Thinking this, she leaned back on the kang (a heated brick bed) and actually fell asleep.
With a plan in place, the workers who went to work in the afternoon didn't slack off; they went all out from the start, leaving the auntie next to her stunned. She couldn't help but mutter to herself,
"It's so much better when you're young! Look at you, you can work so fast back then!"
She didn't pay attention to anything else, just focused on working hard, ignoring even the annoying corn leaves. She quickly overtook all the villagers in the vicinity, arriving at the field first and achieving her goal within the planned time. Li Yan jumped for joy immediately.
"We actually managed to complete the mission so quickly? I can't believe it."
Actually, time was tight, and the group had persevered through the ordeal. Now that they relaxed, their muscles ached all over. They rested for a while at the edge of the field before heading back to the village.
After doing farm work for so long, they had basically adapted to the intensity of the labor. Their tense muscles were stretched as they walked and moved around, and by the time they reached the educated youth compound, they had warmed up considerably.
"Wow, I feel so much better now, my legs feel so much lighter!"
"Yeah, it felt like I was filled with lead just now."
To get from the village to the foot of the mountain, you have to pass the educated youth compound first, and then you reach Jian Dan's house at the foot of the mountain. So Jian Dan wasn't in a hurry to go back. The other girls were all ready. When they arrived at the educated youth compound, each of them drank a lot of water, picked up their baskets, and left.
Li Yan especially remembered bringing the small basket she had specially exchanged the day before.
"Let's go, since it's early today, we can stay on the mountain a little longer."
They met Chen Jianguo as he ran back, and the group of people, carrying baskets on their backs, headed down the mountain. At that moment, the people in the fields were still working hard.
"Why are you back?" Li Yan was still a little surprised. Although she didn't hide it from him when she said it, they really didn't expect him to come along.
Chen Jianguo reached back and lifted the basket up a bit.
“I’m worried about you girls. If something happens, it’s better to have more people to help each other.”
Li Yan scratched her head, feeling that something was off.
"Are you worried about me, or..."
After looking around, it seems that the most troublesome one among the group is...
"Still worried about Jian Zhiqing?"
Simple???
Chen Jianguo?
Tan Yajun?
Lin Zhaodi?
Several people shared the same sentiment: with Jian Zhiqing around, it seems like the person you're worried about shouldn't be her.
Chen Jianguo also looked puzzled.
"Jian Zhiqing's abilities far surpass mine. Why should I worry about her?"
Although he didn't have the chance to witness it firsthand, Jian Dan's name was well-known in the village. He knew how powerful he was because of the wild boar hunt last year. No one saw it with their own eyes, but the villagers spread 365 different versions of the story. In some extreme versions, Jian Dan was even portrayed as a great hero who could fly and disappear into the earth.
Chen Jianguo naturally didn't believe this claim, but he also believed that while one or two villagers might be lying, the entire village, in his opinion, didn't seem like it.
That means Jian Zhiqing was indeed capable.
The villagers may be exaggerating a bit, but the wild boar incident is definitely real.
Furthermore, his composure during Li Yan's accident serves as further proof that he never underestimates anyone.
The female educated youth had already had two accidents on the mountain. Although he had only participated in one of them, whether he had rescued someone or something else had happened, as their fellow cook, he was genuinely worried about them acting alone.
Thinking about it, he wanted to sigh.
"Am I worried about her? No, I'm worried about you all."
Look at the sky, it's only a little past three o'clock, it'll be four o'clock by the time we get to the mountain.
Even if it gets dark at 7:30, doesn't that mean we have to leave by 6:30 at the latest?
You only have two hours at most on the mountain. Let's go together; more people means more work, and we'll try to get back as soon as possible.
Fortunately, this wasn't the first time I'd gone up the mountain after work, it's just that I wasn't as purposeful as I was this time. Before, it was just random tasks like gathering firewood, but this time I was heading straight for that area, so it was quick and I didn't have to stop and go.
Upon arriving home, I simply opened the door, went into the yard, picked up my basket, and, like a mountain bandit on patrol, waved my hand.
"Men, let's go!"
The five dogs—one large and four small—immediately darted out of the yard and headed straight for the foot of the mountain.
The group of people stared in disbelief. The dog had already darted far away, and the main gate was locked before they finally came to their senses.
"Good fortune, auspiciousness, hey? Why are you running so fast? Let me touch you!"
Li Yan and the other female educated youths were quite familiar with each other, so they were a little surprised.
But Chen Jianguo is not.
Because of the difference between men and women, and to avoid suspicion, he couldn't come here often. He had heard of these dogs, but he had never seen them so majestic.
"Jian, Jian, is this the dog you raised?"
To be honest, it darted away so fast that he only saw a few black shadows flash by, and then they became black dots that got farther and farther away. He really didn't see anything else.
Before Jian Dan could speak, Li Yan began to boast with great enthusiasm.
"Yeah, yeah, how about that? Isn't it amazing?"
Chen Jianguo's eyes were also sparkling. Men, regardless of age, are all very interested in things that are challenging and wild.
"Is it called 'auspicious' and 'as you wish'?"
Li Yan counted on her fingers as she introduced them.
"Auspicious, wishful, peaceful, joyful, the one with a tuft of white fur under its neck, that one is the cutest, that's auspicious. I can't tell the difference between wishful and peaceful joyful, they all look the same to me."
Ruyi and Ping'an have very small and inconspicuous features. Not only Li Yan, but no one else noticed them either. For now, they simply rely on the fact that they can completely distinguish the small ones.
The dog was nowhere to be seen, so they quickened their pace without dawdling.
However, it seemed that today was simply not going to be possible to go up the mountain. We hadn't gone far, and hadn't even reached the foot of the mountain, when a car quietly drove into the village.
They hadn't paid any attention at first, but then a few dogs rushed over first.
This was the first time Jian Dan had ever seen anything like this. They darted around so fast, reaching the car in the blink of an eye. It was too late to stop them; all she could do was shout.
"Big Black, may you have good fortune, peace, and joy, come back!"
It can be said that it is somewhat useful, but not very much so.
The little ones stopped in a daze, spun around a few times, and then with a thud, successfully confused themselves.
Big Black was very clear-headed. He wouldn't go if he wasn't told to. He just sat in front of the car and kept barking at the area under the car, as if he wouldn't stop barking if the car wouldn't stop.
The car, which had already slowed down, was successfully forced to stop by the big black car.
It's been a month or so since we arrived, and I've never seen Dahei so emotional before, so I don't dare to be careless.
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