Chapter 160 The Enemy of My Enemy is My Friend

Tang Xin's days are becoming more and more comfortable now, especially after her husband returned home, making her look even more radiant, energetic, and full of vitality.

In sharp contrast to her is Meng Jia, the original female protagonist of the novel, who was also an educated youth sent down to the countryside and married there, though she wed another educated youth.

Actually, ever since Lu Liqin married Meng Jia, Tang Xin stopped paying much attention to news about them.

She assumed that since the male and female protagonists had finally gotten together, everything was proceeding according to the plot of the novel.

Although they, as minor supporting characters, might have diverged somewhat from the scripted plot, as long as the main leads remained unchanged, the overall picture shouldn't alter too drastically, right?

Due to various reasons, it was impossible for Tang Xin to end up with Lu Liqin.

Yet she could not deny that, as the male protagonist of the story, Lu Liqin had always appeared to be an upright and noble man.

Tang Xin didn't like Lu Liqin's machismo and self-righteousness, but he wasn't a bad person after all. He was, after all, an older brother she grew up with, and he had accompanied her when she was first sent down to the countryside.

Therefore, Tang Xin genuinely hoped he could find happiness.

It was just that, much to her regret, Lu Liqin's happiness had nothing to do with her.

Perhaps due to a certain emotional cleanliness in her relationships, Tang Xin naturally felt that her own man should not cast lingering gazes at other women.

With Meng Jia in the picture, coupled with Lu Liqin's attitude, how could Tang Xin possibly fall for such a man?

On the contrary, a blunt and rugged fellow like Li Sheng, who had room in his heart for his wife alone, was much more likely to be the type of man the present Tang Xin fancied.

According to the novel's description, after Lu Liqin and Meng Jia married, they lived a very prosperous life.

Tang Xin therefore assumed that since they had chosen to marry and stay together now, they would surely live well in the future too.

Tang Xin had no wish to become overly entangled with them; right now, she was far more focused on the Li family, her life's center of gravity resting entirely on her husband.

Although they lived in the same production brigade, their current living environments were different, making it easy to avoid each other deliberately if one wished to.

Consequently, since the lunar New Year, Tang Xin had basically not interacted face-to-face with the original book's protagonist couple.

Thus, she had no idea how miserable Meng Jia's current life actually was.

In Meng Jia's original plan, she and Lu Liqin would quickly return to the city together after marriage, freeing them from the hardship of weathering the elements and farming the fields in the countryside.

Wasn't that what Tang Xin had done in her past life?

Later on, Tang Xin even became the wife of a renowned wealthy merchant, causing Meng Jia to feel envy, jealousy, and hatred countless times.

Yet for some reason, in this lifetime, despite doing everything in her power to successfully marry Lu Liqin, months had already passed beyond the milestone of that past life.

Lu Liqin had not mentioned returning to the city at all, rarely called home, and lacking any special privileges, the two of them could only perform the ordinary labor required of standard educated youths here.

The only perk of being Lu Liqin's wife was that the man was quite generous with money. Though they didn't return home for the New Year, money was sent from his family.

Without a second thought, he handed all of it over to Meng Jia to cover household expenses.

Having previously grown accustomed to a good life following Tang Xin, Meng Jia felt like shedding bitter tears when she recalled the experiences of the past few months.

Having finally come into money again, she naturally spent it lavishly, not only preparing sumptuous meals for the household but also buying herself new clothes and new shoes.

Naturally, now that they were married, Lu Liqin and Meng Jia moved out of the educated youths' dormitory.

With the brigade leader's care, they moved into a vacant courtyard left behind by someone else right next to the dormitory.

Their current living quarters were much more spacious than before, not to mention the improved living environment. Furthermore, Meng Jia had personally witnessed Lu Liqin interacting smoothly with the brigade leader.

She thought to herself that she indeed hadn't made the wrong choice; Lu Liqin clearly possessed a strong business mind and excelled at socializing. Once doing business became permitted in the future, making a fortune would be child's play, wouldn't it?

Therefore, after Lu Liqin gave her the hundred yuan, Meng Jia spent it recklessly, figuring that she would soon be returning to the city anyway—would she have to worry about lacking money then?

Dressed in new clothes and wearing brand-new leather shoes, Meng Jia deliberately went out for a stroll, though unfortunately, she didn't encounter the person she most wanted to show off in front of.

However, even during busy farming seasons, the countryside never lacked gossiping women gathering together. At that moment, Second Sister-in-law Huo was chatting with a few close friends.

From afar, she spotted the high-spirited Educated Youth Meng walking down the main path. Second Sister-in-law Huo was well aware of the friction between Educated Youth Meng and her eldest brother's daughter-in-law.

Though she might not have known the exact saying that "the enemy of my enemy is a friend," she understood the general principle, so Second Sister-in-law Huo called out loudly, "Hello there, Educated Youth Meng!"

Meng Jia halted her steps and deliberately straightened her posture so everyone could admire her stylish and gorgeous new outfit.

Yet she intentionally furrowed her brows, putting on a troubled expression, "Oh my, at this hour it's probably hard to get any pork, but my husband loves eating meat and simply cannot go a single day without it."

Hearing this, the group of women gathered nearby let out exclamation after exclamation. To be eating meat every day—Meng Jia's husband must come from an exceptionally well-to-do family, right?

Someone chimed in, "Educated Youth Meng, you're from the city, and your husband is too. When the time comes, you can both return there and live a wonderful life."

At this, Meng Jia lowered her head and smiled with profound shyness and subtlety.

For one, she didn't want to lock herself into a definitive statement since Lu Liqin had never discussed with her when exactly they might return, and she truly didn't know either.

Secondly, Meng Jia understood very well that sometimes subtle, understated hints evoke more envy from others than loud, boastful proclamations.

Sure enough, she heard Second Sister-in-law Huo chime in, "My, Educated Youth Meng, you and your husband are truly wonderful. Your family background is great, your character is stellar, and you've wholeheartedly come down to the countryside to contribute to our cause."

Meng Jia smiled faintly and replied, "You flatter me too much, but I know there are still plenty of outstanding young people in our brigade. Take Educated Youth Tang from our place, for instance—wasn't she dead set on marrying someone from your Li family? I've heard that Educated Youth Tang's husband is extremely capable."

As soon as Meng Jia finished speaking, she waited to see the reactions of the people before her.

As expected, she heard them shower her with endless praise while simultaneously disparaging Li Sheng and Tang Xin.

These words made Meng Jia feel immensely comfortable, sweeter by far than drinking honey.

Just look at that—in this lifetime, you truly still trail behind me, relegated to marrying a rustic country bumpkin and unable to return to the city with your precious Brother Lu.

Meng Jia smiled gently on the outside while thinking to herself: Don't worry, once we get rich in the future, we might even show you some charity by allotting you a house—

The kind with installment payments, where Meng Jia would kindly help them pay the down payment, while leaving Tang Xin and her country bumpkin husband to shoulder the monthly mortgage themselves.