Time Travel: My Comfortable Life After Going to the Countryside

Xue Bingbing pushed the door open and came in. Seeing the scene on the kang (a heated brick bed), she smiled knowingly but didn't point it out. She just said, "Why do you smell so strongly of alcohol? Are you still dizzy? Boil some water to wash away the smell of alcohol."

Zuo Qingqing leaned over and sniffed, then exaggeratedly fanned her nose: "Wow, such a strong smell of alcohol! Xiangyang, did you empty Accountant Li's wine vat today?"

"You talk too much." Liu Xiangyang laughed and flicked her forehead.

He Xiaoqin and Jiang Xiaowen had already gone to the kitchen to fetch hot water. Luo Lan asked gently, "What would you like to eat tonight? It's not good to drink so much on an empty stomach."

"Just make something thin and runny will do," Liu Xiangyang waved his hand.

The days that followed were routine yet fraught with undercurrents.

After Gu Xiaoyu married into the Li family, the villagers never stopped gossiping about the young couple.

First, some teenagers said that on their wedding night, they were eavesdropping and heard Li Kaixuan cursing and swearing, saying something like, "Why can't I get up?" In the end, he even hit Gu Xiaoyu.

Another woman said that her relative saw Li Kaixuan go to that shameless half-closed door again, and a woman who went to wash vegetables by the river said that she heard arguing and fighting in Li's yard.

That morning, Liu Xiangyang took breakfast to Dr. Han's place. On his way, he passed by the Li family's house and heard the sound of ping-pong balls coming from inside.

Then Li Kaixuan slammed the door and left with a handprint on his face. When he saw Liu Xiangyang, he snorted and turned away.

Liu Xiangyang ignored Li Kaixuan's sour face and went straight to the clinic with his breakfast.

Dr. Han was still the same as before, except that her complexion was worse than a few days ago, and her whole hunched body trembled when she coughed.

Liu Xiangyang silently placed the millet porridge and boiled eggs he had brought on the bedside table, and then went to pour hot water.

"Master, eat some while it's hot."

Dr. Han coughed for a while, then, catching his breath, glanced at him with his cloudy eyes and waved his hand. "Just put it there... I have no appetite." He paused, his voice hoarse, "The guiding exercises... you haven't missed a beat, have you?"

"I practice every morning and evening, and I dare not slack off," Liu Xiangyang replied.

"Hmm..." Dr. Han closed his eyes, as if he were extremely tired. "If you've mastered it... that's your good fortune. Don't come here unless it's absolutely necessary."

Looking at his hunched body, Liu Xiangyang felt a lump in his throat, but could only nod and say, "I understand, Master. Please take care of yourself. I'll come see you again tomorrow."

As Liu Xiangyang left the clinic, the sun was already high in the sky. Instead of going straight home, he went to the back of the village to check on a dry field that was being prepared for spring planting.

On the way back, I ran into Gu Xiaoyu under the old locust tree at the entrance of the village.

She was squatting under a tree, her back to the road, her shoulders swaying slightly, holding a handful of newly sprouted bitter herbs, which she had torn into pieces.

Hearing footsteps, she turned around abruptly, her eyes red and swollen, her face still wet with tears, and a small, fresh bruise on her forehead.

Upon seeing that it was Liu Xiangyang, her eyes flickered with panic. She then lowered her gaze, quickly wiped her face with the back of her hand, and stood up to leave.

"Wait a minute," Liu Xiangyang said, his voice low.

Gu Xiaoyu stopped in her tracks, but didn't turn around; her back was ramrod straight.

Liu Xiangyang walked over, took out a small porcelain bottle from his pocket, and handed it to her: "Use this to rub your forehead; it will help reduce the swelling faster."

Gu Xiaoyu stared at the simple white porcelain vase, didn't take it, her chest heaved a few times, then suddenly raised her head, looked directly at Liu Xiangyang, her voice trembling with tears: "Inspector Liu, did you come here to laugh at me?"

"I don't have time for that." Liu Xiangyang said calmly, without retracting his hand. "Li Kaixuan is a scoundrel, but you yourself need to live a good life."

Gu Xiaoyu's tears welled up again. She bit her lip hard to keep herself from crying out loud, grabbed the small porcelain bottle, and clenched it in her hand until her knuckles turned white.

"He...he's not human!" she gasped through clenched teeth. "I can't live like this! I can't take it anymore!"

"So what do you plan to do?" Liu Xiangyang looked at her, his eyes calm and unwavering. "Go to the brigade headquarters to make a scene? Or run back to your parents' home? Would your parents' home really break ties with the Li family for your sake and give back the bride price?"

His words were like ice water, chilling Gu Xiaoyu to the bone, yet also bringing a sliver of clarity to her mind, which was on the verge of collapse. Yes, where could she go? Who would truly help her?

"I..." She opened her mouth, but despair spread again.

"The road is one you make yourself." Liu Xiangyang left these words behind, said no more, and turned to walk back into the village.

After taking a few steps, Gu Xiaoyu's voice, suppressed to the extreme, trembling yet resolute, came from behind: "Inspector Liu... can... can you help me? I... I'm willing to do anything!"

Liu Xiangyang paused, glanced back at her, and then walked on, his figure quickly disappearing around the corner of the dirt road.

Gu Xiaoyu stood there, clutching the small porcelain bottle that still held his warmth tightly in her hand, staring at the empty intersection, tears silently streaming down her face.

Within a few days, the former educated youth returned one after another, and the educated youth settlement became lively again.

Roland returned to the educated youth settlement and chatted with the female educated youth who had previously shared a room with her in the courtyard.

A female educated youth asked, "Sister Lan, how come you ended up living with Xue Bingbing, Le Qi, and Le Yao? Have you forgotten how they treated us when they first arrived? They had such sour faces."

"We were wrong to do that. Everyone was having a hard time. We ate the food they brought, and then..." Roland was interrupted by a young intellectual from the opposite side as he began to explain.

"As the leader of the educated youth group, she doesn't even live at the educated youth settlement. I wonder if she can still be the leader."

"Looks like someone's managed to get on the good side of some inspector. I wonder if they've betrayed something."

Upon hearing this, Roland turned and glared at him angrily: "Zhang Weiguo, what the hell are you saying? If you have the guts, explain yourself clearly."

Zhang Weiguo was startled by her anger, shrank back, and said, "I wasn't talking about you, you..."

"Enough!" Roland interrupted him sharply, her usually gentle face now covered with frost. "Zhang Weiguo, where I live and who I associate with is none of your business! Instead of wasting your time gossiping, you should think about how to earn more work points in the spring! As for the group leader," she glanced at the various expressions on the faces of the educated youth in the courtyard, "anyone who thinks they are capable can go and apply to Secretary Zhang right now, I won't say a word!"

After she finished speaking, without waiting for the reactions of the crowd, she turned and went into her old room, starting to tidy up the remaining odds and ends. Her movements were swift and efficient. The educated youth in the courtyard exchanged glances, and Wei Guo's face flushed red and then turned pale, but he didn't dare to say another word. Luo Lan usually seemed easy to talk to, but when she really got angry, her decisiveness was intimidating.

In the evening, Roland returned to Liu Xiangyang's house, her face still looking rather pale.

Xue Bingbing was leading everyone in preparing dinner when she saw this and asked, "Sister Lan, what's wrong? Is things not going well at the educated youth settlement?"

Roland put his things down and let out a sigh of relief: "I ran into a few gossipy people who said some unpleasant things. But I managed to talk them back."

"What did you say?" Zuo Qingqing immediately came over.

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