Chapter 11: At a Glance, She’s a Wasteful Woman

Upon exiting the train station, the family quickly found the person who came to pick them up to go to Shinianzi Brigade.

It was a young man driving a donkey cart.

The cart was small, with just a few simple benches, and it swayed when anyone sat on it.

The Fu family loaded their luggage onto the cart and, fearing that Jiang Yuman wouldn’t be able to sit steadily, they arranged themselves around her.

Fu Jingchen even deliberately placed his hand in front of her for her to hold onto.

Fu Wangshan looked at the thin cart floor and felt somewhat worried. He asked the young driver, “Comrade, when can we arrive at Shinianzi Brigade?”

The young man replied, “Riding the donkey cart takes about half an hour.”

Fu Haitang’s little face turned pale. “What? That long?” She was afraid that if she bounced around in this cart for half an hour, her whole body would fall apart.

The young man smiled and said, “Shinianzi Brigade is considered quite good in the area, and it’s close to Hongqi Commune. Other villages need at least an hour to get to the commune.”

Looking at this family, he knew they were of an unusual background; city dwellers really were making a fuss. They were already quite lucky to have such conditions in Shinianzi Brigade.

Fu Haitang pouted, unable to voice her grievances.

Jiang Yuman then asked, “Comrade, can we set off now?”

“Just wait a bit longer, as there are still others who haven’t arrived.”

As if by cue, just after he finished speaking, several items of luggage were thrown onto the cart.

Along with the shaking of the cart, a woman’s voice full of disdain was heard: “So many people crammed into one cart? How is there enough space to sit?”

This voice sounded particularly familiar to Jiang Yuman, and she instinctively glanced in the direction of the sound, only to see a familiar face.

It was Zhou Yun, the meticulous woman who had sat opposite her on the train.

Jiang Yuman hadn’t expected to cross paths with a nemesis again, thinking that their encounter on the train was nothing more than a brief encounter between strangers.

Unexpectedly, they were both going to the countryside and would now meet again in the same brigade.

Seeing Jiang Yuman and her husband, Zhou Yun was somewhat taken aback, but then she rolled her eyes and reluctantly got onto the cart, holding her child.

Because she was unhappy, she made quite a ruckus getting onto the cart, causing it to shake even more.

The young driver exclaimed, “Hey, can you be a bit gentler, miss? At this rate, you’ll break our village’s donkey cart.”

Zhou Yun mumbled, “There’s so little space, and we have our own family. They are already taking up so much room; we’ll have to squeeze a bit.”

Though she complained, she didn’t dare to be too arrogant. Carrying her child, along with her in-laws and husband, she took a seat at the back with a bench.

Seeing Fu Jingchen wrap his arms around Jiang Yuman, Zhou Yun almost rolled her eyes into the sky.

The young man ignored her grumbling, and after a few more people got on, he drove the donkey cart towards Shinianzi Brigade.

The donkey cart was not as stable as a small car, swaying along the way.

After about half an hour, they finally arrived at Shinianzi Brigade, which was not deep in the mountains. The road was relatively smooth, and it was autumn, with fields bathed in golden hues.

As they passed, villagers who were harvesting looked at the donkey cart and greeted them warmly: “Zhenjiang, were you called again by the brigade leader to pick someone up?”

In recent years, it was not unusual for city dwellers to come to the countryside, and the villagers had become accustomed to it.

Yao Zhenjiang smiled, “Yes, uncle, I just picked people up from the train station.”

“Your dad really is something; he never goes to pick them up himself and always calls you to do it…”

At this, Jiang Yuman subconsciously glanced at the young driver, Zhenjiang, Yao Zhenjiang?

The third brother of the female lead, Yao Simeng, in the book, who was also the laziest one in the family.

According to the book, Yao Simeng should still be working in the fields right now, and his coming to pick someone up could indeed be seen as laziness. Meanwhile, Zhou Yun, who had not shown any good expression throughout the trip, realized Yao Zhenjiang was the brigade leader’s son and secretly regretted not having made small talk with him earlier.

Soon, the donkey cart stopped at the youth station.

The youth station in Shinianzi Brigade was a large courtyard with several houses, including two brick houses.

Jiang Yuman knew this was the Yao family. In the original book, the brigade leader’s family lived at the youth station, which is why Yao Simeng often saw Fu Jingchen.

Unaware, Zhou Yun saw the brick house and her eyes brightened as if she thought of something.

Without waiting for her to ask, a man with a square face appeared from the brick house.

Yao Zhenjiang greeted him as “Dad,” and everyone finally realized: this was the brigade leader of Shinianzi Brigade, Yao Anguo.

Yao Anguo briefly talked to the crowd and then moved on to the main topic:

“There are only two rooms at our youth station, just enough for each family to have one.”

“Currently, all the youth are out in the fields, so let me quickly tell you, there’s no separate stove in the houses; you’ll have to set one up if you want to cook.”

“The brigade will supply food for you, and I’ll have someone deliver it to you tonight. If you have any issues, you can come find me; my home is right here.”

Knowing that the Fu family had some connections, Yao Anguo made an effort to make things convenient for them.

“Thank you, Brigade Leader.” The group quickly expressed their gratitude.

“It’s no trouble; you all have traveled a long way. Hurry back and rest up and get ready to start working together tomorrow morning.”

Once Yao Anguo finished, he turned to go back into the house.

The two families didn’t dawdle, taking advantage of the fact that other youth had not returned yet to start moving their luggage toward the rooms assigned by the brigade leader.

The Fu family arrived at a space with only two rooms, but one was large enough to be divided into two smaller rooms.

There was also a small side room that was sunken in, which could be utilized later.

As it had been a while since anyone lived there, it was filled with cobwebs and dust, and there were some broken pieces of furniture that needed to be removed.

Fu Jingchen and Fu Wangshan, being strong, took on the heavier tasks, while Fu Mu and Fu Haitang helped tidy up and clean.

Jiang Yuman wanted to help, but Fu Mu quickly stopped her, saying, “You’re heavily pregnant; it’s not convenient for you to do anything. Just sit outside and take a break.”

Having traveled so far from the capital to this remote village, the family’s spirit was supported largely by Jiang Yuman.

Jiang Yuman replied, “Mom, I can help with some small tasks.”

On the train, she had been drinking the spiritual spring water, and she felt much lighter in her body, whether it was psychological or not.

But since that water was so special, she didn’t dare to let her family drink it; she could only wait until cooking to add it.

Feeling comfortable in her body, she also wanted to help with some manageable tasks.

“Don’t even do small things; just sit outside. It’s too dusty in there,” Fu Wangshan interjected.

Fu Haitang, having endured so much jostling during the day, did not complain.

Fu Jingchen’s attitude was even more resolute. He wiped a stool clean and placed it outside the house.

Under the watchful eyes of her family, Jiang Yuman had no choice but to give up the idea of helping and sat outside the house to wait.

Across the way, Zhou Yun’s family was busy creating a flurry of activity.

Although Zhou Yun didn’t seem industrious, she was quite nimble with her hands and feet, busying herself with wiping tables, sweeping the floor, and helping to move luggage.

Her in-laws were moving slowly on the side, occasionally paying attention to their grandchild.

Noticing Jiang Yuman sitting outside to rest, Zhou Yun made a disdainful expression and turned to complain to her in-laws and husband:

“Really a decorative pillow filled with straw, pretty but useless. Even after coming to the countryside, she does nothing and still thinks she’s a city lady?”

Zhou Yun’s mother-in-law, surnamed Cai, looked outside with her slanted eyes and sneered:

“Look at how delicate she acts; at first glance, she’s just a wasteful woman. How can she live a life?”