The Sweetness of the Seventies
Chapter 356 - 327: Self-Awareness, Applying for Protection_1

Chapter 356: Chapter 327: Self-Awareness, Applying for Protection_1

Lin Xiaoru was pleased inside, but she also mentally berated herself for being foolish.

She could have straightforwardly sought out Secretary Qi, yet she needlessly went to those with malicious intents like Qi Shuli and Qi Shuqiang. Her mind must have been squashed in a door.

If she hadn’t been clever and meticulous in her actions, she probably would have ended up in jail this time.

What a stroke of luck!

This Qijia Village is just too eerie; she dared not act rashly anymore!

She hurried to leave this place, to enjoy life in the county town of the commune, unwilling to waste her youth stuck in this creepy backwater.

As for the humiliation He Tiantian had inflicted on her, Lin Xiaoru certainly hadn’t forgotten, but she was also aware of her limitations; with her abilities, she couldn’t take on He Tiantian for the time being.

So she would just wait and see. As long as there was a chance, she would definitely not give up.

After Lin Xiaoru left, Huang Jingli was finally relieved and sang jubilantly like a liberated serf, too excited to get a good night’s sleep.

Ye Xiaofan stayed in the commune hospital for a few days. Apart from a rather severe injury near her eye, the rest were just superficial wounds.

Zhang Qingshan was by her side taking care of Ye Xiaofan, considerate and attentive.

Zhang Qingshan didn’t blame Ye Xiaofan for the incident, and Ye Xiaofan was grateful for Zhang Qingshan’s understanding. Their relationship consequently grew stronger. They agreed that they would get married this year when they went home for the New Year, no matter what.

If her mother still disagreed, she would use the excuse of her parents obstructing her marital freedom to scare them.

Although Ye Xiaofan knew her mother didn’t think highly of her, she couldn’t let Zhang Qingshan be wronged just because of her considerations for her parents.

Ye Xiaofan thought clearly: in the countryside, she could only depend on Zhang Qingshan, not her parents who were always revolving around her brothers and sisters in the city.

The events that transpired in Qijia Village resulted in a very quiet winter, devoid of the usual hustle and bustle.

Especially since Qi Jianguo’s reform-through-labor term was extended by one year for fighting with someone during the process.

Now, Qi Shuqiang and Qi Jianguo were negative examples in the village.

The village elders took the opportunity to educate the younger generation to be grounded and behave, not to act rashly nor do anything illegal, or sooner or later they would end up in jail, and face the firing squad.

Village Chief Qi felt that the atmosphere was a bit oppressive, so he organized the young men of the village to go hunting in the hills behind.

The traps from last year were still usable.

After catching quite a few game animals, the villagers finally had genuine smiles on their faces, dispelling the previous gloom.

Speaking of which, Huo Yingjie received He Tiantian’s letter at the busiest time for him.

Huo Yingjie pondered over the content of He Tiantian’s letter all night, lost in thought for a long time.

Huo Yingjie knew that his mission in this lifetime was not only to serve the country but also to change his and He Tiantian’s fate, their lives.

He could set aside his work for a while, but he could not ignore He Tiantian’s situation.

The only two possibilities that could plot with such ingenuity and had the means to do so were these:

First, Zhou Yuanyuan had started causing trouble again.

Zhou Yuanyuan was the beloved daughter of the Zhou Family, and even if she didn’t take action herself, getting someone else to do it would not be difficult with so many people trying to ingratiate themselves with the Zhou Family.

Second, the enemies of the Huo Family might strike at Huo Yingjie from the side, or hit him indirectly.

The lab explosion last time and the counter-investigation of the spy had already been reported to the spy’s superiors by the spy himself.

To target him, these people might also target He Tiantian.

Thinking of this, Huo Yingjie felt very guilty inside.

He had promised to bring Tiantian happiness, but now he had continuously exposed her to harm.

Perhaps, he should apply to his unit for protection for He Tiantian.

However, the unit stipulated that it must be a spouse.

He and He Tiantian were currently just dating and had not even gotten engaged yet, much less become spouses!

He could only pin his hopes on external forces to thoroughly investigate the matter and resolve the trouble.

Once they were married, he would keep He Tiantian by his side at all times, never leaving her for a moment.

Huo Yingjie wrote a letter to his grandfather in Yanjing and also sent one to Director Liao.

The content of the letters was just simple family chatter and did not mention anything concerning He Tiantian.

Only the Huo Family and their trusted confidants could decipher the true message hidden in the letters using the previously agreed-upon cipher and reassemble them to reveal the actual content.

The letters were sent out, taking with them Huo Yingjie’s heart.

While conducting experiments, Huo Yingjie got momentarily distracted several times, nearly causing accidents.

After receiving stern criticism from Chief Engineer Sun, Huo Yingjie explained the reason, and Chief Engineer Sun reported the issue to the security office.

The organization took it very seriously and, to set Huo Yingjie’s mind at ease, announced that they would send someone to investigate.

Huo Yingjie’s work had reached a crucial point; there was no room for carelessness.

With the organization’s assurance, Huo Yingjie once again immersed himself in his work.

He also explained the situation in the letter to He Tiantian.

When He Tiantian received Huo Yingjie’s letter, she read it carefully and felt somewhat reassured.

He Tiantian knew she had no ability to track down those people; now that Huo Yingjie said he had asked someone to investigate, she just needed to be careful about her own safety and that of her parents and grandma. She didn’t need to worry about anything else.

"Tiantian, hurry and prepare the rabbit, we’ll have braised rabbit for lunch." He Jingyu said excitedly, taking out two wild rabbits from his carrying basket.

He Tiantian came out of the house and smiled, asking, "Dad, where did you get these from? Did you also go hunting?"

"I certainly did not, hunting is too dangerous," He Jingyu replied, "Second Team Leader Qi Shuming and I noticed there were wild rabbits in our Peach Orchard, so we set some traps with bait, and we caught a couple of rabbits. We each got two and gave three to the animal husbandry team."

Now, there were just four people taking turns guarding the Peach Orchard.

He Jingyu and Qi Shuming were one team, and Qian Shikun and Sun Shihao were another. As a result, any game caught in the Peach Orchard also had to be shared with the animal husbandry team, which got a larger share due to having more people.

"Alright, I’m on it," He Tiantian said, beaming as she took them. There would be meat for dinner.

He Tiantian was exceptionally skilled at preparing wild rabbits, fast and clean, surpassing even He Jingyu and Wang Shuping.

In less than twenty minutes, He Tiantian had finished preparing the rabbits and even cleaned their skins, stretched them on bamboo sticks, and hung them up to dry.

Wang Shuping took the cleaned rabbits, chopped them up, and cooked them in a soy sauce-based stew.

With the leftover rabbit, He Tiantian marinated it—a method she had learned from Third Grandma Qi—which turned out exceptionally tasty.

Days with meat to eat were so blissful.

He Tiantian set a few more traps, so she wouldn’t have to venture out to the cave behind the mountain in the wee hours to catch rabbits.

Besides, now that her parents were there, she couldn’t secretly send out any game even if she caught it.

Because any time she now went to the back mountain or other places in the village, her mother would follow; if she went to the town where the unit was located, her father, He Jingyu, would definitely accompany her.

In this way, there was no chance for her to act alone.

So she could only have her father catch more rabbits and pheasants in the Peach Orchard. If there were leftovers, she could send some to Huo Yingjie and her future mother-in-law.

The results were significant. Since the game was secretly hunted in the Peach Orchard without making it known, it was considered personal and divided among a few people.

By the time it was almost New Year, there were already thirty rabbits marinated and hanging in the utility room.