Reborn in 1979, with a female educated youth lying next to me.

"It's nothing, I'm just going out for a bit."

Liu Jianye's face was expressionless, but Liu Jia instinctively felt that this matter was related to his second sister-in-law.

"What's wrong? Why are you in such a hurry?" Liu Yutian sensed something was wrong and quickly asked.

"I told you everything's fine, why do you keep asking?"

Liu Jianye frowned and looked at Liu Yutian impatiently.

At this crucial moment, Liu Yutian didn't give Liu Jianye any face and retorted on the spot.

"It's nothing. What kind of leave are you asking for? Is it your business or something at the factory?"

Since Liu Jia opened the bamboo basket factory, he has handed over all the affairs there to Liu Jianye and Liu Xinguo.

Liu Jia was in charge of handling external business, while the eldest and second eldest brothers were responsible for supporting the factory.

When he has nothing to do, the second son, Liu Jianye, also works in the production team.

In Liu Yutian's eyes, although his second son Liu Jianye was stubborn, he was not an unfilial son.

Now, he won't answer my questions, so something must be wrong.

Seeing Liu Yutian's anxiety, Liu Jia hurriedly said, "Alright, Dad, I'll say a few words to my second brother. You should go over there quickly, as we'll be starting work soon."

Liu Yutian gave Liu Jianye an annoyed look before huffing and puffing as he walked forward with his hoe.

"Three sons, two of whom are troublesome. What's the point of having sons?"

Liu Yutian muttered something under his breath, then looked back again, still feeling uneasy.

Seeing Liu Jia wave his hand at him, Liu Yutian stopped saying anything.

"Second brother, is this about my sister-in-law? You're not really going to Cui Family Village, are you?"

Liu Jianye, caught off guard by Liu Jia's words, didn't hide anything and simply hummed in agreement.

“I don’t think this will work. No matter what, the matchmaker has already acted as a go-between. You should at least give her some face. What kind of behavior would it be if you went to Cui Family Village on your own?”

How could Liu Jianye not know what Liu Jia was saying?

But when Liu Jianye thought about the things the Cui family had done, it felt like he had a fishbone stuck in his throat. He couldn't swallow it or spit it out, and he felt extremely uncomfortable.

It's definitely not acceptable to not make things clear.

"We'll have to go this way eventually, so why bother?" Liu Jianye turned his head away.

“You can’t say that,” Liu Jia took another step toward Liu Jianye. “Second brother, you know what kind of temper my second sister-in-law has. Do you think this is something she would suggest?”

"Whether it was her who proposed it or not, the matchmaker has already come to pass on the message, so even if it wasn't her, it's as if she agreed."

Liu Jia's words softened Liu Jianye's expression somewhat.

Because Cui Hongmei was indeed not a troublesome girl, Liu Jianye knew this in his heart.

However, now that things are out in the open, in Liu Jianye's mind, Cui Hongmei is now in cahoots with the Cui family.

Seeing people gradually heading towards the work recorder, Liu Jianye began to urge them on.

"Sanzi, hurry up and go. It won't be good to ask for leave later if you're late. Don't worry, I definitely won't cause any trouble. I'll go early and come back early too."

Seeing Liu Jianye's determination, Liu Jia had no choice but to nod.

"Okay, I can help you get leave, but when you get there you have to speak properly and find out what's going on before we talk about anything else."

"I understand, I understand."

Liu Jianye turned and walked away, only opening his hand and looking at the small piece of paper in his hand again when he was a few meters away.

The note was written by Cui Hongmei; she just wanted to see me.

When Liu Jianye first saw the note, he wanted nothing more than to tear it to shreds.

The Cui family is so snobbish!

All this trouble, isn't it all for that hundred or so yuan?

Does that mean the girl won't marry if we don't increase the bride price?

If that's the case, then Cui Hongmei isn't worth all the effort I've put into her.

But then he thought, maybe Cui Hongmei had other ulterior motives for seeing him.

After some hesitation, Liu Jianye decided to meet with Cui Hongmei.

Even if the marriage between the two families doesn't go through, things still need to be made clear.

To get to Cuijiazhuang, you have to cross a small river. People used to drown in the river, so two neighboring villages pooled their money to build a bridge.

Since then, no one has ever drowned again.

Even so, people were always terrified when crossing the bridge.

They were terrified that the wronged ghosts in the river would come up and claim their lives.

Upon reaching the bridgehead, Liu Jianye's mind was filled with the previous rumors before he strode onto the bridge.

What am I afraid of, a grown man like myself?

Besides, it's broad daylight now; even if there were ghosts, they wouldn't dare to come out.

Liu Jianye was eager to see Cui Hongmei, wanting to explain things quickly so he could go back sooner, so he took rather large steps.

He was so preoccupied with Cui Hongmei's situation that he didn't notice what was happening on the other side.

Just as I was going down the bridge, a person suddenly appeared.

"Brother, wait a minute, I need to ask you something!"

The sudden sound startled Liu Jianye.

Upon closer inspection, I realized that a well-dressed young man was standing in front of me.

The young man looked to be in his early twenties, wearing black-rimmed glasses, a white shirt, and army green pants; he didn't look like someone from the village at all.

"Go ahead."

"Go straight ahead, is that Xili Village?"

"Yes, keep going south and you'll reach Xili Village. Are you looking for someone?"

Having lived in Xili Village for so many years, Liu Jianye is already very familiar with the people in the village.

The person in front of me isn't from Xili Village; he might be visiting a relative.

The young man laughed immediately after hearing this.

"Brother is right. I'm looking for someone. Are you from Xili Village? Is there anyone named Liu Jia in Xili Village?"

Upon hearing that Liu Jia was being sought, Liu Jianye instinctively frowned.

Liu Jia knows most of the people he knows, and he knows most of them too.

But the person in front of me looked unfamiliar.

But then I thought, there's no one else named Liu Jia in Xili Village. If I'm looking for Liu Jia, I'm definitely looking for Sanzi.

The factory has been busy lately, and Liu Jia has been frequently traveling outside, so it's normal for him to make some friends along the way.

"What do you want with him?"

As Liu Jianye spoke, he noticed that the other person was observing the expression on his face.

So, being more cautious, he asked another question.

The man was taken aback at first, then smiled and spoke again.

"Brother, what's Liu Jia like? I'm a friend he met outside, and I'd like to know more about him. We're not from the same village, so I don't know him very well."

Liu Jianye's eyes darted around.

"Liu Jia, that kid is no good. He's never been a good kid since he was a child. He steals chickens and dogs, climbs walls, and even used firecrackers to blow up manure during the New Year. He does all sorts of bad things."

"Haha, really? So, Liu Jia really isn't a good person!"

Upon hearing this, Liu Jianye's heart sank.

Just now, I deliberately said the opposite of what I meant, just to see what this person did for a living.

Unexpectedly, as soon as he said something bad about Liu Jia, Liu Jia continued, saying that Liu Jia was no good.

If your own brother isn't a good person, then what kind of good bird are you?

Despite his dislike, Liu Jianye had to continue speaking.

"Whether it's good or bad, their business is thriving now, and few people mention those things from the past anymore."

"Brother, judging from your appearance, you know quite a bit about Liu Jia?"

The man moved closer to Liu Jianye.

Liu Jianye raised his head and said, "We grew up together, how could I not know him? To put it bluntly, I can tell what kind of pee he's going to take just by the way he sticks out his butt."

The other person frowned, then quickly smiled again.

As Liu Jianye was wondering what this person wanted to do, the other party suddenly pulled out a small notebook from his pocket.

"Brother, tell me about him, okay? Don't worry, I won't let you talk for free. How about I pay you a penny for every story you tell?"

"Oh, is that a good thing? One cent? You said it yourself. If I had said it was a dollar, it would have been a dollar?"

"Yes, I keep my word. If it's a normal bad thing, it's one cent per item. If it's something that no one else knows about, I'll give you three cents per item."

Liu Jianye feigned surprise and then reached out his hand.

"I'll tell you three things that others don't know, and you'll give me nine cents first."

The other party hesitated for a moment, then took out two 50-cent coins.

"Let's talk first, together."

Liu Jianye took the money and beckoned with his hand.

"Come closer, some things can't be said too loudly."

Cao Xiangyang was overjoyed and took a step towards Liu Jianye.