Chapter 9: The Deceived Girl in the 1970s: Fake vs. Real Daughter Story (9)

Wang Meiling couldn’t hold it in and ran off.

Zhou Weiguo glared at Xiaoxiao and said angrily, “Ye Xiaoxiao, you’ve gone too far!”

Xiaoxiao looked at him. “Aren’t you going to go after her? She’s almost out of sight. That’s all the care you’ve got in you?”

“You—”

“What about me? You clearly have a thing for her; that’s why your eyes and ears are filled with crap. Otherwise, she was the one who started picking a fight, so why are you yelling at me? Do I look easy to bully? Want to give it a try? I could take on someone like you ten at once.”

Just happened to run into a guy with ulterior motives, huh?

“You’re talking nonsense!”

“Oh? So you don’t have feelings for Wang Meiling? I was wondering, what kind of blind man would be into someone like her? Oh my, Comrade Wang Meiling, how come you’re back?”

“What?!”

Zhou Weiguo turned and saw Wang Meiling’s figure disappearing down the road. This time, she was really gone.

The other educated youths looked at each other, then just chose to get in the cart.

Auntie Cuilan was there too. She patted Xiaoxiao’s hand.

“I didn’t expect you to be so fierce. I was worried you’d get bullied earlier.”

“This is how it should be. A girl needs to stand up for herself, or she’ll just keep getting stepped on.”

“What do you mean ‘this is how it should be’?” Girls who are too assertive won’t be liked. Especially ones who go out and find men for themselves.”

Xiaoxiao replied, “Auntie, who are you? I haven’t met you before. But please don’t say things like that in public. Our leaders have made it clear—we promote free love now. That old-fashioned stuff about arranged marriages and matchmakers is outdated feudal thinking. Judging by how casually you said it, you must say that kind of thing often? You’d better be careful, Auntie. Talking like that could get you sent for ‘re-education.’ You’d bring trouble not only on yourself but also on your whole brigade’s reputation. It’s only because everyone in our village has a kind heart that no one holds it against you. But you really should watch yourself.”

Tch. Even though Xiaoxiao knew the auntie wasn’t talking about her directly, just casting shadows, she didn’t care. They weren’t familiar, and she wasn’t going to just let that slide.

She knew how to fight fire with fire.

Sure enough, Auntie Tan spoke up. “I say, Jianjun’s mom, you really ought to watch your mouth. Don’t forget your son’s in the army. One wrong move could ruin his future.”

Auntie Wang added, “We all know you want to introduce your niece from your side of the family to your son so you can stay tight with your relatives. But he’s already married to that educated youth Zhang Jiabei. Let them live their life.”

Then Auntie Nie chimed in. “You don’t like your daughter-in-law? Fine. But she’s already part of the family. Teach her properly if you have to. What, are you planning to have your only son divorce and remarry? You’ll be living with them in the future, so you might want to think long-term.”

Well then, with people from the team leader’s family, the Party branch secretary’s family, and the accountant’s family all speaking up, the rest naturally followed.

And now Xiaoxiao finally figured out who she was.

The infamous Widow Wang from the village. Her son, Wang Jianjun, was a soldier and had come back during New Year’s to marry educated youth Zhang Jiabei.

Xiaoxiao had actually been curious about Zhang Jiabei before—she seemed like the kind of character you’d find in military marriage novels. Either the heroine or the scheming supporting female.

First off, when Zhang Jiabei got sent down, she immediately made friends with Widow Wang.

Just like Xiaoxiao had befriended Auntie Tan, the team leader’s wife—it was a strategic move. No way Zhang Jiabei just randomly got close to a widow.

Then, when Wang Jianjun came home on leave, he went to visit his mother, and “accidentally” Zhang Jiabei fell right into his arms. Someone happened to see it, and just like that, they got engaged.

Hmm. Not a rescue-from-drowning setup, but the classic “oops-I-fell-into-your-arms” scene still wasn’t easy to pull off.

This wasn’t the post-2000s, where people didn’t care about propriety.

This was an era where even walking a bit too close to someone of the opposite sex could get you accused of hooliganism. Even married couples walked with one or two meters between them. Just how close were they for her to “fall” like that?

Or maybe Xiaoxiao was overthinking it? Maybe he just had super fast reflexes?

Either way, she wasn’t buying it. Too many coincidences, and that meant it wasn’t a coincidence.

And Zhang Jiabei… Xiaoxiao had seen her twice. Once, when she first moved into her house, Zhang Jiabei came by and told her it wasn’t safe to live alone, inviting her to move into her place. Xiaoxiao had refused immediately.

The second time was after she’d changed jobs. Zhang Jiabei came by again, and her words had an underlying hint of fishing for information, especially about money. Xiaoxiao found an excuse and sent her off.

After that, she made sure to avoid her or stuck close to the aunties. Zhang Jiabei never came around again.

Xiaoxiao had been lost in thought for a while. When she came to, Widow Wang was crying, clutching Auntie Tan’s hand.

Xiaoxiao: … What happened?

She’d only zoned out for a minute. What’d she miss?

She turned to the young girl sitting next to her and whispered, “What’s going on?” Why is Auntie Wang crying?”

The girl whispered back, “Auntie Wang said Educated Youth Zhang is a fox spirit who’s completely bewitched Brother Wang. He sends all his wages to her, but she doesn’t spend a dime on the household. Instead, she buys herself clothes, snacks, and Snowflake Cream. Auntie Wang doesn’t get anything.”

Xiaoxiao: This… doesn’t really sound like a reborn heroine or transmigrator. No one’s that dumb, right?

Had she guessed wrong?

Xiaoxiao looked at the girl. “What’s your name? I haven’t seen you around the village before.”

The girl said, “Sister Ye, I know who you are. My mom says you’re really capable. I’m Wang Ni. My mom is Liu Cuilan. I was at my grandma’s house before. I just got back yesterday.”

Actually, her mom had also said that Sister Ye was competent but extremely delicate—obviously raised too gently in the city.

Xiaoxiao smiled. “Can I call you Nini? Nini, where’s your grandma’s place? Is it fun?”

Wang Ni replied, “It’s not far from the town. There’s a river nearby and lots of wild ducks.”

“Really? I’ve never seen a wild duck before.”

“Next time my cousins catch one, I’ll bring it back to show you. But wild ducks can fly. They’re hard to catch.”

Xiaoxiao lit up. “Then I’ll pay you for it when the time comes. I won’t let you lose out.”

She had seen wild ducks before but had never eaten one. And now that Wang Ni mentioned it, she suddenly thought of sour pickled radish and duck soup.

Well… she just really craved meat, that’s all.

The two kept chatting quietly, and before long, they arrived at the town. Widow Wang had stopped crying long ago, and everyone was busy gossiping about something new.