CH 6

When it comes to work, the hard to see Zhang HuiShan will leave first, and then Lin QiQi followed by the others. It was the autumn farming season, but the south was still very hot. The educated youths conversed and laughed as they walked to the field.

Qin LingLing was afraid of getting tanned, so she wore an extra coat. Fu XiaoYue saw her wearing two pieces and asked curiously, “Why are you wearing so much, afraid of the cold?”

“No, I’m afraid of the sun.” Jokes aside, if you do not pay attention to skin care now, you won’t be able to restore your sunburned skin in the future.

“Huh?” Fu XiaoYue probably didn’t expect Qin LingLing, who cares the least about her skin, would concern about it, “Aren’t you hot?”

“It’s okay.”

Although wearing two pieces looks hot, Qin LingLing believes she should bear it for the sake of beauty. The original owner used to work hard and was often bullied to do more work, so compared to the other educated youths, her skin can be said to be the darkest. Fortunately, the original owner is young and the skin itself is not bad. If she take a good care of her skin, it should be able to recover soon.

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Female educated youths are responsible for planting seedlings, while the men responsible in shoveling and picking up the seedlings.

Fu XiaoYue was busy talking to Qin LingLing about the trivial things that happened in the past three days. Qin LingLing listened as she transplants the rice seedlings with extremely unskilled hands and feet.

Even if she has inherited the original owner’s memory, she has not inherited the original owner’s skill. Nonetheless, she is a person who has lived through a period of technological advancement.

On the contrary, Fu XiaoYue who was halfway through saw her posture was not quite right, and asked, “What’s wrong with you?”

Qin LingLing said “Ah,” with a dazed expression, “What?”

“Why are you…… so slow today?”

You know, among the dozen or so female educated youths, Qin LingLing is the most diligent and the one who planted the seedlings the fastest, the best and the neatest.

When they first arrived, all the educated youths had no idea how to do anything, and they were mocked by the local villagers for not being able to do anything. But, over time, everyone learned, and Qin LingLing worked the hardest, earning full marks for her work in less than two years.

Qin LingLing was taken aback and exclaimed, “Perhaps it’s because I’m still not feeling well. That’s why I’m running a little behind today.”

“Oh.” Fu XiaoYue did not suspect her and advised. “If you are truly sick, talk to Director Liu about taking some time off. Also, try not to worry too much about it; your family will be alright.”

Fu XiaoYue was unsured of what had happened. She only heard from the people who came to find Qin LingLing that something had happened to Qin LingLing’s newly married husband. She did not know the exact story, so all she could only was console her.

“I know, you can rest assured!”

“Mm.”

Qin LingLing did not think much about Gu Zheng. She had already deduced from the book that Gu Zheng had died. As a result, she focused less on him and more on how to get through the following day.

Without Gu Zheng, her relationship with the Gu family was only in name. Gu Zheng, himself, was not the Gu family’s biological son. In addition, as soon as she and Gu Zheng received the certificate, he had already fallen. Therefore, when the news about him comes out, she feared that there would be no chance for her to go back, even if she did, it was merely to squeeze her dry, to get the compensation payment and then abandon her.

As for the original owner’s family… forget about it.

The original owner had the opportunity to return to the city, but she rushed back to the countryside after returning to the city due to the disruption at home. She was adamant about not returning no matter what, so she hastily got married with Gu Zheng.

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The sun is still blazing in August in the south, and the heat over their heads causes their skin to crack. Several others have completed half of the task, sat beneath a tree to cool down, and taken a break.

Qin LingLing and Fu XiaoYue also took a break under the lychee tree along the ridge. The leaves rustled as the wind swept across them. “How much longer do we have to wait until we can go back to the city?” Fu XiaoYue could not help but sigh.

Fu XiaoYue arrived about two years before Qin LingLing. She arrived here more than a year after finishing junior high school. Qin LingLing was a little better because she came here after graduating from senior high school, but she had also come here when she was 16 years old, two years ago. She now is in her third year, and when spring arrives, she will be eighteen years old.

“Soon!” said Qin LingLing, looking westward at the setting sun.

“Really?” Despite the fact that she knew such an answer would only serve to console her, Fu XiaoYue couldn’t help but anticipate it.

Qin LingLing was well aware that she didn’t believe what she was saying, so she simply ignored it. But she knew the day would come when the educated youth returned to the city.

Although the era is just a mere figurehead, and the author, himself has also put a lot of selfish interest in it, but the overall trend, in terms of major events, is still following the actual events.

After the end of the ten-year movement in 1976, the party and the country held meetings several times to discuss resuming the college entrance exams. The following year, a big number of educated youths entered to the examination hall, and many of them passed the examination and returned to their long-awaited homes, even enrolling in college, with a bright future ahead of them.

Now, it will not be long before the college entrance exam, they will only have to wait for another a year and a half. Even if you did not pass the college entrance exam, there will still be the clarion call for reform and opening to the outside world [1] in seven or eight years. As a result, a large number of educated youths will return to the city in response to the call of the state policy.

[1] 改革开放 gǎi gé kāi fang – refers to Deng Xiaoping’s policies from around 1980.

It’s 1975 right now, thus everyone will be able to return to the city in three years. Thinking of the various major events that will happen in the 1970s and 1980s’, that the teachers had discussed when she was in the school in the past, especially after the reform and opening up in 1970, there was simply gold everywhere.

People with the intelligence and the courage to do business rose to the top of huge corporations and organizations. Qin LingLing became energized all of a sudden. She did not have to worry about the original book any longer.

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When a group of females educated youth returned from planting seedlings, the sky was completely dark. After eating in the dining hall, they went to take a bath and rest.

When Qin LingLing and Fu XiaoYue were holding their bucket and about to take a bath, they noticed the plastic sister, Zhang HuiShan, and Lin QiQi. They had no idea what had happened earlier in the day, but when they returned, those two were holding hands and smiling at one other.

Qin LingLing and Fu XiaoYue exchanged glances, and both saw curiosity in each other’s eyes.

“Let’s take a bath!” Qin LingLing said.

“Eh, wait a minute!” Qin LingLing was about to enter the bathroom with her bucket, but she was stopped by Zhang HuiShan.

“Qin LingLing, I am dirty, let me wash with this water today!” As Zhang HuiShan said, she stretched her hand over, attempting to lift the bucket at Qin LingLing’s feet.

But Qin LingLing directly lifted the bucket the next second her hand touched it and lifted it up. “Sorry, the water I fetched, I want to use it, if you want to take a bath, fetch it yourself!”

Qin LingLing’s soft voice was not hurried nor slow, but what she said made Zhang HuiShan’s eyes glared angrily at her.

“What did you say? Say it again!”

Qin LingLing still said unhurriedly: “I fetch the water, so I want to use it myself. If you want to take a bath, you can fetch the water by yourself.”

No one expected that Qin LingLing would once again refuse Zhang HuiShan’s request. At noon, she refused to wash Zhang HuiShan’s clothes with an excuse. After all, she was tired after cleaning for a day, but now…

Not only Zhang HuiShan could not believe it, but even Fu XiaoYue also never expected that Qin LingLing would be tough and refuse Zhang HuiShan’s request.

Originally, they were all educated youths who moved to the countryside, and there was no discrimination between rich and poor, but because Qin LingLing had a soft temper, she got bullied more, until she became accustomed to it.

For this reason, Fu XiaoYue also persuaded her several times, saying that she should try not to agree to Zhang HuiShan’s words, but Qin LingLing’s answer is that it does not matter if she gets tired if she can reduce the trouble.

While everyone was still surprised, Qin LingLing carried the water and headed for the bathroom.

“Stop!” Zhang HuiShan shouted harshly.

She walked up to Qin LingLing, “Put the water down!”

Zhang HuiShan was clamoring, and everyone was afraid to step forward, and some even urged Qin LingLing, “Hurry up and put the water down!”

Qin LingLing’s eyes fell on Zhao ZhaoDi who was talking, both her eyes and voice were cold when she said: “If that’s the case, why don’t you give her your water?”

Zhao ZhaoDi was choked by Qin LingLing’s gaze but did not dare to speak any more.

Qin LingLing retract her gaze from her and set on the angry Zhang HuiShan in front of her, “Zhang HuiShan, it used to be out of friendship for me to help you, but now it is not. I am not your parents; thus, I have no obligation to help you.”

“You……”

“This is a farm. You are an educated youth, and I am also an educated youth. We are all equal, and there is no gap between the upper and lower levels.”

“I……” Not waiting for her to finish, Qin LingLing directly interrupted.

“Also, you should not touch any of my belongings without my permission in the future. If you touch them, you are committing larceny. It makes no difference to me who you are. Once you do these things, as long as I want to, I will write a report and pass it up to the captain. For your own future, it is best not to take my things indiscriminately!”

Amidst everyone’s astonishment, Qin LingLing carried the water and left quickly, leaving everyone with a face of disbelief.

“What’s wrong with Qin LingLing today? Why did she lose her temper so much?” A youth from the next room asked.

When asked, Yang Zhao shook her head, “I don’t know. Is it because of the cream?”

“I think she’s angry because she hasn’t used her cream that much and it is now gone. Buddha, too, can have temper.” Lin Fen chimed in as well.

Although she does not frequently seek assistance from Qin LingLing, she is not as obnoxious as Zhang HuiShan and the others. At the very least, she is willing to share her meals and belongings with Qin LingLing on occasion.

The educated youths in the rooms continue chattering, as for Zhang HuiShan, who had been warned and reprimanded, has a grim expression on her face as she watches Qin LingLing’s back.

Even if Zhang HuiShan is arrogant, as Qin LingLing had stated, she would not dare to do anything.

These educated youths are all under the jurisdiction of the above. A casual report is still a report, and it could lead to your demise. Theft is a serious crime, and it is not a small matter if one got caught. So, even if she has the guts, she will not dare to use Qin LingLing’s stuff recklessly as she did previously after hearing Qin LingLing’s remarks.

Only, she could not understand how Qin LingLing, who had been soft and weak a few days before and had gone home crying with red eyes, had suddenly become like a new person?

“What is wrong with her?” Zhang HuiShan murmured.

After coming out from the bathroom, Zhang HuiShan no longer dared to bully Qin LingLing and order her to help.

When it was just Qin LingLing and Fu XiaoYue in private, Fu XiaoYue even praised her, saying: “You’re finally getting the hang of it, I told you, you should have been tougher.”

However, the enlightened Qin LingLing soon suffered a new round of exclusion from the other educated youths under Zhang HuiShan’s signal.