That evening, when the eldest and second brothers returned, there was another celebration.
After confirming Lin Jiaojiao’s identity, the Daduizhang went out alone and found the village’s Zulao.
Although Qingshan Production Brigade was home to multiple surnames living together, the Lin surname was the majority.
Moreover, the Lin families were all related by blood or marriage—everyone belonged to the same clan.
When the Zulao learned that the Daduizhang had found his daughter, they were happy for him too.
They even said to pick a day for him to bring Lin Jiaojiao to meet them.
Although lavish ceremonies were not supported these days, the proper rituals still had to be observed.
The matter of acknowledging one’s ancestors and returning to the clan could not be taken lightly in any era.
After some discussion, they decided to wait until the Daduizhang’s eldest nephew returned to handle the matter.
In the meantime, Lin Jiaojiao did not need to go to work.
She helped with cooking and feeding the chickens.
When she was bored, she could go with the village girls to the foot of the mountain to pick wild vegetables.
Following the children, she always managed to find delicious wild vegetables.
The plump, large wild vegetables she brought back—blanched and served cold with dressing, or stir-fried with eggs—
always left the family satisfied.
Before she knew it, she had been in Qingshan Production Brigade for a month.
Apart from a few female Zhiqing in the Zhiqingyuan who had some complaints about her not working, the villagers felt nothing.
They had eyes, after all, and naturally knew something was going on.
Moreover, many had guessed the reason.
The Daduizhang’s family had lost their daughter—it had been a source of heartache for years. Now that their girl had returned, how could the couple not cherish her?
A precious treasure like that—of course they would keep her at home and pamper her. How could they bear to let her work?
Besides, she was from the city. Which female Zhiqing knew how to work when they first came to the countryside?
They had all been taught little by little by the villagers.
Since the Daduizhang’s family was unwilling to let their daughter work, and it did not cut into their rations anyway, they would not risk offending anyone by speaking up.
Only those few female Zhiqing felt resentful.
They were all female Zhiqing sent to the countryside—so why should Lin Jiaojiao receive special treatment from the Daduizhang’s family while they had to toil in the fields alongside the local peasants?
This enormous disparity left them extremely unbalanced.
Especially a girl in the Zhiqingyuan named Ge Qingqing—from the very first time she laid eyes on Zhang Jiyao, she had taken a fancy to him.
This later-arriving male Zhiqing clearly came from a well-off family.
Not only did his family send him many things, but he was not as short on money and ration coupons as the others.
Ge Qingqing wanted to court Zhang Jiyao, but unfortunately, Zhang Jiyao only had eyes for Lin Jiaojiao.
Even when he was not working, he would go find Lin Jiaojiao.
And if he was not finding Lin Jiaojiao, he kept his distance from the female Zhiqing, only spending time with the male Zhiqing.
This left her with no opportunity to make her move.
And so, seeing Zhang Jiyao go to find Lin Jiaojiao again, the flames of jealousy in Ge Qingqing’s heart burned wildly.
She secretly followed behind, watching from afar as Zhang Jiyao stood at the entrance of the Daduizhang’s house.
Inside the courtyard was Lin Jiaojiao.
The two said something—she did not know what—and Zhang Jiyao took a notebook from Lin Jiaojiao’s hands, then left happily.
Ge Qingqing was certain that what Zhang Jiyao took must have been a love letter.
That damned vixen—not working was one thing, but she even dared to seduce a male Zhiqing.
Truly shameless.
It was just that for now, she could not act, for fear of angering the Daduizhang’s family.
But in the future, she would definitely keep a close eye on this person. As soon as she got the chance, she would expose that fox for what she really was.
Perhaps it was precisely through such underhanded means that the other woman had managed to secure her place in the Daduizhang’s household.
After all, the Daduizhang’s family had five hot-blooded, virile sons.
All five sons were unmarried, and Lin Jiaojiao, a young woman, spent her days surrounded by a pack of men—wasn’t it obvious what was going on?
Ge Qingqing felt she had uncovered the truth.
She chose not to go up and greet Lin Jiaojiao at that moment. Instead, she quietly turned away, making sure no one saw her movements.
“Damn slut, just wait until I get the chance.”
Even as she walked away, she continued to curse viciously under her breath.
Lin Jiaojiao had no idea that even without setting foot in Zhiqingyuan, she could still offend the female Zhiqing living there.
The reason she was close to Zhang Jiyao was because they discussed academic problems together.
If she remembered correctly, the college entrance examination would be reinstated in a few years.
And Zhang Jiyao, besides having a gentle temperament, loved studying mathematics problems most of all.
If it weren’t for his younger siblings at home, combined with the unfavorable circumstances of the times, he would never have dropped out of school.
As the saying goes, master math, physics, and chemistry, and you can travel the world without fear.
Zhang Jiyao was exactly that—a true science student through and through.
As for Lin Jiaojiao, although the original owner of this body hadn’t received much schooling, the place where she lived was nothing ordinary.
It was a mixed residential area.
Several factories and work units had people living there.
Among them were teachers.
One of Lin Jiaojiao’s neighbors was a teacher’s household.
In the past, after finishing the housework and once everyone in the family had gone out, she loved to visit the old teacher’s home.
The old woman taught her to read and write, and also imparted all kinds of wisdom.
One could say that grandmother was no different from her teacher.
Although the original owner hadn’t had much formal education, her level of literacy was in no way inferior to that of her younger siblings at home.
It was just that she didn’t dare show it at home, afraid of being tormented by her parents.
And after Lin Jiaojiao had crossed over, she had previously worked her way through university through a work-study program.
The knowledge in her mind, combined with what the original owner knew, made her knowledge reserves soar.
When Zhang Jiyao had inadvertently asked her a question and discovered her talent, he began coming over frequently to discuss problems with her.
The Daduizhang’s family knew about this.
Moreover, they could see that Zhang Jiyao was a proper, upright young man, not the type to engage in shady dealings.
So they didn’t oppose Lin Jiaojiao’s contact with him.
Little did they know, this became the reason for Ge Qingqing’s resentment toward her.
“Little sister, I don’t have to work this afternoon. How about I take you into the mountains to play?”
Second Brother Lin Guozhi rode his bicycle back early in the afternoon.
Normally at this time, even if he had time off, he wouldn’t come home this early.
He’d either go out with his coworkers or find his friends.
He never came home before mealtime.
But ever since Lin Jiaojiao had arrived, whenever he had a spare moment, he wanted to come home and keep his sister company.
With such an opportunity, he naturally wouldn’t let his other brothers have it.
Coincidentally, today his brothers were either working in the fields or at their jobs.
Opportunities to monopolize their sister were rare, and Lin Guozhi certainly wouldn’t miss this one.
“Sure!”
“I’ve never been to the mountains before. Second Brother, are the mountains dangerous?”
Lin Jiaojiao had wanted to go up the mountain for a long time. She’d heard there were plenty of mushrooms up there!
But her family kept a tight rein on her, saying the mountain wasn’t safe, so they wouldn’t let her go.
Zhang Aihua also said that when the production team had a day off from work, she would personally take Lin Jiaojiao up the mountain to experience it.
She also said there was nothing fun on the mountain—nothing but trees and grass.
But Lin Jiaojiao didn’t believe it at all. How could the mountains not be fun?
She used to live in the south, and during holidays she loved going hiking.
Every time, she would always come across beautiful scenery, pick a handful of wildflowers in all different colors, and weave a beautiful flower wreath.
These were all things that made her happy.