“Jin’an, were they like this when you came to pick up the educated youths before?”
Xie Jin’an had also come along the previous few times they picked up educated youths, but this was Jiang Heng’s first time joining them.
Although there were educated youths in their village, Jiang Heng rarely interacted with them, so he really didn’t know much about these city people.
“No.” Xie Jin’an shook his head and answered honestly.
“All right, then. These people are really strange. Forget it, I don’t want to think about it anymore. Let’s hurry back.”
Meanwhile, back in Shankou Village.
Hearing the sound of the brigade leader and the others returning, Jiang You brought little Jin Ning along to watch the excitement. Jin Ning was the boy who had been beside Xie Jin’an last time—his younger brother.
After Xie Jin’an left that morning, Jin Ning had come over on his own. Jiang You brought him along and chatted with him, just as she usually did.
Normally, whenever Xie Jin’an had to go out and couldn’t take Jin Ning with him, he would leave the boy in the care of the Jiang family.
Jiang You took Jin Ning to the educated youth compound. Looking past the brigade leader at the young people carrying their luggage, she immediately recognized the female protagonist.
There was no way she couldn’t notice her. She was so beautiful and fashionable. Her whole aura practically screamed “female protagonist.”
Imagining Xie Jin’an’s height alongside the female protagonist’s height, Jiang You thought about the difference in their stature.
That height difference was definitely worth shipping.
But why hadn’t Xie Jin’an come back with them?
Jiang You turned her head and looked around. Sure enough, she couldn’t see Xie Jin’an, and her brother wasn’t there either.
Just as she was wondering about it, something moved in her palm. She lowered her head and saw that little Jin Ning was also looking toward the female protagonist. She immediately smiled.
“Xiaoning, isn’t that older sister very pretty?”
This pretty big sister will probably be your future sister-in-law~
Jin Ning followed Jiang You’s gaze and looked ahead. He obediently nodded, then shook his head.
“Sister Youyou, you’re pretty.”
The little boy’s clear, bright eyes were filled with nothing but sincerity.
Caught completely off guard by such a sincere compliment, Jiang You froze for a moment. Once she realized what he had said, she couldn’t help grinning, revealing her little dimples. She reached out and pinched his cheek.
“What a sweet little mouth! Hehehe!”
“Let’s go. We’re going home.”
She took a piece of candy from her pocket and handed it to Jin Ning before taking his hand and leading him home.
By the time they got back, Jiang You’s mother had already prepared dinner. It was all simple home cooking: a pot of sweet potato rice with lots of sweet potatoes and very little rice, a plate of stir-fried shredded potatoes, and a dish of pickled long beans.
There was also a separate bowl of thick porridge for Jin Ning. Since he often had to stay at the Jiang family’s house, Xie Jin’an had left some food supplies there, including rice and flour.
“The brigade leader just said that your brother and Xiaoxie took the people to Hongshan Brigade. They probably won’t be back anytime soon, so let’s eat first. No need to wait for them.”
“Oh.”
So that was why.
Jiang You didn’t say anything else. After eating with Jin Ning, she took him back to the neighboring house.
After returning, she went back to her room and rested for a while. While sleeping in a daze, she heard the sounds of Jiang Heng and the others returning outside.
“Jin’an, just eat here. You’ll have to go back to work soon anyway. It’ll be troublesome for you to cook again when you get home.”
Jiang You’s mother had deliberately saved some food and invited Xie Jin’an to stay for dinner.
Xie Jin’an didn’t refuse. As he sat down, he instinctively glanced toward the room at the corner of the courtyard.
Remembering that dress, Jiang Heng also looked around.
“Mom, where’s my sister?”
“She’s resting. Keep your voice down and don’t wake her.”
Hearing Jiang Heng’s booming voice, his mother quickly smacked him and lowered her own voice.
“Jin’an, you two take your time eating. Auntie will go back inside first.”
After saying that, she smiled at Xie Jin’an again and reminded them to eat slowly before returning to the house.
Hearing the commotion, Jiang You merely shifted slightly in her sleep and then ignored it.
It felt like she had barely slept at all when the sounds signaling the start of the afternoon work rang out.
Jiang You made a bitter face and mechanically got up. She straightened her clothes and hair, put on her gloves, and went outside.
When she walked out of her room, she paused.
She hadn’t expected Xie Jin’an to still be there.
After realizing it, she politely nodded at him in greeting before walking toward her mother.
“…”
Although her behavior wasn’t much different from usual, Xie Jin’an clearly sensed a trace of distance in it.
He froze for a moment.
His hand clenched into a fist.
The secret happiness he had felt from deliberately lingering there just so he could see her a little longer instantly turned ice-cold.
What happened to her?
“What are you doing? Hurry up. Xiaoning is already here.”
Jiang You and her parents had already left the house, and little Jin Ning had also come over. Seeing Xie Jin’an spacing out again, Jiang Heng called out to him.
“Jin’an, what have you been doing these past two days? Why do you keep zoning out?”
It wasn’t just once or twice. Jiang Heng really found it strange.
Xie Jin’an shook his head and ultimately said nothing.
“If something’s wrong, remember to tell me. Don’t keep it bottled up. We’re brothers.”
Seeing that he couldn’t get anything out of him, Jiang Heng didn’t press further. He simply gave him a serious reminder before the three of them headed to the work area together.
“Brother, here.”
Children were especially sensitive to emotions. As if he had sensed that Xie Jin’an was feeling down, little Jin Ning handed him the candy Jiang You had given him that day.
Just like how his brother usually gave him candy to cheer him up, he wanted to comfort his brother.
“Brother doesn’t want it. You keep it.”
Xie Jin’an came back to himself, rubbed the boy’s head, and spoke softly with a slight curve to his lips.
“Sister Youyou gave this to me. Brother, you eat it. I have another one.”
As he spoke, he took another piece out from inside his clothes.
Xie Jin’an was capable of working, could earn work points, and was also resourceful enough to find things to supplement their household supplies. He treated his younger brother very well. He would bring him things like candy every so often, so Jin Ning wasn’t exactly short on sweets.
Upon hearing Jiang You’s name, Xie Jin’an froze again and took the candy.
“Were you good when you stayed with Sister Youyou today?”
After thinking for a moment, he bent down and asked casually, pretending it was an offhand question.
Jin Ning raised his chin proudly.
“Of course! Xiaoning was the best behaved! I always listened to Brother, and I listened to Sister Youyou too.”
Something flickered across Xie Jin’an’s expression. He put the candy away, stood up, and began swinging the hoe in his hands as he worked.
“So what did you do with Sister Youyou today?”
He continued questioning him as casually as possible, finding out every detail of what had happened that day.
Yet after discovering that nothing unusual had happened, the uneasiness in his heart somehow became even stronger.
And after work that evening, he noticed that Jiang You’s attitude toward him was even more distant and obvious.
That feeling only deepened.
The next day.
The educated youths who had arrived the previous day were starting work today.
No one knew how the brigade leader had arranged everything, but he had actually assigned Jiang You to teach two female educated youths how to pull weeds.
Normally, wasn’t this kind of work done by her mother and the village aunties?
After all, those women were the main workforce—the people who actually knew how to work.
As for Jiang You, to put it bluntly, she was a little weakling when it came to physical labor.
Having a little weakling teach newcomers…
Well, it was fine.
After all, there was no skill involved in pulling weeds.
“Use this to loosen the soil a little, then just pull the weeds out. Put all the weeds into one pile. Don’t throw them everywhere, and make sure you pull them out cleanly.”
The area they were responsible for weeding was a piece of wasteland. The brigade planned to clear it and plant crops there.
Since it was wasteland, there wasn’t much to pay attention to. They could just pull out the weeds and clear it thoroughly.
The only problem was that there were too many weeds in the wasteland, making it difficult to clean up.
While they were busy working, Jiang You suddenly saw a tall figure walking toward them.
Xie Jin’an had brought two of the newly arrived male educated youths with him. They followed the women around, clearing away the remaining branches and fallen wood from the empty ground. Once that was done, they began hoeing the soil.
Jiang You was instantly overwhelmed.
Xie Jin’an worked so efficiently that it was almost ridiculous. Working alongside him on the same plot meant that, given their respective speeds, they had to work as though their butts were on fire.
It was exhausting.
Jiang You paused as she thought about it. Then she suddenly realized something.
She glanced at the female protagonist beside her, who was earnestly learning how to work, and silently sighed.
All right.
She understood now.
Judging by the looks of things, the plot was probably about to enter the romance arc.
So today, she was actually here to play the role of the third wheel.
Fine.
She got it.