The male supporting character was actually myself.

“Yuzhou, I just discussed it with Brother Niu. Even if you want to go on blind dates and get married, you need a few days to prepare. It’s not a good idea to keep hiding like this. We can interrupt him once or twice, but we’re afraid that things might get complicated and he might do something shameless. If our girls lose their chastity, that would be the end of it!”

Li Tiantian held her hand patiently and said, "Brother Niu said you can come to my house and stay for a few days."

Firstly, it can alleviate your current situation;

Secondly, marriage is a once-in-a-lifetime event and should not be taken lightly. Let's not rush it!

Liao Yuzhou had a bad feeling. It seemed that the matchmaker's exaggerated praise was just that—exaggeration. He Yongqiang himself probably wasn't any good. Otherwise, given Tian Tian's impatient nature, she would have already congratulated herself on escaping her misery.

"Will it work?" She subconsciously turned her head to look and asked softly, "I'm not like you now, I'm not free. Where I work and what I do depends on what my superiors tell me..."

Zhang Tieniu scratched his head and said with a simple smile, "My uncle has a very good relationship with the secretary of Wanjiazhuang Village. I told him that Tiantian is not in good health and it is too tiring for her to take care of the child by herself. She needs the help of her good friend. As long as he talks to the secretary of Wanjiazhuang Village, they will definitely release her."

“If Brother Niu says it’s okay, then it’s definitely okay!” Li Tiantian handed the child to her husband, grabbed her hand, and walked towards the old lady’s house where they were staying. “I’ll go with you to pack your things. Just take what you need now. You can leave the rest behind. Nothing is more important than your marriage!”

The widowed old lady was still slowly cooking according to Wu Jiande's instructions when she heard that the young girl wanted to go with Li Tiantian. She was so frightened that she hurriedly grabbed her, "You can't, girl. You were personally handed over to me by Director Wu. What if something goes wrong? No, you can't leave. I have to call Director Wu over!"

Li Tiantian had long been dissatisfied with the old lady who secretly let Wu Jiande in at night. Seeing this, she directly grabbed her and pulled her away, saying, "Get out of the way! We are free people with independent personalities and human rights. We are not some kind of convicts. We can go wherever we want. Why should you watch us like thieves?"

"Oh dear! Someone's been hit!" The old woman plopped down on the ground, slapping her thigh and wailing, "City people are bullying elderly people living alone... Help! Someone come quick!"

It was midday, and most of the villagers had eaten lunch and were taking a nap.

Such noise in the courtyard sounded particularly jarring.

Wu Jiande, still harboring wicked intentions, continued to loiter around, waiting for Li Tiantian to leave so he could seize the opportunity. Hearing the old widow shouting, he hurriedly ran towards the small courtyard.

"What are you all doing?" The neighbors had already gathered at the door to watch the commotion. Wu Jiande pushed aside the villagers blocking the door and squeezed through. With his hands behind his back, he adopted an official tone and asked coldly, "What's going on? Liao Yuzhou, as a progressive young person of the new era, don't you even understand the most basic respect for the elderly and care for the young?"

You're staying at Grandma Wan's house. Has she treated you badly?

She's getting on in years, cooking and running errands for you every day. She deserves credit for everything, even if she hasn't done anything special. How can you shove her like that?

Li Tiantian stood up straight and said, "No one pushed her. She was the one who wanted to sit on the ground crying and extorting money. Director Wu, let me ask you, what did we educated youth say when we came to the countryside?"

The vast countryside offers boundless opportunities!

We're here to work, not to sit in jail or become someone's mistress. We are independent, free people. I'm just inviting a good friend to stay at my place for a while, to ask her to help take care of the kids. Isn't that also work?

"We're just temporarily staying at the old lady's house. She receives a separate monthly allowance and rations from the authorities, so why won't she let us go?"

Chapter Five: Turning the Tables

“Director Wu, we did not push Grandma Wan. She sat on the ground and started crying.”

Liao Yuzhou explained calmly and methodically, "Tiantian needs help taking care of the child at home. There's not much farm work to do right now, so I wanted to go help her for a few days. I hadn't even had a chance to ask the Party Secretary and you for leave when Grandma Wan heard about it and started dragging me away, refusing to let me go."

We educated youth sent to the countryside also have personal freedom, but Grandma Wan won't even let us leave the gate. What kind of logic is that?

The old lady was still sitting on the ground, slapping her thighs and crying loudly while the two girls hit her.

More and more villagers came from outside the courtyard to watch the spectacle, and upon seeing this, they all chuckled and whispered among themselves.

"Is this old woman arguing with the educated youth again? What happened? Did they fight?"

“Look at those two girls, they don’t look like they can fight. Besides, Liao speaks so softly and has never even argued before, how could they possibly fight?”

"Everyone in the village knows what kind of person that old woman is! You can't believe anything she says!"

"That old widow is really making a fuss. What's wrong with someone helping a friend for a couple of days? It's none of her business to interfere!"

"She's just greedy. This morning I saw Director Wu secretly slip the old lady a bag of rice. She wants more!"

"Why did Director Wu give her rice separately? Didn't the higher-ups provide food and money for the educated youth staying there?"

"Can't you tell? He's got his eye on that young lady..."

…………

The farmers' undisguised murmurs made Wu Jiande feel a little embarrassed. In addition, Liao Yuzhou spoke with reason and evidence, and the old woman could only cry and shout that the students were hitting people and could not say anything else. This play could not continue.

"Meow~ My host is still too cautious, afraid that Li Tiantian will find out the truth and cause the female lead Liao Yuzhou to have nowhere to retreat and be harmed by the bald director."

The little white cat perched on Liao Yuzhou's shoulder, slowly licking its paws. "With the female lead's halo shining so brightly, and the script not being updated yet, she's bound to turn bad luck into good. This beautiful girl is practically a cheat code the script team gave to the male lead, He Yongqiang. How could they let that sleazy bald guy get her?"

It stretched and continued watching the commotion.

The courtyard was noisy, and Li Tiantian and Liao Yuzhou argued their case so logically that Wu Jiande was speechless.

Unfortunately, he was caught secretly delivering rice to the old lady, and in a mountain village where entertainment was scarce, gossip spreads most easily.

Soon, the excellent intelligence organization—the housewives—came to a conclusion based on various clues and speculations: Director Wu had taken a liking to Liao and had secretly bribed the old lady to leave the door open for him late at night.

The neighbors had spotted a shadowy figure moving around near Liao's window several times. Luckily, the doors and windows were locked tight, preventing the shadowy figure from getting in. Otherwise, the young woman's innocence would have been ruined long ago!

"No wonder that female educated youth said 'I'm not someone's concubine,' was she implying that the man surnamed Wu was eavesdropping?"

"Tsk tsk, do you think he might have already succeeded? How could a little girl possibly resist?"

"Probably not. If he had succeeded, Wu Jiande would have been strutting around like a madman, throwing a wedding banquet and marrying her. Why would he let her stay here?"

"That's hard to say! Before, the guy surnamed Wu was just a local thug, penniless at his age and unable to even find a wife. He just happened to be born in a good era and became an official by sheer luck. What wouldn't he do?"

"You can't talk nonsense. The matchmaker in the next village is helping Liao find a partner. If this gets out, how will the young lady ever get married?"

…………

Amidst the commotion inside and out, a powerful and authoritative voice suddenly rang out from the outermost perimeter, "Why aren't you resting at midday? What are you all saying here?"

Upon hearing the village secretary's voice, everyone quickly shut their mouths and stepped aside to make way for him.

Zhang Tieniu followed closely behind the village secretary and waved to his wife.

"Dog Egg, you have to stand up for me!" When Old Mrs. Wan saw that even the most respected village secretary had arrived, she took advantage of her age, lay down on the ground, and wailed, "I'm so old, I've treated the students with all my heart, I've never let her lack food or shelter, and this is how she treats me! She beat me so badly that this old woman can't even get up..."

She kept calling him "Dog Egg" in a drawn-out tone, which made the village secretary's face turn black.

"Who saw Liao hit you?" he shouted, raising his voice. "Who saw it? Step forward and testify!"

When Wu Jiande saw the village secretary coming over, he already had second thoughts.

Although my maternal grandmother's family was from Wanjiazhuang, my maternal uncle had passed away, and the rest of us were just distant relatives. During the political movements a few years ago, I offended quite a few people, and as an outsider from another village, I didn't have much influence in Wanjiazhuang.

Before the situation became clear, Wu Jiande's past work experience told him to remain calm, observe the situation, and then decide whose side to take.

Seeing that no one responded, the village secretary frowned slightly and looked at the old lady sitting on the ground. He softened his voice a little and said, "Auntie, Liao has been in our village for almost two years now."

Everyone has seen her behavior and conduct; is she the kind of student who would hit someone?

Any conflicts can be resolved privately. If you don't want the student to stay with you, I can arrange for her to stay at someone else's house. Why make a scene and become a laughingstock? The ground is cold, can you get up first?

The old lady wiped her nose and tears, thinking about how she could save up a lot of grain and money allocated by the higher authorities every month, and she couldn't afford to lose this lucrative job!

"That won't do! We can't stay at someone else's house!"

She hurriedly got up and said aggrievedly, "What conflict is there? It's just that two students are being unreasonable! They packed their things and were about to leave, but I said that Director Wu entrusted them to me, and I can't let them run off with other people. What if something happens? How am I supposed to explain that?"

They wouldn't listen and insisted on leaving, even shoving me..."

“We didn’t push you!” Li Tiantian’s shrill voice was self-righteous. “You scratched Yu Zhou’s hands until they were red, and I just wanted you to let go of her. We educated youth going to the countryside are organized and disciplined. We will ask for leave from our superiors after we pack our things. Do you need to make excuses?”

And you keep accusing us of hitting you? Where did we hit you? Show us the evidence!

Let me tell you, even if the fishing boat returns to Wanjiazhuang in a few days, she can't stay here with you. Did you hear what they were saying outside?

"A perfectly good young woman is living here with you, and men keep coming out of the courtyard late at night. If you want to find someone else, then live alone in your own home. Don't ruin Yuzhou's reputation!"

The old lady was trembling with anger, pointing at Li Tiantian but unable to speak, "You, you little brat..."

She had indeed received a lot of benefits from Director Wu, and at night she would eagerly open the door for him so that he could find an opportunity to sneak into the young lady's room for a rendezvous. But she didn't know what was wrong with this Wu Jiande, and she hadn't been able to get her hands on him for so long.

Now the quick-witted young woman is turning the tables, saying she's found a lover...

She was over sixty years old and had been a widow for most of her life. In her old age, she was slandered and made so angry that her face turned pale and her whole body trembled.

"Alright, alright, calm down." Seeing this, Wu Jiande was afraid that the old lady's mental strength was not good enough and she would confess, so he hurriedly stopped her, saying, "It's all a misunderstanding, it's all a misunderstanding."

Grandma Wan was only thinking about Liao's safety. After all, she's old and her actions might have been a little inappropriate. Please don't take it to heart, and don't distort the facts to smear the old lady's reputation.

Grandma Wan has always been virtuous and upright, how could she do such a despicable thing?

It's highly likely their house was burgled. Next time someone sees something, they shouldn't hide it; they should make a scene and arrest the culprit, lest they tarnish Grandma Wan and Liao's reputation.

Chapter Six: Comparison is the thief of joy

The village secretary glanced at him and then readily agreed, "Tie Niu just told me what happened. Things aren't too busy in the village lately, so Liao, why don't you go stay in Walnut Gully for a few days, help out, and then come back. We should be getting ready to plant corn."

"Thank you, Party Secretary." Liao Yuzhou tentatively asked, "Can I take a few days off?"

"Tie Niu said his wife really can't leave, and wants you to stay there for ten days or half a month. I'm thinking that the busy farming season in the fields can't wait that long. Let's compromise: you can go and stay for six days and then come back. We'll discuss and arrange for you to plant corn in the fields."

"Thank you, Party Secretary! It's so kind of Yuzhou to come and help me. I'll definitely take good care of her!" Li Tiantian winked happily at her husband, shouldered her small bundle, and pulled Liao Yuzhou outside. "Don't dawdle! My baby's about to wake up. You need to help me hold the baby..."

The farce finally came to a temporary end, and the little dumpling lay dozing off on the shoulder of the female lead, Liao Yuzhou.

She and Li Tiantian sat in the back of the cart, playing with the child, while the honest and simple Zhang Tieniu pushed the wheelbarrow slowly along the rugged path.

"Are you sure it was He Yongqiang in person?" Liao Yuzhou looked bewildered after hearing her detailed explanation. "It's completely different from what the matchmaker said!"

Li Tiantian asked curiously, "What did she say?"

"The matchmaker said He Yongqiang is good-looking, tall, and reliable."

"Ha, not having a crooked mouth and slanted eyes means being upright, right? His height is alright, but he's hunched over and has no proper posture. I don't see any steadiness in him. At twenty years old, he's still running around the mountains stealing thieves and catching mudfish. Is this how one should live a normal life?"

As she was scolding him, Li Tiantian's eyes suddenly lit up. "He Yongqiang is definitely not going to make it, but his neighbor... Oh my god, look at my brain, how did I become so stupid after giving birth?"

You were so busy being angry that you didn't think to go to his house to ask him about it.

Yuzhou, let me tell you, He Yongqiang's neighbor, the guy who subtly reminded me to wait and see, is really good-looking! Putting everything else aside, just their looks alone make them a perfect match for each other!

Thinking back now, his family probably wasn't well-off; his clothes were covered in patches. But the yard was clean and tidy, and he even had a few rows of vegetables planted, so he seemed like someone who could manage a household well…

Liao Yuzhou blushed slightly, momentarily at a loss for what to do.

"Achoo!" Jiang Chen suddenly sneezed, looked down at his clothes which were clean but covered in patches, and shook his head helplessly.

The original owner was an honest and kind person. After losing his parents, he suffered from the bullying of his uncles and aunts and became increasingly introverted, barely speaking. He had no friends in the village and always worked hard and survived on his own.

Working tirelessly from dawn till dusk, their lives are just too miserable.

He thought for a moment. According to the original owner's plan, after lunch he would go and tend to the fields in preparation for planting corn in a few days. But now that he'd been forced into this situation, who needed to rely on those few acres of land for a living? And it was even less likely he'd help He Yongqiang's family with the farming. So, he needed to find a place to buy things and make his home comfortable first…

The overall living standard in Qilizhuang is not high. To this day, the whole village does not even have a bicycle. Transportation is mainly by walking, and communication is entirely by shouting.