Smart as Zhou Zheng was, the moment he saw Chen Ying’s smile and recalled all the oddities from earlier, he immediately understood what had happened.
Chen Ying walked forward with the deputy secretary, her face calm, never looking back again. Zhou Zheng, oh Zhou Zheng, was it she who harmed him? The only one who harmed him was himself. His own intentions were impure, yet he blamed it on her. Disappointed? Upset? Perhaps. But Zhou Zheng, in Chen Ying’s heart, was no more than this.
The next day, the quiet little village came alive, with everyone eagerly discussing last night’s gossip.
"Sangsang, Sangsang!" Li Xiaoqin strolled into Tian Sangsang’s yard, all smiles, here again to gossip with her. Both women had kids, their ages only a few years apart, making Li Xiaoqin feel like Tian Sangsang was her "bestie."
"Sister Xiaoqin." Tian Sangsang replied politely. No choice but to be understanding of Li Xiaoqin. She was naturally a gossip, and her life was monotonous enough that she didn’t have much else to occupy her time. As for things like exercising, practicing yoga, gardening, chasing a TV drama—sorry, wrong era for that here.
"Wow, did you hear? Chen Ying had a fallout with Teacher Zhou. Last night there was a big commotion near the deserted house. Turns out Tian Tian and Teacher Zhou had long been messing around, and it was Yingzi’s sharp eyes that saw through them!" Li Xiaoqin spoke with conviction: "Sangsang, we should’ve trusted you back then. You were right; the two of them absolutely did something shady back behind the hill."
People, huh, just like that—so stubborn.
They don’t believe anything unless they have the evidence right in front of them. Tian Sangsang casually agreed, "Yeah, who would’ve thought? Teacher Zhou, supposed to be a model of virtue, and Tian Tian, gentle and obedient, secretly doing such things behind the backs of Chen Ming and Chen Ying. I’m just worried about Yingzi; she might not be able to handle the shock. How is Yingzi now?"
"No idea. She hasn’t left the house yet. Yingzi must be heartbroken. That Teacher Zhou—such a heartless scumbag!" Li Xiaoqin fumed. Everyone could see it now: Teacher Zhou, a city man, why was he even dating Chen Ying? It was all about her family connections.
Last night, Tian Sangsang had already heard this from Zhao Chun. She felt something was fishy. The meeting between Zhao Chun and the deputy secretary at eight o’clock wasn’t known to many. How did everything line up so perfectly? And then Chen Ying happened to be standing at her own doorstep...
But as for Chen Ying, Tian Sangsang had some understanding of her. Her straightforward personality was unlikely to plot harm against Zhou Zheng, so what really happened?
Regardless, the villagers had finally uncovered the scandal between Tian Tian and Zhou Zheng, and Chen Ying wouldn’t be blindsided by a jerk anymore—that was a good thing. Whether the process was coincidental or schemed didn’t matter much now. What mattered was the outcome.
Tian Sangsang said, "Sister Xiaoqin, what about Teacher Zhou now? With his problematic behavior, I’m afraid he might corrupt the children at school."
Li Xiaoqin sighed, "Dating someone is a mutual thing, not a crime that would stop someone from being a teacher. The elementary school principal personally begged the deputy secretary. Teacher Zhou got a demerit, but he’s still staying on as a teacher here with us. You tell me, if Teacher Zhou left, we’d lose a teacher. Those young folks in the city, they’re not willing to come to a place to teach."
Tian Sangsang felt some regret. Zhou Zheng wasn’t just problematic in conduct; his character was dangerous too. If there had been evidence when he assaulted the original homeowner back then, sending him to jail might’ve been possible. This outcome was too light on him. But then again, all Zhou Zheng yearned for was to return to the city. Keeping him stuck in this village might be worse than death for him. That worked too.
After seeing Li Xiaoqin off, Tian Sangsang returned to the main room. Just as she stepped in, she heard bursts of laughter coming from inside.
She tiptoed to the doorway and peeked in. Zhao Chun and Meng Shuyan were laughing uncontrollably, sprawled on the bed, their joy overflowing.
When Tian Sangsang entered, Zhao Chun became a little self-conscious, immediately pulling Meng Shuyan to sit neatly on the bed. His handsome face was flushed with a rosy glow.
Meng Shuyan, who used to be a sensible, adorable, and well-behaved child, had now shown signs of becoming a bit of a clown.
Being a clown seemed contagious.
Meng Shuyan’s large eyes curved into moon-like crescents as he grinned and said, "Mommy, Chun Zisu told me a joke—it was so funny!"
"Your humor’s a bit low-bar, isn’t it?" Tian Sangsang ruffled his little curls and glanced at Zhao Chun, her eyes calm. "When are you leaving?"
The atmosphere suddenly became quiet. Meng Shuyan stared intently at Zhao Chun.
"Tomorrow," Zhao Chun said softly.
Tian Sangsang nodded to show she understood, then asked abruptly, "What do you want to eat tonight?"
Honestly, with Zhao Chun around these days, the house had been livelier and more cheerful. She thought Zhao Chun was a good guy—despite being a bit jokey and slightly effeminate. But aside from those traits, he was still pleasing to the eye—a strikingly handsome young man, with an excellent figure, and most importantly, he played with her son. Just for that, his appetite deserved some special treatment tonight.
Overwhelmed by her hospitality, Zhao Chun’s eyes sparkled. "What does Shuyan want to eat?"
Meng Shuyan hesitated and said, "I’ll eat whatever Chun Zisu eats."
Tian Sangsang asked Zhao Chun, "Can you handle spice?"
"I can!" Zhao Chun nodded vigorously.
"Then let’s go spicy." She herself was a die-hard spice lover.
Tian Sangsang planned to make oil-splash hand-pulled noodles, a specialty snack she particularly enjoyed. First, she prepared enough flour—not too much for three servings. She poured flour into half a basin, sprinkled some salt by hand, then gradually added water, kneading it into a dough.
The freshly kneaded dough was somewhat rough in texture and needed resting time. Luckily, she had plastic wrap in the space. Tian Sangsang wrapped the dough in plastic wrap to let it rest for fifteen minutes. After fifteen minutes, she evenly divided the dough with a kitchen knife into six small pieces, kneaded them into oval shapes, rubbed oil onto each piece, and wrapped them again in plastic wrap to let them rest for an hour.
During the resting period, Tian Sangsang gathered the required ingredients: dried chili peppers, fresh greens, bean sprouts, scallions, garlic cloves, and pork belly.
She washed the crescent-shaped red chili peppers, stir-fried them dry, and ground them into chili powder using a blender. Then she cleaned and chopped the greens, washed the bean sprouts for later, chopped the scallions into fine rings, minced the garlic, and diced the pork belly.
Next came the hand-pulling phase. Pulling noodles required technique—the quality of the pulling directly affected the texture. Using steady and even force, she slowly pulled the noodles open, slapped them lightly on the board, then tore them apart. She boiled the noodles in hot water until cooked, then fished them out and placed them in porcelain bowls. She boiled and added the greens, bean sprouts, and pork belly, arranging them around and atop the noodles. A well-plated bowl of noodles was almost complete after adding vinegar, soy sauce, scallions, and minced garlic. Finally, she sprinkled chili powder and salt over the noodles, poured hot oil onto the chili powder, and a aromatic dish was created. The spicy aroma, mingling garlic and scallion scents, was mouthwatering.