Struggle Life in the 1970s

The ox cart stopped, and the breeze blew up Chu Ye's hair, covering the unclear look in her eyes. I thought that what Chu's father said to the matchmaker that day was clear enough, but I didn't expect Zhao Xuesong to chase her relentlessly and even blocked her at the entrance of the village.

Zhao Xuesong walked forward and pushed the bouquet in his hand forward with a sincere and enthusiastic look on his face.

"Hello, Comrade Chu Ye! I am Zhao Xuesong. These are the flowers I picked for you. I give them to you! I hope you like them."

The matchmaker at the side smiled widely and quickly stepped out to speak, "Oh, this was made by Xuesong standing in the sun for an hour. This is such a thoughtful gesture from him, it's really something!"

The matchmaker's words were full of smiles, and he continued, "Xue Song really likes you. He went to your house just after noon today, but you went to the city in the morning. Xue Song was reluctant to leave and insisted on waiting for you at the village entrance."

The bouquet of flowers trembled slightly in the wind, and the fragrance rushed into Chu Ye's nose, making her more awake.

One man's honey is another man's sweetness.

What seems like a happy and beautiful love to outsiders is a horrible and hopeless marriage to Chu Ye.

In her previous life, she was immersed in it and could not see through the twists and turns. But now she sees it clearly. If Zhao Xuesong really liked her, why would he block the entrance of the village to give her flowers? Isn't this just letting other people know about it and deliberately ruining her reputation?
Nowadays, people are very reserved in expressing their love. Not to mention pursuing someone, even if two people become boyfriend and girlfriend and are in a relationship, they are very shy and would never make a big fuss to let everyone know.

He did it on purpose! He wanted to let everyone in the village know that he was pursuing Chu Ye, so that others would not dare to approach him, and finally force Chu Ye to agree to him.

She would never jump into the fire again.

Chu Ye's face turned cold. She just glanced at the bouquet and didn't take it. She said loudly, "Thank you, but I don't like it. I don't want to know you either. Don't come to see me in the future."

She urged Brother Jianwen to leave quickly without even glancing at him, so naturally she didn't notice that Zhao Xuesong's interested eyes were like a leech attached to her, staring at her until she could no longer see him.

Originally thought that the matter was over, but unexpectedly the next day rumors began to spread in the village. It started from Zhao Xuesong sending flowers at the entrance of the village, and gradually evolved into that she and Zhao Xuesong seemed to be quite a match.

Chu Ye was so annoyed at one point that even when he went to work in the fields, he would receive looks of amazement from others.

In this conservative era, such an blatant display of affection is enough for them to talk about for a long time.

She had no intention of paying attention to it. The more she tried to explain this kind of thing, the more people would question her endlessly. Even if it was nothing, it could be misinterpreted to mean something else.

She just wanted to study hard, get into a technical secondary school, and then she could get away from here.

However, things did not go as she wished. What she did not expect was that Zhao Xuesong came to her again.

It was dusk one day. The Chu family had worked in the fields all day and walked back home tiredly. What greeted them was a 28-inch bicycle leisurely approaching from a distance.

The man stopped in front of the crowd, braked handsomely, then took a piece of cloth from the back seat, handed it over, and said enthusiastically, "Hello, Uncle Chu, Aunt Chu, I'm Xiao Zhao who came to our house a few days ago. I don't have any other intentions, I just want to get to know Chu Ye."

"This piece of cloth was newly purchased by the department store. Many people tried to buy it but failed. It is very popular in the city. My family happened to get one, so I specially gave it to you two so that you can make some clothes to wear."

Zhao Xuesong was warm and friendly, and he made the two elders happy with just a few words, especially Chu's mother. Looking at the cloth glowing in the setting sun, she felt her heart moved.

Father Chu was also happy. He had been doing farm work all his life and had never been praised like this. This made him feel extremely satisfied. He put down his pipe and was about to take it.

But I heard someone next to me, "Hey - this cloth is not as good as you said. I went to the city two days ago, and the salesperson said that this kind of cloth only looks good, but it is not wear-resistant. It will fall apart after a few days of wearing."

Chu Ye's eyes fell on the cloth, full of contempt, as if blaming him for giving him such a low-quality gift.

With just one sentence, Chu's father and mother regained their sanity, and Chu's father withdrew his hand.

Zhao Xuesong was not annoyed when hearing such a humble remark. Instead, he smiled and said, "You may have misunderstood what the salesperson meant. This kind of cloth is fashionable and is only worn for big occasions. You don't wear it when you are working."

Chu Ye certainly didn’t care whether a piece of cloth was really comfortable to wear or not. She just spoke to remind the old couple of what she had said before: Zhao Xuesong would not be good to his family in the future.

Chu's father obviously thought of this. He had been a farmer all his life, and all he did was work in the fields. So giving him this cloth would be of no use at all to him. He obviously lost his happy mood.

He picked up his pipe again and said, "Xiao Zhao, we appreciate your kindness. But I still say that you young people should solve your own problems. We can't interfere."

Chu's mother still couldn't bear to part with it. If she made clothes out of this cloth and wore them, other people would envy her so much. But she couldn't make the decision in this family, so she didn't dare to speak.

"Mom, I can buy better cloth in the future and make clothes for you. Dad, you two can go inside first."

After sending the two into the house, Chu Ye came to the gate of the courtyard again. She turned cold and said solemnly, "Comrade Zhao, I don't have any intention of getting to know you. Please don't come to me again. This will make everyone unhappy. I hope you respect yourself." In her previous life, she was blind and married Zhao Xuesong. After marriage, they tortured each other and Zhao Xuesong died in her hands. In the few days after she was reborn, she decided that she would never have anything to do with Zhao Xuesong in this life.

What happened in the previous life is in the past. She doesn't want to care about it anymore, whether it's love or hate. She just wants to live a good life.

After she finished speaking, she saw the smile on Zhao Xuesong's face fade, and his originally playful eyes were filled with gloom. He patted the cloth in his hand, looked up again, and his whole temperament changed.

He said, "Wife, how does it feel to have killed me in your previous life?"

This one sentence made Chu Ye's scalp numb and his throat dry. His feet seemed to be nailed to the spot. The air gradually became thinner and his heart seemed to be tightly grasped by a big hand.

She stared in disbelief, her brain seemed to be unable to react. The next second, she turned around and tried to run, but Zhao Xuesong quickly blocked her way. He grabbed Chu Ye's braid with one hand, and then pulled it hard, and Chu Ye staggered into his arms.

Zhao Xuesong let the cloth in his hand fall to the ground. He said, "I was not sure at first. I went to the village entrance to block you that day. I didn't expect you to react so strongly. At that time, I was sure that you had returned."

"What? You don't want to be the daughter-in-law of my Zhao family in this life?" He sneered, "It's not up to you, Chu Ye."

Yes, since her rebirth, she has been thinking about her future path and never thought that Zhao Xuesong would also be reborn.

The man in front of him showed a mocking smile, like a cat playing with a mouse. He stroked Chu Ye's cheek and ignored Chu Ye's struggle. He said, "Wife, we were married for too long in the last life. I almost forgot how beautiful you were when you were young."

His hand slid to his chin, and then he pinched it hard. "I heard from the matchmaker that you saved someone by the river a while ago, and you were well-received in the village. So, are you using your memories from your past life to do good deeds?"

Without waiting for Chu Ye to answer, he continued to talk to himself, "How about this, you marry me and continue to do what you want to do, I have no objection, how about it?"

"And then I make money so you can continue drinking and playing cards!" Chu Ye was almost disgusted by his shameless remarks. She was extremely angry, but she didn't dare to shout for help. She was afraid that if someone came and saw it, Zhao Xuesong would exaggerate and describe their relationship, which would be really hard to explain.

She struggled, but Zhao Xuesong held her tighter. Zhao Xuesong showed a fierce look on his face, then he thought of something and smiled triumphantly, "It won't happen this time. God let me be reborn because he saw that I am a talent and let me start over. Now I can do big things ahead of time and make a lot of money!"

"You're dreaming! You're a bad guy! You'll never succeed in your life!" Chu Ye said, and bit Zhao Xuesong's hand. Seeing him let go in pain, she quickly ran away two steps.

Zhao Xuesong's face turned cold, and he immediately swung his hand to slap. Chu Ye wanted to dodge, but he caught a glimpse of someone behind Zhao Xuesong.

She stood straight and took the slap.

"Snapped!"

The severe pain on her face made her eyes well up with tears unconsciously. She didn't bother to wipe them away. She raised her finger and pointed at Zhao Xuesong, sternly accusing him, "Comrade Zhao! You can't hit me just because I rejected you!"

Someone nearby heard the noise and opened the door. The man behind Zhao Xuesong also walked closer. It was Mu Zhiqing.

Zhao Xuesong was stunned by the sudden accusation, but Chu Ye did not give him a chance to react. She continued, "Yes! Your family is rich and powerful! But I don't like you. I told you not to come to me in the future, and you just hit me!"

The neighbors just came out and heard Chu Ye's scolding. Chu Ye saw her parents also came out, she let the tears flow down her eyes, cried loudly and ran to Chu's mother's arms.

"Dad! Mom! I was just talking to him nicely, but Comrade Zhao slapped me in the face and said that if I didn't get along with him, he would continue to beat me and ruin my reputation!"

The people who had gathered around heard this and instantly became angry! Aunt Wang from next door was the first to open fire.

"You are worse than an animal! Bah! Why don't you take a piss and look at yourself before you dare to run wild in our village? You are tired of living!"

Aunt Wang rolled up her sleeves, walked over angrily, pointed at Zhao Xuesong's nose and started scolding him.

Others also gathered around and accusations continued.

Chu Ye cried to her neighbors, "Please help me. He stopped me at the entrance of the village a few days ago, and I rejected him directly. I also told him not to come to me in the future. Brother Jianwen was there at the time. But today he came to my house again. I didn't say a word, and he started beating me."

The slap marks on her face were swollen, and her originally fair face was completely red. Anyone who saw it could tell how heavy the blow was.

In an instant, the crowd was outraged.

(End of this chapter)