Chapter 1

“Educated Youth Meng, are you ready? It’s time to gather!”

Outside the door of the female educated youth dormitory, someone called out Meng Yinyin’s name, urging her to hurry.

Meng Yinyin had just opened the lid of her Snow Cream when she heard the call. Her hand shook, almost dropping the jar, but thankfully, she caught it just in time.

“Coming, coming, I’ll be right out!”

With little time left and people waiting outside, she quickly scooped a small amount of Snow Cream with her index finger and dabbed it onto her cheeks. After a moment’s hesitation, she glanced at her arms, which had become rougher since moving to the countryside. Steeling herself, she scraped a little more cream and applied it to her arms as well.

If she didn’t put some on, her arms would likely end up dry and stinging again tonight—a painful lesson she learned after trying to save her last jar of cream by not using it on her arms.

She understood her situation, but looking at the nearly empty jar, she couldn’t help but feel a pang of sadness.

Just half a month ago, Meng Yinyin would have never dreamed she’d go from a pampered, sheltered young lady to someone who had to scrimp and save even on her skincare cream. A mere fifteen days ago, she was still the beloved daughter cherished by her parents, but everything changed in a single day.

Due to her mother’s overseas family connections, someone reported her parents. Her father, a university professor, was stripped of his position and labeled as a “Stinking Old Ninth”^[1]During the Cultural Revolution in China, intellectuals were often disparagingly labeled as the “Stinking Old Ninth” (ranked ninth on a list of “class enemies”). This label was … Continue reading. Both parents were then sent down to a labor camp.

As their precious daughter, Meng Yinyin’s parents didn’t want her to endure such hardship alongside them. So, using their last remaining connections, they managed to secure her a spot in a rural educated youth team, sending her away to the countryside overnight.

It wasn’t so much about her joining the educated youth as it was about finding her a refuge.

Her parents knew all too well that their delicate daughter, who had barely washed a dish in her life, would find farm work unbearable. But with circumstances as dire as they were, this was the only way to spare her from even greater suffering.

As for her elder brother, there was no need to worry about him. He was in the military, and his superiors valued him highly, so he wouldn’t be affected.

And so, after a single night’s sleep, Meng Yinyin found herself hurriedly placed on a train by her parents. Three days and nights of travel later, she arrived at this place called the Nanjiao Brigade, where she was assigned as an educated youth.

On her first day here, Meng Yinyin cried.

The rundown living conditions, the relentless onslaught of mosquitoes and rats at night, and, worst of all, the primitive dry toilets—all of it was a stark contrast to her previous eighteen years of life.

However, she soon realized that she had cried too early.

After spending an entire day in the scorching sun, pulling weeds until she passed out from the heat, she was finally carried back to the dormitory by a fellow educated youth, weak and sore all over. At that moment, even the broken, shabby dormitory windows seemed oddly charming to her.

Not having to work made the dormitory feel like paradise in an instant!

The poor living conditions were tolerable, as long as it sheltered them from the wind and rain, it was enough. The real hardship was in the labor.

Yet no matter how frustrated Meng Yinyin was, she had to go to work. Without working, there would be no work points, which meant no food.

As an Educated Youths assigned to the village, their household registrations were transferred to the local brigade, which also meant their food rations were managed by the brigade.

As newcomers, Educated Youths like Meng Yinyin had no accumulated work points, so their rations were temporarily provided by the brigade, which would then be deducted from their work points during the autumn harvest.

Therefore, even if Meng Yinyin despised working, she had to grit her teeth and go to the fields. After all, she couldn’t just consume the brigade’s food without contributing. She wasn’t thick-skinned enough for that.

No matter how hard she tried, working harder than she ever did at school, she only earned five work points a day—half of the full ten points, even less than some of the half-grown children in the brigade.

Every time the scorekeeper came to her, he let out a sigh, seemingly preparing himself emotionally before reluctantly recording her points for the day with a look of disappointment.

In those moments, all Meng Yinyin could do was stand by with a red face, enduring the judgmental stares from all directions.

She was already giving it her all, yet it was clear she wasn’t suited for this kind of work. She lacked the strength for plowing, didn’t know how to plant rice, and even fainted from the sun while weeding, so she was reduced to gathering pig feed, only to be ridiculed by a bunch of little kids!

Still, she persevered, showing up to work every day and working diligently, her hands covered in blisters and her skin darkened by the sun.

Why did no one notice her hard work and sacrifice?

Meng Yinyin felt truly wronged.

Her skills weren’t in farming. If she could earn work points by playing music, painting, singing, or dancing, she would easily earn hundreds of points a day, outshining everyone in the brigade!

Someday, it would be her turn to laugh at those kids!

But that was just a fantasy. In reality, here in the countryside, food was everything, and artistic pursuits weren’t worth as much as a handful of wild greens.

After ten days in the brigade, Meng Yinyin had gone from initial shame to accepting her role as the most incapable person in the group.

Sometimes, she even found humor in her misfortune, wondering if the brigade leader might eventually assign her a more suitable task, given her lack of skill. That would be ideal!

Ah, when would she ever be free from this labor? She was reaching her limit.

While she was wishing the brigade leader would assign her a lighter task, the Educated Youth group gathered at the village dam.

Each day before work, the brigade leader assembled everyone here to review the day’s progress, assign tasks, and shout a few slogans before they dispersed.

The Educated Youths lived together, so they naturally moved in groups. From afar, a cluster of them walked toward the dam, where the local villagers waiting there instinctively glanced over.

With just one look, their eyes were drawn to a slender figure in the middle.

The figure had her head down, her left hand rubbing her right arm as if wiping something off. In the morning light, her delicate arm gleamed like fine jade, so pale it was almost blinding.

As their gaze moved up, they saw a delicate chin, soft pink lips, and clear, bright eyes. Anyone who met her eyes felt captivated.

The local women, uneducated and gossipy, said her beauty was almost otherworldly, like a spirit sent to steal souls—a seductive fox spirit!

But to the young men in the brigade, she was a heavenly beauty, an angel sent to earth.

One woman noticed her son’s eyes fixed on Meng Yinyin, and she pinched him hard, scolding, “What are you staring at! Keep it up, and I’ll gouge your eyes out!”

“Mom, I’m just looking…” the young man muttered, embarrassed.

“Just looking! Don’t think I don’t know what’s going through your mind. I’m telling you now, that kind of person will never set foot in our home. She can’t carry anything, can’t work—if you marry her, we’d all have to wait on her!”

“Mom, she’s coming this way. Stop talking…”

Seeing Meng Yinyin approach, the young man flushed with embarrassment. Although he knew there was no chance with her, he didn’t want to lose face and kept tugging his mother’s sleeve to make her stop.

Only after his pleas did his mother finally quiet down as Meng Yinyin passed by, her expression unchanged, as if she hadn’t heard a thing. He breathed a sigh of relief.

But Meng Yinyin had heard every word. The woman’s loud voice and agitation made it impossible to miss.

She chose to ignore it out of disinterest, but the more she thought about it, the angrier she felt.

Not wanting to marry her? Well, she certainly didn’t fancy him or his mother either!

Annoyed, Meng Yinyin shot a small glare in the woman’s direction after standing in place.

Life was hard enough for her already, and still, people were bad-mouthing her. How unfair!

However, as she turned toward the mother and son’s position, she noticed they were gone. In their place stood a tall man, dressed in a coarse shirt. His exposed arm was long, muscular, and visibly powerful.

Not only did the man have an incredibly handsome face, but his expression was also cold.

Noticing that Meng Yinyin was looking at him, he merely glanced indifferently in her direction before turning his gaze away, unconcerned about why she seemed to be glaring at him.

Realizing that she had directed her frustration toward the wrong person, Meng Yinyin felt a bit embarrassed. However, since he looked like someone difficult to deal with, she hesitated and decided to pretend nothing had happened.

Meanwhile, on the platform, the brigade leader had just finished explaining the day’s work assignments, and the villagers had started chanting their opening slogans.

At that moment, a middle-aged man approached the brigade leader with a smile, seemingly asking for a favor. The brigade leader frowned slightly, looking reluctant but eventually nodded in agreement.

As everyone prepared to disperse and begin work, the brigade leader unexpectedly called everyone back.

“Please wait a moment, I have an announcement. Tomorrow, Lu Dashan’s eldest daughter is getting married, and they’ll be setting up a few tables. If you’re free, feel welcome to attend. That’s it—everyone, get to work.”

It was the first time the brigade leader had mentioned something other than work during assembly. He looked uncomfortable, but he couldn’t resist Lu Dashan’s repeated requests, especially given their long-standing relationship as fellow villagers.

Before anyone could react to the news, the brigade leader added another statement.

“Also, Educated Youth Meng and Lu Chen, please stay behind.”

Meng Yinyin, who had just started to walk away: “….”

Realizing she was once again being singled out for “guidance” by the brigade leader, Meng Yinyin flushed, lowered her head, and, under curious and disdainful gazes, braced herself to step aside, awaiting the inevitable critique and lecture.

Lost in her thoughts about the impending scolding, she didn’t even notice that someone else had been asked to stay back as well. She simply fidgeted anxiously, wondering what the brigade leader might say.

The brigade leader approached quickly. Though he had initially intended to criticize her sternly, his anger dissipated as he looked at the young girl lifting her head cautiously, her large eyes full of unease.

However, despite his softened stance, he still had to address the issue.

“Educated Youth Meng, all the others who arrived with you have adapted to life here. Your attitude is sincere, but you must realize that at this pace, you won’t even earn enough work points to repay the grain provided by the brigade.”

Hearing this, Meng Yinyin had no argument. She could only lower her head further and softly mutter, “I’m sorry…”

If she had a choice, she certainly wouldn’t want to be the “bad apple.” However, she genuinely struggled with the work, at least in the short term.

After eighteen years of being pampered, a few days or even weeks couldn’t change her nature.

Meng Yinyin felt both troubled and hopeless.

Perhaps she should consider her mother’s last piece of advice—find a good man and marry him?

Unaware of her thoughts, the brigade leader, determined not to be swayed, said firmly, “This can’t continue. I’ve decided to assign someone to guide you individually so you can adapt to the work.”

When the new Educated Youth arrived, the brigade’s usual practice was to have the more experienced Educated Youth lead the newcomers. It had always worked without issues, so the brigade leader had assumed this group would adapt as well.

However, this time, fate threw him a challenge in the form of Meng Yinyin, who had no experience or knowledge of basic farm work.

While the other Educated Youth had already caught up with the locals, Meng Yinyin lagged behind. The brigade leader had even tried talking to her and supervising her work, only to realize she wasn’t suited for farm labor at all.

It was his first time encountering such a situation—no amount of advice or instruction seemed to help!

Every time he left Meng Yinyin behind for guidance, he felt inexplicably guilty as she listened quietly, looking pitiful.

But yesterday’s incident finally made him decide to take action. After Meng Yinyin collected pig fodder, the old sow in the pigpen suffered severe diarrhea.

Among the pig fodder she gathered were wild vines known to cause digestive issues in pigs, which, in severe cases, could result in illness like what the sow experienced.

He couldn’t let her keep learning on her own. It was no longer just about the brigade members tolerating her mistakes—even the pigs couldn’t handle it.

So, after a restless night of contemplation, he decided that Meng Yinyin needed individual instruction. Unlike the other Educated Youth, who could quickly learn farm work by observing others, Meng Yinyin lacked basic agricultural knowledge and required a personal teacher to guide her.

She would need to learn to recognize different crops, understand how to cultivate them, and even identify edible wild plants.

Otherwise, even after six months or a year, she might not be able to earn enough for her food.

Find someone to guide me?

Meng Yinyin raised her head immediately, blinking with curiosity. “Brigade Leader, who will be guiding me?”

Her question made the brigade leader think she welcomed the idea, and he felt a wave of relief, assured that Educated Youth Meng had potential.

He had no idea she was simply curious.

The next moment, he turned and called to a figure standing nearby, “Lu Chen, come over and greet Educated Youth Meng.”