Chapter 1
"Meng Zhiqing, are you ready? It's time to gather!"
Outside the dormitory for the female educated youth, someone called Meng Yinyin's name, urging her to hurry up.
Meng Yinyin had just opened the lid of the vanishing cream. When she heard this, her hands shook and the bottle almost fell to the ground. Fortunately, she caught it quickly.
"I'm coming, I'll be right out!"
Because of the tight schedule and people waiting outside, she could only hurriedly use her index finger to apply a circle of vanishing cream on her cheeks. After hesitating for a moment, her eyes fell on her arms, which were much rougher than before she went to the countryside. Finally, she ruthlessly scraped another small layer and applied it on her arms.
If she didn't apply it, her arms might become dry and sore again tonight - this was a painful lesson she learned when she tried to save the last bottle of lotion by not applying it on her arms.
She understood the truth, but looking at the empty bottle, she couldn't help but feel a little sad.
Half a month ago, Meng Yinyin would never have dreamed that one day she would fall from being a spoiled young lady raised in a honey pot to this point, where she would have to be stingy even when using lotion!
Clearly, she was still the darling of her parents half a month ago, but unfortunately, everything changed on that day.
Because my mother's family had overseas connections, they were reported by villains, which led to my father's position as a university professor being stripped. Not only that, he was also labeled as a "□□", and both he and his wife were demoted.
As Meng Yinyin was the couple's most beloved daughter, they naturally did not want her to be sent down with them to suffer, so they used their last bit of connections to stuff Meng Yinyin into a team of educated youth going to the countryside overnight and sent her to the countryside.
Rather than sending her here as an educated youth, it would be more accurate to say that she was allowed to seek refuge there.
Although they knew very well that their little daughter had hardly ever washed dishes since she was born, let alone done farm work, and that going to the countryside would definitely be suffering for her, the situation was such that the couple had no choice but to resort to this last resort in order to prevent her from suffering more.
As for the older son, there is no need to worry. The boy is in the army and is highly appreciated by his leaders, so he won't have any impact on him.
So just like that, Meng Yinyin had just had a nap when her parents stuffed her on a train. Then, after a long journey of three days and three nights, she arrived at a place called Nanjiao Brigade to work as an educated youth.
Meng Yinyin cried on the first day she came here.
The simple living conditions, the mosquitoes and rats that were rampant at night, and what she couldn't accept the most was the dry toilets. Everything here had nothing in common with what she had experienced in the first 18 years of her life.
But soon, Meng Yinyin realized that she had cried too early.
After she had been pulling weeds in the fields under the scorching sun for a whole day and then was sunburned and fell to the ground, feeling sore and weak, she was helped back to the dormitory by a female educated youth she knew. Suddenly, she felt that the shabby windows in the dormitory looked particularly beautiful.
Without having to work, the dormitory instantly becomes a paradise!
It doesn't matter if you live in a shabby place, as long as it can shelter you from the wind and rain. But working is life-threatening!
But no matter how crazy Meng Yinyin gets, she still has to go to work, otherwise she will get no work points and no food to eat.
Moreover, as educated youth sent to work in the countryside, their household registration had been transferred to the local production team, so naturally, their food supplies were also under the management of the production team.
New educated youth like Meng Yinyin had just arrived at the brigade and had no work points left, so their food rations were temporarily loaned to them by the brigade, which would then be repaid from their work points during the autumn harvest.
So even if Meng Yinyin was extremely reluctant to work, she had to grit her teeth and go to the fields. Otherwise, she would be eating the food from the other team for no reason and without giving anything in return. Meng Yinyin thought she was not so shameless.
Unfortunately, no matter how hard she tried, and even though she worked more seriously than she went to school every day, the most work points she earned was only five, which was a full half of the full work points of ten centimeters per day. She was even worse than some of the half-grown children in the brigade.
The work points were so complicated that the scorekeeper had to sigh every day when he came to her side, as if he was trying to sort out his feelings, and then he would write down the work points that Meng Yinyin had earned that day with a sense of regret.
Every time she encountered such a scene, Meng Yinyin could only stand aside with a red face, accepting all kinds of gazes from all directions.
God knows she has tried her best to work, but the facts prove that she is really not cut out for it.
She didn't have enough strength to plow the land, she didn't know how to plant rice, and she got sunburned when pulling weeds, so in the end she could only cut pigweed, and then be laughed at by those little brats!
But despite this, she still insisted on going to work every day and worked diligently. As a result, she got countless blisters on her hands and even her skin was sunburned.
How come everyone can't see her efforts and sacrifices?
Meng Yinyin felt really wronged.
Moreover, everyone has their own expertise. Her area of expertise is definitely not farming or anything like that. If work points could be earned by playing the piano, chess, calligraphy, painting, singing and dancing, she would definitely earn hundreds of work points a day. I guarantee that no one in the entire brigade can compare to her!
Humph, then it will be her turn to laugh at those little brats!
However, this can only be a beautiful ideal. The reality is that eating is the top priority in the countryside. Other spiritual needs are nothing and are not as valuable as a few wild vegetables.
So after staying in the brigade for ten days, Meng Yinyin has gone from being extremely ashamed at first to lying down and letting herself be ridiculed for having become the most incompetent and useless person in the entire brigade.
Sometimes she would even try to find joy in the midst of misery and wonder if the captain would find a suitable job for her because she was such a loser. That would be great!
Oh, when can she stop working? She really can’t stand it anymore!
Just as Meng Yinyin was praying to the team leader whether he could arrange some light work for her today, a group of people from the educated youth point also gathered at the dam in the village.
Before the Nanjiao Brigade starts work every day, the brigade leader will ask everyone to gather here, then briefly talk about the day's progress, assign tasks to everyone, and finally shout a few slogans before disbanding.
The educated youth lived together, so they were used to traveling together. From a distance, a group of educated youth walked towards the dam. The local members who had been waiting at the dam subconsciously looked over there.
At first glance, my attention was attracted by the slender figure in the middle.
The figure was lowering his head, his left hand constantly stroking his right arm, as if he was scratching something. Under the morning light, his slender arm was as crystal clear as the finest jade, so white that it was dazzling.
As the eyes move upwards, one can see a small and delicate chin, lips as pink as peach blossoms, and big, clear and bright eyes on the tip of her pretty nose. No one can help but be attracted and obsessed by them when they look into each other's eyes.
According to the gossipy aunties who never went to school in the team, this appearance is simply that of a living demon, or a fox spirit that specializes in sucking people's souls!
But in the minds of other young guys in the team, she is a celestial fairy, a fairy who descended from the sky to the earth!
An auntie nearby saw that her son's eyes were almost glued to Meng Yinyin, so she couldn't help but pinch her son hard and scolded him angrily, "What are you looking at! If you look again, I'll dig your eyes out!"
"Mom, what are you doing? I'm just taking a look..." The young man looked embarrassed when his mother pointed this out to him.
"I'm just taking a look. Don't think I don't know what's on your mind. I'm telling you, that kind of person absolutely cannot enter our house. He can't be carried by the shoulders or hands. If you marry him, the whole family will have to serve him. It's a waste of time!"
"Mom, mom, someone is coming, stop talking..."
The young man noticed Meng Yinyin walking towards him out of the corner of his eye, and his face turned red with embarrassment. Although he knew that there was no possibility for him and Meng Yinyin, he still didn't want to lose face in front of her, so he could only desperately pull his mother's sleeve to make her shut up.
After a lot of pleading, the old mother shut up when Meng Yinyin passed by. Seeing that Meng Yinyin's face was the same as before and seemed not to have heard those bad words, the young man breathed a sigh of relief.
But Meng Yinyin's ears were fine, and the aunt's voice was quite loud due to her excited tone, so it was difficult for her not to hear it.
The reason why I didn't react was simply because I was too lazy to pay attention, but when I think about it, I still feel very angry.
He is not willing to marry her. Humph, she doesn't even think highly of her and her son, okay?
The more she thought about it, the angrier she became. After she stood still, Meng Yinyin couldn't help but glare at the aunt.
She has suffered so much, yet there are still people saying bad things about her. It's really too much!
But who would have known that as soon as she turned to where the mother and son were standing, she found that the person standing there had disappeared, and instead there was a tall man. He was very tall, wearing a coarse cloth coat, and his exposed arms were slender and strong, with clear muscle lines. It was not difficult to see that it was a body full of strength.
Not only that, the man also had an extremely handsome face, but his expression was a little cold.
Noticing Meng Yinyin looking at him, the man just glanced at her indifferently, then retracted his gaze, not caring why she was looking at him with anger.
However, Meng Yinyin realized that she had vented her anger to the wrong person and felt a little embarrassed.
But the man looked like someone who was not easy to deal with, so she hesitated for a moment and decided to pretend nothing happened.
On the stage, after the team leader finished his routine talk about today's arrangements, the members below spontaneously began to shout slogans to start work.
At this moment, a middle-aged man suddenly walked towards the captain with a flattering smile, apparently asking the captain for help. The captain frowned and seemed reluctant, but finally nodded in agreement.
When everyone finished shouting slogans and were preparing to go to work, the team leader suddenly called everyone.
"Everyone, wait a moment. I have something else to say. Tomorrow, Lu Dashan's eldest daughter is getting married. We need to set up a few tables. If you are free, please go and sit down. Okay, okay, now that we have finished talking, it's time to get back to work."
It was the first time that the captain talked about anything other than work during an assembly, and he felt very upset. However, he could not resist Lu Dashan's strong request just now, and for the sake of their decades of friendship, he had to tell the story again.
As soon as he finished speaking, before everyone could come to their senses and discuss the matter, the captain added another sentence.
"Also, Meng Zhiqing and Lu Chen, please stay for a while."
Meng Yinyin, who had just taken her first step, said: "..."
Realizing that she was once again singled out by the captain for "education", Meng Yinyin's face turned red, and then she lowered her head very skillfully. Under those curious or contemptuous gazes, she walked aside with a fearless attitude, waiting for the captain's upcoming criticism and education.
Because she was so absorbed in this matter, she didn't even notice that there was another person left behind like herself. She just twirled her fingers nervously, wondering what the captain would say next.
The captain came over quickly. Originally, he did want to criticize Meng Yinyin harshly, but when he saw the little girl carefully raising her head with anxiety written all over her big watery eyes, most of his anger was immediately extinguished.
But no matter how soft-hearted he is, he still has to say what he needs to say, otherwise how can he be worthy of the title of captain.
"Meng Zhiqing, I think the educated youth who came with you have already adapted to life here. As for you, your attitude is correct, but I believe you know the speed of your progress. If you continue like this, you may not even be able to afford the food supply of the brigade."
Upon hearing this, Meng Yinyin was powerless to refute and could only lower her head again and spoke weakly.
"sorry……"
But if she had a choice, she didn't want to be a "rotten apple", but she really couldn't bear the hardship, at least not in the short term.
After all, eighteen years of pampered life cannot be changed in just ten days or half a month.
Meng Yinyin was very sad and desperate.
Maybe she should consider the last option her mother left her: finding a good man to marry?
The captain didn't know what she was thinking. He didn't look into Meng Yinyin's eyes, lest he soften his heart again. He said in a tough tone, "This is not a solution, so I plan to find someone to take care of you alone so that you can adapt to the labor as soon as possible."
When the new educated youth arrived before, the brigade followed the previous practice and let the old educated youth guide the new educated youth. There had been no problems in the past few years, so the brigade leader naturally thought that this batch of new educated youth would not cause any problems either.
Who knew that God would give him a difficult problem by sending him Meng Yinyin, a lazy and ignorant girl.
While other educated youth had already begun to catch up with the progress of others, she was still stagnant.
The captain went to talk to Meng Yinyin and secretly supervised her work. In the end, he found that this girl had a positive attitude and worked very seriously. But when he saw the horrible land, there was only one thing in his mind - she is really not cut out for this job!
This was the first time the captain had encountered such a situation. He had talked to him and taught him, but it just didn’t work!
And every time he left Meng Yinyin alone to educate her, seeing her pitiful look with her head down and listening attentively, to be honest, the captain felt inexplicably guilty.
However, this sense of guilt finally turned into complete fear after an old sow in the team suffered from diarrhea yesterday after eating the pig grass that Meng Yinyin had picked.
There were actually a lot of vines mixed in the pig grass she brought back!
If pigs eat that stuff, they will feel weak at best, or have diarrhea like that unlucky old sow yesterday!
It would be impossible to just let her adapt slowly like this. Even if he and the rest of the team could accept it, the old sows in the pen might not be able to bear it.
So the team leader thought about it over and over all night last night, and finally decided to find someone to teach Meng Yinyin step by step. Compared with other educated youth who only need to watch others do farm work a few times to learn, Meng Yinyin, who has extremely lacked agricultural knowledge, must find a teacher to teach her one-on-one.
We need to teach her not only about different crops but also about farming. If we have time, we also need to teach her how to distinguish edible wild vegetables and plants.
Otherwise, even if she worked in the brigade for half a year or a year, she might not be able to earn enough to eat.
Looking for someone to take you alone?
Meng Yinyin raised her head instantly, blinked her big eyes and asked subconsciously: "Captain, who will lead me?"
Hearing her ask this, the captain thought she was not opposed to this matter, and felt relieved. He knew that Comrade Meng Zhiqing still had a bright future.
I don't know that Meng Yinyin is just curious.
The next second, he turned around and shouted to another figure standing not far away: "Lu Chen, come over and say hello to Meng Zhiqing."
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