Struggle Life in the 1970s

After saying that, she turned around and continued to make her bed, leaving only the sound of her footsteps making a "pa pa" sound.

After she made the bed, the box of biscuits was nowhere to be seen. She took her things and went out to wash up, then turned off the dormitory light and lay down on the bed.

Qiao Mingzhu lived up to her title of young lady. She brought an electric fan in her luggage. In the dark dormitory, the fan blades were whirring, bringing cool breeze. Chu Ye couldn't sleep for a while, and his thoughts were wandering.

Now she has completely ended her student life and has a stable job. Apart from severing ties with her family, she has truly taken a different path from her previous life through her own efforts.

She also changed the fate of some people intentionally or unintentionally. Sister Nianci gave birth to a child safely and found a job as a teacher in the village. Her third sister Chuhua also found the meaning of life and was not trapped in the nightmare of giving birth to a son for the rest of her life.

She has a group of lively and sincere friends like Zhao Yue, and also has someone who holds her in the palm of his hand.

Thinking of Mu Jiajun, when he sent her to the school gate in the evening, he said that he would take a bus home the next morning and would not be able to accompany her for some time in the future.

After Chu Ye reminded him to be careful, Mu Jiajun couldn't help but hold her in his arms. He also said that he wanted to marry Chu Ye as soon as possible so that they wouldn't have to travel back and forth between the two places.

This was not the first time he had said such words. One day in the summer, the two of them were sitting in the shade of the yard when Mu Jiajun expressed such emotion. Chu Ye thought about it at that time and did not agree immediately. Although they were both old enough to get a marriage certificate, she was a teacher and Mu Jiajun was still a junior student. It felt weird to say it out loud.

But deep down in her heart, she is not opposed to being with Mu Jiajun. Mu Jiajun is a very good person. Under his influence, she is also developing in a better direction. Now everything is just the way she likes.

The next morning, after Chu Ye washed up, she planned to go out for dinner. Before leaving, she asked a few more questions. This time, Qiao Mingzhu learned her lesson and stopped going hungry. She followed Chu Ye to the town.

When the two came back from dinner, they saw a lot of luggage piled up at the school gate. These were teachers assigned from other schools. The security guard was checking their identities and only opened the school gate after confirmation.

Chu Ye and Qiao Mingzhu were not the kind of people who liked to meddle in other people’s business. They just glanced at the number of people and went back to the dormitory.

In the afternoon, there were sounds of people walking around in the dormitory corridor, and new and old teachers came back with their luggage one after another.

In the evening, the school cafeteria started to light a fire and cook, and the two of them finally didn't have to run out to buy food anymore.

The next morning, the school held a meeting for all teachers, which was also a welcome ceremony for the new teachers.

After the meeting, the school arranged the teachers’ teaching work for the new year. Since these new teachers had already done internships and had certain teaching experience, they were directly assigned to their posts.

Chu Ye still teaches English to the third graders, while Qiao Mingzhu teaches art to the fourth and fifth graders.

Time passed like flowing water, and a semester passed without incident. Chu Ye became more and more adept at teaching English. In just half a year, the English level of their class was ahead of the primary schools in the surrounding towns. There were even teachers from other schools who came to audit Chu Ye's classes.

Her relationship with Qiao Mingzhu also became much closer, although Miss Qiao still often acted stubborn.

This winter vacation, she still rented a house from the landlord couple, and still went to her third sister's house with gifts before the New Year.

After not seeing her for a year, Gaoxing had grown a lot taller. When he saw her, he ran over quickly, hugged her and called her "Auntie".

When Chu Hua went home for the Chinese New Year last year, she already knew what was happening at home. She felt mixed emotions about her parents' actions and didn't know what to say.

Chu Ye stayed for one night and then left. Before she left, Chu Hua called her, "Little sister, are you determined not to go home?"

Chu Ye lowered his eyes, concealed the expression in his eyes, and just nodded silently.

Seeing that she was still stubborn, Chu Hua sighed, "I know that my parents didn't do the right thing and shouldn't treat you like that, but I also thought that you would definitely find someone to marry in the next few years, and both sets of parents would have to meet. If you are bullied, we can support you here."

Support? Chu Ye was tired of hearing these two words. She knew Chu Hua had good intentions, but she was living a good life now, and she didn't want to go back to that home at all.

She said in a cold tone, "Third sister, if you really love me, don't tell me this kind of thing in the future. If there is really a day to talk about marriage, I will not bring him back to meet my parents."

If it was Mu Jiajun, then she wouldn't worry at all. He knew exactly what she looked like and what her family was like.

Ignoring Chu Hua's sighs behind her, she pushed the door and left.

This year's New Year's Eve and New Year were just like previous years, and Mu Jiajun came specially to accompany her.

After the winter vacation, she moved back to school, but her roommate, Qiao Mingzhu, seemed a little different.

Chu Ye noticed that she started to receive letters more frequently this semester, and Qiao Mingzhu's initial calmness when receiving the letters gradually turned into anticipation.

She also often took Chu Ye to the guard room after dinner to ask the old man if he had any letters for her.

Chu Ye guessed that she must be dating someone.

So when she was so happy after reading the letter, Chu Ye asked curiously, "Mingzhu, do you have any happy events recently?"

Qiao Mingzhu kept smiling, but she denied it, "No way, don't talk nonsense."

"Your eyebrows are almost flying to the sky after receiving the letter, and you still say no?" Chu Ye mercilessly exposed her lies. Mingzhu was not angry, she turned her head and looked at Chu Ye, "Ah, this matter has not been finalized yet, I have to investigate it again, I can't just agree to him casually."

This sentence was almost an admission, and Chu Ye became even more curious, "So there really is something going on. Tell me, how did you two know each other? This hadn't happened when you went back years ago."

"I'm still observing him. He's not my match yet." Mingzhu's eyes were delicate and a blush ran down her cheeks.

"It was during the winter vacation. I had a lot of luggage when I went home, and I didn't hold it firmly when I got off the car, so my things scattered all over the floor. He happened to be next to me, so he helped me pick up all my things." Mingzhu looked nostalgic, as if she was remembering the scene again.

"That's it? You like me just because I help you pick up things?" Chu Ye raised his voice, feeling unbelievable.

"No way!" Mingzhu retorted immediately, "I wouldn't be so casual."

Mingzhu glared at me, "I haven't finished yet."

"Originally my brother said he would come to pick me up, but I waited for a long time and he didn't show up. That's when the man asked me where I was going, so I told him. Unexpectedly, he said it was on his way and took me home."

"I thought it was nothing, but when I came back from winter vacation, I ran into him again. He recognized me right away and invited me to dinner and helped me carry my luggage. We exchanged contact information before I left, and he told me I could contact him if I had any problems at school and he would do his best to help."

"I thought there was nothing I needed help with, so I ignored him. But he kept sending me letters, and gradually I found him to be quite interesting." At the end, Mingzhu's face showed a hint of sweetness again.

Chu Ye was stunned and felt that her acquaintance process was rather hasty. However, seeing Mingzhu's happy face, she felt that love was something that no one could predict, and it was like drinking water, so it was not easy to say much.

She nodded and said no more, but Mingzhu looked at her with hesitation, as if she was struggling.

"What's wrong?" Chu Ye asked.

"You may know this person." Mingzhu said in an inexplicable tone.

"Who? I don't know many boys of my age. Tell me his name so I can see if I know him." Chu Ye was aroused by these words.

Mingzhu rolled her eyes and said, "Then I won't tell you yet. He said in the letter that he would come to see me at school next week. You will know when you see him then."

"That's fine." Chu Ye nodded lightly.

A week passed quickly. On Saturday, after breakfast, Mingzhu sat in the dormitory and applied makeup on her face, asking Chu Ye to watch and give her advice.

Unlike Chu Ye, Mingzhu has sharp eyebrows and eyes, especially her eyes, which have upturned corners, making people think they have done something wrong.

She knew this herself, so she deliberately applied a thin layer of blush on her cheeks to make herself look less fierce.

After finishing her makeup, she started to pick out clothes and change her shoes. After everything was packed, the security guard came to the dormitory door, knocked and said that someone outside the school was looking for her.

Mingzhu's joy was written all over her face. She pulled Chu Ye out like a joyful bird. Chu Ye was also infected by her mood and accompanied her with a smile.

When I was almost at the door, I saw a man on the other side of the fence. He was dressed neatly, with a layer of hair wax on his head, and he was holding a small gift in his hand.

Seeing the pearl, the man's eyes lit up, and he walked forward quickly, handing over the things in his hand, "Miss Qiao, this is the pearl cream I gave you, I hope you can accept it."

Mingzhu's face flushed, and she looked like a completely different person. She accepted it and thanked him softly, then wanted to introduce Chu Ye who was beside her to him.

Just at this moment, the man shifted his gaze and fell on Chu Ye with joy. Then his whole body stiffened and he almost fell.

Mingzhu lowered her head, not noticing anything unusual, and said with joy, "This is my roommate, her name is Chu Ye, she's my friend."

Friends, it is not easy for Mingzhu to say these two words. Chu Ye thought about it in her mind and looked at the man in front of her. She remembered what Mingzhu said before.

Maybe we'll get to know each other?
That was very familiar. Wasn't the person in front of her Zhou Wenlong who had once spread obscene rumors about her?

I thought that after he left the school quietly that day, we would never meet again, but I didn't expect that the world would be so coincidental that he would appear right in front of me.

Zhou Wenlong looked at Chu Ye's sneering eyes and felt as if the air was sucked out of him. His limbs were stiff and even his heart couldn't beat. Everything in front of his eyes was dark and he didn't hear Mingzhu calling him.

"I, I, I suddenly remembered that I have something to do. Bye!" Mingzhu called him three times but there was no response. Finally, she raised her hand to touch him, but he jumped back suddenly as if he was electrocuted. He looked at the two of them as if he was looking at a flood or a beast. Finally, he couldn't bear it anymore, and ran away after saying a word.

"Hey, why are you running?" Mingzhu was stunned. After she came to her senses, she wanted to chase him, but was held tightly by Chu Ye who was standing beside her.

"Don't chase him. I know why he ran."

(End of this chapter)