Struggle Life in the 1970s

For Chu Ye, the past six months of study and life have passed very quickly.

The school started paying out living allowances two weeks after the start of the semester. It was 12.60 yuan a month, not much, but enough for her monthly food and drink.

She did not touch the money given by Mu Jiajun, and planned to bring it back to return to him when she went home for the holidays.

Over the past few months, Chu Ye's relationship with the three roommates in the dormitory has become increasingly harmonious. She has also devoted more energy to studying. In the exams organized by the school, she has always been ranked first.

A few days ago, on New Year’s Day, the school had a three-day holiday. Although it was a holiday, most students’ homes were in remote areas, and it was extremely troublesome to travel back and forth, so most students chose to spend it in school.

The school also understood the students' feelings and bought red paper, cut some festive patterns, and pasted them in every classroom. On New Year's Day, lunch in the cafeteria also became meat dumplings, each of which was hand-made.

The tanned skin that Chu Ye had gotten while working in the summer gradually faded, revealing her original fair complexion. This change made her classmates look at her with new eyes, and people from other classes also gradually noticed this girl who was good at studying and good-looking.

There were also some male classmates who were secretly nice to Chu Ye, but she rejected them all in time. The marital suffering that Zhao Xuesong had brought her in her previous life was still fresh in her mind, and now she just wanted to live her own life well.

As for the matter of a partner, she is not in a hurry at the moment. Even if she wants to find one, she wants to find someone who understands her and suits her wishes. The figure of Mu Jiajun suddenly flashed through her mind, and then she quickly shook her head.

Not all good things happened in the past six months at school. For example, as she began to stand out, she was soon targeted by Qiao Mingzhu. Qiao Mingzhu also recognized that Chu Ye was the person who had rudely confronted her during dinner that day.

Therefore, Qiao Mingzhu was dissatisfied with everything about her and would criticize her whenever she got the chance. However, Chu Ye would not tolerate her and would immediately fight back whenever this happened.

In addition, Zhao Yue and the others did not indulge Qiao Mingzhu. The three of them had no worse family backgrounds than hers, and whenever something happened, they would directly help Chu Ye to fight back. Gradually, Qiao Mingzhu did not get any benefits, and her temper as a spoiled daughter was fully revealed.

The school's mid-term exam results came out yesterday. Because there are not many students in a grade in the school, the teachers worked overtime after the exam the day before yesterday to get the results. Chu Ye once again firmly took first place in the grade and was awarded a certificate.

Early this morning, Chu Ye simply packed two sets of clothes, wrapped them into a small package with cloth, and went to the school gate to wait for the bus. Qin Manwen and Leng Zhuojun lived nearby, so they packed up and went back last night.

Originally, there were only her and Zhao Yue left, but Zhao Yue said her brother would come to the school to pick her up later, so she was left here alone waiting for the bus.

The temperature is low in winter now. Chu Ye was stamping his feet in his cotton jacket. Fortunately, a car came quickly. Chu Ye waved to stop the car. There were about ten people in the car.

Chu Ye didn't have much luggage this time, so he didn't load it on the roof. Instead, he placed it on the storage rack above the seat. Chu Ye found a seat by the window in the back and looked up to see the glass window covered with white mist.

This time the ticket seller was replaced by a new person. After paying for the ticket, Chu Ye raised his hand and used his sleeve to wipe a small blank spot on the glass. Then he leaned back in his seat and looked at the scenery outside the window.

Life at school in the past six months was so wonderful that she rarely felt homesick.

Whenever they chatted in the evening, when the other three talked about their families, Chu Ye would always remain silent.

She didn't know how to start the conversation. If she hadn't been reborn this time, she would have been labeled as Zhao Xuesong's girlfriend. In a few months, she would have agreed to Zhao Xuesong's proposal and agreed to marry into Zhaojia Village.

If she hadn't been reborn this time, she would have returned to her old ways in a few years and collapsed in despair amidst the endless torture of life.

But God gave her a new life, and she successfully walked out of the mountains. Now she is admitted to school and has seen the outside world.

In this case, she would never repeat her previous fate.

The bus is more comfortable to ride in winter than in summer. I still remember that when I came to school, staying in the bus was like living on a hot pot. Now the weather is cold and the water outside is freezing, but this bus is full of people and it is so warm that it makes people want to sleep.

Thinking of this, Chu Ye also fell asleep. It was not until the conductor shouted that they had arrived at the station that Chu Ye woke up. She looked up and saw several people on the bus who were sleeping like her. She rubbed her eyes and walked towards the door with her luggage.

As soon as he reached the car door, the cold wind howled outside, and the gusts of cold wind mixed with tiny ice particles blew in his face, sweeping away his original sleepiness. Chu Ye shivered with cold and subconsciously tightened his collar.

The car was still parked near the state-owned restaurant. As the Chinese New Year was approaching, there were more vendors on both sides of the road, selling roasted sweet potatoes, popcorn, eggs and pork. The road was bustling with people coming and going.

Chu Ye found a restaurant and ate a bowl of the most ordinary noodles. Then he took his luggage and strolled around the street. After buying a few things, he took the bus back to the village.

This time she didn't contact Brother Jianwen in advance when she came back, mainly because it was near the end of the year and she didn't want to delay others because of her own affairs. Just now, she found a person who specialized in delivering goods on the roadside and took advantage of the person's ox cart to go home.

The tiny ice particles in the air turned into soft snowflakes. They were originally floating down one by one, but in the blink of an eye, they turned into silver frost covering the ground. The driver was anxious and urged the ox to speed up. When the flowers and plants on the roadside were covered with a finger-thick layer of frost and snow, the ox stopped at the entrance of the village with heavy hooves.

Chu Ye got off the ox cart, lowered her head and rummaged through her pockets to take out money, but she heard a clear male voice calling her name from behind. Chu Ye turned around in surprise and met a pair of gray-blue eyes. It was Mu Jiajun.

Winter nights come early, and it was snowing today, so the weather was very gloomy. Amidst the snow, Mu Jiajun walked out from beside the tree, holding a bag in his hand. Probably because he was wearing thick clothes in winter, he looked tall, and there was a sense of oppression when he walked over.

However, this feeling of discomfort disappeared when he approached. Mu Jiajun's eyes curved, a smile appeared on the corners of his lips again, and he reached out and took Chu Ye's luggage.

Chu Ye was a little dazed by his appearance. At this moment, her hands were empty and cold wind blew into her palms. She opened her mouth, but her brain was empty mechanically. She suddenly didn't know what to say, but subconsciously took out three cents from her pocket and handed it to the coachman.

The sound of the cattle's hooves gradually disappeared, and the footprints on the road were soon covered by snow. Chu Ye finally found her voice. She looked up at Mu Jiajun and asked the question that puzzled her the most, "Why are you here?"

Are you waiting for me on purpose? This narcissistic thought flashed through her mind, but she didn't dare to ask.

Mu Jiajun smiled and motioned for her to walk away, saying, "I was originally waiting for the postman to deliver something, and then I thought you might come back today, so I decided to wait here to see if I could see you."

After saying that, he raised the bag in his hand, as if to prove that he was not lying.

Amid the flying snowflakes, Chu Ye was dazzled by the smile on his face. Her heart began to beat unnaturally and her cheeks felt a little hot. She lowered her head, not daring to look him in the face.

She had been married and had children in her previous life, so there was nothing she hadn't seen or known. But at this moment, her heart was still beating fast, and a strange kind of heartbeat that belonged to a young girl suddenly appeared.

"Well, that's good. I happen to have a day off today and go home." After Chu Ye calmed down, he lowered his head and replied.

Suddenly, a pair of big hands came around her head, and then a red plush scarf fell on her neck. The originally exposed skin was covered with warmth. Mu Jiajun was very close to her, and Chu Ye could even smell the faint scent of soapberry on him.

She subconsciously took a step back and distanced herself uncomfortably.

However, the big hands had already left before she withdrew them. Mu Jiajun seemed not to realize anything. He half bent over and looked at her at eye level.

Chu Ye saw her own appearance in his gray-blue eyes. Her originally fair skin looked even whiter because of the scarf around her neck. The scarf was so large that it covered the lower half of her face, leaving only a pair of black eyes exposed.

The little girl's eyelashes drooped slightly, and her eyes moved around uncomfortably, but not on herself, like a little fox.

Mu Jiajun curved his eyes, and reached out his hand to pat her head twice, "This scarf is a New Year's gift for you. It's just right to wear on this snowy day."

After saying that, he turned around and continued walking forward. The ground was already covered with a layer of white snow. Mu Jiajun walked in front, leaving a footprint with every step. He held the two people's things in his hands. His tall figure seemed like a solid iron gate. Chu Ye walked behind him, and the wind and snow seemed to be taken away by him.

"How have you been in school over the past six months? Are you getting along well with your classmates?" Mu Jiajun didn't turn around, but his questions were still full of concern.

"It's pretty good. My roommates are kind and treat me very well." Chu Ye spoke the truth. As Mu Jiajun became more concerned, Chu Ye gradually opened up. It was as if the two of them were back in the early days of tutoring. Unconsciously, the unfamiliarity of more than half a year disappeared completely.

The two chatted as they walked along the winding dirt road, and the end of the road was the Chu family's yard.

Probably because of the snow, the people in the village went home early to keep warm, and they didn't meet many people along the way. The warm yellow light had already been on in the Chu family's house. Mu Jiajun sent the people to the door, returned the luggage to Chu Ye, and turned to leave after giving some instructions. Unexpectedly, his clothes were pulled.

"This is the money you gave me before. I didn't use it after I went to school, so I wanted to return it to you." Chu Ye loosened his grip, with a few bills of cash in his other hand.

Mu Jiajun lowered his eyes. He looked carefully and saw that the money was the same one he had given before. There was no difference at all.

"Okay." He stretched out his hand, and his bony fingers swept across Chu Ye's palm. She felt her palm itchy for some reason, and she suppressed the movement of retracting her hand and pretended nothing had happened.

"Then I'm leaving, cousin." Mu Jiajun waved his hand, turned and walked into the wind and snow. His words drifted in the wind and fell into Chu Ye's ears.

(End of this chapter)