CHAPTER 122: CHAPTER 122: MRS. HUANG’S MANEUVERS

Huang Jiayun ignored Mrs. Huang’s outstretched hand and turned her head to the side.

All her life, too many times she’d been hit with a stick only to be offered a sweet date later? Unfortunately, she’s no longer buying it!

Huang Saner shoved Huang Jiayun hard, "Mom’s already given you a way out, yet you don’t appreciate it, so forget about it!"

Huang Saner held Mrs. Huang’s arm tightly, "Mom, let’s go in first, Huang Jiayun will come in on her own. Since you’re at the guesthouse, she won’t have the heart to go back to the volunteer outpost."

Mrs. Huang, also upset with Huang Jiayun, simply followed Huang Saner’s words and went in.

Two-thirds of the main players were gone, leaving only the pitiful Huang Jiayun, while the onlookers offered various pieces of advice.

"With such a mother, you’d better escape early, or you’ll suffer later!"

"Exactly! Actually, aside from the lack of grain supply, living in the countryside isn’t much worse than in the city. Of course, the most important thing for women is to marry someone understanding, otherwise, you’ll spend decades in wear and tear, so stop listening to your mom too much."

Huang Jiayun clutched a small bag tightly, her tear-filled eyes glimpsed Lin Xiang in the crowd, Lin Xiang silently mouthed "run."

Without daring to delay, Huang Jiayun got up from the ground and ran.

Only by returning to the Li Hua Team, to the volunteer outpost, could she be safe.

Her mom couldn’t possibly make a scene in the village to force her to go back and marry, right?

She’s a volunteer now, and without an introduction letter from the team office, she can’t even reach the town, let alone buy a train ticket back.

If she’s caught, it wouldn’t just be a simple case of dealing with a vagrant!

Huang Jiayun doesn’t want such a major blemish on her record, so she can only return to the Li Hua Team to seek the protection of the team leader.

Seeing Huang Jiayun running, Lin Xiang struggled to squeeze through the crowd to give chase.

The sky was gradually darkening, and Huang Jiayun only focused on running forward, suddenly hearing footsteps following closely behind, fear crept in, making her run faster.

Lin Xiang always thought she had decent stamina, but she really couldn’t catch up with Huang Jiayun.

"Smartie Huang, slow...slow down, it’s me."

Recognizing Lin Xiang’s voice, Huang Jiayun stopped and looked back, only to see Lin Xiang squatting on the ground panting heavily, so she had to return.

"Sorry, I was so scared just now, ran a bit fast."

Lin Xiang waved her hand, speaking intermittently, "No worries. I just thought it’s getting late, not convenient to walk alone at night, let’s partner up, the two of us women."

"Mm-hmm!" Huang Jiayun pulled Lin Xiang up, "Then let’s go together."

After a short rest, Lin Xiang finally recovered and asked Huang Jiayun, "Does your mom intend to take you back to get married, or let you stay at the Li Hua Team to continue as a volunteer, but get engaged first to receive the betrothal gift?"

Lin Xiang, arriving late, pieced together the story from the onlookers’ gossip.

Huang Jiayun shook her head with a bitter smile, "Neither. Honestly, the other party doesn’t even know who I am. She’s just wishfully thinking the other side might like me, wants me to actively write to them to understand more, striving to get them interested in being with me."

Even with mental preparation, hearing Huang Jiayun say this, Lin Xiang still felt a bit shocked.

Is that even possible?

Huang Jiayun continued with a bitter smile, "The family my mom has her eyes on is well-off, parents are factory leaders, they have a two-bedroom apartment, with only one son, so she’s very tempted. But with such a good family, there are many suitors, without a good family background, outstanding looks, or stable job, how could I compete?"

"Even if I really wrote to them, they might just smile it off, not even bothering to reply. By then, she’d surely say I wasn’t trying hard enough and criticize me harshly. That’s her usual tactic, I’m used to it."

Lin Xiang: ...

Besides, just the process of writing to understand more to get into a relationship is a lengthy one, as letters take ten days to half a month to send.

By the time any feelings develop, Huang Jiayun’s second brother’s wedding would be over.

So, Mrs. Huang isn’t concerned about the betrothal gift, but the entire family’s assets once Huang Jiayun "marries" over.

Yet she never considered it from Huang Jiayun’s perspective.

Lin Xiang felt a bit sorry for this girl with a tragic original family yet personally very resilient.

In Huang Jiayun’s palm was something she unwrapped in front of Lin Xiang, revealing a roll of money, ones, fives, tens, and the largest denomination was just one, not even one banknote.

It looked like a thick roll of money, but mainly consisted of small bills, not exceeding twenty dollars at most.

Huang Jiayun clutched the roll of money tightly, tears falling to the ground.

Lin Xiang silently handed her handkerchief over.

"Thank you." Huang Jiayun wiped her tears and said softly, "This money, my brother just gave it to me."

Lin Xiang saw when Huang Saner secretly gave money to Huang Jiayun.

He deliberately distracted Mrs. Huang, hoping that Huang Jiayun could escape.

Unable to influence his mother’s decisions, all he could do was try his best to help his sister flee.

"He’s the only one in the family who treats me well, maybe it’s the telepathy between twins, every time I’m bullied by my two brothers or scolded by my parents, he’s the first to come and comfort me. To be honest, when the street office notified me about going to the countryside, I thought about giving him my job and going to the countryside myself."

"But before I could tell him, my mom signed me up for the countryside without asking. When the list was fixed and couldn’t be changed, she brought up transferring my job to Saner."

There’s a huge difference between willingly giving and being forced to give.

The conflict between Huang Jiayun and Huang Saner was triggered then.

During her years in the countryside as a volunteer, she sometimes received packages and money from home, though not much, it allowed her to improve her life a bit.

Yet she never wrote a single letter home.

Because she’s completely lost hope in her family.

"My job initially paid 42.5 dollars a month. Now, a few years later, with seniority, the salary has increased at least by two or three dollars. What he gave me wasn’t even half of one month’s salary."

But even these small bills filled Huang Jiayun’s heart with warmth.

She knew all this money was saved from Huang Saner’s monthly pocket money for her.