Chapter 10: Ten Compliments in Front of Others Don't Compare to One Behind Their Back

The bus emptied out, leaving it feeling spacious and deserted. He Tiantian didn't have time to be melancholy about the changing seasons, knowing that they were nearing Huai City of An Province, so she got up to organize her luggage. She had quite a lot of belongings, all prepared by her parents and Huo Yingjie.

The bag at her hand was for food, and it was already empty. Her larger luggage was above, and He Tiantian stood on an empty seat to reach for it, while Li Yuanyuan caught it from below.

"I didn't expect you to be so small yet so strong," Li Yuanyuan complimented. The large package felt heavy even for her, and she was surprised that He Tiantian could take it down from the rack so easily.

He Tiantian made up an excuse with a laugh, "I've been working since I was young."

Actually, He Tiantian was also quite surprised inside. She didn't know her own strength could be so great, she couldn't even imagine having such strength in her past life.

Just then, a familiar voice came from behind.

"Tiantian, you're here too?" Liu Lingli said. She had only seen a silhouette before and thought she was mistaken, so she came over to confirm, and indeed it was He Tiantian.

"Sister Lingli," He Tiantian greeted. Liu Lingli was the one who, in her past life, had informed her of her parents' passing. She lived on the street opposite and they attended the same school, with Liu Lingli being two grades higher than her. They would greet each other if they met on the road.

Liu Lingli was a slightly plump girl with a round face and tall stature. She was the second child in her family, with one older brother already working and a fifteen-year-old brother whom the family couldn't bear to part with, so they sent Liu Lingli to work in the countryside.

"Which place were you assigned to?" Liu Lingli asked. "Maybe we can be together. It would be nice to have someone to rely on in the future."

"Taoyuan County," He Tiantian replied. "What about you?"

"Me too," Liu Lingli said, overjoyed. It was rare to have a fellow townsman one knew!

Li Yuanyuan joined He Tiantian and Liu Lingli's conversation, and when they arrived at Taoyuan County of Huai City, the three of them got off together.

Li Yuanyuan and Liu Lingli offered to help He Tiantian with her luggage, but she declined. He Tiantian had a large package on her back, a square wicker basket in one hand, and a parcel in the other, while slinging over a yellow bag embroidered with "Serve the People" and a green water bottle. The package given by Huo Yingjie was only something she could hang around her neck. Thankfully, it was light enough for her neck to bear.

"Tiantian, the reception area is over there," said Li Yuanyuan, who didn't have many belongings and was leading the way.

There was a banner at the reception area with the words "Welcome to the Young People of Taoyuan County!"

Many young people had already gathered near the banner, most of them from Nan City. They assembled there before being dispersed to various towns and rural villages under Taoyuan County.

He Tiantian followed Li Yuanyuan and Liu Lingli and stood there quietly.

After a while, a middle-aged staff member in a Sun Yat-sen suit with black-rimmed glasses and a pen in his shirt pocket came over. He opened his notebook and began calling out names, then assigned everyone to their destinations.

As expected, He Tiantian was assigned to Qijia Village, Li Yuanyuan was sent to Goat Gully, and Liu Lingli was allocated to Hujia Village, which was next to Qijia Village.

Li Yuanyuan left with a few others who were assigned to Goat Gully, while Liu Lingli stood with the people going to Hujia Village.

Around He Tiantian, two women and a man were also assigned to Qijia Village.

"Tiantian, we're heading out first. When I have time, I'll come find you," Liu Lingli said, "You must take good care of yourself."

He Tiantian nodded and replied, "Thank you, Sister Lingli. I will take good care of myself."

He Tiantian didn't take Liu Lingli's words seriously. In her past life, Liu Lingli never came to see her either! Having just gotten off the vehicle, Liu Lingli might have the intention, but once she got back to the village and was worn out from work, she wouldn't actively seek out He Tiantian for fear that He Tiantian might ask for help.

After watching Liu Lingli leave, He Tiantian stood in a corner and put her things down on the ground. She remembered that, in her former life, the people from Qijia Village only arrived after it got dark, and she had to wait for several hours.

Back then, it seemed that the village head, Qi Dazhu, personally came to pick them up, but the ox cart broke down on the way, and by the time it was fixed and they reached Taoyuan County, it was already evening. They stayed overnight in the county town before returning to Qijia Village. At the time, He Tiantian, tired and upset like everyone else, complained about village head Qi Dazhu. This led to Qi Dazhu facing criticism in front of the county town staff, losing face.

Qi Dazhu was aggrieved, and although he didn't deliberately make trouble, he demanded that the young people from the city work just as hard as the villagers, and all the young people from the city ended up crying from exhaustion.

It wasn't that Qi Dazhu was a bad person, but rather that he was upset that these young people from the city couldn't understand him and wouldn't listen to his explanation. To fix the ox cart to pick up the young people from the city, he had worked the entire day without rest or food, only to be met with the young people's complaints and his superiors' criticism. Anyone would feel uncomfortable in his shoes!

"Why hasn't Qi Dazhu arrived yet!" a middle-aged man said, frowning as he lifted his arm to check the time on his Plum wristwatch. "It's already three o'clock, and it's not proper for these young people from the city to just stand around here. Let's wait in the bus terminal over there; there's hot water inside."

"On such a hot day, their reluctance to pick us up means they're dissatisfied with Chairman M's decision," one of the men said, his fair face reddened by the sun. The hot weather and hunger made people irritable.

He Tiantian recognized this person, someone who was always compared to her, Li Mingkai.

The reason for the comparison was that both He Tiantian and Li Mingkai had married locals. He Tiantian lived quietly in the countryside with Qi Jianguo, while after Li Mingkai went to college, he never returned. The girl who had been waiting for him, pregnant, received a letter from Li Mingkai asking for a divorce. She jumped into the river and died.

That girl was none other than the village head Qi Dazhu's daughter, Qi Xiaoyan.

Now, with Li Mingkai speaking like this, it meant at the very least a lack of work enthusiasm or, on a larger scale, a lack of awareness that warranted ideological education.

The middle-aged man, although dissatisfied with Qi Dazhu, was also unhappy with this behavior of people criticizing others at the drop of a hat.

It's better to have one good word said about you behind your back than ten words of praise to your face.

He Tiantian said softly, "I heard from relatives that Qijia Village in Taoyuan County is quite far from the county town, and because there are many mountains and narrow roads, there might have been issues with the vehicle. Otherwise, they wouldn't have deliberately arrived late."

A few people turned their heads and looked at He Tiantian, who had been very quiet until now.

The middle-aged man, after hearing He Tiantian's words, smiled and nodded, "Do you have relatives who have visited Taoyuan County?"

He Tiantian smiled sweetly and nodded, "Yes."

"It's tough in Taoyuan County, but you have a lot to contribute once you're there." The middle-aged man led everyone to the waiting room, where they could sit comfortably and wait patiently. The man had other matters to attend to, but before leaving, he arranged for someone to send over four big steamed buns.

One bun for each of the four people.

He Tiantian had already finished her food, and after eating the large steamed bun with some hot water, she felt full.