Watching Lou Zhiyao sit there in a daze, He Li and Hu Fang exchanged glances. It was the first time they had ever seen her in such a filthy, disheveled state.
At that moment, the team leader hurried over as well. Seeing Lou Zhiyao sitting on the ground like this, he thought something serious had happened.
“What’s going on? What’s going on? Why is Comrade Lou sitting on the ground? She’s covered in mud and water—her clothes are all dirty!”
Everyone began talking at once, explaining what had happened. The team leader shot Li Qinghe an angry glare, then had someone help Lou Zhiyao back to the educated youth courtyard to rest. He was genuinely afraid of her tendency to stir up trouble.
“Captain Wang, Aunt Liu, I’m fine. I was just suddenly pushed and got a bit stunned. It’s not cold today anyway—I’ll go back and change after work.”
From what the others described, combined with what she had read in the novel about “Lou Zhiyao’s” behavior, she realized that she had caused quite a lot of trouble during her time in the countryside.
The book hadn’t gone into much detail, but hearing the aunts talk about it now made her feel much more directly just how troublesome this body’s previous owner had been.
Now that she was here, her top priority was to change these people’s impression of her—and to stay far away from the male and female leads.
Whoever wanted to be the vicious supporting female character could go ahead—she wasn’t doing it.
In her previous life, she had been a well-behaved, model young citizen.
Hearing her words, Captain Wang exchanged a glance with his wife. They didn’t say much, but their impression of Lou Zhiyao improved slightly.
Lou Zhiyao also felt Loucky she had arrived early. If she had come after all those things had already been done, she might as well have died from embarrassment.
“In that case, Comrade Lou, go back to work,” Captain Wang said, then turned to the onlookers. “What are you all standing around for? Don’t want your work points anymore?”
The crowd scattered instantly like startled birds.
Lou Zhiyao sighed, then went to Aunt Wang to learn how to identify weeds.
He Li and Hu Fang also let out a sigh of relief. They figured Lou Zhiyao had finally accepted reality—going to the countryside wasn’t a game, so she had started to change.
And that was a good thing. At least this pampered young lady wouldn’t throw tantrums anytime, anywhere anymore, and they wouldn’t have to endure her temper.
People in this era were truly simple and kind. Despite how troublesome Lou Zhiyao had been before, they were still willing to let go of past grievances and accept her again.
Faced with such an eager learner, Aunt Wang was more than happy to teach. The girl was fair, delicate, and stunningly beautiful. At first glance, she didn’t look like someone who could do farm work—but she had a sweet tongue, constantly praising, “Aunt Wang, you’re amazing!” and “Aunt Wang, you’re so capable!” It made Aunt Wang beam with delight.
“Comrade Lou, have you understood all this?” After this short interaction, Aunt Liu’s impression of Lou Zhiyao had also improved.
“I’ve got it all memorized. Aunt Wang, watch me pull a few weeds and see if I make any mistakes.”
In truth, Lou Zhiyao could already tell them apart clearly. She just didn’t want others to think she didn’t need teaching—it would raise suspicion.
Her nimble hands seemed to move with a natural rhythm. Bending down, she quickly pulled up several cLoumps of weeds in no time.
Aunt Wang watched with clear approval, nodding repeatedly. She silently praised the girl’s learning ability—quick to grasp everything at once. Seeing that Lou Zhiyao had fully mastered the technique without a single mistake, she felt reassured enough to let her work independently and turned to other farm tasks.
After all, spending time patiently teaching Lou Zhiyao had delayed her own work somewhat. Thinking about the hot Lounch waiting to be cooked at home, she felt a sense of urgency.
So Aunt Wang sped up her weeding, each motion precise and forceful, cutting down the weeds that hindered crop growth. Her eyes reflected her sense of responsibility toward her family.
The sun gradually climbed higher, casting its light over the golden wheat fields and ilLouminating Lou Zhiyao’s focused face. When the long, crisp bell finally rang, signaling the end of the morning’s work, she straightened up from the field.
Supporting her aching lower back with one hand, she let out a soft hiss. Clearly, this body wasn’t used to such heavy labor, and the first attempt was hard to endure.
Yet her eyes shone with determination. Since fate had brought her into this world of sweat and toil, she resolved to make this delicate body adapt to it.
She knew that only by truly integrating into this land could she improve her own life and that of the people around her.
Back in her room, she locked the door. Fortunately, when she had first arrived, “Lou Zhiyao” had refused to share a room with others and had taken over the small room she believed only one person could live in. Otherwise, she wouldn’t be able to enter her space to bathe now.
Her neck felt sunburned, and her palms stung from the rough weeds. She filled a large bucket with well water, heated it, and planned to soak in a bath, hoping it would ease the discomfort.
Whether it was truly effective or just psychological, she felt much better afterward. Even the burning on her neck had lessened—so it seemed to work.
After bathing, she planned to drink some well water. She noticed that the water level, which had dropped earlier, was full again. Even stranger, once it filled up, it didn’t overflow. This amazed her.
The Lounch break lasted two hours. Lying on the bed, she stared at her watch in thought. She remembered entering the space at 12:15. Heating water and bathing inside had taken at least an hour—but after coming out, only ten minutes had passed.
Could it be that time flowed differently inside the space?
She also wondered how well the space preserved things.
She put a bitten apple into the space, planning to check on it later. For now, she needed to carefully recall the novel’s plot.
First, she had only been in Qingshan Production Team for five days. According to the plot, the female lead would arrive more than a month later—around the end of June.
Second, the female lead was reborn, so she deeply disliked “Lou Zhiyao.” On the surface, she acted like her good friend, always defending her, but in reality, it was all deliberate—making others target her, which drove people to go after Lou Zhiyao.
In the end, she was targeted by both the male and female leads and died a miserable death.
So she absoLoutely had to stay far away from them. They were destined for each other—she was just a vicious supporting character and cannon fodder.
She took out the “family severance letter” her mother had placed in her bag and sighed. It was all born of her parents’ deep love for her.
There was also a pile of money and ration coupons, which she stored in her space. The remaining items outside were all worthless things.
After finishing everything, Lou Zhiyao took a short nap. Since transmigrating, she hadn’t had a moment to breathe. Before falling asleep, she thought of her parents from her previous life, wondering if they would be sad to learn of her sudden death.
Probably not.
After all, she wasn’t their biological child—she had been picked up from the roadside.