Chapter 1

April 1975

On the way to the countryside, Lu Lanlan sat in the tractor sent by the village to pick them up, her face pale, feeling nauseous and on the verge of throwing up.

The bumpy ride and rough road were shaking her so hard that she felt like last night’s meal was about to come back up.

“Comrade, are you okay?” A male educated youth beside her asked with concern.

“Comrade, your face is so pale. Are you feeling unwell?” Another male educated youth chimed in.

“Comrade, if you’re feeling sick, you must say something. Don’t hold it in.”

The chaotic concern only made Lu Lanlan feel dizzier.

She forced a weak smile and waved her hand to indicate that she was fine.

Unbeknownst to her, her pale face paired with that fragile smile made her look incredibly delicate and pitiable.

“Such an act,” scoffed a short-haired female educated youth sitting nearby.

She despised girls like this the most—those who pretended to be weak and helpless just to attract male attention.

Lu Lanlan turned to look at her and saw the disdain in her eyes. She wanted to ask how being carsick was considered “acting,” but she couldn’t open her mouth—she was afraid that if she did, she would throw up.

The male educated youths, hearing the short-haired girl’s words, quickly defended Lu Lanlan.

“Does she not have a mouth? Why do you all have to speak for her?” The short-haired girl thought to herself, further confirming her belief that Lu Lanlan was the type who relied on men’s sympathy.

Lu Lanlan glanced at the girl. She really wanted to throw up all over her, but considering there was no water on the tractor and they still had to sit together until they reached the village, she held back.

The short-haired girl, seeing that Lu Lanlan remained silent, snorted at the male educated youths and looked at them with disdain.

“A bunch of fools blinded by a pretty face.”

The male educated youths, sensing her hostility, said nothing more.

Just when Lu Lanlan was about to give up and finally puke on the short-haired girl, the tractor arrived at the village.

As soon as the vehicle stopped, Lu Lanlan immediately dry-heaved in the direction of the short-haired girl. She thought she would be able to vomit, but nothing came out. Instead, this only made the short-haired girl believe even more that she was pretending—just trying to save face in front of the men.

After all, since Lu Lanlan hadn’t dared to talk back when she was mocking her on the tractor, wasn’t this just an excuse to regain some dignity?

“Comrade, are you okay? I told you, you must be feeling sick, otherwise your face wouldn’t be so pale,” a male educated youth said with concern.

Lu Lanlan gave a polite smile and picked up her luggage to get off the tractor, only to see a pair of dark, rough hands reaching out toward her.

“Comrade, since you’re not feeling well, let me help you with your luggage.”

The short-haired girl, hearing this, scoffed in disdain and walked away with her own luggage.

Lu Lanlan looked up at the man. “No need, please step aside. I need to get down.”

“Don’t be so polite with me. I’m Xu Jianguo, the village chief’s son.”

As he spoke, Xu Jianguo reached out to grab Lu Lanlan’s luggage.

The moment he saw this pale-skinned, delicate-looking female educated youth in town, he had taken a liking to her. He had secretly vowed that if she was assigned to their village, he would marry her no matter what.

When he saw her walking toward their village’s tractor, his heart almost jumped out of his chest. If not for the driver stopping him, he would have sat right next to her.

Xu Jianguo yanked at her luggage suddenly. Caught off guard, Lu Lanlan almost got dragged off the tractor.

She quickly let go, cursing in her heart.

As soon as she released her grip, the suitcase fell heavily to the ground.

Seeing this, Lu Lanlan hurriedly jumped down.

Xu Jianguo awkwardly chuckled. “Oops, I didn’t hold it properly.”

He bent down to pick it up, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t lift it.

Watching him struggle, Lu Lanlan finally spoke up. “Comrade, I’ll carry it myself.”

By now, a group of villagers had gathered around, curious about the new arrivals.

Xu Jianguo couldn’t afford to lose face in front of so many people. “Comrade, your luggage is too heavy. You can’t carry it alone. Let me take it back on my bicycle for you.”

Not only did this help him recover from his awkwardness, but it also subtly hinted that his family owned a bicycle—a rare luxury. Xu Jianguo thought he was quite clever.

To his surprise, Lu Lanlan bent down and easily picked up her suitcase. “No need. I can carry it myself.”

With that, she effortlessly lifted her luggage and walked off with the other educated youths.

Xu Jianguo stared after her in shock.

How was that possible?

The villagers around him started laughing.

“Jianguo, what’s going on?”

“A delicate girl can lift it, but you can’t? Were you just pretending?”

“Jianguo, you’re good at chasing girls, but this one looks tough to get!”

“Haha!”

Most people assumed Xu Jianguo had faked his struggle as a courting tactic. No one actually believed that the seemingly frail, breathless-looking educated youth could easily lift something he couldn’t.

Xu Jianguo chuckled awkwardly and didn’t correct them.

Lu Lanlan was the last one to arrive at the educated youth dormitory, earning another eye-roll from the short-haired girl.

The dormitory supervisor assigned rooms, and since they were the only two female educated youths, they had to share a room.

The short-haired girl wanted to switch, but after asking the older educated youths, no one was willing to trade. She had no choice but to begrudgingly accept the arrangement.

After room assignments were settled, they were each given a small plot of land to grow vegetables for their own use.

Once she finished unpacking and rested a while, Lu Lanlan finally felt her motion sickness subside.

That afternoon, she went to the village supply cooperative to buy some cooking essentials.

After finishing everything, she wrote a letter to her uncle, letting him know she had arrived safely.

Her parents had passed away when she was ten, and she was raised by her uncle and aunt, who treated her like their own daughter. This year, she and her cousin had both graduated high school, but there was only one factory job slot available. She willingly let her cousin take it.

Her uncle and aunt had wanted to pull some strings to keep her from being sent to the countryside, but the street office required their family to send someone.

Since her younger cousin was still too young, the only option was her.

Her uncle and aunt considered arranging a marriage for her to avoid being sent down, and they had even found a promising match—the deputy factory director’s son. The man had seemed interested, but before anything was finalized, he suddenly got engaged to the street office director’s daughter instead.

So, here she was.

After sealing the letter, Lu Lanlan made dinner.

Since she had skipped lunch, she decided to eat early.

The other educated youths were still working in the fields, so only the newcomers were at the dormitory.

Several male educated youths gathered around her, trying to strike up a conversation.

Watching this, the short-haired girl scoffed and stormed off to their room.

Lu Lanlan glanced at her retreating figure.

What, was she getting addicted to being mad at her now?