Countdown to Awakening

The days passed quickly, and in the blink of an eye it was time for the banquet.

The village chief specially picked a good day and a good place.

For this banquet, the village chief specially invited famous chefs from all over the area, and the whole village was busy.

The three protagonists were also busy preparing snacks for them.

Qi Yuanyuan and Sun Pandi chatted and laughed as they carried a plate of delicious candies and other dried fruits toward the crowd. "Aunties, please eat more."

Most of the people sitting here are middle-aged women, and there are not many people who need help over there.

A woman grabbed a handful of melon seeds and said with a silly smile, "Is this Yuanyuan? I can't tell you've grown up so big in the blink of an eye. Do you still remember? I held you in my arms when you were little. You've grown up to be so successful... You've been admitted to a key university in the provincial capital..."

Qi Yuanyuan just smiled and said nothing.

The man continued to look at Sun Pandi and said, "Pandi, you are quite good too. You are beautiful and have great potential. Have you decided who you will marry? Do you want me to introduce you to someone?"

“…” Qi Yuanyuan and Sun Panddi didn’t say anything, but looked at each other.

The two of them understood each other tacitly and walked away without saying a word.

The man didn't say anything when he saw this, but he couldn't help but feel contempt and disdain in his heart.

You just got into college, why are you acting so high and mighty? It's nice of me to introduce you to a boy, but you don't appreciate it... like it's a big deal... Tsk.

The melon seeds she was chewing suddenly lost their fragrance.

Qi Yuanyuan and Sun Pandi walked to a deserted corner and fell silent. "I really don't know what they're thinking. They always bring up marriage and having kids, as if that's what we were born for... I can't stand it."

Qi Yuanyuan traveled here from 2037, so she naturally didn't like this kind of thinking. It felt like she was being bound by someone.

Although Sun Pandi was from this era, she was inevitably influenced by Qi Yuanyuan after spending so much time with her. "That's right. So we should move around less later. To avoid them scolding us again."

Just as they finished speaking, a figure appeared beside them.

"Yuanyuan, Pandi."

The two turned around after hearing this. The person who spoke was Zhang Mei.

Qi Yuanyuan recalled the incident when Wangcai from Old Li's family went missing. Zhang Mei was involved with them. But most people in the village said she was a strong and unsympathetic woman.

"Aunt Zhang." The two of them called respectfully.

Zhang Mei responded and took out two red envelopes from her pocket and stuffed them into the two of them.

Seeing this, Qi Yuanyuan immediately thought of Liang Xiaocui's reaction when she took Yingdi's red envelope last time...

Yingdi's family was already struggling, let alone Zhang Mei, who was home alone with a child. Her situation was undoubtedly even more difficult.

So she kept pushing it away and refusing: "Aunt Zhang, you just need to come to the banquet, no need to give a red envelope." Sun Panddi also refused her red envelope.

Sun Pandi said, "Aunt Zhang, I saw you give the red envelope just now. You don't have to give it again."

How could Zhang Mei accept this? Although she had no previous impression of the two children, she had been very pleased with their performance during the dog incident. Even though Sun Pandi remained silent, she still liked her. Besides, there were only three people in the village who made it to university, and these two were girls. How could she not give them red envelopes?

"What? You think Aunt Zhang's red envelope is too small? Why don't you want it? Let me tell you, I just gave it to the three of you, and now I'm giving it to you two. You two are the only girls in the village who have passed the exam. You may not be able to pass it in the future. Just keep it. It's okay. Even though Aunt Zhang is alone at home, this money is enough. Just keep it."

"That's not what I meant, Aunt Zhang. We really don't need anything so special. We appreciate your kindness, but we really don't need the red envelope." Qi Yuanyuan still declined. She was afraid Liang Xiaocui would say something about her again.

"Didn't you listen to me? I told you two are the only girls in the village who have been admitted to university. There won't be any more in the future. No one in our village supports girls in their education. At most, they can only go to junior high school. The village chief will get older and won't be able to take care of things anymore. Then it will just be you two, right?"

The two looked at each other.

What did her words mean?

Qi Yuanyuan thought about it carefully. She realized that what she said actually made sense. After all, no one in the village really supported girls' education. Qi Yuanyuan was lucky, and Sun Pandi only had this opportunity because of the strong support of the village chief...

"Aunt Zhang, you're right, but we still can't take your money. Keep it for yourself. We're all from the same village, so there's no need to be so polite. Just come. Pan Di and I would rather appreciate your kindness than take your money. Besides, if my mother knew you gave me money, she would scold me when I get home."

Qi Yuanyuan's words left Zhang Mei silent.

Seeing that she was silent, Sun Pandi seized the opportunity to continue, "Yes, Aunt Zhang, as long as you can eat and drink well and be happy, then this meal is worth it. It doesn't matter how much you pay, as long as the thought is there."

After hearing this, Zhang Mei could only smile and did not force the two children to accept her red envelopes.

"Okay... then Auntie will go sit over there and see if there is anything I can help with." Zhang Mei finally gave in.

She admired these two girls very much and always felt that Qi Yuanyuan and Sun Pandi were different from other girls in the village.

Few villagers truly respected her. Almost everyone believed she had brought misfortune upon their husbands, and even taught their children not to speak to her. She knew everyone was talking about her behind her back. Even more people warned their daughters not to follow her example.

She'd heard others say Qi Yuanyuan was as strong-willed as she was. But after meeting her today, she felt she wasn't as bad as they said. She actually liked Qi Yuanyuan's personality...she spoke her mind without beating around the bush.

She also hoped that they could really leave the mountain village and never come back.

"If you don't accept my money, then I hope you two won't come back after you graduate from college, and don't bring other girls here. This village is not suitable for girls. Pandi, you grew up here and should be very familiar with the situation here." Before leaving, Zhang Mei said another sentence.

Qi Yuanyuan and Sun Pandidi both understood what she meant.

Especially Sun Pandi. Just as Zhang Mei said, this village is not suitable for girls to stay in. The girls who survived in the village were almost forced to marry boys from the neighborhood, and they could never leave the village, let alone go to college.

Sun Pandi had experienced this firsthand. She was almost forced to marry Ma Hui...

"We know." Qi Yuanyuan spoke after a long silence.

"Okay, Aunt Zhang will leave first." After saying that, Zhang Mei walked towards the crowd.

Qi Yuanyuan and the other person were stunned.

Last time, she only saw Zhang Mei as the woman that people said was not easy to mess with. But she didn't expect Zhang Mei to say this...

She thought all the women in the village were assimilated, the kind that only advised people to get married quickly, but she didn't expect that there were actually some who were different...

"Yuanyuan, I seemed to have a big misunderstanding about Aunt Zhang before, but now I see that she is not as unkind as others say. Don't you think so?" Sun Panddi asked.

Qi Yuanyuan nodded.

The village rumors weren't entirely true. They were probably just the work of jealous Widow Zhang. And yet she and Sun Pandi actually believed them a little...