Could it be that she had suddenly become enlightened? Or had she simply been lucky enough to evade her own repeated tests and confrontations?
Jiang Muxue thought this was likely the case. After all, heaven couldn’t possibly favor two people at once.
Even so, she was furious, gritting her teeth in frustration. No matter what, she had to suppress Shen Qingyu. Who asked her to stand in her way?
For the rest of the journey, Jiang Muxue made no further trouble, seemingly intent on planning carefully.
Shen Qingyu, for her part, was glad for the peace. With no one trying to engage her in conversation, play tricks, or set traps, she could focus on familiarizing herself with the sights of this era.
Apart from occasionally chatting with her seatmate Liu Hongxia and gathering amusing anecdotes about educated youth from various places, she spent her time observing the happenings in the train car and gazing out the window.
During this time, she noticed that Gu Huainian, though seemingly indifferent to everything around him, possessed keen observational skills. He was acutely aware of the interpersonal dynamics in the car and the patrol patterns of the train attendants.
Lu Ye and Su Yixuan, seated beside him, were much more lively, quickly befriending the male educated youth in nearby seats.
Mu Yue, however, remained quiet and reserved. Except for the subtle flicker in her eyes when she occasionally exchanged glances with Lu Ye, she stayed silent and composed.
Ji Yiqing maintained a polite yet distant demeanor. Unless necessary, he spent most of his time either reading or lost in thought.
A group of young people, each with their own thoughts and stories, whose fates had become tightly intertwined from the moment they boarded this train.
After three days and two nights of travel, the train finally came to a slow stop at an old, weathered station.
“We’re here! We’ve finally arrived in Heilongjiang Province!” someone shouted excitedly.
The announcement instantly stirred the carriage. Weariness was replaced by a new emotion—a mix of tension and anticipation.
Shen Qingyu followed the crowd, carrying her light luggage (most of her belongings were stored in her Spatial Dimension) as she stepped off the train.
The northern sky stretched high and vast, the air dry, crisp, and cold, carrying the scent of earth and vegetation—air untouched by pollution.
The platform was crowded with people, a cacophony of accents, shouts, gongs, drums, and the red banners of welcoming teams blending into a noisy chaos.
“Red Flag Commune! Educated youth assigned to Red Flag Commune, gather here!”
A man in worn military attire, with dark skin and a booming voice, held up a sign and shouted through a makeshift megaphone.
Hearing the familiar name, Shen Qingyu perked up and made her way toward the source of the voice, luggage in hand.
This was also the first real step she took in 1975.
Beneath her feet was the solid, slightly rough concrete of the platform, while the dry northern breeze gently brushed against her cheeks.
She lifted her head, her gaze settling on the red banner that read, “Welcome Educated Youth to the Countryside.” Her eyes were calm and resolute.
Facing the reborn female protagonist Jiang Muxue and this unfamiliar, challenging era—she had arrived!
The noise on the platform bubbled like boiling water. By the time Shen Qingyu arrived, Gu Huainian and the others were already waiting there.
A man seated at a table with a notebook in front of him noticed Shen Qingyu approaching and said, “Educated youth assigned to Red Flag Commune, report here.”
Shen Qingyu walked over, stated her name, and the man found her name on the list and checked it off.
“Go wait over there.”
Shen Qingyu nodded and headed toward where Gu Huainian and the others were standing.
Not long after, Jiang Muxue and Ji Yiqing also arrived.
“Comrade Shen, what a coincidence that we’re assigned to the same place for the countryside assignment.”
Shen Qingyu gave a slight nod, her tone carrying a subtle, meaningful undertone: “Yes, what a coincidence indeed.”
Jiang Muxue didn’t catch the ambiguity in her words.
After exchanging greetings, they fell silent.
A little later, a few more people arrived, including Liu Hongxia, whom Shen Qingyu recognized, and two other female comrades—one named Liu Caifeng and the other Li Aihua. There were also two male comrades: Zhou Jianjun and Sun Weimin.
After waiting a while longer, a few more arrived.
The Red Flag Commune had been assigned over a dozen educated youths this time.
The person who had just handled their registration was the deputy secretary of the commune. The other man, with dark skin, around forty years old, had sharp, well-defined features, especially his keen and piercing eyes—he was the production team leader.
The team leader, Wang Dashan, wore a faded old military uniform and looked at them with scrutiny and assessment.
“Everyone, get on the truck! Be quick about it!”
His voice was loud and carried an unquestionable authority.
“Put your luggage in the truck bed and sit on either side! The road is bumpy, so hold on tight.”
Several dilapidated trucks, their beds lined with straw, awaited them. The educated youths helped each other toss their luggage up, then scrambled clumsily to climb aboard.
Shen Qingyu didn’t ask for help. She climbed up nimbly on her own, found a spot near the front, sat down, and hugged her satchel to her chest.
Jiang Muxue, on the other hand, only managed to get on after Ji Yiqing gave her a hand up.
She whispered softly, “Thank you, Comrade Ji,” her voice gentle and lingering.
Ji Yiqing merely nodded without saying anything.
Hearing this, Shen Qingyu felt her hair stand on end.
She silently thought to herself: She’s really putting on a convincing act.
After Lu Ye and Su Yixuan climbed up, they each gave Mu Yue a hand. The two boys squeezed together, curiously looking around.
Mu Yue sat down next to Shen Qingyu and gave her a friendly smile.
Gu Huainian was the last to board. His movements were skilled and light, barely making a sound. After sitting down diagonally across from Shen Qingyu, leaning against the truck’s side, he closed his eyes to rest.
The truck started up, belching black smoke, and jolted away from the station onto the bumpy dirt road.
Once they left the town, the view suddenly opened up.
Endless black soil stretched before them, fields of green crops, and in the distance, low hills and stretches of birch forest.
The sky was a clear blue, with large, fluffy white clouds drifting slowly.
Apart from the smell of truck exhaust, the air carried the scents of earth, grass, and a mix of livestock manure.
For many educated youths from the south, this was a vastness and desolation they had never seen before.
Excitement gradually gave way to uncertainty. Some began to quietly complain about the bumpy road, while others worried about the future.
Jiang Muxue, meanwhile, wasn’t idle. She began to exercise her “affability” again, speaking softly to a few nearby female educated youths who looked anxious.
She comforted them, sharing “interesting stories about the Northeast” she had heard, and before long, she became the center of a small circle.
Shen Qingyu did not participate, instead quietly watching the scenery flashing by outside the window, memorizing the terrain and the distribution of villages.
This was a habit of hers—no matter where she went, she always familiarized herself with the environment first.
The truck jolted along for nearly two hours before finally stopping at the entrance of a village. By the roadside stood a weathered wooden sign that read, “Red Flag Production Brigade.”