“Those two little rascals,” Shu Beiqiu muttered with a hint of resentment after watching them run off. “They have the guts to mock me, but not the guts to learn with me?”

“They got tired of it a long time ago,” Lu Qingyuan said with a smile. “They learned from me for a while before, but like their father, they just can’t sit still.”

“No wonder they ran so fast,” Shu Beiqiu chuckled, feeling better. He then picked up the bamboo strips and started weaving again. This time, it looked much better than his first attempt.

“That’s an improvement.”

Lu Qingyuan praised him.

Shu Beiqiu looked at her with a bright smile. “It’s all thanks to my great teacher.”

“Of course,” Lu Qingyuan giggled, and Shu Beiqiu laughed along with her.

The livestream was filled with laughter, and it soon came to an end.

Shu Beiqiu left without staying for dinner and came again the next day.

He kept visiting until his leave ended, then took Lu Qingyuan’s woven bamboo rabbit back to the machinery factory.

Zhuo Bin was very satisfied with the bamboo rabbit. He had discreetly asked around about the price—there weren’t many skilled artisans like this, and Lu Qingyuan’s craftsmanship was top-notch.

For a bamboo rabbit of this size, the market price ranged from three to five yuan.

Zhuo Bin handed over five yuan.

As he gave the money to Shu Beiqiu, he whispered, “I already checked the prices. If anyone else wants one, just stick to this rate. And for those little bamboo dolls, you should charge a few yuan more.”

Shu Beiqiu had done his own research too. He had even worked with Lu Qingyuan to sort out a price list. Taking the money, he put it away, planning to give it to Lu Qingyuan at the end of the month.

“Qingyuan, want to go dig up wild onions?”

That day, Chunhong came over with a bamboo basket on her back, looking for her.

“Sure.” Lu Qingyuan greeted Mother Lu before heading out with her own bamboo basket. “Are we going to the wasteland?”

“That place was cleared long ago. Let’s check near the back of the mountain. We’ll pass by the educated youth quarter on the way and call Xiaoxin to come with us.”

Chunhong walked up to her, reached out, and pinched Jiasheng’s cheek. Jiasheng immediately pushed her hand away and ran off, while Lusheng, wary, followed his brother.

“These two kids,” Chunhong smacked her lips. “Can’t even let me pinch their little faces?”

“No way! We’re men now!”

“Yeah, we’re men!”

Chunhong snorted and linked arms with Lu Qingyuan as they walked away.

Zheng Xiaoxin was lying on her bed, staring into space.

There wasn’t much farm work to do, and she didn’t know what else to occupy her time with.

She had already taken her turn collecting firewood. In the main hall, some of the educated youths were chatting and reading, but she didn’t feel like joining them.

Especially because Secretary Chen was there.

Ever since she had decided to let go of her feelings, she had been avoiding him in private.

When Chunhong’s voice came from outside the yard, calling her to dig wild onions, Zheng Xiaoxin immediately agreed without hesitation.

Secretary Chen looked up just in time to see Zheng Xiaoxin carrying her basket as she ran out of the educated youth quarters.

He wasn’t stupid. He knew she had been deliberately avoiding him these past few days.

He didn’t want to give her any false hope either, so he had been keeping his distance as well.

But for some reason, he felt incredibly frustrated.

Lowering his eyes, he tried to focus on the proposal he was writing, but suddenly, none of the plans seemed satisfactory to him.

Annoyed, Secretary Chen roughly tore the page out, crumpled it into a ball, and picked up his pen to start over.

Meanwhile, Zheng Xiaoxin, now with Lu Qingyuan and Chunhong, had completely forgotten her worries. She happily chatted and laughed with them as they walked.

At the foot of the back mountain, the three of them spread out, bending down to search for wild onions.

At that moment, the livestream turned on again, and Lu Qingyuan noticed familiar golden text floating above their heads.

【Wild scallions? Let me see… Oh, there’s a patch right under that mulberry tree.】

Seeing this message, Lu Qingyuan quietly made her way toward the mulberry grove.

“I’ve been meaning to ask—why is there a whole mulberry grove here? And quite a lot of trees too.”

Zheng Xiaoxin, noticing Lu Qingyuan searching in that direction, turned her head and asked Chunhong.

“My dad said that when the old secretary was young, he led the production team to plant them. Back then, our Guangfu Production Team even raised silkworms.” Chunhong’s tone was less than pleasant.

“In the first couple of years, the government collected the silk, but later, they suddenly said we hadn’t reported it properly and weren’t allowed to continue raising silkworms. So, this mulberry grove was just left here.”

“Didn’t report it properly?” Zheng Xiaoxin, who came from a well-off family, immediately grasped the underlying issue. “Sounds like it hurt the interests of another production team.”

“Exactly! It was disgusting,” Chunhong responded. “Who decided only one production team could raise silkworms? This whole thing was such an ugly mess back then.”

Sure enough, Lu Qingyuan found a patch of wild scallions near the trees. She called out to the other two.

The three of them squatted down to dig up the scallions.

Zheng Xiaoxin asked how they usually prepared them at home.

“We make cold salad with it,” Chunhong replied, slurping in anticipation. “Add some homemade chili sauce, and it tastes amazing!”

“My family likes to pickle them—we have both salty and sweet versions,” Lu Qingyuan said. “If we have cured meat, we also stir-fry them together.”

“Stir-fry with cured meat?”

Zheng Xiaoxin had never tried that before, but then she remembered that there wasn’t any cured meat in the educated youth quarters, so she gave up on the idea.

“Yeah, I think cured meat goes well with anything. My family does it too,” Chunhong chuckled. “Meat, after all, is delicious no matter how you cook it.”

“Look at you drooling already!”

Lu Qingyuan teased her.

Chunhong quickly wiped her mouth, only to realize it was completely dry. Her face turned red. “Ugh! You tricked me!”

“My bad, my bad,” Lu Qingyuan laughed as she dodged the scallion sprout Chunhong threw at her. After their playful moment, they turned to Zheng Xiaoxin.

“Does your family have connections to bring you back to the city? If they do, you should go back.”

Zheng Xiaoxin had been watching their antics and laughing, but she froze at the question. Then she shook her head. “Forget it. Since I’ve already come here, I might as well do my job properly. When the time comes for me to return to the city, I’ll go back.”

If she left, someone else would just be sent to replace her. What was the point?

“But what if you can’t go back for many years?”

Chunhong asked softly.

“If I find someone worth trusting, I’ll get married. If not, I’ll just live on my own,” Zheng Xiaoxin said, thinking of Secretary Chen. “Honestly, I think being alone is fine too. If I don’t meet the right person, then so be it.”

“I think my second brother is pretty good. Want to consider him?”

Chunhong suggested but then shook her head. “Wait, no. You’re a high school graduate, and my brother didn’t even finish primary school. You probably wouldn’t get along.”

【The college entrance exam will be reinstated later. Once that happens, any educated youth who gets into university can apply to return to the city.】

When Lu Qingyuan saw this comment in the livestream chat, her mind buzzed, and her heart started racing.

Afraid the viewers might notice something odd about her reaction, she quickly lowered her head and focused on digging up the scallions.

The college entrance exam… it would be reinstated?

That was amazing!

But how many years would it take?

She glanced at the chat again, but no one else mentioned it. She hesitated before deliberately putting on a thoughtful look and asking Zheng Xiaoxin in a hushed voice, “What if the college entrance exam is reinstated? Would passing it allow us to return to the city?”

Zheng Xiaoxin and Chunhong were both stunned.

The livestream chat lagged for a second before suddenly exploding with messages.

【Oh wow, is Qingyuan regretting not going to university? Is that why she keeps thinking about the exam?】

【If it weren’t for that department head sneaking his nephew onto the recommendation list, Qingyuan would have been chosen for university!】

【In the original story, when the exam was reinstated, Qingyuan wanted to take it, but the Tan family stopped her. Even when she registered, they erased her name. On the exam day, she went to the test center full of hope, only to be turned away. It was infuriating!】

【Damn, I didn’t read the original. Is that true? That male lead’s family is disgusting!】

【Tragic female lead trope. If she took the exam, how could she suffer enough? This is just standard drama.】

Lu Qingyuan forced herself to ignore the comments. That was the past. It had nothing to do with her now. She had no ties to the Tan family anymore, so none of those things would happen to her again.

“You make a good point, but looking at things now,” Zheng Xiaoxin sighed, “the chances of that happening seem really low.”

Chunhong had never finished primary school and didn’t fully understand the exam system, but she knew that ever since the entrance exam was canceled, the only way to get into college was through recommendation by officials or teachers.

Unless someone was exceptionally outstanding, their spot could easily be taken by someone with connections.

“It would be better if they reinstated it. Otherwise, everything will be controlled by those with connections.” Chunhong grumbled.

“Yeah, if it ever comes back, I’ll definitely study hard,” Zheng Xiaoxin said, blushing slightly. “To be honest, ever since I got assigned to the production team, I haven’t touched a single book.”

“You should be prepared. If the opportunity comes but you’re not ready, that would be a real shame.”

Lu Qingyuan took the chance to encourage her. “I still have my high school textbooks. You can borrow anything you want.”

“That’s great!” Zheng Xiaoxin was feeling restless lately, especially every time she saw Secretary Chen. “This will give me something to focus on.”

“Even if the exam isn’t reinstated, schools always need teachers. That could be another option.”

Lu Qingyuan had already calmed herself completely. From the viewers’ perspective, she just looked like someone who wanted to be prepared.

“That makes sense,” Zheng Xiaoxin said, turning to Chunhong. “Want to study together?”

“I only have an elementary school education,” Chunhong quickly waved her hand. “Whenever I see a book, I just feel like sleeping. When I was little, I didn’t want to go to school at all. I fought with my parents over it all the time. In the end, they couldn’t control me anymore, so they just gave up.”

Zheng Xiaoxin:? That’s impressive.

By the time they returned home with the wild scallions, the livestream had already ended.

Lu Qingyuan sat in front of the washbasin, lost in thought.

“You went out for a bit and came back looking so out of it. What’s wrong?”

Mother Lu came over to help wash the wild scallions. Noticing that something was off about Lu Qingyuan, she asked with concern.

“Nothing much. I was just chatting with Xiaoxin about whether the college entrance exam might be reinstated in the future. Mom, if it does come back, I want to take it. Would you stop me?” Lu Qingyuan asked.

“Why would we stop you? If you want to take it, then go for it. With your grades, we always thought you’d get into college. But then your name wasn’t on the list. There’s no way something shady wasn’t going on behind the scenes.”

Talking about this made Mother Lu feel upset for her daughter. “As for Xiao Shu’s family, I think they are reasonable people. Their family is well-educated, so I doubt they would stop you either.”

Lu Qingyuan smiled. “If Beiqiu tries to stop me and doesn’t let me go, I won’t listen to him.”

Her life was her own. She could have love, but she would never let love hold her back from moving forward.