Chapter 65

This remark was no different from a deep-water bomb, instantly pulling everyone’s attention. Even Xu Maofang, who had been about to speak up and plead for her daughter, opened her mouth but found the words stuck in her throat.

Grandma Xie raised her hand and made a gesture meaning, “Don’t speak yet.”

No sooner had Sun Lingyu’s mocking words fallen than several people’s faces revealed doubt. Someone even let out a snort of laughter: after all, Sun Lingyu had also been a sent-down youth at the Red Flag Commune in Y City—who knew if she was just siding with Ye Qingshui because they had a good relationship?

Looking at all those doubtful eyes, full of disbelief, Sun Lingyu felt exactly as she once had back then—absolutely unwilling to believe she could actually be surpassed by a woman with only a primary school education.

She gave a little push and handed them that newspaper.

It wasn’t until after she returned to the capital that Sun Lingyu realized she had been used as a scapegoat—someone had “written letters” to the Xie family slandering Ye Qingshui in her name.

How could she possibly have done such a thing!

She might not like Ye Qingshui, but she liked even less the feeling of being wrongfully accused.

This newspaper she had found at He Fang’s house. Seeing that half-sheet of newspaper torn out and set aside there, she finally understood the mystery of the missing newspaper from the female educated youth dormitory.

By some inexplicable impulse, she had taken it, slipped it into her bag, and now—unable to endure the scene before her—she finally pulled it out.

The few people accepted the newspaper half-skeptically, skimmed through it hastily, and looked at each other in stunned silence.

They stayed quiet for a long time, no one speaking—because…it was simply too unbelievable.

Word had spread that Xie Tingyu had casually found some country girl to marry in the backwater village.

And what sort of place was a mountain gully? It only made people think of poverty, backwardness, and isolation. How could a girl raised in such a small place possibly compare to an educated intellectual?

What’s more, it was known that Xie’s wife was illiterate—barely had a primary school education. People in the compound had already asked, and even the Xie family had not denied it.

Only today did they learn the truth: Xie Tingyu had only touched that girl in order to save her, and under the weight of gossip he had no choice but to marry her. They couldn’t help but sigh in regret, thinking Xie Tingyu unlucky. Usually such a cautious person—how did he stumble into such a trap?

But just when everyone had come to terms with the idea that Tingyu’s wife was like that, suddenly someone mocked them:

“You all can’t even compare to a country woman who only finished primary school—she’s the one who has achieved something!”

The children of the compound might not have been outstanding, and perhaps some never got into university, but at the very least they had finished secondary school. How could they be inferior to a village woman with only a higher-primary education?

That single newspaper page Sun Lingyu slapped down on the table jolted everyone awake.

Did Ye Qingshui really have knowledge, real culture? What proof was there?

An entire full-page feature article—wasn’t that proof enough?

After finishing the article, these boys and girls, who had all been prejudiced at first, sank into deep thought, hardly daring to meet Ye Qingshui’s eyes.

Someone said, “Sister-in-law Xie is really amazing.”

Once the first person spoke, others gradually relaxed and no longer felt so awkward.

“I read the article. Sister-in-law does farm work during the day and still squeezes in time to study—that kind of spirit is really rare. My house has many physics books. Sister-in-law, you’re welcome to come borrow them anytime.”

“I’m really interested in this topic about the electric field. Sister-in-law, if you have time, let’s exchange ideas.”

Grandma Xie had long ago accepted that her granddaughter-in-law was uneducated, but because she was a solid, sincere child, she thought—so what if she lacked learning? Life was long, she could be slowly taught.

But now others were saying Shui-ya was simply modest and sincere, while in fact she had ability and talent? Grandma Xie was bewildered.

She narrowed her eyes, staring at Ye Qingshui. The look in the old woman’s eyes seemed to say: If this is true, why didn’t you say so earlier?

Ye Qingshui hadn’t expected the situation to turn so suddenly. After a moment’s thought, she said, “I’ve made everyone laugh.”

She really had nothing else to say. Watching the rapid changes in their expressions and eyes within such a short span of time, she felt many things deeply.

Slander and praise—if one doesn’t take them to heart, they are both equally dull and meaningless.

She even found herself distracted, thinking: Xie Dongmei really does hate me as her sister-in-law, going to such lengths to slander me.

Grandma Xie read every word of the entire article. Then she turned to Xie Dongmei and said:

“If a person has no chance to study, is forced to leave school to work the fields, yet still squeezes out time in the midst of heavy labor to study and absorb advanced knowledge, and in the end, by her own effort, brings benefit to the common people and saves national property—if such a person then hears you mocking her for not being able to continue her schooling, for being ignorant, don’t you think she would feel very sad?”

She paused, then added: “We cannot forever judge a person only by one-sided information—such as their background, or their level of schooling. Today’s lesson—do you accept it or not?”

When Xie Dongmei heard this, tears welled in her eyes and fell down.

Grandma Xie went on: “Before, you always seemed such a good, obedient girl. How is it you’ve turned out like this all of a sudden?”

Xu Maofang, holding back her own anger and embarrassment, hurried to smooth things over: “Meimei only trusted other people’s words too easily. Ever since she was little, she has always tried to defend her older brother…”

Grandma Xie said nothing, but looked straight at her. Under those clear, penetrating eyes, Xu Maofang felt her scalp prickle with unease.

The group of young men and women each had their own thoughts, but their gazes all shifted toward Ye Qingshui.

The Xie family’s new daughter-in-law stood quietly by the doorway, her hands hanging naturally at her sides. She had just come back from buying New Year’s goods, and even in the cold of winter she had sweated a lot; the flush on her cheeks had not yet faded. Against her snow-pale skin, the color looked as if it had been brushed with rouge.

Looking closely, she was truly strikingly pretty. It was only because she had entered the room bundled up thickly, her hat almost covering her face, that no one had noticed before. But now that they did, they realized—the Xie family’s daughter-in-law was this beautiful.

But…the image of her carrying so many heavy things was already deeply imprinted in everyone’s minds, impossible to erase.

A delicate wife like that—shouldn’t she be cherished and protected in her husband’s hands?

Sun Lingyu felt that Ye Qingshui was truly rather pitiful. From the moment she had known her, whether in the countryside or in the city, scenes of public condemnation like this seemed to have happened more than once.

And the reason was always the same: her background, and how it supposedly didn’t match the man she had married.

But if you put aside that prejudice and looked only at Ye Qingshui herself, it was actually hard to find anything wrong with her.

Seeing the anger reddening the faces of the Xie mother and daughter, Sun Lingyu felt that marrying Xie Tingyu was not necessarily a good thing for Ye Qingshui.

For a man, what mattered most was whether he cared for his wife. If he always let her face such scenes and couldn’t shield her, then clearly this Xie educated youth wasn’t very attentive to her.

Thinking of this, Sun Lingyu felt a little more balanced inside.

What she thought of, others thought of as well. The girl who had been glaring coldly at Ye Qingshui from the start was Xiang Zuo. She smiled and said:

“Grandma Xie, it was really just by chance that Comrade Ye married Brother Yu, wasn’t it?”

“Meimei wasn’t wrong—she was just standing up for me.”

Xiang Zuo was the girl Xie Jun had intended to betroth to Xie Tingyu. But Xie Tingyu was so stubborn—never taking a liking to any girl—that he had dragged on to this age without ever courting anyone, so Xie Jun had taken it upon himself to make the match. But before the engagement could be set, news came from the countryside that Xie Tingyu was already married.

With just one remark, Xiang Zuo pulled the conversation back to its original crooked direction.

On the surface, her words sounded reasonable: Ye Qingshui was a good person, but her marriage to Xie Tingyu had nothing to do with her personal merit. And in truth, their marriage really had been an accident.

Looking at the worn, even frayed clothes on Ye Qingshui, stuffed with old cotton batting, they fell into thought. The Xie family was wealthy—if Xie Tingyu truly cared for his wife, would he really let her dress so shabbily?

Their expressions shifted, tinged with something between pity and regret.

At that moment, the door handle turned with a click—Xie Tingyu had returned. Everyone’s eyes turned toward the belated male host.

“Shui’er, why are you standing by the door? Aren’t you cold?”

He seemed not to have heard Xiang Zuo’s words at all. He went straight up to Ye Qingshui, took her icy-cold hand in his large palm, warmed it with his breath, and wrapped it securely in his own.

Looking at her impassive face, he gently stroked her soft hair, then, like a magician pulling from a paper bag, produced a skewer of candied hawthorn and handed it to her. His voice was a little hoarse, as though chilled by the cold wind:

“I bought tanghulu. Haven’t you always wanted to eat this? Go on, try it.”

On the kraft paper bag were printed the words “State-owned Pastry Shop.” This shop was notoriously difficult to queue for, and with the Spring Festival approaching, sweets and pastries were especially rare—just buying them would take at least two or three hours of lining up.

But their pastries tasted good, so anyone who wanted them had no choice but to wait patiently in line.

Xie Tingyu’s gaze swept the room. Placing both hands on Ye Qingshui’s shoulders, he solemnly introduced her:

“This is my wife, Ye Qingshui.

I love her very much, and respect her. I feel truly fortunate to have met her in the countryside. She is simple, modest, frugal, and doesn’t care about others’ opinions—but I do not want her to be misunderstood.”

After speaking, his gaze passed around the room and finally landed on Xie Dongmei.

He drew a breath. His voice, slightly hoarse from the cold, carried a hint of sternness as he said seriously:

“Dongmei, that shirt you’re wearing was a gift I gave to your sister-in-law. I chose the fabric myself, and watched her sew it stitch by stitch.”

Suddenly called out, Xie Dongmei raised her head in shock, her face flushing crimson.

“Th-this…you clearly gave it to me.”

Today the family had held a little tea gathering, inviting several close friends. Wanting to look her best, Xie Dongmei had put on the shirt her brother had given her.

But Xie Tingyu firmly corrected her: “That was a gift for your sister-in-law.”

All eyes turned toward Xie Dongmei.

She was wearing a snow-white blouse paired with a black skirt. The blouse’s fitted waist cut accentuated her slim figure, while delicate, understated embroidery adorned the collar and cuffs. The skirt had just the slightest folds, and the plainer it was, the more it highlighted her beauty.

Just earlier, two girls had even asked where her outfit had been tailored—never expecting that it had been sewn by her sister-in-law, one stitch at a time.

Now the young men and women exchanged glances. The sister-in-law wore ragged, shabby clothes, while the younger sister fought to wear the fine clothes meant for her…

Tears welled up in Xie Dongmei’s eyes.

Xie Tingyu said: “Make sure you wash it clean, and return it to me.”

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