Although it is already the eighties, Xiaogou Village is located in a remote area and still maintains some ancient customs.
For example, one person's mistake could potentially implicate the whole family.
If someone from a family commits a crime, the reputation of the entire family would be ruined.
If a girl from a family has a bad reputation, it implicates the girls related to her by kinship.
Lin Anjie was reminded by Anning and suddenly remembered something.
A few years ago, a girl in Xiaogou Village got pregnant before marriage and it became known, and all the females in her family suffered bad luck. Even her honest and kind niece was rejected by her fiancé because her aunt was not well-behaved, suggesting that the niece must also be dishonest.
Lin Anjie looked at Anning and suddenly broke into a cold sweat.
If...
If Anning really came out carrying a bag and dropped a men's shirt that obviously didn't belong to her father or brother for others to see, it wouldn't be good for Anning, and it wouldn't be a happy matter for Anning's older sister either.
At that time, perhaps even Su Zhiqiang would break off the engagement with her.
Thinking like this, Lin Anjie was terrified; fortunately, Anning had noticed something wrong, otherwise, both of them would have been ruined.
Although he thought this, Lin Anjie firmly denied that she was responsible for it.
With tears in her eyes, she cried softly: "I really didn't know about this, it wasn't me, how would framing Anning benefit me? Don't I know that if Anning is in trouble, I'll be in trouble too..."
She pleaded as she looked at Lin Aiguo: "Dad, you must believe me, I am not that kind of person."
Lin Aiguo clearly saw guilt in Lin Anjie's eyes, but in an instant, Lin Anjie hid her emotions well, leaving Lin Aiguo feeling disgusted.
"Enough, let's not talk about this anymore."
Lin Aiguo patted the table, suggesting that the matter was settled.
He looked at Wang Cuixhua: "Go tidy up Anning, and later have An Ping ride the bike and take Anning to school."
Wang Cuixhua agreed, she stood up and packed the freshly made pancakes, and also packed some pickles and a bit of meat and sausages left over from entertaining guests for Anning, then urged Lin Anping to take Anning.
Anning carried the bag and came out from the house, Lin Anping was already rushing and waiting in the yard on his bike.
Anning's complexion looked slightly unwell, carrying the bag and sluggishly following Lin Anping out.
Once Anning had left, Lin Aiguo glared at Lin Anjie: "I couldn't speak out with Anning and An Ping present just now, but now that they are gone, I need to make things clear with you. You're about to marry into the Su family, keep quiet during this period. If you dare to make trouble again, I will call your Uncle and your youngest uncle here to discuss this matter seriously."
Lin Aiguo's tone was very stern, carrying a warning that made Lin Anjie feel frightened.
She answered softly: "I, I understand."
Wang Cuixhua looked at her oldest daughter and couldn't help but sigh.
This girl was so spoiled by her, she's grown up and still can't do anything, even her nature is not good; she wondered if she could handle living with the Su family, afraid that she might suffer under her mother-in-law's hand.
Thinking of Su Zhiqiang's mother Liu Erni's fierce nature, Wang Cuixhua became even more worried about Lin Anjie.
Lin Anping rode the bicycle and took Anning to the town's middle school, it was just the time when students were returning to school after a holiday, and at the gate, he saw many students carrying big and small bags entering the school.
Anning dismounted from the bicycle with a jump and turned to wave at Lin Anping: "Alright, you should hurry back, don't wait until it gets dark and the roads become hard to navigate."
Lin Anping smiled, revealing a set of white teeth: "Okay, I'll go first, if you need anything just let someone send a message."
Anning nodded and watched as Lin Anping cycled off into the distance before she finally entered the school gates.
She carried her bag and headed to the dormitory first.
At this time, the weather was already very cold, but there was still some warmth from the sun outside, which made it a little warmer than inside the building.
Since it was vacation, the dormitory had gone more than a day without heating, and it felt as cold as an ice cellar when she entered.
Even Anning couldn't help shivering and stomped her feet hard to warm up a bit.
Seeing that the other classmates hadn't arrived yet, Anning started to look for kindling to light the stove.
At this time, there was no heating, so whether it was classrooms or dormitories, everyone heated with clay stoves. These stoves were not easy to keep burning; a slight inattention could snuff out the fire. Moreover, if it burned for a long time, it produced a nauseating smell of coal that could cause dizziness and visual disturbances. If not careful, one might even suffer from carbon monoxide poisoning at night.
Though the clay stoves had their drawbacks, they were still a necessity for keeping warm.
Anning took off her overcoat, put on a dirt-resistant coverall, grabbed some paper and a match to light the fire, and waited for it to catch well before adding chunks of coal.
At that period, coal was still very expensive for people in small mountain villages. In winter, they couldn't afford to burn large chunks of coal, so everyone bought pulverized coal mixed with dirt to make coal mud, which saved a lot of coal.
The school did the same; every winter, students would make coal mud during labor class, ensuring enough was made for the whole winter. Then, each class stored their coal mud to conserve it throughout the season.
Anning was quick to light a fire, and it didn't take long for the coal mud to catch fire, sparks popping and adding a bit of warmth to the room.
The fire was burning, but it brought some smoke and a lot of dust into the room.
Anning quickly sprinkled some water on the floor, swept it, tidied up her bed, and after cleaning up, changed out of her coverall and used the hot water boiled on the stove to wash her hands and face.
After these activities, she felt hungry and heated the sausage and cake she brought from home on the stove using chopsticks.
The sausage was homemade, generously filled, and the cake was freshly baked and still warm; once grilled over the fire, their aroma quickly filled the room.
Just then, a classmate pushed the door open and couldn't help swallowing a mouthful of saliva upon seeing Anning eating deliciously.
She turned her face away, put down her bag, filled her kettle with hot water, and soaked the hard, cold cake in it, wolfing it down with pickles.
Anning sat aside, slowly eating her sausage and cake—each bite was extremely satisfying.
After eating half of the sausage and a cake, she put the remainder in her cabinet, with no intention of offering any to her classmates.
The classmate hung their head, a hint of desire flashing in their eyes.
Anning pretended not to notice, organized her things, picked up a book, and began reading on her bed.
Gradually, more classmates arrived, each bringing food from home, but no one offered a taste to others.
During that period, everyone was not wealthy, and many were unable to have enough to eat; food was precious, and even among classmates, it was not likely to be generously shared.
Anning understood this well and hence did not offer any to the classmate who clearly came from a worse-off family background.
After reading for a while, a classmate approached Anning, "Anning, have the results for this exam been released? How many points did you score?"
Anning smiled and put down her book, "Not yet, the results should be out tomorrow. I think I did alright."
To be honest, Anning really didn't know what scores the original owner would get; she only knew the original's grades were excellent, always ranking first. But this school was just a remote town middle school; even the top scores might not be too high.
Anning smiled lightly, already determined to use the time to improve her grades, to gradually reveal her extraordinary abilities.
Since the original owner wanted to go to college, then it had to be a good university—Anning decided, she would dazzle everyone during the college entrance exams.