Chapter 129

Knock, knock, knock!

Summer was jolted awake by the sudden knocking.

In that moment of awakening, her mind was filled with a single thought—today, she was going home.

Fueled by this thought, her body moved without a second's hesitation.

She immediately sat up in bed and started dressing, calling out to the person outside, "I'm up."

It was only now that she truly understood what it meant to be "homesick."

Summer quickly got dressed, tied her hair back, and hurried to wash up.

By the time she finished her morning routine, Logan had already reheated a simple breakfast. She sat down in the kitchen to eat.

Since they were in a rush to catch the train from the county, Summer ate faster than usual.

With no time for idle chatter, she remained silent, focusing on her meal.

After quickly finishing her breakfast and cleaning up, Summer headed back to the dormitory to grab the luggage she had packed the night before.

They were moving their household registration back to the city, and this would likely be their last visit to the village. Summer carefully checked to ensure she had everything.

Once she confirmed nothing was left behind, she grabbed her travel bag and exited the dormitory.

Logan was already waiting outside with his travel bag, so Summer hurried to his side, a smile of excitement lighting up her face. "Let's go," she said.

Logan remained composed, appearing unruffled.

He nodded and turned to walk alongside Summer toward the village entrance.

As they left the dormitory and school, Summer couldn't help but glance back several times.

She thought about the early days when the school was overgrown with weeds and surrounded by barren land.

They had cleared the school bit by bit, recruited students through persistent effort, and rang the school's bell again. They had even built the dormitory brick by brick, living in it for over a year.

The sky was still dark, filled with stars. After a few more looks, the school and dormitory faded into the night, disappearing from view. Summer turned back, her feelings of attachment blending into the village's night.

The county was far away, and the village arranged for a donkey cart to take them there.

When Summer and Logan reached the village entrance, they saw not just the donkey cart but a crowd of people.

The darkness made it hard to see who was who, but it was clear they were all villagers.

Surprised by the large turnout, Summer and Logan exchanged a glance.

Before they could reach the crowd, someone called out, "Logan and Summer are here!"

They walked up to the crowd.

Seeing the village officials, Logan spoke, "Anthony, Leonardo, Ken, Ben, Linda, why are you all here so early?"

Anthony smiled, "You two haven't been in our village for long, but your contributions are significant. We had to come see you off. But these villagers came on their own."

A villager chimed in, "Logan, Summer, we came to see you off ourselves!"

Before Summer and Logan could respond, someone came up and handed them something, saying, "We don't have much, but we cooked some eggs for your journey."

Eggs were the best thing they could offer.

Logan and Summer politely declined, but the villagers' enthusiasm was undeniable. In the end, they accepted many boiled eggs, filling their bags.

In addition to the village officials and villagers, students from the school were also there.

Although they had formally said goodbye at school yesterday, many students couldn't bear to see them leave and came to send them off.

Summer and Logan bid farewell to the students once again.

The children's attachment was different, and being younger, their emotions were raw. Some cried out loud, while others silently wiped away tears.

The adults hadn't intended to cry, but seeing the children so upset, some of them started to tear up as well.

Summer couldn't hold back her tears either, her eyes moistening repeatedly.

Seeing the emotional scene getting out of hand, Anthony called for the parents to pull their children back, reminding them that Logan and Summer had a train to catch.

The children were pulled back, and Amy and Billy came forward to see them off.

Amy, having a special bond with Summer, held back her tears and asked, "Summer, can I write to you?"

Summer hugged her, "Of course, I'll write to you first when I get back."

Amy's voice wavered, "I'll take good care of the dictionary you gave me."

With the train to catch, their goodbyes couldn't last forever.

Anthony urged them to get on the cart. "Hurry, get on the cart," he called.

Summer and Logan finally boarded the donkey cart, carrying the villagers' heartfelt gifts. As the cart started moving, they waved goodbye until they could no longer see each other in the dark.

Summer wiped her eyes, feeling a mix of sadness and anticipation.

Logan, as always, showed no sign of tears.

He quickly shifted gears, the farewell emotions fading as he said, "It'll be a while before dawn. You should get some more sleep."

The cart was driven by a villager. Since it was so early, the cart was equipped with straw and blankets for sleeping.

Hearing Logan, the villager added, "Yes, Summer, you should sleep some more. It's a long ride to the county."

With both of them suggesting it, Summer didn't hesitate. She smiled, "Alright, I won't say no."

She took off her shoes, climbed onto the cart, and lay down, covering herself with a blanket.

With Logan and the villager sitting at the front, she felt no pressure and soon fell asleep to the cart's gentle rocking.

***

The sky brightened with the morning star.

As dawn broke, the light slowly filled the courtyard of the commune.

An urgent alarm clock broke the silence, quickly followed by various sounds.

With little time in the morning, the ten residents hurried through their routines without much conversation.

Split into three groups, they washed, ate, and fed the pigs and chickens before heading to work.

Henry and his group cooked and ate first, then fed the animals.

Knowing today was the day Summer and Logan were leaving, Sophia had been awake since midnight, unable to sleep. In the morning, she felt lethargic and had little appetite.

Chewing on the daily coarse bread, she felt nauseous with every bite.

Unable to eat much, she stopped forcing herself after a few bites.

Seeing her condition, Henry asked with concern, "Are you feeling unwell? Maybe you should stay and rest today."

Sophia suppressed her nausea and said, "I might have caught a chill, but it's nothing serious."

She knew her discomfort was more emotional, and accepting the reality left her feeling drained and listless.

She didn't return to the dorm to rest. Being alone would make her feel worse, so she decided against taking the day off.

After breakfast, Henry took the bucket of pig feed, and Sophia followed him to the pigsty.

Henry didn't let her do any work, knowing she wasn't feeling well.

He emptied the bucket into the trough while Sophia stood nearby.

The smell of the pig feed overwhelmed her, and she suddenly felt her stomach churn, fighting the urge to vomit.