Chapter 5: Childhood Sweetheart Brother

Two baskets of coal briquettes, twenty pounds of rice, ten pounds of white flour, two pounds of oil, twenty eggs, a large piece of streaky pork, as well as egg cakes, malted milk powder, White Rabbit milk candies, brown sugar, and rock sugar fruit candies.

Lin Nianhe stared at these items, dumbfounded for quite some time, unable to come back to her senses.

In this era, any one of these items would be considered a generous gift. She had only given half a pound of sugar to the head of Ten Miles Team to curry favor, but the person who brought these items... Could it be enough for marrying a wife?

When she opened the last small package, she found a pair of rubber shoes, two packs of candles, and two pairs of work gloves, and even a stack of recent newspapers.

There were also two small packages inside; one was medicine, with various tablets separately packaged and labeled with names and dosages, all common medicines. The other was a half-pound paper package containing a yellowish powder.

Lin Nianhe was certain that the yellow powder was realgar powder.

Not that she had seen much and knew a lot, but the writing on the paper was pretty clear.

'Realgar Powder'

'In the countryside, there are many insects. Sprinkle the powder around the exterior walls and shady areas, but not excessively. Avoid using indoors, and do not consume in large amounts, as it is poisonous. If accidentally scattered indoors, open the doors and windows immediately for ventilation. If not used up, seal and store outside.'

The handwriting on the paper was firm and strong, just like the writing on the medicine packages. They say handwriting reflects the person; Lin Nianhe guessed that the writer must be a tough guy.

Lin Nianhe read the precautions several times, admiring the person who wrote the note—their care was quite meticulous.

She was convinced that the writer was not a doctor from the hospital, but the "big brother" who sent the items.

Who exactly is this person?

Lin Nianhe pondered with curiosity. She picked up a newspaper and an envelope fell to the ground.

She raised her eyebrows, took a disinfectant wipe from the space to clean her fingers, discarded the waste into the space, grabbed a piece of egg cake to nibble on, and sat back down on the edge of the kang bed. With one hand, she took out the letter.

"Nianhe,

Seeing my writing is as good as meeting me.

Life in the countryside is not as easy as in the city. Please take good care of yourself and do not struggle too much over work points and food rations. The mountain roads are rough, and gathering firewood is inconvenient. Coal can be used in place of firewood and you should not worry too much.

I am busy with work on most days, but I will visit when I have the chance. If there is an emergency, go to the Team's headquarters and call me on the phone. My unit's phone number is: ******, please remember it well.

Su Yuncheng"

Lin Nianhe stared at the brief letter for a long moment, finally recalling who this philanthropic rich young man was.

The Su family and the Lin Family were old friends, and the two families lived next to each other. Before Lin Nianhe went to the countryside, she had even joined her father Mr. Lin and her mother Aunt Lin for a meal at the Su family's house.

And the only son of the Su family, Su Yuncheng... had been the childhood sweetheart of the original body's owner.

Lin Nianhe read the letter again and understood the message between the lines—don't work yourself to death; I'll support you.

Suddenly, she felt these things were too hot to handle!

She could respect Mr. Lin and Aunt Lin on behalf of the original owner, but she couldn't handle her love affairs!

Moreover, she liked cunning little bad boys, not rough and tough men.

Lin Nianhe looked at the egg cake she had half-eaten, wondering if it would still be okay if she spit it out now.

At the same time, in Beijing.

Mr. Lin sat absent-mindedly in his office, his mind filled with thoughts—

His daughter should have gotten off the train by now, right? She must have reached the Educated Youth Corps. His filial daughter would definitely write to him immediately; he should receive his daughter's letter in half a month, shouldn't he?

"Old Lin! My boy just called!" The office door was kicked open, and a man about the same age as Mr. Lin entered with a cheerful smile on his face.

Mr. Lin glanced at his old companion, answering listlessly, "Just a phone call, what's there to show off?"

Mr. Lin frowned.

He had found out that Ten Miles Team was accessible by telephone, so why hadn't his daughter given him a call?

Right, his daughter was shy and timid; surely she was too embarrassed in an unfamiliar place...

Mr. Su eyed him, "Not impressed? Fine, I'll tell Yuncheng to hang up and get back to what he was busy with. That boy just came back from visiting Miss He; he's probably quite busy..."

With a swoosh, Mr. Su saw only a blur before his eyes, and turning around, he saw that Mr. Lin had already vanished.

Mr. Lin hurried to Mr. Su's office, catching his breath before picking up the phone: "Yuncheng? Are you still there?"

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The person on the other end of the phone immediately replied, "Uncle Lin, I'm here."

"I heard from your dad that you went to see Hehe? How is she? Has she lost weight? Not sick, right? Can she get enough to eat? Are there many people at the Educated Youth Corps? Can she sleep well there? Is it tiring to work? Is the Team Leader easy to get along with..."

Su Yuncheng waited for Mr. Lin to finish before briskly answering, "When I arrived, Nianhe had gone to find the Team Leader, so I didn't see her. I heard from the comrades at the Educated Youth Corps that she went to send you a telegram. There are quite a few people at the corps, but Nianhe lives on her own. Her room is at the back of the Educated Youth Corps' yard, with a kang and a stove; she can cook for herself."

"I still have things to do at the office, so I couldn't stay long, only to come back first. I'll visit her again when I have a few days off. The grains and oil you asked me to bring, I've delivered to her, don't worry."

Su Yuncheng didn't tell Mr. Lin that the tiny shabby room was originally a firewood shed, so as not to worry the family.

Mr. Lin, eager for every detail, immediately sensed something amiss, "Hehe lives by herself? Was she ostracized by the other comrades?"

Remembering the words he heard at the Educated Youth Corps, Su Yuncheng's lips curved slightly upwards, "No, it's because the female Educated Youth's dormitory was too crowded, so Nianhe volunteered to live by herself. She said... she said she's restless in her sleep and when she was three, she once kicked Aunt Lin's arm out of its socket."

Mr. Lin was stunned for a moment, then laughed heartily, "My girl is full of the spirit of self-sacrifice! She must be worried about the other comrades feeling too lonely living by themselves!"

Su Yuncheng amiably agreed.

He always felt that this girl next door had changed, but it was normal; he had been away from Beijing for four years, and it would be strange if she hadn't changed.

Mr. Lin asked a few more detailed questions, thanked Su Yuncheng repeatedly, and then reluctantly hung up the phone.

Mr. Su knew his old friend couldn't stop worrying about his daughter, and patted his shoulder to comfort him, "It's okay, sending the child out is also to avoid implicating her. With Yuncheng looking after her, Hehe will be fine."

Mr. Lin wiped his tearful eyes, complaining, "As soon as Hehe arrived at the corps, she went to send me a telegram, this child... doesn't she know how to take a rest?"

Mr. Su: "..."

Mr. Lin picked up his old friend's tea mug, took a sip of water, and looking at the chirping birds outside the window, sighed, "My daughter is so filial!"

Mr. Su rolled his eyes at him but spared the argument out of consideration for Nianhe having just arrived in the countryside.

Mr. Lin didn't have the heart to brag for too long either; after rambling for about ten minutes, he hurried home to tell his wife all about their daughter's current situation.

The filial daughter, Lin Nianhe, massaged her burning ears and took a sip of the corn slurry.

This meal made her stomach ache.

She knew she stood out, but why were men and women glancing at her from time to time, what was going on?

Moving to the backyard to distance herself from them was indeed the right decision. She wanted to go to college, to get rich, and had no time to engage in their petty squabbles.

The coarse corn slurry scraped through her throat, stabbing painfully.

Lin Nianhe frowned again.

She had been wearing her clothes for almost half a month, and she had eaten corn slurry at the Lin family before, but the Lin family's cornmeal was much finer ground than this—Comrade Old Lin had a mill, and the cornmeal bought had to be milled three times before cooking.

Clearly, no one here had the spare energy or desire to bother, the cornmeal was very coarse, and the resulting corn slurry naturally didn't taste good. The cornbread was even harder, almost jaw-breaking.

Lin Nianhe nibbled at the cornbread in small bites until her jaws ached.

The older Educated Youth finished their meals in a few bites, but no one left, instead sitting together planning to have a meeting.

Sun Guanghui, seeing that Lin Nianhe was the only one who hadn't finished her meal and considering that the topics they planned to discuss were not very related to her, spoke up:

"We cook in pairs at our Educated Youth Corps, rotating daily. Comrade Wang Xue and Comrade Fu Aiguo can't cook; one will be responsible for washing dishes, and the other for carrying water. You two pair up well, and can start the rotation tomorrow."

A female Educated Youth named Yu Xiangqin, with a sneer in her eyes, glanced at the three people including Lin Nianhe, her voice sharp, "Sun Guanghui, you've miscalculated, haven't you? They are five people, how can they be split into two groups? Washing dishes is Wang Xue's job, she does it cleanly, we can't just switch people around aimlessly."

While Yu Xiangqin mentioned the five newcomers, her gaze constantly wandered across Lin Nianhe's face.

In her view, this delicate princess was clearly not one to do the cooking; she must be trying to take Wang Xue's dishwashing job.

Lin Nianhe swallowed the cornbread in her mouth with difficulty and hoarsely said, "I won't join the cooking group."

Once she said this, the faces of several male Educated Youth were instantly shrouded with a deep sense of loss.

Lin Nianhe had no patience to mind their feelings, her gaze sweeping over Yu Xiangqin's face and landing on Sun Guanghui, "Comrade Sun, I don't have any cornmeal, can I pay for this meal with Food Tickets and money?"

It was trouble to bring out the finer cornmeal from the space that was more refined than the one ground three times by Comrade Old Lin.

Sun Guanghui was about to nod, when Yu Xiangqin snickered, "Wow, Educated Youth Lin isn't old, but she's quite scheming. How long has she been here and she's already hooking up with Sun Guanghui."

Even if Sun Guanghui was a man of few words, he could detect the sting in these words, his face turning red with anger as he glared at Yu Xiangqin, "Comrade Yu Xiangqin! Don't talk nonsense!"

Yu Xiangqin rolled her eyes and her malicious look could match the most notorious shrew of the village, "What nonsense am I speaking? Do you think everyone here is blind?"

She pointed a trembling finger at Lin Nianhe as if trying to jab her nose through the air.

"Wasn't it you who helped her move firewood and clear out a room? Wasn't it you who gave her directions? Ah, look at you two, flirting in broad daylight at the doorstep. If you dare to do it, are you afraid of people talking?"

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