After returning to the educated-youth station, Meng Luosheng washed her face and prepared to go up the mountain to cut firewood.
Hearing the noise, Wang Xiaoli came out of the room.
“Shengsheng.”
Meng Luosheng turned back, her gaze circling Wang Xiaoli’s face once, and asked the question she had already asked countless times.
“How are you feeling?”
Two days had passed, and Wang Xiaoli’s health had mostly recovered. She nodded, the corners of her lips lifting into a bright smile.
“I’m almost completely better. You just got back—where are you going again?”
She felt guilty in her heart. Not only had she been unable to help, she had only caused more trouble.
No matter what, she had to go to work in the afternoon. She couldn’t keep living off others like this.
Meng Luosheng’s brows and eyes softened even more. She pointed toward the kitchen and joked,
“I’m going up the mountain to chop some firewood. Otherwise tonight, the two of us will have to sleep smelling filthy from head to toe.”
After cutting firewood, she would still have to fetch water from the village entrance.
Beneath her relaxed expression lay a body and mind that were already utterly exhausted.
Wang Xiaoli’s eyes instantly reddened.
Once upon a time, they hadn’t even washed a single bowl or pair of chopsticks. Now, everything had to be done by their own hands.
Dirty work and tiring work, bitterness and sweetness, things they could do and things they couldn’t—nothing could be refused.
No—there was no sweetness at all, only countless bitterness.
Her heart ached.
She ached for herself and Shengsheng, fallen to such a state, and for the hopelessness of not knowing when they would ever be able to go home.
One look at her expression was enough for Meng Luosheng to know what she was thinking.
She smiled helplessly, walked over, and wrapped her arms around her, speaking gently.
“Why do you cry at the slightest thing? When did our little tyrant turn into a crybaby? In a situation like this, just treat it as training. Experiencing a life you’ve never experienced before can be a different kind of flavor.”
Wang Xiaoli leaned against her, crying silently.
“Shengsheng, I want to go back. I don’t like this place—the people here, the things here, everything here… I hate it all.”
The expression on Meng Luosheng’s face faded slightly. The arms holding her tightened unconsciously, but her voice grew even softer.
“Xiaoli, I know. I know all of it. But right now, we have to stay here. The matters at home haven’t been resolved yet, and my grandfather…”
She took a deep breath, paused, then continued,
“Believe me. I’ll find a way to let you go back openly and properly.”
As companions who had grown up together, she knew her friend’s personality all too well.
On the surface, she looked carefree and fearless.
In reality, she was timid and delicate, unable to endure even a little hardship.
She retreated easily when faced with problems, and collapsed emotionally even more easily when encountering difficulties.
A flower raised in a greenhouse, unable to withstand even the slightest wind or rain.
Wang Xiaoli cried until her eyes were blurry, unable to see what lay ahead.
“Shengsheng, I’m so hopeless. Why did everything become like this overnight? Everything we had left us all at once. A place where we don’t know anyone, days spent with our faces to the dirt and backs to the sky, bellies that are never full, disgusting and filthy men…”
At this point, she completely broke down and couldn’t help but wail loudly.
The clothes on Meng Luosheng’s chest were already soaked with her tears.
Just like her heart—drenched through.
She wanted to keep comforting her, but when the words reached her lips, she swallowed them back.
She herself was lost too, unsure of how the road ahead should be walked.
The only thing she was certain of was finding an opportunity to leave this place.
But for now, she had no way at all.
She patted Wang Xiaoli’s shoulder.
“Don’t rush. I’ll find a way to get you out of here.”
From the educated-youth station to the mountain, her mind went completely blank. She thought of nothing at all.
The gentle smile that usually hung on her face was now cold, like a sculpture.
Holding the sharp firewood-chopping blade, she chopped mechanically.
When it was about enough, she tied the wood into a bundle, hoisted it onto her back, and prepared to head down the mountain.
“Comrade Meng.”
A man with a sturdy build—tall and powerfully built, clearly accustomed to heavy labor—suddenly appeared in front of her.
Meng Luosheng raised her eyes and silently stepped back.
She didn’t recognize this man.
Xu Ziyi wore a bright, friendly smile.
“Comrade Meng, I thought I saw you from afar. Turns out it really is you. You came to chop firewood too?”
He reached his hand toward her back.
“That looks pretty heavy. Let me help you.”
Meng Luosheng stepped back again.
“No need. I still have things to do, so I’ll be leaving.”
There was no such thing as a free lunch falling from the sky. Unprovoked kindness often came with a price.
Especially now—when it was just her and this man alone. If any gossip spread, life in this village would become difficult.
What’s more, she didn’t want any entanglements with the men of this village at all.
Xu Ziyi blocked her path, not letting her pass.
“Comrade Meng, it’s just a small favor. No need to be so polite.”
He had studied for a few years and carried himself with an air of propriety, his speech tinged with a scholarly tone.
Paired with his tall figure and fairly handsome face, he looked like quite a decent young man.
Most people would not refuse his help.
But that was only on the surface.
When a woman has already clearly stated that she doesn’t need help, continuing to pester her shows a complete lack of gentlemanly conduct.
Meng Luosheng wouldn’t argue over such things with villagers, but she disliked being hounded after refusing.
Her emotions didn’t fluctuate at all—the mask remained firmly in place on her face.
“Comrade, please step aside. Thank you.”
Xu Ziyi didn’t move an inch.
He had already asked around—Comrade Meng was not married yet.
He liked this beautiful young woman and wanted to pursue her.
That was why, when he saw her going up the mountain, he followed her.
He couldn’t bear to see her carrying such a heavy bundle of firewood alone and wanted to take the burden off her shoulders.
He hadn’t expected to be rejected.
A sense of frustration rose in his heart.
In the village, he had always been popular with women.
Young unmarried girls and married women alike all liked him.
No one ever rejected him.
Being refused now stirred not only unwillingness, but wounded pride.
“Comrade Meng, let me help you.”
He reached out again, trying to grab the tightly bundled load of firewood on her back.
After all this back-and-forth, and with the heavy load on her shoulders, Meng Luosheng was exhausted.
Her strength was already failing; even her steps backward were unsteady.
“Comrade, thank you very much for your kindness. If you truly want to help me, then please stop blocking my way.”
She was extremely good at burying her emotions and rarely lost her temper.
Even if she disliked someone intensely, she would not show it on her face.
Being rejected again, an inexplicable anger flared in Xu Ziyi’s heart.
Everyone liked pretty, tender women—especially beautiful women with no backing, who could be kneaded and shaped at will.
That was why there were quite a few men in the village who had their eyes on Comrade Meng.
He believed in the principle that whoever acted first gained the advantage, while those who hesitated suffered the loss.
He had intended to use this opportunity to walk down the mountain with Comrade Meng, creating rumors of closeness between them.
To let the villagers vaguely sense that there was something unclear, something ambiguous between him and Comrade Meng—something better understood than spoken.
But now, impatience wouldn’t get him anywhere. If he continued to press, he might ruin the impression entirely.
He shifted his feet to the side, his smile open and helpless.
“In that case, I won’t force it.”
Inwardly, he sighed in regret.
The opportunity had slipped away just like that—what a pity.
A man with a scheming heart, devoid of sincerity, filled only with calculation.
Back at the educated-youth station, Wang Xiaoli had already prepared the meal. As usual, Meng Luosheng carried everything unpleasant on her own.
After they ate, Wang Xiaoli washed the dishes, while Meng Luosheng went to fetch water.
Her shoulders ached badly, but she persevered the entire way.
In the afternoon, she went back to the fields to transplant rice seedlings.
Her waist bent so low she nearly couldn’t straighten up again. When she stood, her vision darkened in waves.
She bit her tongue hard, barely stopping herself from fainting.
Xu Qingyan watched her with a complicated expression, then turned his head and looked up at his father, who stood nearby.
“Dad, I don’t want to do the accounting job anymore. Comrade Meng is quite good—she’s hardworking and can endure hardship. Why not give this opportunity to her? It would also show our goodwill and friendliness toward the educated youths sent down to the countryside.”