“Get up!”
“Get up already! Hey, why haven’t you washed your face yet? We have to gather at the village entrance soon!”
“Stop dawdling—hurry up!”
The male educated youths were in a flurry, yanking their trousers up to their waists and tying them with rope.
Everyone was supposed to gather at the village entrance to receive their assignments.
Jiang Heng and the village head were already waiting there. They’d been waiting for nearly half an hour.
The village head grumbled, “It’s already almost nine o’clock, the sun’s blazing, and they’re still nowhere to be seen.”
He turned to Jiang Heng. “Now that we have more people in the village, your wife’s position can be left vacant.”
“Mm, that’s fine,” Jiang Heng replied absentmindedly, head lowered as he scribbled on the registration form.
The men around him couldn’t help teasing.
“Hey, you just can’t stand to see your wife suffer, huh?”
Still writing, Jiang Heng cast them a sideways glance and said evenly,
“It’s not like that. Don’t make assumptions.”
It wasn’t that. It’s just that she was so delicate—she couldn’t carry buckets or lift baskets.
If she overexerted herself and collapsed in the field, what then?
It was out of concern—purely humanitarian reasoning.
“Exactly! Don’t you know, the other day when we were short-handed, he still wouldn’t let his wife go help at the oil-pressing workshop.”
“The oil-press team’s job is easy! And he still wouldn’t let her go?”
Someone waggled his eyebrows. “Ha! He was even worried she’d get hungry and miss lunch—so he personally brought her food!”
Lin Fulai from the village laughed and threw an arm around Jiang Heng’s shoulders—only to be shoved off.
He nearly stumbled backward. “Whoa, what, now you won’t even let anyone touch you unless it’s your wife?”
“Alright, that’s enough!” the village head cut in. “Go fetch the tools!”
“Got it!” Lin Fulai called back.
Soon, a crowd of young people gathered in front of the village committee office.
The village secretary cleared his throat and spoke solemnly:
“You’ve all come here in response to the nation’s call to support the countryside. For that, we salute you!”
Applause rippled through the crowd.
After the short speech, he began reading names and assigning tasks.
Among those waiting, Tao Xinyue stood out immediately.
Her fair, oval face and decent features were framed by a round-collared dress. On her feet were cloth shoes paired with white socks.
Two red ribbons tied the ends of her black braids—so bright and clean they looked completely out of place in this dusty, gray-toned village.
Anyone who didn’t know better might’ve thought she was some young lady from the city come to “inspect rural life.”
She glanced around disdainfully.
“Hmph. These villagers are so unsophisticated—their skin’s all dark, and their faces full of little pits. Don’t they ever wash with sulfur soap?”
Li Xianjing, who’d been quietly observing her for a while, had noticed even back on the train that Tao Xinyue’s clothes were finer than everyone else’s.
Everyone wore gray, but Tao Xinyue’s fabric was clearly better—softer, the seams neat and delicate.
And she often fished candies or fruit drops out of her pocket to nibble on.
Li Xianjing casually edged closer.
“You’re right. People here probably don’t even wash their faces. I bet they go days without a bath!”
Tao Xinyue wrinkled her features in disgust. “Ugh~ So filthy. This village is just awful.”
She turned her sharp eyes toward Li Xianjing. “Where are you from, comrade?”
“Oh, I’m from Haishi.”
In truth, Li Xianjing was from Hashi, but she lied on purpose—“Haishi” sounded more sophisticated, the kind of place Tao Xinyue might respect.
“What? You’re from Haishi too? What a coincidence!”
Tao Xinyue’s face lit up. “I haven’t met anyone else from Haishi yet—finally, a fellow townsman!”
Li Xianjing smiled politely. “Yes, that’s right.”
Tao Xinyue looked her up and down, then lifted an eyebrow.
“I’ve been here for a while and haven’t spoken our dialect at all. Why don’t we chat in it a bit?”
Li Xianjing froze. She knew every educated youth’s origin was listed on the registration form, but as long as no one checked, she could say whatever she wanted.
But… the dialect? She had no idea what the Haishi accent even sounded like!
“Uh—I’m not a native of Haishi, actually. I don’t really know the local dialect,” she stammered.
Tao Xinyue nodded, tapping her chin with her finger, her tone faintly dismissive. “I see.”
When Li Xianjing tried to continue the conversation, Tao Xinyue turned her back and subtly stepped away, clearly uninterested.
Then, like a radar locking onto a signal, Tao Xinyue’s eyes caught sight of a tall figure in the crowd.
Even from behind—just from the back of his head—she could recognize him instantly.
She hurried over and grabbed his arm.
“Brother Chen Ye, I finally found you!”
Wang Chenye smiled faintly and smoothly pried her hand off.
“There are a lot of people around. Don’t make a scene.”
Tao Xinyue pouted. “What’s there to hide? It’s not like we’re having a shameful relationship—our parents have already agreed to our marriage!”
Wang Chenye looked off into the distance, distracted.
“Go stand in line properly.”
He pressed her lightly on the shoulder and nudged her back into the queue—like someone shooing away a fly.
Fang Zhijie, holding a hoe and wearing a straw hat, chuckled. “Brother Ye, Tao Xinyue’s pestering you again?”
“You saw it yourself. Why bother asking?”
“Tch.” Fang Zhijie turned away, puffing his cheeks out sulkily.
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“None of your business! I’ll ‘tch’ if I want to!”
···
“Ah! No way!”
A sharp female voice drew everyone’s attention.
Wang Manqing stared in disbelief. “This job—how can anyone possibly do this?”
The village head explained, “Everyone’s workload is about the same.”
Tao Xinyue protested, “Impossible! This job means going out to the fields—why am I being assigned something so exhausting?”
“That’s what farming is,” the head replied patiently. “If you don’t go to the fields, how else would you work?”
“What? Are you deliberately giving me the hardest job?”
The village secretary interjected, “Everyone’s tasks are assigned fairly. No one’s being singled out.”
Hearing that, Tao Xinyue’s stomach dropped.
Wait—did that mean she also had to work in the fields?
She glanced up at the blazing sun—the heat was merciless.
If she had to bend over in the fields all day, her back would probably peel from sunburn.
“Comrade Tao Xinyue! Comrade Tao Xinyue!”
The secretary called her name through the loudspeaker several times before she finally reacted.
She dragged her feet, taking three hesitant steps for every one forward, and finally stopped before him.
“Comrade Tao Xinyue, right? Most positions are already filled. You’ll be assigned to the village oil-pressing team.”
Tao Xinyue’s eyes lit up—she hadn’t expected such good luck. Suppressing her excitement, she nodded quickly.
“Understood, Secretary. I’ll work hard!”
The secretary clapped his hands and called out, “Everyone, now that you’ve received your assignments, go collect your tools!”
