She didn't discourage her, seeing how happy she was, and just said perfunctorily, "Congratulations."
Jiang Wanrou, perhaps unable to control her jealousy, stared at Cheng You and began to hypnotize herself: "So what if you have money? You're still a country bumpkin! But I'm about to go to Yan City and become an urban resident. I'll never come back in this lifetime."
Cheng You's ears were buzzing.
She rubbed her ear and responded lazily, "Mm-hmm."
"Fine, then I wish you will always be poor, always stay in the city, and be happy forever. Are you happy?"
She patted Qi Chengyan, signaling him to leave.
As the bicycle sped past, Jiang Wanrou's eyes turned red with anger.
"You're just jealous! You're jealous of me!"
Cheng You casually waved her hand behind her. If you say I'm jealous, then let me be jealous.
Little did she know that Jiang Wanrou's joy didn't last for more than a few days before Yuan He abandoned her and ran off on his own.
He claimed he had to return to the city first to finalize the matter of the Worker-Peasant-Soldier university enrollment. Once classes officially started, he would come back to pick up Jiang Wanrou.
However, there were many people in the countryside who had been abandoned by educated youths, both men and women.
When Yuan He announced he was returning to the city alone, everyone found it unreliable.
At this point, Jiang Wanrou was already seen by everyone as an abandoned woman.
Even though she was still hypnotizing herself, "He will definitely come back to pick me up!"
Meanwhile, Cheng Tao somehow heard that Jiang Dingcheng was planning to go out of the province to procure goods with the team.
Although there was no rule that only she could do this, she felt a strong sense of her own ideas being plagiarized.
Cheng You was a thief!
She stormed over to confront Cheng You, who calmly admitted it.
"I should thank you. If it weren't for you, I wouldn't have thought of this way to make money. Don't worry, once my general store opens, I'll definitely invite you all to a drink on the opening day."
"Cheng You! Don't push your luck too far!"
"I am pushing my luck, and what can you do about it? Cheng Tao, you don't honestly think I don't know it was you who pushed me into the river back then, do you? If you could try to kill me, is it too much for me to get a little satisfaction?"
The incident from long ago, suddenly brought up by Cheng You, caught Cheng Tao completely off guard.
She knew. She actually knew all along!
Thinking back, Cheng You did change after falling into the water.
Could it be that because she pushed Cheng You, everything that happened afterwards was revenge!
Cheng You's face turned cold, like a demon emerging from the abyss, and she began to pass judgment on Cheng Tao.
"A life for a life. The fact that you are still alive is the greatest mercy I have shown."
Cheng Tao's face filled with terror as she stumbled backward, "No, no, it wasn't me..."
Cheng You couldn't be bothered to argue with her, "Whether it was you or not is no longer important. I'm just telling you that everything you are experiencing today is your own doing. I owe you nothing! You might as well think about it carefully, from the past to the present, when was the last time it wasn't you who came looking for trouble?"
She wasn't pursuing this to the bitter end because she couldn't be bothered to bicker.
If she really wanted to be ruthless, it wasn't impossible to send her to jail.
Cheng Tao's face turned ashen with fright, and she stumbled out of the house.
If anyone saw her, they would think there were monsters and beasts at Cheng You's place.
Seeing how scared she was, Cheng You couldn't help but burst out laughing.
"You're scared already? I almost drowned back then, and I wasn't even this scared."
"Stop laughing and come taste how it is."
Qi Chengyan had built a bread kiln himself and baked flatbreads according to Cheng You's instructions.
As soon as they were taken out, they were still hot.
Cheng You hurried over and eagerly picked up a piece.
"Hiss!" Her fingertip turned bright red from the heat.
She winced in pain and quickly pinched her ear.
"It's so hot."
But her eyes still fixated on the flatbread, her mouth watering.
Qi Chengyan first checked her finger to make sure she was alright, then picked up a piece of flatbread for her.
"Eat."
Cheng You took a bite from his hand, her face filled with amazement.
She gave him a thumbs-up, "Delicious!"
The filling was minced pork and scallions, and the crust was thin and crispy, incredibly fragrant.
"I think you could open a restaurant in the future. You have a real talent for it."
Cheng You thought her own flatbreads weren't as good as his.
Qi Chengyan chuckled, "Alright, when you decide to close your pharmacy, I'll open a restaurant and support you."
He slowly tidied up his things, while Cheng You sat in the courtyard eating.
Just as she was enjoying her meal, she heard Sun Xiaowan exclaim, "Cheng You, someone's looking for you!"
She looked outside and saw Zhao Jisheng.
The expert from the Agricultural Research Institute.
After he had learned where Cheng You had purchased her seeds last time, he had left in a hurry.
Now that he was back, he had likely realized something.
The seeds Cheng You provided were completely different from those bought in stores.
"Comrade Cheng You, I'm bothering you again."
This time, it was no exaggeration to say he was being shamelessly persistent.
After all, he had heard the harsh words Zhou Qi had spoken in Wujing Village before, yet he hadn't intervened at all.
In a way, he had his own pride and wasn't afraid of falling out with Cheng You.
He just never expected that after returning to Yan City, he would rush to buy seeds, eager to cultivate medicinal herbs of the same quality as those from Qili Village.
But he failed.
Even the germination rate of the seeds was vastly different.
"You are an elder, and I don't want to argue with you; it would be improper. But some things need to be said. Since you know you are bothering me, you shouldn't have come."
Zhao Jisheng knew he was unwelcome, but he hadn't expected Cheng You to be so blunt.
He was an old man who had traveled all the way from Yan City, and she hadn't even offered him a glass of water.
Sun Xiaowan rubbed her nose. This was a professor from the Agricultural Research Institute, and Cheng You's attitude was too impolite.
"Uh, Cheng You, I have some other things to do, so I'll be going back now."
She wanted to avoid being put in a difficult position, unable to help Zhao Jisheng or Cheng You.
Cheng You called out to her, "Qi Chengyan made some flatbreads; they taste great. Take a few back to eat."
Sun Xiaowan filled her bowl with a few, thinking that she still had a lot to learn from Cheng You.
How could she have trained her man so perfectly.
After she left with the flatbreads, Zhao Jisheng finally spoke, "There was some unpleasantness last time, and it's understandable that you hold a grudge. That's why I came all this way to apologize."
Cheng You scoffed, "An apology after more than half a year? Professor Zhao, do you really think that's sincere? Moreover, the one who should apologize is not you, but Zhou Qi!"
Zhao Jisheng was worried that Zhou Qi would say more unpleasant things, so he had him stay at the guesthouse and didn't bring him along.
"If you need him to apologize, I can ask him to come."
"Even if he apologizes, can it restore my husband's reputation? You made accusations without any evidence, and you don't realize that such a charge will be carried by a person for a lifetime, never to be cleared! Can these losses be offset by a simple apology? You're an old man; logically, you should see things more clearly than I do."
Zhao Jisheng looked ashamed. He was indeed in the wrong on this matter.
But once Zhou Qi had spoken, the words could not be taken back. He didn't know how to compensate.