Quick Travel: Destiny for Thirty Lifetimes

After a busy day of work, everyone was ready to go back in the sunset. Ji Yunchen didn't go to look for him today. It was the busy farming season, and he was probably working in the fields.

It’s just that Lian Qingyang didn’t eat properly at noon. He could force himself to eat, but his stomach couldn’t take it. He was afraid of vomiting and wasting food, so he simply ate less and let others eat first.

Walking side by side with Lin Haojun on the way back to the educated youth residence, Lian Qingyang saw a tall figure standing at the gate, greeting the educated youth coming in from time to time. He glanced at Lin Haojun and silently quickened his pace.

"Comrade Ji, you're here!" Lian Qingyang's familiar tone made the passing educated youth look at him sideways, thinking that Comrade Lian had only been here for two days and he and Comrade Ji had become good friends.

Ji Yunchen focused his attention on Lian Qingyang. He raised his hand, which was holding something, and explained the reason for his visit. "Captain Qu said you didn't look well today, and you didn't eat much at noon. You won't be able to handle it if you continue like this. I brought you some watermelon juice, sweet potato porridge, and some stir-fried vegetables."

Lian Qingyang twisted his fingers together, lowered his head and whispered, "This is too much trouble for Comrade Ji. You can take it back and feed it to your family. I'm actually in good health, so I'm fine if I eat less."

The other educated youth had no time to watch them chatting. The meal in the yard was ready, and they were all anxious to go in and eat, as if being a little slower would be disrespectful to the meal.

Ji Yunchen, relying on his height, stretched his head to peek into the courtyard to see what was going on. He then turned around and said to Lian Qingyang with a bright smile, "Come with me."

He grew up in the village and was not a very honest child. He often ran around with his friends and ran all over the village. He had always had a good memory and remembered the terrain of the village almost clearly. The place he wanted to take Lian Qingyang to was a secret base where his friends often gathered to play when they were young. Generally, no adults would go there.

The place was not far from the Youth League Institute and was also on the edge of the village. The two found a vacant lot in the moonlight.

Ji Yunchen piled some hay into two piles, took out a piece of cloth the size of a handkerchief and spread it on one pile, then asked Lian Qingyang to sit on it, and then brought out the food he brought and placed it on the other pile of hay.

Lian Qingyang stopped being pretentious at this time. He took the chopsticks handed to him by Ji Yunchen and picked up the food to eat. It seemed that this was also made by Ji Yunchen, he could taste it.

He ate while looking up at the person squatting in front of him. After swallowing the food in his mouth, he said, "Brother Ji, can I call you that? You'd better not bring me food in the future. It's not good. You will be criticized for asking for special treatment. By the way, have you eaten yet? Do you want to eat together?"

As he spoke, he looked around, then looked at the chopsticks in his hand and sighed, "It seems there is only one pair of chopsticks."

Ji Yunchen shook his head: "I ate them, these are all for you. Actually, when I first saw you, I felt that you were different. Anyway, I treat you as my younger brother, so taking care of you is not considered special."

He picked up a small bowl and placed it in front of Lian Qingyang, raising his chin. "How about this watermelon juice? My family grows watermelons, but not many. They're all kept in the well behind the yard, chilled. It's so hot, so drinking something cold will help you eat more."

"By the way, why do you look so bad today? Did you not sleep well last night?"

Lian Qingyang took a couple of sips from his bowl, frowned, and nodded, saying, "Maybe everyone was too tired from working during the day, so they were snoring quite loudly at night. I didn't get much sleep because of the noise..."

Ji Yunchen's face showed an expression of understanding, but he hesitated and said, "I don't have room for you to stay at home right now. If it really doesn't work out, I'll find Captain Qu and arrange some simple work for you."

Lian Qingyang's eyes widened and he shook his head vigorously. "I just got here, and when Captain Qu asked for my opinion, I agreed to his arrangement. It's a bit awkward to change it now. The work in the fields isn't too tiring, I can handle it."

He spoke in a hurry, and his legs, which were originally crossed, were raised up, and he almost knocked over the bowl on the grass pile next to him. Ji Yunchen reached out to help, but did not insist and watched Lian Qingyang eat quietly.

After the meal, it was already late. Lian Qingyang watched Ji Yunchen clean up the dishes with a somewhat clumsy movement, and suddenly felt that he was very heartless. He ate the meal that someone sent him and still asked him to go back and wash the dishes.

"Brother Ji." Lian Qingyang's voice was deliberately low, barely audible amidst the resounding cicadas' chirping. However, Ji Yunchen still heard it. He paused, muttered a response, and pricked up his ears to listen carefully to Lian Qingyang's next words. "I'll go wash the dishes and you can take them back."

"Okay." Ji Yunchen didn't know what he was thinking, and agreed casually without paying attention. When he reacted, Lian Qingyang had already picked up the dishes and chopsticks in a cloth bag.

*

Lian Qingyang hadn't seen Ji Yunchen for three consecutive days. Qu Ruixiang helped him prepare dinner. He didn't know what Ji Yunchen said to Qu Ruixiang, but he didn't look unusual when he gave him dinner. Sometimes he would even pat his shoulder and ask him to eat more.

It was another sunny and hot day. Lian Qingyang and the others were called back by Qu Ruixiang to have lunch. He had gradually adapted to the food here, but the taste was still a lot worse than the meal delivered on time every night.

Lian Qingyang poked a piece of vegetable leaf, scraped it twice before picking it up and putting it in his mouth.

He slept much better at night. He found a handkerchief from his package, cut it into pieces and stuffed it into his ears. The effect was not very good, but it was enough for him to fall asleep. Lian Qingyang also gave Lin Haojun a pair of simple earplugs. The boy accepted them without refusing. His relationship with him became much closer. At least when they talked, they no longer had nothing to talk about and felt shy.

In the afternoon, they went to work in the fields as usual. When they reached the end of the field, they saw a man bending over and working in their work area. They were a little confused, looked at each other, and walked inside.

"Was this sent by Captain Qu?"

"I don't know, but I always feel that this person looks familiar."

"Can you see him bending over?"

"Feeling, feeling."

The two men walked over, chatting quietly, and found that they were indeed acquaintances. Ji Yunchen stood up and looked at their surprised expressions. He waved the sickle in his hand and explained, "I've finished the land I'm responsible for, so I asked Captain Qu to come work here. I don't want any work points, so the amount will still be counted on you."

Lian Qingyang frowned, but instead of thanking him, he asked, "Does the village chief agree with you doing this?"

In that era, work points were very important. The more you had, the more food you could get. Every family wanted more laborers so that they could earn more work points and get more food. Wouldn't a stupid guy like Ji Yunchen get beaten for just giving food to others?

The silly son of the village chief, Lian Qingyang wanted to laugh when he thought about it. He bit the flesh on his cheek to hold back his laughter.

Ji Yunchen shook his head and said in a low voice: "It's okay, you don't have much left anyway, it won't take much effort for me to help."

The two men had no reason to refuse the free labor, so they nodded and agreed to his joining.