“Comrade Bai, someone’s waving ahead,” Lin Bangguo said sharply, spotting someone by the roadside.  

Song Jing’an, who had been feigning closed-eye rest, opened his eyes. The opportunity he had been waiting for had arrived.  

Bai Junwu also saw the figure and gradually slowed the tractor. However, upon recognizing the person, his grip on the handlebars tightened abruptly.  

Without hesitation, he drove right past them.  

“Uh…” Lin Bangguo was stunned. “Comrade Bai, why didn’t you stop?”  

Bai Junwu didn’t answer.  

The person waving by the roadside chased after the tractor, shouting, “Hey! Stop!”  

Suppressing his reluctance, Bai Junwu slammed on the brakes and brought the tractor to a halt.  

The pursuers caught up, immediately launching into complaints: “Bai Junwu! Didn’t you see us waving? Why didn’t you stop when we called?”  

Bai Junwu replied coldly, “Didn’t notice.”  

“Hmph! I think you’re just targeting us. Don’t think you’re special just because you’re the brigade leader’s son.”  

The group of three were all educated youths from Qinghe Brigade, though they spent most of their time in the city and rarely returned to the village. Among them were Liang Jian, along with another man and woman—Fang Zhicheng and Li Qingqing.  

Liang Jian stepped in to mediate: “Qingqing, Junwu definitely didn’t do it on purpose. Both Brigade Leader Bai and Junwu are very fair people.”  

Bai Junwu shot him a sidelong glance, finding the act utterly hypocritical.  

If not for his father’s orders to avoid rash actions—and the fact that Song Jing’an and the others were on the tractor—Bai Junwu would have already beaten Liang Jian senseless.  

“What do you want?” he demanded.  

Li Qingqing lifted her chin haughtily. “We’re heading back to the brigade.”  

“We’re also educated youths from the brigade. We have the right to ride the tractor.”  

This was true. Reluctantly, Bai Junwu had no choice but to let them board.  

“Sit tight.”  

In the trailer bed, the six sat facing each other. Lin Bangguo spoke first: “Are you all educated youths from Qinghe Brigade?”  

“Yes, I’m Liang Jian. Are you newly arrived?”  

Lin Bangguo introduced himself, then asked, “Were you in the city today, Comrade Liang?”  

“We have jobs in the city. We usually stay there and only return to the brigade occasionally.”  

As he spoke, Liang Jian unintentionally let a hint of pride slip into his tone.  

Lin Bangguo looked surprised. “Educated youths can work in the city too?”  

“Of course,” Li Qingqing said smugly. “But not just anyone can. Only those with real ability can.”  

As she spoke, she gazed at Liang Jian with undisguised admiration.  

A shadow flickered through Lin Bangguo’s eyes as he discreetly sized up Liang Jian, then smoothly changed the subject.  

“Could you tell us a bit about the educated youths in the brigade? We’re new here and don’t know much.”  

Liang Jian readily agreed. “Actually, we all get along well. Everyone lives together at the educated youth point, and we help each other out.”  

“It’s just that the villagers might have some misunderstandings about us, so relations aren’t exactly harmonious.” Liang Jian smiled bitterly.  

Li Qingqing fumed. “It’s all because those country bumpkins have no vision—especially that idiot Bai Zhizhi! She’s like a toad lusting after swan meat, always clinging to Brother Liang Jian.”  

“You have no idea how stupid she is. She’ll do anything you tell her, even eat filthy mud. You’d better stay away from her—they say idiocy is contagious.”  

Hearing this, Song Jing’an, who had remained silent until now, turned even colder.  

SCREECH—  

The tractor jerked to a sudden stop. Unprepared, everyone lurched forward, tumbling into chaos.  

Bai Junwu leapt off the vehicle, glaring furiously at Li Qingqing. His upbringing forbade him from hitting a woman, but he could certainly target the instigator.  

Before anyone could react, Bai Junwu yanked Liang Jian down and punched him square in the face.  

Li Qingqing shrieked and rushed forward to intervene.  

“Ah! Bai Junwu, have you lost your mind?!”  

Bai Junwu swung again, his fist connecting hard. “Liang Jian, what kind of man hides behind a woman?! I haven’t even settled the score with you for tricking my little sister, and now you dare spout nonsense? I’ll beat you to death, you bastard!”  

This was just the outlet he needed for the rage he’d been suppressing.  

Humiliated at being beaten in front of everyone, Liang Jian scrambled up and tried to fight back.  

But he was no match for Bai Junwu, who worked the fields year-round. Soon, Liang Jian’s face was a swollen, bruised mess.  

When brute force failed, he resorted to threats. “Bai Junwu, go ahead and kill me if you dare. Let’s see if your brigade leader father can save you then.”  

“You can’t silence me. That sister of yours is an idiot. All I had to do was crook my finger, and she came crawling to me on her own.”  

Bai Junwu gnashed his teeth and raised his fist for another blow.

But this time, Fang Zhicheng and Lin Bangguo intervened, preventing Bai Junwu from landing another blow.  

Lin Bangguo tried to mediate: “Comrade Bai, I don’t know what grievances you have with them, but this is too violent.”  

In the end, Lin Bangguo chose to side with the educated youths.  

“I don’t think Comrade Bai was wrong.”  

At this moment, Song Jing’an spoke up for the first time, drawing everyone’s attention. Bai Junwu remained expressionless, Lin Bangguo looked puzzled, while Liang Jian and the others seethed with anger.  

“If someone called my sister an idiot, I’d make sure they regretted being born,” Song Jing’an said, his voice laced with icy menace. “So Comrade Bai did nothing wrong.”  

“Comrade Liang.” He crouched down slowly, locking eyes with Liang Jian. “Don’t you agree?”  

Liang Jian stared into those dark, fathomless eyes and felt as if he’d plunged into an icy abyss. A shiver ran down his spine, leaving him momentarily speechless.  

Song Jing’an didn’t wait for an answer. He stood up gracefully and turned to climb back onto the tractor—only to “accidentally” step on Liang Jian’s foot.  

“Oh, my apologies,” he said with exaggerated remorse. “My eyesight isn’t the best. I hope you don’t mind, Comrade Liang?”  

Bai Junwu nearly laughed out loud. This Song Jing’an was something else.  

Liang Jian gritted his teeth. “N-Not at all.”  

His glare at Song Jing’an’s retreating back was venomous—clearly, he wouldn’t forget this grudge.  

Bai Junwu noticed and frowned, deciding to warn Song Jing’an later.  

He turned to Li Qingqing with a final warning: “If I ever hear those words again, I’ll beat him up every single time.”  

“Get on if you want to go back to the brigade.” Without waiting for a response, he climbed onto the tractor and started the engine.  

Li Qingqing helped Liang Jian up, her face full of guilt. “Brother Liang Jian, I’m so sorry. This is all my fault.”  

“It’s not your fault,” Liang Jian said bitterly, wincing as the movement tugged at his injuries.  

Li Qingqing’s heart ached. “Damn Bai Junwu! He’s nothing but a brute!”  

Just then, Fang Zhicheng spoke up: “They’re leaving.”  

The tractor had already begun moving, showing no intention of waiting for them.  

Liang Jian wanted to refuse out of pride, but with no village in sight and no other way back, he had no choice but to swallow his anger and climb aboard.  

The atmosphere in the trailer was now a far cry from before. No one spoke, leaving an oppressive silence.  

Song Jing’an thought back to his past life. Back then, he had remained neutral as a newcomer.  

But this time, he had taken Bai Junwu’s side. Given Liang Jian’s petty nature, there would undoubtedly be underhanded retaliation later.  

And that was exactly what Song Jing’an wanted.  

…

“Zhizhi, what are you staring at?”  

Bai Zhizhi propped her chin in her hands, gazing at the gate. “When will Second Brother be back?”  

Liao Guizhi reached into the chicken coop and pulled out an egg, answering absently, “Should be soon.”  

She glanced at the sky—it was almost time to start lunch.  

Bai Zhizhi sighed. Getting candy was harder than she thought.  

When she turned, she saw Liao Guizhi stepping into the vegetable garden. Bai Zhizhi hurriedly stopped her. “Mom, let me do it. Your foot’s still hurt.”  

“It’s fine, really.” Liao Guizhi truly felt fine, but Bai Zhizhi insisted, so she relented.  

“Then pick a few tomatoes—the red ones—and some long beans. We’ll have noodles for lunch.”  

When Bai Zhizhi returned with the vegetables, Liao Guizhi took them and headed to the kitchen, telling her to keep playing in the yard.  

Bored, Bai Zhizhi paced around the courtyard, even digging a small hole in the corner, all while periodically checking if her second brother had returned.  

Finally, her gaze landed on the equally idle white goose.  

“Big White, let me check your pulse.”  

She lifted the goose’s wing, shaking her head sagely. “Hmm… You’re perfectly healthy.”  

Pfft!

A laugh came from the gate.  

Bai Zhizhi turned to see her second brother standing there with a stranger—a tall, handsome young man in a crisp white dacron shirt, looking completely out of place in the dusty countryside.  

She stared for a moment longer. The young man smiled back, though his eyes held a flicker of something complicated—almost like confusion.