Chapter 87: Rural Absurd Past Events Chapter 87

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Protagonist:

Li Xiulan

Li Xiulan never expected to meet Zhu Rou Rong at the street corner.

You have to know that it was nearly seven o'clock now, and the sky had already darkened.

Why wasn't Zhu Rou Rong staying at home, and why did he come here?

"I came to town this afternoon to handle some business. After finishing, I originally planned to go back immediately, but suddenly I thought of you, afraid you wouldn't catch a ride like yesterday and would have to walk back. I didn't know how to contact you, and I didn't know where your construction site was, so I waited here at this street corner. Now it's completely dark, I thought you had already gone back, and I was just about to leave, but I never expected to actually wait for you."

Zhu Rou Rong wore a simple, honest smile on his face. He was extremely candid, hiding nothing, and spoke the truth directly: he was waiting here for Li Xiulan.

Hearing this, Li Xiulan was immediately moved to the point of a sour nose.

"Brother Rong, you're too good to me!"

Li Xiulan hadn't felt this kind of warmth for a long time, so whenever Zhu Rou Rong showed even a little enthusiasm out of the ordinary, she was moved to the point of confusion.

"Don't say those polite words. Get in the car quickly, I'll give you a ride back!"

Zhu Rou Rong's face was full of an enthusiastic smile.

Li Xiulan got on the motorcycle, sitting behind Zhu Rou Rong. She no longer deliberately kept her distance from him as before, but sat naturally.

The two remained silent all the way.

But both knew exactly what that atmosphere meant.

They soon returned to Shanggou Village, arriving in front of Zhu Rou Rong's home.

Li Xiulan was still moved in her heart.

But just then, Zhu Rou Rong's daughter He Xiaoling came out from inside the house. She had a blackened face and complained:

"Dad, why are you back so late?"

Zhu Rou Rong chuckled:

"I ran into some business, so I came back late."

He Xiaoling glanced at Li Xiulan with a face full of hostility, and actually didn't hesitate to accuse her father:

"How could you give this woman a ride back? Don't forget that last time Uncle Yuan Chao gave her a ride back, it caused the whole village to gossip endlessly, and finally he was forced to resign from his position as Village Committee Secretary! Are you trying to ruin your own reputation? Can you face my deceased mother?"

He Xiaoling wasn't old, just thirteen years old, and had just started junior high school.

Girls at this age are the most rebellious, which is why she would say such unrestrained words.

In the past two days, because Zhu Rou Rong had been giving Li Xiulan rides to town in the mornings, there were indeed some rumors and gossip in the village. He Xiaoling's anger wasn't entirely without reason.

"Xiaoling, your father and I aren't what you think..." Li Xiulan felt wronged in her heart, with bitterness she couldn't speak. She tried hard to explain clearly that they were both innocent.

But He Xiaoling disliked her intensely and didn't want to listen to her explanation at all:

"You go now. Don't stay at my doorstep. I don't want to hear your explanation. From now on, just don't ride my father's motorcycle! Dad, from now on don't give her rides to town anymore. If others see it, they'll only make fun of us. You can endure it, but I can't. I don't want a stepmother who is clearly promiscuous but pretends to be innocent!"

"Xiaoling, what are you saying! You can eat food carelessly, but you can't speak carelessly!" Zhu Rou Rong scolded his own daughter angrily. "There's nothing between me and Xiulan at all! I just gave her a ride because I pitied her. Can't you stop thinking so much?"

But He Xiaoling chuckled coldly:

"You can tell me not to think so much, but can you make all the villagers of Shanggou Village stop thinking so much?"

Zhu Rou Rong was contradicted by his daughter's words and immediately felt choked up, huffing and puffing, but couldn't say a single word of rebuttal.

Because what He Xiaoling said was right.

He, Zhu Rou Rong, could control his own daughter, but he couldn't control the other villagers!

"Alright, stop arguing!" Li Xiulan suddenly shouted at this moment. She looked sincerely at He Xiaoling: "Xiaoling, I'm sorry for making you misunderstand. Rest assured, I won't ride your father's motorcycle anymore from now on. You're right. If others see it, they'll make sarcastic remarks about us. A person needs face, just as a tree needs bark. I should respect myself a bit more..." Saying this, Li Xiulan turned her gaze to Zhu Rou Rong: "Brother Rong, thank you for giving me rides to town these past two days. Thank you. From now on, when you go to town to deliver pork, you don't need to wait for me. Just go by yourself."

Zhu Rou Rong immediately felt very uncomfortable:

"But if I don't give you a ride, how will you get to the construction site in town? It's so far away. Are you going to walk?"

Li Xiulan said:

"I'll figure something out myself. Alright, I won't say anything else. I'm going home now. Goodbye."

Li Xiulan said goodbye, then quickly turned around and left in quick steps.

Just as she turned around, she couldn't help but shed tears.

Her heart was full of grievance, but she had nowhere to pour it out.

She couldn't blame He Xiaoling, and even less could she blame Zhu Rou Rong.

They were both not wrong. The wrong one was herself.

Even now she still couldn't understand it. She had always been proper and had never done anything crossing the line. How did she leave the image of a promiscuous woman in the hearts of the whole village?

If it were another woman, meeting an irresponsible scumbag husband like Wang Zhanggen, she would have probably abandoned the children and run away long ago!

She didn't run away. She gritted her teeth and persisted. She did her best to be responsible for this family. How did she end up with such a result?

This is unfair!

Fortunately, the three children at home were still sensible.

When she got home, she found the children had already prepared dinner.

Although this dinner wasn't very tasty—the vegetables weren't even washed clean, and there were worms inside—she was still very moved while eating it.

Now, the children were her greatest spiritual support for living on.

The next day.

Zhu Rou Rong finished selling pork in the village, cleaned up the pig-slaughtering table, but still hadn't gone to town to deliver pork to the restaurants.

He sat on the motorcycle, smoking with a dejected expression.

He was waiting for Li Xiulan.

As a result, from seven o'clock in the morning, he waited until past eight o'clock, but still didn't wait for Li Xiulan.

If he didn't go to town to deliver the pork, the restaurant boss might start complaining about him.

In the end, he could only reluctantly drive off.

He thought, could it be that Li Xiulan didn't want to pass by his family's doorstep, so she took a detour out of the village?

His own insensible daughter, the words she said to Li Xiulan last night, were really too heavy!

If it were him, he also wouldn't be able to bear it.

After all, people all have self-respect.

Zhu Rou Rong really wanted to go apologize to Li Xiulan in person.

He hoped to run into Li Xiulan on the way to town.

He thought Li Xiulan wasn't taking his motorcycle to town, so she most likely could only walk there.

However, contrary to his wishes, he rode his motorcycle all the way to town, but never saw Li Xiulan's figure the whole way.

This made him involuntarily feel lost, his heart feeling empty.

He didn't know that today Li Xiulan didn't have to start work.

Not only today, but for the next five days Li Xiulan also wouldn't start work.

The construction site's foundation and column bodies had just been poured, they had to wait for the cement to harden before continuing work.

This morning, Li Xiulan slept until past eight o'clock before getting up.

Eight o'clock in the morning, for city people, might still be very early, but for Li Xiulan, that was already very late; she used to get up at five o'clock when it was just dawn to work.

The reason she got up so late today was because her waist injury flared up again.

She felt a lot of pain, couldn't even get out of bed, broke out in a cold sweat all over; originally she wanted to get up at five o'clock to make breakfast for the children, but in the end she didn't get up, she gave the three sons one yuan, let them go to the village entrance convenience store to buy some snacks to eat as breakfast, and then she continued lying there.

Unknowingly she lay there until past eight o'clock, the pain in her waist still hadn't improved much.

Her whole person was drowsy, muddleheaded.

No good, she couldn't hold on anymore, looks like she has to go find Doctor Zhong for an IV drip again.