Her aunt’s family had been sent down to the countryside, and her uncle had also been implicated—transferred to a farm after leaving the military.
Her mother had written to her, saying that things at the newspaper weren’t looking good either, and that she must listen to Jingshan and be careful with her words and actions.
The weight between the lines was unlike anything Chang Rufan had ever felt before, filling her with panic.
She had never imagined her uncle could get into trouble. He was so capable, had earned so many merits—her father always said that as long as her uncle didn’t make any mistakes, his future would be boundless.
And then, all of a sudden, everything changed.
She was terrified—afraid that her own family would be affected too, afraid that others would look at her differently, isolate her, mock her.
Zhang Jingshan patiently comforted Chang Rufan. He didn’t think it was as serious as she imagined—after all, it was her aunt’s family that had been affected, not her uncle’s.
The impact on her family was only temporary. Besides, being transferred to a farm still meant being a cadre—the treatment wouldn’t be too bad. There was no need to worry too much.
Miao Qing multitasked—cultivating while eavesdropping.
It turned out that tonight, Chang Rufan had been feeling down about her family situation. Fang Mingyuan seized the opportunity to offer comfort, and Chang Rufan couldn’t help but cry.
While Fang Mingyuan was wiping her tears, Zhang Jingshan happened to walk in.
Zhang Jingshan mistakenly thought Fang Mingyuan was deliberately taking advantage of Chang Rufan. He couldn’t hold back and threw a punch at Fang Mingyuan.
Fang Mingyan fought back, and in the chaos of their scuffle, they accidentally broke the iron pot. That was why Wei Ran and the others had to cook outside.
In the end, Chang Rufan and Zhang Jingshan made up, while Wang Haiyan went to keep Fang Mingyuan company.
No wonder Wei Ran’s face looked so sour—in the end, she was the one left with nothing.
Miao Qing circulated her energy through two full cycles, and the soreness in her body eased considerably. Only then did she feel at ease enough to fall asleep.
She wasn’t like these energy monsters who still had the vigor to stir up all this drama after a full day of work.
She’d gone out to work in the morning and shopping in the afternoon—she was exhausted. And she had to get up early tomorrow too.
Chang Rufan gradually calmed down under Zhang Jingshan’s reassurance. Hearing that Miao Qing was already snoring softly, she was speechless.
“How can she even sleep like this? She must have been a pig in her past life.
All she does is eat and sleep—she really is like a fool.”
Zhang Jingshan gently scolded Chang Rufan.
“Don’t speak ill of people behind their backs. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that.
If only I could be that carefree—eating and sleeping all day without a worry in the world. That would be wonderful.”
Chang Rufan was stunned for a moment, and for once, didn’t talk back.
No matter what, life had to go on.
Chang Rufan temporarily gave up the idea of returning to the city. With Zhang Jingshan’s help, she tried her best to adapt to life here.
Wei Ran watched helplessly as their relationship returned to normal—even closer than before—and grew increasingly anxious.
Wang Haiyan felt that her relationship with Fang Mingyuan had taken a step forward. She took the initiative to wash his clothes and shoes.
Fang Mingyuan didn’t reject Wang Haiyan’s care, and he stopped hovering around Chang Rufan. But he still circled around Wei Ran.
Even though Wei Ran never gave him a kind look, he remained tirelessly persistent—which only made Wang Haiyan resent Wei Ran even more.
Miao Qing watched the drama unfold while diligently cultivating.
Finally, twenty days later, when the first snow fell, she felt what it was like to have her meridians completely unobstructed.
She gathered her energy at her fingertips, condensing it into a whip, and gave a gentle flick toward a small clump of dirt about a meter away.
The clump of dirt rolled over once.
Miao Qing smiled. She had finally recovered, and she’d even figured out an offensive use for her ability.
It wasn’t particularly powerful yet, but having something was better than nothing.
In front of others, however, Miao Qing still acted as useless as before—aside from speaking a bit more fluently, she seemed largely unchanged.
She didn’t want to raise any suspicion, nor did she want to work with the educated youth team.
The scavenging team’s work was simple and easy—turn in your harvest and you’re done, with no one breathing down your neck.
She could finish in a single morning, leaving the entire afternoon to herself. That was far better than slaving away with the educated youth team and dealing with endless complications.
She planned to use her ability to accelerate some medicinal herbs and see if she could make some money.
She also wanted to try hunting. The meat she’d bought last time was already gone, and Tietui absolutely refused to buy more, insisting they wait until next month.
She’d heard there were pheasants and hares in the mountains—maybe she could give her ability a try.
The snow was falling heavier and heavier. It started as snow pellets, then turned into big snowflakes, and now it was coming down in sheets like tufts of cotton.
Miao Qing’s eyes went wide. She’d always thought snow fell silently—at most, there’d be a faint rustling when it started as pellets.
Seeing a snowstorm like this firsthand made her realize how ignorant she’d been.
The sky was so overcast it seemed ready to collapse. The clouds looked like they’d been torn apart by the wind, tumbling down in clumps—whoosh, rustle—and in the blink of an eye, the ground, the trees, and the ridges were all white.
“Clang-clang-clang…”
The brigade cadres, accompanied by the messenger, went door to door beating gongs to announce:
Starting today, no more work. Every household must be careful with fire and keep their children in check!
Cheers erupted from the educated youth dormitory—finally, no more work!
The new educated youth were especially thrilled. This was their first day off since arriving, and it turned out to be a long holiday.
The older educated youth looked at them with sympathy. Still young and naive.
They were celebrating too soon. Once the snow blocked all the roads and they couldn’t go anywhere, they’d be stuck on the kang, bored out of their minds.
Worried about running out of firewood, worried about running out of food—reduced to eating only one meal a day—that’s when they’d truly understand how harsh winter here could be.
Miao Qing was a little annoyed. She’d finally managed to sleep in, and now Wei Ran and Chang Rufan were arguing again—this time over heating the kang.
Wei Ran said winters in the northwest were long, and though they’d bought plenty of firewood from the forestry station, they still needed to conserve it. There was no need to keep the kang blazing hot during the day.
Chang Rufan said Wei Ran was deliberately targeting her. She was naturally prone to coldness, and in this freezing weather, if the kang weren’t warm enough, she’d catch a cold.
The two went back and forth, dragging Zhang Jingshan and the others into the argument.
The room was so noisy Miao Qing couldn’t stand it anymore. She put on her cotton-padded jacket and pants, pulled on her cotton shoes, and headed to Tietui’s house.
Tietui was tying the cuffs of his pants. He was surprised to see Miao Qing.
He’d just delivered breakfast, and she’d said she was going back to sleep—why had she suddenly come over?
“Come with me to pick some things.”
With that, Miao Qing went to the base of the wall to find a suitable tool.
She hadn’t been idle during her scavenging work these past days—she’d secretly accelerated quite a few things.
Like the goji berries in West Gully, the chestnuts on South Slope, and the wild walnuts and sour jujubes under the ridge. Whenever she passed by, she’d quietly channel a little energy into them.
Today, she’d go a step further and accelerate them to full ripeness so they could be harvested.
After finding a tool, Miao Qing glanced at Tietui, who had wrapped his entire calves up tightly, and casually asked,
“What are you planning to do? Tied up so snug.”
Tietui’s eyes flickered with panic. He didn’t dare say he wanted to go into the mountains and only mumbled vaguely,
“Nothing much. Just thinking of going to chop some firewood.”
“Chop firewood? Don’t bother with that. Come with me.”
Miao Qing led Tietui out the door. Silly kid, sis is going to take you to make some money.
Buying scrap wood from the forestry station with money was way easier than chopping your own.
Tietui had assumed Miao Qing was just bored and wanted to wander around, and had asked him along for company.
Until Miao Qing pointed at a patch of chestnut trees and said,
“We’re here.”
Tietui was dumbfounded. Why had they come here?
To chop firewood?
What was the point of traveling so far just for these short, scraggly chestnut trees?
It’d be faster to just go chop tamarisk branches on the slope behind his house.
But since they were already here, and his sister wanted them, he’d chop them down.
Tietui set down his backpack, pulled out his chopping knife, and got ready to swing.
Miao Qing quickly stopped him.
“What are you doing?”
“Chopping firewood.”
Tietui looked completely innocent. What else could these things be good for other than burning as fuel?