Chapter 4: Suggesting We Live Separately

Fang Chengxing pointed to the tractor parked nearby and said, "Get on the vehicle. Once everyone is seated, we'll set off."

"Thank you," Jin Changfeng said after thanking him. He boarded the tractor first and had Zhao Jianguo hand him everyone's luggage. After arranging the luggage properly, he reached his hand out toward Wen Xi. "Comrade Wen, come, I'll pull you up."

Since he was a great soldier comrade, Wen Xi didn't overthink it and simply reached out her hand. Jin Changfeng grasped Wen Xi's cool little hand and pulled her up onto the tractor.

As for Jin Changfeng, his heart practically bloomed with joy upon holding Wen Xi's hand. Her hand was so soft and smooth, as if it had no bones. However, as soon as she was on the tractor, Wen Xi let go of his hand, leaving him feeling a sudden sense of loss; he truly wanted to keep holding it forever.

Once everyone was on the tractor, they waited a little longer for several more educated youths to arrive. After Fang Chengxing called the roll and confirmed that everyone was present, he climbed onto the tractor and drove them away.

There was too much luggage on the tractor and no place to sit, so everyone could only stand. The cold wind blew directly into their faces, whistling down their necks and into their clothes, making their chests feel icy cold. Furthermore, the wind rushed into their noses, making even breathing difficult.

Suddenly, Wen Xi discovered to her surprise that the wind seemed to have stopped, and breathing was no longer so difficult. Looking up, she saw Jin Changfeng standing in front of her, blocking the piercing cold wind for her.

Just as Wen Xi was about to say thank you, she was suddenly bumped hard from behind, causing her to stumble forward and fall directly into Jin Changfeng's arms.

Jin Changfeng hurriedly reached out to steady Wen Xi. Once she had regained her footing, he asked worriedly, "Comrade Wen, are you alright?"

The road conditions were poor, so it wasn't anyone's fault; after all, everyone was struggling to stand steady, and swaying back and forth was quite normal.

Wen Xi shook her head. "I'm fine. What about you? Did I hit you hard?"

Jin Changfeng really wanted to say, *You didn't hit me hard, you hit my heart,* but he was afraid of scaring her, since today was only the second day they had met.

Afterward, everyone tried their best to stand steady, their toes curling inside their shoes as they attempted to grip the tractor tightly, fearing another embarrassing incident like that would occur.

Half an hour later, the tractor pulled into the courtyard of the commune's office building. Everyone climbed down from the tractor feeling as if their legs were weak, each person complaining and grumbling.

Several oxcarts were already waiting in the courtyard, sent by various production teams to pick up the educated youths.

Jin Changfeng set down Wen Xi's canvas bag, went inside for a moment, and then came back out. From his upturned corners of his mouth, it was clear that he was in a good mood.

Fang Chengxing took the list of this batch of educated youths from the Youth Office and began calling names. Upon finding that someone was missing, he marked an 'X' on the list.

Then the assignments began. Wen Xi, Shen Jiaojiao, Jiang Yue, Song Lan, and Zhou Bai—the five of them, just like in her past life, were assigned to the Fengshou Brigade. Fang Chengxing handed the list to the captain of the Fengshou Brigade and said to Wen Xi and the others, "This is Captain Qian of your Fengshou Brigade. Go with him to the brigade!"

Captain Qian immediately spotted Jin Changfeng and Zhao Jianguo, who were carrying canvas bags and following behind the five educated youths. Just as he was about to say something, he saw Jin Changfeng shake his head at him, so he didn't waste any time.

Jin Changfeng and Zhao Jianguo placed everyone's luggage onto the oxcart, and then the two of them went to one side to talk.

Zhao Jianguo patted Jin Changfeng's chest. "Changfeng, you wouldn't actually have fallen for Little Comrade Wen, would you?"

"Mhm." Jin Changfeng admitted it succinctly. He then looked toward Wen Xi, his eyes filled with smiles. "Don't talk nonsense when we get back to the village, otherwise, don't blame me for dealing with you."

Zhao Jianguo laughed sheepishly. "For such a joyous occasion, you'll definitely have to make it public yourself. I certainly won't say a single extra word."

Jin Changfeng gave Zhao Jianguo a threatening look; if he broke his word, he wouldn't be polite.

After calling the roll, Captain Qian looked at each person carefully to ensure he remembered them, then said, "Our Fengshou Brigade is not far from the commune; it takes less than two hours to get there. It's still early, so we will wait a while before heading back. If you have anything you need to buy, you can go now. If you don't want to buy anything today, you can come back and buy it tomorrow."

Song Lan hurriedly said, "Captain Qian, then I'll go to the post office to pick up a parcel. Please excuse me for making you wait a little longer, Captain Qian."

Captain Qian nodded. "Go ahead!"

"Thank you, Captain Qian," Song Lan said hurriedly before turning to leave. Zhou Bai felt awkward staying alone with the three girls, so he chased after Song Lan, intending to help her in a moment.

Captain Qian looked at this batch of five fair-skinned, delicate children. Although he wasn't entirely pleased in his heart, seeing how well-behaved they were made that slight displeasure vanish.

It didn't matter if they didn't know how to do things, as long as they didn't cause trouble; that was his only requirement for them, but the young people who had come before had failed to do so.

Shen Jiaojiao happily hugged Wen Xi's arm and said with a beaming smile, "Xiao Xi, it's so good that we were assigned to the same place."

Wen Xi nodded thoughtfully. Everything else was quite good, but once she went there, she would encounter those people from her past life, and when that time came...

Wen Xi shook her head, deciding not to think about these things. She would deal with whatever came her way; at the very least, it wouldn't be as miserable as her past life.

Then, Wen Xi opened her smallest canvas bag and took out six coarse-grain steamed buns, wrapped them in oil paper, and added ten White Rabbit creamy candies inside. She walked up to Captain Qian and secretly stuffed them toward him.

"Captain Qian, I am Wen Xi. Someone from our neighborhood has gone to the countryside, so we have more or less some understanding of rural matters. The educated youths come from all over the country, with different living habits and languages. When there are many people, it's easy for conflicts to arise. Therefore, we would like to rent an empty house in the brigade to live in ourselves and cook for ourselves. I wonder if the Fengshou Brigade has any empty houses?"

Seeing the buns inside, Captain Qian originally wanted to refuse, but he helplessly swallowed his saliva. "There are indeed two houses in the village belonging to families with no heirs that are available for living. As long as you aren't afraid, once we get to the village, you can choose a house to live in."

"Thank you, Captain Qian. We will buy the house directly. If we return home in the future, we will return the house to the village then. We'll also have to trouble Captain Qian to help us with the paperwork." The educated youth dormitory had too many people and consisted of large communal beds, offering no privacy at all; she had suffered quite a bit living there for two years in her past life.

Now that she had the Sign-in System, if she lived in a crowded place, how could she enjoy her private meals?

She only wanted to cook private meals for Shen Jiaojiao and Jiang Yue; the others had nothing to do with her.

Seeing how sensible this girl was, Captain Qian felt a bit more satisfied. "Comrade Wen, don't worry. Uncle guarantees to handle everything properly for you. If anything happens in the village in the future, remember to come find Uncle, or come find your Auntie."

(End of Chapter)