Seeing that the main characters had left, the onlookers scattered and bent over their work in the fields. This little incident was soon forgotten.
The sun today was just as scorching as usual. It was almost the end of July. Yu Nian’an calculated that, given the local climate, it probably wouldn’t cool down completely until September.
Out of the corner of her eye, she glanced at Gu Shen, two rows of crops over. The arm exposed by his half-sleeve was already a little sunburned, though his complexion looked much better than a few days ago.
It seemed his physical condition was good he was recovering quickly.
Seeing that he had adapted, she drew her gaze back and focused on finishing her share of the work today, eager to return home and see how her little courtyard was coming along.
It wasn’t that she didn’t trust Uncle Jianping and his two nephews she just felt that watching the changes with her own eyes would bring greater satisfaction.
After finishing work and greeting Aunt Chunxing, Yu Nian’an quickly walked toward her home. When Ye Xiao came over, he caught sight of her departing figure.
“Hey, I say, why is this young comrade always in such a hurry every day?”
Gu Shen watched her energetic stride, her whole being radiating drive, and shook his head.
For three full days, he hadn’t even known her name, let alone anything else about her.
Fortunately, Ye Xiao only asked casually and didn’t linger on the topic. Once Gu Shen had finished tidying up, the two of them headed to find Lin Zhi.
The person responsible for guiding Lin Zhi was a kind-looking aunt, who was chatting with her casually.
The topics of conversation among the older generation were always the same. Lin Zhi’s good-natured personality showed she responded gently and politely.
A passerby teased, “Oh, sister-in-law, why do you always take young Lin with you? Have you got your eye on her, wanting her to marry into your family?”
A burst of laughter spread around.
Lin Zhi’s expression didn’t change, though her smile faded slightly. The aunt was about to respond, but an unharmonious voice cut in.
It was Zhao Yulan, a female educated youth from the same batch as Lin Zhi.
“Auntie, if you’re thinking that way, you better stop. Young Lin can barely handle those two by herself don’t let your son get involved too.”
At that moment, Ye Xiao and Gu Shen happened to walk over.
Hearing that, they immediately realized she was referring to the two of them.
Ye Xiao looked a bit displeased. Ever since the day they arrived, he hadn’t had a good impression of her.
The Yu family brigade was in a small county under a city in the eastern province. There was no direct train here, so their group had to take a bus from a nearby city to the county and then walk to the brigade.
Lin Zhi got motion sickness on the way, and after getting off the bus, she had to walk nearly two hours under the sun. By the time they reached the educated youths’ lodging, she had fainted.
Gu Shen had helped her to a shaded spot to rest. Seeing she was still dazed, Ye Xiao had gone inside to put her luggage in the room and even set up the bed. When he came out, he saw that Zhang Yulan had also fainted.
There were five of them in total two men and three women and two of them had fainted immediately. Gu Shen and Ye Xiao exchanged worried glances. The third female youth ran out screaming and chased after the brigade secretary who had brought them.
Now that the older educated youths were all out in the fields, Ye Xiao went forward to help Zhang Yulan to the eaves for shade, but didn’t touch her luggage.
After all, they weren’t close, and if something went missing, it would be hard to explain.
When Zhang Yulan gradually woke up, she found her luggage still scattered around the yard and immediately ran to confront them, asking why they hadn’t helped put it away.
Ye Xiao explained his concerns, but she immediately pointed at Lin Zhi. “Then why did you help her with her things?”
“We grew up together since childhood. What do you think?” he replied.
Hearing this, Zhang Yulan looked embarrassed and spat at him, “Big deal, growing up together! We’re all comrades sent to the countryside together!”
Ye Xiao found her utterly unreasonable and didn’t argue further. He turned and went to the boys’ dorm.
He had thought this was just a minor incident, but that evening in the kitchen, Zhang Yulan made that capitalist remark again. Since then, Ye Xiao hadn’t taken to her.
Being a woman, he hadn’t shown it openly and usually avoided her whenever possible.
But today, she had said it in front of everyone not only smearing Lin Zhi, but also dragging them into gossip.
He didn’t mind it himself, but Gu Shen’s situation was different. He couldn’t afford to become the subject of speculation.
Thinking this through, Ye Xiao stepped forward and put on an expression of sudden realization:
“So that’s why you, Zhang Yulan, are always hanging around this field you’ve got your eye on someone’s son!”
This sudden remark caught Zhang Yulan completely off guard. She froze, momentarily forgetting how to respond, staring at him with wide eyes.
Seeing her reaction, Ye Xiao grinned. So she only knew how to bully Lin Zhi, huh?
He immediately pressed the advantage: “Why don’t we tell the brigade secretary tomorrow to move you to this field, so you can keep a closer eye on him?”
The best way to divert attention was to create another topic, and clearly, this method worked perfectly. The crowd’s eyes shifted away from Lin Zhi and turned toward Zhang Yulan.
No one gave a second thought to who the “two people” she had mentioned earlier were.
Seeing that the aunt seemed to take Ye Xiao’s words to heart, she also couldn’t hide her disdain for Zhang Yulan. She had noticed Zhang Yulan’s little lazy tricks over the past few days during work, and now her expression reflected pure contempt.
Zhang Yulan’s face instantly went pale, and she ran off from the field as if fleeing.
With the drama over, the rest of the people gradually dispersed. Before leaving, the aunt held Lin Zhi’s hand and explained, “Girl, you’ll still be in my field tomorrow. I just like you—you remind me of my daughter who married far away. Don’t take it the wrong way.”
Lin Zhi smiled and nodded in response.
Yu Nian’an didn’t witness the minor commotion in the field. By now, she was almost at her own home and could see that the stone wall outside the courtyard had already been built to half her height.
The progress was impressively fast.
The broken door had been completely removed, leaving only the doorway for people to pass through.
When Yu Nian’an entered, she saw that Uncle Jianping had already started digging a pit on the left side of the house. The work of building the courtyard wall had been left to his two nephews.
The division of labor was very clear, and at this pace, it seemed the work would indeed be finished in two or three days.
Seeing them busy, Yu Nian’an didn’t idle either; she went over to help carry away the piles of dirt that had been dug out.
Since she wasn’t providing meals, by the time the last rays of sunlight disappeared, Uncle Jianping had put away the tools and was ready to leave with the others.
Before leaving, Yu Nian’an called him over, her face showing a hint of apology.
“Uncle, I need to go to the county tomorrow. If we run out of water, you might have to boil some yourselves.”
Hearing this, Uncle Jianping thought it was no big deal and waved dismissively. “No problem, girl. Don’t worry we can handle it ourselves.”
After sending them out of the courtyard, Yu Nian’an gathered some stones and stacked them in the doorway, creating a makeshift “stone gate.” It wasn’t sturdy enough to completely block entry, but anyone stepping over it would likely knock it apart, which would at least serve as a warning.
She hadn’t forgotten that that brat Yu Dingguo still held a grudge against her.