The house site was located two hundred meters behind the Sent-down Youth point. The location had been chosen so that Li Lezhi could conveniently fetch water from the Sent-down Youth compound while still remaining close to the group. Once the location had been settled, she bid farewell to Captain Xu and headed straight toward the Qingshan mountain range.
As soon as she reached the foot of the mountain, she ran into a group of aunties.
“Oh my! Sent-down Youth Li, are you really building your own house and moving out to live alone?” one of them asked eagerly, her face full of gossip, while the others looked equally curious.
Li Lezhi felt helpless. The news had spread ridiculously fast. She had barely stepped outside, yet the entire village already seemed to know about it.
Smiling, she replied, “That’s right. I’m not used to so many people living together in the Sent-down Youth point. I often can’t fall asleep until the middle of the night, and that’s seriously affecting the brigade’s productivity.”
Only by tying the issue to everyone’s interests could she reduce some of the gossip.
One of the aunties immediately agreed.
“That’s true enough. You educated people really do think things through.”
The others nodded as well. They were all hoping the brigade would be selected as an Advanced Production Team at the end of the year. They certainly did not want one person’s situation to affect the future of the entire brigade.
“I won’t keep chatting. I still have work to do.”
“Right, right, go on and get busy.”
Everyone quickly agreed.
After climbing for two hours, she once again reached the area deep in the mountains that she had entered the previous day. This time, her goal was specifically to search for ginseng.
From what she remembered, wild ginseng preferred moist environments with fertile soil.
So she deliberately focused her search on areas that matched those conditions. Although she searched several promising locations without finding any traces of ginseng, she unexpectedly harvested quite a few wild mushrooms and other treasures along the way. Knowing she could not rush such things, she found a nearby water source and began processing the rabbits and pheasants she had previously caught.
Fortunately, her spiritual spring space preserved food. Otherwise, in this weather, everything would have spoiled long ago.
Today’s meal was once again pheasant and mushroom soup. She also had some biscuits stored in her space, enough to last several meals.
After eating and drinking her fill, she carried the pot to the water source to wash it. As she reached a steep slope halfway up the mountain, the corner of her eye caught sight of a pale yellow plant. Its flowers formed an umbrella-like cluster, its leaves were oval-shaped, and they were covered with fine fuzz.
Excited, she rubbed her eyes, afraid she had seen incorrectly.
Wasn’t this exactly what a ginseng plant was supposed to look like?
Although she had never seen real ginseng before, technology on Blue Star was highly advanced, and she often came across information about it online. The novel had also described it in considerable detail.
She had thought her poor luck was simply because she was the Supporting Female Character. She never expected such a pleasant surprise.
Suppressing her excitement, she set down her belongings and hurriedly took out the small digging shovel she used for gathering wild vegetables. Then she tied a red string between a branch and the ginseng stalk so she would not lose track of its exact location during excavation. Only then did she begin digging carefully.
More than an hour later, she finally unearthed the ginseng intact.
Not even a single rootlet had been damaged.
Thrilled, she used her thoughts to transplant the ginseng into her spiritual spring space. Judging from its appearance, it was probably close to a hundred years old.
She had noticed earlier that the plant had five, nearly six, sets of leaves. She could leave it inside the space to continue growing and eventually use it for seeds.
Seeing that it was getting late, she headed toward the pigpen area.
Because she had finally obtained something she had long wanted, she was glowing with happiness. Even when she encountered the village aunties along the way, she greeted them warmly.
Just after finishing a cheerful exchange with two aunties, she spotted the Male Lead ahead of her.
Li Lezhi paused briefly before continuing forward.
She thought to herself that she had never provoked him in this life. She had always remained polite around him, so there was no need to deliberately avoid him as though she had done something wrong.
Just as she approached and was about to greet him, Zhou Junling spoke first.
“Sent-down Youth Li, why are you coming down the mountain so late by yourself? That’s very unsafe for a young woman.”
His words were full of concern.
Li Lezhi felt puzzled but replied politely.
“It’s alright. Thank you for your concern. My family always encouraged me to exercise more.”
Before she had even finished speaking, she was already preparing to walk past him.
“You really don’t have to be so formal with me. We’re all Sent-down Youth who came to the countryside together. If you encounter any difficulties, you can always tell me.”
Adjusting his glasses, Zhou Junling spoke sincerely.
Li Lezhi could not help thinking, Do both the Male Lead and Female Lead have something wrong with them?
Her tone became slightly stiff.
“There’s no need. If anything comes up, I’ll report it to the brigade. I’ll be heading back now.”
Her refusal was unmistakable.
“I…”
Zhou Junling still wanted to say something, but Li Lezhi gave him no opportunity.
“I still have tasks to hand in, so I’ll be leaving first.”
With that, she quickened her pace.
Shen Yueyue was hiding around a bend in the road, deep hatred visible in her eyes.
All day she had been trying to think of a way to strike up a conversation with Zhou Junling. When she noticed him leaving work early, she had followed him while trying to create a chance encounter.
To her surprise, he seemed to be waiting for someone.
Just as she was preparing to step out and greet him, she saw Li Lezhi descending from the mountain. Then she watched Zhou Junling take the initiative to express concern for Li Lezhi.
That alone was bad enough.
What she found completely unbearable was that Li Lezhi did not seem to care about him at all.
Why?
Why did she have to scheme endlessly for everything she wanted since childhood, while some people could stand above everyone else and effortlessly obtain whatever they desired?
Her instincts had been right all along.
Only if Li Lezhi disappeared could she truly live the life she wanted.
Ever since her rebirth, she had relied entirely on her instincts.
With little effort, she had discovered where her father and stepmother hid their money. She had even reversed the situation in which her stepsister had bullied her.
The first time she saw Li Lezhi at the Haishi recycling station, she immediately disliked her. For days afterward, a sense of oppression lingered in her chest.
Later, she tried every possible method to isolate Li Lezhi from everyone at the Sent-down Youth point.
She had never expected Li Lezhi to be so cunning.
It seemed she would have to find a way to completely ruin Li Lezhi’s reputation.
After reaching that conclusion, her mood improved considerably. She no longer cared about encountering Zhou Junling and simply returned to the Sent-down Youth point.
There was plenty of time. There was no need to rush.
Li Lezhi had no idea that merely exchanging a few words with the Male Lead had earned her even more resentment from Shen Yueyue.
Otherwise, she would have fled as far away as possible and abandoned even the most basic greetings.
At that moment, she had already turned in her assignment and was heading back toward the Sent-down Youth point.
The moment she entered the courtyard, everyone’s eyes turned toward her.
Li Lezhi gave a slight nod in greeting and was about to return to her room when Shen Yueyue’s divisive voice rang out.
“If you ask me, among all of us Sent-down Youth, Sent-down Youth Li has the best life. Her family dotes on her, everything she uses is top quality, and she doesn’t have to eat corn buns and wild vegetables with the rest of us every day.”
After speaking, she looked toward Ruan Zhaodi.
“If you ask me, the one who’s had it hardest is Sent-down Youth Ruan. She doesn’t eat well, she doesn’t sleep well, and her complexion looks much darker than before.”
Her tone made it sound as though she were genuinely thinking of everyone else’s welfare.