Zhang Yunxi was not as likable as her cousin.

She wasn’t sweet-talking at all!
Thinking about his partner, Wu Donglin felt a bit uneasy again. He wasn’t there, and he didn’t know how she was doing.

Damn informant!

If he ever found out who reported him and caused him to be sent to the countryside, he would definitely kill that person!!!
Wu Donglin stormed out angrily and saw Zhang Yunxi wearing a flower crown, holding hands with her little niece, talking about something.

The evening glow bathed the young girl, casting a warm golden light on her. The orange flowers were in full bloom, like a soft-hearted deity of autumn. Her dark hair was casually tied up, with a few unruly strands falling on her cheeks. When she lowered her head and smiled softly, it was enough to melt one’s heart.

Wu Donglin’s heart suddenly raced uncontrollably.

He stared blankly for a long time. Even after Zhang Yunxi had left, he still couldn’t snap out of it.

Forget it.

Since she happened to be his type, he’d give her a chance to be with him.

He hoped she would be sensible now.

She should hand over the money without him having to remind her again.

Otherwise, he wouldn’t give her another chance!

After making his decision, Wu Donglin waited for Zhang Yunxi at the entrance of the male educated youth dormitory.

The Zhang Yunxi he was waiting for was still instructing Zhao Mo: “If I get caught, I’ll tell them I came to find you. When they ask you, just nod. If they say they came directly to you, tell them I’ve been feeling down lately because of the city house situation, but I didn’t want others to notice. I just wanted to go up the mountain to clear my head. Tell them not to look for me, I’ll come back. Got it?”

Zhao Mo nodded solemnly, “Got it!”

This was a task her aunt had given her, and she had to complete it.

Zhang Yunxi high-fived her, “Awesome.”

“Zhang Yunxi!” Wu Donglin called out.

Zhang Yunxi glanced at him coldly, her tone dripping with undisguised mockery, “You still dare to come find me? Seems like you have a lot of money, or do you think I’ll give you the money?”

A male educated youth passing by immediately pricked up his ears and slowed his steps, planning to eavesdrop openly.

“What are you talking about?” Wu Donglin complained unhappily.

There were people around now.

And she was openly talking about giving him money.

Where would that leave his dignity?

“Come find me later,” Wu Donglin said, his tone matter-of-fact.

Zhang Yunxi was dumbfounded.

Hey…

Wait.

Does this guy even have basic intelligence?

Zhao Mo furrowed her little brows, “He seems… not very smart.”

Zhang Yunxi nodded with a complicated expression.

“Never mind him, let’s finish our business. Here’s ten cents. Give it to your dad later, and on Sunday, help me get the sweet potato vines ready at Er Gouzi’s house, okay?”

“Alright.”

Zhao Mo was a bit frustrated.

Her aunt was asking her to work and even giving her money.

But if her aunt didn’t give her money, her dad definitely wouldn’t agree to let her work for her aunt all day.

Nowadays, elementary school students had six days of school and one day off.

But soon it would be harvest season, and during the harvest, they would get a whole week off to help their families with work.

Zhang Yunxi walked Zhao Mo to her doorstep.

Toothless Yuan Dabao suddenly smiled at her.

A snot bubble was still hanging from his nose.

It scared Zhang Yunxi so much she turned and left.

After returning to the dormitory, Zhang Yunxi read the newspaper and got a basic idea for the short story she was going to write.

After jotting down the outline.

She went to sleep.

This was the first night in a long time that she slept for ten hours straight.

The next day, Zhang Yunxi conserved her energy for work. When the accountant uncle asked how many work points she had earned and found out it was still four, he gave her a dissatisfied look and shook his head, “As an educated youth, can’t you be a bit more ambitious?”

“Ah, I haven’t been feeling well lately, but I still managed to complete the tasks you set for me. I thought you’d praise me, but instead, you keep criticizing me. Even as a young person, constantly being criticized is disheartening…”

“Alright, alright, go on, get out of here.” The accountant uncle quickly waved her off. This girl, she was even fake-crying now.

Zhang Yunxi immediately slipped away.

Back at the dormitory, she steamed rice and eggplant stew.

The eggplant stew was soft and sticky, and the eggplant stems were affectionately called “chicken legs” by everyone.

Zhang Yunxi steamed three “chicken legs,” one for each person.

Deng Damei especially loved spicy food.

The eggplant stew mixed with chili sauce over rice was delicious.

After the two of them fell asleep, Zhang Yunxi waited until she heard their light snores before tiptoeing out of bed and heading outside.

There was no moon tonight, so it couldn’t light her way. Fortunately, she had a flashlight, which cast a small beam of light in front of her.

The Zhao village was eerily quiet.

The distant mountains and nearby village were shrouded in a hazy, silent atmosphere.

Every step she took echoed her own footsteps.

Zhang Yunxi swung her flashlight around, reciting the core socialist values.

“What are you reciting?”

Zhao Rencheng was worried that a young girl going up the mountain at night might get scared, so he estimated the time and came to the foot of the mountain.

He heard her muttering, like she was casting a spell.

“Oh my god, you scared me!” Zhang Yunxi patted her chest.

On a pitch-black night, a tall figure suddenly standing in front of you and speaking is pretty terrifying, okay?

“Let’s go.” Zhao Rencheng led her up the mountain.

“Alright.”

Zhang Yunxi’s flashlight illuminated his back, and looking at his broad, sturdy figure, she inexplicably felt a sense of security.

He had a good physique.

And his face had a kind of fierce handsomeness that made him seem intimidating at first glance. But after interacting with him, Zhang Yunxi found that he was actually quite decent, even coming to pick her up.

Pretty thoughtful.

When they arrived at his house, Zhang Yunxi was surprised to find that he actually had electric lights!!!
“I thought we didn’t have electricity here?”

“The brigade headquarters does. I have a retired buddy who works at the power bureau. When I came back to build my house, I wanted to install electricity, so I asked him to help expedite the approval for our brigade’s application. But the villagers thought the electricity bills were too expensive and didn’t really need it. After a vote, they decided not to install it, so only the brigade headquarters and I have it.”

He remembered being criticized back then.

Called a spendthrift.

Especially by his parents!

They tore him apart.

“You’ve got some connections, huh.” Zhang Yunxi marveled.

Someone from the power bureau was willing to go through so much trouble just to install electricity for him and the brigade headquarters.

“It’s mainly because we’re close to the commune.”

Otherwise, he wouldn’t have dared to expend so much effort and resources just for personal convenience.

“Alright, let’s get to work. What am I supposed to do?”

“You’ll be responsible for cutting the leather, stitching it, and gluing it. This is a hand-cranked sewing machine, mainly for making shoes. Can you handle it?”

“I’ll learn.”

It was Zhang Yunxi’s first time seeing such a thing.

“It’s pretty simple.”

Zhao Rencheng explained the basic operations to her.

Zhang Yunxi got the hang of it quickly.

Zhao Rencheng then taught her how to stitch and glue the fabric, “You know how to make clothes, so this shouldn’t be too hard for you.”

“Yeah, I just need to remember the measurements for cutting.” Zhang Yunxi had spent some time learning this.

Zhao Rencheng let her figure it out.

He focused on his own work, fitting the fabric he had just taught Zhang Yunxi onto the shoe last and securing it with steel nails.

Clang, clang, clang.