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Sure enough, once they were seated on the ox cart and everyone exchanged names, she told the group about her congenital heart defect.
The brigade leader’s face turned troubled upon hearing this. This person had already been assigned to him, and now she was a hot potato—if he tried to give her to another brigade, they might not even take her.
He could only go back and arrange some lighter work for her.
Liu Meihua was terrified after hearing this. She had been in contact with her for so long—what if she had already caught the sickness?
Everyone else also changed their attitudes, keeping their distance from her as if she might bite them.
Sure enough, when people heard she had heart disease, they still minded.
She couldn’t help but pity the original host, and also pity her past self.
Before, she had no friends; later, she lost her family and was left all alone.
Now that she had come here, the original host also had no friends, and because of her health, no one was willing to interact with her.
As for her, she thought, since she was already here, she might as well settle in.
From her conversation with the original host that day, she guessed she should be able to return.
She just didn’t know what the trigger would be.
She had no mind to care about what others thought. At this moment, everything about this era was novel to her.
In the past, she had only read sparse words in books to understand it, but those brief descriptions of history were far from enough to capture the era.
The few brick houses were rare; more often, walls were piled up with yellow earth.
Most passersby on the road were sallow and thin, dressed in coarse gray or black homespun.
She had traveled on private jets, luxury cruises, and Rolls-Royces driven by the family chauffeur. Even during her three years of university, because she didn’t want to flaunt her wealth, she had rented a whole public bus just for herself.
Coming here, not only did she get to ride a green train, but this ox cart was also a first.
An open-air cart, its frame made of wood, lined with straw.
To be fair, aside from the hardness under her seat and the straw poking her, the swaying sensation really had its own flavor.
It was far better than the stench on trains.
But half an hour later, Wen Qinghe no longer thought so, for the cart was piled high with luggage, and since no one wanted to sit near her, all the heavy baggage was placed around her. With every bump, it crashed against her.
“Hiss…”
When her arm was struck again, tears of pain immediately welled up and fell from her eyes.
Yao Min, seeing the fairy cry, no longer cared if she was a fragile porcelain doll. He moved the luggage closest to her over to his side.
He hesitated before asking, “Comrade Wen, are you all right?”
“I’m fine, thank you!”
It was just that the bump had been sudden, and with this delicate body, she didn’t need to look to know it would already be bruised.
She didn’t blame others for keeping their distance because of her illness. When her parents passed away and she lived with only her grandfather, she had already learned much about human nature.
…
The ox cart rumbled along the bumpy dirt road for more than two hours before finally reaching the Hongxing Brigade.
If she had thought the Bailin Commune outside the station was backward, then the sight of this village completely overturned her understanding.
Mud-brick thatched houses, dirt roads, and some houses so dilapidated they were unsafe. Most were unfit to live in.
“Captain Feng, this is the Hongxing Brigade? It’s way too shabby!”
Yao Min’s blunt words made Feng Dabing choke.
Nowadays, communes supported production teams with high output, but their Hongxing Brigade ranked at the bottom every year.
So, year after year, they only grew poorer.
Other villages had electricity, but theirs still burned kerosene lamps.
In fact, the Hongxing Brigade still had many young adults, but they had been allocated barren hills, and opening wasteland was not easy.
Feng Dabing thought that with good weather this year, perhaps production might double.
Would they finally meet the target to get electricity by year’s end?
That was his greatest wish…
“Ahem, it’s not that bad. If we work hard this year, maybe we’ll have electricity soon…”
Wen Qinghe couldn’t believe it. They still didn’t have electricity?
Her body had been sticky for days, and what she looked forward to most was getting to her assigned place and taking a proper bath.
But no electricity…
Well, fine. Given the times, she would endure. At worst, she’d fetch her own water.
But when the brigade leader introduced their educated youth quarters, she could no longer hold back.
One yard with only four rooms: two slightly larger ones, one being the men’s dormitory, the other the women’s dormitory.
There was a tiny kitchen, and a storeroom.
“Captain Feng? There’s no bathhouse or toilet here?”
It was rare to hear this pretty educated youth speak.
The brigade leader straightened his expression.
“Houses aren’t enough as it is—how could we afford the luxury of a bathhouse? Everyone carries water back to their dorms to wash.
As for toilets, twenty meters to the left there’s a dry latrine shared with nearby villagers.”
Wen Qinghe was dumbstruck.
Liu Meihua looked at the conditions. Though she had anticipated it, she still couldn’t help frowning.
The male educated youths said nothing, but their disdain was obvious.
Captain Feng dreaded dealing with new educated youths the most—they were delicate and full of complaints.
Still, thinking of everyone’s long journey, and the fact that one female comrade didn’t even have a place to sleep yet, he let the men put down their things and rest first.
Tomorrow morning, he would give further instructions.
Looking at the two young women, he felt troubled.
“The women’s dormitory still has a big shared bed. Why don’t you two squeeze in together?”
Liu Meihua was unwilling. If she hadn’t known about her heart disease, she might have agreed, thinking she could perhaps gain something.
But now she knew this Comrade Wen was a beautiful porcelain doll—touch her and she might break, maybe even cut her hand.
She didn’t dare share a bed with her. Who knew if heart disease was contagious?
“I don’t want to. I toss and turn in my sleep. I’m afraid I might crush… this Comrade Wen.”
This left the captain stumped. This Lin Daiyu-like girl was a hot potato no one wanted to take.
Why did she end up in his hands…
Wen Qinghe was glad she refused—she didn’t want to squeeze together either, much less in a big dormitory.
She glanced inside. On a three-to-four-meter-wide kang bed lay four people’s bedding.
Just one look gave her a headache.
She remembered there was still a storeroom besides the kitchen.
Her brows lifted.
“Captain, isn’t there still a storeroom?”
“There is, but it’s for storing firewood and farming tools. The room is too small, probably not suitable for living.”
He had considered it earlier, but the room was cramped. Could it even fit a bed?
Afraid she wouldn’t believe him, he brought her to see.
Inside, firewood was piled high, with farming tools in the corner.
The poor conditions made Wen Qinghe frown, but she didn’t want to sleep in the big dormitory, so she made her request.
“A small room is fine. I’ll live alone. Could I trouble you to find someone to clean it up for me?”
Hearing that Wen Qinghe was willing to live there, he no longer needed to ask villagers for help.
“Alright, I’ll have someone tidy it right away. As for the bed, you’ll have to bear with it tonight.
I’ll get someone to set up a frame and lay down some planks. Tomorrow I’ll take you to the carpenter in the village to have a small bed made. If you need anything else, just tell him.”
“Alright. Thank you, Captain Feng.”
Wen Qinghe handed him a few fruit candies as she spoke.
Candy was a treasure in this era. Feng Dabing sighed—only these educated youths could so casually hand them out.
If it had been one of the village women, she’d fight to the death over a few pieces of candy.
Since he had received her gift, he quickly found people to help her clean the room.
…
Meanwhile, Yan Xiao had finished distributing the work points that afternoon early, just so he could go up the mountain later and see if he could gain something.
He had just returned the tools to the scorekeeper and was about to grab something from home before heading out.
When Feng Tiezhu came running from afar—
“Brother Yan! Brother Yan! I just saw a fairy!”