The village rarely held banquets, and after this meal, everyone’s praise for Fu Wenwen and Lin Feng was even more effusive.
There were three meat dishes alone, though they were actually all vegetarian, yet they were all so delicious they left a lasting impression.
Usually, only wedding banquets had one or two grand dishes at most, and that was considered quite good.
On the way back home, with the elder carried on his back, the elder advised Lin Feng, “Little Zhu already told me that you and that educated youth Fu were forced together. Seeing how tense you looked today, have you taken a liking to that young lady?”
“Nothing escapes your keen eyes,” Lin Feng replied with a smile and a nod.
“You’ve had a hard life since childhood, but you have a good disposition. I’ve always said you’re like a wolf cub. It’s your fortune that you haven’t gone astray despite growing up in the Lin family environment,” the elder said softly.
“It’s also the villagers who gave me a meal that allowed me to grow up!” Lin Feng replied. “When I was hungry as a child, I used to steal vegetables from your home. You clearly saw me, but you pretended to be nearsighted and couldn’t find anyone, letting me steal your vegetables…”
“Everyone had a difficult time back then. We couldn’t help a child like you very much. Don’t blame us for being heartless…” the elder sighed. At that time, they had several mouths to feed at home, and they truly couldn’t give Lin Feng much. Seeing Lin Feng, everyone tacitly pretended not to see him, letting him take a little bit of vegetables.
What could such a small child eat? They helped as much as they could, and that was all they could do.
“I know, and that’s why I’m so grateful to you all for giving me a meal during those difficult times,” Lin Feng said with a smile. “To tell a joke, I thought you were old and my eyesight was failing then. I was fully prepared to be beaten by you, but then I stood right in front of you, and you said you couldn’t see me.”
“Looking back, you probably saw me but didn’t expose me,” Lin Feng chuckled.
“You brat, daring to call me old and my eyesight failing! My vision is fine!” The elder playfully hit Lin Feng’s head, but the blow lacked any weight.
“You’ve grown up and become successful. Although it cost a lot of money, leaving the Lin family was the right decision for you!” the elder said with a smile. “I’ve never seen a young man with such courage. Others compromised out of consideration for face.”
“I no longer hold any expectations for them. Using twenty years to repay their life-saving kindness is enough,” Lin Feng said indifferently.
“Now that your hardships are over, live a good life with educated youth Fu. That girl is a good one. It’s normal for a girl to be a little pampered; she’s a daughter spoiled by her family. Marrying you, she has indeed married down. You must not let her suffer any grievances. You haven’t even met her family yet, what if she’s spirited away by someone else…” the elder said slowly.
Before he could finish, Lin Feng could no longer listen. “I won’t let her be spirited away by someone else!”
“You小子, you’re flustered!” the elder laughed heartily. “Truly, everything has its master. Your nemesis has appeared, and someone can tame you, you wolf cub.”
“I’m happy to be tamed by her,” Lin Feng said with a smile.
After seeing the elder home, Lin Feng returned to find the women helping with the cleanup while the men were packing up tables and chairs. Everyone worked together, and soon the venue was tidied up.
Since there were no leftovers, the dishes and chopsticks were packed away quickly. Fu Wenwen intended to help, but a few women found her too slow and sent her away.
Fu Wenwen stood by, watching them wash, rinse, and dry. A single bowl was cleaned efficiently, with time left for conversation…
“Educated youth Fu, do you have a place to stay tonight?” an aunt asked with a smile.
Fu Wenwen replied with a smile, “We’ll be going back to the town soon and sleeping at the guesthouse. We’ll return to the city tomorrow.”
“That’s wonderful! I’ve never slept in a guesthouse in my life!” another aunt said enviously.
The three aunts finished washing the bowls, and each family took their own dishes and chopsticks home, so Fu Wenwen didn’t need to worry about anything.
Lin An went to play with the new toys that Huzi and his friends had bought for him. Lin Feng had gone to see the elder home. Fu Wenwen wandered around the village and came to the literacy class. The literacy class no longer looked as it did when she was there; it seemed to have been redecorated, and her previous arrangement had been overturned.
Fu Wenwen left the literacy class. After taking just two steps, she encountered a pair of illicit lovers hiding in a secluded grove of trees next to the literacy class.
As Fu Wenwen was about to leave, she suddenly heard a familiar voice.
She would never mistake this voice; it belonged to Su Xiaoxiao.
They had just returned, and they were already out playing house?
Looking at the educated youth dormitory not far ahead, Wang Qing and Wu Xiaojie happened to be walking out of the dormitory. Fu Wenwen raised an eyebrow, a smile playing on her lips. “Wang Qing!!!”
Fu Wenwen’s sudden shout made the two people in the grove freeze instantly. They quickly separated and began to adjust their clothes.
“Oh! It’s Wenwen!” Seeing Fu Wenwen, Wang Qing happily ran towards her.
Wu Xiaojie chased after Wang Qing, and the two arrived in front of Fu Wenwen. Wu Xiaojie nodded at her. “Educated youth Fu, long time no see!”
“Wenwen, when did you get back?” Wang Qing asked happily.
“Aren’t you guys working today?” Fu Wenwen asked with a smile. She wondered why she hadn’t seen any educated youth today. Normally, they should have been working, and she would have seen her and Lin Feng returning.
“How did you know? The village head gave us the day off today,” Wang Qing said with a smile, but she didn’t say why.
Wu Xiaojie glanced at Wang Qing and then closed his mouth as if about to speak.
Looking at the two of them, Fu Wenwen understood. The reason the village head had directly told them not to come to work was likely because they had done something wrong.
Considering that Wang Qing had been usurped of her position at the literacy class by Liu Zihua, it was likely that the educated youth had caused trouble.
“Is it because of the literacy class matter?” Fu Wenwen asked.
“You know about it?” Wang Qing gave a wry smile.
“Liu Zihua thought Wang Qing’s teaching method was wrong and insisted she was misleading students,” Wu Xiaojie said angrily. “I think Wang Qing’s teaching method has no problems, and she teaches very practical words, the simplest and most useful ones.”
“Others also felt my teaching was fine, but Liu Zihua insisted it was child’s play. We argued, and then he proposed a competition with me: forming words, poetry, and idioms. I couldn’t beat him,” Wang Qing lowered her head, unwillingly.
Fu Wenwen raised an eyebrow. “This isn’t about composing ancient poetry, why test idioms?”
“I also thought it was wrong, but Liu Zihua accused Wang Qing of being uneducated. I got angry and punched him, and he reported me to the village head. The village head ruled that he should teach for now. After that scoundrel succeeded, he even mocked us…” Wu Xiaojie was furious. He really wanted to punch him again at that moment.