Breakfast was ready in just half an hour—it was simply corn dregs porridge and wotou.
When they cooked in the morning, they would steam extra wotou. The leftovers would be taken along with some personal snacks, forming their lunch.
During breakfast, everyone was in a hurry. Some stood while others sat.
They had to gather under the large locust tree in the village by six o’clock sharp. There was a large open space there, used by the villagers for leisure, gatherings, and announcements.
Shen Jingyao ate half a wotou, then returned to her room to have a piece of sponge cake and half a glass of milk.
She quickly squeezed some sunscreen into her palm, rubbed it between her hands, and patted it onto her face. The sun was quite strong today, so sun protection was essential.
She packed the remaining one and a half wotou, one piece of sponge cake, and one piece of taosu into her lunch box.
She also took out the gloves prepared by Mother Shen from her suitcase, put them on, and slung a military canteen over her shoulder, which was mostly filled with water.
Leaving her room and stepping into the yard, the old Educated Youth noticed the gloves on her hands and thought to themselves how thoroughly Shen Zhiqing’s family had prepared for her.
Chen Weiguo leaned close to Feng Tianzhu’s ear and whispered, “Next time we have a chance to go to the county town, let’s buy a pair too.”
Over the past couple of days, Chen Weiguo and Feng Tianzhu had gotten along quite well and now formed a small group.
Feng Tianzhu nodded, “Alright.” His family was well-off; he had brought a hundred yuan with him when he came to the countryside, and they would send him more later.
Shen Jingyao, equipped with her gear, followed the old Educated Youth to the large locust tree.
Zhou Muyan spotted her in the crowd at a glance and noticed she was wearing gloves.
At that moment, he had a pair of his old gloves in his jacket pocket. He had originally intended to give them to Yao Yao, but now he would use them himself.
Zhou Youlin stepped forward, mainly to assign the four new Educated Youth.
The Zhoujia Village Production Brigade was divided into four small teams. The other three Xiao Dui Zhang also cast their eyes over the new Educated Youth.
Two of them were around thirty years old and already married. They had their eyes on the two male Educated Youth.
The third was Zhou Jianghe, the son of the brigade secretary. He had graduated from junior high school, was twenty years old, and not yet married.
He wanted the beautiful Shen Zhiqing to be assigned to his team. His shrewd eyes kept glancing toward Shen Jingyao from time to time.
Zhou Muyan frowned and subtly stepped forward to block his view. What was that bastard looking at Yao Yao for?
Zhou Youlin let them choose which Educated Youth they wanted in their own teams.
As soon as the words were spoken, the other two selected Chen Weidong and Feng Tianzhu.
The next moment, Zhou Muyan spoke up, “Then Shen Zhiqing will come to my team.”
After speaking, he provocatively glanced at Zhou Jianghe, his eyes full of disdain, as if to say, “You?””
Zhou Jianghe, a step too late, felt a surge of frustration stuck in his throat. He knew Zhou Muyan would compete with him over everything.
He must also like the beautiful Shen Zhiqing. It infuriated him.
In the end, he reluctantly chose the only one left, Xu Aili.
Xu Aili: “…Did anyone ask for my opinion?”
Zhou Muyan happily led Shen Jingyao away, leaving Zhou Jianghe behind, grinding his teeth in anger.
Today, the task for Zhou Muyan’s team was digging sweet potatoes. The male comrades dug at the front, while the female comrades gathered them into baskets at the back.
Of course, there were also capable women wielding hoes at the front, with their own children collecting behind them.
Zhou Muyan brought Shen Jingyao to a field—this was his task for the day.
“Yao Yao, I’ll dig up front while you gather from behind. Take it slow—I’ll come help you after I finish digging.”
Shen Jingyao set the lunch box and water flask by the roadside and began rolling up her sleeves. “I understand. Let me try first—it shouldn’t be too difficult.”
Zhou Muyan smiled. The task itself wasn’t hard, but staying crouched for long would strain the back and numb the legs.
“Alright, let’s begin.” He patted her head.
He put on gloves, hoisted the hoe, and stepped into the field to start digging.
Watching his skilled movements from behind, Shen Jingyao felt both heartache and pride.
Her heart ached for A Yan, who had once lived like a young master but now toiled at farm labor. Yet she swelled with pride seeing how brilliantly he adapted to any circumstance.
She quietly encouraged herself to work hard and avoid holding A Yan back.
Zhou Muyan turned his head. “Yao Yao, rest for now. Wait until I’ve dug more before you start gathering.”
“Okay.” Shen Jingyao nodded obediently.
As Zhou Muyan resumed digging, Shen Jingyao picked up a basket and entered the field a few minutes later.
Following behind him, she began gathering the sweet potatoes, which were all rather small.
In this era, crops were grown almost entirely without chemical fertilizers, relying instead on organic manure. The lack of trace elements meant yields were poor.
Shen Jingyao worked at a steady pace, filling a large basket in about fifteen minutes.
From the moment she entered the field, Zhou Muyan kept glancing back at her. Noticing her full basket, he set down his hoe and approached.
“Yao Yao, bring the sack over. I’ll pour these in.”
“Alright.”
Having crouched for over ten minutes, Shen Jingyao’s legs had gone numb. As she stood, she nearly stumbled.
“Careful! You’ve worked hard, Yao Yao.” Zhou Muyan quickly grabbed her arm to steady her.
“Remember to stand and stretch periodically to improve blood circulation,” he said, his face briefly clouded with concern.
Leaning on his hand to steady herself, Shen Jingyao smiled. “Alright, I understand. It’s nothing serious.”
She walked to the edge of the field, fetched the large sack, and held it open. Zhou Muyan lifted the basket and poured the sweet potatoes into the bag.
“That’s enough. Yao Yao, remember to take breaks between work. I’ll help you gather this afternoon,” he said, setting down the basket and looking at her.
“Okay, don’t worry—I won’t push myself too hard. I’ll rest when I’m tired.”
Shen Jingyao was someone who knew her limits. Though she didn’t want to hold A Yan back, she wouldn’t force herself beyond her capacity.
“Good girl.” Zhou Muyan wanted to pat her head but noticed his hands were covered in mud and dust, so he held back.
The sun climbed higher, and the temperature rose steadily. Unaccustomed to fieldwork, Shen Jingyao soon began to tire.
Sweat trickled down her cheeks to her chin, dripping onto the soil. She stood up and walked to the field’s edge for a drink of water.
Watching A Yan still tirelessly swinging his hoe ahead, Shen Jingyao retrieved a chocolate bar from her Space and picked up her water flask.
She walked over to him, unwrapped the chocolate, and held it to his lips. “A Yan, have some chocolate to replenish your energy.”
Zhou Muyan wiped his sweat with his sleeve, his deep eyes gleaming. He bent down and took a large bite of the chocolate.
“It’s still the familiar taste, so delicious.” He put it in his mouth, feeling quite nostalgic for this flavor.
Shen Jingyao’s dark eyes sparkled as she smiled and opened the water bottle. “Then have some more water.”
“Alright.” After finishing the chocolate and drinking water, Zhou Muyan felt full of energy again, as if he could directly finish two li of distance.
“Yao Yao, go rest over there for a while and come back later.”
“Okay.”
Shen Jingyao nodded with rosy cheeks—she really did need to rest for a bit.