Chapter 67: The Winter Plum Blossoms

On the afternoon of New Year's Eve, Li Ye went to the Second Grain Store to pick up Watching Wen Leyu and the others.

Hu Man and several other girls had already come over yesterday to keep Watching Wen Leyu company, so Li Ye told them to go to the warm Second Grain Store during the day to study and cook, and return to the school dormitory to sleep at night.

When they arrived at the Second Grain Store, Han Xia and the others were quite generous and had no resistance to going to Li Ye's house for the New Year. It was the "main character," Watching Wen Leyu, who was a bit shy and couldn't let go.

The bold Han Xia immediately teased, "Oh, the ugly daughter-in-law is afraid to meet her parents-in-law. Watching Wen Leyu, you're so beautiful, what are you afraid of?"

"Hahahaha~"

Han Xia and Hu Man both laughed, only Jiang Xiaoyan said anxiously, "Don't talk nonsense, it's not good if people hear you."

Han Xia and Hu Man were a bit embarrassed and hurriedly explained sheepishly, "Just joking, don't take it seriously."

But Watching Wen Leyu, who had been a bit shy, instantly became "aloof."

She glanced coldly at Han Xia, spread her two long legs, and followed Li Ye.

After arriving at the Li house, Watching Wen Leyu changed her previous "aloof" posture, greeting everyone very generously and helping to wrap dumplings and do chores very efficiently.

"So she can cook too!"

Han Xia and the others were very surprised. The impression Watching Wen Leyu had given them was always that she was not very down-to-earth, with a bit of an otherworldly flavor.

But looking at her now, the little girl was actually quite capable!

The Li family suddenly had four more girls, and Li Ye's grandmother was very happy, directing them to do this and that while whispering to the old man.

"Look at that one, her butt is big enough, her chest is broad and her waist is long; she's definitely good at bearing children."

"And that one, look at how efficiently she works; she's definitely a good hand at managing a household."

"........"

"Sigh, our Xiao Ye, why did he take a fancy to that skinny girl! Look at her, doing chores like she's dancing... not as good as that little girl chopping the filling."

"You don't know anything! Stop nagging. What if your grandson hears you? See how you'll clean up that mess."

"My grandson... I can't even handle him?"

Li Zhongfa's words made Grandma Wu Juying very unhappy, but just as Li Ye looked over, Wu Juying's second half of the sentence instantly withered away.

Now, she truly considered this eldest grandson of hers a treasure.

He was handsome and could earn money. He bought wool coats for dozens of yuan without blinking, and wouldn't take no for an answer. She was counting on this grandson to be filial for the next few decades!

Although she didn't find Watching Wen Leyu very pleasing to the eye, as long as Li Ye was willing, she would recognize this granddaughter-in-law with a smile and would never make things difficult for Li Ye.

However, she certainly couldn't have imagined that Watching Wen Leyu, who she thought was inferior to Jiang Xiaoyan, was an astonishing "treasure girl" in Li Ye's eyes.

People from two different eras have different perspectives on girls.

The "good girl" in Wu Juying's mind was someone like Jiang Xiaoyan, who could chop meat filling with two kitchen knives, "Clang, clang, clang," making the cutting board shake.

But in Li Ye's eyes, the elegance that was present in every moment was what was truly captivating.

Watching Wen Leyu, even when cooking, had an implicit elegance.

This was absolutely not her deliberately putting on an act, but rather habits formed by small, subtle details.

For example, when she squatted down to wash vegetables with several classmates, Han Xia and the others were as comfortable as they could be, with their legs spread wide like they were squatting in a horse stance.

Watching Wen Leyu, however, would habitually restrain herself; her butt would absolutely not stick out, and her feet would not point outward like Donald Duck.

Li Ye had seen women in movies before who could be elegant even while cooking.

For example, Jolie in *Mr. & Mrs. Smith*, the moment she poured milk in the kitchen after the gunfight, truly had a charm that could captivate all living beings.

But Li Ye had always believed that those were performances, movies.

But now, seeing Watching Wen Leyu, Li Ye finally believed that such people existed in reality.

Li Ye recalled Teacher Ke's aura and temperament and finally understood the meaning of "being influenced by what one sees and hears."

Having followed Teacher Ke since she was small, every move she made was natural.

The "lack of efficiency" in Grandma Wu Juying's eyes was Watching Wen Leyu's natural expression, like a crane strolling in the water; every movement and stillness was her elegant nature.

The Li family's New Year's Eve dinner had dumplings as the staple food, along with several meat dishes, which was already very sumptuous for an ordinary family in this era.

Under the warm hospitality of Li Zhongfa and Wu Juying, several female classmates ate until their bellies were round.

Then the men drank, the women played a little cards, and at around nine o'clock, Wu Juying called Li Yue over.

"I'm worried about the children living at school. You accompany them and stay there for a day. Bring the alarm clock, and bring them over at four tomorrow morning to go with Xiao Ye to pay respects to the Old Huaiye Tree."

"What?"

Li Ye was serving tea and water to the two men drinking in the outer room and didn't hear anything else, only that they had to get up at four in the morning.

Grandma said in the inner room, "What what what? Get up early tomorrow and go with me to pay respects to the Old Huaiye Tree, to bless you to become a top scholar in the high school entrance exam next year."

Li Ye understood.

The Old Huaiye Tree was an ancient locust tree in the old city area north of Qingshui County. No one knew how many years it had lived; it had been there since his grandfather's grandfather's grandfather's time.

Over the years, it had been passed down by word of mouth and had become associated with the old locust tree in *The Heavenly Match*, and was highly revered by the locals. Every year during the New Year, there were many people rushing to burn incense and kowtow.

Li Ye said with a wry smile, "Grandma, my grandfather and my father are both Party members. Are you engaging in feudal superstition here?"

"........."

The room was quiet for a second, and then a handful of peanuts was thrown out from the inner room, scattering on the wine table in front of the three men.

"You little brat, talking nonsense, and feudal superstition... You go out to the courtyard and kneel!"

Grandma, who had always been obedient to Li Ye, actually flew into a rage, scaring Li Ye into fleeing with his head in his hands.

Of course, kneeling outside was impossible; he was just avoiding the storm.

However, immediately after, Grandfather Li Zhongfa came out.

He took out a cigarette case and actually handed Li Ye one.

Li Ye didn't dare to take it. What was this about?

Li Zhongfa lit his own, took two puffs, and looked at the boundless dark night, speaking faintly.

"That year, our small team was responsible for covering the retreat and blocking the enemy. We were scattered, and after breaking through the encirclement, only a dozen people were left..."

"In that kind of environment, we could only survive if we caught up with the main force... We got lost and walked to a fork in the road..."

"No one knew which way to go, so I said we should listen to the Old Huaiye Tree... A fellow villager kicked me and cursed me..."

"None of us would submit to the other, so we parted ways. I took a brother and walked the road on the right, and they went to the left."

Li Zhongfa's eyes turned red, and his voice changed: "Later, the two of us survived, and they... didn't come back."

Li Ye swallowed his saliva and said nothing more.

It was clearly a coincidence, but because of certain reasons, it had caused Li Zhongfa to feel awe.

As Li Zhongfa's grandson, he should be smart and not look for trouble.

Late at night, after Li Ye set off firecrackers on behalf of the Li family's men, he took his sister Li Yue, Hu Man, and other classmates back to school.

Li Yue was a few years older and had been working for a year, so she was very lively in her speech and actions and soon hit it off with Hu Man and the others.

As they walked, Li Yue led Hu Man, Han Xia, and the others to the front, leaving space for her younger brother and Watching Wen Leyu to whisper to each other.

Because she noticed that Watching Wen Leyu's mood was obviously a bit low after late night.

Li Ye also noticed and asked her softly, "Missing your mom?"

Watching Wen Leyu nodded as she walked.

The communication conditions in '81 were truly too backward.

Since the day Teacher Ke went to the capital and sent a telegram to Li Ye and the others, there had been no contact.

On New Year's Eve, being separated for the first time from the mother she depended on for survival, Watching Wen Leyu couldn't feel good in her heart.

For this kind of thing, Li Ye could only try his best to guide her: "Don't worry! Teacher Ke isn't a child; she'll be fine."

Watching Wen Leyu nodded gently again and said, "I'm not a child either."

The two walked forward in silence. When they reached a low wall, they suddenly smelled a faint but refreshing fragrance.

Li Ye stopped and asked Watching Wen Leyu, "Did you smell it?"

Watching Wen Leyu's little nose twitched twice and said, "It's the fragrance of plum blossoms."

Li Ye pointed to the low wall and said, "Although we can't see that plum tree because of this wall, it... has already bloomed."

Watching Wen Leyu was dazed, and only after a moment did she understand.

She smiled at Li Ye and suddenly held his sleeve.

"You want to tell me that the flowers have bloomed and spring is not far away, right!"

"No need to comfort me so deliberately; I'm actually very strong."

Li Ye: "........."

At the end of '81, the winter plum blossoms bloomed.

Some people are actually even more tenacious and elegant than winter plum blossoms. ===== CHAPTER 68 =====