The brigade leader’s family had just finished lunch when Wen Ranran arrived. Seeing her, the brigade leader’s wife quickly welcomed her inside.
“Educated Youth Wen, what brings you here? Are you feeling any better?”
The brigade leader’s wife was a middle-aged woman in her forties. Because she had never had a daughter of her own, she had always been especially fond of young girls.
On the first day the educated youths arrived in the countryside and knew nothing about rural life, she had specifically gone to the educated youth station to explain basic living matters to them and had even brought medicated oil to ward off mosquitoes. When Wen Ranran collapsed from heatstroke, the brigade leader’s wife had also been the first to discover and help rescue her.
In short, she was an extremely kind and warmhearted person.
Wen Ranran naturally felt very close to her and said gratefully, “I’m feeling much better now, just still a little dizzy. Speaking of which, I really have to thank you, Aunt Liu. If you hadn’t discovered I had heatstroke, I might not even be alive right now. These candies are something I brought from home. They’re nothing valuable, just let the children have something sweet.”
Seeing Wen Ranran pull out a handful of fruit candies from her pocket, the brigade leader’s little grandson’s eyes instantly lit up. He kept glancing eagerly at Liu Cuihua, waiting for her permission to eat them.
But Liu Cuihua immediately stuffed the candies back into Wen Ranran’s hands.
“You child, your body’s still weak. This is exactly when you need nutrition, so keep the candies for yourself.
You came looking for your Uncle Team Leader, right? He just finished lunch and went to check the irrigation ditch. Sit for a bit—he’ll be back soon.”
Hearing this, Wen Ranran didn’t continue arguing back and forth with her. Instead, while Liu Cuihua was distracted pouring water for her, she secretly slipped the candies into the pocket of the brigade leader’s grandson, Tian Jinbao.
Tian Jinbao’s eyes widened in shock, unable to believe the candies really belonged to him now.
Wen Ranran gave him a playful smile, winked at him, and raised a finger to her lips in a “shh” gesture. Jinbao immediately understood. He clapped both hands over his mouth to stop himself from crying out, then glanced at his grandmother before nodding enthusiastically at Wen Ranran.
Educated Youth Wen was pretty and kind to children—he liked her so much!
He planned to divide the candies into several portions and share some with his friend Shitou. Shitou was pitiful. Both his parents were dead, and he only lived with his one-eyed grandfather. He often didn’t even have enough to eat and had never tasted candy before.
Candy was sweet and delicious. Shitou would definitely love it!
By the time Liu Cuihua returned after pouring the water, she saw Jinbao happily bouncing out the door. He was so excited that a candy even fell out of his pocket!
Startled, Jinbao quickly glanced back, snatched up the candy from the ground, and ran away before Liu Cuihua even had the chance to scold him.
Wen Ranran hurriedly stood up to defend him.
“Aunt Liu, I gave the candies to Jinbao. It was just a small token of my appreciation. If you want to blame someone, blame me instead. Don’t scold him.”
Liu Cuihua sighed. Though she lightly reproached Wen Ranran with a few words, inwardly she was deeply touched.
If a family had the means, who wouldn’t want to give their grandson something nice to eat? Candy was such a precious thing, yet Educated Youth Wen hadn’t even eaten any herself while sick and had instead given it all to Jinbao. It softened her heart completely. What a thoughtful and grateful girl!
Wen Ranran spoke sweetly and knew how to handle people tactfully, and Liu Cuihua was equally straightforward in return.
So when Brigade Leader Tian Yougen finally came back, before Wen Ranran could even speak, Liu Cuihua had already asked her husband to approve half a day’s leave for her.
“Educated Youth Wen still hasn’t recovered. Don’t make her go work this afternoon. She’s all skin and bones and still sick. Even if she goes, she won’t be much help. If she collapses again, it’ll be more trouble than it’s worth. Give her half a day off so she can rest properly at home.”
Then she looked at Wen Ranran’s frighteningly pale face and suddenly felt that still wasn’t enough.
“No, this won’t do. Educated Youth Wen just said she’s still dizzy. You should also write her a referral letter so she can go to the hospital and get some medicine, just to be safe.”
And so, Tian Yougen had barely returned home and hadn’t even managed to sit down before his wife shoved him off to write Wen Ranran a leave slip and referral letter.
While he was writing it, Liu Cuihua sat there holding Wen Ranran’s hand and chatting happily with her. By the time Tian Yougen returned with the referral letter, the two looked so close that anyone unaware of the situation might have thought they were mother and daughter.
“Ahem.”
Tian Yougen coughed twice and stepped forward to hand the referral letter to Wen Ranran.
“I’ve written the referral for you. Go get checked at the hospital first, but don’t buy medicine there. If you need medicine, go to the pharmaceutical factory instead. I know someone there—it’ll be much cheaper.”
Although Tian Yougen, as brigade leader, often felt that the educated youths were a burden on the production team, he still sympathized with these young people far from home. Whenever possible, he took care of them and never deliberately made things difficult. He always tried to help them save whatever money they could. To the educated youths sent down to the countryside, he was truly a very responsible brigade leader.
“Thank you, Uncle Team Leader. I’ll head off now. I’ll work hard and try not to drag our brigade down in the future!”
Wen Ranran’s words carried a double meaning, though neither the brigade leader nor his wife caught it.
Although she had no intention of staying here long-term, Wen Ranran sincerely appreciated the brigade leader’s family. She had already decided that if they ever needed help in the future and she was able to assist, she definitely would.
Thinking of that reminded Wen Ranran of something mentioned in the novel.
Before long, Tian Jinbao, the brigade leader’s little grandson, would nearly drown while playing carelessly by the river. The female lead Jiang Yue would happen to pass by and rescue him.
Although he would survive, Jinbao would suffer permanent brain damage due to lack of oxygen and become mentally disabled.
It was precisely because Jiang Yue saved Jinbao that Tian Yougen became deeply grateful to her. Later, when he learned that Jiang Yue’s relationship with Zhou Musheng was opposed by the Zhou family, he specifically asked an acquaintance at the pharmaceutical factory to speak well of Jiang Yue to Zhou Musheng’s parents. That acquaintance happened to be their superior, and because of that, Jiang Yue was ultimately able to marry Zhou Musheng smoothly.
Thinking of this, Wen Ranran gently offered a warning.
“Uncle Team Leader, I just remembered something. When I came over earlier, I saw several children sneaking toward the river. I scolded them and sent them home, but they didn’t seem very convinced. Shouldn’t someone warn their parents? If something really happens later, it’ll be too late for regrets.”
The moment those words fell, Tian Yougen could no longer sit still. He shot to his feet so fast he nearly lost his breath.
Brats playing in the water was no small matter. He hurriedly asked, “Educated Youth Wen, tell me exactly whose little troublemakers they were! I’m going there right now!”
Every single year he shouted himself hoarse pulling children by the ears, warning them not to swim in the river ditches, yet every year there were still disobedient kids.
It was recently the busy farming season, and he had almost neglected the issue. If he didn’t crack down now, those little devils would be climbing onto the roof next!
Tian Yougen immediately decided that not only the children Wen Ranran had seen, but every troublesome kid in the brigade would get a severe scolding from their parents. As for Jinbao, being his own grandson, he’d get punished twice!
Seeing that the brigade leader had taken the matter seriously, Wen Ranran finally relaxed a little. This should prevent Jinbao’s accident now.
After calmly listing several children’s names, Tian Yougen hurried out to discipline them, while Wen Ranran took the referral letter and quickly returned to the educated youth station.