The first to speak was Qi Hongsheng. Deeply apologetic for Zhuang Shan's previous remarks, he had been looking for a chance to resume a conversation with Jiang Yun and her siblings. Unfortunately, Zhuang Shan's expression was too obvious; no matter how favorably the others had previously viewed Qi Hongsheng, they were in no mood to talk.
Jiang Yun, however, was Jiang Yun. She possessed a clear understanding of everyone and everything that could be of use to her. From the very first meeting, she knew she had to get on Qi Hongsheng's good side, as he would prove useful to her in the future.
From his words and actions, she could also sense his infatuation with her. Sure enough, by midday, diplomatic relations between the two parties were restored. Yet, as if by prior agreement, the three Jiangs conversed exclusively with Qi Hongsheng while completely ignoring Zhuang Shan. No matter how much it made Zhuang Shan's blood boil, there was nothing she could do.
During lunch, they shared their food. When Zhuang Shan saw that they were eating coarse grain steamed buns, a look of utter disdain crossed her face.
Midway through, Jiang Yun only nudged Feng Qingqing to signal that it was lunchtime, but Feng Qingqing merely shook her head slightly to indicate she wasn't hungry. Jiang Hongyun, sitting nearby, muttered: "You're too kind-hearted. Why bother with her? Ever since we got on the train, look at the way she acts, as if we owe her something. She really doesn't know what's good for her."
As soon as he finished, Jiang Yun chimed in leisurely: "Qingqing is just like that, don't hold it against her. After all, both uncle and aunt are gone, so it's understandable that she's in a bad mood."
Sitting beside them, Feng Qingqing knew Jiang Yun had intentionally brought up her orphan status for the benefit of the others. Jiang Yun instinctively threw stumbling blocks in her path like this just to make her miserable.
Had it been her past life, she would have felt ashamed and inferior, becoming even more timid and cowardly. But as for now? Hmph.
Just like that, whether intentionally or not, the Jiang siblings and Qi Hongsheng completely isolated Feng Qingqing.
Ever since boarding the train, Qi Hongsheng hadn't spoken a single word to Feng Qingqing; his mind was entirely focused on Jiang Yun, making even Zhuang Shan somewhat jealous.
At this, Feng Qingqing let out a sneer. It seemed an ox taken to Beijing was still an ox; her enemies from the past life would continue to be her enemies in this one.
Bumping along all the way, they finally arrived at the station as dusk was falling. Even so, people from the Educated Youth Office were there to receive them. Aside from the six of them, there were seven others on this train—four men and three women.
Once everyone had gathered, the group was assigned to a nearby guesthouse. Two people to a room, and the conditions weren't bad.
There was a small episode during the room assignments. Zhuang Shan refused to share a room with a stranger. Although she didn't like Jiang Yun, having traveled together the whole way made them half-acquainted, so she insisted on rooming with her. This put Jiang Yun in the position of looking deliberately troubled as she glanced at Feng Qingqing.
Indifferent, Feng Qingqing turned to the staff member from the Educated Youth Office and said, "Could you please help arrange the rooms, Comrade? I will completely obey any arrangements you make."
The clerk from the Educated Youth Office cast an approving glance at Feng Qingqing and sorted it out shortly after.
Feng Qingqing was assigned to share a room with another girl named Hu Fangming. This girl probably came from a well-off family and had a very innocent personality. As soon as they entered the room, she chattered nonstop the entire way.
From initially ignoring her, Feng Qingqing eventually managed a couple of perfunctory "uh-huhs" and "ohs," while silently complaining: *How can anyone talk this much? Doesn't her mouth get tired? Whoever ends up sharing a room with her in the future is going to suffer terribly in the ears.*
Little did she know, her words would prove prophetic.
Early the next morning, the group got up. Right next to the guesthouse was a State-run Restaurant, where everyone grabbed a casual bite before returning to the guesthouse to wait for the arrangements from the Educated Youth Office.
Their ultimate destination was a County Town called Yunlan under Qing City. The difference was that the six of them were heading to the Lanshan Production Brigade under Yunlan County. As for the other seven—aside from Hu Fangming, who was sharing a room with Feng Qingqing and also going to the Lanshan Production Brigade—Feng Qingqing did not yet know which brigades the remaining six were assigned to.
After a bumpy ride, they arrived at Huyang Commune just as it was nearing noon. The truck parked in front of the Educated Youth Office, where several people driving ox carts were waiting.
The group of seven walked over to a burly man who was the brigade leader of the Lanshan Production Brigade. He had dark skin, looked to be in his early forties, and was of average build with a rather stern expression—clearly someone who rarely smiled.
In addition to their group of seven, a young man named Lin Feng had also been assigned to the Lanshan Production Brigade. Seeing so many educated youths, the brigade leader, Xiong Tianhua, furrowed his brows so deeply he could have crushed a fly between them.
With so many young educated youths arriving, how were they supposed to feed them all? Yet, as the brigade leader, he couldn't just ignore them either.
Once everyone was gathered, Team Leader Xiong gave them an hour to eat and buy daily necessities at the nearby Supply and Marketing Cooperative, then squatted down to smoke his dry tobacco.
After a brief discussion, Jiang Yun's group decided to grab a meal at the State-run Restaurant first, and then head to the Supply and Marketing Cooperative to pick up whatever useful items they might need.
Ever since boarding the train, Jiang Yun had clearly felt Feng Qingqing distancing herself from them. Of course, this was also intentional on Feng Qingqing's part; after all, she was coming down to the countryside with them, but not to play happy families.
Feng Qingqing still did not act with them. She stood on the commune street where she had come countless times in her past life—a place she had followed her man to countless times in spiritual form, and where her man had ultimately passed away. For a moment, she didn't know whether to feel happy about being reunited with him soon, or sad about the outcome of her past life.
While still in a daze, she was grabbed by the arm and pulled along by Hu Fangming. Though innocent, the girl wasn't stupid. She could tell that Feng Qingqing didn't have a very good relationship with her cousins, and since she quite liked Feng Qingqing, she had decided to stick with her so she'd have a familiar face and wouldn't be left isolated after going to the countryside.
She pulled Feng Qingqing along to run to the State-run Restaurant, fearing that if they went too late, all the good food would be gone.
When they hurried to the restaurant, a long queue had already formed outside. The young girl sighed and resignedly joined the back of the line.
Twenty minutes later, the two girls were finally eating steaming bowls of shredded pork noodles. But as they ate the fragrant noodles, enduring the long wait had been well worth it.
After finishing their meal, the two girls walked toward the Supply and Marketing Cooperative while rubbing their bellies.
Thinking of her luggage, Feng Qingqing said to Hu Fangming, "You go on to the Supply and Marketing Cooperative and wait for me for a bit. Have a look around to see what good things they have; I'm going to go pick up a package and I'll be right over."
Before Hu Fangming could say anything, Feng Qingqing ran off ahead.
Hu Fangming wanted to ask, *Do you even know where the post office is?*, but seeing that Feng Qingqing had already run far off, she waved her hand and let it drop. The commune was only so big; could she really get lost just by asking around?
With that thought, she asked a passerby for directions and hurried toward the Supply and Marketing Cooperative.
Meanwhile, Feng Qingqing ran a distance, looked back, and seeing that Hu Fangming had already walked far away, she quickly found an empty corner, took a deep breath, rested for another ten minutes or so, and hauled out the large, pre-prepared bundle from her spatial dimension.
The bundle had been neatly packed by Feng Qingqing, but because of the sheer quantity of items, it still looked exceptionally large.
Fortunately, Feng Qingqing was quite strong, so she was able to carry it.
She made her way to the Supply and Marketing Cooperative at a moderate pace. From afar, she spotted someone running out from the entrance. As they drew closer, it turned out to be Hu Fangming, whose jaw dropped in astonishment when she saw Feng Qingqing carrying such a massive bundle.
"Are you really that shocked? It's just a big bundle. How are you doing, did you manage to buy everything?"
Not wanting to attract attention, Feng Qingqing quickly changed the subject, even though her package was indeed a bit oversized.
"I didn't buy much; there aren't many things here. Do you want to go inside and take a look?"
Feng Qingqing was all too familiar with the goods in this Supply and Marketing Cooperative from her past life, so she had no intention of going in. She shook her head and said, "Let's leave it at that for today. If we're missing anything, we can buy it later. Let's go."
When they reached Team Leader Xiong's ox cart, the rest of the group hadn't returned yet.
Team Leader Xiong was sitting alone on a nearby rock, dozing off. When he saw them return, he didn't say anything and simply closed his eyes to resume resting.
The two girls didn't say anything either. They placed their luggage on the ox cart and walked over to sit on a large rock on the other side to rest.
Watching Team Leader Xiong doze with his eyes closed, Feng Qingqing thought about what she knew of him from her past life. Xiong Tianhua wasn't a bad person, and he was quite dutiful. He had been sitting in the position of brigade leader for five or six years, working conscientiously.
Because he was the brigade leader, his family was relatively well-off within the Lanshan Production Brigade. Yet, in her past life while in a spiritual state, she had witnessed how the Xiong family, under the leadership of Xiong Tianhua's youngest son, Xiong Baoguo, went on to become famous entrepreneurs and multi-millionaires far and wide.
And all of this was tied to Jiang Yun.
Yes, in her past life, the brigade leader's youngest son, Xiong Baoguo, was also one of Jiang Yun's simps.
Back then, a few months after Feng Qingqing went to the countryside, Jiang Yun grew uneasy about every move Feng Qingqing made there because of her spatial dimension. Under the guise of caring for her cousin, Jiang Yun took the initiative to seek Feng Qingqing out. At the same time, needing to stay informed of Feng Qingqing's movements after returning to the city, she consciously cultivated several informants to keep a close eye on Feng Qingqing's actions and report back via phone calls and letters.
Because this Jiang Baoguo was the brigade leader's youngest son, well-liked and very sharp, Jiang Yun targeted him specifically. Before long, the two of them had established contact.