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

"Alright, stop shouting, save your energy!"

Xia Aiguo's voice was low and hoarse, revealing deep exhaustion. His face was as pale as paper, and his eyes shone with helplessness and distress. The endless labor of the past few days had been like a heavy mountain, pressing down on him so much that he could hardly breathe. The feeling of being both tired and hungry had brought him to the brink of collapse.

Zhao Xiaodong's roar was like a thunderclap in summer, shattering the silence, but it was more like a sharp knife, cutting into Xia Aiguo's already taut nerves. Although he was as agitated as an ant on a hot pan, Xia Aiguo tried his best to control his emotions and make his tone as gentle and calm as possible.

"I can't hold on much longer either,"

He said dejectedly, his voice revealing endless exhaustion and helplessness, "But what can we do? The captain is obviously trying to make us scapegoats. Now let's think about what to cook for dinner tonight."

As he spoke, Xia Aiguo's stomach began to rumble, as if protesting the endless labor and hunger. He had to go to the fields again tomorrow, and if he didn't eat, he probably wouldn't be able to get out of bed.

The thought of reclaiming wasteland filled Xia Aiguo with resentment. Being sent to reclaim wasteland was bad enough, but only receiving five work points a day was an insult and torture.

Captain Wang Dezhu claimed that the extra work points should be considered as compensation for the losses they caused to the brigade, which Xia Aiguo found utterly absurd! But what could he do but complain? He couldn't fight city hall, since he would need the captain's signature and stamp if he had the chance to return to the city in the future, so he dared not disobey the captain's decision.

Suddenly, Xia Aiguo's eyes darted around, and an idea flashed through his mind like lightning. He stared at Zhao Xiaodong and tentatively asked, "Unless... you can get your dad to take you back to the city?" His tone was full of expectation and longing, as if this was their only way out of their predicament.

However, Zhao Xiaodong only gave a wry smile and shook his head helplessly. "Going back to the city? It's not as easy as you make it out to be."

Zhao Xiaodong's voice was filled with bitterness and helplessness. Going to the countryside was easy, but returning to the city was difficult. His father had made him sign up for the rural assignment to avoid trouble, but it wasn't a respectable matter, and he hadn't told Xia Aiguo about it. He didn't know how his father was handling his affair in Beijing, and he figured his family wouldn't agree to him returning to the city now.

Zhao Xiaodong was filled with regret and helplessness. If he hadn't gotten involved with that fishpond, perhaps he wouldn't be in this state of land reclamation now. He looked up at the sky, the afterglow of the setting sun falling on his face, but it couldn't warm his weary heart.

The two men sighed helplessly and exchanged a bitter smile. They knew that no matter how tired they were, they had to start a fire and cook, because the rumbling of their stomachs was a constant reminder that they couldn't work on an empty stomach.

Meanwhile, in Dongwan Village, after ten days of hard work by the villagers digging and moving soil, a fishpond has taken shape, with clear water slowly flowing in, indicating that new life is about to be born.

Lin Guodong and Zhou Huiji even went to the courtyard to find Long Lifan and suggested that Zhou Changlin take over the management of the fishpond.

"Is he capable?" Long Lifan frowned slightly, her mind filled with doubt. She knew that although the fishpond was small, it required both meticulousness and a strong sense of responsibility to ensure that nothing went wrong.

Seeing this, Zhou Huiji quickly stepped forward to vouch for Zhou Changlin: "Young Master Long, don't worry, I know Changlin well. His previous depression was only due to family troubles. Now he has emerged from the shadows and is reliable and dependable. You can rest assured that the fishpond is in his hands!" Lin Guodong also nodded in agreement, emphasizing Zhou Changlin's conscientiousness and responsibility.

Long Lifan secretly pondered that these two were clearly trying to get Zhou Changlin a good job. Although she had questioned Zhou Changlin's judgment when he accidentally picked poisonous mushrooms, considering that Lin Guodong and Zhou Huiji had come to her specifically for this purpose, and that she herself often went to check on the fishpond, she decided to go along with it and agree to the proposal.

Watching Lin Guodong and Zhou Huiji leave, Hu Lili stepped out from the side and walked excitedly toward Long Lifan: "Sister Fan, are we really going to start raising fish?" Long Lifan smiled and nodded, her eyes sparkling with anticipation for the future.

Hu Lili's eyes lit up, and she clapped her hands, laughing, "Great! We'll have fish to eat from now on!" Then, she suddenly remembered something and whispered in Long Lifan's ear, "Sister Fan, what do you think of Zhao Xiaodong and Xia Aiguo? Could they have already met their demise?"

These past few days, Long Lifan had been busy repairing the fishpond and had completely forgotten about the two of them! Hearing Hu Lili mention it, she recalled the "slander" she had given the two to Wang Dezhu before leaving Qingmiao Brigade, and a playful smile curled at the corner of her lips:

"They're probably in deep trouble right now. You know Captain Wang's temper; those two are definitely not going to get away with this."

Upon hearing this, a hint of pleasure flashed in Hu Lili's eyes. She suggested, "Sister Fan, why don't we go to the next village and take a look at their miserable state? Just thinking about the disgusting things they did makes me want to see them punished right now!"

"Okay, let's go take a look."

Long Lifan readily agreed, a sly glint in her eyes. "By the way, let's invite Lin Yue too. She's one of the main characters in this 'show,' we can't let her miss it." She thought that since it was to vent Lin Yue's anger, she naturally wanted Lin Yue to witness the enemy's downfall firsthand.

Upon hearing this, Hu Lili's eyes lit up like stars, and she instantly beamed with joy, clapping her hands and laughing, "Alright, I'll go call Lin Yue right now. She definitely wants to see Zhao Xiaodong's fate with her own eyes!"

After saying that, she couldn't wait to get up and ran away like a happy little bird, leaving Long Lifan standing there with a faint smile on her lips, secretly looking forward to the "good show" that was about to begin.

The moment Long Lifan and his two companions stepped into Qingmiao Brigade, many eyes turned to them. Everyone knew Long Lifan's current identity; she was the hero who saved their village's fishpond. So, the villagers greeted her warmly.

Upon hearing the news, Wang Dezhu rushed over, greeting him with a beaming smile: "Long Zhiqing, what brings you here..."

With a smile on her face, Long Lifan said earnestly, "Our village is also planning to raise fish, so we came to ask Captain Wang about the channels for purchasing fish fry, and at the same time to inquire about the follow-up situation of your team's fish ponds, to see if there is anything else we can help with."

Her words were full of righteous indignation, concealing the true purpose of their trip. They couldn't let Captain Wang discover their true intentions, lest things get complicated.

"Oh, your village is going to raise fish too?" Wang Dezhu was taken aback, then a hint of surprise flashed in his eyes. He looked at Long Lifan, and those confident eyes filled him with a touch of regret. Long, the educated youth, was actually still searching for ways to make Dongwan Village prosperous. If only such a visionary and capable person could be assigned to their village!