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

Wang Dezhu was pacing anxiously at the village committee, trying to find a solution to the fishpond problem. Hearing the commotion outside, saying that some villagers had surrounded the educated youth settlement, he rushed over. Pushing through the crowd, Wang Dezhu loudly tried to calm the angry villagers: "Everyone, calm down and let me say a few words!"

But at this point, the villagers were unwilling to listen to him. The thought of the village's money going down the drain made them disregard whether Wang Dezhu was a team leader or not.

"Captain, we all listened to you back then and worked hard to dig several fish ponds."

A young man stepped forward, his face full of indignation, and said, "Of course, it's not a big deal for us country folk to put in some effort. But the fish fry in the pond are funded by the village collective, and everyone has a share. This concerns the interests of the entire village, so we can't just leave everyone without an explanation!"

As soon as these words were spoken, many members immediately echoed them. Some members who had just learned about the problem with the fishpond even went to the fishpond to take a look, and returned even more furious.

"Exactly! The dead fish are still soaking in the fishpond. Instead of trying to find a solution, they're hiding in the educated youth settlement. It's obvious they don't care about everyone's hard-earned money!"

"Yes, bring out Zhao and Xia, the educated youths, and give everyone an explanation!"

The commune members were furious, hurling insults and saying that all the educated youth were unreliable. This also affected the other educated youth in the settlement, who were pointed at and gossiped about.

"Zhao Zhiqing, Xia Zhiqing, you two should go out! Things still need to be resolved."

At this moment, a dark-skinned, robust young man spoke up in the educated youth settlement. Although he lived in the settlement, he had been in the countryside for more than five years, and his skin had been tanned several shades darker than the other educated youth by the sun and rain, making him appear more simple and honest.

He was Li Qiang, the person in charge of the educated youth settlement. Looking at the angry members outside, he pointed the finger at Zhao Xiaodong and Xia Aiguo.

They were the ones who started this whole mess, and now that things have gone wrong, they're hiding in the educated youth settlement, too ashamed to show their faces. What's going on? What will happen to the other educated youth if the commune members storm in in anger? They can't all be made scapegoats!

"Zhao, Xia, stop hiding! Come out now!" Wang Dezhu's voice was filled with helplessness and anxiety. Seeing that the villagers' emotions were getting more and more agitated and that they were all pointing the finger at him, he knew that he had to resolve the issue as soon as possible to minimize the losses.

Xia Aiguo and Zhao Xiaodong exchanged a glance inside the educated youth settlement, their eyes filled with fear and unease. But they knew there was no way to escape it, so they braced themselves, opened the door, and slowly walked out of the settlement.

Seeing the two finally appear, Wang Dezhu breathed a slight sigh of relief. He anxiously pressed, "Zhao Zhiqing, Xia Zhiqing, have you come up with a solution yet?"

However, the two men felt even more terrified as they looked at the menacing gazes of the other members around them. They shook their heads slightly, indicating that they hadn't yet come up with a solution.

This action instantly ignited the anger of the commune members. They rushed forward angrily, startling the two men who retreated hastily. "You don't know anything about fish farming, so why did you suggest it to the brigade leader in the first place?" one of the members roared, pointing at them. "Do you think you're some educated youth from the next village, daring to make reckless suggestions when you know nothing!"

"Exactly, you don't know anything? Yet you dare to give orders blindly. Don't you value our hard-earned money?"

Mentioning the educated youth from the neighboring village, everyone was even more indignant. With Dongwan Village spreading the word, they had learned that there was a mill processing plant next door, and many of them had even gone there to have their grain processed.

As more people visited, they gained a better understanding of Dongwan Village. Everyone knew that there was a young intellectual named Long in Dongwan Village who led the villagers to establish chicken and pig farms.

They were envious, but Long, the educated youth, was knowledgeable and that's why he was able to successfully lead everyone. And these two? They knew nothing, yet dared to make reckless suggestions, and now they've caused them heavy losses.

Listening to the accusatory words from the commune members, Zhao Xiaodong and Xia Aiguo felt their faces burning with shame, almost unable to lift their heads. They had only originally envied Long Lifan's success and thus conceived the idea of ​​imitating her.

Zhao Xiaodong, in particular, had intended to make his work easier and also wanted to show off his abilities to Hu Lili. But who would have thought that something would go wrong with the fishpond, and now it was being used as a comparison to Long, the educated youth from the next village, becoming a negative example in everyone's eyes.

However, when Xia Aiguo heard the villagers mention Long Zhiqing, a thought suddenly flashed through his mind. He thought that Long Lifan was quite skilled at raising chickens and pigs, and perhaps she was also knowledgeable about fish farming. So, he mustered his courage and said loudly, "Team leader, I've got an idea!"

Upon hearing this, everyone fell silent, their eyes all focused on him. Wang Dezhu also stared intently at him, waiting for him to continue.

Xia Aiguo paused for a moment, then continued, "Captain, we can try to find Long Zhiqing in Dongwan Village next door. Since she can raise chickens and pigs, she might know something about fish farming. Perhaps she can find out what's wrong with the fishpond and help us solve our current predicament."

"Long, the educated youth!!!"

After listening to Xia Aiguo's words, Wang Dezhu's lips slowly moved, and he murmured the name "Long Zhiqing" as his thoughts drifted back to a year ago.

Back then, when the brigade leaders went to the commune to pick up the educated youth, they saw that Lin Guodong's village, Dongwan, had been assigned seven girls, and they even made some sarcastic remarks. Thinking about it now, it's incredibly ironic.

In recent days, as the reputation of the mill processing plant in Dongwan Village has grown, Wang Dezhu has found himself paying more attention to the situation in the neighboring village. He was surprised to discover that the girls they had previously looked down upon were all incredibly capable, and the entire village of Dongwan had undergone a dramatic transformation because of that educated youth, Long. He couldn't help but wonder, why is there such a vast difference between these two educated youths sent to the countryside?

His gaze swept over the educated youth present, his heart filled with helplessness and regret. He hated that his Qingmiao Brigade hadn't encountered such talent, and instead suffered heavy losses because of Zhao Xiaodong and Xia Aiguo, two educated youths.

Now, he was being forced to go to Dongwan Village to ask for help, which was undoubtedly a huge blow to him. Just thinking about going to Dongwan Village and possibly facing that old bastard Lin Guodong's mocking words made his old face burn with embarrassment.

However, Wang Dezhu also understood that now was not the time to worry about saving face. For the sake of the village's fishponds and to minimize losses, he had to ask Long Zhiqing for help.

So he took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down, and then said with a blank look, "Okay, but you two have to come along too."