Zhou Youfu cracked his whip, and the old yellow ox started moving.
Everyone followed behind the ox cart, and seeing it already piled high with luggage, no one had the nerve to ask for a ride.
It wasn’t until an hour later, when Wang Fangfang was too exhausted to keep walking, that she went up to Zhou Youfu.
“Captain, can we rest for a bit? We’re really too tired.”
Zhou Youfu frowned, looked at the educated youths in front of him, and finally nodded.
“Alright, rest for ten minutes.”
The group felt as if they’d been granted amnesty and quickly rushed to the roadside to grab shady spots under the trees.
“Fangfang, I was already tired earlier, but I didn’t dare ask the captain to stop. Today we’re benefiting from you.” Chen Zhaodi sidled up to Wang Fangfang, speaking in a flattering tone.
She had already noticed that among the five female educated youths, Yu Zhaozhao and Liu Ying seemed to get along, Jiang Yan only stayed close to Zhao Nianze, leaving her no choice but to befriend Wang Fangfang.
After all, being alone in the countryside could be dangerous.
“It’s nothing. We just have to speak up to fight for our rights.”
“You’re absolutely right!”
Chen Zhaodi agreed immediately.
“It’s just that some people only get to rest because of you and don’t even say thank you—no manners at all.”
As she spoke, she rolled her eyes at Yu Zhaozhao.
Yu Zhaozhao ignored her. As long as no name was mentioned, it wasn’t about her.
She wasn’t about to pick up an insult herself.
“What can you do? Some people just pretend not to hear. What else can we do?” Wang Fangfang knew Chen Zhaodi was deliberately targeting Yu Zhaozhao—but so what? She didn’t like her either.
She was more than happy to go along with it.
“You can’t say that. Once we get to the youth dorm, we’ll be living together. With someone like that around, we’ll keep getting taken advantage of.”
“Taken advantage of? Once or twice is fine, but if it keeps happening, I won’t stand for it.”
Seeing Yu Zhaozhao not responding, the two assumed she was easy to bully and kept going on and on.
The male youths had no interest in getting involved in such arguments. They didn’t understand what there was to argue about over such trivial matters.
Jiang Yan, however, saw through it.
This wasn’t really about the issue—they clearly had personal hostility toward each other.
That raised a question for her.
Although she could usually stick close to Zhao Nianze, they would still be living together, so she needed allies.
Should she get closer to Yu Zhaozhao or Wang Fangfang? She needed to think carefully.
Yu Zhaozhao didn’t want to argue and become a source of amusement—but that didn’t mean she would tolerate passive-aggressive insults without fighting back.
She walked over to the team leader.
“Captain, it’s getting late. We should keep moving so we don’t delay everyone’s dinner.”
Zhou Youfu had been watching the drama unfold and was already irritated.
They had only just arrived and were already causing so much trouble—who knew how chaotic things would get later?
“I agree. You didn’t have so much to say while walking, but the moment you stopped, you couldn’t shut up. Seems like you’re not tired enough. Get up—we’re moving!”
With that, Zhou Youfu raised his whip to drive the ox cart forward.
Wang Fangfang and Chen Zhaodi hadn’t expected Yu Zhaozhao to go straight to the captain like that.
They had barely sat down and hadn’t even rested yet before being forced to get up again. Both regretted speaking too early.
“Comrade Yu, just because you don’t want to rest doesn’t mean the rest of us don’t! You should’ve discussed it first instead of going straight to the captain.”
Li Jun spoke up.
He considered himself a scholar. Back home, he stayed indoors reading and rarely exercised. After walking for an hour, he was already out of breath—just like the women.
“What? Is sitting here for ten minutes more important than your dignity? Didn’t you hear what they said just now?”
“So what? They were talking about you, not me.”
Li Jun had witnessed everything on the train, so he knew exactly what Wang Fangfang and the others meant.
He wasn’t the type to internalize everything.
“You’re saying they were talking about me? Then I should go have a word with them. Comrade Li, will you testify for me? Otherwise, if I confront them, they might deny it.”
“This… what does that have to do with me? Why should I testify?”
“Then what I just did has nothing to do with you either. If you don’t want to walk, then sit here. When it gets dark, find your own way back!”
With that, Yu Zhaozhao ignored him and followed after Zhou Youfu’s ox cart.
She had read the original story and understood every character well.
Li Jun saw himself as a cultured man and looked down on everyone else—but in reality, he was the worst kind of scum.
After going to the countryside, unable to endure farm work, he seduced the accountant’s daughter, Yao Xiaocui. They even held a wedding.
In the countryside, a wedding was often enough for people to consider a couple married—most didn’t understand the importance of official registration.
Later, Li Jun did get into university as he wished—but after graduating, he never returned to take Yao Xiaocui with him.
She was left alone in the village, raising their child and enduring gossip for the rest of her life.
Yu Zhaozhao despised people like him. If things played out the same way this time, she would at least remind Yao Xiaocui to register the marriage.
As for stopping it entirely?
She didn’t think she could.
The story had made it clear—the accountant and his wife didn’t like Li Jun and had repeatedly opposed the marriage.
But Yao Xiaocui had been completely irrational, threatening suicide constantly.
In the end, after she jumped into a river and Li Jun “saved” her, her parents had no choice but to agree.
Yu Zhaozhao understood how powerful the plot was. She didn’t believe she could change a character’s nature.
If she could at least remind her to register the marriage and give her child legitimacy, that would already be enough.
At least then, when people gossiped, they would know who to blame.
Normally, the journey back to the village would take about an hour and a half, but since the youths were unfamiliar with mountain roads, they moved slowly and ended up taking two hours.
With only half an hour left before the end of the workday, Zhou Youfu decided to call back everyone at the educated youth point early to help settle the newcomers.
“Comrade Sun, these are the new youths. Help arrange their accommodation and explain the situation in the village. Come collect your grain tomorrow morning. If there’s nothing else, I’ll be going.”
“Captain, wait a moment!”
Zhou Youfu failed to escape and turned back with a frown.
“Captain, the male youths are fine—there are only three of them, so they can squeeze in. But there are five female comrades, and we really don’t have enough space.”
Sun Xuekun, the leader of the youth dorm, was usually tasked with settling new arrivals while the captain left everything to him.
Before, that just meant explaining a few things—but now the dorm was already full.
Accommodation was no longer something he could solve on his own.