Chapter 5: The Village Chief's Dilemma

The Educated Youth Spot currently has five male "educated youths" and three female "educated youths", with the Educated Youth Team Leader being from the same year as Yun Yuzhi. Those who returned to the city went back, and those who started families did so, no longer living at the Educated Youth Spot.

The team leader's name is Zhang Yumin, who had been here for five years. When he first came, he was around seventeen or eighteen, and now he's already twenty-three or twenty-four.

He liked Yun Yuzhi, and though people said they were lovers none of them had made it explicit. To say they weren't, however, wouldn't make sense either; he was good to her, and she was good to him, and they treated each other almost like a married couple.

Lu Jingqiu never asked, but Li Yinger knew that Yun Yuzhi was afraid of settling down here; once you start a family, it feels like putting down roots, and she still wanted to return to the city.

But indeed, they had reached the age to marry, and if they delayed a few more years, it would be difficult to have children. So both were very confused, and neither had broached this barrier between them.

Speaking of which, apart from Zhang Yumin, Li Qing—who was also an educated youth—liked Li Yinger too. Li Qing and Li Yinger taught at the same primary school.

Unfortunately, Li Yinger was not interested in Li Qing; she found him too dull, someone who just grinned foolishly all day and wasn't her type at all.

Lu Jingqiu thought that Li Qing was quite decent, certainly better than the slick Zhang Shuo, who always hovered around when there was something to gain with a fawning smile, but disappeared at the first sign of trouble.

No one at the Educated Youth Spot liked him; he and Li Qian recently squabbled over a spot to return to the city. Had it not been for the team leader and others holding him back, he would have dared to hit a woman.

There was also Shen Mu on the same team, who came from the same place as Yun Yuzhi. He and Gao Shu had similar temperaments, and the two of them got along quite well.

The task for these few educated youths tonight was to help the villagers with threshing and winnowing the harvest.

When they arrived at the site, Lu Jingqiu could see Gao Shu and Xia Lin from a distance, illuminated by the light.

Xia Lin whispered something into Gao Shu's ear that elicited a broad grin from him.

For all these years, Jingqiu had never seen Gao Shu smile at her like that, not even in her previous life when she had taken care of his child and been by his side for so many years; it had never happened.

So, no matter how hard you try, if someone doesn't like you, they will never see what's in your heart.

The thought of how much she had given to this man in her previous life only to end up with nothing, made her heart ache uncontrollably.

Zhang Yumin, from afar, saw Gao Shu and greeted him with a smile.

Only then did Xia Lin turn her head to look their way, and her eyes met Lu Jingqiu's.

The two of them had just had a fight a few days ago; Xia Lin's face bore a scratch from Lu Jingqiu, and Lu Jingqiu's hair had been pulled out by Xia Lin. That day at the foot of the mountain, both were like shrews, and it wouldn't have ended without Yun Yuzhi breaking them apart; it could have been endless and deadly.

For some reason, Lu Jingqiu felt she could perceive the complexity in Xia Lin's eyes—confusion, jealousy, schadenfreude, and even something else that she couldn't fathom at the moment.

As Lu Jingqiu was trying to discern Xia Lin's thoughts, Xia Lin's mind had already drifted far away. She had many secrets that she couldn't speak of; nor did she want to.

Fearing that she might cling to him again, Gao Shu glanced at her and, seeing her gaze was not on him, he quickly looked away and said to Zhang Yumin, "The team leader said it may rain the day after tomorrow night, so we should gather the harvest overnight.

They've already organized the villagers to get to the fields. After we finish here and clear the place, it won't delay them from continuing."

Zhang Shuo frowned and said, "Does this mean we'll be working in two shifts without stopping?"

Gao Shu nodded without speaking.

The faces of the few people instantly turned sullen. They hadn't expected to have to gather the wheat, but now it looked like they would have to work overtime to get it done.

A few hours of sleep, and then it would be back to work.

Observing the abundance of work before them, Lu Jingqiu also felt somewhat intimidated; apart from a few experienced villagers, only the educated youths were left on the field.

There was no choice, even if it was exhausting, they had to endure it.

Fortunately, a few of the male comrades took care of them and only assigned them the responsibility for the wheat at the edges.

They weren't needed for the winnowing, but when it came to bagging, they couldn't be spared.

They worked in pairs, Yun Yuzhi and Zhang Yumin were a team, Gao Shu and Xia Lin went without saying, Li Yinger and Li Qing, though both teachers, had to participate in this busy farming period. Li Yinger had wanted to be Jingqiu's partner, but she ended up being followed by Li Qing's goofy smile, refusing to leave her side.

Jingqiu didn't want to be a third wheel, so she quickly gave up her spot, and as she turned around, she saw Zhang Shuo nearby. Just as she was about to join him, he darted off as if fleeing, toward a young and strong villager.

Watching everyone busily bagging, Jingqiu stood to the side feeling somewhat awkward.

After all, she had lived many years in her previous life, so this bit of embarrassment was nothing to her; if there was no partner, she would work alone.

Just as she was getting ready to use the scoop to fill the bags by herself, before her hand even touched the scoop, Shen Mu grabbed it first and then coldly said to her, "Hold the bag properly."

"Oh, alright, alright."

Jingqiu was quite happy to have someone as her partner, and she quickly smiled and held the bag open carefully.

They were busily filling bags with the crop, and in the fields, villagers had already started transporting wheat to their location.

Throughout the work period, Xia Lin frequently looked over to their side. Normally, she wouldn't even glance her way.

It was usually Jingqiu who was picking on her, but these past few days she had been quiet, and now Xia Lin was acting out of character.

"Ah Shu, look, Jingqiu and Shen Mu make quite a good team," Xia Lin suddenly said out of the blue during the heat of the work.

Not only did Jingqiu and Shen Mu pause in surprise, but even Gao Shu was taken aback with confusion.

Jingqiu didn't understand why Xia Lin would say something like that, but subconsciously knew she wasn't saying it to be kind.

She retorted with her head raised, "Holding a bag and filling it with grain is something a three-year-old child could do. Aren't our groups all doing the same? Could it be that Comrade Xia doesn't know how to hold a bag, that you two don't work well together?"

No sooner had she finished speaking, Gao Shu frowned and said, "Jingqiu, that's not what Xia Lin meant. Don't make a problem when there's none."

Hearing his defense, a wave of grievance instantly surged in Jingqiu's heart, and she responded with a downcast look and a displeased tone, "Am I the one causing trouble out of nothing?"

Even if she was to let go, after all, he was the man she had pursued for a lifetime, and hearing him defend Xia Lin without hesitation still hurt.

However, this time Xia Lin was not actually targeting Jingqiu, but after hearing Gao Shu's defense, she didn't explain and instead shyly lowered her head and laughed.

The small incident faded in the ensuing busyness.

Approximately two hours later, they finished cleaning up the site and were about to head back.

Xia Lin suddenly pulled Li Yinger aside and whispered a few words to her.

Xia Lin and Jingqiu were love rivals, but because Xia Lin was the daughter of the Educated Youth Team Leader, she got along quite well with the comrades at the Educated Youth Spot. Plus, with her sweet and gentle demeanor and soft voice, she was extremely popular in the village.

Jingqiu didn't want to witness Gao Shu and Xia Lin's public displays of affection, so as soon as the work was finished, she left with her tools.