In the afternoon, when they went to work, the group gathered together again and started chattering. The new educated youth stayed far away, while Chen Jianguo and Lin Dongfang, who were standing closest, were quite helpless. They hadn't seen each other for at most two or three hours at noon, and they had already accumulated so much to say.

Seeing that the villagers who were going to work had all come over, he had to cough to remind them.

Fortunately, none of them were stupid. They knew that time was almost up, so they quickly scattered to the nearby fields. When they bent over, they basically exposed their backs.

The villagers were quite gossipy; even after work in the afternoon, the educated youth were still surrounded by them.

"Young educated youth, I heard that Jian, an educated youth, hit some new educated youth. Why?"

Although Li Yan and the others knew that the educated youth were a unified group, they didn't deliberately hide it. Moreover, she knew that those who had arrived not long before them had a very strong grassroots foundation.

So I picked and chose some things to say that were dispensable. No matter how annoying I was, I couldn't let the entire educated youth compound become the focus of gossip in Liujiatun.

For more than ten days in a row, several new educated youths avoided Jian Dan when they saw her. Jian Dan didn't care at all; in fact, she was quite satisfied with the peace and quiet.

The next day off was fast approaching. Jian Dan had everything he needed and didn't plan to go to the commune. He got ready early in the morning and took his family of five out to the mountains!

Speaking of which, this was the first time they had gone out since they arrived. Big Black was fine, but the little ones, who were running around everywhere, couldn't stay still for a moment. As soon as they went out the door, they ran around in all directions. Anyway, with Big Black around, Jian Dan wasn't worried and didn't call out. She just locked the door and headed up the mountain.

Sure enough, within two minutes, five of them, big and small, caught up.

Big Black strode steadily along, while the smaller ones toddled off to scout ahead.

Li Yan, who had caught up with him in a few quick steps, looked around curiously.

"You've brought them all out? Where are they?"

Simply point forward.

"Look, isn't that it?"

Oh yes, the two little black ones are fighting again. Their fur, which was clean when they left home, has suddenly become a rag for wiping the floor.

The old man was right. This skewer was born to roam the wild. After being kept in the yard and pampered with good food and drink for so many days, it's become so happy out there that it's almost lost its bearings.

With a few dogs following them, Jian Dan and Li Yan weren't afraid. Of course, it was impossible to rely on them for hunting, but with a string of bodyguards in front and behind, they should be fine unless they were carrying something big.

The two found a prime spot and started digging for wild vegetables.

At this time of year, some of the wild vegetables are already quite old.

Like dandelions, those on the sunny slopes are mostly old, but there are still tender ones on the shady slopes and in the nooks and crannies. The two of them didn't care, they wanted both the old and the tender ones. They heard from the villagers that the dandelion is a treasure from head to toe. The leaves are edible, and the roots, when dried, can be soaked in water or simply ground into powder, all of which are good for reducing internal heat.

Rural people rarely take medicine, and many discomforts are explained as "internal heat." That's when dandelion comes in. The more bitter it is, the faster it clears the heat. This is a truth that has been passed down from the older generation, even several generations ago.

Of course, it's not just dandelions; the red groundcherries, which you only notice in autumn, are the same. When they first turn orange in autumn, they taste bitter, but after being touched by frost, they turn bright red. In winter, the groundcherries inside are eaten as a snack, and the outer skin, like dandelions, is soaked in boiling water. Needless to say, it has a cooling effect that is almost immediate.

Many people go up the mountain on their days off, but this area is alright; no one has noticed them yet.

Soon, the two of them had filled a basket to the brim. Li Yan looked around and sighed in admiration.

"If it weren't for your dog leading the way, I wouldn't have been able to find this place."

It's actually not far from the usual spot, but the angle is a bit tricky and there's a difficult section of the road in the middle, which is why the villagers overlook it.

"Woof woof..."

Li Yan's reaction was even more intense than simple.

"Quick, quick, did you grab something?"

It's so simple and speechless, but the excitement is incredible.

However, since it was the first time she had appeared, Jian Dan was very concerned. She followed the sound and, sure enough, it was her!

A black rabbit was pinned down by the auspicious paw. The rabbit looked fatter than the auspicious paw, but it was pinned down so tightly that the rabbit let out a desperate scream.

Oh, and there are three little ones eyeing them menacingly, and Big Black protecting them.

Seeing this, he simply snapped off a willow branch, tied up its spoils, tossed them into the basket on his back, and patted Jixiang's little head.

"Wow, that's amazing! I'll make it for you guys when we get back. Get ready to eat meat!"

Li Yan was surprised, but then thought it made sense. It was someone else's spoils of war, so wasn't it only right to give them food?

Whether the little ones understood or not, they were excitedly calling out to each other in their babyish voices. It wasn't very offensive, but it was quite fun.

It was still early, so the two of them weren't in a hurry. They found a stream nearby and planned to rest for a while to cool off before heading back, while the little ones happily explored the surrounding area.

"Wow, this water is quite refreshing,"

Seeing that the water was quite cool, I simply rolled up my sleeves and splashed water on my face.

My face, swollen from the sun, felt so comfortable after being soaked in this cool water; I just wanted to immerse it in it.

"You should try it too, it feels really good."

Li Yan wasn't the obedient child either, so she simply stood in the stream.

"Oh, this feels so good. If I could take a soak like this every day after work, that would be wonderful."

"You're overthinking it. But you can dry the water yourself. It will be warm when you finish work, which is quite comfortable."

The main problem is that in the field, not only are the corn leaves scraped clean but also covered in dust, which is full of bacteria. If that gets on your wounds, it hurts and itches. Then, after being exposed to the sun, simply washing it off with clean water afterwards makes it feel much better.

Li Yan shook her head.

"You don't know, we were trying to collect water by sun-drying it, but for several days in a row, when we came back, it was full of dirty leaves, pebbles, chicken feathers, and for two days, it was even disgusting because there was chicken droppings in it. From that day on, we stopped sun-drying water and preferred to use cold water, because we felt more at ease collecting our own."

A simple frown,

"You mean, it was those newly arrived educated youth who did it?"

"Otherwise what? There are only a few of us in the educated youth compound. The gate is locked when we go to work. Only a few of us have the key. Besides, who would be so bored as to climb over the wall just to disgust us like this?"

Although we don't have your level of support, we're not at odds with anyone, are we?

They always greet everyone with a smile, speak softly and gently, and have never harmed anyone. We can't think of anyone else who could be so bored.