“I don’t want to cry either, it’s just that I can’t help it.” Shen Jiaojiao was crying so hard she could barely catch her breath. She didn’t usually shed this many tears in front of others, but somehow, every time she saw Li Ran’s face full of annoyance at her, she just couldn’t stop crying.
“See! She’s crying again. I’m really about to be driven crazy by her.” Li Ran spread his hands toward Chen Yuhang with an innocent look, acting like it had nothing to do with him.
“Sigh! I really give up on you two. And Li Ran, can’t you give Shen Jiaojiao a break? At this rate, I’m about to become the sandwich in the middle.” Chen Yuhang was worried about his own future. How did he end up knowing just these two people? Being a mediator for them every day was exhausting.
“I already went to the countryside to get away from her, but who knew she’d also sign up with me? Now I’m more annoyed than you are. The main problem is that the elders at home keep trying to match us together.” Li Ran felt he was innocent too; he didn’t want to treat Shen Jiaojiao this way, but she seemed unable to understand reason and kept following him around. The problem was, he really didn’t like girls with her kind of personality.
“Brother Ran, I just want to be with you. If you don’t like me this way, I’ll change.” Shen Jiaojiao genuinely liked Li Ran. Ever since she was little, her biggest dream had been to become Li Ran’s wife.
“Then what exactly do you like about me? I’ll change.” Li Ran was really on the verge of being annoyed to death by Shen Jiaojiao.
“Alright, enough arguing. Don’t disturb others resting.” Chen Yuhang apologized to Chen Xiaolin. Even he thought these two childhood friends were way too noisy and wasn’t sure whether others hated them for it.
Actually, Chen Xiaolin found their drama quite entertaining—she just wished she had some sunflower seeds to snack on while watching.
For the next four days, she basically heard Li Ran scolding Shen Jiaojiao and Shen Jiaojiao’s tearful complaints every single day.
Chen Xiaolin started feeling tired on behalf of Chen Yuhang. In his past life, he must have desecrated the graves of these two ancestors; in this life, he got these two troublemakers tormenting him.
Chen Yuhang himself was exhausted too. He had no idea if they’d eventually be assigned to the same production brigade. Countless times he regretted going to the countryside with these two.
Liu Aihong’s colleague visited Chen Xiaolin almost every day. In the past few days, he had even helped her fetch hot water.
Chen Xiaolin felt genuinely touched. She knew Aunt Liu must have promised him some reward; otherwise, he wouldn’t have cared for her so thoughtfully.
After spending four days on the train, Chen Xiaolin was getting a bit fed up. If she weren’t about to arrive, she probably wouldn’t have been able to lie down anymore.
When the train reached Yongping County at around ten in the morning, Chen Xiaolin held her suitcase in her right hand and her large package in her left. The small package of food she had brought was already empty, so she walked out of the station easily.
She had sent a telegram to her grandparents the day before boarding, so she wasn’t sure if anyone would come to pick her up.
As soon as she walked out, she saw her eldest cousin Chen Mu looking around anxiously.
“Big brother, Chen Mu, I’m here.”
“Xiaolin, you finally arrived! When we got the news that you were coming back, Grandpa and Grandma were overjoyed. They’ve been worried about you being alone all this time.” Chen Mu was the eldest son of Uncle Chen, raised by their grandparents. He knew just how much they missed their little cousin.
“How’s Grandpa and Grandma’s health lately?” Chen Xiaolin hadn’t been home for nearly five years. She didn’t have very deep memories of them, only remembering that every time she returned, they would slip pocket money into her hands.
“They’re still quite healthy. Grandpa can still handle ten centimeters every day!” Chen Mu said with a smile. “Let’s head to the tractor; today my dad is also coming to pick up the educated youth.” He took the suitcase and large package from Chen Xiaolin, unwilling to let his fragile little cousin carry so much.
“Are there many educated youth in our village?” Chen Xiaolin was curious about life in the 1970s countryside. She wondered if the village youths were troublesome.
“There are about seven or eight left. You’ll see once you stay here for a while. These educated youths are useless for work but experts at causing trouble; you’d better keep your distance.” Chen Mu wasn’t fond of them, because a female educated youth in the village had previously caused chaos, flirting with young men to do her work, turning the village upside down.
“Okay, got it. I’m just curious about how they live in the countryside.” Chen Xiaolin had no intention of getting involved with them—she simply disliked trouble.
Finally, Chen Mu brought Chen Xiaolin to the tractor parking area at Qingshan Brigade. The train station had been crowded, mostly with educated youth carrying heavy packages, making the streets packed.
“Xiaolin, do you want to sit in the front or back?” Chen Mu asked as he tied her luggage to the front of the tractor.
“I’ll sit in the front! I don’t like being squished with others.” Chen Xiaolin felt the front might be windier, but the breeze was pleasant and not too cold.
They waited on the tractor for a long time until Uncle Chen arrived late, accompanied by two male and two female educated youth.
“Uncle, hurry and get on! I’ve been waiting for you for so long.” Chen Xiaolin was happy to see Uncle Chen—he looked so much like her father.
“Xiaolin, you’re back! Grandpa and Grandma talk about you every day.” Uncle Chen doted on his little niece. During Chen Dazhu’s funeral, he had wanted to take Chen Xiaolin back home, but she refused.
After chatting a bit with Uncle Chen, Chen Xiaolin realized that all the educated youth following him were familiar faces.
Li Ran and his two companions had been in the same train compartment, and surprisingly, one of them was Chen Xiaolin’s classmate Liu Zhaodi.
“Chen Xiaolin, it hasn’t been long, and you don’t recognize me?” Although they hadn’t hung out much at school, they had been in the same class for two years and occasionally chatted.
“Why are you going to the countryside too?” Chen Xiaolin was quite surprised. Despite Liu Zhaodi’s ordinary-sounding name, her parents cared for her; she only had a younger brother in elementary school.
“Don’t mention it. I got tricked into this. I’ll tell you about it when I have time.” Liu Zhaodi didn’t want to continue chatting since everyone was waiting for them.