Chapter 160: Don’t Mention Him Anymore

Li Cuihua had a sharp tongue, but she dared not speak her mind; Lin Jingyue looked at her with nothing but contempt. Remembering Zhao Hua's words from the night before, Li Cuihua glanced at Jiang Xun beside her and held her tongue.

The bulletin board outside the classroom displayed the top ten scorers. Naturally, six were from the Qingshan Production Brigade, and four were from the Kaoshan Production Brigade, which left some people feeling disgruntled. Among the candidates from Qingshan, there were others who had performed better than the four from Kaoshan.

"The quotas were decided from the very beginning," Principal Zheng said, stepping forward when he saw others preparing to speak. He looked at Lin Jingyue with a satisfied smile before continuing, "The second round will be left to the brigade leadership to decide."

This was where the influence of the brigade officials came into play. Lin Jingyue chuckled to herself, glad that she had sent gifts. She gave the Brigade Leader a meaningful look, and only when she saw the corner of his mouth twitch did she turn her gaze away.

"Brigade Leader..."
"Party Secretary..."

The successful candidates swarmed forward instantly. The Brigade Leader and the others moved a bit slower, being tugged and pulled in every direction. Lin Jingyue let out a soft laugh. Sensing a complex gaze fixed upon her, she whipped her head around and, sure enough, met the complicated stare of Li Cuihua. She chuckled, raised an eyebrow, and lifted her chin in defiance. Zhao Hua must have been delusional to think that marrying Li Cuihua would guarantee him a spot; she doubted the Party Secretary would ever agree to that, especially with Cai Jinzhou still in the running.

Zhao Hua felt somewhat uneasy under her gaze, but since he was also in the top six, he felt a glimmer of confidence as he looked at Li Cuihua beside him. Among the six from Qingshan, both Xie Wenjuan and Lin Jingyue from the educated youth dormitory made the list, while Xia Nan and Chen Chunlan failed to qualify. The final spot went to Zhao Hua. The remaining three were locals, including the Brigade Leader’s own nephew, Li Huai'an, who had graduated from high school just last year.

Lin Jingyue and Jiang Xun exchanged a look, both coming to the same silent conclusion: if they guessed correctly, one of the three teaching positions would go to Li Huai'an.

Sure enough, that afternoon, the brigade officials gathered everyone at the threshing floor. "We have discussed and decided on the three teaching positions for the brigade," the Brigade Leader said, raising his hand to silence the noisy crowd. Seeing the candidates in the front clenching their fists in nervousness, he quickly continued, "First, there is Educated Youth Lin. Her exam scores were far ahead of everyone else. I believe no one has any objections to giving her the first spot!"

He spoke with great authority, casting a calm look over the crowd. The subtext was clear: even if you do have objections, keep them to yourself. He gave a sharp glare to his own good-for-nothing daughter. Li Cuihua’s face turned black with rage.

She clenched her fists, praying that the next spot would go to Zhao Hua; otherwise, she would have lost too much ground to Lin Jingyue. Thinking of her father's words, she felt a chill, but she had not given up hope yet.

"Congratulations, Educated Youth Lin," Auntie Liu, standing not far away, shouted loudly upon hearing the news. Lin Jingyue smiled but said nothing, as the Brigade Leader was still speaking.

"The second spot goes to Li Huai'an, and the third to Educated Youth Xie. You three will be the teachers at the primary school. The children of our brigade are now in your hands. I hope you will take your responsibilities seriously, teach them well, and not let everyone down. That is all. Meeting adjourned!"

The Brigade Leader was decisive, rattling off his words before quickly stepping off the platform. He and the Party Secretary left the threshing floor in a hurry. It wasn't until they were out of sight that the crowd realized what had happened, and an uproar ensued!

How could this be? With only three spots, how did the educated youths get two of them? The brigade members were agitated, but even more so were those who had been certain of their success, like Zhao Hua, whose face had turned green.

Lin Jingyue glanced at the composed Xie Wenjuan, then looked at the scorekeeper, who had smiled in their direction before leaving, and understood everything. It seemed there would soon be another happy occasion at the educated youth dormitory.

"It seems that the path Xie Wenjuan took that night wasn't through the Party Secretary," Lin Jingyue whispered to Jiang Xun.

Jiang Xun nodded. "The scorekeeper has had his eye on Xie Wenjuan for a long time."

"You pay attention to things like that?"

"By chance, I once heard the scorekeeper confess his feelings." The outcome had been tragic—he was rejected—but that was a long time ago. He hadn't expected the man to be so infatuated, waiting all this time only to finally get the result he wanted.

"Educated Youth Lin, now that you're a primary school teacher, you can't go around using that violent, kill-or-be-killed attitude of yours," a sharp, grating voice suddenly interrupted her conversation with Jiang Xun. Lin Jingyue squinted as she looked over.

"Auntie Hua, just because your son didn't get chosen, there's no need to take your frustrations out on me," Lin Jingyue retorted with a cold laugh. Sun Zhiyuan had indeed taken the exam, but his scores were less than ideal. The Party Secretary's family hadn't received a single spot this time; Lin Jingyue suspected the scorekeeper must have offered them some kind of compensation.

"I only said one thing, and you're already lashing out? You're a teacher now; shouldn't you be broad-minded?"

"Broad-minded, my foot!" Lin Jingyue narrowed her eyes. Expect her to tone it down? Never.

Everyone who heard this fell silent. Even if they had thoughts, they couldn't voice them. After all, Lin Jingyue had admitted herself that she had no morals or character; the idea of her teaching their children... they felt the future of the children looked bleak indeed.

Lin Jingyue didn't care that others had already decided she would be a bad influence. After rebuking Qian Guihua, she and Jiang Xun strolled off together.

"Let's have hot pot today to celebrate," Jiang Xun said, looking at the girl beside him. Her eyes were curved into crescents, and she was clearly in high spirits.

"That’s exactly what I was thinking! Great minds think alike!" She tilted her head, her eyes shining—whether because of Jiang Xun or the delicious food, it was hard to say.

"It's a good thing the Brigade Leader came through, otherwise I would have reported him," Lin Jingyue’s voice trailed off into the distance.

Jiang Xun replied, "Indeed, report him for accepting bribes."

The Brigade Leader, hiding in the shadows with the Party Secretary, froze. "So devious!"

"I was wondering why you insisted on giving her a spot," the Party Secretary said, looking at the Brigade Leader with deep meaning. "So, that’s the kind of person you are."

"Don't listen to their nonsense!" the Brigade Leader glared.

"I’ve suffered a loss this time. Give me half of whatever benefits Educated Youth Lin gave you, or I’ll go... report you!" The Party Secretary was a quick learner, using the same threat perfectly.

"She didn't give me anything! I was just afraid she’d cause a scene. If she started making trouble, would you be able to handle her?" The Party Secretary was left speechless, and thinking of that little demon, he decided to keep his mouth shut. The Brigade Leader let out a sigh of relief, cursing Lin Jingyue and Jiang Xun over and over in his heart. Those two ungrateful wretches.

Back at the educated youth dormitory, Xie Wenjuan returned to find everyone present. "I'm getting married in two days," she announced. "I hope you'll all come and have a drink to celebrate."

The room fell silent, stunned by the bombshell. Chen Chunlan asked foolishly, "That heartless scoundrel Luo Jianhua is back?"

Hearing his name, the smile on Xie Wenjuan’s face faded. "No, I'm marrying the scorekeeper. And don't mention him again. We never really had anything to do with each other anyway."