Chapter 4

The person in question was Liu Shengjun, the eldest son of the village accountant, Liu. Gu Nian had heard about him from Auntie Guihua and Auntie Xiangxiu.

It was said that Liu Shengjun was the deputy director of a county mechanical factory, holding a significant position and currently residing in the city.

Because he had such a successful son, Liu, the accountant, was very arrogant in the village, even looking down on the village chief, Jiang Dashan.

However, Gu Nian had heard that Liu Shengjun already had a wife in the city, yet he was now involved with Sun Dantong—how interesting.

Liu Shengjun wasn’t concerned at all when Sun Dantong threatened him. She was just a little educated youth—what could she possibly do to him?

“Just wait, I will fulfill your wish. But for now, shouldn’t you satisfy me first?”

“Ah, Liu-ge, no, what if someone comes?”

“No one will come. You’re not getting away today.”

—-

“Congratulations, host, on completing the fifth task. You may choose any reward.”

After reading the system message, Gu Nian decided to unlock the trading space. This feature allowed her to sell the crops from her farm space to other book transmigrators through the system.

Her farm space was already overflowing with vegetables, grains, and fruits—she needed to sell some.

As far as she knew, every book transmigrator had a space, but this unlock process was different from the previous ones.

In the past, unlocking had been instant, but this time, it showed that only one-third of the progress was completed.

“System, what’s going on?”

“Host, this means you need to complete three tasks to fully unlock it.”

“Alright then. Are there any tasks available?”

“Host, tasks are assigned randomly. Please wait.”

Since that was the case, Gu Nian could only head down the mountain for now. Just as she reached the base, she suddenly heard cries for help.

“Help! Help! Someone save me! The wild boar is going to eat me!”

“Is anyone there? Please help me!”

Gu Nian rushed over and saw that it was Shen Yuling. A full-grown wild boar was in front of her.

When Shen Yuling saw Gu Nian, she immediately shouted at her.

“Hey, why are you just standing there? Hurry up and save me!”

Gu Nian remained indifferent. She wouldn’t risk her life for someone unrelated to her.

Shen Yuling saw Gu Nian’s expression and instantly realized she had no intention of helping.

She felt both hatred and regret—it was all her fault for trying to be a hero.

Lately, the educated youth at their camp had been complaining about the hardship of rural life, especially the lack of meat.

Shen Yuling had thought that if she could get some meat, everyone would be grateful to her.

She had originally planned to check around the mountain’s base in hopes of finding a wild chicken or rabbit, but instead, she encountered a wild boar.

The boar charged at her, and in her terror, she shut her eyes. The next moment, the boar bit her leg, and she passed out from the pain.

Seeing the boar about to head toward the village, Gu Nian quickly retrieved a large knife from the system’s shop.

Taking advantage of the boar’s distraction, she launched a sneak attack.

The knife was sharp. After being struck, the wild boar faltered.

Now’s my chance!

Gu Nian raised the knife again and slashed down, and the wild boar collapsed.

When Jiang Dashan arrived with a group of villagers, they saw this scene—Gu Nian standing there with a knife in hand.

“Comrade Gu, did you kill this wild boar?”

“Village chief, I was collecting firewood when I heard cries for help. I came over and happened to kill the boar.”

Jiang Dashan was impressed—this educated youth was quite capable. The villagers thought so too.

“Comrade Gu, you were very brave. When dividing the meat, we’ll give you a larger share.”

“Thank you, village chief.”

Before dividing the meat, they had to send Shen Yuling to the county hospital. However, the educated youth camp didn’t react much when they heard she had been bitten by a wild boar.

Instead, they were more excited about eating meat.

He Yirou saw this as a great opportunity.

She had struggled to deal with Gu Nian alone, so why not find an ally?

She took the initiative to tell the village chief that she would accompany Shen Yuling to the county hospital.

The village chief agreed. When they reached the hospital, Shen Yuling was touched that He Yirou had come to visit her.

“Yirou, you’re the best. You came to see me.”

“Yuling, if I had known you were going to the mountain, I would’ve stopped you. Are you alright?”

“I’m fine, just shaken up. It’s all that Gu Nian’s fault! I called out to her, but she didn’t help me.”

Hearing this, He Yirou saw her chance and said:

“She didn’t help you? But I personally heard her tell the village chief that she killed the wild boar to save you. The chief even said she’d get extra meat.”

“What?! That wretch! I saw the boar first, and I got injured because of it. Why should she get more meat?”

“Exactly! Not to mention, she’s the only one at our camp who eats meat regularly. And now she’s taking your share too.”

He Yirou’s words fueled Shen Yuling’s anger.

Shen Yuling had a stepmother back home, and after she was sent to the countryside, her father stopped caring about her. She especially envied Gu Nian’s good life.

“Yirou, Gu Nian is too much! Why is she the only one living well after being sent here? I need to make her suffer too.”

“Exactly! Otherwise, you would’ve suffered for nothing. I actually have an idea—want to hear it?”

“What is it?”

After listening, Shen Yuling felt incredibly satisfied.

Alright, let’s do this. Let’s see how Gu Nian handles it.

—-

Gu Nian received two pounds of meat from the village chief and carried it back to the educated youth camp. When she arrived, she saw two people—a man and a woman—standing at her door, both holding meat.

“What do you two want?”

Hearing this, Song Youyou looked at Gu Nian with a hopeful expression and spoke.

“Gu Nian, we want to eat with you. Don’t worry, we’ve discussed it. We’ll provide the grain for every meal, and you’ll cook. Deal?”

Their cooking was simply too terrible.

After half a month in the countryside, Gu Nian still looked fresh and healthy, while they had become tanned and thin.

Gu Nian thought about it. These two were the easiest to get along with in the camp. Since it was just a meal, she agreed.

“Alright.”

“Great!”

They handed their meat to Gu Nian.

That night, Gu Nian prepared braised pork with cabbage and corn pancakes.

With the same ingredients, her cooking turned the meal into a feast.

Song Youyou and Fang Siyi thought it was the best food they had eaten since arriving.

Meanwhile, the other educated youths were envious.

Since the village shared the wild boar, everyone got a small portion, but only enough for a single bite each.

“Wu Anfei, why did you eat my piece of meat?!”

Sun Dantong was unhappy. It was rare to have meat, and she wanted her share.

Wu Anfei smiled. “Oops, I ate too fast and didn’t notice. I’ll give you two eggs later.”

Sun Dantong knew she did it on purpose but didn’t bother arguing—she would soon return to the city and live a good life.

Three days later, Shen Yuling and He Yirou returned, now closer than ever.

Gu Nian was working as usual when, suddenly, an unexpected visitor arrived.