Chapter 3

Seeing Gu Yu return from outside, Lu Lanlan slightly raised her voice. “No way, I actually like my roommate quite a bit. Comrade Gu is carefree, kind-hearted, and doesn’t cause trouble…”

Whether she was actually good or not didn’t matter. At this moment, she was at least better than maggots.

Lu Lanlan steeled herself and praised Gu Yu sincerely.

Outside the door, Gu Yu’s steps faltered, and she came to a stop.

She hadn’t expected that after all the times she’d scolded Lu Lanlan, Lu Lanlan would still praise her behind her back.

“Huh?” The female educated youth next to her was momentarily speechless.

Weren’t they supposed to have a bad relationship?

“Actually, I quite like Comrade Gu. She’s easy to get along with. Maybe we just had some misunderstandings at first, but over time, we’ll get to know each other better. Eventually, things will be fine,” Lu Lanlan continued, doubling down on her praise.

Whether it would be fine in the future or not didn’t matter—she just needed to get through this situation first.

Hearing this, Gu Yu lowered her head.

The female educated youth, unsure of what else to say, stood up and said, “Then I’ll wait for Comrade Gu to return and ask her myself.”

Lu Lanlan nodded.

As the female educated youth reached the door, she saw Gu Yu standing outside and quickly approached her.

“Comrade Gu, you’re back! I heard you wanted to switch rooms at noon…”

“Sorry, I changed my mind,” Gu Yu said, glancing into the room.

Inside, Lu Lanlan was looking at her with a smile.

Seeing her like that… Lu Lanlan’s face didn’t seem as annoying as before.

The female educated youth looked disappointed as she returned to her room.

Lu Lanlan withdrew her gaze and continued reading her book.

Gu Yu walked inside and stopped in front of Lu Lanlan.

“I’m sorry. I apologize for what I said before.”

Lu Lanlan looked up at her.

She had only praised Gu Yu to avoid ending up with a worse roommate. She hadn’t expected Gu Yu to actually come and apologize.

Well, since she had apologized, Lu Lanlan wouldn’t hit her.

After that, Lu Lanlan accepted the apology, and neither of them said another word. One quietly read, while the other sat in a daze.

When night fell, Gu Yu was the first to go wash up. Upon returning, she saw Lu Lanlan still reading and said, “It’s late. You should wash up soon. I snore when I sleep—I don’t want to keep you up, so you should sleep first.”

Lu Lanlan closed her book and turned to look at her. “I’ll go wash up now. You sleep. I don’t mind snoring.”

Back home, she had shared a room with her cousin, who also snored. She was used to it.

Gu Yu was surprised.

Lu Lanlan, who seemed so delicate and pretentious, actually didn’t mind snoring!

By the time Lu Lanlan finished washing up, Gu Yu was already asleep.

Lu Lanlan tidied up and went to bed as well. Tomorrow, they would start working in the fields. She had never done farm work before, so she wasn’t sure if she’d earn enough work points to support herself.

—-

The Next Day

Early in the morning, Lu Lanlan got up, washed up, and made breakfast.

After eating, she joined the others heading to the fields.

Along the way, many male educated youths surrounded her. Even though Lu Lanlan acted cold, their enthusiasm didn’t waver, making it seem to others like she was just as warm as them.

At least, that’s what Gu Yu, who had just started changing her opinion about Lu Lanlan, thought.

When they reached the fields, the village chief assigned them tasks and arranged for experienced people to guide the newcomers.

Lu Lanlan was paired with an older woman, whom everyone called Auntie Xu San.

Auntie Xu San was very friendly. “Comrade Lu, where are you from?”

“S City.”

“How many people in your family?”

“Five.”

“What do your parents do?”

“They work in a factory.”

“Do you have older siblings or younger ones?”

Lu Lanlan frowned. This was starting to feel like a census interview.

Seeing her reluctance, Auntie Xu San laughed. “Don’t mind me, Comrade Lu. I just want us to get to know each other better. My family has seven people. I have five children. The one who drove the tractor to pick you all up yesterday is my eldest son. He went to pick up another educated youth today.”

Lu Lanlan smiled politely. She wasn’t sure if everyone in the village was this friendly, but she didn’t want to talk much about her family, nor did she want to pry into others’ lives.

Picking up a tool, she asked, “Auntie, how do I use this?”

“Oh!” Auntie Xu San slapped her thigh. “Look at me, chatting away and forgetting to teach you!”

Lu Lanlan chuckled.

“This is how you do it,” Auntie Xu San said as she demonstrated.

Lu Lanlan watched a few times before trying it herself, with Auntie Xu San correcting her as needed.

After a few attempts, Lu Lanlan got the hang of it.

Farming wasn’t as difficult as studying, but there were still techniques to make the work easier and more efficient.

Auntie Xu San didn’t hold back and shared everything she had learned from decades of experience.

Lu Lanlan was naturally intelligent and picked things up quickly.

The more Auntie Xu San observed her, the more satisfied she became.

Not only was she beautiful, but she was also smart.

“Lanlan, bring a piece of old cloth with you at noon to wrap around your hands where you grip the tool. Otherwise, after a long time, your hands will hurt.

But since you’re new to farm work, you’ll definitely get blisters at first. Once they turn into calluses, it won’t hurt anymore. Look, like these,” Auntie Xu San said, showing her own hands.

Lu Lanlan glanced at them and was slightly taken aback.

Her hands were rough like tree bark, covered in thick calluses. The palm lines had turned into deep, crisscrossing grooves, permanently stained with a layer of dirt.

She had never seen hands like these before.

Looking at her own delicate fingers, she worried—would her hands end up like that too?

Auntie Xu San grabbed her hands in astonishment.

“My goodness, how did you get such soft, fair, and long fingers? Do you never do chores at home?”

“I do. I help cook and do the laundry,” Lu Lanlan replied.

Her uncle and aunt worked hard, so she and her younger sister took care of the housework.

“Then why are your hands still so nice? Even better than our village kids’ hands!” Auntie Xu San clicked her tongue in regret. “Such hands are wasted on farm work.”

Lu Lanlan chuckled. “It still needs to be done.”

With that, she crouched down and continued working.

Watching her, Auntie Xu San pursed her lips and returned to her own work.

After ten minutes, Lu Lanlan’s hands started hurting. She looked down and saw that her palm and the base of her fingers were already red.

She knew that if she continued, blisters would form, but she hadn’t prepared anything in advance.

At this point, it didn’t make sense to go back and get something.

Most importantly, she was unfamiliar with the fields—if she left now, she wouldn’t know how to find her way back.

“Whatever. Even if I wrap my hands, I still have to go through this. Better to get the blisters over with sooner.”

Lu Lanlan comforted herself and continued working.

Auntie Xu San, seeing that she wasn’t acting spoiled and could endure hardship, looked at her with growing fondness.

This educated youth would make a good daughter-in-law.