After bathing, while the sky was still bright, everyone gathered around the water well to wash their clothes.
Yes, their Educated Youth Compound had a water well, which provided them with great convenience—at least they didn’t have to fetch water from elsewhere.
However, the courtyard was also equipped with two large water vats. They usually drew water from the well to fill them up.
When cooking, they could take water directly from the vats. Now that the weather was hot, the water in the vats, warmed by the sun throughout the day, felt pleasantly warm by evening bath time, eliminating the need to heat water separately.
It was during bath time that Ning Xuan got to know the female Educated Youth.
Aside from Huang Xiaomei, another veteran Educated Youth sharing her bunk was Liang Qingqing, who looked slightly younger than Huang Xiaomei but was already 20 years old. She had graduated from high school and had been here for two years.
Huang Xiaomei had been here even longer. She started school late and was 19 when she graduated from high school. Having been here for nearly five years, she was now 24, almost 25.
Xu Jiajia’s two roommates were Zhao Yulian, aged 19, and He Yuting, aged 23.
Huang Xiaomei was the most senior among the female Educated Youth. She was kind and had the demeanor of an elder sister, so they had unanimously recommended her as the representative for the female Educated Youth.
Ning Xuan hadn’t yet familiarized herself with all the male Educated Youth, but she heard that only two had arrived in the same batch as Huang Xiaomei, one of whom was Liu Jun.
The others had long since been unable to endure the hardships and had sought ways out—returning to the city if possible, or improving their lives through marriage if not.
Those who actively married and formed revolutionary partnerships with people they liked were fortunate. Although there were no cases of female Educated Youth being persecuted in their brigade, such incidents were not unheard of in nearby brigades.
Their brigade was strictly managed by the brigade leader. If anyone dared to harm the Educated Youth, he would show no mercy. Thus, any lingering ill intentions among some bachelors were quashed by the brigade leader’s iron-fisted approach.
Ning Xuan felt grateful once again—the protagonist's aura was indeed useful. Thanks to the female lead’s influence, she had been assigned to a rather decent brigade.
The girls chatted while washing clothes, making the task relatively quick.
Ning Xuan had no soap or laundry detergent, so she scrubbed her clothes by hand. Fortunately, she hadn’t yet started working in the fields, so her clothes weren’t very dirty.
Ning Xuan worried inwardly—she lacked so many things.
However, her worries didn’t keep her from sleeping. She hadn’t slept well on the train, and after arriving at the Educated Youth Center and dealing with various tasks, she had been pushing herself. Once she finished hanging the clothes, she could no longer hold out and fell asleep as soon as she lay down.
It wasn’t just Ning Xuan and Xu Jiajia who were exhausted from the train journey and fell asleep quickly. The other Educated Youth had worked all day—though not as strenuously as during the busy farming season, it was still no easy task.
Moreover, the Educated Youth had little interaction with the villagers and no nighttime entertainment, so everyone went to bed early.
The next day, the new Educated Youth still didn’t have to work. The brigade gave them a day to rest and recover, and those in need could go to the town or county to purchase supplies.
In the morning, Ning Xuan quickly attended to the three urgencies and hurried to wash up.
He Yuting was responsible for making breakfast that morning. The meal consisted of coarse corn porridge and vegetable pancakes. When there was no farm work, they didn’t cook stir-fried dishes in the morning, as that would require using oil. They had already learned to live frugally.
The flour used for the flatbread was mixed flour, baked directly on a hot pan without any oil. Ning Xuan found the bread dry and hard to swallow. The newly arrived Educated Youth felt similarly, but the veteran Educated Youth were eating with great relish.
"When we first arrived, we couldn't get used to it either," Liu Jun said with a smile. "But after working hard and getting really hungry, we gradually started finding everything delicious."
The other veteran Educated Youth remained silent but nodded in agreement.
Especially those who had arrived just over a year ago – they had already been tamed by farm work. Though they still found the labor exhausting, they no longer had the privilege of being picky about food.
Xu Jiajia gave her bread to Zhou Zhipeng and finished her porridge herself.
Ning Xuan only took two bites before stopping, but she didn't give it to anyone else, instead keeping it for herself.
After everyone had left the dormitory and only Ning Xuan remained, she summoned the system panel, ready to initiate her second transaction.
Since there was already a transaction record, there was no need for any preliminary steps this time.
Ning Xuan directly asked Wang Er Ya if she still wanted water, along with the bread she had only taken two bites of that morning. Since she had torn pieces off to eat, she had no psychological reservations about trading it.
Wang Er Ya had secretly fed herself and her child half a steamed bun late last night, so there was still a little left.
Though never truly full, having something in their stomachs was much better than constant hunger.
Niu Niu, with her small appetite, had eaten some steamed bun paste and was the only one among the three who could feel full.
When morning came, though reluctant, Wang Er Ya thought about the journey ahead and secretly ate half of the remaining steamed bun. Despite having that miraculous System, she didn't dare finish all the buns before securing other food sources.
After eating, she drank some water and, following their routine, chewed mud with Da Niu to mask the smell.
The drought was so severe that there were hardly any green plants along the way. Otherwise, they could have chewed leaves – but only from plants they recognized, for fear of poisoning.
As the crowd began their journey and the sun rose, bringing heat, the miraculous System stirred again.
Wang Er Ya quickly opened it with her mind and received Ning Xuan's inquiry about whether she wanted water and coarse grain bread.
Worried about drawing attention, Wang Er Ya contained her excitement and only mentally screamed "Yes, yes, yes!"
This time the bread was smaller than yesterday's steamed bun. For water, Ning Xuan had exchanged one Point with Uncle Shizhu for two gourd ladles when she went to get the wooden basin yesterday.
Ning Xuan asked for just one copper coin and requested that Wang Er Ya trade the glass bottle over first, as she had no other containers for water. She promised to use the same bottle for future water transactions.
Wang Er Ya naturally agreed.
Thus, the second transaction concluded quickly.
Since water had been scanned before, it earned no Points this time, but the vegetable bread and gourd ladle each earned one Point, just enough to cover the transaction cost.
Seeing the gourd ladle of water and the palm-sized bread (missing a small bite) in her Warehouse through mental vision, Wang Er Ya finally felt relieved.
After eating steamed buns for several consecutive meals, though not fully satisfied, Wang Er Ya felt much of her hostility had subsided. She still insisted on carrying Da Niu on her back while holding Niu Niu against her chest, wrapped in cloth and slung over her shoulder. One hand lightly supported the baby, while the other gripped a wooden stick as a defensive weapon.
Fortunately, the group she traveled with was sizable and relatively well-off, so no one dared to rob them for now. Blending in among them, she remained safe for the time being.
Meanwhile, Ning Xuan continued to pray that the System would level up soon, hoping it would connect her to a Dimension where she could exchange for useful supplies.