Time Travel: Volume 1! Starting from a Small Mountain Village

"Didn't they let you become a teacher because you started dating a local?"

"No!" Jiang Nian'an finally came to her senses. No wonder her grandparents didn't seem happy for her when they heard she had become a teacher; instead, they looked quite serious.

"Actually, I was able to become a teacher this time thanks to the help of Long Zhiqing."

She knew perfectly well how xenophobic the villagers were during her time here; otherwise, even with Long Lifan's efforts, the qualifications for teachers would definitely not have been available to them, the educated youth.

"Long Zhiqing?"

Jiang Huaimin murmured to himself, what kind of help could an educated youth possibly offer? And why was the other party helping his granddaughter like this? Jiang Nian'an's grandparents, however, interpreted it differently: could it be because that so-called educated youth, Long, had taken a liking to their granddaughter?

The more they thought about it, the more likely it seemed. It would be better to find a former educated youth as a partner than someone from the village. Since they were both former educated youth, they figured they could focus more on intellectual exchange and shared values, and their values ​​wouldn't be too different. They eagerly awaited the news, believing their granddaughter had finally found someone she could entrust her life to.

"An'an, tell me honestly, are you dating that Long Zhiqing guy? Otherwise, why would he go to such lengths to help you become a teacher at the school?" Jiang Huaimin and his wife squinted, feeling they understood everything. Jiang Huaimin then tentatively asked his granddaughter, his eyes full of expectation.

"What? Dating!" Jiang Nian'an blushed instantly upon hearing her grandparents' speculation, feeling so embarrassed she wanted to disappear into the ground.

“Grandpa and Grandma, what are you saying! Long Zhiqing is a woman.” Jiang Nian’an then praised Long Lifan to her grandparents in detail, including the major things she did when she went to the countryside, and even the fact that Long Lifan became the women’s director.

The news stunned the elderly couple. They looked at each other, unsure what to say. It turned out that it was all just a beautiful misunderstanding they had assumed. However, they quickly came to terms with it. Because regardless of gender, Long Zhiqing's help and care for Jiang Nian'an were genuine.

When Grandma Jiang heard her granddaughter describe Long Zhiqing, an idea popped into her head. She thought, since Long Zhiqing was so outstanding and had such a good relationship with her granddaughter, why not introduce her eldest grandson to her?

"An'an, what do you think about introducing Long Zhiqing to your brother?"

Jiang Nian'an's brother, Jiang Chen, is currently a battalion commander in the Northwest Military Region. Grandma Jiang imagined how wonderful it would be if her eldest grandson and Long Zhiqing could get together! So she couldn't wait to become a "matchmaker".

"Grandma, what are you thinking! Long Zhiqing is not even 16 years old yet! Besides, I heard her say that she doesn't seem to want to get married, so please don't play matchmaker."

"this…"

The elderly couple exchanged a glance, both seeing the shock in each other's eyes. They truly hadn't expected that the "educated youth" Long was not only a girl, but also so young. They couldn't help but feel sorry for their eldest grandson.

Why would such a nice girl want to not get married?

Jiang Nian'an stayed with her grandparents for a while longer before leaving. However, Xia Aiguo, a sent-down youth in Qingmiao Brigade, saw her as she left. Staring at her departing figure, Xia Aiguo felt he had seen her somewhere before and stared blankly at her, lost in thought.

"Xia, what are you looking at?" A male educated youth walked over and asked curiously when he saw him like this.

It wasn't until someone nearby asked curiously that he snapped out of his reverie, quickly shaking his head and muttering, "Nothing." However, the inexplicable unease in his heart lingered. He wondered to himself, who was that figure? Why did it feel so familiar?

I already had a guess in my mind and decided to go to the Dongwan Brigade in a couple of days.

Around 1 or 2 p.m., the tranquility of Dongwan Village was broken by the sound of car horns at the village entrance. Since no one was at work, the villagers, hearing the commotion, gathered at the village entrance, their eyes filled with curiosity.

That's right, Xu Tiansheng is here again. This time, in addition to his driver Xiao Wang, Fang Weiming from the sales department also came along.

As soon as the car entered the village, someone reported it to the brigade leader and the others. Lin Guodong, Secretary Miao, and several other village cadres immediately ran over, looking at Director Xu with wary expressions.

"Director Xu, what brings you here again!" Lin Guodong greeted him, but his forced smile seemed to reveal his unwelcomeness.

"Oh, I need to talk to Long Zhiqing about something!" Xu Tiansheng didn't care about Lin Guodong's attitude at all; on the contrary, he understood it quite well. So he answered calmly.

Lin Guodong rolled his eyes at Xu Tiansheng, thinking to himself, "Do you think I don't know you're looking for Long Zhiqing? You couldn't possibly have come here just to see them, could you?" However, he was still worried about Xu Tiansheng. He had already decided last time that he would accompany Xu Tiansheng every time he came to see Long Zhiqing, so he said with a forced smile, "Really? I'll take you there. You know the roads in the countryside are all over the place; what if you get lost?"

Xu Tiansheng wanted to say that there was no need for that, but seeing that the other party was guarding against him like a thief, he could only shake his head with a wry smile and agree.

Hearing the knock, Long Lifan opened the door familiarly and saw Lin Guodong. Long Lifan quickly greeted him, "Captain, what brings you here? Please come in!"

Before she could finish speaking, she saw two more people following behind Lin Guodong. One was Factory Director Xu, whose usually stern face softened with a smile as he nodded at Long Lifan. The other was Fang Weiming, the sales director of the machinery factory. Long Lifan had seen him before at the factory and remembered him somewhat. He was neatly dressed, and his eyes revealed a shrewdness.

Although Long Lifan was puzzled, she still politely invited them into the house: "Director Xu, Director Fang, please come in and have a seat."

As she spoke, she busily poured water for them. Clear water flowed gently from the kettle, pouring into the porcelain cups with a crisp sound.

"Thank you, Long Zhiqing, you're too kind," Lin Guodong said gratefully as he accepted the water glass. He was quite moved; every time he came to Long Zhiqing's house, he could get some sweet soup. In those days, sweet soup was a rare commodity. If it weren't for the need to keep an eye on Xu Tiansheng, he really wouldn't want to come to Long Zhiqing's house, making himself look like he was trying to take advantage of her.

Long Lifan smiled, but secretly wondered: Why did Director Xu suddenly visit again? Is there something important, or is it that they can't produce the blueprints they provided last time? And he even brought Director Fang from the sales department along.

Just as she was about to ask, she saw Director Xu and Fang Weiming exchange a glance, as if they had something they were reluctant to say.

“Long Zhiqing, actually, we’ve come here today because we want to ask for your opinion on something,” Director Xu finally spoke, his voice steady and powerful.

Long Lifan's heart tightened, but she remained calm: "Director Xu, please tell me, is there anything I can help you with? Could it be that there was a problem with the manufacturing of that detachment machine last time?"

"No, that's not it. After I went back last time, thanks to the joint efforts of everyone in our machinery factory, we have successfully produced the threshing machine." Xu Tiansheng said to Long Lifan with some pride when he mentioned the successful manufacturing of the threshing machine.

"So, what brings you here this time is...?"