Everyone pushed and shoved their way off the cart. Xiao Li found the oxcart in Yangshu Village and sat down in a corner to wait. After another fifteen minutes, everyone finally arrived.

There were six people in total who came to Yangshu Village: Guan Miaomiao, Xiao Qingyu, Tang Xiaoli (three women), and Chen Wen, Lu Huaifeng, and Sheng Zehua (three men).

"Put all your luggage on the oxcart, everyone get on, let's go, it'll be another two hours to the village." The driver was a middle-aged man in his forties, who skillfully cracked his whip, and the oxcart slowly started moving.

"How much longer until we get there? I'm so tired," Xiao Qingyu complained softly.

Upon hearing this, Guan Miaomiao quickly pulled her close to her. Xiao Li smiled; the female lead truly cared for her friend, and she hoped their friendship would last.

After a bumpy journey, we finally arrived at our destination around lunchtime. Uncle Li, who was driving, stopped the bus at the entrance of the educated youth settlement, called out, unloaded the luggage, and drove off. A boy wearing glasses came out of the settlement.

"Hello, I'm Xiang Yang, the person in charge of the educated youth settlement. Please bring your luggage and come in with me." He pushed open the fence gate in the courtyard, and everyone filed in carrying their luggage.

This is a newly built courtyard with four large single-story houses in a row. The kitchen and toilet are in the backyard, and the front yard is full of various vegetables, lush and green, with vines climbing up bamboo trellises, laden with fruit, which looks very pleasing.

The area was surrounded by a fence made of tree branches, which looked quite sturdy and gave me a sense of security.

As the group entered the courtyard, they saw a group of young people coming out of the house—four men and three women in total. They introduced themselves to each other.

Xiang Yang introduced to everyone: "Welcome, new comrades. Our educated youth settlement now has four rooms, two for men and two for women. Zhao Hongying will take the female comrades to settle in later."

"You've just arrived, so take a rest first. We'll have lunch with you as a welcome meal. The brigade leader will bring your rations this afternoon. These are borrowed from the brigade and will be deducted from your work points later. Rest today, and you'll start working with us tomorrow."

After saying that, she led the male comrades to the room on the left, and Xiao Li followed Zhao Hongying into the room on the right. It was a large dormitory room with nothing but beds.

Xiao Li chose a spot against the wall to put her luggage down, Xiao Qingyu chose the other side, and Guan Miaomiao didn't mind and just put it in the middle. The dormitory-style bed was quite large, more than enough for three people. After settling in, they went to the kitchen to eat.

There was a large, old-fashioned square table in the kitchen, but it was very clean, showing that everyone there was particular and hygienic. Everyone took out their lunchboxes to serve themselves, and Xiaoli also took out her lunchbox to eat with everyone.

She searched online for a long time before finding this; it was a similar style. Everyone ate mixed grain rice—round sorghum with a small amount of beans—which was quite fragrant. A bowl of wild vegetables, a bowl of loofah, and a bowl of pickled radishes were their side dishes.

This area is close to the south, so we grow rice and wheat, and after the wheat harvest, we plant corn. There's never a quiet time of year.

After eating and resting for a while, the older educated youth went to work, leaving the newcomers to pack their things.

Xiao Li had inquired and found out that Li Shitou's family in the village could exchange furniture. These days, people don't say "buy" but "exchange." She planned to buy some boxes and cabinets to store her things, and then go to the mountains to break through her cultivation and recuperate.

Guan Miaomiao was going too, and Xiao Qingyu naturally followed, so the male educated youth also went together, and the group of six went to Li Shitou's house.

"Is anyone home?" Guan Miaomiao shouted.

An aunt came out and her eyes lit up when she saw the educated youth. She quickly beckoned them in.

"Come in quickly, what can I do for you?"

"Auntie, we'd like to replace some cabinets, do you have any?"

"Yes, yes, yes, come in and take a look. If it doesn't suit your taste, we can make a custom order." Aunt Qian immediately became enthusiastic.

The backyard wing room was filled with finished products: boxes, cabinets, shelves, tables and benches, and even basins, bowls, chopsticks and baskets.

Xiao Li chose two baskets, one large and one small, a wooden box, a cabinet, a small stool, a wooden bucket, two wooden basins, and a straw hat. She had no ration coupons and very little money, so she couldn't buy anything at the supply and marketing cooperative. In this era, even enamel basins required ration coupons, so it was good enough if they were made of wood.

After calculating the bill, it came to 2.2 yuan. Xiaoli saw a rolling pin that she thought was quite handy, so she put it in the bill as well. Aunt Qian waved her hand and said, "This is for you."

Xiao Li smiled, her eyes crinkling, and sweetly thanked them after paying the bill. Aunt Qian was stunned; this girl's smile was so beautiful, it was almost unbearably sweet.

Guan Miaomiao also chose a box and a long cabinet to share with Xiao Qingyu. Neither of them was short of money and bought much more than Xiao Li. In the end, they borrowed a small cart from Aunt Qian's house and the male educated youth worked together to push it back.

After putting things away, Xiaoli took out towels, toothbrushes, and other inconspicuous little items from her space. There were quite a lot of them, and Guan Miaomiao even sighed.

"Xiao Li, your bag can hold quite a lot. You're so thoughtful. We didn't bring any soap or shampoo. We'll go to the supply and marketing cooperative to buy some later. Do you want to come with us?"

Xiao Li smiled shyly, "I won't stay with you guys, I want to go up the mountain to take a look."

"Oh, okay, then be careful. I've heard there are wolves in this mountain. Don't go deep into the mountains, just wander around outside."

"Okay, I'll be careful."

The female lead is quite kind.

After everyone left, Xiaoli went up the mountain alone with her basket on her back.

Having finally found a secluded spot, Xiao Li entered the space. For some reason, Xiao Jiu had fallen into a deep sleep, whether it was advancing in rank or something else, Xiao Li didn't disturb it and went to the spirit spring herself.

Now that the space is complete, the barrier in the middle of the river has disappeared, and it has become larger.

After taking off her clothes, Xiao Li jumped into the bath filled with spiritual spring water and circulated her cultivation technique. This time, she possessed dual spiritual roots of earth and wood. Before long, a layer of muddy ash appeared on her body, which was purified by the spiritual spring water. Finally, the water turned gray, and Xiao Li opened her eyes and emerged from the water.

Her cultivation level has reached the first level of Qi Refining. I didn't expect to enter the Qi Refining stage so quickly. I thought it would take a while to cultivate. This body has a good foundation, which is a pleasant surprise.

Although Tang's mother was somewhat biased, she did not mistreat her in terms of food and other necessities.

Thinking about how they would be eating from a large pot for a long time to come, Xiao Li went into the kitchen. First, she boiled a large pot of eggs, then took a piece of pork belly and minced it into filling with a meat grinder. She picked some scallions and chives, quickly wrapped some dumplings, and then steamed a pot of glutinous rice with glutinous rice, mung beans, and cured pork.

After carefully selecting the supplies and piling up the usable ones for easy access, he left the space and began to wander around.