Before long, the villagers went off to their various tasks according to the village chief’s assignments.
Wang Xiangyun took Yun Hua to cut pigweed with the children.
Before leaving, Yun Hua gave Li Jing a pair of gloves. If she could protect her hands, she might as well do it.
She still had two pairs left, and she planned to give one pair to Auntie Xiangyun later.
Yun Hua also tucked a gauze scarf into her pocket. Once the sun came out, she would use it to cover her face.
She had to make sure her sun protection was done properly.
It was Wang Xiangyun’s first time meeting Yun Hua.
Looking at Yun Hua’s fair, delicate skin, Wang Xiangyun thought she looked just like a little glutinous rice dumpling. Her eyes, nose, and little mouth were all so pretty.
Oh, she was truly beautiful. No wonder people would love her.
Even Wang Xiangyun’s voice unconsciously became much gentler.
“Educated Youth Yun, you’ve only just come to the countryside. If you run into any difficulties, come tell Auntie. Look at how delicate your skin is. Just stay with Auntie and cut pigweed. The other farm work will definitely leave you with cuts and bruises.”
When Yun Hua heard her mention getting hurt, she immediately took out a pair of gloves.
“Auntie Xiangyun, these gloves are for you. They’ll help protect your hands.”
Wang Xiangyun’s heart warmed when she saw the gloves Yun Hua held out to her.
“Oh, how could I take these? You should keep them for yourself.”
Yun Hua smiled at her.
“I still have another pair. Auntie Xiangyun, you can have this one.”
Seeing Yun Hua take out another pair of gloves, Wang Xiangyun stopped refusing and accepted them.
“All right, then. Auntie will take them. I’ll make sure to teach you how to cut pigweed properly later. Be careful and don’t cut your hands.”
“Okay. Thank you, Auntie Xiangyun.”
Once everything was ready, Yun Hua followed Wang Xiangyun to cut pigweed.
She held the pigweed with her left hand and the sickle in her right, copying Wang Xiangyun’s movements as she began working.
After cutting pigweed for a while, Yun Hua already wanted to rest.
But when she saw everyone else continuing to work, she felt embarrassed about taking a break.
So she could only grit her teeth and keep going.
When you weren’t moving, the crisp autumn weather felt cool and pleasant.
But once you started working, the heat quickly built up.
Yun Hua felt that her constitution had improved quite a bit after soaking in the spiritual spring water the night before.
Even so, her hands still hurt despite wearing gloves.
She found a moment to take off her gloves and look.
The palms of her hands were already slightly red.
She looked at the seemingly endless patch of pigweed in front of her and nearly wanted to cry.
But then she thought about how the other educated youths were working even harder than she was, so she could only grit her teeth and continue working with her head down.
Watching Yun Hua, Wang Xiangyun felt that this girl wasn’t as delicate as Gu Hongjun had made her out to be.
She had been gritting her teeth and persevering all this time.
She hadn’t even complained about being tired.
However, when Yun Hua took off her gloves, Wang Xiangyun still noticed her reddened palms.
“Educated Youth Yun, why don’t we go sit under the tree and have some water? We can rest for a while.”
Wang Xiangyun felt that Yun Hua really needed a break. Someone who wasn’t accustomed to farm work could easily wear herself out if she pushed too hard all at once.
“Okay, Auntie Xiangyun.”
Yun Hua had been waiting for her to say exactly that.
When the other children saw the two adults stop to rest, they wanted to rest as well.
There were only Wang Xiangyun, Yun Hua, and four older children working in this patch of land.
The group went over to the tree, where they had left their water cups earlier.
They sat down and drank water while resting.
After taking a few sips, the group began chattering among themselves.
“Hey, Educated Youth Yun, I heard you’re from a big city? Is the big city fun?”
The children all looked at Yun Hua eagerly.
Yun Hua smiled gently.
“Mm, I came from our capital. My home is there, and my parents are there, so naturally, I think it’s a wonderful place.”
“But as for whether it’s fun, you’ll have to go and see for yourselves. If you ever get the chance, you can go take a look.”
Yun Hua knew that these children would eventually have the opportunity to leave the mountains.
The children seemed fascinated by places they had never seen before, and they kept questioning Yun Hua.
“Then what’s the difference between the city and our village?”
Yun Hua thought for a moment, wondering how she should explain it to these children.
“They each have their own advantages. Transportation is more convenient in the city, and there are more ways to get around. But the air in our village is much better.”
Yun Hua simply listed one or two differences. As for everything else, she would leave it for the children to discover for themselves.
Then Yun Hua suddenly remembered that she still had some White Rabbit Creamy Candy in her pocket.
She took it out and handed two pieces to each of the children.
She also gave two pieces to Auntie Xiangyun.
In fact, she still had quite a lot of candy. But the spiritual spring space had a preservation function, so she wasn’t in any hurry to eat it all.
Besides, this kind of candy wasn’t something people saw often in this era, especially in the countryside.
Her delicate mother had prepared it for her when she left for the countryside.
When she thought about the original owner’s mother, Yun Hua couldn’t help worrying a little.
In her modern life, she hadn’t had parents. Now she had unexpectedly gained a pair of parents here, and they had treated the original owner very well.
Since the original owner was already gone, Yun Hua would take her place and properly care for her parents.
But for now, she was living away from home. She couldn’t afford to show off her wealth too much. What if someone with bad intentions took notice of her?
Even though she had only given each person two pieces of candy, she had to remember that in the past, which child in the village could afford to eat White Rabbit Creamy Candy?
Yun Hua noticed that some of the children had already eaten one piece, while others were staring at the White Rabbit Creamy Candy in their hands, almost drooling, yet were reluctant to eat it.
Yun Hua found it strange.
“What’s wrong? Go ahead and eat it. Why are you putting it in your pockets? It won’t taste good if it melts later.”
The children’s faces gradually flushed red.
They said they wanted to take the candy home for their younger brothers and sisters.
Yun Hua’s heart ached when she heard that.
These children were so kind. Even when they had something delicious, they still knew to save some for their younger siblings.
But she didn’t give them any more candy. She only told them that she would give them some again if she had more next time.
Looking at the children in front of her, Yun Hua couldn’t help asking Wang Xiangyun,
“Auntie Xiangyun, don’t these children go to school?”
Wang Xiangyun looked at the children as well.
“They used to. But later, the teacher went home to have a baby, and there was no one left to teach them.”
Yun Hua seemed to think of something.
“Then isn’t there anyone else who can teach them?”
Seeing that Yun Hua had asked about this, Wang Xiangyun decided not to hide anything.
She moved closer to Yun Hua and lowered her voice.
“Auntie is only telling you this because I already think of you as one of our own. Don’t tell anyone else, all right? My husband is the village chief, and he accidentally let it slip once that the village is preparing to recruit an elementary school teacher.”
“But there’s a requirement. You have to have a high school education.”
“The teacher who went home to have her baby was an educated youth who had come down to the countryside. Back then, quite a few educated youths wanted to become teachers, so they all competed for the position. In the end, it was Teacher Zhao who got the job.”
Yun Hua’s eyes lit up when she heard this.
If she could become an elementary school teacher, wouldn’t that mean she wouldn’t have to earn work points anymore?
She lowered her head and looked at her reddened palms, which were still stinging slightly.
She planned to soak them in the spiritual spring water when she returned that evening. But that wasn’t a long-term solution either.
She still had to compete for the elementary school teaching position. If she could get it, she could solve the problem once and for all.
“Auntie Xiangyun, what are the usual requirements for competing for an elementary school teaching position?”
Seeing Yun Hua’s gentle demeanor and sweet way of speaking, Wang Xiangyun explained,
“A high school diploma is the basic requirement. After that, you’ll have to pass a written test. Then there’ll be an interview. What? Are you thinking about giving it a try, Educated Youth Yun? You have a high school diploma?”
Yun Hua nodded.
“Yes, I graduated from high school.”
The moment Wang Xiangyun heard that Yun Hua had a high school diploma, the look in her eyes became even more enthusiastic.