Chapter 13: The Deceived Girl in the 1970s: Fake vs. Real Daughter Story

The team leader flatly rejected Feng Qingqing’s unreasonable request.

“That house has already been bought by Comrade Ye Xiaoxiao. The brigade has no right to intervene. Whether you want to buy it or rent it, you’ll have to talk to her directly. Coming to me won’t help.”

“Alright, let’s go back to the educated youth quarters. “Qingqing, if you don’t want to stay there, you can find somewhere else to rent,” Lu Ze said calmly.

Then he turned to the team leader. “Thank you for your time. We’ll talk things over and come back if needed.”

Only now did he realize what the smile on that girl’s lips had meant earlier. So she had already bought the house, and none of the old educated youth even knew about it. That alone said a lot about how bad their relationship was.

Feng Qingqing was unwilling to let it go just like that, but since Lu Ze had spoken, she couldn’t make a fuss without hurting her image. So she held her tongue.

The team leader waved his hand, signaling the end of the matter. The group left together.

Madam Tan saw the team leader lighting another cigarette and asked, “What is it? That new educated youth came to you for something? Is it a lot of trouble?”

The team leader sighed. “Yeah. That new one, Comrade Feng, says she’s got the same condition as Ye Xiaoxiao—what they call “being overly clean.”

Madam Tan set aside her needlework. “So she can’t work in the fields either?”

“No, she said she can. She’s just picky in daily life and doesn’t want to share space with too many people. Took a liking to Ye Xiaoxiao’s house and wanted to rent it, so asked me to help.”

“But that house already belongs to Ye Xiaoxiao. It’s hers now. What’s the point of asking you?”

“Exactly. Still, they were hoping that maybe if they offered more money, she’d be willing to sell.”

“You better not agree to anything like that! Xiaoxiao’s such a good girl. Even if she doesn’t do fieldwork, she still helps with other tasks and never slacks off.”

“She’s clever, generous, and thoughtful. Just the way she helped us save effort during the corn harvest this year was a huge help.”

“Besides, she bought the house fair and square. You can’t just go and ask for it back,” Madam Tan said anxiously.

The team leader grunted. “You’re protective of her, aren’t you? Don’t worry. I didn’t agree to anything. It’s her house, and I can’t just make decisions for her.”

Madam Tan nodded. “Makes sense. No wonder she bought the house from the start. She said she felt more secure having her own place. Do you think she saw this coming?”

The team leader nodded. He was certain of it. That little girl was sharp as a whip.

Madam Tan chuckled. “Xiaoxiao really is a clever one.”

The team leader sighed. Too clever for her own good sometimes and hard to manage.

Good thing she doesn’t stir up trouble herself. Otherwise, she’d be giving me a headache every day…

—

At the educated youth quarters—

Seeing the group return, Zhou Weiguo asked, “Well?” Did you come to an agreement?”

Li Wenli rolled her eyes. “What agreement? They flat out rejected us.”

Lu Chuan chimed in, “Yeah, and that team leader didn’t lift a finger to help. Said Ye Xiaoxiao already bought the house, and if we want it, we’ll have to ask her ourselves.”

Li Wenli scoffed. “Who knows if she really bought it? Why is everyone in the village helping her anyway?”

Zhang Yumei offered cautiously, “Maybe she really did buy it. Otherwise, why wouldn’t the team leader accept a higher price?”

Lu Ze cut in, “That’s enough. It’s her house, and she doesn’t want to rent it. Just let it go.”

Feng Qingqing looked pitifully at Lu Ze. “Brother Ze~”

The moment Lu Chuan heard that aggrieved tone, he exploded. “Brother! How can you say that?”

“Didn’t you see how upset Qingqing is? She just doesn’t like crowded places; is that so wrong? If Ye Xiaoxiao can live alone in such a nice place, why can’t Qingqing?”

Zhang Yumei tried to tug him back, but he wouldn’t stop. Lu Ze wanted to intervene too, but it was too late, and Lu Chuan’s mouth was faster than his thoughts.

The expressions on the old, educated youth were turning sour. Was he saying their quarters were dirty? That they didn’t care about cleanliness?

Wang Meiling had a temper to begin with, and having already been snubbed by Ye Xiaoxiao earlier in the day, she snapped the moment her name came up.

“Oh, so now you’re saying we’re filthy and jealous of Ye Xiaoxiao? Then move out! Who’s begging you to stay in the educated youth quarters anyway?”

“If you’ve got the ability, then go! We don’t want to live with you either.”

Zhou Weiguo stepped in, “The educated youth quarters are the most basic housing available. It’s normal if you find it hard to adjust. We wouldn’t mind if you wanted to live elsewhere.”

Lu Ze had originally planned to lie low and stay in the quarters, but now things had gotten messy.

Feng Qingqing was sent down to the countryside because she had no choice. Lu Chuan volunteered to follow, since their family needed to stay out of trouble and didn’t trust Lu Chuan’s impulsive nature, so they sent him too.

As for Zhang Yumei and Li Wenli, one had to go by policy, and the other followed Feng Qingqing everywhere. Everyone knew Li Wenli had always been her lapdog.

Li Wenli’s father was subordinate to Feng Qingqing’s father, so naturally their family bent over backward to please them.

Initially, the plan was for Lu Chuan to marry Feng Qingqing to solidify an alliance and help both families. But for some reason, she insisted she only saw him as a brother.

Lu Ze also knew Feng Qingqing liked him, but he had long turned her down.

Not only was she not his type—more importantly, she was someone Lu Chuan liked. There was no way he’d accept it.

Now, looking at the stiff expressions of the old educated youth, Lu Ze felt a headache coming on. It was clear they couldn’t stay in the quarters anymore.

He really wanted to sew Lu Chuan’s mouth shut. Every time something involved Feng Qingqing, he just lost his mind.

Lu Ze pinched the bridge of his nose. “They didn’t mean it like that. Just…he didn’t phrase it well. Don’t take it to heart.”

Feng Qingqing also jumped in to smooth things over. “Everyone misunderstood Brother Chuan. He was just misled by Ye Xiaoxiao. She told him people with cleanliness issues can’t live here. He was only looking out for me.”

That did the trick—everyone’s attention turned back to Ye Xiaoxiao. After all, she didn’t get along with them.

“Ye Xiaoxiao’s really something, huh? So she’s delicate, but now she’s saying we’re all unclean?” Wang Meili fumed.

Zhou Weiguo tried to clarify, “Comrade Ye Xiaoxiao has never lived in the educated youth quarters. She may not know the reality. Don’t jump to conclusions.”

Zhou Jianjun added, “You’re all from Shanghai too, right? Me too. I’ve been here two years. We all get along just fine.”

Wei Jingchuan nodded. “We’re all city folk, all educated youth. Everyone here is clean and courteous. Please don’t let misunderstandings fester.”

The others stayed quiet, but judging from their expressions, most of them didn’t believe Ye Xiaoxiao was that kind of person.

Wang Meiling, fired up and thinking of the morning’s humiliation, snapped, “Let’s go find her. She has no right to slander us like that!”

Feng Qingqing panicked a little. “Let’s not, okay? It’ll look like we’re ganging up on her, and that wouldn’t be good.”

If it came to a confrontation, she’d be finished.

Unfortunately for her, Wang Meiling was hellbent on getting even with Ye Xiaoxiao, and no amount of gentle dissuasion was going to stop her.

The rest of the educated youth also had their own complaints and were all too happy to follow along.