Seeing the situation becoming more and more unfavorable for her Xu Qingqing clenched her fists in frustration , a bitter jealousy now burning in her eyes. It was infuriating. There was clearly a good job for her within her reach , so why wouldn’t Xu Ying just hand it over to her? Though she was younger and, in her own estimation, was far more knowledgeable than anyone present ,Still Xu Ying was using her own position at the food factory to wield power with in their village , both in public and private.
“Sister-in-law, let’s all just come back tomorrow,” Xu Qingqing said, forcing a smile with all her might before turning and leading her mother away.
“Why are we leaving?” Liu Yuefen asked her on the way home, bewildered. “The work hasn’t even been decided yet.”
“Haven’t you seen it inside ?” Xu Qingqing’s voice was tight with suppressed resentment. “My cousin’s family isn’t willing to intercept in our affairs at all.” There was nothing she could do about it, and because of this helplessness gnawed at her.
Liu Yuefen immediately grew agitated. “Why wouldn’t they help us? We’re all family!”
“What’s ‘family’ got to do with it?” Xu Qingqing retorted, her anger bubbling ready to be errupt any moment . “They just look down on us.” She strode forward, then came to a halt , turning to see Dong Wenzhong carrying his farming tools , heading down the mountain path . A flicker of cunning lit up in her eyes,which than quickly replaced by a satisfied smirk. “Mom, you go back first. I have something to do.” Liu Yuefen, consumed by her own frustrations and eager to vent them on her husband, barely registered her daughter’s words and hurried home on her own .
Once her mother was out of sight, Xu Qingqing stopped Dong Wenzhong. He paused, looking at her with an unreadable expression. “What do you want?
“Dong Wenzhong,” Xu Qingqing began, her voice laced with subtle provocation, “look at Xu Ying now. She’s doing so well with her life, making money wherever she goes, with skills unmatched by anyone… Are you really willing to let her go so easily?”
Dong Wenzhong felt a pang of resentment by her provocation still found himself unable to vent . What if he wasn’t willing to give her up? Xu Ying seemed like a different person now, utterly ignoring him whenever she was around , as if he were a plague. He simply ignored Xu Qingqing’s words and continued walking.
“There are two spots to return to the city in the village right now!” Xu Qingqing blurted out, her voice sounding urgent.
As expected, Dong Wenzhong stopped dead in his tracks. “What do you want? Speak directly.”
“Don’t you want to go back to the city?” Xu Qingqing pressed on her previous words , oblivious to the figure standing silently beneath a large tree nearby.
Dong Wenzhong glanced at her suspiciously. “What can you do about it ?” He absolutely longed to return to the city.Leaving all his frustration and shame behind. His initial pursuit of Xu Ying was also because of two reasons first : to make his life easier here , and second and also the most important one is , to gain a path back to his urban life away from this harsh life . Xu Ying’s father was the village captain, and when the time came , he held sway over the coveted return-to-city quotas more than anyone in this village.
Xu Qingqing’s face broke into a triumphant smile. “The quota for returning to the city is with my cousin. Given how much my cousin hates you now, I’m afraid you won’t be able to return to the city at all.” Dong Wenzhong’s face darkened hearing her words . Was this woman trying to humiliate him now? He turned to leave, but Xu Qingqing’s next words stopped him.
“But don’t forget, our village also has a Party Secretary, and all major events require his approval also . As long as you get the Party Secretary on your side, you’ll definitely secure one of those two spots for yourself.”
Dong Wenzhong’s eyes lit up at her suggestion. Yes, the Party Secretary! The figure standing by the tree, overhearing this idea, also showed a flicker of interest before disappearing swiftly into the shadows.
“I know the Party Secretary’s secret,” Xu Qingqing stated, her voice dripping with confidence, “a clue that will ensure you a guarented return to the city. But you have to marry me first . Otherwise, I won’t help you.” She looked at him proudly. She had always loved competing with Xu Ying, always trying to snatch what was hers, though she couldn’t fathom why Xu Ying no longer cared for Dong Wenzhong. Yet, he was still the man Xu Ying had once loved. If she married him, she could felt delight in visiting Xu Ying’s house during holidays, causing her endless irritation. More importantly, Dong Wenzhong was from the city. If she stayed in the village, her mother would likely sell her off for a bride price to anyone . Rather than marry some uncertain stranger, why not choose someone similar?
Dong Wenzhong’s gaze was complicated listening to her condition, but he still nodded. “I promise to marry you. Now, tell me what you know about the Party Secretary.”
Xu Qingqing shook her head. “When you bring a two-hundred-yuan bride price and come to my house to propose marriage to my family , I will naturally help you then to attain party secretaries approval.”
“Why should I believe you?” Dong Wenzhong demanded, a flicker of anger in his voice. “What if you lied to me?”
Xu Qingqing shrugged dismissively. “Dong Wenzhong, you’d better think clearly about your current situation. You barely have enough to eat or wear in this village. If you can’t be able to go back to the city and give me a good life in the future , Do you think I’d be a fool to marry you. We each have what we need. As long as you marry me and I can get to live a good life in the city, I will definitely help you.”
Dong Wenzhong’s eyes darkened by her ridicule , but he finally nodded. His eldest cousin had stumbled into incredible luck, marrying the daughter of a county clerk. Now, he wasn’t just back in the city but had found a permanet job . With his own knowledge and abilities, he was no worse than Dong Wenqiang. If he returned to the city, he would surely find a good position as well .
“Then hurry up,” and propose the marrige to my family Xu Qingqing urged again , with a triumphant glint in her eyes, “so we can return to the city as soon as possible.” Dong Wenzhong nodded, and the two had reached a grim consensus regarding both of their futures .
At the same time, in the educated youth center, a young woman sat in the courtyard , her mind now racing with excitement as she recalled Xu Qingqing and Dong Wenzhong’s conversation earlier . Compared to the upright village captain, their village’s Party Secretary was anything but a good man. But it was precisely his unscrupulous nature that made him exploitable by any smart person . She remembered the old Party Secretary’s promise to give her a spot to return to the city if she slept with him. At that time, Niu Yuqin hadn’t been sure if he was serious and had refused him at the spot . Now that Xu Qingqing had confirmed the existence of a return-to-city quota to Dong Wenzhong, Niu Yuqin’s mind whirred with renewed purpose in life .
She was among the first batch of educated youths to come to Xujia Village from the city , having been here for eight years since she was sixteen. Many had given up, marrying into the village, but she had held on, clinging to the hope of returning to the city someday. Now that a quota was finally within her reach, she had to seize it, no matter what the cost.
“Yuqin, where are you going at this time ?” Zhang Qiuling, who usually had a good relationship with Niu Yuqin, asked, curious to see her heading out sneakily late at night.
Niu Yuqin jumped , startled by the sudden question in this quite night. She replied, guiltily, “I’m just going out for a walk. I ate too much tonight, feeling a bit uncomfortable to sleep .”
Zhang Qiuling looked worried. “Isn’t it too dangerous for you to go out alone so late? I’ll go with you if you want !”
Niu Yuqin quickly shook her head. If Qiulin came along with her , how could she go and find the Secretary? So she denied her offer “No, I’ll just take a short walka around the youth center and come back quickly . If anything happens ,I can just yell for help. Besides, you’ve been tired all day, go to bed and rest early okay!.”
Seeing her resolve to go out alone , Zhang Qiuling did’nt pry further further. She simply nodded and warned her again, “Then don’t go too far.” Most people in the village were good by heart , but there were inevitably some unsavory characters among them also . Us girls had to be careful about our own safety.As if scattering her words into the wind, Niu Yuqin left the educated youth center and anxiously walked towards the Party Secretary’s house. The Party Secretary who had already retired for the night grumbled impatiently when he heard a sudden knock outside of his door . When he opened the door and saw Niu Yuqin standing , his expression instantly shifted to a pleasant surprise. “Why are you here at this hour ? Have you decided to accept my offer ?”
Niu Yuqin felt a wave of nausea seeing his leecherous expression. The village Party Secretary was close to her father’s age, perhaps even older. But as she thought of the endless toil in the fields she suffered in eight years of her stay in this village , she suppressed her revulsion and asked, her voice extremely flat, “Can you really let me go back to the city ,if I just sleeps with you?”
The Party Secretary eyed her up and down with a smile, his gaze sweeping over her like a snake . “Of course. Our village has two quotas for returning to the city now . As long as you sleep with me, I’ll give you one of them .”
Niu Yuqin’s eyes narrowed warily. “Did you say this to all the female educated youths in the village?”
The Party Secretary’s expression flickered for a moment , briefly losing its composure. “How can you think of me like that, Yuqin? You know, I don’t have a wife anymore, and I’ve been particularly fond of you since the moment I met you. You look so much like my dead wife. If I weren’t so old and you so young, I would have just married you back home .”