After dinner, Zhao Guoqiang spoke with great enthusiasm.
“All of you have gathered here because you share the same ideals. We have come to build a glorious future for our motherland together. Our Sent-down Youth point must remain united. The captain of Qingshan Village does not place excessive demands on us Sent-down Youth. As long as we work diligently, we will not lack food or clothing. However, the villagers are still quite hostile toward outsiders. Only by standing together can we avoid being bullied. Daily cooking duties are shared by two people on a rotating basis, and you newcomers will follow the same arrangement. One female comrade and one male comrade will form a team. Li Lezhi and Zhang Guozhi will be assigned together.”
After saying that, he dismissed everyone to rest, since work awaited them the next day.
Li Lezhi returned to her room and took out a wooden basin and towel, planning to wash up before sleeping. At that moment, an honest-looking senior Sent-down Youth entered through the doorway. It should have been Bai Yuxia.
Taking out two White Rabbit candies, Li Lezhi walked over and asked gently, “Comrade Bai, could you tell me where I can get some water to wash up?”
As she spoke, she handed the two candies to Bai Yuxia.
Bai Yuxia froze for a moment before replying awkwardly, “You can probably check the kitchen to see if there’s any hot water left. We usually wash ourselves there.”
Seeing Li Lezhi’s fair complexion, and perhaps moved by the candy, she kindly added, “When you’re washing, be careful and pay attention to your surroundings. In the future, when you walk around the village alone, be cautious as well. Several female comrades have already married local villagers.”
With that, she returned to her bed and sat down.
After thanking her, Li Lezhi headed toward the kitchen.
Fortunately, there was still hot water left in the large pot. She quickly cleaned herself up, feeling much more comfortable afterward, then carried her things back to the room.
Everyone else was already inside.
She returned her belongings to their places and began making her bed.
“You newcomers really are different. Bringing so many bags and packages. Anyone seeing this would think some rich young lady from the old society had come traveling.”
Ruan Zhaodi watched Li Lezhi organize her belongings, her tone dripping with jealousy.
Hearing this, Shen Yueyue casually raised her voice.
“I happened to see Comrade Li in Haishi once. She was wearing a little Western-style dress and leather boots. Unlike us, who have been wearing the same clothes for years.”
She had wanted to turn everyone against Li Lezhi ever since they were on the train, but she had never found a suitable opportunity. On top of that, Shen Ruoruo had been constantly targeting her, forcing her to put the matter aside.
Now she intended to expose Li Lezhi’s background before Li Lezhi became familiar with Zhou Junling. If everyone isolated her, Zhou Junling would naturally have less contact with her.
As expected, after hearing Shen Yueyue’s words, several people began looking at Li Lezhi differently.
Putting down her bedding, Li Lezhi glanced at Shen Yueyue before turning to Ruan Zhaodi.
“Is bringing luggage here somehow wrong? We came here to help build our country, not compete over who has suffered more hardship. My family circumstances were slightly better, so I brought some practical necessities. That makes life more convenient and allows me to devote myself to work more effectively. What’s wrong with that?”
Her words were logical and well-reasoned, causing quite a few people to nod silently.
Ruan Zhaodi snorted.
“You make it sound nice enough. Who knows whether you’re just some spoiled young lady from the old society? Maybe you’ll start crying and run home after a few days of farm work.”
“And what if I can’t do farm work?” Li Lezhi replied calmly. “We were all selected by the country as outstanding comrades. Are you questioning national policy? Or perhaps you’re harboring ulterior motives and acting as a spy, deliberately trying to sow division among the team?”
“You… you’re the spy!”
Ruan Zhaodi was left speechless and no longer dared to provoke Li Lezhi.
The others also fell silent, afraid they might accidentally end up wearing the same label.
Afterward, everyone settled down to rest.
That night, Li Lezhi lay on her bed tossing and turning, unable to sleep.
She had never expected Shen Yueyue to harbor hostility toward her. Still, she wasn’t afraid. Since she was already here, she would simply follow her own plans. Even if Shen Yueyue was the Female Lead, she wouldn’t be allowed to make things difficult for her so easily.
As her thoughts drifted, her consciousness entered the spiritual spring space once more. She harvested the crops that had matured and then gradually drifted off to sleep.
The next morning, Li Lezhi was awakened by the noisy sounds of the senior Sent-down Youth leaving for work.
She hurriedly got dressed and headed toward the village ox cart.
The older Sent-down Youth had mentioned yesterday that the only way to get to town was by ox cart or by walking there yourself.
She also needed to collect the packages she had mailed from home.
By the time she arrived, many village women and the new Sent-down Youth were already waiting.
Since everyone had various matters to take care of, all the new Sent-down Youth were planning to visit the town.
The village women observed them with curious eyes.
One woman in her thirties approached Li Lezhi. Seeing her fair and delicate appearance, an obvious calculation flashed through her eyes.
“You must be the new Sent-down Youth who arrived yesterday. Every one of you has such pretty faces.”
She looked Li Lezhi up and down before sighing.
“The city really does raise people well. Looking at you, you don’t seem like someone who can do farm work at all. Why come to the countryside?”
Li Lezhi immediately adopted a serious expression. She gave a military salute and declared loudly,
“Serve the people. Go wherever the nation needs us. Contribute to the construction of our motherland.”
The woman jumped in fright.
Smiling awkwardly, she muttered something about not being able to tell grass from seedlings when the time came. Finding no fun in continuing, she withdrew to the side.
Not long afterward, an elderly man arrived driving an ox cart.
After paying five cents each, everyone climbed aboard and set off.
During the ride, the village women sized up Li Lezhi and the others while exchanging village gossip. In an era without mobile phones, they were the fastest source of information.
One auntie sitting opposite them seemed to know even the intimate details of other couples’ married lives.
There was simply no such thing as privacy in front of them.
As the ox cart bumped along the rough road, Li Lezhi felt every second drag on endlessly. The hard wooden surface made her backside ache, and even her hands hurt.
Just as she was enduring the discomfort and listening to the gossip, Shen Yueyue moved closer and spoke with feigned concern.
“Comrade Li, what happened yesterday was my fault. I shouldn’t have spoken carelessly.”
Li Lezhi sneered inwardly, though her face remained calm.
“It’s fine. I only hope there won’t be similar misunderstandings in the future.”
After that, she ignored her.
At that moment, everyone’s attention suddenly shifted toward Li Lezhi’s side, their faces full of curiosity.
“You really are good at pretending! Today, you have to give me half the money and valuables you stole from our parents, along with half the money used to buy that job!”
Shen Ruoruo shouted furiously.
The village women immediately turned their attention toward the two sisters, exchanging meaningful glances.
Buying a job?
Who knew how much money that involved?
“I… I really didn’t take anything. Must I die to prove my innocence before you’ll believe me? Sob… Besides, you’ve taken my things ever since we were children. How could I possibly have any money?”
Shen Yueyue launched into another award-worthy performance, looking utterly heartbroken, as though she truly wanted to die. At the same time, she skillfully redirected everyone’s resentment toward her stepsister.
“You’re so vicious! As a younger sister, not only do you refuse to support your elder sister, but you’re even forcing her like this.”
The moment Zhou Junling spoke, Li Lezhi’s favorable impression of him shattered completely.
These two really were a match made in heaven.
Meanwhile, Shen Ruoruo still had no idea she was being manipulated.
A suspicious look appeared on her face.
“Then where did all the valuables in the house go?” she demanded.
Shen Yueyue wiped away her tears and answered weakly,
“Perhaps my parents simply didn’t want to provide me with supplies and deliberately found an excuse. The job was always going to be given to my younger brother anyway. After all, we’re both girls.”
Her expression was so sincere that even Li Lezhi almost believed her.
With a few words, she had distanced herself from everything.
Several of the village women were already nodding thoughtfully.
Finally, they arrived in town.
Li Lezhi immediately jumped off the ox cart and stretched her aching body. She headed straight for the post office, collected all her packages, and carried them into a secluded alley before storing everything inside her space.
The moment she turned to leave, she found herself face to face with a strikingly handsome man.
His expression was cold as ice, his features sharp and well-defined. Perhaps because of a wound on his shoulder, fresh blood had stained his green military uniform red, lending an almost dangerous beauty to his appearance.
Li Lezhi froze on the spot.