14: Chapter 14 Village Girls in the 1970s (5)

Fang Zhiyuan did not hide anything and told the truth:

"Yes. I don't know if their thoughts will change in the future, but I promise that I will protect you and won't let you suffer even the slightest harm. Furthermore, after we are together, we won't live with my parents."

Fang Zhiyuan had his own house, but he hadn't told anyone about it. Therefore, he was very confident that he could take Jiang Wan and move out.

Jiang Wan found an excuse: "I only have my grandfather left as family. I don't want to go too far away from him. Let's just forget about our matter. If you feel bad about it, you can send me some more money."

These were Jiang Wan's true feelings; her grandfather only had her as family, and she was unwilling to marry far away.

Never mind whether it was in the city or not; that couldn't tempt Jiang Wan. It was as if no one else had ever lived in a multi-story building before.

If he felt guilty, he could just give money—a one-time payment would also work.

Fang Zhiyuan nodded: "Of course. After we get married, your grandfather will be my grandfather. If he is willing to go with us, I would be very happy."

Fang Zhiyuan certainly knew that Jiang Wan couldn't set her mind at ease about her grandfather. As long as Grandpa Jiang was willing to go with them, he wouldn't mind living with Grandpa Jiang.

Jiang Wan glanced at him; she didn't want to discuss this matter anymore. In any case, nothing would be resolved today.

"Alright, let's stop talking about it. It's getting late, you should go first, lest someone comes by later and sees us, which wouldn't be good."

Seeing that Jiang Wan didn't want to say more, and feeling that things were too sudden—plus Jiang Wan was still young and her mind must be in a turmoil—Fang Zhiyuan stood up, intending to leave.

He also wanted to go back and investigate properly to see who exactly wanted to harm him.

He already had a lead now; for something to be eaten without any guard, it must have been the work of an acquaintance.

"Alright then, I'll go to the commune to make a phone call in the morning and come see you again in the afternoon. Don't go cutting pig grass tomorrow; wait for me to come back and help you with it. You just stay home and rest."

After Fang Zhiyuan walked away, Xiao Lingdang popped out.

"Wanwan, you are still too soft-hearted. However, this person is not bad, and he is willing to take responsibility. I think you should go with him."

"Why should I go with him?" Jiang Wan didn't understand.

"His family won't like me. If I go there, won't there be endless conflicts every day? Do you think I can out-argue his whole family?"

"Wanwan, have you forgotten? You're already 18; in the countryside, you're already at the age to find a husband. The college entrance exam is still three years away. Do you think no one will come to act as a matchmaker for you in these three years?"

Since she had to find a man anyway, it was better to find one who treated her well.

Jiang Wan disagreed.

"My reputation is so terrible, who would dare come to act as a matchmaker for me? Aren't they afraid I'll bring misfortune to their family?"

Was she called a jinx for nothing?

"That's not necessarily true. Who told your grandfather to be so capable? For your grandfather's sake, I think there must be quite a few people eyeing you. Maybe your grandfather has already privately turned down quite a few for you!"

Xiao Lingdang was right. Although Jiang Wan had been called a jinx to her parents since she was young, the old man was a barefoot doctor for a hundred miles around. In this countryside, such conditions were already quite good, even better than some families. How could this not be tempting?

The guess was correct; Grandpa Jiang had indeed privately turned down quite a few people for Jiang Wan. Once, when he went to a neighboring village for a house call, he met a matchmaker who kept hinting that his granddaughter was not young anymore, and if he didn't pick a husband for her soon, all the good ones would be taken by others.

She even said she had several high-quality young men on hand, and if Grandpa Jiang agreed, she could arrange for both sides to meet.

But all these were blocked by Grandpa Jiang, who said he still wanted to keep Jiang Wan at home for another two years.

In his heart, however, he thought that since his granddaughter was so beautiful, she could marry into the city; why should she choose to make a living in the fields?

It was a pity that he didn't know many people from the city, and even if he did know some, he didn't think much of them.

Some were either too short or not very good-looking; Grandpa Jiang felt none of them were worthy of his granddaughter.

The older Jiang Wan grew, the more worried Grandpa Jiang became. Looking at his granddaughter who had grown so beautiful, Grandpa Jiang felt that no man was worthy of her.

This thought of Grandpa Jiang's lit up his eyes the next day at noon when he saw Fang Zhiyuan coming to the house carrying things.

That's right, how could he have forgotten? There were educated youths in the village, and they were all from the city. Although most of them weren't very good, there were a few whose abilities were quite good, and perhaps they could return to the city in the future!

Among these educated youths, Grandpa Jiang had a particularly good impression of Fang Zhiyuan. He could endure hardship, and he didn't have a sense of superiority when getting along with the villagers.

One had to know that there were quite a few people in the village who had their eyes on Fang Zhiyuan, all thinking of introducing their daughters or granddaughters to him.

However, Grandpa Jiang was very puzzled. He came, but why was he carrying things? Was he here for a medical consultation? Or had he just returned from town?

Meanwhile, Jiang Wan, who was eating on the side, saw Fang Zhiyuan arrive, just glanced at him, rolled her eyes internally, and continued eating.

"Youth Fang, why are you here? Have you eaten? If not, would you like to have some?"

Grandpa Jiang assumed that Fang Zhiyuan had come to see him for a medical consultation, and since they were just eating at home, he casually offered.

Grandpa Jiang had already anticipated that this young man certainly wouldn't want to eat at his house, after all, every household didn't have much grain to spare.

Unexpectedly, Grandpa Jiang miscalculated this time! Fang Zhiyuan walked over with a smile.

"I just got back from town and indeed haven't had time to eat yet. Since you have invited me, Grandpa Jiang, I will respectfully accept. I just happened to pack two dishes from town, let's eat together."

As Fang Zhiyuan spoke, he quickly took out two lunch boxes from his bag and placed them on the table. One lunch box contained braised pork, and the other contained braised fish.

Oh! Such a grand gesture! Grandpa Jiang was startled. What was going on? He quickly refused.

"No, no, Youth Fang, take it back. These are too precious; we cannot accept them. You should take them back and eat them slowly yourself."

Jiang Wan had long since put down her chopsticks; she wanted to see what exactly Fang Zhiyuan was up to.

Fang Zhiyuan pushed the lunch boxes that Grandpa Jiang had pushed in front of him back toward him.

"Grandpa Jiang, please accept them; you must accept them. I am here today to thank your Jiang Wan. If it weren't for her, I might have lost my life long ago. Besides these dishes, the things on the floor are all for her."

After Fang Zhiyuan finished speaking, he took the items out of the bag one by one. There was brown sugar, White Rabbit candy, peach cakes, and a can of malted milk extract.

Jiang Wan frowned slightly. Could this Fang Zhiyuan be planning to tell her grandfather about what happened yesterday?

Grandpa Jiang was also very puzzled.

"Oh, my Wanwan? How did she save you? When did this happen?"

Fang Zhiyuan then told the story he had prepared yesterday:

"Yesterday at noon, I thought it had been a long time since I went up the mountain, so I thought I'd go up and see if I could find anything good. Then I encountered a venomous snake.

"When that snake was about to pounce and bite me, Jiang Wan appeared. With a 'swish,' she threw a firewood hatchet toward me and split the snake into two halves in one go. Grandpa Jiang, tell me, didn't Jiang Wan save my life? This life-saving grace must, of course, be repaid, so I prepared these things to come and thank you. I ask that you, Grandpa Jiang, please accept these things and do not refuse."

When Fang Zhiyuan was speaking, Grandpa Jiang looked at Jiang Wan with a face full of surprise. Was this talking about his granddaughter? Was his granddaughter that capable?

After Fang Zhiyuan finished speaking, Grandpa Jiang turned his head to ask Jiang Wan:

"Wanwan, is what he said true?"

Jiang Wan glanced at Fang Zhiyuan, then nodded, answering with extreme brevity:

"Yes."