Chapter 3: The First Task 3

Liu Wen packed up the high school textbooks she had secretly bought from the scrap station over the past few days, along with all her clothes, bedding, and other belongings.

On the day of departure, Liu Wen woke up early, lit the stove to boil a few eggs for herself, and then made a few rice balls.

Relying on just these few things to fill her stomach for the journey, she was honestly quite surprised; she hadn't expected that she would end up in the same place as Liu Xia.

However, she was assigned to a farm, while Liu Xia was in a village surrounding the farm. She didn't know how far apart they were.

To be honest, she didn't know how she ended up going there either. Originally, the place she was supposed to go was the far north, but now she was only a thirty-plus-hour train ride away from home.

Truth be told, she would have preferred to go somewhere far from home, but unfortunately, it wasn't her choice to make.

Carrying a large pack on her back and two large bundles in her hands, she left the Liu family home, where she hadn't even stayed for a few days.

She looked back once more after heading downstairs; barring any major accidents, she likely wouldn't be coming back.

She turned her head and strode away. When she arrived at the train station, she expected it to be packed with people, but to her surprise, there weren't many. At a glance, there were only about thirty educated youths.

What was going on? Liu Wen was dumbfounded. Shouldn't the platform be crowded with people, everyone pushing and shoving?

Back when Liu Xia became an educated youth, the whole family had turned out to see her off. In the original owner's memories, it had been shoulder-to-shoulder.

Liu Wen found a quiet spot to wait for the train. Because she had woken up early, she let out a yawn and prepared to rest for a while.

She didn't know how long she waited, but when she heard the train whistle, she knew it had arrived. She opened her eyes, picked up her bundles, and followed the main group.

She had heard from the neighborhood committee auntie that they were all heading to the same place, so following them couldn't be wrong.

She boarded the train behind them and found a seat.

After some self-introductions, Liu Wen learned that there were over forty of them, but except for her, everyone else was going to the farm.

A girl next to her asked curiously, "Why aren't you going to the farm with us?"

How would Liu Wen know? "I don't know."

"It was assigned from above."

She didn't know if they were classmates or if they just felt that since they were all going to the farm, they were one group, while she was going to the countryside as an educated youth, but she could sense a vague feeling of exclusion.

Thinking about it, it made sense. Educated youths at the farm had a monthly income, while those in the countryside had to wait for the year-end dividend, meaning their income was unstable. It was like the difference between heaven and earth in terms of treatment.

Since they felt exclusionary toward her, Liu Wen didn't bother trying to chat with them. She rested, occasionally watching them talk, and finally, just as she felt she was about to fall apart, they arrived at the station.

She followed the group off the train, and before long, she saw the large truck from the farm there to pick people up.

Liu Wen scanned the area but didn't see anyone or any vehicle there to pick her up. She froze. No way—did they not come, or was she expected to make her own way there?

Just as she stood there stunned, a girl from the same group pulled her aside. "Xiao Wen, let's go together."

"Go together?" Liu Wen was taken aback. "Is this going to the farm?"

"Yes, the place you're going is right around the farm. The person who picked us up just said that as long as there are educated youths for the farm and the surrounding villages, they'll pick everyone up together. You can wait at the farm headquarters for someone to collect you." The girl explained in detail.

So that was it. Liu Wen picked up her luggage and climbed onto the large truck. Although the truck moved quite fast, it couldn't help the heat, and with no cover, she felt like she was being baked dry.

Liu Wen licked her lips; it was truly parched.

The others were in no better shape, but they were all enduring it, waiting for the truck to stop.

The truck drove for about half an hour before it finally stopped. Liu Wen looked closely and saw what looked like a plaza.

The boys got off first to help unload the luggage, and then the girls followed.

After everyone had disembarked, the truck started up and drove away, leaving Liu Wen all by herself.

Liu Wen could only find a spot in the shade to wait. Fortunately, while there were many people earlier, she had asked the girl from the truck to watch her luggage while she went to the restroom in the nearby office building to get some cold water.

She sipped the cold water, rubbing her stomach from time to time. *Sigh*, she was hungry. The food she had brought before leaving was already gone.

Liu Wen didn't know how long she had been waiting, but she still hadn't seen anyone to pick her up. "Should I just ask for directions and find my way there?"

They couldn't have forgotten about a living person like her, could they? If they really had forgotten, what was she supposed to do today?

But looking at the big and small bags at her feet, *sigh*, she didn't know how far it was. If her stomach were full, she could walk, but in her current hungry and exhausted state, she decided against it.

She didn't know how much longer she waited before she heard the sound of a cart. She looked up and locked eyes with the person driving it.

Liu Wen's first thought was, *Wow, he's handsome*, and nothing else crossed her mind.

The person was driving an ox cart toward her. Liu Wen watched the cart get closer and closer, and she couldn't help but be stunned. Could he be here to pick her up?

Lin Yuan looked at Liu Wen, who was staring blankly at him. "Hello, are you Liu Wen?"

Liu Wen nodded repeatedly. "Yes, yes, yes." *Oh my, really, how could she get so dazed just looking at a handsome guy?*

She didn't know what he was thinking, but Liu Wen felt she had really embarrassed herself this time. "Are you the one here to pick me up?"

Lin Yuan gave a hum. "Yes, sorry, something came up in the village."

After Lin Yuan loaded her luggage onto the back of the ox cart, he said, "Get on."

Liu Wen obediently sat down, and once Lin Yuan saw she was settled, he drove the ox cart away.

Originally, she had intended to ask about the situation on the way, such as how far it was to the county seat or the town, but after making a fool of herself just now, she didn't dare to ask. She wished she could just disappear.

Lin Yuan had expected Liu Wen to ask a lot of questions, but to his surprise, the journey was completely silent, which made him breathe a sigh of relief.

If it weren't for the village chief's request, he really wouldn't have wanted to make this trip. Last time he came to the farm to pick up educated youths, a girl kept asking this and that, and her companion, a man, hadn't spared him any glares and later even tried to set traps for him.

Experiencing that once was enough; Lin Yuan didn't want to go through it again.

After they had traveled for a long time, Lin Yuan remembered he hadn't explained the situation. "The village is between the county and the farm, but usually, everyone goes to the farm's supply and marketing cooperative to buy things."

*Ah, buying things at the farm's supply and marketing cooperative?* Liu Wen couldn't help but be dumbfounded. Going to the farm to buy things meant she might run into Liu Xia. If possible, she really didn't want to encounter her.

"Can't I go to the county?" Liu Wen asked in a low voice.

"It's not that you can't, but the county's supply and marketing cooperative doesn't necessarily have as much as the farm's," Lin Yuan explained.

"Besides, everyone is used to coming here. Someone comes here every week. If you don't have time, you can ask someone to bring things back for you."

She could ask someone to bring things back? That was good, very good. Liu Wen made up her mind: in order to stay away from the Liu family, she would just have someone else help her bring things.