Chapter 6: The Only Way Out is a Dead End

Hua Xiali put the phone back, and just as she was about to pick it up again, she looked up and saw a handkerchief appearing in front of her. Handkerchiefs were popular during this period, so it was quite normal for people to carry one.

She followed the handkerchief upward and saw Huo Beixi’s expressionless face. People in every place were xenophobic, and their Qinglong Village was no exception. As an outsider, Huo Beixi had been appointed village secretary immediately upon arrival, which left the original village cadres with no hope of promotion. His work had started off very poorly, but later, he managed to intimidate everyone with this stern face of his.

Huo Beixi was a good secretary who wholeheartedly looked out for everyone, yet such a person had died young. By the time Hua Xiali heard about it from her eldest sister, Huo Beixi had already been gone for a long time. It was truly a pity.

Because she knew the ending of Huo Beixi’s premature death in her past life, the look in Hua Xiali’s eyes carried a hint of pity and reluctance.

He definitely had to be saved; after all, good village officials who truly cared for the village were rare.

Seeing Huo Beixi still waiting there, Hua Xiali smiled embarrassedly and reached out to take the handkerchief he offered. Only after taking it did she realize—she hadn't even been crying, so why did she take his handkerchief?

Refusing to believe it, she reached up to touch her face and found it wet. Her cheeks instantly burned with heat. How could her tears have fallen so uncontrollably?

In her past life, she had suffered so many grievances and so much bitterness, yet she had never shed a tear. How had she become so sentimental after being reborn?

"Thank you, Secretary Huo. I'll return a matching handkerchief to you another day," Hua Xiali said, lowering her head in embarrassment.

Although the family owed a lot of money, they still had basic daily expenses. She could afford a handkerchief that cost a few yuan.

Hua Xiali bid farewell to Huo Beixi and turned to walk out the door. After a few steps, she stopped, turned back to Huo Beixi’s desk, and looked at him with anticipation. "Secretary Huo, if there are difficulties at home, can one apply for help from the brigade?"

"What kind of difficulties do you have?" Huo Beixi capped his fountain pen and looked up at the girl standing before him.

"I want to borrow one thousand yuan from the village—no, one thousand one hundred yuan. If interest is required, that’s fine too. I will work hard to pay back the debt before the New Year." Hua Xiali suppressed her pounding heart, and after saying what she wanted to say, she looked at Huo Beixi expectantly.

Because this was the fastest way to get money she could think of at the moment.

Huo Beixi shook his head. "There isn't any."

Hearing this, Hua Xiali felt a bit disappointed, but she still said politely, "I’ve caused you trouble, Secretary Huo. Thank you. I won't disturb your work any longer."

Just as Hua Xiali reached the door and was about to step out, she heard Huo Beixi say from behind, "The village doesn't have any, but I do. You can borrow it from me. Tomorrow night at nine, by the well."

Hua Xiali was overjoyed and hurriedly turned to bow and thank Huo Beixi. "Thank you, Secretary Huo! I promise I will pay it back before the New Year."

It was only April now; there were still ten months until the New Year in February. Even if she only earned one hundred yuan a month, she would be able to pay back what she owed Huo Beixi by then.

Moreover, she wouldn't let herself earn so little. She had worked many types of jobs in her past life, knew how to do many things, and knew many ways to make money. Now, with the addition of the spiritual spring space to assist her, she would surely be able to achieve twice the result with half the effort.

After Hua Xiali left, the corners of Huo Beixi’s mouth lifted imperceptibly—so quickly that perhaps even he didn't notice it.

Returning home, Hua Xiali immediately went to her father’s room to keep him company and ask if he needed anything. For someone bedridden for a long time, the worst thing was to let their mind wander, as it was detrimental to recovery.

After Hua Qingmei got married next month, she would immediately take her father to the provincial hospital for an examination and treatment, and then help him slowly recover his health. She would not let her father continue to lie there like this.

Hearing a knock at the courtyard gate, Hua Xiali told her father and hurried out. Their courtyard wall wasn't high, so as soon as she stepped out of the room, she could see who was standing outside.

It was Ding Yong.

In her past life, she was only nineteen, had never dated, and had even felt smug because two men were pursuing her. She had no idea how to tell if someone truly liked her.

Now she knew that it was impossible for these two men to have fallen in love with her at first sight. It was nothing more than the fact that girls with better conditions looked down on them, and they looked down on girls with worse conditions, so they came to pursue her—a girl who had nothing but beauty and was simple and easy to manipulate.

In her past life, she had seen a saying on the internet: beauty combined with wealth, intelligence, or education was a winning hand, but beauty alone was a dead end.

And she had nothing; only her looks were passable.

Hua Xiali walked into the courtyard, looked at Ding Yong standing outside the gate, and said, "Ding Yong, go back! Don't come again in the future. We aren't suitable."

Without giving Ding Yong a chance to speak, she turned and went into the house, closing the door behind her and blocking even Ding Yong's view.

Everyone had studied at Qinglong Elementary School, and there were classmates from all the surrounding villages. Why didn't Wang Liang and Ding Yong pursue their own classmates? Why did they pursue Hua Xiali, who was several years younger than them?

The reason for this was truly chilling to think about.

"Xiali, you're just as cheap as your mother, hooking men to fight over you. If I had known you would grow up to be like this, I would have drowned you in a urine bucket the moment you were born..."

The sound of her father’s insults came from the room. Ever since he returned injured, he would curse the four of them—mother and daughters—several times a day, always finding various excuses to do so.

Now, he was cursing her because Wang Liang and Ding Yong were both pursuing her.

Hearing her father’s words, Hua Xiali’s eyes turned red. She was so angry she wanted to retort, "What right do you have to insult my mother?" But in the end, she held it back.

Because he was a patient now, she couldn't afford to argue with him over so much.

She couldn't blame her father; she blamed herself. How could she have married herself off for that three-hundred-yuan dowry while her father was paralyzed in bed?

Three hundred yuan was a drop in the bucket for their family; it was useless. How could she have married in her past life? How could she have pushed the responsibility of caring for her father entirely onto her mother and eldest sister?

If she hadn't married so early, she could have spent a few more years with her parents, and her life wouldn't have been so miserable.