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

The banquet was a resounding success, with everyone enjoying themselves, not to mention Secretary Miao who was about to give a lecture. Even Chen Hongjie, whose mood had just plummeted, ate several steamed buns, his appetite unaffected by what had just happened.

It seems that eating rice really can distract you from your emotions. He was patting his chest with his left hand to help him digest, while his right hand kept stuffing food into his mouth.

The gesture was slightly comical, but no one laughed at it. Because apart from the three hostesses, almost everyone else on the field was doing the same thing.

"It's all because of poverty!" Long Lifan thought to herself, recalling similar plots in movies, TV dramas, and period novels from her past life.

When someone is treating you, you have to eat more so that you can save some food when you get home. Even if you can't eat anymore, you still stuff your mouth full.

She had always thought it was an exaggerated technique in movies, TV shows, or novels, but she never expected to see it with her own eyes today. The direct impact of this experience was far more shocking than watching movies, TV shows, or reading novels.

The banquet lasted for more than an hour, and the food was gradually devoured. Everyone was full, so they thanked their three hosts and left.

Liu Pandi and Lin Yue volunteered to stay and help, cleaning up the mess with the three of them.

Back in her courtyard, Long Lifan collapsed onto her bed. She had eaten a bit too much and didn't want to move at all.

"It's better to sleep alone!"

Lying on her own bed, Long Lifan clapped her hands a few times, feeling a surge of emotion.

She's been in the countryside for over 20 days, and starting tonight she'll finally be free from having to share that large dormitory bed with them.

That night, Long Lifan had the most comfortable sleep she'd had since transmigrating, and she didn't wake up until after 8 a.m. Not being too hungry, she easily finished her breakfast by boiling two eggs and drinking some water.

Remembering that she still had to go to work, she decided to go next door to call the two educated youths. Pushing open Hu Lili's courtyard gate, she saw Jiang Nian'an sitting there leisurely eating breakfast.

"Is Hu Zhiqing still not awake?"

Long Lifan pointed to Hu Lili's bedroom and asked in confusion.

"She's awake! I called her a few times and heard her speak." As soon as she finished speaking, the bedroom door opened, and Hu Lili came out with her hair disheveled.

"Hey, Lifan, you're up too!" she said, stretching and yawning. "After being in the countryside for so long, I finally got a good night's sleep."

Jiang Nian'an, who was standing next to him, nodded in agreement. Although it wasn't crowded when they slept at the educated youth settlement, it was inevitable that someone would get up and turn over in the middle of the night, which would easily wake them up.

Hu Lili had already made several duplicates of the keys to the courtyard and doors. She gave one to Lin Yue and the others, so it would be convenient for them to cook. Anyway, she didn't have to worry about the other door to her bedroom. She gave one to Jiang Nian'an. She had originally wanted to give one to Long Lifan, but he refused.

After Hu Lili finished breakfast, the group slowly made their way up the mountain. When the children saw them coming up, they swarmed around them, chattering excitedly about stories.

"Sister Long, what story are you going to tell today!" Lin Tiezhu took the lead and spoke up from the crowd. The stories told by the educated youth sisters were getting more and more captivating. They couldn't sleep at night because they didn't hear a story yesterday.

Today's story will be told by Hu Lili, as the three of them had agreed upon. Even with their large brains, they couldn't handle having to tell the whole story by themselves!

Qi Fangfang was still sitting next to Long Lifan, but she seemed a little absent-minded today.

"What are you thinking about!"

Hearing Sister Long's gentle words, Qi Fangfang glanced around and saw that everyone was listening quietly to the story. So she leaned close to her ear and whispered, "I've noticed my brother's been acting strangely lately!"

Why do you say that?

"I've noticed my brother has been sneaking out at night lately and not coming back until after midnight," Qi Fangfang said with a worried expression. "Sister Long, do you think my brother is doing something bad?"

The girl was very naive. She had asked her brother, but he wouldn't tell her. It was the middle of the night, and he was keeping it from his family; this was the only possibility she could think of.

"You have to believe in your brother!" Long Lifan had her own guesses about this, so she gently comforted him.

Unbeknownst to them, a boy not far away was tightly clutching a bird egg he had just retrieved from a tree; it was Lin Jie, the same boy who had come to find Qi Fangfang last time.

At this moment, he looked forlornly at Qi Fangfang, who was surrounded by people. Once upon a time, they were kindred spirits, each other's only true friend. Now…

With these thoughts in mind, Lin Jie left without looking back.

"what happened?"

"I think I just saw Brother Xiao Jie!" Perhaps sensing something, Qi Fangfang stood up as Lin Jie left. However, because they were in the very center of the crowd, they didn't see anything.

In the afternoon, while everyone was cutting pig feed, the three of them continued to teach the children to recognize characters. The children became more and more interested in learning because Long Lifan told them that the stories they told were all from books, and that as long as they worked hard to learn characters, they could read books and stories on their own in the future.

Back in the courtyard, Long Lifan quickly washed up and then strolled towards the brigade leader's house, because she had already thought of a way to help Yang Zhiqing solve his current problem.

The brigade leader hadn't returned yet; only his wife, Zhou Xiufen, and Lin Tieshuan, the child who had fallen into the water that day, were inside. Smiling, she invited them in, saying, "You've come to see my husband!"

"Hmm!" Long Lifan nodded slightly, then said casually, "There's something I'd like to discuss with the captain."

He then told his grandson to go to the brigade headquarters to fetch someone, while he poured Long Lifan a glass of water. "Have some water, he'll be back soon!"

"Thank you, Aunt Zhou!"

"Hey, you city kids are so polite." The two chatted casually, but it was usually Aunt Zhou who did the talking, and Long Lifan who listened.

"Little Long, the educated youth, is here!" Lin Guodong greeted her with a smile as soon as he entered the house. Knowing that they had something to talk about, Aunt Zhou tactfully brought her grandson out.

"What brings you here today?"

"Great news! Great news!" Long Lifan said with a smile, but remembering the purpose of her visit, she had no choice but to say it against her will.

"What good news!" Upon hearing that there was good news, Lin Guodong immediately perked up and couldn't help but ask.

"Yang Zhiqing plans to teach his medical skills to the villagers. Isn't that a good thing?"

"What do you mean?" Upon hearing Long Zhiqing's answer, the brigade leader was momentarily speechless. If medical skills were truly so easy to learn, their brigade wouldn't have been without a doctor for so long.

“The brigade can select someone to be Yang Zhiqing’s assistant or apprentice. Wouldn’t they get to know each other better over time? Besides, Yang Zhiqing isn’t stingy; she’ll definitely teach you wholeheartedly.”

"Of course, it would be best if it were a woman. After all, Yang Zhiqing is a female comrade. If a male commune member were to be assigned to learn, people would inevitably gossip."

"Also, it would be best if this person was educated, so that Yang Zhiqing could teach much faster."

"Add another position?" The captain considered the feasibility of this. When Long Lifan made those two requests, his first thought was of his youngest daughter.

But if I agree now, other village officials will definitely have objections, and they might think I'm abusing my power for personal gain.

"This is not a good idea. I'll have to discuss it with the other cadres later."

"Then the brigade leader has to hurry," Long Lifan said with a serious expression. "We educated youth are like migratory birds; we might fly away any day. Where will the brigade find someone to replace Yang then?"

"It's better to have what others have than to have it yourself! It's better to rely on yourself than on others."

Upon hearing this, the team leader seemed to recall the previous predicament of not having a village doctor, and immediately stood up and said, "I'll go and discuss it with the other cadres."

Seeing the captain's energetic demeanor, Long Lifan knew that the matter was probably settled.

"I'm so smart!"

Originally, she wanted to help Yang, the educated youth, get rid of Lin, the guard's harassment, but her words made it sound like the Dongwan Brigade had gained a huge advantage. Although it was somewhat unethical, neither side really lost out.

The two requests she just made were things she had carefully considered. There are only two people in the entire village who meet both of those requirements:

One is Chen Weihong, the daughter of the brigade leader, and the other is Miao Xiaohe, the daughter of the Party Secretary.