After quickly tidying up her bedding,
Su Wanqing slung her slightly worn canvas bag over her shoulder and stepped out the door.
As soon as she did, she bumped right into Gu Yanshen coming out of the male dormitory.
Her small face flushed red, and she lowered her head, not daring to look at him.
He seemed to be heading out too—should she take the initiative and ask?
[Qingqing, go! Get him!]
[Qingqing, flirt with him!]
[Qingqing, don’t chicken out! He treated you so well in the past life—he must like you.]
Reading the teasing comments on the livestream, Su Wanqing’s face turned even redder.
She knew Gu Yanshen liked her, but since when had he started liking her?
Her silence caused his eyes to darken.
Was she scared?
He took a small step back.
That should be enough, right?
He glanced at her, not wanting to be too far away.
Su Wanqing’s heart skipped a beat under his gaze. She nodded slightly as a greeting, then quickly walked toward the courtyard exit.
Gu Yanshen clenched his fists.
It seemed like she was afraid of him.
“Comrade Su!”
Su Wanqing was still lost in Gu Yanshen’s eyes, the livestream comments teasing her about being lovestruck.
Suddenly, Lu Zhenting’s voice came from behind.
[That scumbag has been lurking in the dorm, just waiting for Qingqing to come out.]
[So disgusting.]
He hurried up, a self-satisfied smile on his face. “Where are you going? I’ll come with you—might as well get familiar with the area.”
Su Wanqing frowned.
“Comrade Lu, you don’t even know where I’m going, so coming along isn’t really appropriate.” She tried to put distance between them.
This bastard dared to show off to her.
Once he gets her in bed, she’ll regret it.
Lu Zhenting suppressed his anger.
“Comrade Su, you misunderstand me. I just wanted to walk around a bit, get familiar with Red Flag Brigade. We’re both educated youths—we should help each other.”
With such a big “hat” placed on her, she wouldn’t be able to refuse, right?
Su Wanqing was about to reject him when—
“Ah!”
Lu Zhenting suddenly shouted in pain, clutching his calf and hopping in place, gritting his teeth.
Seeing this, Su Wanqing quickly walked away.
As she left, she glanced back at Gu Yanshen.
Was that him?
Seeing her go, Gu Yanshen returned to the dormitory.
“Who? Who threw a stone at me?”
Lu Zhenting angrily looked around.
The courtyard was empty—only Gu Yanshen still stood at the door.
His expression was indifferent, as if nothing had happened or been seen.
Lu Zhenting eyed him suspiciously.
It couldn’t be him—too far, and such a small stone couldn’t be thrown that distance.
He glared at Gu Yanshen, warning him to stay out of it.
When he looked up again, Su Wanqing’s figure had already disappeared along the village path.
“Bastard!!”
“That damned woman, how dare she leave without him!”
Lu Zhenting, fuming, also walked toward the village.
“That must be one of the new educated youths—she’s really pretty.”
“Pretty? So what, she’s obviously not cut out for work.”
“Stop talking, she’s walking over here.”
…
Aunt Ma and Aunt Zhu, who had overheard, immediately fell silent.
“Excuse me, aunts, do you know how to get to the brigade leader’s house?” Su Wanqing asked politely, handing them a handful of sunflower seeds.
“Oh, what a polite girl! I’m Ma, she’s Zhu. Just ask us if you need anything!”
Su Wanqing smiled sweetly. “Thank you very much, aunts.”
“I just arrived and don’t have any work points yet. I want to borrow some coarse grain from the brigade leader.”
Ma Huilan glanced at her old friend, a smile cracking through her wrinkles.
Sunflower seeds aren’t worth much, but this girl was sensible—completely unlike the spoiled youths who looked down on them.
Zhu Guihua understood immediately what her friend was thinking.
The last batch of educated youths came across as polite but clearly looked down on the villagers.
“Child, the brigade leader’s house is 500 meters that way. Easy to find, there’s a crooked-neck tree nearby.”
“Got it, thank you, Aunt Zhu and Aunt Ma.”
Those sunflower seeds were well worth it!
“I’ll go now—come chat with you aunts next time!”
“Go on, hurry up.”
Ma Huilan and Zhu Guihua were known as the toughest in Red Flag Brigade.
The livestream had already warned her in advance.
She thought it was smart to build good relations early.
Sure enough, it worked.
Before long, Su Wanqing found Captain Chen Aidang’s house.
“Uncle Chen, are you home?” she politely called from the gate.
“Who’s that?” a woman’s voice came from inside, followed by a middle-aged woman stepping out—Liu Cuihua, Chen Aidang’s wife.
“Hello, Auntie. I’m Su Wanqing, a new educated youth. I came to see Uncle Chen to borrow some grain.” Su Wanqing explained politely.
Liu Cuihua, realizing she was a new Comrade Su, warmly invited her into the courtyard.
Her husband had just returned, and she had told him about Su Wanqing giving him the milk candies.
Seeing her in person made him even more friendly.
Captain Chen was drinking water inside. Seeing Su Wanqing, a smile immediately appeared on his face.
“Ah, Comrade Su! Come in.”
Su Wanqing didn’t sit. She said directly, “Uncle Chen, I heard from Comrade Wang that I can borrow some grain. I’d like to take two pounds of coarse grain first and will repay it with work points later.”
“Alright, that’s no trouble at all.” Chen Aidang responded readily and said to his wife, “Go get two pounds of cornmeal for Comrade Su.”
Liu Cuihua went inside to fetch it.
Taking advantage of the moment, Su Wanqing took a small package wrapped in greaseproof paper from her bag and handed it to Chen Aidang.
“Uncle Chen, this is brown sugar I brought from home. Please don’t refuse—let your family taste a bit of sweetness. That’s all.”
Chen Aidang held the heavy package, his eyes lighting up.
Brown sugar is a valuable item!
This Comrade Su is so sensible!
His smile grew even more genuine. “You’re too polite. Alright, I’ll accept it.”
At that moment, Liu Cuihua came out with a cloth bag of cornmeal.
Seeing the package in her husband’s hand and his satisfied expression, she immediately understood.
Her gaze toward Su Wanqing became warm as well. She personally escorted her to the gate. “If you need anything in the future, just come to Uncle Chen. Don’t hesitate.”
Su Wanqing thanked her and, carrying the cornmeal, turned to leave.
Just a few steps outside, the livestream comments began to scroll excitedly.
[Well done, Qingqing! In your last life, your second brother didn’t understand these social customs when he first arrived, so later on, he ran into trouble and had no one to help him.]
[Exactly! You must grasp these social nuances!]
Seeing these comments, Su Wanqing was even more glad she had handled this step correctly.