Every family had children. If it were their own sons or daughters working far from home, they too would worry about them constantly. That was only human nature.
As the ox cart entered the village, they saw Captain Xu pacing anxiously like an ant on a hot pan.
“Uncle Niu, you’re finally back! Ah… hurry, hurry and drive the cart to the barefoot doctor. It’s urgent!”
Everyone climbed down from the cart. Several women who had remained on it gathered together, their eyes full of curiosity and speculation.
One auntie who knew what had happened hurried over.
“Oh my, how can these Sent-down Youths be so bold? They actually went into the mountains to hunt by themselves.”
“Meifeng’s mother, did something happen?” one woman who had just gotten off the cart asked. Everyone immediately perked up their ears, eager to hear the story.
“Of course something happened. One of the female Sent-down Youth went into the mountains by herself today and ended up breaking her leg. Luckily, we happened to be out gathering wild vegetables. Otherwise, she might not even have survived.” Meifeng’s mother curled her lips dismissively.
The woman who had asked the question immediately agreed.
“These city kids are nothing but trouble. If hunting were really that easy, every household in the village would be eating meat every day. And if someone died in our village, we definitely wouldn’t be selected as an Advanced Production Team this year.”
The other aunties nodded in agreement.
After hearing the whole story, Li Lezhi slung her basket onto her back and left. It turned out that Shen Ruoruo had gone up the mountain to catch rabbits. Since she had no interest in the matter, she did not stay to listen any longer.
When she returned to the Sent-down Youth point, she found it completely empty and was more than happy to enjoy the peace and quiet. After putting away everything she had brought back, the others gradually returned as well.
“I say, Shen Ruoruo brought this on herself. Did she really think everyone was as lucky as Yueyue, standing there and having meat delivered right to her doorstep?”
Ruan Zhaodi’s flattering voice drifted over from a distance.
Shen Yueyue wore a smug expression and replied in her usual sweet yet calculating manner.
“Don’t say that about Ruoruo. She probably saw how hard we work and wanted to find some meat to improve our meals.”
Inside, Shen Yueyue was secretly delighted. Seeing her stepsister’s miserable condition earlier had filled her with an inexplicable sense of satisfaction. She only hoped Shen Ruoruo had not escaped completely unscathed. She was also grateful that Shen Ruoruo had been assigned to the same Sent-down Youth point as her. Now she had decided that every bit of pain her stepsister had inflicted on her in her previous life would be repaid in full.
Ruan Zhaodi immediately chimed in.
“As if she’d be that kind-hearted. Our Yueyue is the truly good one.”
After another round of shameless praise, she flattered Shen Yueyue so much that Shen Yueyue practically floated into the room. The moment she came face to face with Li Lezhi, however, she could only swallow her words and keep silent.
Li Lezhi ignored them and continued sitting on her bed.
Ruan Zhaodi noticed her.
“Oh? So Sent-down Youth Li has returned from town?”
“Mm.”
Finding no response to work with, Ruan Zhaodi quickly lost interest and stopped talking to her.
That evening passed peacefully. Since Li Lezhi had gotten up unusually early the previous day, she enjoyed a rare night of good sleep.
The next morning, after washing up and getting herself ready, she planned to head back into the mountains to see what she could find.
Just then, she saw Captain Xu approaching the Sent-down Youth point with five people. They met face to face at the entrance.
“Sent-down Youth Li, heading to work?”
Li Lezhi smiled.
“Yes. I want to become more familiar with our village so I can do my work better.”
“As expected of a high school graduate. Your ideological awareness is truly impressive.”
Captain Xu spoke with a trace of eagerness.
“I’m bringing people over to measure the land for you. I meant to come yesterday, but with what happened in the brigade, I was busy all day and never found the time.”
“Then I’ll have to trouble Captain Xu to keep an eye on things for me.”
“Of course, of course. You should come and see whether the place suits you.”
“Alright.”
The other Sent-down Youth had just reached the entrance. Hearing part of the conversation, they could not help becoming curious.
Zhao Guoqiang spoke first.
“Captain Xu, where are you planning to take Sent-down Youth Li?”
“Oh, this Sent-down Youth Li plans to move out and live on her own. I’m helping her find a suitable plot of land.”
Everyone’s gaze immediately shifted toward Li Lezhi.
“Why are you suddenly moving out of the Sent-down Youth point without discussing it with the rest of us first?”
Zhao Guoqiang’s tone carried obvious displeasure.
Li Lezhi replied calmly.
“It’s not a major issue. I’m just not used to so many people sleeping in the same room. I haven’t been resting very well, so I want to move out.”
“If Sent-down Youth Li moves out and lives alone, isn’t that basically separating herself from the rest of us?” Shen Yueyue asked softly, though her words carried a hint of accusation.
The others looked at Li Lezhi with varying degrees of hostility. Wouldn’t that make it seem as though the Sent-down Youth point was divided and lacking unity?
Li Lezhi quickly explained, “I’m not leaving the Sent-down Youth point entirely. If anything comes up, we’ll still discuss it together. I’ll just be living nearby on my own and handling my own meals.”
Zhao Guoqiang became even more irritated. Wouldn’t this imply that he was incapable of managing the group properly?
“Sent-down Youth Li, are you really planning to cook for yourself and live alone? It seems you don’t know how cold winters get here. Usually, us male comrades help gather firewood for the female comrades so they can get through the winter comfortably.”
His words carried a clear note of reproach.
Li Lezhi naturally knew how severe the winters were, but with her spiritual spring space, she could easily stockpile enough firewood. She had already made up her mind to move out.
“I understand. But if I can’t rest properly, I won’t be able to earn work points, and I won’t be able to save enough grain for winter. When that happens, who would be willing to lend me food?”
Li Lezhi knew exactly what mattered most to them. Asking them to lend grain was practically asking for their lives.
Ruan Zhaodi was the first to agree.
“Sent-down Youth Li has a point. Letting her live on her own isn’t a big deal. Besides, she’ll still be near our Sent-down Youth point.”
Someone like Li Lezhi, who only earned two work points’ worth of grain a day, would almost certainly face a food shortage in winter. Ruan Zhaodi had no intention of suffering that loss herself. During winter, she could only afford one meal a day, so where would she find extra grain to share with anyone else?
About half of the group began voicing their agreement as well.
Seeing this, Zhao Guoqiang had little left to say.
“Fine. If you want to live on your own, then live on your own. But you still have to participate in any collective matters concerning the Sent-down Youth point.”
Shen Yueyue realized that her attempt to turn everyone against Li Lezhi had failed, so she wisely dropped the matter. Truthfully, she wanted to move out too.
Her gaze drifted toward Zhou Junling once more.
With Li Lezhi moving away, things would work out perfectly. Then she would have a much better chance of getting close to him.
And so the matter was settled. Everyone headed off to work.
Li Lezhi followed Captain Xu toward the backyard behind the Sent-down Youth point. When they reached a secluded area, Captain Xu turned to her and asked,
“Sent-down Youth Li, what do you think of this place? I can mark out a plot for you here.”
The area was not large, but it was more than enough for Li Lezhi to build two small rooms and still have a little courtyard.
Li Lezhi was quite satisfied.
“This is more than enough. I should also thank the brigade for taking such good care of us Sent-down Youth who came to the countryside.”
She responded happily.