Back to my 1980s

After lunch, Zhao Ru and I calculated the money we made from selling fish that morning. It was over thirty yuan, which made up for all the money we spent that morning, and we even made a profit.

After settling the accounts, Zhao Hua went to find the tractor and explained the work to be done that day to the tractor driver.

The tractor driver was overjoyed. Driving yellow sand was a short trip, just within the village, but even that one trip would earn him a dollar. Adding in the quicklime, he could easily earn 15 dollars a day.

His tractor is registered under the collective's name, so the diesel fuel is half the price of what it costs outside. After several trips, it only cost him a little over one yuan, and the rest is all his own.

Zhao Hua urged him to finish his meal and go to the educated youth settlement to wait. He didn't stay long and ran back to the settlement. He had to go; the whole village knew about how many loads of bricks he had hauled that morning.

He didn't go to the educated youth settlement to keep an eye on things, and he determined that one-tenth of the youth would be missing on the first day, three-tenths on the second day, and by the third day, they would be gone.

It wasn't that he harbored ill will towards the villagers; in fact, many people had already come asking for a few old bricks that morning. In addition, his relationship with the group of people in the west of the village wasn't very good, and since they lived so close to each other without anyone watching over them, it was like putting lard at the doorstep of rats.

Although Meng's father often helped keep an eye on things for him and seemed to welcome him as a new neighbor, he couldn't rely solely on Meng's father.

He strolled to the educated youth settlement and suddenly noticed a person under the shadow of the pile of bricks. At first, he thought it was Meng's father, but after looking at his arm, he realized that Meng's father was not that thin.

Surely no one would actually take advantage of the workers going home for dinner to touch the bricks...

Thinking of him, she tiptoed over.

"Huh? It's you?"

"Ah!" Meng Qinghe was startled and turned her head to see Zhao Hua. She breathed a sigh of relief and patted her not-so-full chest.

To be honest, Zhao Hua never expected it to be her. Apart from crazy girls like her younger sister, what unmarried young lady would leave her room for no reason?

Even Zhao Ru, in reality, just went to her girlfriends' houses to chat and talk. Thinking about it this way, it's no wonder that a bunch of women gather in the shady spots at the village entrance and exit to gossip. They've had this habit since they were in their boudoirs! It's pure path dependence.

"Dad asked me to come out and keep an eye on things. It's too hot at home, so I didn't go back. I'm just sitting here to cool off." She reached out and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, revealing her fair neck, and looked at Zhao Hua softly.

Zhao Hua looked up at the sun. It had been cloudy for a while this morning, but the sun came out around noon. It was the second half of July, and the weather was suddenly hot, especially since the rainy season had just ended.

In addition, the houses in the educated youth settlements were actually very simple to build. When the sun shone on them, the air inside was not well circulated, making them worse than steam ovens.

Zhao Hua felt heartbroken just thinking about it. The roof leaked when it rained, it was like a sauna on sunny days, it was unbearably hot in the summer, and it was freezing cold in the winter. In addition, the living conditions were poor, not only in terms of food, but also in terms of the living environment.

Just like when Zhao Ru didn't stand up for her, she was still cursed by a bunch of unruly kids who made up songs. Even adults have a strong sense of regionalism and are basically the kind of people who think "those who are not of our kind must have different hearts." It's very difficult for them to integrate into the village environment.

If he had a mother, things would be alright, but he lost his mother and was left as a single father with his daughter, who was forced to be sent to the countryside...

Zhao Hua took a few steps away from her and sat down in another shady spot. He smiled and said, "It's much cooler than inside, isn't it?"

Meng Qinghe nodded and smiled, "Yes, it can get a bit chilly here sometimes. Have you eaten?"

"Just finished eating, came out to digest, and somehow ended up here. I guess I've been looking forward to the new house being finished, haha." He couldn't exactly say he came specifically to keep an eye on the bricks; that would mean, "I'm watching this place, you can go back now..."

To be honest, these days even finding a shady spot is a luxury. Ordinary people don't even have eaves, and even if they do, they're usually very short. Everyone, young and old, hides under big trees. She, a little girl, can't exactly go and huddle with a bunch of shirtless men to enjoy the cool breeze...

As expected, Meng Qinghe showed no intention of getting up. She glanced back at the pile of bricks behind her and said, "Hmm, that's nice... I heard from Dad that our house used to be a brick house, but unfortunately I can't remember clearly."

After she finished speaking, she turned to Zhao Hua and smiled.

As soon as he said that, Zhao Hua's heart trembled. Who would dare to talk back to that? Damn it, he used to live there when he was a child, but it's gone now. His mother was there when he was a child, but she's gone now. He lived in the city when he was a child, but now he lives in the countryside. He could eat his fill when he was a child, but now he's starving.

These are all minefields! If he says something wrong and makes the young girl feel wronged, and then makes her cry, he'll be in deep trouble...

Zhao Hua felt a chill run down his spine. After a moment, he forced a dry smile and returned the smile to her.

When Meng Qinghe saw Zhao Hua's stiff and awkward smile, she suddenly chuckled. In fact, she had always had an inexplicable feeling towards Zhao Hua.

Whether you call it worship, closeness, or fear, it's all very complex.

Because, although he had never met him, he only used his name to scare away the bad kids who had bullied him since childhood. He didn't even show his face, and those bad kids never dared to bully him again.

That night after returning home, the little girl kept thinking about who Zhao Hua was, what he looked like, whether he was tall and strong like the village butcher, and whether he had a deep voice.

Is he that fierce-looking? Is he worse than these bad kids? Why did he say he would protect me? He's never even seen me before.

She had never left the small world of the educated youth settlement before, and Zhao Hua was often away from home. Although she was curious, she never had the chance to meet him.

It wasn't until that day, when Zhao Ru suddenly came to her and said she needed help, that she met Zhao Hua for the first time. She realized that he wasn't as burly or fierce as she had imagined.

After getting to know him better, she discovered that he actually liked to laugh, and that his laugh was... quite handsome.

But they were too far apart. His clothes were clean and without patches, his complexion was healthy and rosy, and he was good at making money. He had the first boat in the village, and he could bring back a lot of money from the market every day.

Not only can he scare away bad kids, but he's also very handsome and good at making money. He's even starting to build a red brick house, the kind of red brick house that only city dwellers and village officials own.

He rarely spoke to himself, and he rarely spoke to Zhao Xiaoran or Zhao Ting. In fact, she was somewhat envious of Zhao Ru, because Zhao Ru could joke and play with him without restraint, though it was only a slight feeling.

Because he was so dazzling, so unapproachable, he was like a god high above.

Until she saw his dry and awkward smile, she suddenly realized that he was also a person, a living, breathing person.