Chapter 15 – First Day of Work

Shen Nian placed the stove in a shady corner outside the kitchen and began lighting the fire using small kindling.

Meanwhile, Nan Qiao picked a few stalks of green leafy vegetables she’d gotten from Aunt Xiumei yesterday and went to wash them.

She thought she could blanch them and mix them into the noodles later.

They could even fry an egg—no meat, but at least an egg was something.

While Nan Qiao picked, washed, and mixed the vegetables into the noodle sauce, Shen Nian had already lit the fire and boiled a pot of water for the noodles.

Seeing the water would take a bit longer to boil, Shen Nian sat down on the lounge chair next to Nan Qiao and leaned back.

Looking up at the clear blue sky, Nan Qiao murmured,
“Qiao Qiao, even though working in the fields is exhausting… you have to admit, the sky here is so incredibly blue.”

“Oh right! Qiao Qiao, didn’t you say earlier your neck got a bit sunburned? I should go fetch some water for you to cool it with.”

Suddenly remembering, Shen Nian got up to fetch water but was immediately pulled back by Nan Qiao.

“Take a break. We’ll do it after lunch during our noon rest.”

Hearing that, Shen Nian sat back down. It was true—they still had cooking and eating to do, so applying a compress now wasn’t practical.

“Alright, we’ll do it after lunch. I saw there are two straw hats in the kitchen—why don’t we ask Aunt Xiumei if we can borrow them for the afternoon? That way, they can at least shade our necks,” Shen Nian suggested.

“Good idea.” Nan Qiao nodded in agreement, but she couldn’t help but miss the conveniences of modern life. If only she had a phone—just a few taps and she could contact people easily.

Now, whatever she needed to do required physically going over—so time-consuming and tiring…

Thinking that, Shen Nian stood up and said to Nan Qiao,
“Then you stay and cook the noodles, Qiao Qiao. I’ll run over and ask Aunt Xiumei real quick. I feel it’s better to ask first before using other people’s things. If we go after lunch, they might already be resting.”

Shen Nian was the type to act quickly once she decided to do something—except when it came to waking up, which was her one big weakness. But otherwise, she never procrastinated.

As she always said: if you drag it out, you’ll just keep thinking about it, which is even more exhausting. Better to get it done early.

Hearing her say that, Nan Qiao thought for a moment and replied,
“Alright, Nian Nian. Thanks for running the errand.”

“What’s there to thank? It’s just a few steps across the courtyard.”

With that, Shen Nian sauntered off to Aunt Xiumei’s house.

When she arrived, the family was just sitting down to eat. It was a simple meal—coarse mixed-grain pancakes, a bowl of porridge made from who-knows-what grains, and a few pickled vegetables. Plain and light.

But in the village, most people ate like this, and no one thought anything of it.

“Aunt Xiumei,” Shen Nian called out from the gate when she saw her coming out of the kitchen.

“Oh hey, Comrade Shen! What brings you here? Have you eaten yet? Want to join us?” Aunt Xiumei asked, waving her in.

“Shen Nian-jie, come eat with us!” Peach Blossom ran out from the house when she heard her voice.

Even Sheng Yanchuan came out upon hearing her. But seeing Nan Qiao wasn’t with her, his mood sank a little.

Still, since he was already out, he didn’t go back. He just nodded at Shen Nian and went to the kitchen to see if he could help with anything.

Seeing everyone come out at the sound of her voice, Shen Nian felt a bit embarrassed and said,
“Aunt Xiumei, I won’t come in. Qiao Qiao’s cooking at home and waiting for me. I just wanted to ask about the two straw hats I saw in the kitchen over there—could we borrow them?”

“Of course, of course! Feel free to use anything in that house—you didn’t need to come all the way over just to ask,” Aunt Xiumei said cheerfully.

“I just felt it would be more polite to ask first,” Shen Nian replied politely.

“Go ahead and use them. Got sunburned this morning, didn’t you? You girls from the city with your delicate skin aren’t used to this blazing sun. In the afternoon, wear long sleeves and pants if you can. At least it’ll block some of it.”

“Exactly. We didn’t expect the sun to be so intense. I used to run wild at my grandma’s place as a kid, so I’m okay. But Qiao Qiao’s neck got pretty red this morning and it really hurt, so we thought wearing straw hats this afternoon would help,” Shen Nian explained.

Upon hearing that, Aunt Xiumei casually glanced over at her youngest son—who was standing silently with his ears perked up and a frown on his face.

She couldn’t help but feel frustrated with him. If you like her, go after her! Why are you sitting around torturing yourself like this?

A lot of villagers didn’t like the idea of marrying a female educated youth. They worried that if the girls ever got the chance to return to the city, they’d leave their husbands and kids behind.

But Aunt Xiumei didn’t really mind. After all, it was their life to live. And if a wife did leave, that just meant her son didn’t do a good job making her stay—not the girl’s fault.

Besides, the family had struggled with poverty in earlier years. To get her older son married, her younger son had gone through a lot. Now she just wanted her younger son to marry someone he truly liked—even if she had to sell everything to help him.

But looking at her silent and expressionless son, Aunt Xiumei felt helpless. Even if she wanted to help, the guy himself had to take action. What was the point of her being so fired up if he did nothing?

Snapping out of her thoughts, Aunt Xiumei turned to Shen Nian and said,
“Shen girl, wait a moment. I’ve got some ointment at home. Take some back and apply it to Nan girl’s neck—it’ll heal faster.”

Shen Nian quickly declined.
“No need, Aunt Xiumei. Qiao Qiao said not to bother with ointment. Just a cold compress with well water will be enough—it’s not serious.”

Medicine was a luxury these days. Shen Nian had seen the redness on Nan Qiao’s neck. It was just a mild sunburn—nothing that warranted actual medicine.

Since Shen Nian declined, Aunt Xiumei didn’t insist.
“Alright then. But if you need anything, just come by and get it.”

“Got it, Auntie. I’ll head back now—Qiao Qiao should be done cooking. Time to eat.”

“Go on then. The sooner you eat, the sooner you can rest.”

“Thanks, Auntie Xiumei. You all eat too.” Shen Nian waved goodbye to the Sheng family and skipped back home.

After she left, Aunt Xiumei turned back into the house and looked at her son, who was still standing there blankly. She gave him a kick and said,
“Hurry up and eat! She’s already gone—what are you standing there for?”

Sheng Yanchuan was completely baffled by the sudden kick, but he didn’t dare say anything. He just picked up his bowl and sat down at the table, frowning one moment and looking expressionless the next—who knew what he was thinking…

Back at home, Shen Nian returned just in time to see Nan Qiao finishing the noodles and placing them on the table.

“Come eat! I’ve finished mixing them. There’s more sauce here—add more if it’s too bland,” Nan Qiao said, calling her over.

“Alright then, thank you for the life-saving cold noodles, Qiao Qiao!” Shen Nian clasped her fists together dramatically like a performer, showing her gratitude to Nan Qiao before picking up her bowl and digging in.

Nan Qiao looked at her antics with amusement. “Hurry and eat, you silly thing. You can rest a bit after we finish.”

Shen Nian nodded obediently while eating. The noodles had been rinsed in cool well water by Nan Qiao, and not only that—she had even taken out some ice cubes from her space and chilled the noodles for a while. Now, the dish was not just refreshing, but the noodles had a wonderfully chewy texture too.

After only one bite, Shen Nian looked at Nan Qiao with sparkling puppy-like eyes and exclaimed in awe,
“Qiao Qiao, these are honestly the best cold noodles I’ve ever had! Whoever marries you in the future will be the luckiest person alive!!!”

She continued eating, but after a few more bites, she asked,
“If you get married, will I still be allowed to come over and mooch meals?”

Seeing Shen Nian’s eager little face waiting for a reply, Nan Qiao tapped her on the forehead and said,
“Of course you can. Wherever I go, I’ll bring you with me. How about that?”

“Perfect!” Shen Nian happily resumed eating. Maybe it was because she was really hungry, or maybe the noodles were just too good, but the two of them polished off the entire large portion.

Rubbing her full, rounded stomach, Nan Qiao leaned back in her chair with satisfaction.
“Wow, I haven’t eaten until I was this full in a long time.”

“Qiao Qiao, if we keep eating like this, aren’t we going to get fat?” Shen Nian said a little worriedly. In these times, there were still many people surviving on wild vegetables and coarse grain buns.

And here they were, eating precious wheat noodles and stuffing themselves full—it gave her a faint sense of guilt. But then again, thinking about how tasty those noodles were, that guilt evaporated in an instant…

“Fat? Where would the fat go? We’re doing heavy farm work every day—it’s hard to get fat like that.” Nan Qiao answered while tidying up the bowls and chopsticks.

Seeing her clean up, Shen Nian got up to fetch water from the well.

She set aside a basin of water for Nan Qiao to use for a cold compress, and the rest she poured into the washbasin they’d just used.

Nan Qiao washed the dishes using the water Shen Nian brought, then stretched and got ready to return to her room to rest.

But seeing the basin of well water Shen Nian had set aside, she didn’t want to waste her friend’s thoughtful gesture, so she asked,
“Nian Nian, could I trouble you to help me with the towel compress?”

“Of course! Why even say ‘trouble’? Come on.” Shen Nian picked up the basin and headed for Nan Qiao’s room.

Watching Shen Nian’s back, a warmth filled Nan Qiao’s heart. In a place so unfamiliar, having a true friend like this was rare and precious.

Seeing that Shen Nian had already reached the door, Nan Qiao quickly followed.

Shen Nian set the enamel basin on the table next to the bed and said,
“Qiao Qiao, lie down on the bed. I’ll place the towel on your neck—this way it won’t fall off easily.”

Nan Qiao nodded and obediently lay on the bed. Shen Nian wrung out the towel soaked in cold water and placed it on her neck.

“Qiao Qiao, rest with that on for a bit, but remember to take it off after a while. Well water’s still a bit chilly.”

“Okay.”

“Alright, then get some sleep. I’m heading back to my room too,” Shen Nian said as she walked out.

“Alright, I’ll call you when I wake up.”

“Yes yes yes, make sure you wake me up! I’ve got to get some sleep,” Shen Nian said, as if suddenly remembering something. She closed the door for Nan Qiao and hurriedly ran back to her own room and locked it behind her.

She was seriously sleep-deprived, and any chance to nap couldn’t be missed. Otherwise, she’d be dazed again in the afternoon, scattering corn seeds in the wrong place without even realizing…

After Shen Nian left, Nan Qiao stayed lying down for a while longer. Once the towel felt warm, she got up, rinsed it in the enamel basin, hung it on the rack, and locked the door from inside.

Then, she took out a post-sunburn cream from her space, applied some to her neck using the mirror, and dabbed a bit on the areas she couldn’t see just by feel—just to ease her mind.

She sat on the edge of the bed, flipping casually through some high school textbooks while waiting for the cream to absorb and lose its stickiness. Once it did, she lay down again and took a proper afternoon nap.

When the alarm from her space rang, Nan Qiao stretched. Thanks to the ointment, the burning pain from her neck had lessened compared to the morning.

She got up and changed into a round-neck shirt. After moving her neck a bit and confirming the collar didn’t rub against her sunburn, she opened her door and stepped out.

She walked over to Shen Nian’s room and knocked softly. When there was no response, she knocked again, this time louder.

After a while, she heard a sleepy voice from inside.

“Qiao Qiao, Qiao Qiao, I’m awake, I’m getting up now…”

Just as Shen Nian finished speaking, Nan Qiao heard rustling sounds from inside the room. She turned and went to the kitchen to pour two cups of water, then sat down in a chair to wait for Shen Nian.

Just as she settled into the chair, Shen Nian pushed open the door and came out.

Her hair was messy from sleeping.

Seeing her squinting sleepily as she felt her way forward, Nan Qiao couldn’t help but laugh out loud. Shen Nian turned toward her voice.

“Qiao Qiao, can I share some of my drowsiness with you? Why can I eat and sleep so much? I don’t get it. I really don’t.”

“I don’t want it! I can sleep just as much as you. If we keep this up, we’ll probably still be asleep when everyone else is already out working…” Nan Qiao joked as she watched Shen Nian fix her hair.

“Ugh, if I’d known, I wouldn’t have come to the countryside…” Shen Nian grumbled.

“Well, since we’re here, we might as well make the best of it. I guess we’ll feel better once we adjust.” And truthfully… who didn’t regret coming?

Hearing that, Shen Nian sighed—yeah, it was what it was.

Once she finished braiding her hair into two thick pigtails, the afternoon work bell blared from the loudspeaker.

The two of them grabbed their straw hats and headed out.

Both girls had small, delicate faces, so the straw hats looked a bit oversized on them. They had to tighten the chin straps to make them fit.

With their pretty faces, fair skin, and floral shirts, they looked less like they were heading to work and more like they were on vacation somewhere.

As they strolled leisurely down the road, Shen Nian and Nan Qiao drew a lot of attention from the villagers.

The young men in particular snuck glances at the pretty female educated youths, their sun-tanned faces turning slightly red. Some even seemed eager to approach and strike up a conversation.

Quite a few of them even regretted that their mothers weren’t women’s committee directors—if the little educated youth had been assigned to their house, they’d have had a clear advantage. Now, that cold and aloof “tyrant” had gotten the benefit for nothing… What a waste…

Meanwhile, the older aunties were still relentlessly gossiping about which of the two girls looked more fertile, speculating on whether these seductive little vixens would crack under hardship and marry some random man. They even debated whether the girls came from wealthy families and how much dowry could be brought in if they were married off.

The topics of gossip from both sides could not have been more different…