CHAPTER 73: CHAPTER 73: HE’S GETTING ANXIOUS

Jiang Xingye ran towards the field’s edge and met Xu Qinghuan halfway, returning with her aunt. He hesitated for a moment before running towards her, his thin lips pressed tightly together, but his eyes scanned her from top to bottom, filled with unconcealable concern.

There were other team members along the way, and a few aunts smiled meaningfully.

Li Xingzhi, the wife of the team leader, teased, "Xingye, are you concerned about Xu Qinghuan? She almost lost a work point because of you today."

Zhou Guiying angrily scolded, "Xingzhi, shut up, you mouth is everywhere!"

Jiang Xingye’s face looked unpleasant.

Xu Qinghuan laughed, "Aunt Xingzhi, I also wanted you to care for me. You didn’t help just now."

Li Xingzhi didn’t expect Xu Qinghuan to be so generous, making the teasing or mocking feel like a punch landing on cotton, so she laughed, "How could I not care about you? My husband stepped in and stood up for you, didn’t he?"

"That’s Uncle Liangcai’s goodness, and it has nothing to do with you!" Xu Qinghuan teased.

She was charming, enchanting everyone—even those aunts and sisters were nearly losing their souls over her charm, thinking she was wholly lovable and forgetting to joke about her and Jiang Xingye.

"You silly child, aren’t your Uncle Liangcai and I both family?" Li Xingzhi somewhat regretted not speaking up for Xu Qinghuan earlier and quickly waved her hand, "Okay, next time someone bullies you, just tell them my name. We’ll see who dares to bully you again in Shangjiang Team!"

"Thank you, auntie. Take care!" Xu Qinghuan waved at them.

As they walked away, Xu Qinghuan could still hear people talking about how this young educated youth, despite her age, was cheerful and generous, unlike others who were timid, seeming like a straightforward person.

After sending those people away, Xu Qinghuan focused on Jiang Xingye, "You heard, just because of you, I nearly lost a work point. Clearly, one furrow was supposed to earn two work points, but that woman insisted on docking one."

She hadn’t felt aggrieved arguing with people, but seeing Jiang Xingye, she inexplicably felt a bit aggrieved.

Jiang Xingye first looked at her face, with some remnants of plaster but no swelling, which was reassuring, then checked her hand, but since she didn’t show it, he couldn’t see anything.

He couldn’t hold her hand either.

He saw the grievance in her eyes, and his heart felt like it was being pricked by needles, fueling a burning rage.

His eyes turned red!

Zhou Guizhi quickly pulled him along, "It’s because Aimei is ignorant. Your Uncle Liangcai already noted the work points for Xu Qinghuan, it’s all fine now, don’t worry. Let’s go back; there’s work to do this afternoon."

Jiang Xingye followed behind them, and Zhou Guizhi walked and asked Xu Qinghuan, "Xu Qinghuan, are you tired today on your first day at work?"

"Not tired, I’m okay."

At the fork in the road, Xu Qinghuan waved to Zhou Guizhi, "Auntie, I’m leaving now!"

"Go ahead! Don’t be late this afternoon!" Seeing Jiang Xingye behind her, Zhou Guizhi quickly pulled him back, "Since you’re going back to cook, come eat at my place!"

"No, I’m not going!" Jiang Xingye wanted to talk to Xu Qinghuan, always feeling uneasy until he spoke to her.

"Are you going or not?" Zhou Guizhi insisted, "I’ll have your sister-in-law cook you an egg, still won’t come with me?"

Zhou Guizhi pinched him, and seeing Xu Qinghuan walking away, Jiang Xingye had no choice but to follow her, hanging his head like a forlorn, unadopted stray dog.

Back at the Jiang Family, He Yuzhen was leaning against the door sill, eating raspberries snatched from her niece, and coldly snickered at Jiang Xingye’s arrival, shouting inside, "Big sister-in-law, add another sweet potato, our Little Five is here!"

Her tone was full of sarcasm, and as Jiang Xingye approached, she quietly muttered, "Showing up at mealtime!"

Zhou Guiying slapped her forehead, "Did you eat or drink mine? You lazy woman, earning five or six work points a day, can’t even cover your own mouth. Who are you talking about?"

Behind, Jiang Xingyong heard the commotion and came over, having just cleaned up after returning from work, wiping his face with his shirt, "Little Five is here?"

He Yuzhen, beaten, whimpered. Jiang Xingye nodded at his second brother, his gaze not even flickering towards He Yuzhen.

He Yuzhen was about to complain, but Zhou Guiying said, "Old Two, if you can’t manage your wife, I’ll have you live separately. I’ll lay it out here, I might not count on you guys taking care of me in my old age, but I certainly count on Little Five.

You married this wife, and I still have to put up with her moods in my daily life. Why don’t you just become a son-in-law instead?"

It was the first time He Yuzhen was spoken to like this by her mother-in-law, and in front of her brother-in-law.

Was she being forced to divorce?

What kind of mother-in-law does that?

Jiang Xingyong glanced coldly at He Yuzhen and said to Jiang Xingye, "You came smelling meat, huh? Know Dad brought meat today, so you’re willing to come?"

If it were before, He Yuzhen would undoubtedly have said, "Eat what? My child hasn’t even eaten yet."

But now, she didn’t dare; the more nonchalantly Jiang Xingyong spoke, the more scared she was.

If Jiang Xingyong could have scolded her a bit, even hit her, perhaps she’d feel more at ease.

She simply couldn’t stand the family pampering Jiang Xingye; whenever there’s good food at home, they never forget him, calling him to eat when there’s a bit of meat, using saved fabric to make clothes for this youngest uncle, even ignoring the eldest grandson.

What for?

He Yuzhen might be scared, but she didn’t regret; these considerations were true.

Speaking of those times, Jiang Xingye’s father saved the production team and the pumping machine; it wasn’t only father-in-law alone, the village had many people too, why did the favor only fall on their family?

She naturally overlooked that her mother-in-law suffered poor health. After entering the household, she raised the deceased second uncle as her own child.

When Jiang Xingye’s father died, Jiang Baohua wished it had been him, falling gravely ill, naturally cherishing his nephew more than his own children.

And Jiang Xingbing and Jiang Xingyong were raised by the second uncle to play together, having deep feelings; they were older than Jiang Xingye, and without the second uncle, how could they not care for this cousin deprived of both parents?

Tian Jinhua served the dishes: a bowl of pork belly stir-fried beans, and the leftover oil was used to stir-fry an eggplant, smelling better than the boiled eggplant they usually had.

One egg, three tomatoes beaten into a large porcelain basin of soup, rare oil droplets floating on top.

The staple was cornbread, half cornmeal, half black flour—no matter how you steamed it, it wouldn’t turn soft.

Rock-hard, hard to swallow, everyone, young and old, swallowed desperately, veins bulging from eyes to the neck, gulping cornbread followed by greens or a mouthful of tomato egg soup, feeling quite content.

This was already rare good living for this era.