Sorry, My Beloved Is The Motherland - Chapter 5 - Borrowing Books Is Better Than Dating

The atmosphere was somewhat awkward, especially under the relatively bright light in the yurt.

Xu Cuicui’s gradually reddening face was unmistakable.

“I’m not, I didn’t, don’t talk nonsense, it was just on the way…” she weakly argued, her voice growing softer and softer.

“Yes, I know,” Ning Fu smiled.

Seeing that tolerant smile on her face again, Xu Cuicui hurriedly averted her eyes, not daring to meet Ning Fu’s gaze. She only felt that the stove in the room was burning too fiercely, making her face feel hot and swollen.

The young man who accompanied Muren Chena in bringing Xu Cuicui back was named Cui Guofu. He was a male educated youth who had arrived a few years earlier and had a very talkative mouth.

Upon hearing this, he exposed Xu Cuicui’s secret, “How can you say it was just on the way? I see you sitting in the back every time, but you listen so attentively, don’t you?”

He nudged Muren Chena for agreement and casually pulled a small notebook out of Xu Cuicui’s coat pocket, waving it in the air with a rustling sound, showing it to Ning Fu.

“She even takes notes!”

Cui Guofu, with his back to Xu Cuicui, couldn’t see her gnashing teeth and the look that could eat him alive. He also didn’t understand the dynamics between Ning Fu and Xu Cuicui. Seeing Ning Fu smiling happily, he praised Xu Cuicui’s serious study attitude even more enthusiastically, directly handing the notebook to Ning Fu, “Look, look, the notes are so detailed!”

Ning Fu also ignored the fiery look in Xu Cuicui’s eyes that seemed ready to shoot sparks and lowered her head to flip through the small notebook.

The notebook was only palm-sized, just right to fit in a pocket, and it was clearly meticulously bound by herself.

In these times, paper and pen were no longer particularly rare, but in a place like the livestock station, where the daily routine consisted of nothing but cutting fodder, herding cattle, and feeding horses, they were not commonly seen.

Xu Cuicui could write, but she made many mistakes with more complex structures, and in some places, she simply used simple drawings as substitutes, probably only she understood what they meant.

Ning Fu carefully looked through it — not a single knowledge point from the past three days was missing from the notebook.

Seeing Ning Fu with her head lowered but the corners of her lips continuously curling up, seemingly getting higher and higher, Xu Cuicui felt a surge of anger burning inside her, making her whole body uncomfortable!

If it weren’t for the faint pain in her twisted ankle, Xu Cuicui would have already jumped off the bed, grabbed that notebook which made her feel utterly ashamed, and torn it to pieces in no time!

“Alright, alright, why are you still going on and on? I’m fine now, you two should hurry back!” Xu Cuicui said loudly.

From start to finish, the talkative Cui Guofu and the silent Muren Chena left together.

The air seemed to quiet down all of a sudden. As soon as the two people left and closed the door, Xu Cuicui felt a bit regretful.

— Because she realized she couldn’t face Ning Fu at all.

She felt awkward all over, and looking at the smile on Ning Fu’s face almost gave her the urge to flee.

“You…”

Xu Cuicui quickly interrupted Ning Fu, “I’m going to sleep!”

Ning Fu, going along with it, placed the notebook on the table and then kindly reminded her, “Are you going to sleep with your clothes on?”

Xu Cuicui lay on the bed, yanked the quilt over herself haphazardly, and mumbled, “I want to sleep like this today, is that any of your business?!”

Ning Fu walked over to arrange the quilt and placed her own pillow right next to Xu Cuicui’s spot.

The person who had just said she was going to sleep widened her eyes, “What are you doing?!”

“Your foot is inconvenient right now. I’ll stay closer to you so that if you need anything at night, you can call me for help.”

Her tone was so gentle, and her actions were so resolutely firm. Moreover, she had the banner of caring for a comrade.

After spending the past few days together, Xu Cuicui had come to understand what kind of person this detestable city-bred young lady really was. — She had fooled everyone! At her core, she was a domineering person, and she was especially good at getting under people’s skin!

On the first day, Ning Fu had already violated the three prohibitions Xu Cuicui had set for her: she went out alone, she touched Runa without permission, and now she was even sleeping next to her! It was as if she didn’t regard anyone at all!

Xu Cuicui angrily turned over, refusing to look at Ning Fu.

She had no temper left.

If she wanted to give Ning Fu a hard time, she could easily make her complain bitterly and flee back to the station.

— It was just that seeing the city-bred young lady working diligently these past few days, she couldn’t be bothered to seriously deal with her!

Xu Cuicui, filled with anger, unknowingly fell asleep.

It was all because the room was too warm, causing her to lose the vigilance she had developed through a hard life.

As for how annoyed Xu Cuicui was when she woke up, how she secretly swore to make Ning Fu, who constantly made her feel stifled, pay, Ning Fu had no idea.

She had already left early in the morning with the livestock station’s procurement officer to go to the Tula Gaqi station.

The news of Ning Fu giving lessons on cattle and sheep birthing knowledge to the livestock station had spread, and the station wanted her to come back and give a lecture as well. 

Conveniently, Ning Fu wanted to find some more study materials and also send a letter at the town’s post office. So, before dawn, Ning Fu took the supply and marketing cooperative’s car to the town.

Upon arriving at the station, the secretary praised Ning Fu profusely, almost wanting to pin a big red flower on her chest.

T/N: The “big red flower” is a symbolic gesture often used in Chinese culture to signify honor, recognition, and praise. It is commonly associated with commendation and celebration, such as awarding someone for their achievements or contributions.

It was said that the neighboring production team had lost several lambs to the cold winter weather, causing the herders to sigh in distress all day long.

Later, they encountered someone from their livestock station who gave a detailed explanation on the importance of disinfection and cleaning, leaving the listener stunned. They wished they could take out that team member’s brain and replace it with their own to firmly remember all this knowledge.

These herders, who had spent their entire lives taking care of livestock and could barely recognize a few characters, usually wanted to stay far away from books. But now, they were eager to have the knowledgeable city-bred female educated youth come and give them a proper lesson. “Knowledge” was truly an incredible thing!

As more and more people learned about this, the secretary decided that such good techniques shouldn’t be kept private. So, he arranged for Ning Fu to come back and give a lecture to the people at the station.

As a result, many herders from nearby production teams also came over. The previously empty courtyard of the station suddenly became bustling with activity. The blackboard that had been used for literacy classes over a decade ago was brought out again, carefully cleaned, and set up with specially procured chalk.

Some educated youths also came to join the excitement and listen to the lecture. When they saw Ning Fu, they all went up to greet her.

Although Ning Fu’s once sensational “pursuit” wasn’t an impression that could be erased overnight, ever since she left the station, the “scandalous” rumors seemed to have gradually faded.

What people remembered more clearly was the rather impassioned and generous speech given by the station secretary during Ning Fu’s farewell.

The past “Ning Fu” gradually became just a simple name, while the person standing before them now was subtly reshaping a new image in everyone’s minds.

Gao Han had also heard about Ning Fu’s return.

As if driven by some unseen force, he followed the crowd to the station but did not go inside.

Standing outside the gate, he heard the clear voice of a girl coming from the courtyard, and his thoughts began to drift further and further away.

She had once blushed and stopped him on the way back from work, pressing a handful of hard fruit candies into his hand amidst the surprised gazes of others. She had also once, with dark circles from staying up late copying books, quietly brought him study materials.

At that time, her eyes were filled with him. She so eagerly hoped he would become an outstanding person and was wholeheartedly good to him.

But… How did she suddenly change?

Gao Han felt a mix of emotions, and as he thought about it, a bit of resentment crept in.

Although he had long sworn in his heart to love only Liang Huixue for the rest of his life, now, for some reason, hearing Ning Fu’s voice brought back memories of the past…

He suddenly realized that the girl who had been pursuing him was also so excellent and beautiful.

He even had a sudden fantasy: what if he had accepted Ning Fu back then…

Ning Fu’s sharing session ended, and the enthusiastic applause from the courtyard pulled Gao Han back to reality from his wandering thoughts.

He realized what he was thinking and suddenly shuddered—

Love is sacred and inviolable; how could he think like this?!

People in the courtyard began to leave in small groups. At the end of the crowd were the secretary and Ning Fu.

Hearing Ning Fu’s voice getting closer, Gao Han turned and fled in panic.

The secretary shook hands with Ning Fu for quite a while and enthusiastically stuffed a few sweet potatoes into her bag, saying, “Take these back and eat them, they’re sweet!”

This was to thank her for giving the lecture. Ning Fu expressed her gratitude and put away the precious “lecture fee.”

“There’s a car going to town today; I’ll have someone take you,” the secretary offered.

Ning Fu declined the secretary’s kind offer, “I’ve arranged to leave with Xiao Zhang from the livestock station. There’s still some time, so you don’t need to worry about me. I’ll go to the educated youth dormitory for a bit.”

She had just seen a figure hurriedly running away, and it looked very much like Gao Han.

However, Ning Fu wasn’t concerned about this world’s male protagonist; she had other matters to attend to at the educated youth dormitory.

“I want to borrow a chemistry book.” Standing in the courtyard of the male educated youth dormitory, Ning Fu said to a bespectacled male educated youth.

People coming and going perked up their ears curiously, wanting to know what Ning Fu was there for. Some even glanced around, looking for Gao Han.

“Chemistry is not available,” the bespectacled male educated youth flatly refused.

Unlike the others who were curious about Ning Fu, he was very aloof, and his aloofness carried a hint of disdain and contempt, making him seem even more superior.

“Even if you borrow it, you won’t understand it. It’s better not to deceive yourself with a pretense of interest.”

Du Qingquan had a nickname among the educated youths: “bookworm.” “Science” was his guiding principle.

He had once jumped into a waste disposal station to scavenge for books and had indeed found quite a few treasures.

In the entire Tula Gaqi, only he had a complete set of high school mathematics and chemistry textbooks. He even had the first volume of the most precious high school physics textbook, which he guarded as if it were his own eyes.

Since the announcement of the policy to reinstate the college entrance examination, many people had been secretly discussing and speculating that Du Qingquan was surely planning to return to the city to take the exam. They believed he might even pass it in one go!

After all, he was so far ahead of everyone else and had surely already reviewed thoroughly.

Ning Fu had anticipated Du Qingquan’s attitude. After all, the original owner had borrowed his mathematics textbook and failed to return it on time, even spilling ink on the pages while copying notes. Du Qingquan, who valued these textbooks more than his own eyes, was naturally very angry.

What made him even more furious was that the original owner had lied to him, saying that even though they were here to receive re-education from the poor and lower-middle peasants, they shouldn’t forget the duty of students to delve into knowledge.

Because of this statement, Du Qingquan had regarded her as a kindred spirit at the time and lent her his precious textbook.

— Who knew she was copying it to please Gao Han!

This immediately made Du Qingquan feel that something he cherished had been defiled, and he even acted coldly towards his dormmate Gao Han for several days, being sarcastic and unfriendly.

Ning Fu smiled and said, “The usual deal: one bag of animal crackers for a three-day loan. This time, I promise to take good care of it and return it on time.”

She paused, meeting Du Qingquan’s gaze full of refusal, and said, “Besides, without investigation, there is no right to speak—

How do you know if I’m just pretending to be interested if you don’t give me a chance?”