Zhou Hong clenched her fists so tightly that her knuckles went white. This was going too far—absolutely too far!
If she admitted to this, wouldn’t she become a laughingstock?
“No!”
“I’m more than happy to share with you all!”
As she spoke, her molars ground together with an audible creak.
They had boarded the train at seven in the morning, and after a bumpy journey, finally arrived in Zhongzhou City at eight-thirty in the evening.
There was no way they’d make it to the brigade today, so they used their sent-down youth credentials to check into a guesthouse.
After a full day of jostling, no one wanted to move another inch. They grabbed a quick bite to eat, washed up, and turned in for the night.
The next morning, they took a passenger bus, and after more than two hours, finally arrived at Shigeda Commune in Ying Township.
Although Shen Zhiyi hadn’t said much during the journey, she was still the most eye-catching one there.
Just as she reached for her luggage, a male voice came from beside her.
“Comrade, let me help you with that.”
People were fairly simple and honest back then, and it wasn’t just her—others were helping the female comrades with their bags too.
But she still declined. “No need.”
She was so beautiful that the young man who’d been turned down couldn’t help but feel a slight pang of disappointment.
Shen Zhiyi carried her luggage off the bus by herself. The moment she stepped down, she spotted Zhou Hong, who happened to have a male comrade helping her with her bags.
When Zhou Hong saw that Shen Zhiyi had come down carrying her own luggage alone, her eyes were filled with arrogance.
Hmph, so she didn’t even have anyone to help her with her bags.
Shigeda Commune was a large commune, with over a dozen brigade leaders coming to pick up the newcomers.
Shen Zhiyi was assigned to the Ligou Production Brigade—no surprise there, since she’d paid good money for that assignment.
-_-||
But what were all these familiar faces doing here beside her?
The brigade leader called out to them, “Hurry, hurry—get your luggage loaded up, don’t dawdle.”
Shen Zhiyi grabbed one big bag in each hand and tossed her luggage onto the ox cart in two quick moves.
She even reached out to help Wang Xiaoxia, who was struggling with her bags.
Wang Xiaoxia was startled for a moment, then quickly thanked her again and again. “Thank you, thank you.”
The flatbed cart was fairly large, but once their luggage was loaded on, only a small space remained.
Since the brigade leader hadn’t said anything, they kept quiet and walked along behind the cart.
But it wasn’t even half an hour before Zhou Hong was the first to crack.
“Brigade leader, I really can’t walk anymore. Can I ride on the ox cart?”
She’d specially gone to the commune to buy a blue floral-print dress for coming to the countryside, and she’d even put on a pair of leather shoes.
But pretty as they were, it hadn’t been long at all before her heels were rubbed raw, and every step sent a fiery sting through her feet.
Li Yongan looked over impatiently, but no matter how irritated he was, he couldn’t muster any anger when he saw these young girls.
Ah…
They all looked about the same age as his own youngest daughter.
Coming all the way out to this remote countryside by themselves—their parents back home must be worried sick.
“Ah, there’s not enough room left for all of you to sit anyway.”
He thought for a moment. “Tell you what—you five female comrades can take turns sitting, and the male comrades will walk.”
The reason he hadn’t given these sent-down youth a warm welcome earlier was precisely because of this.
He was just too unlucky—of the six sent-down youth assigned to his brigade this time, only one was male, and the rest were all female!
He didn’t even dare to faint!
With this bunch of delicate flowers, he was afraid that if he passed out, no one would be there to pinch his philtrum to revive him!
Zhou Hong scrambled up eagerly. “I’m first!”
The distance from the commune to their brigade wasn’t far—about an hour and a half on foot. The brigade leader kept track of the distance and called for her to switch when the time came.
But who would’ve thought Zhou Hong would refuse?
“I don’t think they look tired at all. Just let me keep the seat.”
Her eyes darted slyly between the others.
“After all, you all ate your fill on the train. I brought half a roast duck, and I only had two pieces myself—you lot ate the rest.”
She wanted to see who was shameless enough to eat her roast duck and then fight her for the seat!
Thin-skinned Zhao Xinghua and Wang Xiaoxia turned bright red under her gaze and quickly said:
“I… I won’t sit.”
“Me neither.”
Shen Zhiyi couldn’t care less about all that. “I didn’t eat any.”
“Get down now—it’s my turn.”
Zhou Hong ground her teeth in frustration. It was true that Shen Zhiyi hadn’t eaten any—she’d taken one bite of that duck and then given it back. Zhou Hong hadn’t had the heart to throw it away afterward, so she’d rinsed it off with water in the restroom and eaten it herself.
Unlike Zhou Hong, who sat prim and proper, Shen Zhiyi had plenty of ideas. The moment she got on, she pushed the hard luggage to the sides and arranged the soft bags in a circle around her.
Then she settled in, like she was sitting in a beanbag chair.
Absolutely comfortable.
Next came Zhang Sumei and Chen Xiuhua’s turns, and neither of them gave up their seat for Zhou Hong either.
When they’d both had their turns and it was Zhou Hong’s round again, Shen Zhiyi smiled.
“Ahem.”
“Uncle Brigade Leader, how much farther to the village?”
Li Yongan reached out and patted the old yellow ox’s back. “About twenty more minutes.”
Ah, this ox had become his old companion by now.
Hearing this, Shen Zhiyi’s smile deepened. “Captain, we’re not far now. We can walk the rest of the way ourselves.”
“After all, we came to the countryside to settle and work, not to enjoy an easy life. If we can’t even walk this short distance, how can we talk about building up the rural areas?”
Zhou Hong listened to her words, her yellow teeth nearly grinding to dust!
You can walk, but she can’t.
“I—”
Unfortunately, Shen Zhiyi didn’t even give her a chance to get a second word out before she began shouting with great fervor:
“Accept re-education from the poor and lower-middle peasants, take root in the countryside and devote ourselves to the revolution!”
“To hold fast to the green mountain and never let go, our roots lie deep in the broken rock!”
Zhao Xinghua: “…”
This is a bit awkward, isn’t it? Could it be that his own political consciousness isn’t high enough?
The brigade captain, who had just been feeling sorry for his old yellow ox, immediately chimed in: “Well said!”
“Then you can walk the rest of the way yourselves.”
At that moment, Zhou Hong’s gaze at Shen Zhiyi was no different from one steeped in poison.
Shen Zhiyi shot her a big eye roll, swung her arms, and walked off with complete ease and flair.
By the time they reached the educated youth settlement, everyone was merely tired—except Zhou Hong.
Both of her heels were completely blistered and raw, and the pain made it so she could barely lift her feet as she walked.
They had taken the bus early in the morning, and now it was the village’s midday rest time. Even though they weren’t the first batch of educated youth to arrive in the village, the villagers were still very curious.
“Aiyo! That little girl is really pretty! And tall too!”
“And so fair—white as tofu!”
“Pfft, so what? Once she’s in the countryside, she’ll be tanned dark as a charcoal bun within a month!”
“What good is being pretty? Look at that thin waist and small hips—she clearly can’t bear sons!”
Under a large locust tree not far away, Chen Jiahui wore a look of disappointment.
Still no Lu Zhaoheng.
Clearly, in her last life, he had come to the countryside in July of this year. Why hadn’t he arrived yet?