Chapter 6 – First Night in the Countryside

“Wow, you two are so cute! Have some candy,” Shen Nian said as she pulled out two White Rabbit candies from her pocket and handed them to the two little ones.

When they refused to accept, Shen Nian simply shoved the candies into their pockets before letting it go.

Nan Qiao couldn’t help but chuckle at the scene unfolding before her.

But she had to admit—though Tao Zhuo and Dudu had grown up in the village and were a bit tanned, their facial features were really quite handsome. They had big, round eyes, like black pearls.

Especially their well-mannered and respectful demeanor—it greatly pleased Nan Qiao.

The four of them arrived hand in hand at Aunt Xiumei’s house. Along the way, quite a few older village women who hadn’t been out for a while were sitting by their doors, holding bowls and chatting as they ate. When they saw Shen Nian and Nan Qiao, they stared at them without hiding it. Some even looked them up and down and whispered about whether the girls would be good at bearing children.

Nan Qiao was speechless.

These women could all qualify as village intelligence officers—perfectly suited for the job.

The yard where Nan Qiao and Shen Nian would be staying wasn’t far from Aunt Xiumei’s house. Under the watchful eyes of the villagers, they soon arrived.

Because it was summer, Aunt Xiumei had her daughter-in-law set the table directly in the courtyard after cooking.

All the neighbors were cooking dinner as well. Smoke curled into the air, the sun was setting, and the summer evening breeze was just right—it was all very pleasant.

Tao Zhuo led the two into the courtyard and shouted before they even stepped inside.

“Mom! I brought the educated youth sisters back!”

“Alright, take them to wash up quickly—dinner’s almost ready,” Aunt Xiumei called out as she walked out of the kitchen.

Uncle Sheng and their eldest son and daughter-in-law followed her out.

When they saw Nan Qiao and Shen Nian, they were all momentarily stunned.

They couldn’t help but think to themselves, My goodness, what do city girls eat to grow like this? Not only are they tall, but they’re so fair and pretty. How could their families bear to send them to the countryside? It must be worrying.

But these thoughts passed quickly, and they warmly greeted them, “Comrade Nan, Comrade Shen, come on in!”

“Big brother, big sister-in-law, Uncle Sheng—hello,” the two said in unison.

“We brought some gifts—local specialties from back home. Please try some,” Nan Qiao said, handing over a package.

Nan Qiao brought a box of pastries, while Shen Nian straightforwardly brought two cured sausages—both were nice things.

“You girls! We invited you for dinner, not to bring things. If you’re like this, I’ll be too afraid to invite you next time,” Aunt Xiumei chided when she saw the gifts.

“Auntie, it’s our first time visiting—it would be rude to come empty-handed,” Shen Nian said with a grin.

“Exactly! Next time you’ve got something tasty, just think of us too,” Nan Qiao added.

“Alright, alright, but next time, no more gifts! Come, sit down. Time to eat,” Aunt Xiumei smiled.

Nan Qiao and Shen Nian obediently sat at the table.

Sheng’s sister-in-law sat beside Shen Nian, while the elder brother and Uncle Sheng followed. The whole family sat together, waiting for Aunt Xiumei.

In such a male-dominated era, the fact that Aunt Xiumei’s family waited for her before starting the meal was clear proof of their respect and regard for her.

A few minutes later, Aunt Xiumei came out with a big pot of stewed chicken and mushrooms. Seeing everyone at the table, she asked curiously, “Chuanzi hasn’t come back yet?”

“No, the team leader said earlier he went out with the tractor. He should’ve been back by now,” Uncle Sheng replied, glancing toward the courtyard gate.

Chuanzi? Nan Qiao instinctively thought of the man from the afternoon.

“That rascal’s always running around—never rests for a day. Forget it, let’s eat,” Aunt Xiumei scolded lightly, then placed a piece of chicken into Nan Qiao and Shen Nian’s bowls.

“Try it—my son caught a mountain chicken. You probably haven’t had it before. See if it’s tasty,” she whispered conspiratorially, a bit worried someone might overhear.

“You should have some too, Auntie,” Shen Nian looked at Nan Qiao. Seeing she hadn’t picked up her chopsticks, she waited as well.

Only when Uncle Sheng and Aunt Xiumei started eating did the others begin their meal.

“Should we save some for Chuanzi?” Uncle Sheng asked. After all, he caught it, and it was rare for them to have this much meat.

“Eat yours. There’s more in the pot—enough for him,” Aunt Xiumei replied.

Uncle Sheng said nothing more, quietly eating the coarse flatbread and occasionally picking up a piece of potato. He barely touched the meat, saving most for the younger ones.

Aunt Xiumei was a great cook, and the meal was thoroughly enjoyable. Afterward, Sheng’s sister-in-law cleaned up, but when Nan Qiao and Shen Nian tried to help, Aunt Xiumei stopped them.

“Guests don’t do dishes! Just sit and relax.”

Then she poured two glasses of chilled mung bean soup from the well, sweetened with white sugar.

For modern-day Nan Qiao, this kind of mung bean soup wasn’t anything special. But Tao Zhuo and Dudu held their bowls carefully, savoring every sip like a treasure.

“Comrade Nan, where are you from?” Sheng’s sister-in-law joined them in the courtyard, sipping mung bean soup as they chatted.

“Just call me Wanqiao, sister-in-law. Both of us are from Hu City.”

“Hu City! That’s a big city. Must be way hotter there than here.”

“Yeah, it’s been over 30 degrees lately. It’s definitely cooler here.”

They sat in the courtyard and chatted about daily life for a while.

When Nan Qiao finished her mung bean soup and saw it was getting late, she stood up to say goodbye.

“Auntie, we want to go to town tomorrow to pick up a package from home. Do you know how we can get there? Are there any vehicles?”

“Hmm, not sure if the team tractor’s going tomorrow. Oh! Chuanzi’s back—ask him,” Aunt Xiumei said, then called out toward the door.

“Chuanzi! Is the tractor heading to town tomorrow?”

Nan Qiao turned to look. As she expected, Aunt Xiumei’s second son was Sheng Yanchuan.

Sheng Yanchuan glanced at her briefly, then replied, “Probably. I need to go get some parts.”

“Great! Wanqiao and Shen Nian need to go to the train station tomorrow. Take them along, will you? It’s not convenient for two girls to go alone.”

Sheng Yanchuan nodded. “We’ll leave at seven—it’ll be cooler.”

“Thanks, Comrade Sheng,” the two girls said, though inwardly, they were struggling.

Dear god, what time do we have to wake up to leave at seven?!

Sheng Yanchuan didn’t say anything else and walked toward Aunt Xiumei with a large sack in hand.

“No need to be so formal. This is my second son, Sheng Yanchuan—just call him Brother Chuanzi. ‘Comrade Sheng’ sounds way too stiff,” Aunt Xiumei said with a laugh.

The next moment, the heavy sack landed in her hands. Aunt Xiumei opened it to take a look—it was full of wild red berries from the mountains.

“You were gone this whole time just to pick berries? Didn’t you say it was too much trouble? Why were you so busy you didn’t even eat?” she scolded.

Sheng Yanchuan looked a little embarrassed. After sending the educated youths back and returning the tractor, he remembered that Nan Qiao said earlier the berries tasted good. For some reason, he ended up climbing the mountain himself. By the time he picked a whole sack, the sky was almost dark.

Realizing what he’d done and catching Nan Qiao’s gaze as he entered made him feel even more awkward. With his mother calling him out, he was practically overwhelmed.

“It was nothing, just went,” he mumbled, trying to brush it off before quickly changing the topic, “Ma, is there still food? I’m starving.”

“There is—go get it from the pot,” she said.

Sheng Yanchuan headed into the kitchen. But the gaze from the girl behind him was so piercing, he even started walking awkwardly.

Yes—Nan Qiao had been sneakily watching him the whole time.

Before transmigrating, Nan Qiao had been a shameless fangirl who only stanned handsome men and beautiful women.

Even though she had transmigrated, her tastes hadn’t changed. Sheng Yanchuan was exactly her type. She hadn’t had the time to properly take a look at him earlier that afternoon when everything was hectic.

Now that no one was paying attention to her, she finally had the chance to really look—and realized not only was his face top-tier, his physique was amazing. Broad shoulders, narrow waist, long legs—he had the build of a model.

Meanwhile, in the kitchen, Sheng Yanchuan was grinding his teeth. This girl really has no sense of propriety between men and women—staring like that? Is she trying to get me arrested or what?

As he walked into the kitchen, Nan Qiao finally said, “Auntie Xiumei, we’ll head back now. We’ll meet Brother Chuanzi at the village entrance tomorrow morning.”

“Sure, no rush. Oh, wait! Take some berries with you. There’s way too much for us to finish anyway,” Aunt Xiumei said as she scooped some onto the table and stuffed the rest—bag and all—into Nan Qiao’s hands, not giving her a chance to refuse.

Helpless, Nan Qiao accepted them and left with Shen Nian.

“Qiao Qiao, I think Auntie Xiumei’s family is really kind. My parents were worried I’d be bullied in the village, but turns out everyone’s so nice,” Shen Nian said as they chatted on the way home.

“That’s just Auntie Xiumei’s family. You can’t generalize. Villages are full of gossip, and there are some troublemakers too. You still have to be cautious.”

“True,” Shen Nian nodded seriously. “You don’t know—on the way here, I saw a creepy guy by the roadside smiling at me. He had yellow teeth and ragged clothes. It was disgusting.”

“Then never go out alone again. This isn’t Hu City—it’s much more chaotic. Always go with someone for safety.”

Shen Nian nodded obediently. “Okay, I’ll just follow you wherever you go. Just don’t get tired of me.”

“Tired of you? You’re so sweet—I don’t even like you enough yet,” Nan Qiao said, giving Shen Nian a gentle pinch on the cheek.

Shen Nian blushed and swatted her hand. “Qiao Qiao, you’re such a flirt!”

The two of them giggled and bickered all the way back to their rooms. After washing up, they each returned to their own rooms to rest.

As soon as Nan Qiao locked the door behind her, she entered her space, took a long bath to wash away her exhaustion, and finally lay down on the large bed in the space to rest.

All her toiletries were specially chosen to have very light scents. So even though she had just bathed, the scent was faint. Even if someone passed by outside her room, they wouldn’t notice anything.

After days of running around without proper rest, Nan Qiao quickly fell into a deep sleep…

Compared to Nan Qiao’s peaceful night, Qin Fang’s situation was anything but.

Dong Jiayan and Wang Yuman were staying with local families, exchanging food stamps and meal tickets. Even if the food was plain, at least they were guaranteed a full meal.

As for the male educated youths, most of the older ones had already settled into routines, and the newer ones were willing to pitch in for food. So even if the older ones didn’t like it, things still looked okay on the surface.

Only Qin Fang refused to contribute either food or money and just waited around to freeload meals.

She relied solely on her sweet-talking skills, telling the others she’d “borrow food for now” and pay them back when grain was distributed at the end of the year.

But in these hard times, everyone was already short on food and clothing. Giving food to someone else was basically taking it out of your own mouth—who would be happy to do that?

And repaying at year’s end? That was still half a year away.

“Comrade Qin, you’ve got no money, no food stamps—how dare you come here asking for food?” one of the older educated youths snapped bluntly.

She had long ceased to be the demure young girl she was when she first arrived in the village. Years of hardship had turned her into someone no different from a local woman.

If she hadn’t still held on to the hope of returning to the city, she probably would’ve married into the village by now.

That’s why she had no patience for someone like Qin Fang, who showed up playing the victim and trying to freeload.

In times like these, everyone was struggling. Who had it easy?

You can’t just open your mouth and expect food to fall in.

“Sister Wang, that’s a bit much, isn’t it? I’m just borrowing—not begging,” Qin Fang said angrily.

“Who’s your sister? You don’t bring anything, and you expect a meal with just your words. If you’ve got any shame, get lost. Look around—no one wants anything to do with you.”

Qin Fang instinctively glanced around. The older educated youths ignored her completely, and even the newer ones avoided her gaze.

Realizing that Wang wouldn’t give in, Qin Fang slammed her bowl on the table.

“Fine! I don’t need your food. Who wants it anyway?” she shouted, not caring at all about maintaining relationships for the future.

She stormed off to her room and secretly ate the biscuits she’d brought with her. They were dry and tasteless, but better than nothing.

If Nan Qiao had known, she would’ve definitely called her an idiot. There was only one stove at the educated youth station, and now Qin Fang had offended everyone.

Forget about communal meals—she probably wouldn’t even get a drop of water from them in the future.

Why make things harder for herself when life was already difficult? This was peak stupidity.

And the fact that Dong Jiayan still hung out with her—wasn’t she worried Qin Fang would drag her down?

Sure enough, later on, Dong Jiayan would deeply regret having such a dumb friend. But that’s a story for another time.

The first day in the village wasn’t as hard as Nan Qiao had expected. In fact, everything had gone surprisingly smoothly.

She slept soundly on the big bed inside her space until morning. The ringing alarm on the phone at her bedside woke her up.

She got out of bed groggily and changed into something light—a pale blue floral blouse that made her fair skin appear even more delicate.

Before transmigrating, Nan Qiao had been a small fashion influencer with over 100,000 followers on her outfit-sharing social media account.

So when she realized she might be stuck in this world, the first thing she worried about was her aunt.

Second was all the limitations of this era—colors, clothing, and forget about jewelry or accessories. Even wedding rings weren’t commonly worn in this time period.

As for things other transmigrators might worry about—like food and shelter—Nan Qiao didn’t mind at all. After all, she had her golden cheat. Eating and living well? Not a problem.