Sure enough, after just one morning, they were already exhausted.
In the afternoon, An Yanyan didn’t go out to the fields. Jiang Xueming even went to ask for leave on her behalf.
After hearing this, Ma Xiaoping also wanted to ask for leave. Although she wasn’t as delicate as An Yanyan—she hadn’t collapsed onto the kang after just one morning—she was still extremely tired. The fatigue itself wasn’t the worst part; it was the blazing sun. Working under the scorching sun was truly unbearable.
In the end, however, she didn’t get to take leave. Wan Changsheng made it clear that only by working in the fields could they earn work points. Without work points, the village wouldn’t distribute grain, and then food would become a problem. Her family wasn’t well-off and wouldn’t send her extra supplies, so she had no choice but to grit her teeth and keep working.
The older educated youths were already used to it. Of course it was tiring—not just for them, but for the villagers as well.
Even Song Yunqiao, who had been mentally prepared, was completely worn out after a full day of work. By the time they finished in the afternoon, she was utterly exhausted.
While they were working that afternoon, Wu Dexiang came by to inspect. Watching the newly arrived youths struggle with their tasks, he could only shake his head helplessly.
The older educated youths might not be as efficient as the villagers, but at least they had built up some endurance. As for these newcomers…
Sigh—and one of them had already taken leave after just half a day.
When the group returned together in the afternoon, they saw An Yanyan and Gu Guanghua sitting in the courtyard chatting.
Jiang Xueming’s expression changed instantly when he saw them.
“You’re back,” An Yanyan greeted them with a smile.
Suppressing his displeasure, Jiang Xueming stepped forward and said affectionately, “Why aren’t you resting inside? Do you still feel unwell?”
“I lay down all afternoon. I feel much better now,” An Yanyan replied, taking two steps back to put some distance between them as she spoke.
That small action hurt Jiang Xueming deeply.
Seeing that everyone had returned, Gu Guanghua greeted them briefly before heading back to the men’s dormitory.
Song Yunqiao sighed inwardly. Is this what they call protagonist aura?
While they had been working themselves to death in the fields, these two were sitting in the courtyard chatting and flirting. It really wasn’t fair—completely unfair.
After returning from work, He Suxia and Sun Xiuzhen washed up briefly and then went to cook.
“After dinner, everyone gather in the courtyard for a meeting,” Wan Changsheng announced before the meal.
Ma Xiaoping curled her lips in annoyance. They were already exhausted from a full day’s work, and now they still had to attend some pointless meeting!
Song Yunqiao said nothing. She carried her cup of malted milk drink back to her room.
It had been two days since she transmigrated here. Aside from the one proper meal she had on the train the first day, she had been making do with whatever she could find. If the original owner of this body hadn’t left malted milk and biscuits in the suitcase, she didn’t even know how she would have managed.
While working that day, she had been slacking off slightly and thinking about her future. Having read the entire novel, she knew how the male and female leads would end up. Her top priority now was to keep her distance from them and find an opportunity to return to the city. Working in the fields for a few days was tolerable, but if this continued long-term, it would be the death of her.
Among the educated youths, aside from Song Yunqiao, only Jiang Xueming had similar means. Whether he had eaten or not was unclear, but she had seen him give An Yanyan a box of biscuits. It wasn’t just her—every female educated youth there had noticed.
The educated youths ate together. Since the male youths weren’t good at cooking, the responsibility had always fallen to He Suxia and Sun Xiuzhen. Although the men didn’t cook, they were responsible for gathering firewood.
As for the food, it was early summer, and every household had a small private plot. There was one beside the educated youth dormitory too, growing seasonal vegetables, so at least they had some fresh greens. As for staples, they had coarse black flour buns at lunch. Song Yunqiao forced herself to eat half of one but couldn’t continue—it was too rough on the throat.
Moreover, the food they ate that day had all come from the grain supplies of He Suxia and the others. So the meeting Wan Changsheng called was about food distribution and future dormitory arrangements.
“Before, there were fewer of us, so the two female comrades handled all the cooking. Now that there are more people, we can rotate duties. I’d like to ask—who knows how to cook?” Wan Changsheng asked, looking at them.
The male youths all shook their heads—they truly didn’t know how.
Hearing this, An Yanyan said, “I can handle simple dishes, but they definitely won’t be as good as He Zhiqing and Sun Zhiqing’s.”
Wan Changsheng was just about to encourage her when Jiang Xueming suddenly spoke up: “Yanyan, you’re already exhausted from working all day. I can pay on your behalf—just let them handle the cooking.”
The courtyard fell silent the moment he said that.
An Yanyan immediately stepped forward to distance herself from him. “No need, Brother Jiang. I can manage.”
Seeing her reject him again, Jiang Xueming felt hurt.
Wan Changsheng glanced at him before continuing, “You five can discuss how to divide the work.”
In the end, they split into two groups: He Suxia paired with Song Yunqiao, while Sun Xiuzhen teamed up with An Yanyan and Ma Xiaoping.
At first, Ma Xiaoping wanted to be in the same group as Song Yunqiao, but Song Yunqiao disliked the idea, so she had no choice but to join An Yanyan’s group.
She couldn’t help but feel that ever since coming to the countryside, Song Yunqiao had become smarter. She was no longer arrogant or eager to stand out, and had even distanced herself—making it impossible to manipulate her.
“Comrade An, are you and Comrade Jiang in a relationship?”
After the meeting, He Suxia asked this question. She didn’t mean any harm—she simply felt that Jiang Xueming’s behavior toward An Yanyan didn’t seem like that of ordinary friends.
Besides, it wasn’t unusual for educated youths to date, as long as they behaved properly.
Her voice wasn’t loud, but it wasn’t soft either—just enough for both Jiang Xueming and Gu Guanghua to hear.
An Yanyan’s expression changed, and she quickly shook her head. “Comrade He, don’t say things like that. Brother Jiang and I are just comrades—revolutionary friendship. He’s always treated me like a younger sister.”
Her eagerness to distance herself struck Jiang Xueming painfully. At that moment, he wanted nothing more than to grab her and loudly tell her that he didn’t see her as a sister at all.
Song Yunqiao glanced between the two and shook her head. Compared to the original host—just a minor character who disappeared after a single chapter—Jiang Xueming was the devoted second male lead in the novel. He and An Yanyan had grown up together, childhood sweethearts. He had a good family background, decent looks, and could be considered a rich second-generation heir. When she read the comments before, many readers had even supported him ending up with the female lead.
While Jiang Xueming looked deeply hurt, Gu Guanghua, on the other hand, felt relieved. Hearing An Yanyan say they had no relationship, a smile appeared on his face.
For some reason, from the moment he first saw An Yanyan, he had already fallen for her.