Rebirth in Famine: She Thrives by Lucky Space

Chapter 1044: Thoughts

Jiang Xinyu came back, and Shi Jing told her about it."No problem, we’ll go in August when the crabs are plump. We can try them then."

Since Mom agreed, it’s a done deal.

The three kids gathered in the study to count how long until August.

Jiang Xinyu chose August for the outing for a reason. By then, there wasn’t much work in the fields. Shi Xian and Tingting would be one year old, a great time to take them out for a look around.

Two days later, Li Cunshan organized everyone to break the branches from the cotton seedlings. This task wasn’t really tiring but rather uncomfortable.

"Everyone be careful, and report any bugs immediately. We can’t afford to affect this year’s yield. Remember Xiao Wei’s family’s snow-white cotton last year."

Li Cunshan’s words were very effective. Everyone paid close attention.

Small groups of three or five like-minded folks worked together, chatting as they worked.

Among the women, there was no major news, just trivial matters.

The Li Family Village had developed to this point, and everyone took pride in it, with a heightened sense of awareness. There were few family disputes in the village, so the gossip mostly came from other villages. Li Cunshan assigned the six educated youths the task of weeding but didn’t trust them to break branches.

Even after using herbicides, there weren’t many weeds, only wild vegetables, so the six of them found it quite easy.

Wei Kaiyun’s family was tidying up their watermelon plot in their own reserved land.

Many families planted watermelons this year, but the brigade didn’t. They planned to sell watermelons under the collective’s name, though.

There were, of course, some who were envious. Li Yungui had once said that anyone could plant watermelons and not to covet others’ things. Consequently, most families in the village planted some watermelons.

The Wei Family planted the most; they had an acre this year, keeping the children in mind as the main priority.

Jing Chu and Li Xue were bundled up tightly, squatting between the crops to break branches. Both girls weren’t the chatty types, but the aunts and sisters-in-law in Li Family Village were very warm.

So they only responded when spoken to.

Pan Xiaoying felt a bit jealous. The two of them were also educated youths but got along well with the villagers.

Pan Xiaoying and her group knew Li Xue was the village head’s niece, and Lv Jingchu was Teacher Jiang’s niece. They had reached out to them before, but after exchanging a few words, they didn’t become close. It was really awkward.

As for Lv Guodong, what young girl wouldn’t like him? But he rarely talked to them, and besides, they were older than Lv Guodong and felt a bit embarrassed.

Today, Lv Guodong didn’t come to work. Pan Xiaoying wanted to ask Lv Jingchu, but knowing Li Xue was Lv Guodong’s fiancée made her feel embarrassed to ask.

So she stayed on the side, hoping someone would ask what she wanted to know.

But until the end of work at noon, nobody asked. Pan Xiaoying felt frustrated.

Li Cunshan blew his whistle, signaling the end of the workday.

Everyone came out of the fields. "The work continues at two in the afternoon."

Since the work wasn’t urgent, Li Cunshan wanted everyone to rest a bit more, so they got dismissed half an hour later than usual.

"Uncle, we’re getting an extra half hour of rest?"

"Yes, you all did a good job this morning. Take a longer rest at noon, head back."

Most families had children or the elderly cooking at home, but the six educated youths didn’t and had to return to cook for themselves.

They hadn’t dared to slack off all morning, working under the villagers’ watchful eyes. Slacking off was not an option.

So the six of them didn’t find it easy, especially thinking about having to go home and cook, with little rest time after eating. The girls weren’t exactly thrilled.

But having worked all morning, they were hungry, so they didn’t linger and headed straight back to the educated youth’s place.

They had already prepared cornmeal for porridge in the morning, and all they needed to do was cook it once home.

The six of them had agreed, so each carried some tender greens in their pockets, washing and chopping them to mix with the dough, saving them the need for more dishes.

"I wonder when the village will distribute the wheat. I want some white bread," Hou Wenhui said, smacking her lips.

Her words made the other five look forward to the distribution as well.

Yan Shuping had been quiet lately. She had finally realized the man she liked was Wei Kaiyun, Teacher Jiang’s husband.

All her hopes were dashed, knowing there was no way in.

But no one else in the village appealed to her either, and, naturally, no one among the villagers tried to get close to them.

It was awkward, with no potential partners available even if they wanted to settle down here.

She also knew there was a Zhao Zhiqing who married Old Yang, a capable person.

She had seen Old Yang, an ordinary man, but with capabilities, he ate well, lived well, and stayed home with the kids without having to work in the fields.

She had never seen this Zhao Zhiqing, and Yan Shuping thought she was even happier than Teacher Jiang because she didn’t have to do anything.

The thoughts in her mind were unknown to the three other girls living with her. She felt relieved that no one noticed; otherwise, how embarrassing would that be? Also, she’d become a laughingstock.

"Xu Zhiqing, shouldn’t we go to the county to claim our tickets soon?"

"We should wait till we finish with the cotton fields’ work, right?"

"There’s always work in the village. We should talk to the Captain about it early, and they will arrange it," Hou Wenhui softly suggested.

Xu Chunshan realized that made sense, "Alright, we’ll speak to the Captain after work this afternoon."

Actually, the village leaders in Li Family Village were quite approachable and treated them well. Usually, whatever they asked was agreed to.

This was because the six were quite honest; otherwise, why would anyone grant them such convenience?

Back at the educated youth’s spot, four girls cooked while the male educated youths fetched water and did chores in the yard.

"Shouldn’t there be new comrades coming here?"

"There should be. We haven’t been in contact with the educated youths from other villages, nor have we gone out, so we don’t know the outside situation."

After lunch, everyone hurried to nap. While the villagers considered this an easy task, it was quite tiring for them.

"I bet Lv Zhiqing and Li Zhiqing have been resting for a while. I’m really envious of them," Pan Xiaoying muttered.

The other three fell silent, understanding well that their lives were particularly good.

Now, all four girls thought about finding support here. For girls, seeking support typically meant marriage. It wasn’t what they wanted, but they had no other options.