Reborn before the famine, kicking away the scumbag's family and living a carefree life.

42. Du Mei (1)

When famine struck, teachers were too weak to teach, and students were too hungry to attend school, so the school simply stopped holding classes.

Since schools are not holding classes, teachers are not being paid their salaries.

In his previous life, Qi Zhengyang stayed at home for three years without income or work to earn work points. Su Jinru took care of everything at home and outside.

However, he no longer acted arrogantly like before. He would occasionally help take care of the children, but spent the rest of his time reading books.

Having been reborn, Qi Zhengyang thought that since he knew about the impending famine in advance and prepared food, he could live a carefree life for three years. Three years later, he was still a teacher, and the country even paid him a portion of his salary for the three years of famine.

So Qi Zhengyang borrowed some money to buy grain, not afraid that he wouldn't be able to pay it back later.

When famine struck and classes were canceled, Qi Zhengyang was depressed for a while in his previous life. In this life, he prepared everything in advance and even divorced his wife whom he hated. Soon he will be able to get married to his beloved.

So this time he was calm, composed, and even a little bit happy and expectant.

Because Qi Zhengyang remembered that Du Mei's husband, Cheng Xiao, starved to death a month later, and a month would pass quickly.

By then, Cheng Xiao will have starved to death, and after all these years of sneaking around with Du Mei, they will finally be able to be together openly and legitimately.

In his previous life, he had no income and had to rely on his wife for food, clothing, shelter, and transportation. He could barely support himself, so after Du Mei's husband starved to death, he was powerless to help and could only watch helplessly as Du Mei remarried to someone else in order to fill her stomach and support her three children, causing them to miss each other twice.

Later, when living conditions improved and people were no longer hungry, Qi Zhengyang became a respectable teacher again. He resumed his previous aloofness towards Su Jinru, ignoring his own situation of being penniless and useless during the three years of famine. He kept blaming Su Jinru for making him and his white moonlight lose two opportunities to be together.

This time, by eliminating Su Jinru, the stumbling block that hindered their relationship, they will surely get what they want.

Back then, Du Mei was just a junior high school student. She and Qi Zhengyang were classmates in junior high school, and they fell in love when they were in junior high.

After graduating from junior high school, Qi Zhengyang went to a teacher's college, while Du Mei went directly to become a substitute teacher in a primary school.

In fact, Du Mei, the substitute teacher, had certain conditions.

Her husband Cheng Xiao's uncle is a township official. The two had agreed beforehand that if she married Cheng Xiao, her uncle would let her become a substitute teacher. If she didn't marry Cheng Xiao, she wouldn't have the opportunity to become a substitute teacher.

Du Mei agreed to the condition.

Du Mei and Cheng Xiao originally planned to get married and hold a banquet six months later. However, shortly after their engagement, Cheng Xiao's mother suddenly fell ill and passed away. Because Cheng Xiao had to observe three years of mourning, their wedding was postponed for three years.

During this time, Qi Zhengyang was corresponding with Du Mei. Qi Zhengyang had no idea that Du Mei was already engaged, because Cheng Xiao was from Xiaoben Village, and he didn't know that Cheng Xiao existed. He also didn't know that Du Mei got the job of teaching at Daben Village Primary School through Cheng Xiao's connections.

After two years of studying at a teachers' college, Qi Zhengyang was assigned back to teach at Daben Village Primary School, the same school as Du Mei.

The two, being so close, rekindled their romance.

In those days, relationships between men and women were very conservative. Although the two had liked each other for a long time and had been corresponding for two years, they dared not make their relationship public.

In fact, it was Du Mei who asked Qi Zhengyang not to make it public.

She already has a fiancé, so of course she wouldn't dare to publicly date Qi Zhengyang.

On the one hand, she was reluctant to give up her job as a teacher, and on the other hand, she was reluctant to give up Qi Zhengyang.

So they kept Qi Zhengyang hanging like that.

She told Qi Zhengyang, "He just graduated and started teaching at the school. If he starts dating a female teacher at the school, it will leave a bad impression on the school leaders. Let him wait a while, make some achievements at the school, and then make their relationship public."

Back when Qi Zhengyang was still in vocational school, his parents had already found him a good match, Su Jinru.

Qi Zhengyang knew about this, but he didn't take it seriously, saying that he had long been in love with a girl named Du Mei, who was a primary school teacher in Daben Village.

Qi Zhengyang's parents inquired and found out that Du Mei and Cheng Xiao were engaged.

But Qi Zhengyang wouldn't listen. He said his parents made up the story so he would marry Su Jinru, and that his feelings for Du Mei were real, and he believed in Du Mei.

Du Mei explained to Qi Zhengyang that Cheng Xiao liked her and had proposed to her, but she had not agreed.

She also said that Cheng Xiao threatened her in order to get her, saying that if she didn't agree to marry him, he would ruin her because Cheng Xiao's uncle was the mayor of Daben Township.

Daben Township includes Daben Village and Xiaoben Village.

Daben Primary School is the township primary school in Daben Township, and the township head has the authority to appoint and dismiss teachers in township primary schools.

Qi Zhengyang said it was okay, even if she stopped being a teacher, he wouldn't look down on her.

Du Mei was deeply moved and said that she must protect her love and would never bow to the powerful and influential. She would marry no one but Qi Zhengyang.

And so, they struggled for a year. A year later, Du Mei married Cheng Xiao. She said that Cheng Xiao threatened her, but she was not afraid. However, Cheng Xiao knew that she liked Qi Zhengyang, so he planned to take action against Qi Zhengyang.

Du Mei said that she was willing to sacrifice herself for him and had to marry Cheng Xiao because she didn't want Qi Zhengyang to be hurt in any way.

Qi Zhengyang believed everything Du Mei said.

He was deeply moved by Du Mei's spirit of self-sacrifice.

Qi Zhengyang felt sorry for Du Mei, who had given herself to a wicked man and married him for his sake. He angrily denounced Cheng Xiao for abusing her power and forcibly taking away the person he loved most.

Moreover, under Du Mei's understanding persuasion, Qi Zhengyang had no choice but to marry Su Jinru, whom his parents had chosen for him.

The two of them started their own families, but they completely ignored each other's families and continued to flirt and secretly carry on their relationship at school.

Because of the famine, classes were canceled this time, so Du Mei and Qi Zhengyang didn't have a chance to meet. After all, she was a married woman, and she didn't dare to associate with a divorced man in front of everyone. Qi Zhengyang also didn't dare to go to Du Mei.

The Dumei family had not eaten anything for many days.

The three children were crying loudly from hunger, and Cheng Xiao was at her wits' end.

Du Mei couldn't bear to watch any longer, so she told Cheng Xiao to go find something to feed the child.

Cheng Xiao said dejectedly, "I've been wandering around outside for many days. People who wander around outside are looking for food. Where are you going to find food?"