I became the Counterpart of the Winner in a Period Novel-Chapter 224 - 221: Life—Who’s Really the "Tool Person"?

Chapter 224: Chapter 221: Life—Who’s Really the "Tool Person"?

Jiang Mingyue preferred someone with the same name as his own.

Although the book doesn’t describe Jiang Jian Guo’s second wife much, it’s clear that she is a nice person, good to Jiang Jian Guo and good to the children.

But then again, Bai Meimei as described by Xia Xiaosi, is selfish and self-interested, yet this doesn’t conflict with the idea that women love their home and their men.

Because some women are truly like this; they’re good to a man because it’s in their nature, and good to their son because he’s her support in later life, not contradictory at all.

The key is how to meet the person, to see if one can enter the knowledge sea to know more information; once compared, the truth can be revealed.

******

Bai Meimei, on the other hand, originally planned to return to Liu Village, but seeing Xia Xiaosi head to Qingshan Village, she somehow felt compelled to go there too.

Yu Qiuqiu glanced at the winding mountain road and advised, "Meimei, let’s go back." Not considering the fact that others are cycling while they rely on walking, why suffer needlessly?

But Bai Meimei, driven by her desire to win, wouldn’t listen to advice.

"Yu Qiuqiu, how could you be like this? We’re already here; it’s just a few more steps. I just want to check on my cousin at the young intellectuals’ spot."

Yu Qiuqiu looked at the row of neatly aligned young intellectuals’ houses in the distance of Qingshan Village and remembered Bai Meimei did mention her cousin was here. Last time, he even went to Liu Village to visit the sick Bai Meimei, bringing quite a few good things. Thinking this way, Yu Qiuqiu wasn’t so opposed anymore.

"Alright, I’ll take you there. I happen to need to ask something from the village committee."

Bai Meimei wasn’t interested in Yu Qiuqiu’s affairs, at least not now; her mind and eyes were filled with the identity of that man from earlier. A man who can ride a bicycle likely comes from a well-off family—just depends if the bike is really his.

Moreover, the man was good looking. If she could win him over, she could marry into Qingshan Village. He would just need to arrange for a guarantor and take the marriage certificate to the commune to apply for a transfer for young intellectuals.

She wanted to go back to the city, but she found out that returning to the city was almost impossible.

The authorities are still sending young intellectuals to the countryside, and there’s no way they’d let someone with no connections like her return for no reason.

The path to promotion back to the city was impossible since she couldn’t even farm properly in the village.

Forget it; she’d rather find a relaxed option, like getting a man with a stable household in the village to protect her and quietly wait for an opportunity.

Living in a cave house in Liu Village would drive her crazy if she stayed any longer.

Today, everything except the brick kiln and lime kiln in Qingshan Village was at a standstill. The whole village was resting, including the young intellectuals’ spot.

Suddenly, it started to drizzle. Surprisingly, in the mid-summer, it was a bit chilly, like late autumn. Some people put dry firewood under the eaves, using the old ash marks in the pot to arrange the wood. A handful of dry pine needles were stuffed into the gaps below, and one matchstrike, the pine needles flared up, gradually igniting the wood. Even if the dense smoke stung their eyes, it wouldn’t stop a large group of young intellectual men and women from coming over to warm themselves, and live on, those who knew how would bring some potatoes and sweet potatoes they had stored up to roast and eat. People would share them out, of course, usually without taking advantage of others. Everyone would bring something to offer; there’s no need to watch each other too closely because everyone valued their face, except for a few.

Li Minzhang was precisely one of these few, but he had a good cousin who followed behind to tidy up after him.

The people at the young intellectuals’ spot were all disgusted by Li Minzhang. Taking small advantages was one thing, but he also pilfered, causing them to lock their doors even when going to the restroom. With one moment of inattention, he could slip in and snatch your stuff.

Although the young intellectuals didn’t have anything valuable, the food sent by families was inevitably stolen. After all, money could be hidden on one’s person, but food couldn’t be hidden.

At this moment, Li Minzhang was attracted by the sweet smell of roasting sweet potatoes.

"Hey there, is there some for me? Let’s enjoy the fortune together." Although he politely asked, his hand had reached for the largest sweet potato before the words were out of his mouth. The male intellectuals surrounding the fire glared at him in disgust, nearly pointing at his nose calling him shameless, while the female intellectuals were irritated by him but mostly too shy to express their anger.

"Snap!" With this sound, Li Minzhang’s hand, which was grabbing at the sweet potato, suddenly let go, pained grimacing.

"Who? Who the hell’s blind here? Didn’t you look to see who I am?"

Qiao Rang looked at him coolly, "Me."

"You dumb..."

The next second, Li Minzhang was grabbed by the collar from behind and dragged aside, "Li Minzhang, have you forgotten all that I said? If you continue refusing to change, then I’ll just pretend I don’t have you as a cousin."

He didn’t understand why his father repeatedly emphasized taking care of this cousin. He had to obey his father’s word, but there had to be a limit to everything. If Li Minzhang refused to change, he wouldn’t care about him anymore. They weren’t direct brothers; he had no obligation to continually tolerate his various shameless behaviors. After all, he cared about his own reputation too.

"No, Cousin, hear me out. This guy hit the back of my hand—it hurts like hell. Look at it; it’s all red. Brother, you have to teach him a lesson. We’re kin. Remember Uncle’s words on his deathbed?"

The argument still went on, but unexpectedly someone approached the entrance of the young intellectuals’ spot.

Everyone looked over curiously, guessing who’s relative was coming to visit.

They were naturally envious.

Being away from family and the place they had lived since childhood, feeling homesick was commonplace. An occasional family visit was like a celebration at the young intellectuals’ spot. The young intellectuals would express their welcome in their own way, for instance, by offering food.

As they came closer, a fair-skinned and beautiful girl waved at someone.

"Cousin, I came to see you."

Li Minzhang saw who it was and for once, managed to smile.

That was his aunt’s daughter. Although his aunt had passed early, his father secretly told him she had left a box of treasures for his cousin. It’s just that they could only be received upon his cousin’s marriage, and even his cousin’s family didn’t know. His father found out accidentally; his aunt had entrusted them to a friend at the bank. Once the cousin got married, this friend would naturally appear to fulfill the promise.

He was sure, if those from the Bai Family, especially the stepmother, knew about this, they wouldn’t have kicked his cousin down to the countryside like a football. They’d have kept her close and hurried to find her a husband’s family to claim the inheritance.

What a pity!

The Bai Family even offended his dad, so this secret would never be revealed to them. But his dad also said he could get a marriage certificate with his cousin; the authorities wouldn’t know they were cousins after all.

Thinking of this, Li Minzhang felt his good days were nearing. The girl beckoning him was practically glowing.

"So it’s my cousin! I was just wondering how a fairy descended in front of me. No wonder, no wonder!"

The others found themselves at a loss for words, but Bai Meimei laughed happily.

This cousin might have bad character, but he had a father who could arrange things for him. It’s likely her uncle could get the cousin back to the city eventually. She must hold on tight to this golden opportunity.

And for Yu Qiuqiu, who had tagged along, the atmosphere between the two felt odd. This didn’t seem quite like a cousinly relationship.

However, he didn’t care. In the future, when he returned to Beijing, he couldn’t possibly take Bai Meimei with him. It was all about enjoying the moment, after all. If something presents itself, why not take advantage? They both knew what they were getting into.

So, after a quick greeting, Yu Qiuqiu went to the village for another reason.