Compared to her fellow travelers, Shen Jingyao was relatively unburdened with just one large bundle and one big suitcase.
However, with so many items packed inside, the weight was still considerable.
Carrying a bundle in her left hand and a suitcase in her right, with a bag and canteen slung over her shoulder, she made her way through the crowded station toward the exit.
At the train station entrance, signs for various communes marked simple reception points for Educated Youth.
Shen Jingyao headed toward the Shiling Commune sign. As for which Brigade she would be assigned to, that would be determined after arriving at the commune.
The Shiling Commune had sent a tractor to pick up the Educated Youth, accompanied by a Commune Cadre and the tractor driver.
The tractor driver was a young man named Li Yuan. When he saw Shen Jingyao’s delicate and beautiful features, his ears turned red.
Having been at the commune for some time, he had never seen such a pretty girl before. The young women from the big cities were truly different.
Blushing, he approached nervously, “C-comrade, let me help you with your luggage.”
Shen Jingyao’s arms were indeed sore. She set her luggage down and politely replied, “Thank you, comrade.”
Not only was this girl beautiful, but her voice was pleasant too. Li Yuan’s heart raced.
He efficiently loaded Shen Jingyao’s luggage onto the tractor, and she followed, climbing aboard herself.
Seeing her seated, Li Yuan stood aside waiting for others, too embarrassed to look at her again.
Shen Jingyao sat on her bundle. The saying “the nearer home, the greater the apprehension” rang true – her heart was anything but calm.
The closer she got to her destination, the faster her heart beat. She had a feeling she would see A Yan today.
About a dozen more people arrived gradually, both men and women.
Among them were Yang Hongjuan and Song Xiaolan.
When Yang Hongjuan approached and saw Shen Jingyao already seated on the tractor, she curled her lip. She had been quick.
Once everyone had gathered, the tractor was packed full with people and luggage, without an inch to spare.
“Li Yuan, we can depart now.” The Commune Cadre, seeing everyone was present, gave the order to leave. The journey from the county town to the commune would take nearly two hours.
“Alright.”
Li Yuan sat in the driver’s seat, started the tractor, and with a chugging sound, they set off for the commune.
The road from the county town to the commune was so bumpy it felt like it could jolt one’s internal organs loose.
The Educated Youth, already worn out from days on the train, now looked even more pallid.
Shen Jingyao saw a girl beside her lean out and vomit, and unfortunately, she witnessed it clearly.
She gagged slightly, feeling her stomach churning violently, and struggled to suppress the urge to vomit.
For a while, the sound of retching rose and fell intermittently on the tractor.
The Commune Cadre turned to glance back and shook his head. Every time they picked up Educated Youth, they had to endure this scene.
They were still too pampered from city life. A couple of days here would cure them of these sensitivities.
Shen Jingyao covered her mouth with her hand and took a mint candy from her Space, placing it in her mouth.
Instantly, her entire mouth felt refreshed, as if she had come back to life.
Eventually, everyone grew too tired to vomit anymore. The male comrades fared slightly better, while the female comrades looked as if they had been drained of vitality.
Yang Hongjuan, in particular, was hit hard. She didn’t get carsick or trainsick, but she actually got tractorsick.
Pale-faced, she leaned against Song Xiaolan, deeply regretting her impulsive decision to come to the countryside.
Shen Jingyao wasn’t in high spirits either at the moment. She propped her head in her hands, gazing blankly at the distant mountains.
When the tractor stopped in the yard outside the commune, everyone got off one after another.
Seeing their listless state, Li Yuan sighed and reached out to help them unload their luggage.
“Thank you,” said Shen Jingyao, who was a polite child and always expressed gratitude when someone helped her.
“No, no need to thank me,” Li Yuan stammered, his face flushing red as he avoided meeting Shen Jingyao’s eyes.
Shen Jingyao sat on her luggage, waiting for the results of the brigade assignment lottery.
This was a tradition at the commune – every time new Educated Youth arrived, their placements were determined by drawing lots.
Whether one ended up with a good or bad assignment depended entirely on luck.
At that moment, an intense gaze fixed tightly on Shen Jingyao’s graceful figure.
Zhou Muyan knew his father was coming to the commune today to pick up the new Educated Youth. An inner voice told him he had to come too.
He had taken the initiative to tell his father he wanted to accompany him today.
Zhou Youlin, the brigade leader of Zhoujia Village and Zhou Muyan’s father, found it quite strange. In the past, no matter how much he asked his youngest son to come along, the boy would refuse. Why was he willing today?
Zhou Muyan couldn’t explain it to his father, only insisting that he had to go.
And sure enough, the moment he arrived, he spotted Yao Yao’s figure. Five years.
For these five years, using the introduction letters his father provided him, he had searched almost the entire Liaoning province without finding any trace of Yao Yao.
Now she had truly appeared. Zhou Muyan’s eyes turned bloodshot, the corners of his mouth trembling slightly as he clenched his fists tightly.
Yao Yao still looked the same – fair and delicate, soft and gentle. She probably hadn’t suffered much.
This relieved him greatly. When he first time-traveled to this era, he had feared Yao Yao might have ended up in one of those families that valued boys over girls, where she might be starved, beaten, or scolded every day.
Such thoughts made his heart ache so much at night that he couldn’t sleep, wishing he could find her immediately.
How he wanted to rush forward and hold Yao Yao tightly in his arms, to tell her how he had lived through these five years, how much he had missed her.
It turned out that car accident five years ago had caused a disruption in time and space. Zhou Muyan had been in this world for five years now.
From the moment he woke up, he had never given up searching for Shen Jingyao.
In this era, transportation and communication were inconvenient, and one needed introduction letters to travel. His search range was limited.
But he would keep searching, believing that Yao Yao, like him, had come to this world.
Fortunately, heaven had taken pity on him and now brought his beloved back to his side.
He wiped his tears and hurried to check his father’s lottery result. If Yao Yao wasn’t assigned to their brigade, he would definitely find a way to transfer her over.
He approached his father. “Dad, have you drawn the assignment yet?”
Zhou Youlin noticed his youngest son’s reddened eyes. “What’s wrong with your eyes? Did something get in them?”
It never occurred to him that his son’s red eyes might be from crying.
Ever since his son returned injured from the mountain five years ago, his whole personality had changed. He became quiet and withdrawn, occasionally even disappearing for a day or two.
Both he and his wife suspected their son might have been possessed by something, but in the current political climate, promoting superstition could get one paraded through the streets. They could only keep such thoughts to themselves.
After observing him for some time, they noticed that aside from speaking less than before and occasionally being away from home, he wasn’t really that different.
But there’s one thing—if you bring it up with him, he’s sure to get worked up.
That is, getting him to take a wife. No matter how you try to persuade him, he absolutely refuses.
He’s twenty-two this year and still unmarried, which has always been a lingering worry for him and his elderly wife.
In the village, young men his age already have one or two children, yet he remains a bachelor.
Who knows when he’ll come around to the idea.
Zhou Muyan followed his father’s lead and said, “Right, I just got some dust in my eyes.”
Zhou Youlin handed him the list. “The draw is done. Go gather them up and hurry back to the team.”
Zhou Muyan spotted Shen Jingyao’s name at a glance—Yao Yao, just like him, hadn’t changed her name.
He carefully held the list and hurried toward the group of Educated Youth.
Watching him from behind, Zhou Youlin’s forehead creased even deeper.
Is he acting strange again?