Her tone was calm, entirely the kind of concern one would show between normal comrades—neither overly enthusiastic nor cold.
Zhang Mantun also spoke up at the right moment. Though his tone was stiff, it was still reasonable: “If you’re tired, take a break! Don’t push yourself too hard. If you really faint, it’ll just cause trouble!”
Jiang Muxue’s prepared words were instantly stuck in her throat, neither coming up nor going down, making her feel even more uncomfortable.
Shen Qingyu was not only not “cold” but instead “considerately” told her to rest.
The team leader had also spoken.
If she continued pretending, it would only come across as affected and ungrateful.
Left with no choice, she could only take the opportunity to step back, carrying a hint of unwillingness and embarrassment as she carefully moved to the edge of the field ridge and sat down.
She took out her water bottle and drank from it in small sips, but her gaze remained fixed on Shen Qingyu’s steady, busy figure. Her nails nearly dug into her palms.
Shen Qingyu paid her no further mind, continuing to focus on the corn seedlings before her.
She knew very well this was only the beginning—Jiang Muxue would not give up so easily.
But for now, the labor in the fields was the battlefield. Work points were food rations, and she had to fight this battle well, securing the means for her own survival.
She was also building a preliminary impression of being “diligent and hardworking” for her eventual move toward independent living.
Sweat dripped onto the black soil, and Shen Qingyu’s gaze grew increasingly calm and resolute.
Life in the Red Flag Production Team officially began with the repeated motions of bending and straightening up.
And the silent contest between her and Jiang Muxue took deeper root in this vast expanse of farmland.
The piercing whistle signaling the end of work finally cut through the afternoon’s dullness, ringing out like a decree.
On the field ridge, Jiang Muxue, who had been forcing herself to endure, immediately looked up. Her pale face showed a hint of relief, but the unwillingness and resentment deep in her eyes could not be dispelled.
Leaning on her knees, she struggled to support her exhausted body, standing up somewhat unsteadily. Her gaze involuntarily drifted toward the nearby figure.
Shen Qingyu was slowly straightening her sore back.
The ache made it difficult to straighten up fully, and Shen Qingyu grimaced, unable to help muttering softly, “Good grief, if it weren’t for the Spatial Spring Water, my back probably wouldn’t even feel like my own anymore.”
Mu Yue looked up at her in confusion. “Sister Shen, what did you say?”
Shen Qingyu immediately regained her composed and calm demeanor.
She shook her head slightly. “It’s nothing.”
Mu Yue didn’t press further because her own back was also too sore to straighten.
Every movement made her grimace involuntarily.
She figured Sister Shen must have been unable to hold back just like her.
Zhang Mantun walked with his hands behind his back, inspecting the corn seedling fields. His expression shifted from stern to frowning, and eventually, his brows were almost knotted together.
Only when he reached the ridge Shen Qingyu was responsible for did his frown ease slightly, and he gave an almost imperceptible nod.
Thankfully, there were still a few who knew how to work properly, or else the seedlings in the field would have been ruined.
After finishing his inspection, he glanced at the group, all of whom looked rather unwell.
He let out a soft sigh.
“Work’s over, everyone go back and eat!” Zhang Mantun called out in his gruff voice, turning first to walk toward the field ridge.
As if granted amnesty, everyone dragged their exhausted bodies to follow.
Li Aihua and Liu Caifeng supported each other, whispering and sighing.
Their faces were no better than Jiang Muxue’s.
Mu Yue walked over to Shen Qingyu, her small face flushed red from the sun, the hair at her forehead stuck to her temples with sweat, but her eyes sparkled brightly, her tone carrying a hint of reliance and admiration. “Sister Shen, thanks to you teaching me, otherwise I would have pulled out so many wrong seedlings.”
Shen Qingyu gave her a gentle smile and handed over her own water bottle. “Have a drink, you must be exhausted, right? You’ll get used to it slowly.”
The water in the bottle wasn’t Spatial Spring Water, just ordinary well water, though a bit of honey had been added to it.
She noticed that although Mu Yue worked slowly, she was very careful and meticulous, pulling out very few wrong seedlings.
Jiang Muxue lagged a few steps behind, watching the intimate way Shen Qingyu and Mu Yue conversed in low voices.
Then she looked at Zhang Mantun’s back up ahead, and the resentment in her heart burned even fiercer.
Not only was Shen Qingyu physically strong and quick to pick up farm work,
she had also won over Mu Yue, that seemingly harmless ‘sickly girl’ who could actually become an asset!
What made Jiang Muxue even more frustrated was that Shen Qingyu’s application to build her own house had actually been approved!
This was practically a public slap in the face to her own ‘collectivism’ slogan!
Why could she escape this crowded, filthy, utterly privacy-less communal bunkhouse?
Shen Qingyu didn’t know about the jealousy and resentment Jiang Muxue harbored toward her from behind.
But even if she had known, she wouldn’t have panicked, as she had never let her guard down around her anyway.
On the dirt road back to the educated youth point, the atmosphere was heavy.
Fatigue had overwhelmed the initial novelty, leaving only confusion about the unknown labor ahead and dismay at the crude conditions.
Seeing Ji Yiqing and the others, Jiang Muxue quickly quickened her pace, deliberately moving closer to Ji Yiqing, who was walking in the middle of the group.
Ji Yiqing now wore a weary expression, his brand-new white shirt stained with mud, his eyes behind the gold-rimmed glasses revealing deep exhaustion and a trace of barely perceptible confusion.
This heavy physical labor was far removed from his imagined ‘vast world where one can achieve great things.’
Jiang Muxue adjusted her breathing, her voice carrying just the right amount of feigned weakness and concern. “Comrade Ji, are you alright? Is the work on the north slope even more tiring? You don’t look too well.”
She tried to steer the conversation toward shared ‘suffering,’ simultaneously closing the distance with Ji Yiqing while hinting at Shen Qingyu’s ‘easier’ situation.
Ji Yiqing pushed up his glasses, which had slipped from sweat, nodding politely yet distantly. “I’m alright, thank you for your concern, Comrade Jiang. Weeding is indeed quite strenuous.”
After speaking, his gaze unconsciously swept over Shen Qingyu’s upright figure ahead.
Comrade Shen seemed to possess a certain resilience; whether it was her composure on the train or the steady performance he witnessed in the fields on the north slope today, he couldn’t ignore her.
Her proposal to build her own house, though bold, upon closer thought, was well-reasoned and practical, even… enviable.
Thinking this, he rubbed his sore shoulders. The snoring and crowding in the collective dormitory were indeed a problem.
Jiang Muxue had been watching Ji Yiqing closely and noticed his gaze lingering on Shen Qingyu. Instantly, alarm bells rang in her heart.
Just as she was about to say something to draw Ji Yiqing’s attention back, she was interrupted by the conversation between Lu Ye and Su Yixuan beside them.
“Oh my god, is this arm even still mine?” Lu Ye exaggeratedly swung his arm, grimacing all the while.
“Brother Gu, when do you think this kind of life will ever end? I think Comrade Shen’s idea is pretty great—having your own little nest would be so much more comfortable!”
He turned to look at Gu Huainian, who was walking at the very back, silent yet steady in his stride.
Gu Huainian did not speak, his gaze sweeping past Shen Qingyu’s figure ahead before quickly shifting away, as if merely scanning the surroundings casually.
Yet his tightly pressed lips and sharp eyes revealed that he was far from as indifferent as he appeared on the surface.