Reborn in 1979, with a female educated youth lying next to me.

"Liu Jia, I know you're not asleep. What are you thinking about? Do you hate me a lot?"

Guo Xiaoyan mustered up her courage and asked the question.

The notice to return to the city will soon reach Xili Village.

These past few days, I haven't been able to exchange more than a few words with Liu Jia throughout the day.

Guo Xiaoyan even felt that if she didn't ask some questions now, she would never have the chance again.

Liu Jia didn't even lift his eyelids, and just said something.

"Qiuzi said that there are corn seedlings in the field, and we will have to weed in a few days."

After saying that, Liu Jia adjusted the quilt and ignored Guo Xiaoyan again.

Guo Xiaoyan frowned slightly, her mind drifting back to the events of the past two years.

When she first arrived in Xili Village, she mistook wheat seedlings for chives. While everyone else was laughing, Liu Jia stood up for her.

"What's so funny? Who among you can guarantee they could tell the difference the first time they saw each other?"

The following autumn, she married into the Liu family.

Whenever it's time to weed the cornfield, Liu Jia gets up early and works late to finish his share of the work.

Liu Jia said that she has delicate skin and it doesn't look good to have her skin scratched by corn leaves.

She said the red marks were so itchy, like ants crawling on them, and she didn't want to suffer from that pain.

For nearly three years, whenever there was something delicious or fun, Liu Jia would bring it to him immediately, completely ignoring the villagers' laughter that the Liu family had raised an ungrateful child.

At that time, Guo Xiaoyan indeed looked down on Liu Jia, and even confidently believed that she had Liu Jia completely under her control.

But now, Guo Xiaoyan's confidence is crumbling.

Liu Jia is still the same as before. Why can't I understand him?

Guo Xiaoyan tossed and turned several times, but still couldn't fall asleep.

Guo Xiaoyan could only manage to doze off for a short while as the sky outside the window began to lighten.

Shortly after waking up, Guo Xiaoyan overheard Liu Jia and Liu Yutian talking outside.

"Dad, I'll leave right after I finish eating. I won't be going to the brigade. Please tell Uncle Zhou."

"Alright, let's go by oxcart. It'll be faster. The sooner we go, the sooner we'll come back."

"Let me see. If there's an oxcart going the same way, I'll take a ride."

After Liu Jia finished speaking, Guo Xiaoyan heard the sound of washing her face.

I specifically asked Liu Jia last night, but he didn't say anything.

Does this mean they really consider themselves outsiders?

The thought flashed through Guo Xiaoyan's mind, but she immediately felt naive.

The marriage is over, and I'm no longer a member of the Liu family. What am I if not an outsider?

Liu Jia ate his meal hastily, and even checked the date before leaving.

Today is Tuesday, and Li Zhenhe is at work.

It's not even seven o'clock yet. If we set off now, we might run into Li Zhenhe when we get to the Hongxing Supply and Marketing Cooperative in the city.

If it's any later, Li Zhenhe will drive out to buy supplies in his tractor, and then my trip will have been for nothing.

Considering the urgency of the situation, Liu Jia quickly changed into a vest in the north room, grabbed a jacket, and ran out.

Coincidentally, Liu Jia ran into a mule cart as soon as he stepped out.

In comparison, mule carts were much faster than oxcarts.

From a distance, Liu Jia began to wave.

The old man driving the cart let the mule run for a while, but when it was almost in front of Liu Jia, he pulled on the reins.

"Xu..."

The mule obediently stopped.

"Uncle, going to town? Are you passing by?"

As Liu Jia asked the question, he took out a cigarette and handed it to him.

Seeing how capable the young man was, the old man took the cigarette and tucked it behind his ear.

"Come on in, have a seat!"

Liu Jia quickened his pace and sat directly in the cart.

"Uncle, which village are you from? You look unfamiliar. Are you passing through our village? I'm from Xili Village."

Before he could even settle in, Liu Jia started talking non-stop.

The old man wasn't one to keep quiet, and immediately picked up where Liu Jia left off.

“I’m from Liuzhang Village. Our village chief asked me to go to the city to pick someone up.”

"I was wondering why I hadn't seen you before. You came back in a mule cart, that was so exciting! Putting everything else aside, just the sound of the bells was enough to make anyone feel good!"

Liu Jia first praised the mule, and then praised the bell.

The old man was laughing so hard his mouth almost stretched to the back of his head.

He immediately cracked his whip and shouted in a high-pitched voice, "Giddy up!"

The mule immediately started running, and the sound of the bells became much more rapid.

Liu Jia kept laughing.

Although my butt was bouncing around a lot, the speed was at least twice as fast as before!

At 8:00 AM, Liu Jia arrived at the Hongxing Supply and Marketing Cooperative.

Before the supply and marketing cooperative even opened, Liu Jia went straight to the backyard.

"Comrade, the supply and marketing cooperative will open soon. You can come in through the front door if you need anything."

The speaker was a female supply and marketing cooperative employee; her voice was not loud, but clear and crisp.

"Hello comrade, I'm looking for someone, Li Zhenhe. He's the driver here and should be at work today."

Liu Jia explained his purpose.

The female supply and marketing cooperative employee was taken aback, then stared at Liu Jia without saying a word.

I was so focused on shooing people out that I didn't look carefully.

Unexpectedly, upon closer inspection, the young man in front of me is actually quite...handsome.

He was over 1.8 meters tall, with thick eyebrows, big eyes, a high nose, and thin lips.

There's still a layer of sweat on my forehead.

The jacket he was wearing was unbuttoned, revealing two vests underneath, and you could imagine the muscle bulges on his arms even through the clothes.

"Comrade, I'm looking for Li Zhenhe!"

Seeing that the supply and marketing cooperative member in front of him was distracted, Liu Jia spoke again.

At the same time, he reached up and wiped the sweat from his forehead.

The female supply and marketing cooperative employee quickly recovered her senses, her face turning as red as a bright red cloth.

"Oh, you're looking for driver Li? Wait here for a bit, he's in a meeting. I'll have him come over in a bit."

"Okay, please."

Upon learning that Li Zhenhe was here, Liu Jia felt relieved.

Worried that Liu Jia might notice something, the female supply and marketing cooperative employee hummed in agreement and left with small, quick steps.

At eight o'clock in the morning, the sun had already risen.

A slight warmth emanated from the air.

Not far away stood a locust tree, its branches and leaves lush and verdant, providing a large shady spot beneath it.

Liu Jia walked to the base of the big locust tree and waited quietly for Li Zhenhe.

The city hasn't developed on a large scale yet; there's only one main street running north to south.

The clinic, grain station, some state-run restaurants, and supply and marketing cooperatives were all located on this main street.

The Hongxing Supply and Marketing Cooperative wasn't hard to find; I found it after asking around.

I was worried about being late, so I walked a little faster.

After only a short while under the big tree, the sweat on Liu Jia's forehead dried up.

Liu Jia had already made his plans.

Today I'll do hard labor for Li Zhenhe.

That day at the dinner table, Li Zhenhe said that the purchasing staff of the supply and marketing cooperative also had a hard time. Loading and unloading goods, they were also tired after a day.

In addition, these tractor drivers are not easy to train, so the supply and marketing cooperative offered them a preferential benefit: work one day and rest one day, with two tractor drivers working in shifts.

Helping Li Zhenhe with some work is nothing; the most important thing is to finalize the cooperation agreement.

Liu Jia was lost in thought.

Just then, Li Zhenhe came running over.

"Hey bro, what brings you here at this hour? Something up?"

Before Li Zhenhe even reached Liu Jia, he began to ask questions anxiously.

Liu Jia smiled.

"It's not a big deal, but I still need to discuss it with you."

"Okay, wait for me a moment, I'll go ask for leave, and we'll go to a restaurant for a couple of drinks later."

As he spoke, Li Zhenhe turned to leave, but Liu Jia quickly stepped forward and grabbed his arm.

"No, I can't let you be late for work. I can talk about my business while I'm on your tractor."

Li Zhenhe was delighted when he heard this.

"That's great! Let's chat while we drive the tractor!"