Chapter 17 Another one sent to the countryside

Having eaten braised pork, Lin Yiwan didn’t plan on cooking the remaining pound of meat. 

She didn’t have extra coupons and needed to save.  She decided to make it into jerky to eat slowly. 

She also put the Fuqiang flour directly into her space without processing it.  Dinner was a simple bowl of egg noodles.

After dinner, Lin Yiwan excitedly entered her space.  Because the space was all dirt, and she didn’t want to get her feet dirty, she wore shoes inside. 

She used porcelain jars and paintings to decorate the wooden house.

The antiques and the old-fashioned wooden house looked surprisingly harmonious. 

She had organized the daily necessities she bought yesterday. The bookshelves in the study were filled with books left by her mother. 

The jewelry and paintings hidden in the compartments were also moved into the space. Lin Yiwan busied herself, arranging the space like she was furnishing a new home.

After organizing everything, she took out the seeds she had bought during the day and prepared to plant some in the space.

The soil in the space was soft and didn’t need to be cultivated; she only needed to divide the area by function.  She had bought grain, vegetable, and fruit seeds. 

She planted the fruit seeds around the perimeter of the space, a large area on the left for grains, and a smaller area on the right for vegetables. 

Lin Yiwan had been an educated youth for almost ten years in her previous life, so farming was second nature to her. She quickly planted two or three mu of land.

When she finished, it was already late at night.  Sweating profusely, Lin Yiwan simply fetched a bucket of spiritual spring water, took a bath in the wooden house, and fell asleep.

The next morning, Lin Yiwan took out some mung bean cakes from the cupboard. 

She had made them before her rebirth; it was her first attempt, and they tasted strange, so she hadn’t eaten them and couldn’t bear to throw them away, so they had been in the cupboard. 

After checking that they weren’t spoiled, she put them in an oiled paper bag and went out.

Lin Yiwan’s destination was West District Third Middle School.  Due to the unique circumstances of the times, the school no longer had its former order. 

Someone was speaking passionately at the entrance, surrounded by many equally excited teenagers.

Lin Yiwan wore a military green outfit, her hair neatly braided in two pigtails.  To avoid drawing too much attention to her appearance, she applied a thin layer of roof ash to her face and adopted a hunched posture, reducing her striking beauty by a quarter. In a crowd dressed in green, her attire was unremarkable.

Lin Yiwan quickly searched the crowd for her brother. Since she got a job, Lin Yihao’s school expenses were mostly covered by her. She had to give him money and bring him food every week. 

If she didn’t, Lin Weimin would scold her, and Song Huaiqing would look at her with disappointment. “Even Yirou knows to care for her brother, but you, as the older sister, are less considerate.”

Recalling her past life, Lin Yiwan felt like her head was full of excrement. Why had she allowed a man to treat her so poorly? 

She had read in books that women lose their ability to think once they fall in love.  In the past, she was caught up in it, unable to see clearly. Now, without that infatuation, she realized how foolish she had been.

As she was searching, a disgusted and impatient voice came from behind.

“Lin Yiwan, I asked you to bring me food, why are you so slow? Are you trying to starve me?”

Hearing it was Lin Yihao, Lin Yiwan suppressed the coldness in her eyes, paused, and turned around.  She still wore a weak and submissive expression.

“I ran into someone on the way and was delayed.”

She handed him the bag.

Lin Yihao snatched the bag, his face full of disgust, “What are you rambling about? Find so many excuses.”

Hearing this, Lin Yiwan pursed her lips, a hint of grievance on her face.

“You… aren’t you going to ask who I bumped into?”

“Who I bumped into is none of my business! If you have nothing else, get lost. Next week’s salary comes out, give me five more yuan!”

As if afraid he would scold her, Lin Yiwan quickly said, “I ran into Meng Yuting. She said she was going to sign up for the countryside, and a male classmate was comforting her, saying he would go with her.”

Hearing this, Lin Yihao, who was about to leave, stopped.

“What did you say?”

He stared at her.

Meng Yuting was going to the countryside? And with another male classmate?

The news was so shocking that Lin Yihao couldn’t think about how Lin Yiwan knew about Meng Yuting. 

He only knew that his crush was going to the countryside, and with another boy!  This wouldn’t do.

Lin Yiwan knew his temperament well and wasn’t worried he would question her.

“It’s true, you can ask her if you don’t believe me.”

In her previous life, Meng Yuting had signed up for the countryside, and Lin Yihao had wanted to go with her. 

Tan Qiuyue wouldn’t let her son suffer in the countryside, so the whole family stopped him. 

Lin Yihao didn’t go, and Meng Yuting married the boy who went with her. Lin Yihao took his anger out on Lin Yiwan, harassing her every time she returned to the city.

It wasn’t yet time for Lin Yihao to find out that Meng Yuting was going to the countryside. 

Driven by hormones, teenagers are prone to impulsiveness. Lin Yihao turned to find Meng Yuting.

“Wait!”

Lin Yiwan stopped him.

“Spit it out quickly, I don’t have time!”

Lin Yihao was so anxious he was about to burst.

“When I left home, Aunt Tan already knew about Meng Yuting, she said…”

“What did she say?” Lin Yihao was annoyed by her stammering, “Can you speak without gasping for air?”  Useless thing, can’t even speak properly!

“She said she wouldn’t agree to you being with Meng Yuting, saying her family is poor and not good enough for you.”

These were the exact words Tan Qiuyue had said to Lin Yihao in her previous life.

Hearing this, Lin Yihao frowned, looking displeased.

“I’m not a child, who I like is none of her business!”

Teenagers are rebellious; the more their elders forbid something, the more they want to do it.  It’s a way to prove they’ve grown up.

As if frightened by his ferocity, Lin Yiwan cowered.

“You… don’t tell Aunt Tan that I said this, I’m afraid she’ll blame me.”

Lin Yihao knew his mother’s nature.  She would blame Lin Yiwan and prevent him from being with Meng Yuting.  This wouldn’t do.

“Got it, get lost. Remember to bring the money next week, more of it. I know you have more money, don’t play tricks, or I’ll beat you.”

Lin Yiwan, still looking like a bullied little victim, trembled and nodded.

“I… I know…”

Lin Yihao ignored her and ran off.

Lin Yiwan didn’t leave immediately but followed him secretly.  After witnessing him find Meng Yuting and register for the countryside at the school’s office, she curled her lips and left the school.

In her previous life, Lin Yihao hadn’t intended to register immediately. He planned to ask Tan Qiuyue to let him marry Meng Yuting. 

If Meng Yuting got married and pregnant, she could avoid going to the countryside. 

But Tan Qiuyue despised Meng Yuting; her family only had one worker, and her son was meant to marry a factory director’s daughter. 

Tan Qiuyue disagreed, so Lin Yihao said he would go to the countryside. 

Lin Weimin locked him up, and Lin Yiwan was made to guard the door, preventing him from leaving. 

Now that he had registered, it was a done deal; even if Tan Qiuyue cried, it wouldn’t change anything.