This meal was especially cheerful.
Looking at Lin Zhi and the others, Yu Nian’an felt an inexplicable sense of contentment.
Ever since coming here, she had been eating alone every day. In this unfamiliar place and lonely environment, it had been a long time since she felt this happy.
It seemed that being with them wasn’t as bad as she had imagined.
After the meal, Lin Zhi wanted to stay and help wash the dishes before leaving, but Yu Nian’an refused outright.
“It’s just a few bowls no need for us to divide the work like that.” She pointed up at the sky. “It’s getting dark. If you don’t leave now, you might not even be able to see the road later.”
They hadn’t expected to be out this late, so they hadn’t brought flashlights. And given Yu Nian’an’s situation, she didn’t have one either.
If they delayed any longer, they’d really have to walk back in the dark.
Thinking of this, Lin Zhi reluctantly said goodbye. The three of them left the courtyard one after another.
Gu Shen walked last. As he stepped out, he slowed his pace slightly, leaving some distance between himself and the other two ahead.
Yu Nian’an had long gotten used to him lingering on the edges of the group. After seeing them out, she had just turned around when she heard his voice behind her.
“Remember to lock the courtyard gate and the house door at night. Close the windows inside as well.”
Startled, Yu Nian’an turned back, only to see that he had already walked away in long strides.
Was he… reminding her just now?
Then why hadn’t he said it earlier?
What an awkward person.
Still… was that concern?
Yu Nian’an stroked her chin, mulling it over as she walked back. After returning to the courtyard, she bolted the gate, then went to the kitchen to clean up. By the time she finished and returned to her room, it was completely dark.
That night, she slept well.
The next day, Uncle Jianping arrived as promised, bringing his two nephews. The three of them seemed to have forgotten yesterday’s incident and got straight to work in the courtyard.
The sounds of hammering and knocking drifted into Yu Nian’an’s ears from time to time.
Since it was the last day of rest, and worried something like yesterday might happen again, she decided not to go anywhere and stayed home all day.
The well was finally completed in a rush.
When handing it over, Uncle Jianping repeatedly reminded her not to use it for now wait for it to slowly fill with water and settle for a while.
Yu Nian’an figured the water in her jar was still enough for the time being, so she wasn’t in a hurry. She assured him again and again that she would follow his advice, and while no one was looking, she slipped him the red envelope she had prepared in advance.
“Anni, what are you doing?” Uncle Jianping asked.
He could tell by touch that it contained two extra days’ wages and immediately tried to return it.
Yu Nian’an quickly stopped him. “Uncle, these past few days you’ve been working and even helped me clear land and set up the chicken coop. You thought of everything so I didn’t have to worry. This is just a small token of my appreciation. Please take it and thank Auntie for me too, for cooking all these days.”
Hearing this, Uncle Jianping refused a few more times before reluctantly accepting it.
He’d probably get scolded by his wife when he got back.
Now the small courtyard looked completely renewed: new walls, a new toilet and bathing shed, and even the main house walls had been replastered.
The vegetable plot had been fertilized she just needed to get some seedlings from Aunt Chunxing tomorrow, and she’d soon have fresh greens. As for the chicken coop, she could buy a couple of chickens at the next market and have eggs as well.
At dinner time, Yu Nian’an sat in the courtyard, enjoying this rare moment of peace.
The next day, work resumed. Fortunately, she hadn’t been idle during the past three days. After getting up, she quickly adjusted to the routine. After breakfast, she locked the gate and headed toward the fields.
She had only taken a couple of steps when someone called from behind no need to guess, it was Lin Zhi.
Yu Nian’an turned back and waited for them.
“Nian’an, what kind of work do you think they’ll assign us today?” Lin Zhi asked, naturally linking arms with her.
Ever since that dinner together, their relationship had grown much closer. They had even dropped the formal “comrade” and started calling each other by name.
But Yu Nian’an really couldn’t answer the question. She searched through the original owner’s memories and replied uncertainly:
“The field work is mostly done, so I guess… we’ll be working in the paddies.”
“The paddies?” Lin Zhi wasn’t too enthusiastic. There were lots of bugs in the fields, and their clothes would get soaked it wasn’t as easy as working on dry land.
Yu Nian’an wasn’t sure either and could only comfort her. “Let’s see when we get there. Maybe it’ll be something else.”
Lin Zhi nodded, muttering, “I hope we get assigned together.”
When the four of them arrived at the gathering point, quite a few people were already there. From afar, Yu Nian’an noticed that the educated youth named Zhang Yulan was standing behind the crowd, occasionally glaring in their direction she wasn’t sure whether it was at her or Lin Zhi.
After the team leader arrived, he began taking attendance.
By now, the educated youths had gradually gotten used to the work, so they no longer needed one-on-one guidance from villagers. Everyone was reorganized into eight groups.
By coincidence, Yu Nian’an and the others ended up in the same group along with Aunt Chunxing.
Next came the task assignments. Just as Yu Nian’an had guessed they were going into the paddies.
The rice had already sprouted ears, and now they needed to re-dig the drainage ditches on both sides. Several teams would cover the entire paddy area of the Yu production team.
At the field, Aunt Chunxing came over and quietly complained about the red envelope from last night.
“You silly girl, even if you have money, you shouldn’t give it away like that!”
“Auntie, it’s only fair. Uncle Jianping helped me with so much, and you cooked for several days. It’s all deserved.”
Yu Nian’an repeated the same explanation she had given the day before.
Even so, Aunt Chunxing still felt the girl was too sincere and didn’t want to accept the money.
Meanwhile, Lin Zhi had already taken off her shoes and socks and stepped into the water, calling her over.
Seeing this, Yu Nian’an patted Aunt Chunxing’s hand and comforted her, “Just accept it, Auntie. Otherwise, I’ll feel embarrassed to ask for your help in the future.”
At that, Aunt Chunxing could only nod.
Yu Nian’an finally felt at ease and walked over to Lin Zhi. Following her example, she rolled up her pant legs to her knees, stepped barefoot into the water, picked up her tools, and began scooping mud along the edges of the paddy.
Working in the fields was indeed exhausting. The rice leaves scraped against her legs, making them sting and itch not severely, but enough to be pure torment.
Even Ye Xiao, who was usually lively, couldn’t help but complain. On their way back at noon, none of them had the energy to chat.
When they neared home, Yu Nian’an said goodbye to the three of them and returned to her courtyard. She soaked her legs in cool water to ease the itching.
After such intense labor, she fell asleep as soon as she finished lunch.
When she woke up again, the discomfort in her legs had lessened, though the scratches from the rice leaves were still red.
Thinking about having to endure this for the next few days, Yu Nian’an suddenly missed home again.
At least working a regular job was better than tending these rice paddies and she wouldn’t have to deal with a useless cousin scheming against her or an unreasonable grandmother causing trouble.