The third house was the brigade leader's house, a large courtyard, with two sons and a daughter.

Is the battalion commander home?

"Who is it?" The one who answered was the brigade leader's wife, a very plump woman who looked to be in her forties or fifties. I was taken aback when I first saw her. I should know that she was an educated youth, but I don't know her name.

"Hello, Auntie, I'm He Wan, a new educated youth. Is Captain Chen home?"

"It's He Zhiqing, the team leader is here." As he spoke, he naturally noticed what He Wan was holding and called into the house, "Old Chen, come out, He Zhiqing is here."

She smiled and said, "Aunt Chen, I bought this pound of brown sugar a few days ago when I went to collect my subsidy. I heard that Sister-in-law Chen is in her postpartum period, so I brought it for her. And these milk candies are for the children to eat."

"Oh, He Zhiqing, why are you being so polite?" she said, beaming as she took the things.

Hearing the noise, Captain Chen came out of the house with a pipe in his hand. He frowned when he saw He Wan and said, "What are you doing here so late, He Wan?" After saying that, he looked at the things on the table and glared at his wife.

He Wan hurriedly said with a smile, "Captain Chen, you see, I've been here for more than two months, and I can only cut four or five centimeters every day even if I use all my strength. I don't want to hold the team back, but I'm just too young and my abilities are limited. I was thinking that now that the seeds have been planted, could I go with the village children to cut pig feed?"

Captain Chen tapped his pipe but didn't say anything.

Aunt Chen asked, "How old is He Zhiqing this year?"

"Auntie, I'm fourteen this year. My parents are both martyrs, and I'm their only child. I just graduated from junior high school this year. I wasn't supposed to have to go to the countryside, but as an orphan, I'm inevitably bullied by the neighbors. My classmate..."

With red eyes, He Wan embellished her story about being tricked by her classmate. Sure enough, this method worked. Not only did Aunt Chen look sympathetic, but even Captain Chen softened and said, "Cutting pig feed only yields four centimeters a day. That won't be enough for you to eat by the end of the year."

“Captain, I’m about the same height now. I get a stipend from above that can support me until I’m eighteen. Even though I’m shorter, I can still support myself.”

Although Aunt Chen was fond of small favors, she was kind-hearted and quickly said, "Old Chen, He Zhiqing is a martyr's family member and so young. Since she came to our place, we should take care of her. She came here at the age of thirteen or fourteen and has never done farm work before. I think we should let her go with Erxiaozi to cut pig feed."

After pondering for a moment, Captain Chen realized that the girl was not short of money, just from the fact that she could rent a house in the educated youth settlement. He finally nodded and said, "Okay, you can go cut pig feed tomorrow."

He Wan was immediately delighted: "Thank you, Captain Chen, thank you, Aunt Chen."

Aunt Chen smiled and said, "Don't mention it. If you need anything in the future, just come over."

"It definitely will, Aunt Chen, Captain Chen, I'm going back now."

On the way back, He Wan's smile never faded. See? I did what the female lead couldn't do. She secretly gave herself a thumbs up for her vivid performance. Those years as an extra weren't for nothing. Although she couldn't compare to Lao Yun's acting skills, her performance was still passable. And what she said wasn't entirely untrue.

Back at the educated youth settlement, He Wan took the initiative to tell Su Ranran and Zhang Cuicao about it. At this educated youth settlement, she could only get along with these two people; everyone else had their own small groups.

Both of them were shocked, especially Su Ranran, whose family background was no worse than Chen Qing's. She had been here for several years and when she first arrived, she also wanted to do some easy work. At first, she set her sights on the scorekeeper, but unfortunately, she had also fought tooth and nail for that scorekeeper: "What did you say? How did Captain Chen agree to it?"

“At first, Captain Chen disagreed, but I said I was too young to do farm work, and that I was a martyr’s family member, so Captain Chen agreed. He said that I could go to cut pig feed on weekdays, and I would have to come and work during the busy farming season.”

"Oh, I see. Well, you're lucky then," Su Ranran said awkwardly.

They also wanted to go and gather pig feed, but after hearing what He Wan said, they gave up on the idea. They weren't families of martyrs, and they weren't young either.

Chen Qing, who was standing to the side, rolled his eyes, which He Wan caught him doing.