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

Faced with Hu Lili's rejection, Xia Aiguo smiled awkwardly and said in a feignedly honest tone, "Hu Zhiqing is right, I didn't think it through." The atmosphere became a little stiff for a moment.

At this moment, ignoring everyone's stares, Liu Pandi walked into the courtyard and took out a stool she had bought. The other girls didn't say anything, since Liu Pandi had paid for it herself. They usually ate at Hu Lili's place, so her little stool was always there.

Xia Aiguo took the stool, and his tired body finally got to rest. Although Dongwan Brigade and Qingmiao Brigade were neighboring villages, it was still a half-hour walk between them. For him, sitting down at this moment felt like the best comfort.

Especially since he had arrived hungry, he had thought the female educated youths would treat him to a meal out of consideration for their acquaintance. However, remembering that Hu and the other educated youths hadn't even let him into the courtyard earlier, he didn't dare bring it up to avoid embarrassment.

He took a deep breath, slowly sat down to ease his hunger, and then said, "I came here today to see if there's anything you need help with."

“I told you on the train that as a man, you can come to me with any difficulties you have. But I recently realized that you female educated youths might be too shy to come, so I came here specifically to ask.”

"Comrade Xia, we don't seem to know each other that well!" Hu Lifan pouted and said impatiently, "Besides, we don't need your help. Just mind your own business and don't come looking for us all the time. It's not good for us if word gets out."

Xia Aiguo was taken aback by Hu Lili's resolute words, even being told not to come looking for them again, and his face darkened. To ease the awkwardness, he tried to change the subject and find a new point of conversation. Xia Aiguo looked at Jiang Nian'an: "Jiang, did you go to Qingmiao Brigade a few days ago? I think I saw you."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Nian'an looked somewhat flustered, her eyes darting around, clearly not wanting others to know that she had been to Qingmiao Brigade. So she shook her head and denied it, saying, "You must have misread it; I haven't been to Qingmiao Brigade."

"is it?"

Upon receiving Jiang Nian'an's reply, Xia Aiguo felt somewhat disappointed and unwilling to accept it. He had thought that Jiang Nian'an had gone to Qingmiao Brigade to look for him. Could it be that he had misjudged her? Otherwise, why would Jiang Nian'an deny it? Xia Aiguo was unwilling to slink back like this and was just about to confirm again.

Long Lifan quickly reminded them, "Comrade Xia, it's lunch break now. We still need to work this afternoon. You see..." Her implication was that she hoped Xia Aiguo could leave so as not to disturb their rest.

When Xia Aiguo mentioned whether Jiang Nian'an had been to Qingmiao Brigade, although Jiang Nian'an vehemently denied it, his obvious change in expression still caught Long Lifan's eye.

Upon hearing Long Lifan's words, Xia Aiguo immediately understood what she meant. Although somewhat unwilling, he still stood up and said, "Alright, I won't disturb your rest any longer."

Before leaving, Xia Aiguo repeated his earlier words, indicating that they could come to him whenever they encountered difficulties.

"Xia, I'll see you off!" Seeing Xia Aiguo leave somewhat forlornly, Liu Pandi felt a pang of pity and followed behind him.

Seeing this, Xiang Fang asked curiously, "Isn't Comrade Xia your friend?" She was puzzled. If Xia Aiguo was truly their friend, why wouldn't they even let them into the house? And judging from their changed attitude, they clearly weren't happy. She had only brought Comrade Xia along because of Long Zhiqing; she didn't want her good intentions to backfire.

Hu Lili directly clarified the relationship, replying, "No, we just traveled to the countryside together by train. We barely spoke a few words on the train." Although Hu Lili wasn't particularly bright, she was observant. She was especially uncomfortable with the way Xia Aiguo looked at her; she knew he was attracted to their good looks and family backgrounds. Xia Aiguo's frequent attempts to strike up conversations with her and Nian An on the train were too obvious.

However, thinking about Liu Pandi's behavior just now, Hu Lili became a little worried. So she looked at Long Lifan and said, "Sister Fan, Liu Zhiqing... you have to talk to her properly!"

Long Lifan: "..."

She really wanted to say, how could she advise someone on something like this? Xia Aiguo's intentions were so obvious, even you could see it, but Liu Pandi couldn't?

why?

To paraphrase a phrase from later generations, it's all because Liu Pandi is currently in a love-struck phase, seeing only the good in Xia Aiguo. Indeed, a woman's IQ drops to zero once she falls in love. Luckily, I've never considered being in a relationship. At this moment, she probably wouldn't listen to anything I said. If I said too much, she might think I'm interested in Xia Aiguo, and that would be a disaster.

"Sigh..." Long Lifan shook her head and sighed, "It's not appropriate for outsiders to interfere in this kind of thing. I just hope Liu Zhiqing doesn't get too involved!"

Seeing Fan Jie's words, the girls fell silent. Over the past six months of spending time with Liu Pandi, their bond had deepened, and they had come to understand her hardships. Growing up in a family that favored sons over daughters, she had lacked love and care from a young age.

So when Xia Aiguo casually said a few words of concern, Liu Pandi was completely disoriented. Although Xia Aiguo was speaking to Hu Lili and Jiang Nian'an, to Liu Pandi, it sounded like he was talking to her.

Xia Aiguo, who had left dejectedly, was still somewhat dazed as he walked down the street. He had been fantasizing about something good, but instead, he hadn't even been allowed into the house, let alone exchanged more than a few words with her. He couldn't figure out where things had gone wrong, and seeing Liu Pandi following behind him, he wanted to try and subtly find out through her.

So he turned around and asked with a serious expression, "Why aren't you staying at the educated youth settlement? Are you being ostracized by the older educated youth there?"

Liu Pandi: "Exclusion???"

Liu Pandi was taken aback. She realized that Xia Aiguo must have visited the educated youth settlement first, but who could ostracize Long, the educated youth? Those old educated youths were too busy currying favor with her.

"That's not true," Liu Pandi then recounted what had happened after arriving at the Dongwan Brigade. Xia Aiguo, standing to the side, became increasingly horrified as he listened.

What? Jiang Nian'an had become a teacher at the school? She immediately felt resentful. There were other educated youths in Qingmiao Brigade who became teachers, but they all married locals or married local people to qualify. Why hadn't she been assigned to Dongwan Brigade?!

If I had encountered enlightened village cadres like those in Dongwan Brigade, I could definitely have become a teacher with my education, instead of having to work in the fields from dawn till dusk to earn work points.

However, what shocked him even more was that the youngest Long Zhiqing was now not only the women's director of Dongwan Brigade, but also managed a chicken farm and even had the right to personally select personnel.

As Xia Aiguo listened to all of this, it all felt so unreal. If Liu Pandi hadn't spoken with such certainty, he would have suspected that she was lying to him.

Thinking about his own situation in Qingmiao Brigade, and then considering the current situation of several other female educated youths, he knew he couldn't give up like this.

I just caught a glimpse of Long, the educated youth. She seems to have grown quite a bit in just six months, and her appearance is almost as good as Jiang Nian'an and Hu Lili's. Especially after hearing Liu Pandi's account of Long's deeds, a strong desire rose in my heart.

Looks like I need to add another person to my list of targets! Winning over that educated youth, Long, wouldn't be bad, especially since she's so young; maybe she'd be easier to woo!