Chapter 163 Because Your Hands Are Pretty

"Auntie, what do you think I should be called?" The little fellow looked at Tian Jia with eager eyes.
His aunt was the most well-read person in the family.
"How about... Tian Ergou?"
"..." That was even worse than Little Cub!
"Auntie is not as pretty as Teacher Lin, and she's not as good at naming people. Teacher Lin just casually said things like Shengli or Yuanzhi, and they all sound so nice."
Tian Jia choked with indignation. "You ungrateful little rascal, it only took a moment for you to put your aunt to shame."
"I think we should just call you Tian Ungrateful."
"Auntie!"
On the very first day after school ended, the first-grade students went home and sparked a craze for getting proper given names, driving their families half crazy.
They were all simple farmers who didn't know a single character; what good names could they possibly come up with?
Thus, the next day during Lin Jingyue's class, as soon as she walked in, she was met with pair after pair of pleading eyes.
"What's the matter?"
"Teacher Lin, my grandma said to trouble you with giving me a name," said Niuniu, blinking.
Zhaodi, holding her younger brother in her arms, also chimed in, "My grandma said the same thing."
"Teacher Lin, my dad said he is illiterate, so we are troubling you."
"Teacher Lin..."
Lin Jingyue: "..." Lifting a stone only to drop it on her own feet.
There were more than thirty students in the class, and fewer than ten had proper given names, including Li Tiedai, whom the team leader had named Li Guodong.
A pillar of the country.
Resigned to her fate, Lin Jingyue accepted the mission.
After churning out more than twenty names in one breath, she felt practically exhausted.
Zhaodi happily received her new formal name: Sun Qiangwei (Rose), representing Lin Jingyue's expectations and wishes for her.
Niuniu became Deng Banxia (Pinellia), named after a traditional Chinese medicine.
Since all the first-grade students now had proper names, the students in the other grades naturally wouldn't let the matter rest.
Overwhelmed by the endless fuss, the parents similarly shifted the burden onto the teachers.
The other teachers: "..."
They dared to be angry at Lin Jingyue, but didn't dare to speak out.
Meanwhile, the instigator of all this chaos, Lin Jingyue, was currently strolling through her territory in the deep mountains with Da Hui.
School let out at four o'clock, and since it was still early, she would basically make a trip up the mountain every day. Da Hui was also well-acquainted with the paths and would lead her straight to precious medicinal herbs.
Returning once again with a full harvest, she parted ways with Da Hui and shouldered a roe deer down the mountain path—the creature had been scared unconscious by Da Hui.
Coincidences in this world always seemed to abound, and on the narrow path, she ran into Tian Yang once again.
As their eyes met, Tian Yang's mouth twitched violently. The only two times he had come during the day, he had run into someone, and it was the exact same person.
"What a coincidence," Lin Jingyue greeted, carrying the roe deer with one hand.
Tian Yang was momentarily speechless. "... Comrade Lin."
Seeing Lin Jingyue smiling without a word, he took a deep breath. "Comrade Lin, you are..."
His gaze fell upon the roe deer.
"Just going up the mountain to bag something for a good meal." Lin Jingyue was completely open and unconcerned, looking as though she had no fear of being reported.
Tian Yang said, "I didn't mean it that way. I just wanted to ask, would Comrade Lin be willing to trade some meat with me?"
"Sure, how would you like to trade?"
A pleasant surprise.
Tian Yang said, "Would two-thirds be alright? I can give you grain... or ration coupons and cash."
His voice was lowered to a whisper.
"Cash and ration coupons, please." Tian Yang was considered a fair and decent person in business.
After reaching an agreement, the two of them went straight to the cowshed. Old Lu, Old Huang, and the others were a bit surprised to see them appear together, but upon seeing the transaction that followed, they couldn't help their mouths twitching.
Lin Jingyue pocketed the money, left behind two-thirds of the venison, and turned to leave with a radiant smile.
"This young woman is remarkably clever." Old Huang shook his head with a light chuckle.
Old Lu also smiled without speaking.
Ever since that time wolves were driven away from here, this girl had been looking after them from time to time and providing them with medicinal herbs.
Through such repeated interactions, everyone had grown familiar with her.
Tian Yang hadn't expected these elderly men to hold such a high opinion of Lin Jingyue. Under normal circumstances, which of these old folks wouldn't have looked down from on high?
Thinking of the person who had entrusted him with looking after these elders, a wave of warmth stirred in Tian Yang's heart.
Back at the educated youth point, just as Lin Jingyue returned, she happened to run into the group coming back from fieldwork. Chen Chunlan said listlessly, "Being a teacher is so leisurely; you don't even have to do farm work, yet you still get full work points."
She was truly so envious.
"Sigh, who told you your brain isn't as sharp as mine, so you couldn't pass the exams?" Lin Jingyue spread her hands, stating the plain truth.
"..." So infuriating.
"Comrade Lin Jingyue, is Comrade Lin Jingyue here?" Just as she was about to retort, she suddenly heard the postman's voice.
Lin Jingyue turned back. "I'm here."
"There are two letters for you, and a package. I brought them back along the way. Oh, right, this is Comrade Jiang's letter; you can take it for him while you're at it." The postman was already well acquainted with them.
A package?
Lin Jingyue was a bit puzzled. Her aunt had just sent some things over a short while ago, so it probably wasn't from her.
She signed for the items and collected them.
Seeing her carry the package into the room, Chen Chunlan was green with envy.
At the current educated youth point, Xie Wenjuan had gotten married, Zhao Hua and Lin Xinjian had married locals and moved out, Xia Nan had money, not to mention Feng Wanxia and the others—she was the only one whose days were growing increasingly difficult.
How annoying.
Inside the room, Lin Jingyue opened her letters first. One of them was written by her aunt, containing mostly family chitchat, but it mentioned one important matter: a recommendation quota for a worker-peasant-soldier college student, specifically at Beijing Agricultural University, and asked if she was willing to go.
Although Lin Jingyue had explicitly expressed her desire to stay in the countryside for a couple of years, Song Qinglan inevitably still thought rural life was too harsh.
After mentally drafting her reply, she picked up the other letter, which had come from Beijing.
Seeing the sender's signature, she raised an eyebrow: Gu Yizhi.
This person had finally written back.
"Hello Jingyue, trust this letter finds you well. I apologize for taking so long to contact you..."
She first explained why she had been delayed. Originally, her injuries were not minor, and later, due to the intelligence and data she had brought back, the authorities spent a considerable amount of time investigating and verifying everything. Furthermore, since matters involving Lin Jingyue were also part of it, the superiors needed to clarify those details as well. Gu Yizhi offered her apologies one by one.
The letter was written quite vaguely, but since Lin Jingyue had been right in the middle of it all, she could understand it through a mix of deduction and guesswork.
Finally, Gu Yizhi shared her future work arrangements: she had transferred out of active service, stayed in Beijing, and joined the Public Security Bureau.
She also told Lin Jingyue that she remembered the debt of saving her life and would definitely repay it.
In closing, she invited Lin Jingyue to look her up in Beijing whenever she had the opportunity, and promised to visit Lin Jingyue if she ever got the chance.
There were too many things that could not be put into words in a letter, but Lin Jingyue could still perceive her sincerity.
With a slight smile, she put the letter away.
The package had also been sent by Gu Yizhi, arriving simultaneously with the letter. Inside were some fashionable fabrics, clothes, and cosmetics. The most valuable item among them was a wristwatch packed in a small box.
The dial was embedded with a ring of sparkling diamonds, looking extravagant at first glance.
Lin Jingyue tried it on without the slightest psychological burden and then put it away.
When Jiang Xun returned, she handed him his letter and even put on the watch to show him. "Does it look good?"
"Your wrists are slender and your skin is fair; anything you wear looks good." In short, it looked good because her hands looked good.
"You have good taste." Lin Jingyue's eyes curved into crescents as she looked up.