Chapter 130: Do You Believe I’ll Kill You?

The next day, after Xu Qingqing returned, she came to find Lin Jingyue carrying a bag of items, accompanied by Xie Yuzheng.

He was carrying a wild pheasant and had also brought some rations, loudly demanding to eat taro-braised chicken and begging Jiang Xun to do the cooking.

He was met with several heavy eye-rolls.

"Why did you bring so many things?" Lin Jingyue asked, her mouth twitching as she looked at the parcel Xu Qingqing placed on the kang.

She suddenly felt that she was quite popular; one after another, people were scrambling to bring her gifts.

Xu Qingqing handed everything over to Lin Jingyue all at once. "My parents found out about how you helped me and insisted that I thank you. You have to accept it, otherwise, I won't have an easy time answering to them."

When she went home for the New Year and told her family about what happened, they were scared stiff. But there was no help for it; they couldn't find a way for her to return to the city yet. Her mother had a job that she could technically step down from so Xu Qingqing could take over, but Xu Qingqing refused because her sisters-in-law were already eyeing the position like vultures.

If she took that job, the household would be in chaos, which was tiresome. In truth, the main reason was that she didn't want to put her parents in a difficult position.

Because she had taken a step back, her two older brothers likely felt she was sensible and stuffed quite a bit of money into her hands. Xu Qingqing, adhering to the principle of not letting anything go to waste, pocketed it all.

"It's nothing special, just some food. Don't take it to heart," she said, taking a sip of the malted milk drink Lin Jingyue had prepared for her. She felt sweet inside. In this day and age, who would treat someone with malted milk unless they were important? They were friends.

Lin Jingyue glanced at the items; they were indeed just food, but food was precious these days. Seeing the expectant look on Xu Qingqing's face, she laughed and accepted them. She saw Xu Qingqing breathe a sigh of relief.

"Have some of this; I brought it from An City," Lin Jingyue said, taking a pack of pastries from the cupboard. It was something her aunt had prepared for her.

Xu Qingqing took a piece and ate it, her eyes squinting in delight. "This is delicious!"

"Of course it is," Lin Jingyue said, eating a piece herself. It wouldn't be anything less than excellent if her aunt had prepared it personally. Thinking of her aunt, she had made a call yesterday to report that she was safe, and her aunt had mentioned sending her a package, likely containing clothes and other things.

"Lin Jingyue!"

Just as the two were chatting, they heard a loud bang. Someone was pounding on the door, startling them. Lin Jingyue was incensed; she jumped off the kang in a flash and flung the door open!

The person who had been shouting was already pinned to the ground by Jiang Xun. His eyes were cold and sharp. "Are you out of your mind?"

The people at the educated youth dormitory came out to see what the commotion was about. Lin Xinjian glared viciously at Lin Jingyue. "It was you, wasn't it? As soon as you went back, they got into trouble!"

Lin Jingyue raised an eyebrow. So he knew that Hu Cuixi and Lin Jian'an had both been sent to the labor farm?

"You bitch! It wasn't enough to hurt my sister, now you have to hurt..."

"Bang!" Lin Xinjian was spewing filth, and Jiang Xun, unable to tolerate it any longer, kicked him away. He immediately curled into a ball, looking at Lin Jingyue and the others with venomous resentment.

Xie Yuzheng sauntered over, his peach-blossom eyes narrowing with a flamboyant, carefree air. "Kid, you dare curse my brother’s girl? Are you looking for death?"

He tapped Lin Xinjian’s face. "Do you believe I could finish you off?"

Seeing the menace in his eyes, Lin Xinjian’s pupils contracted. He opened his mouth, but no sound came out.

Lin Jingyue walked over and pulled Xie Yuzheng aside, squatting down to look at the pale-faced Lin Xinjian. "You reap what you sow. If you want revenge, I’ll be waiting anytime. Oh, and by the way, anyone who has harmed me, no matter who they are, will pay the price. You are no exception."

In the past, she had been bullied by Lin Xinrou and Lin Xinjian, and later she had bullied them back, only for her life to be ruined by Lin Xinrou. Now, Lin Xinrou was in jail. If Lin Xinjian behaved himself, she could pretend he didn't exist, but if he wanted to jump around, he shouldn't dream of living the rest of his life in peace.

Lin Xinjian looked at Lin Jingyue deeply, saying nothing. Lin Jingyue didn't care; he was just a clown. However, she still had to be cautious—there was no such thing as guarding against a thief for a thousand days. It seemed...

Watching Lin Xinjian stumble back toward his room, Lin Jingyue’s eyes deepened for a moment. It passed in a flash, and no one noticed.

The people at the educated youth dormitory had learned their lesson; even the foul-mouthed Du Jianguo wouldn't easily offend Lin Jingyue. This woman was ruthless and vicious. Seeing everyone avoiding her gaze, Lin Jingyue flashed a brilliant smile.

Xie Yuzheng... what a freak.

"Why are you looking at me? Go help your brother cook," Lin Jingyue said, intentionally wearing a wicked grin when she noticed Xie Yuzheng’s gaze.

Xie Yuzheng felt his back stiffen and rubbed his nose. He suddenly felt a bit lucky; a girl as ferocious as Lin Jingyue, even if she were as beautiful as a fairy, was not a blessing he could handle. Only someone like his brother could tame her.

Lin Jingyue and Xu Qingqing went back inside to continue their chat.

Xu Qingqing didn't ask about what had just happened, but instead shared another piece of news. "I heard our commune is going to build a primary school. The location will be either the Kaoshan Brigade or the Qingshan Brigade."

"Huh?" Lin Jingyue looked up. "Where did you hear that?"

The commune used to have a primary school, but classes hadn't resumed, and it was in a different brigade anyway. That school had resumed last spring; why build another one? Did the commune have that many children needing schooling?

"I heard it by chance; I don't know if it's true," Xu Qingqing said, unsure herself. Her thoughts were much like Lin Jingyue's—having one primary school in the commune was already enough. In this day and age, after the college entrance exams were canceled, people cared even less about education. There was no future in studying. Hadn't they seen that all the educated people from the cities had been sent to the countryside? They were no better off than the peasants. Furthermore, very few people sent their daughters to school these days, so the number of students was indeed quite small.

"There might be some truth to it, but let's put that aside for now. Are you planning to go teach at the school?" Working in the fields was indeed very hard.

"I won't bother," Xu Qingqing said, knowing her own limits. She had offended the people of the Kaoshan Brigade; did she really think they would let her into the school? Keep dreaming.

Lin Jingyue nodded. "Thanks, I'll keep an eye out."

She understood what Xu Qingqing meant. If a school were really built, being a teacher would be a very good position to have. At the very least, it was better than gathering pig feed. However, thinking about a horde of unruly brats, Lin Jingyue felt a headache coming on.

Just before lunch, Sun Jiabao arrived, happily carrying ten eggs.

"You kid, your nose is sharp. You only show up when there’s good food," Xie Yuzheng said, narrowing his eyes and punching Sun Jiabao on the shoulder.

"Heh heh, I figured since Brother Jiang just got back and there’s nothing good for the New Year, I’d bring him some eggs," Sun Jiabao said, scratching his head. "Brother Jiang, here you go." His actions were just like a bashful little bride.

Lin Jingyue rolled her eyes internally. "Sun Jiabao, your mother doesn't know you brought these eggs, does she?" If Aunt Liu found out, she would have his hide.

Thinking of his fierce mother, Sun Jiabao subconsciously shrank his neck. "She... she knows."