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

"What are you all standing there for? Pull them apart!"

The two Xiang sisters, Xiang Fang and Xiang Hong, were too difficult for Yu Xiulian to pull away, and the male educated youths were also hesitant to try to pull the female educated youths away.

Therefore, Chen Hongjie spoke anxiously to several female educated youths who had come to watch the commotion.

Hu Lili and the others glanced at Long Lifan subconsciously. Seeing her nod, they all stepped in together to separate the three of them.

Chen Hongjie breathed a sigh of relief as he watched the two sides being separated.

At this moment, Chen Wei had several scratches on his face, and a button on his shirt had been torn off and was nowhere to be seen. Several scratches could also be vaguely seen on his chest.

The Xiang sisters, Xiang Fang and Xiang Hong, were in slightly better condition, with only their hair being somewhat disheveled. As for Xiang Fang, not only was her hair disheveled, but her face was also swollen, as Chen Wei's slaps had landed on her face, and there was even a trace of blood at the corner of her mouth.

"What are you doing? What are you doing!" Chen Hongjie roared angrily at the group, "Fighting over such a trivial matter? Do you want everyone to laugh at us educated youth?"

"Apologize to the educated youth and to Chen Wei!" Chen Hongjie criticized everyone before speaking to Xiang Fang.

"Pah!"

Because of the fight, a hair seemed to be stuck in the corner of her mouth. She forcefully spat it out, expressing her dissatisfaction, saying, "Why should I apologize to him? Why should I!"

"Because I'm the head of the educated youth settlement!"

When Xiang Fang refused, Chen Hongjie looked embarrassed and then spoke sternly, asserting his authority.

"Place leader? Heh, all you can do is flaunt your status in front of us. Look at the new educated youth, who takes you seriously?" Xiang Fang couldn't help but sneer.

Long Lifan, standing to the side, couldn't help but roll her eyes. This educated youth was really blunt. Even if what you said was true, was it really appropriate to say it in front of everyone?

“You…” Chen Hongjie pointed at Xiang Fang, unable to find a rebuttal for a moment.

"Besides, did I lie? What I just said is the truth!" Now that she has completely offended Chen Hongjie, the station chief, she can only seek allies.

“Ask Hu, did Chen fawn over you just now, and you didn’t accept it?”

"What!"

Hu Lili was stunned for a moment. She had just come to eat melon seeds, but she didn't expect to be involved in this. What did this have to do with her?

“What Xiang Zhiqing said is right. Chen Zhiqing did want to help me this afternoon. But I have no relation to Chen Zhiqing, so I declined his offer.”

Since the educated youth had already said it in front of everyone, she had no choice but to nod in agreement. That was for the best, so that Chen Wei wouldn't bother her like he did this afternoon.

However, she phrased it rather tactfully, and I believe everyone understood what she meant.

"Then let's talk about Chen Wei framing me." Things had come to this point, and there was no turning back, so Xiang Fang went all out and said:

"Didn't Chen Wei accuse me of secretly eating oil? Well then, I'd like to trouble him to find a witness. If he can prove that I stole it, then you can decide whether to arrest or kill me, Xiang Fang."

Long Lifan and her group finally understood that the two had started fighting over this issue.

Contrary to Chen Hongjie's earlier thoughts, she did not think it was a trivial matter. In this day and age, being labeled like that, especially for a girl, would make it difficult for her to face others in the future.

If someone were to frame her, she would definitely be angry, but she wouldn't fight like Xiang Fang did; that would clearly be a lose-lose situation. You could tell just by looking at her face. Although Chen Wei also had a few scratches, they were insignificant compared to the injuries on her face.

But she would use other methods to make sure that person left a deep impression.

"What, is there no one to testify?" Xiang Fang looked at all the male educated youths one by one, and saw that they all lowered their heads and dared not speak.

Even Chen Wei, who had been shouting earlier, was hanging his head. What evidence could he possibly have? Usually, it was the female educated youth who did the cooking; they rarely even went into the kitchen, let alone explain the amount of oil.

"Fine, if you can't produce it, then don't say that again. If I ever hear anyone say that again, I'll tear their mouth apart!"

"Let me tell you, I, Xiang Fang, am not someone to be trifled with."

Looking at the group of male educated youths who were bowing their heads and remaining silent, Xiang Fang did not forget to give them a warning. Suddenly, as if she remembered something, she slowly said, "Since you don't trust us female educated youths to cook and think we will secretly eat our food, then fine, from today onwards, we will each cook our own food and get what we want."

Then, she turned her gaze to Xiulian, paused for two seconds, and slowly said, "Sister Xiulian, my cousin and I will definitely be fighting separately. What about you?"

“Sister Xiulian, thank you for taking care of us sisters all this time. I will not blame you for whatever choice you make. But you saw what happened today. Chen Wei dared to frame me in front of everyone. Who knows what they say about us behind our backs.”

As soon as she spoke, the other male educated youths all looked at Yu. Now that Chen Wei had thoroughly offended the Xiang sisters, they would definitely be going to cook separately. If Yu went out too, they would have no one to cook for them.

"I"

Yu Xiulian turned her gaze to Chen Hongjie. She remembered that when she first came to the countryside, it was Chen Hongjie who had been helping her. For her, who had just arrived in the countryside, Chen Hongjie was undoubtedly a ray of light in the darkness.

Later, when Chen Hongjie became the head of the educated youth settlement, the situation changed. She then realized that Chen Hongjie had done so much just to become this so-called head, and the young girl's heart slowly shattered, and the light in her eyes gradually faded.

Finally, he slowly shook his head at Chen Hongjie.

She's not stupid. Back when the three of them were sent-down youths, they had to cook for ten people every day. Now that the Xiang sisters have been separated from their families, these male sent-down youths are counting on her.

She didn't want to cook for eight people every day, especially during the busy harvest season a few days ago. But the female educated youth still had to cook after work every day, while the male educated youth sat by like old men after work, not even offering to lend a hand.

"I'll go with both of you!"

Seeing that the three female educated youths had all been assigned to other jobs, Chen Hongjie could no longer sit still. Pointing at Xiang Fang, she roared, "What are you doing? Are you trying to sow discord among the educated youths?"

"Hey, Chen, don't put such a big label on me. Does not cooking with you mean I'm not a united educated youth?" Xiang Fang retorted without fear.

“But the arrangement of male educated youth gathering firewood and carrying water, and female educated youth cooking and watering the vegetable garden was decided from the beginning. What do you mean by this now?” Chen Hongjie said with a face full of indignation.

"When was that?" Xiang Fang scoffed and said, "How many male educated youth were there back then? How many are there now!"

“We three female educated youths not only have to cook every day, but also water the vegetable garden. But what about you? There are seven of you, and all you do every day is gather firewood and carry water. Do you think that's fair?”

"Speaking of gathering firewood," Xiang Fang pointed to Chen Wei beside her and said coldly, "Ask him how many times he's gathered firewood and carried water since he came to the countryside."

"Isn't it just because he's your rank-bearer Chen's cousin?"

"I…"

"Don't tell him you're going to do his work. I remember you and the other male educated youth did about the same thing!" Chen Hongjie was about to speak when Xiang Fang's words left him speechless.

“And last winter, when Chen Wei ran out of food, you asked us all to share our food with him, saying things like how educated youth should unite with each other.”

“Is Chen Wei missing an arm or a leg? A grown man like him earns fewer work points than I do as a woman. He’s always shirking his duties or being lazy, and in the end, we have to help him out.”

“Chen Wei is your cousin, not mine. Why should I share the grain I worked so hard to earn with him?”

"Unite the educated youth? Ha, you are the least qualified to say that."