As she drifted off, one last thought lingered in her mind: I hope someone comes to enroll tomorrow.

Despite going to bed later than the others, Chu Xia and Lin Xiaohan were still the first to rise the next morning.

As they sat down to eat breakfast, Han Ting and the others’ alarm clocks had just started ringing.

So, while the two of them quietly ate in the kitchen, they listened to the groaning and grumbling of the other ten people reluctantly waking up, along with the noisy sounds of water being pumped and used for washing up.

Eventually, the whining died down, and Han Ting’s group came into the house one after another to start boiling water and cooking breakfast.

It was the four boys—Hu Yang, Wang Xiangqian, and the others—who handled the cooking. Meanwhile, Han Ting, Chaozi, Guogai, and Su Yun sat at the table, yawning continuously as soon as they sat down.

Chu Xia and Lin Xiaohan acted as if they hadn’t seen any of them.

After finishing breakfast and washing the dishes, the two grabbed their backpacks and left.

Of course, before leaving, Chu Xia tied her cupboard door shut with straw again.

As she was doing that, Han Ting and the others watched her out of the corner of their eyes.

After Chu Xia had secured the straw and gone out, Guogai muttered, “Is that really necessary? What does she think we are?”

They had already seen the straw and dead knot she tied on her cupboard the day before.

Chaozi replied, “Thieves.”

Li Qiao added, “Why say it like that? We didn’t steal, okay? At most, it was borrowing—just without telling her right away. Didn’t we return the food with extra grain?”

Chaozi clarified, “I mean she thinks of us like that.”

Gu Yuzhu chimed in, “Well, we think of her as a stingy crazy woman. Just a few steamed buns, and she went off like a madwoman yesterday morning. What kind of girl acts so fierce and ugly like that…”

“Enough,” Han Ting suddenly interrupted.

No matter what, Chu Xia was still his childhood neighbor. It was one thing to criticize her behavior, but to outright slander and insult her—he couldn’t stand for that.

Everyone caught on to Han Ting’s tone and didn’t continue.

They switched to other topics and, after heating up their buns, sat down to eat. Afterward, just like usual, they paired up to go to work—joining the villagers in the fields.

When it came to working, Su Yun was still the laziest of the ten.

She acted like a pampered young lady, always complaining of some ailment or another—this hurt, that ached.

Previously, Li Qiao had always had a problem with this.

But ever since Chu Xia fell out with them, they’d been focused on criticizing her for being selfish and petty. Now, Su Yun’s laziness didn’t seem to bother anyone.

The ten of them were at their most “united” right now.

Helping each other out and showing mutual understanding was, of course, the “right” thing to do.

And besides, they had to be united now.

If Chu Xia didn’t end up regretting being “duped” by Lin Xiaohan, and they started fighting over trivial matters, wouldn’t that just prove Chu Xia and Lin Xiaohan right and make them look like a joke?

They couldn’t afford to become the very kind of selfish, petty people they were accusing her of being.

In life, you have to take a few hits here and there. A person should be generous—like Han Ting, broad-minded and not prone to holding grudges. Only then can you get along with others.

People who only care about their own benefit and have no sense of loyalty won’t get very far in life.

As for Chu Xia and Lin Xiaohan, they were still busy recruiting students that day.

They packed their schoolbags with Romance of the Three Kingdoms, comic books, and candy, and headed to the large tree by the pond in Team Eight to tell stories to the children.

After the previous day, some of the kids had warmed up to them. Today, the children started responding loudly during the storytelling, and the atmosphere by the pond was much livelier than the day before.

They kept up the lively stories all the way until almost noon.

Some of the kids were still reluctant to leave, and it took quite a bit of coaxing from Chu Xia and Lin Xiaohan to finally get them to go home.

As the children began to scatter, Chu Xia and Lin Xiaohan suddenly spotted Liang Youtian, dressed in a thick navy jacket and matching military cap.

Neither of them knew when he had shown up, so they quickly stood to greet him.

After the greetings, Liang Youtian smiled and said, “You two sure know how to come up with ideas. That storytelling of yours was really something—I was moved myself. Almost wanted to go to school, too.”

Lin Xiaohan chuckled and said, “We had no choice. The kids didn’t want to study at all, so we had to find a way to spark their interest first.”

Liang Youtian nodded approvingly. “It’s a good method. Kids in the countryside have very limited access to things. The commune barely screens movies once or twice a year, and the performance troupes aren’t much better. Most of the stories they’ve heard have been told countless times already. Where would they have heard anything like the ones you two are telling?”

Chu Xia followed up by saying, “Once the children learn to read, they’ll be able to read on their own.”

Liang Youtian nodded and added, “Once they’re literate and educated, they’ll be better able to answer the Party and the country’s call and lead the villagers toward a better life in the future.”

Chu Xia and Lin Xiaohan both nodded in agreement.

Liang Youtian, remembering his purpose for coming, continued, “Oh right, I came to let you know that our brigade has discussed it and also consulted with several of the commune members. Everyone agrees to let Xisheng attend school.”

Chu Xia and Lin Xiaohan were both delighted to hear this. They smiled and said, “Thank you, Captain Liang.”

Liang Youtian went on, “Then I’ll leave this to you two. Go talk to Xisheng and let him know he can go ahead and fill out the enrollment form. He can attend school without worry. The brigade won’t put up any obstacles.”

Chu Xia and Lin Xiaohan politely replied, “Alright, thank you for your trouble, Captain Liang.”

Having conveyed his message, Liang Youtian didn’t linger. As he turned to leave, he reminded them, “It’s getting late. You’d better head back to the educated youth compound to eat. Get some food before continuing your work.”

Chu Xia and Lin Xiaohan responded with a quick acknowledgment.

After Liang Youtian left, they also hurried to pack up their things and set off.

But instead of returning to the youth point to cook as he had suggested, they decided to make a stop at Li Xisheng’s house first.

Li Xisheng’s grandfather had once been a landlord, and they used to live in a large residence. But after land reform, the house and land naturally no longer belonged to them.

Now, the family lived in the village’s poorest thatched hut.

Chu Xia and Lin Xiaohan arrived at his house and called into the yard, “Li Xisheng? Are you home?”

Xisheng happened to be in. He responded with a “Who is it?” and came out of the kitchen.

When he saw it was Chu Xia and Lin Xiaohan, he greeted them timidly, “Comrades from the educated youth group.”

Chu Xia smiled and said, “We’ve spoken up on your behalf. The brigade has agreed to let you go to school. If you decide to go, come to the school after lunch to register, pay the tuition, and fill out the enrollment form.”

Upon hearing this, Li Xisheng’s eyes lit up, though his voice and expression remained cautious. “Really?”

Lin Xiaohan added, “Of course it’s true. But… do your family members agree to let you go to school?”

Given their current living conditions, his family seemed even worse off than most. Plus, at his age, he was already a capable laborer who could contribute significantly to his household. If he went to school, he wouldn’t be able to earn work points for the family anymore.

Li Xisheng nodded quickly. “They agree.”

Which made sense. His family had once been part of the landlord class, wealthy and educated, unlike those who had lived in poverty for generations. They understood the value and importance of education. Xisheng had only been unable to attend school all these years because of his class background.

With that, Chu Xia and Lin Xiaohan said no more.

Having delivered the message, they didn’t linger. They said, “We’ll get going,” and headed back to the youth point.

On the way back, Chu Xia said with a relaxed tone, “We’ve officially recruited our first student.”

Lin Xiaohan glanced at her and said, “That doesn’t really count as one you recruited. He wanted to come on his own.”

“…” Chu Xia looked at him.

What a killjoy!

Because of the detour to Xisheng’s house, they arrived back at the youth point just as Han Ting and the others were returning from the fields. They were at the well, pumping water to wash their hands.

After washing up, they headed into the kitchen to cook.

Chu Xia returned to the dorm to put down her bag. She moved a little slower, and by the time she got to the kitchen, both pots were already in use—one by Han Ting’s group, and the other by Lin Xiaohan.

With no pot available, Chu Xia didn’t plan to stay. She turned to leave.

But just as she lifted the curtain, she heard Lin Xiaohan call out, “Tang Chu Xia.”

She turned and asked, “What is it?”

Lin Xiaohan replied in a calm, indifferent tone, “Put your buns in the pot with mine to steam.”

Chu Xia froze. So did everyone else in the kitchen.

Especially Chaozi and Guogai, who were sitting next to Lin Xiaohan—they immediately turned to look at him.

Had they heard correctly? Was Lin Xiaohan actually offering to steam Chu Xia’s mantou for her?

Did the sun rise from the west today?

Seeing Chu Xia still frozen in place, Lin Xiaohan added, “What are you spacing out for? Pay me with some pickled mustard root.”

That snapped her out of it. She quickly dropped the curtain and went to her locker to grab her mantou. “Oh, okay.”

He probably just didn’t want her to waste time—they needed to head to the school right after lunch to wait for potential enrollees.

Once the others heard what Lin Xiaohan said, their initial shock faded.

After all, he was getting something out of it—her pickled mustard root. He was already steaming his own food, and it wasn’t any extra effort to steam hers too. In exchange, he’d get a flavorful side dish.

How could someone so calculating and fake ever change his nature?

The others’ expressions shifted noticeably, but Han Ting’s didn’t.

His face was unnaturally dark, his eyes fixed on Lin Xiaohan like clenched fists.

He was deeply frustrated.

He felt irritated when Lin Xiaohan treated Chu Xia kindly. But he felt equally irritated when Lin Xiaohan treated her coldly or with ulterior motives.

No matter what, seeing Chu Xia with Lin Xiaohan just made his chest tighten.

She used to follow behind him, calling him “big brother.”

Now, it was as if she’d been bewitched.

He couldn’t do anything about it right now, so all he could do was stew in silence.

As long as Chu Xia came to her senses, he would make sure Lin Xiaohan knew who he was dealing with.