each other yet!"
Yu Xiaohong rolled her eyes. "Right, right, you're not seeing each other yet. But the guy comes looking for you every other day, pampers you with the best food and drinks, and constantly gifts you things like flower hairpins and scarves—and I haven't seen you turn them down once."
Yu Xiaohong had never liked Xu Lijuan.
Back when there were more people at the educated youth point, Xu Lijuan was overbearing.
There were three girls and two rooms, but she insisted on having a room all to herself, and even moved the good desk and chairs from their shared space into her own room.
Later on, her roommate moved out, and she finally got a room to herself, but every single reference book at the educated youth point had to pass through her hands first.
Why on earth should she? Why was it that they were all educated youths, yet she had to wait until Xu Lijuan was done reading before she could even take a peek?
Going on like this, when would she ever pass the exams and go back?
Xu Lijuan's face darkened. "Are you just jealous that someone treats me well? Yu Xiaohong, why are you so petty? Were all those things I shared with you before fed to the dogs?"
Xu Lijuan came from a well-off family that frequently mailed her things. Coupled with her good looks, villagers would occasionally bring her gifts as well, making her life quite comfortable.
Whenever there was food she didn't like or items she didn't care to use, she would casually hand them out to the others.
Her attitude was arrogant, carrying the tone of a high-and-mighty benefactor, and she always used these gestures to show off how good she was to them.
At first, Yu Xiaohong refused to accept the items, but that only earned her passive-aggressive hostility from Xu Lijuan, leaving her with no choice but to bite the bullet and take them.
Even so, that thorn in her heart had never gone away.
"Alright, cut it out." Wang Zhuang interrupted their dispute. "Tell us what actually happened."
Wang Zhuang was the leader of the educated youth point, and his words carried some weight.
Seeing that he had spoken up, Yu Xiaohong let out a huff and continued, "Hu Guangjin came back from town today and insisted on marrying off his eldest sister to Li Tiezhu from the township.
I heard Li Tiezhu beat two wives to death, so his mother didn't agree. She beat him several times at home, and it even stirred up the team leader and the village secretary.
I heard Sister Lanlan from the team leader's house say that Hu Guangjin seemed to have been tricked by someone, and they're even going to town this afternoon to confront Li Tiezhu."
Yu Xiaohong picked up her enamel mug and took a sip of water, sneering, "Hu Guangjin was the first person in the village to make it to high school, so his family spoiled him, and the villagers cut him some slack. What a shame he has no common sense—how can his family ever count on him in the future?"
"You can't put it like that, either." Another male youth, Zhou Qin, chimed in. "No matter what, the two old folks of the Hu family are getting on in years; he has to support them, right? Raising sons is for the elderly, after all."
Yu Xiaohong was just about to retort when she caught sight of Xu Lijuan's ugly expression, and a thought sparked in her mind. "Lijuan, what's wrong with you? Your face looks terrible. Feeling sorry for Hu Guangjin?"
Xu Lijuan glared at her. "None of your business, get lost!" With that, she pushed Yu Xiaohong aside, spun around, and stormed out of the educated youth quarters.
Suppressing her pounding heart, she felt like she was about to explode.
Things had actually turned out like this? What on earth was wrong with Feng Yun? Didn't she used to listen to Hu Guangjin no matter what?
She had talked things through fine with Hu Guangjin this morning, assuming he could handle it, but she never expected the situation to blow up this big.
What an absolute idiot—he couldn't accomplish a single thing and only messed everything up!
This wasn't the time to dwell on that, though; she needed to hurry and find Hu Guangjin to stop him from going to town.
Those three hundred yuan were already in her hands, and she had no intention of spitting them back out.
She rushed over to the Hu family place in a panic, only to find Hu Guangjin with a face swollen like a pig's head—a sight so repulsive it made her sick to look at him.
He was holding a bowl of rice, looking for all the world like a domestic farmhand. Was this really supposed to be Lishu Village's only high school prodigy?
"Guangjin," Xu Lijuan called out in a low voice.
Hearing a familiar voice, Hu Guangjin instinctively started to walk out, but a second later, as if he had seen something terrifying, he abruptly turned around and bolted back inside the house.
Xu Lijuan felt a throbbing pain in her head from anger.
What was Hu Guangjin playing at? He was actually ignoring her?! The nerve of him! If it weren't for the fact that things were burning her eyebrows, she wouldn't have bothered coming to look for him at all!
Just as she was wondering how to deal with Hu Guangjin later, he came back out.
"Lijuan, why did you come? Are you here to comfort me? Lijuan, my mother guessed that you were the one who instigated me into selling my eldest sister."
Hu Guangjin's mouth was badly swollen, and as he spoke, his upper and lower lips flapped together like a pair of caterpillars playing a stacking game.
Whenever he opened his mouth too wide, a sharp pain shot through his lips, and he hissed as he stumbled through his stuttered words.
"Shut up!" Xu Lijuan's heart skipped a beat, and she instinctively let out an angry snap. "Who said that was selling your eldest sister? It was a good match, and you arranged it for her own good!"
The idiot! He had admitted himself that he was selling Hu Chunhua—how could other people *not* think that way? Why didn't he know how to deny it to the bitter end? And now he had dragged her down with him!
Hu Guangjin was so frightened his heart almost leaped out of his throat.
"Lijuan, be careful, my mom..." Catching sight of Xu Lijuan's ugly expression, he immediately changed his tune. "Right, right, right, it was for her own good."
With that, he pulled her a little further away. "What do we do now? There's no way this is going to work out; my mother won't agree."
Xu Lijuan was utterly sick of him; looking at his stupid face for even a second made her feel nauseous.
"Ask me, ask me, all you know is asking me! Guangjin, can't you think of a way yourself?"
Hu Guangjin stared blankly at the impatient Xu Lijuan, a wave of sadness washing over him.
"Lijuan, what... what kind of talk is that? Wasn't it you who said that as long as I listened to you, we'd have a good life in the future?"