Chapter 414 Shang Shaoyan Appears Again
An Xia looked at her future mother-in-law. She had seen the village chief's wife many times in the village; an old woman with a smile on her face, though rumored to have a fiery temper.
"Auntie, I've thought it through. I want to marry Brother Wen Liang, and I'll be a good daughter-in-law."
Wang Fengling looked at the small girl with some pity. Her second son had truly struck gold. This girl was far too young.
Wang Fengling smiled, squatted down, and took An Xia's hand. If she was willing to settle down, she would treat her well.
"Child, you've suffered. I'll protect you from now on."
An Xia's eyes immediately welled up. It had been so long since anyone had called her "child." Her grandfather and mother used to call her that.
"Mhm, thank you, Auntie."
"Oh dear, this is happy news. Why are you crying?"
Wang Fengling's old friend, Aunt Hua, acted as a matchmaker. It was a joyous occasion for her good friend's family who was missing a delicate and gentle Zhi Zhi.
Soon, Aunt Hua got into character. The betrothal gifts would be sixty-six yuan, plus a new set of clothes and shoes. This was considered a very high betrothal gift, especially during a famine when food and drink were scarce, and ten pounds of coarse grain could fetch a wife.
An Xia didn't care about these things. She still had dozens of yuan, and with a bit more, she could build a house. She desperately wanted to get away from the Zhi Zhi's.
Many Zhi Zhi's also heard the news of An Xia's engagement and came back to see. When they saw Wang Fengling generously giving An Xia money and telling her to pick out clothes in the city once her leg healed, many were filled with envy and jealousy.
They truly hadn't expected that An Xia, who had barely made her presence felt at the educated youth spot, would get married so easily.
Among them, Gao Jiaojiao was the most shocked. She was certain that these two had barely known each other before. In one day, they had settled the major event of their lives.
Gao Jiaojiao, holding back her words, rushed to An Xia's side as soon as Wang Fengling left.
"What were you thinking? Why would you marry a dirt farmer, and one who's already been married?"
An Xia now had a protective instinct and couldn't stand anyone speaking ill of Gong Wenliang. This was questioning her own choice. However, the timid An Xia couldn't retort.
"He saved me, so is it wrong for me to repay his kindness?"
Gao Jiaojiao looked at her as if she were an idiot and scoffed.
"You're amazing. To give yourself away for the sake of repaying kindness in this day and age."
An Xia lowered her head. She was willing, and no one could interfere.
Gao Jiaojiao simply couldn't stand An Xia's useless and meek demeanor. It wasn't her business, and her only feeling towards An Xia was a sliver of guilt for having wronged her.
"Whatever you say. How long do you expect me to look after you until this is settled?"
An Xia thought of Brother Wen Liang bringing her food. What she needed most now was money and food.
"You don't need to bring me food tonight. Convert it into money or grain for me."
Gao Jiaojiao quickly covered her pockets again. She was about to lose the last of her money and needed to write home quickly, or she'd starve.
"I don't have much grain left. How about ten yuan?"
Gao Jiaojiao tentatively offered ten yuan, thinking that the honest An Xia might just agree.
"Money isn't as important as grain right now, but you really don't have much grain, and I can't let you starve. If you convert it to money, ten yuan isn't enough. I don't know how long my recovery will take. You need to give me at least thirty yuan."
Hiss! The little softie is asking for the moon!
"I don't have that much money. I only have a little over twenty yuan left, and I don't know when my family will be able to send me money."
An Xia wasn't actually asking for too much. Her leg had required more than ten stitches, not to mention the extensive scarring. The amount of blood she had lost would require significant nourishment to recover.
"Then give me fifteen yuan first, and you can pay me back when your family sends money. But you'll have to write me an IOU, and then we'll be even."
Gao Jiaojiao suddenly felt that An Xia wasn't a softie at all, but rather shrewd on the inside, always having a plan. However, since she was in the wrong, giving her the money would bring peace of mind.
"Okay, we've agreed. You can't go back on your word later."
An Xia was happy. With this, they should have enough money to build a small house. If Gong Wenliang knew that the young girl was already planning for their future home, he would be deeply touched. People truly couldn't be compared.
In Mi Province, the first batch of people had already returned, and many things were starting to fall into place.
Ye Shengge had also passed several advancement exams. After all, she had a lot of extra time to study in her space, not to mention her exceptional talent. Professors were willing to make special exceptions to apply for her to become a formal university student.
Ye Shengge politely declined all offers. She met with Teacher Han twice more at the school, but neither of them mentioned Han Yuyan again.
Zi Yisheng knew that Han Yuyan hadn't appeared for three days. It was highly likely that his health had deteriorated to the point where he could no longer go out.
In fact, this illness wouldn't have killed an ordinary person so quickly. It was just that Han Yuyan had overexerted his body previously and had no hope of survival, causing him to decline faster.
In this world, only Teacher Han probably knew Han Yuyan's condition. At least, in Ye Shengge's future life, this person never appeared again.
In the disaster-stricken areas, the government provided comprehensive and strong support for post-disaster reconstruction. Bai Rong Brigade was the first brigade to receive bricks and tiles for building houses.
While it wasn't a case of "give whatever is missing," at least each household could now build new houses at half the cost.
Many families with savings took this opportunity to build large houses. A few who lacked funds could only build as much as the government provided.
The courtyards of the Zi, Bai, and Ye families were rebuilt in their original locations. However, the Ye and Bai families built their courtyards a little larger, as they had to consider future population growth.
Ye Shengge boarded a cargo ship home in December. Although she hadn't received a completion certificate from Mi Province University, she had learned most of what she needed to. The rest could be learned from the collected books.
Although life in Mi Province was good, none of the elderly, like Old Fan and Old Dang, missed their homes.
Especially when their feet touched the soil of their homeland, their steps became lighter.
Upon returning to the village, they saw a different village. The houses were neatly built and no longer dilapidated.
Those already busy in the fields worked with even more vigor, as everything was starting anew, and everyone held boundless aspirations.
Many people in the fields saw the Zi and Ye families return. They wondered about them, seeing no change in their demeanor.
There would surely be much jealousy, as in their minds, Zi Yisheng and his group had never truly considered Bai Rong Brigade home and had not shared in their hardships.
However, seeing the village chief's attitude, no one dared to say anything. Offending them would only bring suffering upon themselves.
Ye Shengge entered the new house and looked around. There were two more rooms than before, and the front and back courtyards were much larger.
As soon as Qi Luquan returned, he took Qi Xuan to dig for a secret room in the house. Their remaining fortune awaited return from Miss Ye.
The family rested for only two days, tidying up what needed to be tidied. After all, a flood had washed away many of their belongings.
At the time, Ye Shengge could only pack away her own belongings. She could only watch as things were left behind in Zi Yisheng's house.
Everything returned to normal. The family members who needed to work went to work, and those who managed businesses went about their businesses. Ye Shengge continued to help at the village clinic with her two masters.
The villagers were happier to see Old Fan and Old Dang than anyone else. During their absence, people had fallen ill or been injured, and it had been inconvenient without a doctor in the village. Traveling to the county hospital was a painful expense.
Along the way, Ye Shengge watched her two masters greet people non-stop. Even she, whom few people initiated conversations with, received greetings from many.
In a little over a month, it would be the Lunar New Year. After the New Year, in about two more months, it would be Chen Tangtang's eighteenth birthday.
Ouyang, being quite capable, somehow managed to please her future in-laws. Both families agreed to have the wedding when Chen Tangtang turned eighteen.
Chen Tangtang was now a true bride-to-be. Ouyang wouldn't let her work in the fields, only helping her future mother-in-law with cooking at home and listening to village gossip with the local gossip squad.
Time passed quickly, and it was soon the Lunar New Year, their second New Year at Bai Rong Brigade. The house was much larger, and this year, they would celebrate the New Year at the Ye family's home.
The happiest were Ouyang and Zi Yisheng. Ouyang was about to become a groom, and Zi Yisheng's little girl would be able to marry him in another year.
On New Year's Eve, the atmosphere was exceptionally lively due to the uncontrollable joy of these two.
As everyone was getting tipsy, the door was knocked. Initially, no one heard it, but the person outside persistently knocked, and quite forcefully, finally breaking the lively atmosphere inside.
Ye Shengge was the only one not drinking in the family, and the others were somewhat intoxicated, so Ye Shengge went to open the door.
As Ye Shengge reached the main entrance, she inquired first, as it was almost midnight, and no important person would visit without a significant reason.
"It's me, Shang Shaoyan."
Shang Shaoyan! Ye Shengge hadn't expected the long-unseen Master Shang to appear.
Ye Shengge opened the door, and a dark figure lunged towards her. Ye Shengge didn't even have time to dodge, and an arm was placed on her shoulder.
"You!"
Ye Shengge looked closely and saw that Shang Shaoyan was supporting someone with one hand, and the person hugging her was a woman of very light weight.
Ye Shengge's mouth, full of questions, immediately stopped. She smelled a strong scent of blood and didn't dare to call her family out into the yard, as she didn't know what trouble Shang Shao had gotten into.
"Come in with me first."
Shang Shaoyan, with some effort, quickly helped the person into the yard and didn't forget to close the main gate.
Those waiting inside, seeing Ye Shengge hadn't returned, came out one by one.
It was too dark outside, and they couldn't clearly see who it was. Zi Yisheng, fearing Ye Shengge was in danger, rushed over first.
"It's you. Why are you here?"
Ye Shengge whispered and called out to her master. Old Fan and Old Dang quickly understood and followed.
Zi Yisheng helped support the person, telling the little girl to go and open the door to an empty room in the house.
After a flurry of activity, everyone finally saw the appearances of the two people lying on the bed and the disheveled state of the three of them.
Shang Shaoyan was covered in blood and his face was pale. He apologized to Ye Dad and Ye Mom.
"Uncle Ye, I might have to trouble you for some time."
Ye Dad waved his hand dismissively. He was familiar with the person lying on the bed, and Second Master Shang was also a tough man.
"You're welcome. Second Master Shang and I have some acquaintance. Wasn't he in Hui Province? How did he end up like this?"
Shang Shaoyan watched the people busy around the bed, and his heart settled somewhat. He gave a self-mocking smile.
"I didn't expect them to start with my second uncle. They found a trumped-up charge and wanted to imprisoner him. I couldn't stand by and watch my second uncle die in prison, so I had to take a risk."
Ye Dad clenched his fists in anger. Chaos was unfolding. This country was starting to go haywire. But what could he do? If he had the means, he wouldn't have hidden away so early.
"Uncle Ye, our Shang family should have gone into hiding like you long ago. Now, my uncle and father are still not safe."
Shang Shaoyan looked at the person on the bed, then at Ye Dad and Zi Yisheng, especially Zi Yisheng.
"I want to ask you for a favor."
"Go ahead."
Ye Dad had a sense of righteousness and had never had any issues with the Shang family, so he was willing to help.
"Please look after my second uncle and aunt for me. I'll come to pick them up after I'm done."
Ye Dad glanced at Zi Yisheng, unsure if Shang Shaoyan had cleaned up his mess.
Zi Yisheng would not stand by and watch those who had contributed greatly to the country be brought down like this.
"We can. Do you need me to provide some manpower?"
Shang Shaoyan smiled and shook his head. It was already difficult enough for them to help him this much. He didn't want to impose further.
Qi Xuan, standing at the doorway, had been eavesdropping. Qi Luquan was furious at his unpromising granddaughter.
He grabbed Qi Xuan's ear and spoke in a low voice.
"Don't you dislike him anymore?"
Qi Xuan grimaced in pain but dared not make a sound. Following her grandfather's pull, she moved aside and impatiently pried away his iron grip.
"I don't like him anymore, but we at least know each other. I just want to see if there's anything I can do to help."
Qi Luquan was almost infuriated by his disappointing granddaughter.
"What can you help with? Can't you have some ambition? At this time, shouldn't you pretend not to know him and walk past him with pride?"
This was Qi Xuan's grand declaration from years ago. But seeing him now, she was like this? It was too embarrassing!
Qi Xuan didn't care. She had truly not thought of Shang Shaoyan before, but seeing him today, her heart still pounded wildly. She couldn't lie to herself.
Ye Shengge and her two masters worked for over an hour to clean the wounds of the two people on the bed. They had many whip marks, indicating they had been tortured.
Second Master Shang was the most seriously injured, with knife wounds and gunshot wounds. Fortunately, her masters were skilled, or they might not have been able to save them.
"They are out of danger. They should wake up tomorrow. After they wake up, they need good care, and they should be fine in a month."