“Sis, I didn’t expect the production team leader to actually agree to let us build a house!
When we first arrived, I was worried he wouldn’t approve.”
“He would,” Xiang Wenshan replied calmly.
“We don’t know what the future holds. If more educated youths are sent here later, there won’t be anywhere to house them. Besides, we already said that once we leave, the house will belong to the production team.”
Xiang Wenhui nodded quickly. “Ohhh… No wonder you said that just now. So that’s why!”
As she spoke, she looped her arm through Xiang Wenshan’s and called out sweetly, “Sister~” blinking her big watery eyes.
Xiang Wenshan restrained the urge to pinch her soft cheeks. “What is it?”
“Sis, I don’t know how to cook. From now on, I’ll help you out, okay? You cook?”
“Mm. Sure.”
“Yay! Sis, I like you so much!”
At first, Xiang Wenshan wasn’t used to it, but having such a soft, clingy little sister who could act cute anytime… wasn’t bad. A faint smile curved her lips.
Xiang Wenhui tugged at her sleeve and whispered, “Sis, look — that guy. We saw him this morning. He looks pretty good, huh?”
Xiang Wenshan turned and saw the man everyone called Song Laowu.
He was tall — over 1.8 meters — with delicate features and a high nose bridge. His skin was a little dark, and he was on the lean side.
The more she looked at him, the more familiar he seemed. Like she’d seen him somewhere before.
As he passed by, that sense of familiarity washed over her again — but she just couldn’t place it.
Seeing her frown, Xiang Wenhui asked, “Sis, what’s wrong?”
Xiang Wenshan shook her head. “Nothing…” Then she paused and turned to her. “By the way, did you feel like he looked familiar?”
Xiang Wenhui shook her head. “No? Sis, we just got here. He’s from this production team — how could we know him?”
That made sense.
Then where was that familiarity coming from?
Suddenly, her eyes widened.
He looked a bit like her flash-marriage husband.
No way…
But it was possible. They had gotten into the car accident together. If she had transmigrated, maybe he had too…
And villagers had said he’d been acting differently lately.
Could it be…?
Her heart began to race.
“Sis? Sis? What are you thinking about?”
Snapped out of her thoughts, she decided not to dwell on it for now. She’d find a chance to test him later.
“Nothing. Let’s head back.”
“Oh. Sis, you’ve seemed a little different lately. You space out a lot — like you’re always thinking about something.”
Her heart skipped. Had she been found out?
After thinking it through, probably not. Her personality wasn’t that different from the original. The original was aloof; she simply didn’t like socializing much — a bit socially anxious, preferring to stay alone indoors.
“Maybe it’s just because we just got to a strange place. I’m not used to it yet. Maybe I’m homesick.”
“So you miss home too, Sis… I do too. I miss my dad. Even though my mom scolds me all the time, I miss her too. And I even miss my annoying little brother.”
Xiang Wenshan gently rubbed her head but didn’t say anything. She didn’t know how to comfort her — once you were sent down, it wasn’t easy to return to the city.
Xiang Wenhui suddenly looked up at her and grinned. “I’m fine. You’re here with me.”
“Mm. Let’s go.”
Xiang Wenhui skipped ahead, tears brimming in her eyes. She sniffed and looked up at the sky. “Sis, hurry up~”
“Coming.” Seeing the petite girl, a head shorter than her, her heart softened.
When Cao Yu saw them return, she hurried over. “You’re finally back! I was so bored here alone.”
With the two of them gone and the older educated youths still out working, she couldn’t exactly go find Lu Zhiqing — he was a male comrade. If she went out alone with him, who knew what rumors would start?
Xiang Wenshan understood. “Yeah, we came back late. Let’s cook first. After we eat, do you want to go walk around the production team with us? Get a general idea of the place and maybe buy some necessities — straw mats, basins, things like that.”
Cao Yu nodded vigorously. “Yes! Thank you.” She’d wanted to explore too, but being unfamiliar with the place, she didn’t dare wander alone.
Since her sister had already spoken, Xiang Wenhui smiled sweetly. “No need to thank us. We’re all educated youths sent down here — we should look out for each other.”
Hearing them chatting in the courtyard, Lu Guangyao came out as well.
He had just lain down for a bit. After days on the train — and encountering a few bizarre educated youths along the way — he hadn’t dared rest properly. Fortunately, that group wasn’t assigned to this production team. Otherwise, he didn’t know how he’d survive.
Scratching his head awkwardly, unsure what to say since they weren’t familiar yet, he greeted them, “You’re all here.”
They greeted him back.
“I vaguely heard you say this morning that you’re moving out?”
Xiang Wenshan nodded. “Mm. The team leader will measure the land this afternoon.”
“That’s good.”
After chatting a little more, they began preparing dinner. Each person contributed a bit of grain and combined it to cook a simple meal.
There were vegetables by the gate, but they didn’t dare touch them — those were probably planted by the older educated youths.
Everyone took out a little of their own snacks and brown sugar, and Lu was sent to exchange them with villagers for some eggs and greens.
When he returned, they made stir-fried chives with eggs and sautéed spinach.
Just as the older educated youths came back…
By the time they arrived, the meal was already prepared. They called the older educated youths over to sit and eat with them.
When they had arrived yesterday, the older youths had been eating and had shared a little food with them. It hadn’t been much, but the kindness was appreciated.
The older youths smiled, declined politely for a moment, then sat down anyway.
They had already introduced themselves the day before. As they were eating, Feng Jianshe—the person in charge of the educated youth point—spoke up.
“It’s fate that we’ve all come here. From now on, let’s treat each other like family.
“If anything comes up, we help one another…”
After saying quite a bit more, he continued, “Before you arrived, this was how we divided things: the male educated youths are responsible for gathering firewood and carrying water, and the female educated youths handle cooking.
“Now that you’re here, should we keep it the same as before?
“If anyone has something to say, just speak up.”
When he finished, Xiang Wenshan spoke.
“Um, comrades, I should let you know—my younger sister and I will be living outside.
“This afternoon, the brigade leader will come measure the land. Building the house will probably take some time, so for now, we’ll stay with you during this period.”
Seeing everyone’s surprise, Xiang Wenhui nodded and explained the situation to them.
After listening, everyone looked at Xiang Wenhui with a hint of sympathy.
Feng Jianshe nodded. “Mm, alright. That works.”
After that, he began introducing the people in the production brigade and explaining the usual farm work they would be doing each day.