“Ring ring ring…”
A postman in a green work uniform rode his bicycle to the Dahe Village production team office.
At that moment, Su Wan was waiting there for Father Su to go home. As soon as she saw that exciting dark green uniform in the yard, she hurried over and eagerly asked, “Comrade, do you have a letter for me?”
The young postman looked at Su Wan’s bright eyes. She was also a very pretty girl. He was still a young man himself, so his face immediately turned red.
Embarrassed, he lowered his head and hurriedly searched through the satchel hanging across his shoulder for Dahe Village’s letters.
“Y-you… your village’s letters.”
Su Wan took the letters. There were only three in total, and she spotted hers immediately. She became even happier and smiled brightly at the postman.
“Thank you, comrade. Come in and have some water!”
“No need, no need. I still have to deliver letters to other villages.”
The postman quickly waved his hand, turned his bicycle around, and rode away.
Su Wan delivered the other letters into the production team office, then hurried home with Han Rui’s letter in her hand.
Father Su came out and did not see Su Wan. He wondered in confusion, Wasn’t she waiting to go home with me? Where did she go?
Meanwhile, after returning home, Su Wan shut herself in her room and sat at the desk opening the letter.
When she saw Han Rui’s slightly sharp handwriting, Su Wan suddenly realized that he had already been gone for so long. Recently, she had been so busy dealing with Liu Rongrong’s matters that she had not had the mind to think about anything else.
In the letter, Han Rui wrote that he was safe and had already submitted their marriage application report. It should be approved very soon.
Once it was approved, he would apply for housing. By the time Su Wan came to join him at the military base, he promised the house would be cleaned and made comfortable.
He also wrote that he missed her very much. He said he had only just left, yet he already missed her. He had been eating less every day and wished he could grow wings and fly back immediately.
When she read this part, Su Wan finally could not help laughing.
When they first met, he had been so honest and serious. She had thought he was a stern and proper person. But as they slowly got to know each other, his true nature began to show.
Su Wan discovered he was actually someone who looked reserved on the outside but flirted in private. Now his mouth was sweet, and affectionate words flowed endlessly. She did not even know where he had learned all this from.
If Han Rui knew what Su Wan was thinking, he would definitely say, “Who did I learn from? I figured it out naturally! Whenever I see you, the words just come out on their own.”
With a smile on her lips, Su Wan seriously wrote a reply to Han Rui.
At the end of the letter, she thought about the recent events and hesitated over whether she should tell him about Liu Rongrong.
Just as she was hesitating, she suddenly smacked her forehead in annoyance.
How stupid! Could this even be written in a letter? This was being sent to the military. What if someone else saw it?
When they met in person… no, she should not tell him then either!
Su Wan made up her mind.
If she told him about Liu Rongrong, and accidentally let slip that she herself had transmigrated into a novel, that would be bad. Hadn’t she already decided long ago? She would never tell anyone about the secret of her previous life.
By mid-October, the weather gradually turned cooler, and there was almost no work left in the fields.
During this period, the villagers went up the mountain every day mainly to gather firewood.
Once winter came, the wood would become damp and impossible to light, so everyone tried to collect as much as possible now. Otherwise, there would be nothing to burn during winter.
Although people here did not heat kang beds in winter, cooking and boiling water still consumed a lot of firewood.
Now that both Su Lei and Su Wan had jobs, the main labor force in the Su family for collecting firewood was gone.
So in recent years, whenever this season arrived, the Su family would buy firewood from poorer households in the village.
On one hand, it helped those families. On the other hand, it solved the Su family’s shortage of firewood for winter. It was beneficial for everyone.
At the educated youth residence, since there was no longer any field work, gathering firewood was no longer only the men’s responsibility. The women also had to go up the mountain.
When Zhou Fangfang heard this, she was unwilling, but she did not dare say anything. She was the type who only complained inwardly.
While Zhou Fangfang was unhappy, Liu Rongrong was extremely willing.
As soon as she heard Zhao Guoqiang say they were going up the mountain for firewood, she agreed enthusiastically. Her eager appearance even stunned Zhao Qiuyue.
Since when had Liu Rongrong become so enthusiastic about work?
As they walked together up the mountain, Liu Rongrong carried a basket on her back and walked at the front.
Zhao Qiuyue thought Liu Rongrong was finally planning to work properly today. But unexpectedly, Liu Rongrong’s attention was not on gathering firewood at all.
She seemed distracted by something else. Even when branches were right in front of her, she would walk around them.
Zhao Qiuyue became furious watching this.
Fortunately, Shen Aihong persuaded her a little, otherwise she might have cursed out loud. Zhao Qiuyue simply turned and walked elsewhere, out of sight and out of mind.
Meanwhile, Liu Rongrong was completely unaware. She was only carefully observing her surroundings, wondering when pheasants, rabbits, or wild pheasant eggs would appear.
After searching for a while and finding nothing, Liu Rongrong became tired. She put her basket down on the ground and leaned against a tree to rest.
Suddenly, someone shouted in surprise, “A pheasant! Such a big pheasant!”
Liu Rongrong looked up and saw a fat pheasant flapping out of the forest straight toward her. Then it plunged headfirst into the basket beside her and stopped moving.
The people following behind stared at this unbelievable scene in shock.
Liu Rongrong excitedly looked into the basket and saw the pheasant lying motionless inside. Even when she poked it, it did not move, as though it had fainted.
The other educated youths also came over after hearing the commotion.
Zhou Fangfang ran over and happily said when she saw such a large pheasant, “Liu Rongrong, you’re incredible! We’re lucky today!”
The villagers saw that the pheasant had already landed in her basket, so they could not really say anything. They could only leave with envy and jealousy in their hearts.
One auntie muttered while walking away, “This is really strange. Last time a wild boar crashed to death beside Educated Youth Liu, and this time another pheasant appeared. And don’t forget she also found money and was even commended for it. Do you think…”
Her voice lowered.
“Could she be one of those lucky stars? Otherwise, how could she keep encountering so many good things?”
“Shh! Stop talking nonsense! That’s superstition. Be careful someone hears you, or you’ll be in trouble!”
The auntie was frightened and curled her lips, no longer daring to speak.
Still, rumors gradually spread through the village that Liu Rongrong was a blessed person.
Some believed it, while others sneered dismissively.
These rumors were only discussed secretly in private. No one dared speak openly about them.
At first, only a few people thought this way.
But after Liu Rongrong went up the mountain several more times and either had rabbits collapse at her feet, discovered large nests of wild pheasant eggs, or even found several chestnut trees deep in the mountains, more and more people began believing the rumors.
Every day, villagers—especially older people—would go out of their way to speak to Liu Rongrong, hoping to share in some of her lucky fortune.
Logically speaking, although that area was somewhat deep in the mountains, it was not somewhere people never visited. Yet no one had discovered the chestnut trees before.
The trees were lush and full of ripe chestnuts, some already fallen to the ground.
That day, every household in the village received some chestnuts. Although the amount was not much, it was still precious food.
As a result, almost all the older villagers—especially the elderly—now believed Liu Rongrong was someone blessed with great fortune.