"Huh? Oh, alright! Coming right away!"
Though unsure why her little sister was being so cold, Third Sister instinctively nodded and swiftly took the items from her younger sister's hands. Ignoring the slightly stiff expression on the young man opposite them, she immediately grabbed the freshly acquired fish with one hand while protectively guiding her little sister through the growing crowd with the other.
Only when they were almost home did Yang San Ya finally turn her head curiously: "Little sis, was there something wrong with that guy earlier?"
Yes, something was wrong. In Third Sister's eyes, her kind, generous, and adorable little sister would never deliberately ignore someone without reason! That guy must have been shady!
Holding her elder sister's arm affectionately, An Ning casually nodded without much concern on her face:
"Didn't you notice, sis? Among all those people outside the supply and marketing cooperative earlier - many from nearby villages - why did that guy specifically approach just us two young girls?
Judging by his clothing and unfamiliar face, I'd guess he's one of this year's newly assigned educated youth. Having lived in the city, he should know better than to strike up conversations with female comrades given the current political climate!
Most importantly, sis, look at us - do we look like village girls to you?"
An Ning spread her hands, her gaze sweeping over their brand-new coats recently purchased in the provincial capital.
Given their outfits, that guy must have been blind to mistake them for villagers. Asking for directions? Pfft, what a joke!
"Ah, you're right..." Third Sister nodded emphatically, quickly labeling the man as having ulterior motives.
In these times, strict gender boundaries were heavily enforced - even standing too close to a member of the opposite sex on the street could cause trouble. Even Lu Ting, who was now officially dating her little sister, never dared linger too long in their courtyard during visits.
Yet this guy deliberately approached female comrades in public?
Tsk, what a waste of a handsome face.
After mentally scolding her earlier infatuation, the easygoing Third Sister quickly forgot about the incident, happily pulling her little sister home.
Outside their small courtyard, Li Xiaocao, dressed in a new military-green long cotton coat, was chatting with neighbors.
Over the years, Li Xiaocao had firmly established herself at the textile factory, having been promoted to deputy team leader last year with a monthly salary of over forty yuan now.
With both daughters doing well, her happiness showed - she looked younger these days, having shed her earlier timid demeanor for a more cheerful and outgoing personality.
At the dinner table, when her daughters inquired, Li Xiaocao waved her plump hands happily while placing the final dish of braised pork on the table:
"Don't you worry about me! Just focus on doing well out there - no need to fret over home matters!"
"Besides, ever since people learned you two landed good jobs in the provincial capital - one a promising future scientist, the other a proper editor at the provincial newspaper - so many factory coworkers and neighbors envy me now!"
Even the factory director had been unusually kind these past two years - Li Xiaocao suspected her recent promotion might have been influenced by her daughters' success.
Only her unlucky son Guo Hua... last year when Third Sister sensed political winds changing, she'd specifically written advising him to take the technical secondary school exam, but he'd missed passing by just a few points.
Ending up in high school instead, then hitting these troubled times when classes were suspended... though getting factory work wasn't bad, he'd never achieve his sisters' level of success...
Conscious of his new position at the bottom of the family hierarchy, Little Brother Yang had become extremely attentive - the moment his sisters set down their chopsticks, he promptly gathered the dishes to wash.
On New Year's Eve, firecrackers occasionally sounded outside.
After the lively family reunion dinner, lying on her familiar small bed at night, An Ning finally activated the system surveillance.
On the modest system screen, a group of decently dressed young men and women gathered in a crude dirt-walled room. Among them, a handsome young man raised a teacup, tilting his head slightly as he addressed the other five...
One had to admit the guy had skills - barely settled in the countryside, yet he'd already established leadership among the six newcomers.
Watching the impassioned young man on screen, An Ning's eyes chilled with icy hostility.
Yan Fei - though the original host had been blind, this man's voice had carved itself nearly into her bones.
In that past life, it was this voice that had claimed he'd take the blind village girl to provincial doctors. Despite her growing wariness from earlier betrayals, Third Sister couldn't refuse this hope for her little sister. But reality?
A privileged young master from an elite family, allegedly so smitten with a pretty village girl that he defied his family and broke with his childhood sweetheart...
What a beautiful fairy tale.
But this... An Ning couldn't help a scornful smile:
No matter how much honey and sugarcoat you smear over it, the grotesque greed beneath will eventually show.
Who wouldn't covet someone who could produce thousands of catties of grain, possess out-of-era luxuries, and wield a golden finger that could conceal anything?
An Ning unconsciously raised her left hand. In those memories, the original host had used shattered porcelain shards to slash at these very wrists, again and again, until blood pooled on the ground, until her body had no strength left...
Everyone knew blunt instruments caused the most suffering when used for self-harm.
The inability to strike fatal blows immediately, coupled with the suffocating awareness of approaching death, created unbearable psychological and physical torment. Hard to imagine what drove a teenage girl to such desperate resolve.
Yan Fei... and that Yan family from Haicheng...
Silently repeating these names to herself, lulled by Third Sister's occasional snores from the next bed, An Ning finally chuckled softly and closed her eyes...