Roasted sweet potatoes were surprisingly filling, and Yun Hua thought they tasted better than white-flour steamed buns.
The air on the train wasn’t particularly pleasant, so once Yun Hua had eaten her fill, she closed her eyes and rested.
The noise was bad enough, but the air was stuffy and barely circulated, filled with all kinds of smells.
Although it was already autumn, the temperature hadn’t dropped much yet. People dressed however they pleased during this season.
Some wore short sleeves, while others wore long sleeves.
The group of educated youths spent their time on the train eating whenever they were hungry, leaning against their seats and sleeping whenever they were tired, and chatting together whenever they were feeling energetic.
The funny thing was that some of them hadn’t yet realized how difficult life in the countryside would be. They were still excited about going to the countryside to serve the people.
Looking at those excited people, Yun Hua couldn’t help thinking that they had the clear-eyed innocence—and foolishness—of college students.
The moment she thought about spending two years doing farm work in the countryside, Yun Hua felt her heart turn ice-cold.
The smell of sweat on the train, the overpowering fragrances from who-knows-where, and the smell of someone’s feet made her feel like she was about to lose it.
The train continued along the tracks, carrying Yun Hua toward the place she couldn’t escape from.
Yun Hua’s mind was hazy, and it wasn’t until the train finally arrived at a station in the southwest that she fully came to her senses.
“Educated youths being sent to the countryside, come over here and gather!”
A middle-aged man was shouting at the top of his lungs nearby.
After getting off the train, Yun Hua’s mind finally cleared up a little.
The trains of this era were truly something else.
She felt as though those two or three days on the train had nearly tortured her back into her previous life.
No.
She didn’t even know whether she could go back.
What a miserable thought.
Hearing someone calling for the educated youths being sent to the countryside, Yun Hua and the others quickly picked up their luggage and slowly made their way over.
There seemed to be two groups of people waiting to receive the educated youths.
Gu Hongjun looked over the group and felt fairly satisfied.
The male educated youths were all tall.
As for the female educated youths…
Gu Hongjun unconsciously frowned.
Why was one of the female educated youths so thin?
And there was another one who wasn’t particularly thin, but her skin was so fair and delicate that it looked like water could be squeezed out of it.
She certainly didn’t look like someone who had come to do farm work.
Had some rich young lady gotten lost and somehow ended up here?
Was this a joke?
There was no time for him to worry about it now.
He needed to get the educated youths back as quickly as possible. They still had to arrange their accommodations.
He secretly muttered to himself that those two female educated youths had better not be assigned to his village.
The people from the commune soon finished reading out the names of the educated youths assigned to each village.
Gu Hongjun was speechless.
The more I don’t want them, the more they show up.
Yun Hua noticed the middle-aged man looking at the female lead, Liu Xuejiao, and then at her.
She couldn’t figure out what he meant.
What is this uncle trying to say?
Li Jing’s delighted voice came from beside her.
“That’s wonderful, Yun! We’re from the same village. If you ever need anything, just come to me. I’ll definitely help you as much as I can.”
Yun Hua already knew that Li Jing, the male lead, and the female lead were all being assigned to the same village, so she wasn’t particularly surprised.
There were also four other educated youths from different places: Zhang Yang, Zhao Gang, Yang Jun, and Wang Meimei.
The extremely thin female educated youth Gu Hongjun had been worried about was Liu Xuejiao.
The fair-skinned, delicate one was Yun Hua.
As for the other two female educated youths, Wang Meimei was tall and sturdy.
Li Jing was half a head shorter than Yun Hua, but unlike Yun Hua, she wasn’t thin and delicate. Her skin was also a healthy color, and at a glance, she looked like someone who was accustomed to doing farm work.
Gu Hongjun wasn’t worried about either of them.
“I’m Gu Hongjun, the village chief of Red Flag Village. I’m here to take you back to the educated youth point. The male educated youths should help the female educated youths carry their luggage.”
With that, he instructed everyone to load their luggage onto the ox cart.
Before Yun Hua could react, Wu Jianjun, who had come with Gu Hongjun, had already eagerly carried Yun Hua’s luggage onto the cart.
Yun Hua could only thank him.
Unexpectedly, Wu Jianjun’s face immediately turned red, and he stumbled over his words.
“Y-you’re welcome.”
He then hurried over to help Li Jing with her luggage.
Wang Meimei had already carried her own luggage onto the cart.
At 1.75 meters tall, she was a towering woman and was no weaker than any of the men.
As for Liu Xuejiao, she had already taken the initiative to ask Yu Hongwei to help her put her luggage on the cart.
Wu Jianjun had come with Gu Hongjun to pick up the educated youths.
Originally, Gu Hongjun had planned to bring his younger son along, but his son said he had something to do and couldn’t come.
So Gu Hongjun had called his neighbor’s son, Wu Jianjun, instead.
Wu Jianjun watched the energetic educated youths get off the train.
Then he saw them walk over to him.
But afterward, they all became a blur.
From the moment that female educated youth appeared, it seemed that he could see nothing but her.
When the village chief read out the list, Wu Jianjun finally learned that her name was Yun Hua.
What a beautiful name.
But the person herself was even more beautiful.
So he enthusiastically took the initiative to carry her luggage.
Wu Jianjun hadn’t been very healthy when he was young.
Although he had recovered after years of careful treatment, he was still shorter than the other boys his age, standing at only about 1.78 meters.
He was on the leaner side, but he was clever, and his features were rather handsome.
Yun Hua’s first impression of Wu Jianjun was quite good.
What a friendly villager.
He really is a good person.
Wu Jianjun, who had just been awarded his “good person” status, had no idea what Yun Hua was thinking.
His mind was still filled with the smile Yun Hua had given him when she thanked him.
So sweet.
Even sweeter than sugar water.
The train station wasn’t particularly close to the village, but it wasn’t too far away either.
Other than Gu Hongjun, who was driving the ox cart, everyone else had to walk.
Yun Hua walked alongside the others, but before long, she felt as though she couldn’t take another step.
She was wearing thin-soled cloth shoes, and she felt as though blisters were already forming on the bottoms of her feet.
On top of that, she hadn’t gotten enough rest on the train.
Her entire body felt exhausted.
She was miserable.
Wu Jianjun had been watching Yun Hua all along.
When he noticed that her face was growing paler and paler, he couldn’t help speaking up.
“Uncle, Yun isn’t heavy. Why don’t we let her ride on the ox cart? I think there’s enough room for one person among the luggage. If she squeezes in a little, it shouldn’t be a problem.”
Gu Hongjun turned around and looked at Yun Hua, then glanced at the luggage piled on the cart.
“Then come on up. It’ll also help us get to the educated youth point faster.”
Liu Xuejiao immediately became unhappy.
“Wait a minute. Why does she get to ride on the ox cart while we have to walk?”
Wu Jianjun glanced at Liu Xuejiao.
“Why are you being so petty? Can’t you see that Yun isn’t looking well? She’s obviously feeling unwell. Who’s like you? You’re skinny as a monkey, but you’re still full of energy. If you’ve got that much energy, save it and earn more work points later instead of wasting it on this.”
Liu Xuejiao was furious.
What does this man mean?
Isn’t he just trying to curry favor because Yun Hua is pretty?
Liu Xuejiao glanced at Yu Hongwei beside her and saw him frowning impatiently.
Her heart tightened.
She was afraid of leaving a bad impression on Yu Hongwei, so she could only throw Wu Jianjun one last remark.
“Keep dreaming! No matter how attentive you are, she still won’t like you!”
Then she strode ahead.
In the end, Gu Hongjun wanted everyone to reach the village as early as possible, so he suggested that the female educated youths take turns riding on the ox cart.
But Wang Meimei insisted on walking.
She said she was as strong as an ox herself and didn’t need to ride.
So Yun Hua, Li Jing, and Liu Xuejiao took turns riding on the ox cart.
Yun Hua genuinely admired Wang Meimei.
But when she looked at Wang Meimei, who—with the exception of her hair—looked almost exactly like a man in every other respect, Yun Hua didn’t know what to say.