"There were only two houses in the youth settlement where we were sent, and they were already full when we arrived," Pei Meng explained one by one in response to Pei Jing's questions. "Uncle, you should take me away soon, it's okay if we get married early. I don't want to stay here anymore. Although they have been quite nice to me so far, I still feel uneasy. And the son of this family, he keeps deliberately talking to me and coming into my room. His two sisters always come up with excuses to leave, I feel like they do it on purpose."
There were many more details that Pei Meng was too embarrassed to mention.
Like how that man was always trying to touch her and get too close when he talked to her. Thankfully, she was vigilant and didn't let him take advantage of her.
The toilet in their home didn't even have a door. The first two days after Pei Meng arrived, that man barged in when she was using it. Luckily, she found the toilet too dirty and hadn't taken off her pants yet, so he didn't see anything.
At the time, she didn't think much of it and figured he didn't do it on purpose. But she became wary after that incident and asked the two girls to keep watch outside the door whenever she needed to use the toilet.
She thought that would prevent any accidents from happening again, but he barged in on her once more. Although he still didn't see anything, she was traumatized.
The girl who was supposed to be keeping watch claimed she just went inside to grab something and didn't notice him going in.
Beggars can't be choosers. As a young girl, Pei Meng didn't dare confront them directly either. She tried asking the village chief if she could move somewhere else, but was told that girls from the city were hard to accommodate. Conditions were lacking in the countryside, so it would be the same anywhere she went.
In this reputation-obsessed era, she had no one to rely on and didn't dare accuse the man of having indecent intentions towards her.
Later on, she started borrowing other families' toilets whenever she needed to go. She had to suck up to them each time, but at night she would use a bucket in her room. She was past caring about finding it gross.
Although Pei Meng was vague in her retelling, just from the brief look earlier, Pei Jing could guess how much she had suffered over the past two months. No wonder she was so eager to leave this place.
Pei Meng had a boyfriend in the army that Pei Jing had introduced her to. They exchanged letters regularly, and he had visited her once. But since they weren't married yet, she was too shy to tell him about these things, and also afraid he would misunderstand and think she was too delicate for hardship if she used it as an excuse to leave the village.
Young girls in new relationships tend to be sensitive. Sometimes they would rather suffer in silence than let others get the wrong idea.
But she had no such reservations when it came to family.
After hearing Pei Meng's story, Pei Jing had already made up his mind. "Mengmeng, go pack up your things. I'll go talk to the village chief to explain the situation, then you'll come back to the army with me."
He definitely wouldn't feel assured leaving her here after this. It would be too late to regret it if something actually happened to her.
Although this was the outcome she wanted, Pei Meng was still worried. "Can we really do that?"
After all, being sent down to the countryside was meant to serve a purpose. The original plan was for her to get familiar with her intended match, then they could discuss marriage. If she went back to the army now while still a sent-down youth, she was also worried it would negatively impact her uncle.
"It'll be fine, just get ready and wait for me." Pei Jing said, taking out two cans of yellow peach and a bag of fruit candy from his bag before heading out the door.
As long as one was willing to spend the thought and money, nothing was impossible.
As soon as Pei Jing arrived at the village chief's home, he saw the chief's brats playing in the snow in the yard. Without even asking, he gave away the entire bag of candy.
It made the ensuing conversation much smoother.
After all, the candy was gone now. And it wasn't farming season either. His rank insignia had two stripes and two stars. If he cared to make things difficult, or if something happened to his niece in the village under the chief's jurisdiction, the latter would be in hot water.
So the letter of introduction and leave of absence were easily obtained.
When Pei Jing returned, Pei Meng had finished packing. The hunchbacked old woman and two girls were inside the room, urgently saying something to her.
In contrast, Pei Meng's expression was indifferent.
Now that her uncle had said he was taking her away, there was no need to continue sucking up to these people.
"Mengmeng, are you done packing?" Pei Jing called from outside.
"Yes, uncle, please come in and help me carry these." She had a lot of stuff, including bedding and rations. She had also packed up the bedding she lent the two girls to curry favor when she first arrived.
These were all precious supplies her family went through great pains to prepare for her before she was sent down. She didn't want others benefiting from them.
As Pei Jing entered, the hunchbacked old woman spoke up in her wrinkled face, "Comrade soldier, she was staying well in my home, why does she suddenly want to leave now? Did we not treat her properly? Please tell us if we were lacking, don't just take her away like this."
She had already found out about Pei Meng's background and saw her as a potential daughter-in-law. If the match succeeded, she could use the girl's family connections to get her son a city job in the future. Then they would become city folk.
It was Pei Meng's own fault for being so naive and guileless after a sheltered upbringing. When people were slightly nice to her at first, she readily told them everything without wariness. She didn't expect to catch their eye as a result.
"Old lady, I'm her uncle. I was away earlier and failed to arrange proper lodging for her. Now that I'm back, I will of course take my niece with me." Pei Jing saw no need to break ties completely. After all, he still didn't know the extent of their indecent intentions towards Pei Meng. "Thank you for taking care of Pei Meng during this time."
After speaking, he carried Pei Meng's luggage - a large sack, while she held several smaller bags. She happily followed her uncle out.
The hunchbacked old woman watched them leave, but could find no excuse to ask them to stay. The man beside her was also visibly unhappy. Apart from Pei Meng's family background, just her looks alone were unmatched by any girl in their village.
Marrying such a beautiful wife, he was willing to shave ten years off his life. His only regret was not making a move early on, otherwise he wouldn't have to stand by helplessly watching her departure now.
By the time Pei Jing brought Pei Meng home, the sky was already dark.
Zhi Xia opened the door, a little surprised to see Pei Meng. But she understood that since Pei Jing didn't mention bringing her back when he left, something must have happened for her to suddenly show up now.
Although Pei Meng wore rubber shoes, she just had a thin pair inside. After walking for so long, her feet were nearly frozen stiff.
Zhi Xia quickly brought her a clean pair of cotton-padded shoes and wanted to heat up some water for them to soak their hands and feet, so they could warm up a bit. But Pei Jing took over instead.
"Zhi Xia, go make us some food first. We haven't eaten yet."
"Alright, I'll make noodles since there's some prepared already, it'll be faster too."
Pei Jing didn't object. Zhi Xia was a great cook, so he never got tired of her food even if they had it daily.
After Zhi Xia started boiling the noodles, Pei Jing came in.
"Sorry, I didn't discuss with you earlier before suddenly bringing someone back." As a cohabiting couple, he felt some things still required consideration for the other party's feelings.
