“Song Wei, Song Wei?!”
Song Wei and Lin Zhen were shopping in a mall when they suddenly heard someone calling her name. Both turned their heads in surprise.
Seeing the person who came, they were startled.
“Su Fang?”
It was none other than Su Fang, the educated youth from the Ping’an Brigade.
Right now, she was dressed in a women’s suit, looking far more spirited than she ever had back in the Ping’an Brigade.
Su Fang’s eyes reddened as she looked at Song Wei. “I didn’t expect to meet you here. I was just about to go to Ping’an Brigade to find you.”
“It’s been years, and you still look just as young and beautiful as ever.”
Lin Zhen: …………
Why did her words sound so strange to him?
“Let’s find a place to sit and talk.”
Song Wei didn’t mind. “Alright.”
They found a restaurant and sat down.
Su Fang took the initiative to talk about her situation. “After I got the spot at the Worker-Peasant-Soldier University, I worked for three years after graduation and realized living on a fixed salary wasn’t going to cut it. In the end, I resigned and went south to pursue opportunities. Life’s been fairly good since then.
But you two—I had already heard of Lin Zhen’s name back when I was in the south. At first, I thought it was just someone with the same name. But when I heard people describe your appearance, I knew right away it had to be the Lin Zhen from Ping’an Brigade. I only recently transferred here to BJ, and I’d been planning to come look for you after settling down.”
She gazed at Song Wei, her eyes sincere and her tone heartfelt. “I want to repay the kindness you showed me back then. If it weren’t for you, the Su Fang of those years would have been long gone. But I asked around and realized I don’t really have much ability to be of use.”
Song Wei patted her hand. “Don’t think too much. As long as you’re living well now, that’s enough.”
Su Fang lowered her head, eyes red. People called her a strong woman of the new era, but in truth, she had only been forced to disguise herself as strong.
She had no family left. The so-called relatives who came seeking her out after learning of her achievements only wanted to leech off her.
In her whole life, the ones she was most grateful to were Song Wei.
“I want to donate some money to Ping’an Brigade’s school. It may not compare to what you can give, but it’s at least a token of my heart.”
Su Fang looked out the window. “Actually, I once thought that after leaving, I would never think of Ping’an Brigade again. I had hatred for the people there.”
Back then, she had been weak, and swept up in rumors, she entered into a humiliating marriage. That was the darkest, most despairing experience of her life.
She hated the Luo family. She hated the people of Ping’an Brigade who spread those rumors. And she hated her own weakness.
But now, after going through so much, she had come to terms with it.
Some people in Ping’an Brigade had indeed been hateful. But there were also those who worked hard to lift her out of the mire—Song Wei, Lin Zhen, the other educated youths, and the brigade leader.
One cannot remain mired in the past forever. Otherwise, with heavy shackles on their feet, they will never walk far.
“This money—I’ll trouble you to take it back for me. Although it’s a pity I can’t do much to help you, I’m even happier to see you go higher and farther than me.”
Song Wei: “Alright, we’ll hand the money over to the Brigade Leader for you.”
She knew that even though Su Fang had generously let go of the past, she definitely didn’t want to return to that place which had once been her personal hell.
In the end, Su Fang stood up and hugged Song Wei.
“Goodbye.”
She waved and left.
Song Wei turned to Lin Zhen.
“Su Fang seems to have become a big boss too. Have you heard of her?”
Lin Zhen thought for a moment, then shook his head.
“No, I haven’t worked with her. Don’t know.”
But it was easy enough to imagine how much a woman must endure to stand firm in the business world.
Later, Song Wei did learn more about Su Fang—through one of Lin Zhen’s business partners.
Su Fang never remarried. She became a well-known strongwoman in the business world, and it was said she even invested in a law firm that specialized in protecting the rights of women suffering from domestic violence.
At home, Song Wei sighed to Lin Zhen: “She’s also a very strong person.”
But her strength was different. Unlike Song Wei, whose strength lay in martial skill, Su Fang’s strength was rooted in her character.
Soon, it was time for them to leave BJ and return.
Before leaving, Song Wei wrote Su Fang a letter and gave her a phone number, telling her she could reach out if she ever faced difficulties.
But Song Wei also knew—even if they continued to correspond, Su Fang would never easily ask her for help.
Back at the Ping’an Brigade, Song Wei invested Su Fang’s donation into the construction of the school as she had requested.
Their brigade’s primary school had already become the only proper school within ten miles. Children from surrounding villages were all being sent there to study.
When the Brigade Leader learned of Su Fang’s donation, he was deeply moved.
“The Luo family really sinned. But the way their household is living now—serves them right.”
Luo Dazhuang later married another woman, but she was nothing like Su Fang—she was fierce and hard to control.
That whole family had to live under her thumb, and she even beat her husband.
It was said she had been married before and divorced, because during a quarrel she lost her temper and beat the man half-crippled.
Truly, as the saying goes—evil meets its match.
As for Su Fang’s matter, Song Wei told no one except the Brigade Leader. And she never told Su Fang anything about the Ping’an Brigade either.
Since Su Fang had already walked out of it, it was better for her to walk away completely clean.
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