Chapter Twenty-One: The Liang Family

Han Li was surveying the terrain with Hao Hongmin and Yang Xiuying, discussing where to build their house and how the courtyard gate should be positioned.

At that moment, a disagreement arose among the three. The dispute stemmed from the village chief’s rule that their houses must be built near the Youth Settlement.

Han Li was reluctant to be too close to the two women, despite their pleasant looks, delicate faces, and refined features.

Especially Hao Hongmin, whose figure was already quite striking. In this era where women dressed simply in vests, even at her young age, she already gave off a sense of maturity and fullness.

Even a fool could see that she would save a lot on milk powder in the future.

Pretty as they were, it didn’t mean they were meant for him.

So Han Li preferred to keep his distance, especially since he harbored many secrets.

Yang Xiuying, boisterous and carefree, didn’t notice anything amiss and saw nothing wrong with Han Li’s suggestion that their houses face each other as neighbors.

But Hao Hongmin was more thoughtful. Over the years, she’d heard many stories from classmates about life in the countryside. She knew how unsafe it could be for girls. For her own safety and Yang Xiuying’s, she firmly opposed Han Li’s idea of building door to door. She insisted they should have a wall between their courtyards, which would also help save firewood in winter.

If anything happened, they could just call out to each other, making everyone feel safer.

With Hao Hongmin’s reasoning, Yang Xiuying quickly agreed and raised both hands in support.

Han Li glanced at the two women, both exuding the gentle grace typical of southern women. Since meeting them on the train, they’d developed a tacit understanding.

He was just about to nod in agreement when a middle-aged woman with a shifty look suddenly appeared behind them and called out loudly.

“Well, well! You educated youths are indeed restless—just arrived yesterday and already tangled up together.”

“The three of you standing so close, and this flat-chested girl even raising her hands—what exactly are you all doing?”

“Looks like you two girls aren’t anything good, what a waste of such fair, pretty faces.”

“And I was even considering letting you marry my son to elevate your family’s status.”

“But now, pfft... pfft... you’re not worthy at all!”

Hao Hongmin and Yang Xiuying were stunned. They’d been discussing where to build their houses—who was this woman, and what on earth was she talking about?

Han Li cleared his throat. “Auntie Liang, you’re from Liang Wu’s family, aren’t you? You ought to watch your tongue and not spit out nonsense.”

“We’re here under Captain Liang’s orders to survey the site for our houses.”

“But isn’t it work time right now? Why aren’t you out in the fields?”

“Could it be that the usually strict Captain Liang is playing favorites, letting you leave early from work?”

“Tut tut... perhaps Captain Liang isn’t as selfless as people say.”

“Auntie Liang, do you think the commune or county office knows about this? If I report it, maybe I’ll even get a reward.”

“Who knows, maybe the higher-ups will be so pleased they’ll grant me a permit to return to the city—then I won’t have to endure rural hardships anymore.”

“Hahaha... Auntie Liang, you really are my lucky star.”

“I’ll go find the commune leaders right now. When I come back, I’ll bring you two pounds of candied fruit to sweeten your mouth.”

As Han Li finished and turned to leave, Auntie Liang was thoroughly confounded.

She’d only come over after hearing the educated youths had bought a lot of things, hoping to scare them and maybe get some benefits.

Weren’t these city kids supposed to be scared and offer her hush money? Why was this young man reacting like this?

Though she hadn’t figured out whether Han Li’s words made sense, one thing was clear: she couldn’t let him go to the commune office.

If the Liang family lost the position of brigade captain because of her scheming, her household would be in big trouble.

The other family branches would surely seize the chance to retaliate, and her husband would be furious.

“Hey, hey... Han, my dear, you don’t need to bother the leaders over a couple of jokes.”

“I just had a stomachache and got permission to go home and rest.”

Han Li replied, “I don’t buy it. Who with a stomachache acts like you did just now?”

“Hands on your hips, pointing fingers, shouting and bouncing around—how could someone with a stomachache act like that?”

Auntie Liang forced a laugh. “I was just talking nonsense, just rambling.”

“I only heard you’d come back with a lot of things and wanted to take a look...”

“Auntie Liang, you should know, being young once yourself, how important reputation is.”

“I’m a man, so I don’t care much about jokes.”

“But what you just said, if someone else overheard, could really hurt these girls.”

“That’s not just being greedy—it’s risking lives for profit.”

“If something bad were to happen, could you really sleep at night, or would you be haunted by nightmares for the rest of your life?”

“I’ll keep this matter secret for now, but do watch yourself in the future. Now hurry home and get some rest.”

Auntie Liang left, still dizzy from Han Li’s words, but when she was nearly home, she finally realized she’d been fooled by that young upstart. She ground her teeth and muttered, “Han, you just wait! No one in Shanghe Village has ever made me swallow such a loss!”

After Auntie Liang left, the three of them lost interest in surveying the site and returned to the Youth Settlement.

Yang Xiuying kept pestering Han Li for details about what had just happened.

She was still an innocent child, untested by the world’s dangers. In response to her questioning, Han Li simply said, “Rumors, once started, only grow more twisted. When a reputation falls far enough, people will say even a fly wouldn’t land on an uncracked egg.”

Whether Yang Xiuying could grasp the meaning was up to her. Some things couldn’t be taught by others.

With that, Han Li lay down in a shady spot to rest, while Hao Hongmin and Yang Xiuying whispered together elsewhere.

Only when the workday bell rang did they head to Village Chief Zhao’s house.

When they arrived, both the chief and his wife were at home, along with a girl of about twelve or thirteen.

Village Chief Zhao wasn’t surprised to see Han Li and the others arrive together. He invited them to sit in the courtyard.

It was indeed hot inside the house, and here in Shanghe Village, every family had a spacious yard, with houses spread out instead of being crammed together like in the city, where there was no privacy and neighbors could hear every word.

So there was no fear of being overheard in the yard. Han Li and his companions set the things they’d brought on the table.

Village Chief Zhao’s expression changed. “I thought you three would come soon enough, but what is the meaning of all this?”