Chapter 835 - 831: Sharing the Honor

At the educated youth center, everyone was discussing what Gu Jiaojiao had done.

"I really didn’t expect Gu Jiaojiao to just donate it like that," one girl said. "That’s five hundred yuan! If it were me, I definitely wouldn’t have had that kind of resolve. I completely misjudged her before."

The speaker was an educated youth who used to look down on Gu Jiaojiao. When Gu Jiaojiao had first arrived in the countryside, she was incapable of doing any heavy lifting. Just looking at her had been annoying. Now, she still couldn’t do any heavy lifting, but things were completely different. The current Gu Jiaojiao was like a beacon of light—so great, capable, and perfect. She had practically become an idol to worship.

The term "idol" wasn’t popularized yet, otherwise, she would have found it incredibly fitting.

Even though Li Hongmei now cooked and ate separately from the group, she still lived at the educated youth center. Hearing everyone constantly praising Gu Jiaojiao was incredibly grating to her ears.

"What do you all know? Gu Jiaojiao is just a hypocrite," Li Hongmei snapped. "If she’s so kindhearted, why didn’t she think to help us out?"

The crowd fell speechless.

This woman had been acting crazy for a while now, so they couldn’t be bothered to argue with her. It was obvious to everyone that Li Hongmei was simply jealous of Gu Jiaojiao. After Li Hongmei finished speaking, not a single person paid her any attention. In fact, she was ignored completely.

She was so furious she almost burst into tears. She wondered why these people were so biased toward Gu Jiaojiao.

Seeing her aggrieved expression, the crowd’s eyes filled with amusement. Having lived together for so long, they had figured out Li Hongmei’s temper. The more you engaged with her, the more energized she became. Conversely, the more you ignored her, the more suffocated she felt. And they simply loved watching Li Hongmei suffer in silence.

Back at the Qingshan Team, harmony had returned.

The storm that had been stirred up previously quickly subsided after Gu Jiaojiao’s return. However, there was one person whose heart remained hanging in suspense. Pacing around her room, she was overwhelmed by a guilty conscience.

Leng Qingtian had noticed Sun Yeshu acting strangely during the meeting. Seeing her look as if she had lost her soul after returning home, he immediately suspected something. He decided to have a talk with her.

"Ye Shu, the matter with the recommendation letter—did you do it?"

Sun Yeshu opened her mouth to deny it, but Leng Qingtian fixed her with a completely calm gaze.

"When you came back from the county town last time, you were inexplicably happy, and you didn’t seem surprised at all that Gu Jiaojiao hadn’t returned," Leng Qingtian said. "Later, when I said Leng Yuan wouldn’t get into trouble, you started to panic. And today, when Gu Jiaojiao came back, you’ve been on pins and needles.

"Ye Shu, I don’t understand. Why would you do this?"

Sun Yeshu gritted her teeth. "Why? Because of Gu Jiaojiao, of course! She can’t even get pregnant. What right does she have to live so comfortably?

"Leng Yuan is also a member of the Leng Family! I asked them to help arrange a job for you. They wouldn’t even do such a tiny favor, so why shouldn’t I write that recommendation letter?"

Leng Qingtian was so frightened he bolted upright on the bed. "Are you crazy? Leng Yuan cut ties with us a long time ago. Don’t you know that?"

Sun Yeshu was unconcerned. "Even if you’ve cut ties, the same blood flows in your veins. Blood is thicker than water. How can you just break it off so easily?"

Furious, Leng Qingtian slapped Sun Yeshu across the face. "Because of you, my older brother lost his pig-raising job! Because of you, we offended Gu Jiaojiao, and now the entire family is banned from using the water pump! We all have to carry water by hand to irrigate the fields—all because of you!"

Sun Yeshu’s eyes instantly turned red from the slap. She had grown up pampered in her own home too, so how could she endure such treatment? She lunged right at Leng Qingtian, but he caught her wrist in an iron grip.

"You want to hit me? I’m telling you, you’re coming with me to the Leng family home to apologize right now."