Jian Dan didn't pay any attention to the commotion here. She glanced up, but then focused on her work, her mind still on her child at home. She wondered if the child had eaten, if the food was hot, or if the child had bumped or hurt themselves. With these thoughts in mind, she became anxious and worked even faster.

"Alright, go back and eat. Come early this afternoon, and don't cause any trouble on your first day."

At any moment, Liu Weimin would call out, and at lunchtime, the villagers and educated youth who had started from the same point in the morning would find themselves in uneven positions.

Most of the villagers stood in the middle, either slightly forward or slightly backward. Those in the front could finish work a little earlier, while those in the back would probably have to work overtime to finish.

The villagers walked back together,

Looking at the educated youth, Wang Hongmei and the other two girls had only managed to turn over about a quarter of the load, which was already a struggle. When they heard that work was over, they didn't care about the filth anymore and just sat down on the ground, ignoring the tools in their hands.

The others were doing better than them. Wang Jiancheng had completed more than a third of the work, while Li Jianye was slightly behind and was also so tired that his arms and legs were trembling.

Tang Cui and Wang Jiancheng were about the same pace, and some were even a little ahead. Li Yan and a few others were a little further ahead, while the other male educated youths were about halfway there, similar to the villagers, at a normal pace.

"Let's go back for lunch, and continue this afternoon. How about something simple?"

The group searched around but couldn't find Jian Dan, leading them to speculate...

"Have they already gone back?"

Mingzhu guessed that he was worried about the child and went back first. With so many people around, he didn't say anything.

"Something might have come up. Let's hurry back and eat. We've already fallen behind. We can't afford to be left behind after work tonight, that would be embarrassing."

Dragging his limp legs, he passed by a few people who were on the verge of tears. They had already embarrassed themselves. They thought this was not proper farming, not harvesting, not weeding, but just simple tilling of the land, and since it was all empty land, it would be easy to do.

Who knew it would be such a slap in the face? This repetitive harvest really wasn't much easier than last year's autumn harvest.

The autumn harvest is tiring for the arms and back, but turning the soil is tiring for the arms and legs, chafing the hands, and hurting the feet. Now my palms are covered with big blisters.

Tanya sighed.

"Just you wait, the afternoon will be even slower."

People who frequently do farm work will develop calluses on their fingertips and palms over time. The more they do farm work, the thicker the calluses become. Many people in the village don't even need to wear gloves when doing these kinds of jobs, such as husking corn or bundling corn stalks. Their calluses are so thick that they can't be pierced and they don't feel any pain.

But these educated youth are different. Those who came earlier are a bit better, since they have already adapted and have some confidence.

Those who came later were so tired they wanted to cry. Li Yan and the others followed behind and returned to the educated youth compound. They heard bursts of crying, not only from Wang Hongmei and the others, but also from Su Hong and Wei Shujuan.

After thinking about it, the group still loudly reminded them.

"Hurry up and cook and eat before you rest. If you're too tired, you won't be able to get up once you lie down."

Despite their tears, they all remembered last year's autumn harvest and had to wipe away their tears and get up to prepare food.

When they came out, they were all stunned to see Li Yan and the others emptying the dandelions from their pockets.

"When did you dig up the dandelions?"

We've been together almost all morning, and haven't had a chance to leave.

Li Yan rolled her eyes.

"Isn't that a pointless question? Didn't we go to the fields to till the soil this morning?"

"Are there still dandelions in the field?"

Not only was Chen Hongli stunned, but Wei Shujuan, who came over after hearing the sound, was also surprised. After thinking for a moment,

"I think I really saw something green, which I turned over and found under the soil. Oh dear, I didn't look closely. I thought it was all grass growing in the ground."

Immediately, his face was filled with regret. These wild vegetables that he could bring back from work were being wasted.

The older generation of educated youth has experience, while the new generation is just copying what they've learned.

At noon, some people cried and complained, while others felt frustrated and blamed themselves. However, when they went to work in the afternoon, everyone changed into a coat with large pockets.

She worked quickly and efficiently, leaving everyone else far behind. As soon as she finished work, she ran home, and by the time they realized what was happening, she was already home.

Since the child came, she has rarely been separated from the child for such a long time. At this moment, she can't even describe her feelings. She is more anxious than she ever thought she would be.

Pushing open the door, she heard children's laughter coming from inside, quite cheerfully, which put her mind at ease a little.

"Xin Xin,"

"Hey, my sister's back!"

In just a few breaths, the little girl rushed out, her small body crashing straight into Jian Dan's arms. Jian Dan was knocked back a few steps before catching her.

Seeing that the child was indeed alright, Jian Dan finally felt relieved after being on edge all morning. Only then did she belatedly realize that she might have been a bit too nervous; children that age in the village were already running all over the place.

"Have you had breakfast? What are you playing that makes you so happy?"

"Sister Xiaohua is here, I'm going to tell you a story."

"Yeah?"

Normally, when adults are at work, children are usually asked to do chores or dig for wild vegetables at the foot of the mountain. In short, children in rural areas are always useful.

Xiao Hua came over, probably because the old lady knew she was worried about the child and specially sent her over. Jian Dan felt a warmth in her heart.

Xiao Hua was engrossed in her book when she simply raised her finger to shush, went to the kitchen to heat up her dry rations, made an egg drop soup, and brought the prepared meat sauce into the house.

With Jianxin's persuasion, Xiaohua ultimately stayed.

"Where are Tiger and the others?"

Before Xiaohua could even open her mouth, Jianxin spoke first.

"I know, I know, Brother Hu and the others went to the fields,"

“Yeah, they followed the adults and smashed up any big chunks of dirt they saw. My brother said it was a lot of fun, and I went last year too.”

...

Well, I really didn't expect this to be so simple. They've even gone to such lengths to use the kids. But at least they're under my nose, so running around outside is good exercise for them.

"Xin Xin, do you want to come to work with your sister?"

When kids say they want to play, how can anyone refuse?

He immediately nodded in agreement, while Xiaohua looked at the book she hadn't finished reading and felt a little reluctant to leave.

Jian Xin was also somewhat interested and wanted to go along, still thinking about the comic books.

"Will I still be able to read books then?"

Jian Dan never expected that a single picture book could become such a strong addiction for both children.

"Why not? It's not like we're always in the fields. We can see it when we get home from work."

What, you two want to be turned into little bookworms?

"Hehe!" Jian Xin started twisting her body and acting coquettishly again.

"No, Chai is different. He reads books and can tell stories."

"Oh, really?"

Little Flower nodded in agreement, covering her mouth and laughing.

"Yes, yes, Sister Jane, my brother asks me to tell him stories every day now!"