That night, Yun Hua had a hard time falling asleep.
After everything that had happened, combined with the poor conditions at the educated youth compound, there was no way she could sleep soundly.
She wanted to move out as soon as possible, but she needed to find the right opportunity.
The weather over the past two days didn’t look like it was going to rain either.
Yun Hua tossed and turned all night, her mind wandering through all sorts of thoughts. It wasn’t until dawn was approaching that she finally drifted into a fitful sleep.
“Educated Youth Yun, wake up! Get up and get ready to earn work points. Otherwise, you won’t have enough food to eat and you’ll go hungry!”
Yun Hua was jolted awake by Li Jing’s shouting and shaking.
She opened her eyes and stared at the ceiling.
Huh?
She looked at the spiderwebs clinging to the roof and the slanted ceiling.
Yun Hua’s mind remained foggy for a while. Her head felt swollen and slightly painful. She couldn’t tell whether she was coming down with a cold or simply hadn’t gotten enough sleep.
But Li Jing’s calls forced her to get moving.
Yun Hua didn’t like sleeping in underwear. The underwear from this era was uncomfortable for her to wear, and it didn’t provide enough support anyway.
If she had to wear underwear like this for a long time, she was afraid her breasts would start to sag. How ugly would that be?
She couldn’t help it. She cared about looks, and she liked strong, capable people.
So she waited until everyone else had left before quickly putting on the underwear she had taken out of her space.
Then she changed into a dark-blue cotton shirt and a pair of black cotton-linen trousers.
She put on her cloth shoes, tied up her hair, and left the dormitory.
After quickly washing up, the educated youths hurried off to eat breakfast.
The senior educated youths had prepared it.
“We thought you’d just arrived, so we went ahead and made breakfast for you too. Starting tonight, we’ll all take turns cooking and divide up the work.”
Yun Hua looked at the breakfast at the educated youth compound: steamed cornmeal buns and boiled water.
Uh…
Yun Hua wasn’t being picky. She genuinely couldn’t swallow this stuff.
Thinking about the food her mother had stuffed into her luggage bag—well, she was her mother now—Yun Hua decided she could eat separately instead of eating with the other educated youths.
Besides, she didn’t know how to cook anyway.
“Well, you don’t have to include me. I don’t know how to cook, and I won’t be eating with everyone else either.”
The senior educated youth looked at Yun Hua but said nothing.
Wei Fang stepped forward again.
“Oh? So the young miss thinks Educated Youth Pan’s breakfast is too shabby? If you look down on the food here, you could just say so. Did you really have to reject it so bluntly and embarrass everyone?”
Li Jing immediately became annoyed.
“Wei Fang, what do you mean? Why do you have something to say about everything? What’s wrong with Educated Youth Yun not cooking or eating with us? She’s got the right to choose how she wants to live!”
Seeing Li Jing constantly defend Yun Hua, Wei Fang grew even angrier.
“Li Jing, don’t think you’ll get anything out of protecting her. Look at her—she can’t lift anything heavy or carry anything on her shoulders. Who knows who’ll end up depending on whom? What if she starts relying on you? You’ll have plenty to deal with then.”
Li Jing didn’t seem to understand what Wei Fang was implying.
“What’s it to you? I just like protecting her. If she wants to rely on me, I’ll be happy to let her! She’s my best friend, and I’m perfectly willing to let her depend on me. Does that bother you?”
Wei Fang was so furious that she couldn’t get another word out.
Only after Wei Fang had run out of things to say did Liu Xuejiao leisurely speak up.
“All right, Educated Youth Li. Everyone, let’s stop arguing. Don’t let this damage our friendship.”
As she spoke, she secretly glanced at Yu Hongwei’s expression.
Seeing that he seemed quite pleased with her behavior, she felt secretly delighted.
Yun Hua actually didn’t want to make enemies with these educated youths.
But some people were simply like that. You didn’t want to provoke them, yet they would come looking for trouble anyway.
Yun Hua ignored Wei Fang and turned to the senior educated youth.
“I really didn’t mean anything by it. I just want to eat separately.”
Senior educated youth Pan Yunxiang saw that Yun Hua was being sincere and didn’t take it the wrong way.
“I understand. It’s fine. Those who want to eat together can eat together. Those who don’t don’t have to. We won’t force anyone. You can’t force a melon to be sweet.”
Yun Hua smiled and nodded.
Seeing that Pan Yunxiang wasn’t as petty as Wei Fang and the others, Li Jing lifted her chin and gave Wei Fang a provocative look, as if saying, You’re the one who makes trouble over everything!
Once Yun Hua saw that the matter of meals had been settled, she hurried back to the dormitory to eat breakfast.
She had secretly put some of her more valuable belongings into her space the night before.
It never hurt to be cautious.
If her money or ration coupons went missing, wouldn’t she be furious?
And when she remembered how the original owner had given most of her money and ration coupons to the male lead, Yu Hongwei, as described in the novel, Yun Hua nearly had a heart attack.
What a hopeless romantic.
With her looks and money, what kind of man couldn’t she find?
She couldn’t bring herself to like the male lead just by looking at him. He was nothing but a weak, skinny pretty boy who looked as though a strong breeze could knock him over.
Suddenly, a figure flashed through Yun Hua’s mind.
Now, that’s more like it.
But that man clearly wasn’t someone to be trifled with. He was the kind of person who could only be admired from afar, never touched.
Yun Hua also put some of her more valuable food into her space.
She left only some dry, shelf-stable food in the dormitory.
“Educated Youth Yun, let’s go! Time to earn work points!”
Li Jing’s voice came from outside.
Yun Hua had just finished breakfast.
“Coming, coming!”
She rummaged through her luggage bag and discovered that her beautiful mother had prepared several pairs of gloves for her, probably worried that she would hurt her hands and packing them just in case.
Yun Hua took three pairs of gloves and opened the door. Once she stepped outside, she closed the dormitory door behind her.
When Liang Ying saw Yun Hua come out, she quickly locked the dormitory.
The group hurried toward the village chief.
When they reached the meeting place, Yun Hua saw a huge crowd gathered there.
There were villagers as well as educated youths.
The village chief seemed to be in high spirits as he assigned everyone’s farm work.
“Today, we have some new educated youths joining our village. And they’ve arrived just in time for the autumn harvest. From now on, everyone needs to work together and pick up the pace so we can finish the harvest. If you don’t earn enough work points, be careful you don’t go hungry! Everyone, put your backs into it and get to work!”
“Now, I’ll assign everyone’s tasks.”
“Educated Youth Wei, go with Auntie Ruying to harvest the corn.”
“Educated Youth Liu, go with Auntie Cuihua to cut the rice.”
“Educated Youth Li, go with Auntie Guifen to harvest the sorghum.”
“Educated Youth Yun, go with Auntie Xiangyun to cut pigweed.”
Liu Xuejiao was somewhat dissatisfied, but before she could say anything, Wei Fang spoke first.
“Village Chief, why does Educated Youth Yun get to go cut pigweed with the children while the rest of us girls have to either harvest corn or cut rice?”
The village chief’s expression immediately darkened.
“What? Are you the village chief, or am I? If you think my arrangement is wrong, then why don’t you come and make the assignments yourself?”
Wei Fang immediately realized that she’d developed a habit of speaking without thinking. This time, she hadn’t managed to stop herself before the words came out.
Only after the village chief called her out did she realize how embarrassing she’d made things for herself.
So many people were watching.
How humiliating!
“I’m sorry, Village Chief. I just wanted to ask why Educated Youth Yun was given an easier task while the rest of us women are doing the same work as the men.”
Wei Fang tried her best to soften her tone.
Unexpectedly, the village chief simply said, “Yesterday, she was already exhausted just from walking here from the train station. How could she be the same as you?”
Yun Hua nearly covered her face in embarrassment.
Are we never going to get past what happened yesterday?
Who would have thought that leaving everyone with the impression that she was delicate and physically weak yesterday might actually turn out to be a blessing in disguise?