She won't clear her name; she'll throw away all the scum.

The girl nodded to him, "Hello, Brother Chen."

During their conversation, Grandma Xia learned that the girl's name was Li Xiuzhu, and that she was visiting her sister in City B with her parents. Her sister had joined her husband's military unit last year and was currently living in City B temporarily. She was newly pregnant, and the elders in the family were worried about her.

Her parents were busy, so they left their things and stayed for a day before going back home. She was playful and wanted to stay a few more days. She thought she would be fine coming back alone since the journey wasn't too far. She never expected this to happen.

Li Xiuzhu's eyes were brimming with tears. If it weren't for this kind old lady, she really wouldn't know what to do. Who would have thought there were really bad people on the train, and that she would run into one?

Grandma Xia accepted Li Xiuzhu's thanks and then asked around for news about Chen Xianghong.

Li Xiuzhu recognized Chen Xianghong, but they weren't very close. The girls in their village didn't like hanging out with the educated youth; they felt out of place. Some of the educated youth looked down on them, but the educated youth probably didn't look down on the educated youth either.

The educated youth considered themselves cultured and disdained associating with these roughnecks. They also disliked the educated youth for being pretentious and all talk; when it came to actually working in the fields, none of them were capable.

Even worse, some people slack off when they're in the fields, complaining of headaches or leg pains, just to avoid work.

When it came time to distribute the grain, she started haggling over every penny, and she looked down on them.

However, Li Xiuzhu told Grandma Xia what she knew, and Chen Zhiqing was a hard-working person, so Li Xiuzhu had no objection to her.

Upon hearing this, Grandma Xia burst into tears.

She hadn't expected going to the countryside to be so tough.

Li Xiuzhu felt a little embarrassed; her words had brought tears to her savior's eyes. She hadn't even mentioned the even more arduous spring planting and autumn harvest, and she dared not speak of it further.

Helpless, Chen Xiangnan handed Grandma Xia a handkerchief to wipe her tears.

They chatted and laughed along the way, and took turns sleeping for a while. Before their backs became stiff, they finally got off the bus.

This is too much of a hassle," Chen Xiangnan thought, wiping the sweat from his brow as he carried his luggage. He felt like he was going to go bad on the train.

Li Xiuzhu led them to the entrance of the commune, where she saw their brigade's oxcart.

"Uncle Li Si—" Li Xiuzhu waved and shouted.

A kind-looking man across from them waved happily, "Quick, get on the bus!"

Li Xiuzhu pulled Grandma Xia over and said, "Uncle, this auntie helped me a lot on the train, and she's going to our brigade too."

The man immediately thanked Grandma Xia and warmly invited them to get in the car.

Grandma Xia was pushed onto the oxcart and sat down with Li Xiuzhu. Chen Xiangnan, who was following behind, also sat down with a large bag of luggage.

This oxcart is really sturdy.

Soon, the man got into the carriage and set off.

It took them a full hour to finally enter the village.

Chen Xiangnan rubbed his sore buttocks discreetly. This was too much of a ordeal. What a terrible road and what a terrible car.

And... that damn cow!

It was already afternoon. The village was vast, with fields stretching as far as the eye could see. Chen Xiangnan struggled to carry his luggage off the car and felt like he had come back to life.

"Xiuzhu, could you please take us to find Xiang Hong? This... Auntie really..." Old Mrs. Xia pleaded, holding Li Xiuzhu's hand.

Li Xiuzhu was a straightforward girl. "Don't worry, Auntie. I'll ask her where she is later. She's probably still in the fields earning work points. You two just follow me."

As soon as they got out of the car, Li Xiuzhu asked a villager for directions and then casually led them into the fields.

“Auntie, over there, wearing a straw hat and a gray-blue towel tied around her hand,” Li Xiuzhu said, pointing to a thin woman working at a bent-over position. “She’ll be done working soon. Auntie and brother, wait here for her. Just be careful of the bugs. You city folks may not have worked in the fields before, but there are lots of bugs around the fields.”

Grandma Xia looked at him for a long time, but she couldn't see any resemblance between this person and the former Chen Xianghong.