Chapter 29.2

Chen Yi scanned the crowd subtly, but still didn’t see anything noteworthy. He nodded, “It should still be in time to send some to Aunt Chunmei after the date cakes are made.”

Just as the three siblings were about to turn and leave, the villagers, whose attention had been completely absorbed by the foreign camera, finally noticed them.

Someone shouted, “Yuyu girl, are you leaving already?”

Chen Nongmo turned around, smiling as she looked at them. “Uncle Shangen, we’re going to Aunt Chunmei’s house to pick more dates.”

Uncle Shangen looked at her with a sudden realization, his honest face filled with affection. “No wonder you came out, go ahead and take some more. The dates from Aunt Chunmei’s house are so sweet! Although she can be a bit stingy, she only gives them to the village children… except for you.”

As soon as these joking words were spoken, everyone burst into laughter, and the crowd began to tease the three siblings, chattering all at once.

It took quite a while before Old Secretary humorously scolded a few of them, finally rescuing the three from the teasing.

It was at this moment that several of the Educated Youth, who had been a little caught up in the shock, came back to their senses.

The two girls were fine, chattering excitedly to each other about how such a talented person could be hidden in such a small mountain village.

Especially the female comrade, who was so beautiful that even they, as women, couldn’t help but glance at her more than once.

The Educated Youths all turned red-faced, looking as if they wanted to watch but were too shy to do so.

The villagers had long gotten used to this. The girls in Shanshun Village were all incredibly beautiful.

Only Liu Kai’s reaction was different from the others.

At this moment, his face showed no sign, but inside, he felt as if the blood in his body was boiling.

This was not the first time he had seen a beautiful female comrade.

But to see one this beautiful, that was truly a first.

If he could have her…

Thinking this, he secretly swallowed and tried to control the rising impure thoughts. Maintaining a face of an honest person, he looked at the Old Secretary and, in a seemingly serious manner, said, “What do you think? Could I stay at their house? I heard everyone say that the three siblings are also high school students like me. I was thinking that if we lived together, we could learn from each other.”

After saying this, Liu Kai also seemingly casually lifted the camera in his hand, obviously trying to increase his bargaining power.

But he didn’t notice that, because of these words, the villagers, who had once seemed like simpletons in his eyes, now had their smiles fade considerably.

It wasn’t that they were overly sensitive—it was just that what had happened last year had stirred up quite a commotion.

The Old Secretary, a seasoned man, did not show anything outwardly.

He simply tapped his tobacco pipe against the tree trunk next to him, took a puff, and then asked with a cheerful smile, “You want to live with high school students?”

Liu Kai, full of righteous energy, replied, “Yes, as progressive youth raised under the Red Flag, we must always strive to learn and improve.”

The Old Secretary, with a serious expression, nodded in respect, “You are a comrade with ideas!”

Liu Kai humbly responded, “There is still much to learn from you, sir.”

As if accepting the praise, the Old Secretary immediately smiled like an old chrysanthemum and waved at the burly young man standing at the back of the crowd, “Dashan, Grandpa San wants to make a request. Do you mind if this Liu Educated Youth stays at your place for now?”

Dashan’s family were hunters, and his build was only slightly smaller than Cao Liu’s and Chen Huai’s brothers.

When he heard the Old Secretary call him, the burly man with knotted muscles appeared from the crowd and responded in a rough, deep voice, “As you wish, sir.”

Liu Kai was not short; he was just under 1.8 meters tall, which was quite tall.

But standing next to Dashan at this moment, he seemed particularly small.

He almost couldn’t maintain his smile and, puzzled, looked at the smiling Old Secretary, trembling as he asked, “You… you mean…?”

The Old Secretary looked at him in confusion. “Didn’t you say you wanted to find a family with high school students? Why go far when you can stay close? Dashan just graduated last year. Don’t be fooled by his height—he’s only 19, still a kid!”

After saying this, the Old Secretary patted the “kid” Dashan on the arm and, without waiting for Liu Kai to react, decisively said, “Go back and tell your father to take good care of the Educated Youth Comrade, alright?”

Dashan, with his fierce appearance but a gentle nature, was the typical case of looking fierce but being kind-hearted. He didn’t catch the underlying meaning in the Old Secretary’s words and earnestly nodded, replying in a low voice, “Don’t worry, Grandpa San.”

Liu Kai’s face turned pale as he tried to make a last-ditch effort. “I… I…”

The Old Secretary nodded firmly, “Don’t be afraid. Our village is safe. As long as you don’t wander into the back mountains, you probably won’t run into any wild beasts.”

“There… there are wild beasts?”

It was as if he just realized he had said something wrong. The Old Secretary quickly comforted him, “Don’t worry. Dashan’s family has many strong men who are skilled hunters. His father is even stronger than he is. You’re a progressive young man, and only in a family like this can I rest easy about your safety.”

In the end, no matter how much Liu Kai resisted, he was still enthusiastically dragged away by the well-meaning but naive Dashan.

The other Educated Youths who were watching turned pale, all thinking that they had entered some kind of village where people ate others without leaving any bones behind.

Meanwhile, the Old Secretary slowly took another puff of his cigarette and inwardly snorted, *Dashan is honest, but his father is sharp-minded. As for this kind of person with impure thoughts, to him, it’s just someone who needs to be taught a lesson.*

“Should we remind Old Zong?” the accountant, who had also noticed Liu Kai’s intentions, whispered.

The Old Secretary smiled, this time genuinely: “Why bother? Old Zong’s Fifth Son Yi is quite clever.”

Upon hearing this, the accountant quickly realized and chuckled, shaking his head. “I was being foolish.”

“Alright, you’re just worried and confused… There shouldn’t be any major trouble with the rest of them. Let’s have everyone draw lots,”

The Old Secretary continued. “The girl doesn’t need to draw lots. Just send her straight to Huijuan’s house.” Then he turned his gaze to the two pale-faced female Educated Youths and frowned.

Huijuan was the Old Secretary’s cousin. Her husband had died early, and she never remarried. She spent her life raising one son, but the son had died young after encountering a wild bear in the back mountains. Left with only her mother-in-law, the two women raised two children together.

It was a household where the young girls could be at ease.

However… The Old Secretary took another drag of his cigarette.

It was still important to quickly establish the Educated Youth station and get these city kids out of the village as soon as possible.

So troublesome.

The Old Secretary’s guess was right.

---

When Fifth Brother Yi, Chen Yi, heard that the male Educated Youth wanted to stay in their house, he turned around and gave him a deep look.

He had already more or less figured out why Little Sister Yuyu had looked upset earlier.

Since last year, when the little girl had been targeted by that filthy person from the Revolutionary Committee, Chen Yi had become particularly sensitive to such matters.

Beneath his gentle appearance, he harbored a highly defensive nature.

Upon realizing that the other party had impure intentions, Chen Yi thought it better to take the initiative rather than simply remain on guard.

As he recalled Liu Kai’s self-assured demeanor earlier, the dark look in his eyes deepened further…

“Why is this guy so thick-skinned? He’s a man, and he wants to stay at our house?” Chen Jun mumbled, clearly upset.

It was Chen Nongmo who, upon seeing the situation, had already figured things out and could even laugh and joke: “So Fourth Brother Jun is saying only the female Educated Youth can stay?”

Upon hearing this, Chen Jun exploded. He shoved the dates he was holding into Fifth Brother Yi’s arms and turned to chase after the already distant Little Sister Yuyu, angrily shouting, “You little brat, are you doing this on purpose to annoy me? If you have the guts, don’t run! Let me see if I won’t deal with you!”

Watching Chen Jun appear fierce but intentionally slow his pace, Chen Yi relaxed his thoughts. Holding the several kilos of dates, he chuckled and quickened his steps to catch up.

Chen Nongmo had watched a few food videos in the past.

But when it came time to put them to use, she had forgotten most of what she had seen.

So, when it came to making date cakes, her skills were far inferior to Mother Qiuhua’s, who had her own secret recipes.

However, while she was a novice at date cakes, she figured she could still manage to make date jam.

So, when Cao Qiuhua had steamed the first batch of cakes, Chen Nongmo had successfully boiled two jars of jam using fresh dates, dried dates, and malt sugar.

She tasted it, and the flavor was quite good, even better when diluted with water.

Cao Qiuhua took a sip of the sweet drink her daughter made for her, smiled, and praised, “This tastes much better than sugar water.”

After finishing her sip, she took another large gulp and pointed at one of the jars, asking, “Is that one for your Aunt Chunmei?”

Chen Nongmo nodded, “It’s too hot right now, so I made just two jars to test the flavor. If I make more, it won’t keep well… Mother Qiuhua, shall we store some dried red dates? We can make more jam in winter and send some to Sister-in-law and our parents.”

Cao Qiuhua called for her son to come in and bring the date cakes. Upon hearing this, she agreed, “Alright! I’ve been trading for some sugar tickets recently. Your sister-in-law is pregnant, so it’s good for her to have a little.”

Chen Yi walked into the kitchen and glanced at the finished products on the stove. He smiled and said, “Shall I send some to Aunt Chunmei’s house first?”

“Yes, and take some for your sister too! Also, bring a jar of the jam she made and tell Chunmei to save twenty pounds of dried dates for me this year.” This was for money.

“Alright.”

Cao Qiuhua then picked out the most perfectly shaped piece from the cut date cake and handed it to her daughter. “Try it.”

Chen Nongmo took it and was about to break it into pieces to share with others.

Chen Yi, holding a clean basket, smiled and said, “Wait for me to come back from Aunt Chunmei’s house. The second batch will be ready by then. You can eat yours.”

Having not anticipated this, Cao Qiuhua nodded along and said with a face full of certainty, “Yes, you eat yours.”

“…”

---

At 5:30 in the evening, it was time for dinner at the 738 Military Unit.

Shao Zheng, who had recently been promoted to the rank of full regiment leader at the start of the year, came to his brother’s office with documents, intending to discuss the mock battle plans for the next two months. However, he arrived to find no one there.

He looked at the orderly, Xiao Liu, who was standing guard.

Liu Zhi quickly understood: “Colonel left three minutes ago. He said he was going home for dinner and asked me to call you to join him. I didn’t expect you to arrive first.”

Hearing this, and knowing that his sister-in-law had just found out she was pregnant, Shao Zheng understood why his brother might be a little nervous. He didn’t want to disturb the young couple at this moment.

Just as he was about to wave his hand and leave, the phone on the desk rang.

Shao Zheng, who was closest to the desk, picked up the phone and, after a few seconds of hesitation, realized, “Is this Fifth Brother Yi, Chen Yi?”

On the other end of the line, Chen Yi responded with a smile, “Brother Shao Zheng, it’s me. Is my Big Brother not there?”

“It’s dinner time. Old Chen is heading back to the family compound to be with your sister-in-law. Is something wrong? Should I ask him to come over and take the call?”

Years ago, Shao Zheng and Big Brother had come to the house to visit. Plus, their ongoing communication over the years made them almost like real brothers.

Chen Yi didn’t want to disturb his Big Brother at a time when he should be with his pregnant sister-in-law. He didn’t treat Shao Zheng as an outsider, so he directly shared what had happened with Liu Kai that day.

He then explained, “Brother Shao Zheng, I might be overreacting, but the incident last year was really severe. If it hadn’t been for Yuyu’s quick thinking, she might have been hurt. I can’t help but overthink things. I felt like I should look into that person, Liu Kai, and check his background.”

Shao Zheng knew about Yuyu’s incident from last year. Not to mention how angry Chu Wuwen had been for days, even he was infuriated by it.

He didn’t expect another troubling situation so soon, just a few months later.

He wondered… Would the gentle little girl be scared by this?

Thinking this, the usually gentle man’s eyes gradually took on a sharpness, and he spoke in a deep voice, “Trust your instincts. They often guide you away from danger. You did well with this. Send me the information on that person, and I’ll have a friend in Shanghai look into it. If everything checks out, you can apologize to him and compensate him elsewhere. But if something is off, then this phone call will have meaning.”

Chen Yi let out a sigh of relief. “That’s exactly what I was thinking.”

---

NEW SCHEDULE!!! 1 CHAPTER EVERY MONDAY TO FRIDAY!

---