Sorry, My Beloved Is The Motherland - Chapter 16.2 - Slapping Faces is Better Than Falling in Love

During this time, there were quite a few rumors about Ning Fu.

First, there were rumors that she had fallen for Muren Chena from the livestock division and was planning to stay in Tula Gaqi to get married and have children. This rumor was shattered by Xu Cuicui’s dung attack and Muren Chena’s astonishing vow. Next, Ning Fu’s strange behavior of being deeply engrossed in studying even after the exams sparked a new round of speculation—

Did she fail the exam?

Was she so devastated that she lost her mind?

Or did she already know she had failed and had started preparing for the next college entrance exam?

There were all sorts of theories.

Everyone was worried that she was too upset about failing the exam, so they were careful not to mention the college entrance exam around her.

Gao Han naturally heard about this matter as well.

Ever since Ning Fu had ruthlessly, venomously, and destructively rejected his affection and disparaged his character, he no longer loved her!

He knew she wouldn’t pass the exam!

Her foundation was weak to begin with, and cramming for a few days—how could she possibly succeed in the highly competitive college entrance exam? It was a pipe dream!

Anyway, their relationship was already torn apart.

He went around telling people that Ning Fu wouldn’t get into college, and that her influential father was pulling strings everywhere to help her avoid the re-education of the poor and lower-middle peasants and return to the big city to live a good life!

Ning Fu’s beauty was like a viper! Her sharp tongue was a poisonous sword!

But the things Gao Han spread around didn’t gain traction with the villagers, and the educated youths didn’t believe him much either.

“If she really wanted to leave, why would she still come to work in the fields with us? It’s dirty and exhausting,” someone countered Gao Han.

The subject of their discussion was squatting not far away, calculating something, completely unresponsive to their words.

Gao Han, having stewed for a long time and feeling he had mastered the art of sarcasm, deliberately walked over to Ning Fu and said directly to her, “Exactly, why bother doing dirty and tiring work? Miss Ning is about to return to the city, so why roll around in the mud?”

He intended to mock Ning Fu for failing the exam—after all, he knew how he had performed. If she had passed, would she still need to work so hard now?

He continued to mock, “Doing this kind of work really doesn’t suit your lofty image of being dedicated to studying, does it?”

This implied that Ning Fu was just putting on a show, that her usual participation in fieldwork was merely for fame and recognition.

Ning Fu’s train of thought was interrupted.

She coldly lifted her eyes, and just that one look left Gao Han rooted to the spot.

He realized that Ning Fu was angry. Then he realized he was actually a bit afraid.

How humiliating!

While Gao Han was still racking his brain for words, Ning Fu had already stood up.

She said coldly, “You talk too much nonsense.”

“Do you want to know what true nobility is?”

The girl’s eyes burned with a fierce, cold flame, bright and intimidating.

“It’s not about books, nor status.” She extended her hand, still stained with the soil from planting.

Then she slowly, firmly, smeared the soil across Gao Han’s face.

“This is nobility.”

Not for oneself, not for fame or fortune. It is for the people. It is for every seed in the soil.

Whether carrying a hoe or holding a pen, both can have truly noble purposes.

“Good!”

Someone among the villagers squatting on the field ridge to watch the commotion started cheering.

Although they didn’t fully understand what Ning Fu meant, they felt inexplicably satisfied!

These young ones looked down on poor places.

But they couldn’t change this place.

They were like migrating geese in winter, destined to fly away sooner or later, leaving the winter behind them.

They understood poetry and arithmetic, but they didn’t understand that—

The dirtiest thing is mud, and the cleanest thing is too!

In the last few days of 1977, heavy snow began to fall.

The snow blocked the roads.

Orderly Xiao Wu was anxious.

The Major General had instructed him to quickly complete the formalities and bring Ning Fu home immediately. He had originally planned to find Ning Fu first, arrange for her to stay at a guesthouse, and then take care of business in Tula Gaqi.

Unexpectedly, the educated youths left too quickly. As soon as the exams were over, the place was deserted.

Then, it coincided with the peak period for educated youths returning to the city to complete their formalities, causing a delay of several days. Finally, when everything was sorted out, the damn snow kept falling for days, getting heavier and heavier, making the road to Tula Gaqi impassable.

At last, on the last day of 1977, the snow stopped, and Xiao Wu drove straight to Tula Gaqi.

Along the way, he anticipated many difficulties, such as Ning Fu not wanting to leave or Tula Gaqi not willing to let her go, keeping his heart in suspense.

Even if he had to take her by force, he had to carry out the chief’s orders!

For this reason, he specifically called two county officials to accompany him. There is strength in numbers, and with all their paperwork in order, they could reason first.

If it came to force…

As long as he could take Xiao Ning and complete the mission, he wasn’t afraid of using force!

With the courage to brave a dragon’s lair or a tiger’s den, Xiao Wu set off. Meanwhile, on the other side, a team from Tula Gaqi also set out.

It was a snow-clearing team voluntarily organized by the local villagers.

The reason was simple—

They wanted to clear the snow on the road to the county so they could send Ning Fu to check her exam results!

That’s right, during the time Tula Gaqi was isolated from the world, the college entrance exam results had been announced.

In those days, there was no online score checking. The results were posted on a large sheet of paper at the gate of the county high school. Everyone had to muster all their strength to squeeze into the crowd and search for their own name and score among the densely packed lists.

Some were disappointed, some were ecstatic, some embraced and shook hands warmly, while others shouted and wept.

But the people of Tula Gaqi knew nothing of this excitement.

They only felt that the wait was too long.

The educated youths all thought that Ning Fu had little chance of passing, but the villagers remained steadfast in their belief that Ning Fu, the “knowledgeable” female educated youth, was the smartest in all of Tula Gaqi! How could she not get into college?

The county had ten banners and fifteen production brigades. Surely Ning Fu could rank in the top one hundred, right?

Since the county education bureau couldn’t deliver the results due to the snow-blocked roads, they decided to clear a path and go to the county themselves to check!

At this time of year, there was no work in the fields, so the entire village, men and women, young and old, anyone who was free, mobilized with shovels and hoes!

Everyone worked with great enthusiasm, clearing snow day and night.

No matter what, they were determined to get Ning Fu to the county to check her results!

As they were clearing the snow, they came across two jeeps stuck in the snow on the road.

The people in the jeeps saw from a distance a group of villagers, all armed with tools and some holding torches, making their way along a winding path toward them.

Everyone in the jeeps tensed up.

So many villagers blocking the road—could it be that they didn’t want to let her go and were planning to cause trouble?!