Chapter 5: Arrival at the Commune

On a sunny afternoon, the train finally arrived at its destination.

As they disembarked, everyone exhaled deeply, relieved to have finished the long journey.

“Yingying, let’s head to the bus station,” Li Lin said, struggling to carry her backpack while holding her other things.

“Sure,” Hu Yingying replied, her load even heavier than Li Lin’s. She nodded wearily and followed Li Lin.

Behind them, Sun Xiaogang, hearing Li Lin and Hu Yingying talking about heading to the bus station, quickly caught up, carrying his own bags. “Li Tongzhi, Hu Tongzhi, wait for me! I’m going to the bus station too.”

“You’re faster than us. We won’t wait for you. You can catch up,” Li Lin called back without looking, as she continued asking around for directions to the bus station. She called out to Hu Yingying to keep up and started walking toward the station.

Zhang Qinghua and Liu Lan, on the other hand, didn’t say a word. They just followed the others to the bus station.

When they reached the station and found the bus to Hailun County, Zhang Qinghua, without a second thought, shoved past Li Lin, trying to get on the bus.

Li Lin was almost knocked over, but she grabbed the side of the bus to steady herself. Looking back, she saw that Zhang Qinghua was the one who had pushed her.

Without hesitation, she dropped her bag, grabbed him by the collar, and with a strong push, sent him sprawling onto the ground. She then proceeded to place her things onto the bus.

“Yingying, hurry up,” Li Lin called as she finished with her things.

Zhang Qinghua, now on the ground, didn’t have time to make trouble. Seeing that the bus was about to leave, he quickly scrambled up and squeezed onto the bus.

Just then, Hu Yingying arrived. After placing her things down, she did exactly what Li Lin had done, pushing Zhang Qinghua aside.

“You’re too much,” Zhang Qinghua growled, his face contorted with anger as he pointed at Li Lin and Hu Yingying.

“Oops, did I push you down? I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to,” Hu Yingying said, feigning surprise and apologizing insincerely.

Liu Lan, taking advantage of the commotion while they were still organizing their things, hurriedly grabbed her bag and hopped onto the bus. She found an empty seat and sat down, watching the scene unfold.

“Yingying, get on the bus,” Li Lin called out, making sure everything was settled before getting on herself.

Hu Yingying obediently picked up her bag, glanced at the still-lying Zhang Qinghua, and mockingly said, “That’s what you get for bullying Li Lin.”

She followed Li Lin onto the bus.

Zhang Qinghua, now spitting angrily on the ground, glared at the two of them before struggling to get to his feet and squeeze onto the bus. 

Behind him, Sun Xiaogang watched this unfold and shook his head helplessly.

He hadn’t known Zhang Qinghua before, but after talking to him on the train for a while, he’d thought of him as an okay person and had considered him a friend. Now, seeing him like this, Sun Xiaogang had no interest in continuing their friendship. As long as he had to interact with him on a superficial level, that was enough—he wasn’t going to make an effort beyond that.

The group endured a bumpy ride and, after an hour, finally arrived at Zayinhe Commune.

Li Lin and the others got off the noisy, diesel-scented bus, feeling dizzy and tired.

“Lin Lin, I feel like I don’t have any energy left,” Hu Yingying said, her face pale from the exhaustion. Standing at about 1.65 meters, she was tall and good-looking, but after the long, uncomfortable journey, she looked like she might faint at any moment.

“Hang in there, don’t pass out yet,” Li Lin said, quickly unloading their bags. She pulled out a White Rabbit milk candy from her pocket, unwrapped it, and shoved it into Hu Yingying’s mouth.

“I feel better now, let’s go,” Hu Yingying said, swallowing the lingering taste of milk candy that had eased her nausea. She grabbed her luggage and called out to Li Lin to hurry.

“You can wait here if you want, I’ll go find the place and come back for you,” Li Lin said, still concerned for her.

“It’s okay, I’ll wait for you to find the place. By the time you come back, I’ll have figured everything out,” Hu Yingying replied. She felt reassured that she had made the right decision. She was no longer alone in this unfamiliar place—she had found a good friend in Li Lin.

Once they arrived, Li Lin would send a letter back home to let her parents know not to worry.

She wasn’t alone here anymore.

Li Lin saw that Hu Yingying was feeling better and, with a relieved smile, grabbed their things. They made their way to the commune compound.

The commune compound was bustling with young people around their age, just like them, arriving from different places.

“Lin Lin, do you think we’ll be assigned to the same team?” Hu Yingying asked, glancing nervously at the crowd. She feared they would be separated and sent to different places.

“Don’t worry, even if we’re not, we…” Li Lin whispered something in Hu Yingying’s ear, then reminded her to keep it to herself.

“Mm-hmm,” Hu Yingying nodded obediently, assuring Li Lin she wouldn’t tell anyone.

“Quiet, quiet!” A middle-aged man with glasses and an elegant demeanor called out, getting everyone’s attention. “Those whose names I call, follow me to your designated team.”

Li Lin listened carefully as the names were called out, and saw several ox carts lined up nearby, each labeled with the name of a team.

“Niuchunhua, Zhao Ya, Liu Hu, Qian Yu, Sun Xi… Xiaojiawan Team.”

“Meilin, Xu Jin, Qu Jing, Yinxinghua… Hulin Team.”

“Liu Lan, Zhang Qinghua, Hu Yingying, Sun Xiaogang, Li Lin… Majiacun Team.”

Hu Yingying, hearing that she and Li Lin were assigned to the same team, immediately hugged Li Lin in delight. “We’re not separated! This is so great!”

“Yeah, let’s hurry and put our things on the ox cart,” Li Lin nodded and called to Hu Yingying, starting to load their belongings onto the cart.

Hu Yingying, though struggling with her heavy load, obediently followed Li Lin.

“You’re going to Majiacun’s team, right? I’m Zhang Jun, the head of the Majiacun team,” a tall, dark-skinned man, wearing a patched-up coat, introduced himself. His demeanor was humble, yet his piercing gaze made him seem intimidating.

“Hello, Team Leader,” Li Lin greeted him with a smile, keeping her composure despite her surprise. “I’m Li Lin, and this is Hu Yingying. We’re both assigned to Majiacun.”

“Put your things on the ox cart,” Zhang Jun instructed. Although he was dissatisfied with the delicate-looking, beautiful girls, he knew they had arrived and couldn’t afford to mess anything up.

After waiting a few more minutes, they saw Liu Lan, Zhang Qinghua, and Sun Xiaogang arriving, albeit a little late.

“Sorry, I had an upset stomach and had to find a place to take care of it,” Sun Xiaogang apologized as he approached Zhang Jun, holding his things.

The other two, however, didn’t even greet anyone. They simply threw their bags on the ox cart and sat down without a word.