“If you need, I can help you find a doctor.”
The man was still rambling on. Lin Jiaojiao had never met someone so long-winded.
“Comrade, I really am fine.”
“We don’t know each other. Please stop following me.”
She spoke with an edge of impatience, then turned and walked away.
“Comrade, I’m really not a bad person!”
“We’re Zhiqing going down to the countryside together. We saw each other earlier at the registration station, don’t you remember?”
Zhang Jiyao scratched his head, having no idea how he had offended her or why she had such a bad temper.
Even so, he didn’t follow her any further. Instead, he stood frozen on the spot, at a loss.
Hearing his words, Lin Jiaojiao turned her head in confusion and scrutinized him carefully.
Sure enough, she managed to dig that memory up.
On the day she registered to go down to the countryside, she had been dragged there against her will by her parents.
She wasn’t the only child in the family who met the age requirement, yet she was the only one they considered sending away.
Damn it, how could I have forgotten something so important?
Back then, she should have grabbed the household register and signed up all of the Lin family’s children to go to the countryside.
She would have sent them to the harshest, most exhausting places possible, so they could also get a taste of being worked like beasts of burden.
Unfortunately, it was too late to think about that now. The train would arrive in less than half an hour, leaving her no time to rush back and forth.
Sigh, what a shame!
Still, at the thought of never having to face that family again in this lifetime, that bit of annoyance was cast to the back of her mind.
Although she had suffered a scare at the black market, she had a modern house inside her Space.
She also had that vast expanse of fertile land. Once she wasn’t so busy, she would plant some crops in it, which would certainly guarantee she never went hungry.
As a child with no parents to rely on, enduring hardship had become second nature to her.
Having no one to depend on since childhood, she had to bear everything alone. That kind of upbringing had made her far more adaptable to any living environment.
Yet, catching sight of the aggrieved-looking man in the distance, Lin Jiaojiao reflected in her heart: Was I a bit too harsh just now?
However, she quickly convinced herself otherwise. He was the one who had come up to her of his own accord; he couldn’t blame her for snapping at him.
She had only acted out of self-preservation, unwilling to interact with strangers.
With that thought, Lin Jiaojiao paid no more attention to Zhang Jiyao.
She shifted her gaze toward the ticket gate.
As the boarding announcement chimed, she picked up her luggage—a pitifully meager backpack.
She swiftly made her way through the ticket gate.
Before long, she had passed through smoothly and followed the flow of the crowd onto the platform to wait for the train.
Zhang Jiyao followed behind her the entire time. Seeing someone attempting to grope her in the crowd, he even helped shield her a bit.
Unfortunately, Lin Jiaojiao, who had her head down rushing forward, didn’t notice the little actions of the man behind her at all.
After squeezing onto the train with great difficulty, she found her seat.
Fortunately, it was by the window, which suited her perfectly.
To her surprise, Zhang Jiyao’s seat happened to be directly across from hers.
The moment their eyes met, both felt a bit awkward.
Still, considering they were going down to the countryside in the same place, Lin Jiaojiao felt she shouldn’t burn her bridges.
What if she needed his help in the future?
Having one more acquaintance would mean one less chance of being bullied by Zhiqing from other places.
All things considered, this wasn’t necessarily a bad thing.
“Sorry about earlier. I thought you were a bad person!”
Seeing that the girl had taken the initiative to apologize, Zhang Jiyao felt that as a man, he couldn’t just remain silent.
Thus, he hurried to speak up.
“It’s all right.”
“I was the one who was too forward and startled you.”
With that, the misunderstanding between the two was cleared up.
The atmosphere was no longer so awkward.
“Are you also going down to the countryside at the Qingshan Production Brigade?”
Thinking about how they had registered at the same time, there was a high probability they would be assigned to the same village.
Lin Jiaojiao continued to ask.
“Yeah!”
“I’m going to the same place as you. Didn’t the director mention it back when we registered?”
Oh, he almost forgot.
The young girl hadn’t paid any attention at the time. She had seemed forced into it by her family, not uttering a single word throughout the entire process.
He had even secretly noticed the girl’s parents covertly pinching her tender flesh.
Zhang Jiyao had wondered how such parents could exist in this world. They simply didn’t treat their child as human.
Although he was also going down to the countryside, it had been his own active and voluntary choice. To let his younger siblings stay in the city, he, as the eldest brother, had to shoulder this responsibility.
Besides, his family had been very reluctant to see him go.
They had prepared plenty of food and supplies for him, most of which had been sent ahead through the post and telecommunications office, leaving him with only a small portion of luggage on hand.
He felt immense sympathy for this young girl. Going down to the countryside with only a single backpack—how was she supposed to live once she arrived?
Zhang Jiyao’s heart brimmed with sympathy. He didn’t harbor any ulterior motives; he just felt she was rather pitiable.
“I forgot!”
“Well, once we get to the Qingshan Production Brigade, please take good care of me, Comrade Zhang.”
After saying that, Lin Jiaojiao found herself at a loss for conversation topics, not knowing what else to say.
“Sure!”
Zhang Jiyao gave a brief response. Having been rebuffed earlier, he didn’t know how to carry on the conversation either.
A silence fell between the two.
Soon, the adjacent seats were filled by other passengers.
Sitting beside Lin Jiaojiao was an auntie, and next to the auntie was her husband.
Sitting across from them were two young men who looked like Zhiqing heading down to the countryside as well.
None of them spoke, waiting quietly until the train started moving.
A train attendant slowly approached, pushing a cart of snacks.
In this era, very few people could afford snacks.
Most people brought their own dry rations.
Lin Jiaojiao had hoarded supplies in her Space, so she originally had no intention of buying any snacks.
However, the auntie beside her pressed a handful of homegrown jujubes into her hands. Feeling embarrassed to accept them for nothing, Lin Jiaojiao bought a bag of sunflower seeds and shared them with everyone.
Only then did the group formally start chatting.
Upon asking, they learned that the uncle and auntie were on their way to visit their daughter, while the two young men across from them were indeed Zhiqing heading down to the countryside.
It was just that their destination differed from that of Lin Jiaojiao and Zhang Jiyao, and they would be getting off earlier.
After brief introductions, everyone became acquainted.
The auntie beside her grasped Lin Jiaojiao’s hand, saying with an aching heart, “One look at you and anyone can tell your family doesn’t care for you. Going off to become a Zhiqing with so few belongings… Heavens pity you, just how cruel must your parents be!”
The auntie was deeply empathetic, her eyes reddening before she even finished speaking.
“Auntie, you’ve misunderstood!”
“My family mailed all my things ahead of time. They were worried that a young girl like me wouldn’t be able to carry it all, or that someone might rob me on the way.”
“They told me to ask someone from the brigade to help me pick it up once I arrive.”
“It’s much more convenient that way.”
Hearing Lin Jiaojiao’s explanation, the auntie’s expression finally softened back to normal.
“I knew it!”
“How could there be such cruel people in this world? Turns out they already mailed your things ahead!”
“Still, what you’re carrying on you is far too little.”
The auntie still found it a bit incredible. If nothing else, they should have at least prepared some dry rations for her journey.