Zhai Bingfeng froze for a moment, then nodded, a trace of concern appearing on his face.
“Has everything at home been decided? Come, sit over here.”
Lu Rao nodded and handed over her documents.
“I heard my second uncle arranged for me to go to Qingshan Town, Shan’ao Brigade in Pingtan City, Hei Province?”
Zhai Bingfeng glanced outside and secretly poured her a cup of coffee.
“Actually, I recommended that location. He originally wanted to send you to the northwest, but I felt it would be too harsh. You’ve never suffered hardships growing up—how could you endure that? The northeast is far, but there are three to four months of winter where you can rest. The land there is fertile too. Compared to other places, it’s actually better.”
“If you go now, the journey will be tiring, but once you arrive, you won’t need to work immediately—you can spend the winter adapting. If you go somewhere else, you’d be working in the fields all year round.”
“Thank you, Uncle Zhai.” Lu Rao lowered her head and sipped her coffee, genuinely grateful.
He truly had her best interests at heart.
In the original plot, Lu Rao had indeed adapted well in the northeast. If not for the later incident with the spy, she could have safely endured those years and eventually returned to the city.
Unfortunately, Qiao Shuxin was too vicious.
“So you came here to change your assignment? Once the list is submitted, it can’t be altered—but if you want to change it, I can help.”
Lowering his voice, Zhai Bingfeng added, “Things in the city are getting more unstable. I know you’ve thought this through—leaving the Lu family through this opportunity isn’t a bad thing.”
“You’re right.” Lu Rao smiled obediently. “That’s my plan too. I came to change my assigned village to Xiaoshan’ao Village.”
“Xiaoshan’ao Village?” Zhai Bingfeng checked his address book and nodded after a moment. “It does exist.”
He pulled out a map and frowned slightly.
“It’s next to Shan’ao Village, but judging from the location, it’s already near forest land, surrounded by mountains on three sides.”
He looked at her. “The northeastern mountains are dangerous. A place like that might have wild animals coming down often. Why would you choose somewhere like that?”
Lu Rao smiled faintly.
“Uncle Zhai, do you think I’m afraid of wild animals?”
Zhai Bingfeng paused, then laughed knowingly.
“Oh, right—I forgot. It’s the animals who should be afraid of you.”
As he spoke, his eyes reddened. He pointed at her.
“You child… I knew it, I knew it… Good, this is good. Just as expected of a member of the Lu family.”
He never believed Gu Cheng’s nonsense about her being a fake daughter, nor that she had been raised useless.
He had watched her grow up—her temperament was undeniably that of the Lu family.
Moreover, he knew that regardless of bloodline, she could still inherit the Lu family.
Seeing her reveal her true self now made him genuinely happy for her.
“Alright, I’ll change it to Xiaoshan’ao Village immediately.” He wasted no time drafting the paperwork.
Lu Rao felt a bit emotional.
According to the plot, she was originally assigned to Shan’ao Village.
That was also where Qiao Shuxin and Xu Zhengyang first went to the countryside.
With Qiao Shuxin’s protagonist halo, nearly everyone at the educated youth station there would later meet tragic ends.
According to the book, none of the other youths were good people.
Was that even reasonable?
Just because their values differed from the heroine, they were all labeled villains?
Lu Rao scoffed inwardly.
She and Qiao Shuxin were irreconcilable enemies, but she wasn’t stupid enough to walk straight into danger.
She would not go to Shan’ao Village.
But going elsewhere might not be better.
Besides, even if she chose another place, Qiao Shuxin would still find a way to drag her into trouble.
So it was better to pick a familiar place—keeping some distance while observing quietly.
Xiaoshan’ao Village was the perfect choice.
It was described in the book as located within a valley basin—Shan’ao Village was outside, with over 300 households, while Xiaoshan’ao Village was deeper inside, surrounded by mountains on three sides, with only a single mountain stream connecting it to the outside.
From a military perspective, it was a strategically advantageous location.
More importantly, it had fewer than 50 households—simple and peaceful.
Unlike Shan’ao Village, where deaths occurred frequently later on.
Lu Rao decided to stay away from trouble and lie low.
Just then—
Zhai Bingfeng finished the paperwork and handed her the official documents.
“Yesterday Gu Er tried to take these, but I didn’t give them to him—I was worried he’d make things difficult for you. Here, this is your subsidy—120 yuan, and five ration tickets. Go buy some essentials.”
He then took out a small cloth bundle from the drawer.
“This is something I prepared for you—some extra money and tickets.”
Seeing her come in person made him genuinely happy.
It meant she hadn’t been defeated.
“Thank you, Uncle Zhai.” Lu Rao accepted it, sighing inwardly as she saw how happy he was.
Zhai Bingfeng suddenly stiffened.
“Why… did you sigh?”
That little fox from the Lu family was about to stir trouble again!
Lu Rao: …
Thinking about how he would later be implicated because of helping her, she couldn’t help but sigh again.
“Uncle Zhai, you need to take care of yourself.”
Don’t get killed so easily.
She took out a stack of envelopes and handed them to him.
His eyelids twitched. He opened one—and his face turned green.
Looking at her, then at the rest of the envelopes, his heart pounded wildly.
“You’re asking me to…”
Was she handing him dirt on all the most troublesome figures in Shanghai?
This was going to turn the world upside down.
Lu Rao packed her things, stood up, and adjusted her clothes. Seeing the coffee cup, she casually picked it up.
“I’m taking this cup.”
Really—at a time like this, he still dared to serve her imported coffee. There should be limits to spoiling someone.
Zhai Bingfeng, buried under the pile of documents, waved her off absentmindedly.
At the door, Lu Rao paused and turned back.
She tapped her bag.
“Uncle Zhai, I’ll store the materials somewhere else. When you need them, use the Lu family’s old signal method—someone will deliver them to you.”
She paused, then bowed to him.
“Take care, Uncle Zhai.”