The notice had been circulating since the day before yesterday, but even now, Yan Xue still hadn't heard about it.
However, she wasn’t home twenty-four hours a day, so after confirming she hadn’t misheard, she went to ask Aunt Guo next door whether anyone had come looking for her these past few days.
It wasn’t that she suspected Aunt Guo would deliberately hide anything—she just wanted to account for the slim chance that Aunt Guo, being older, might have forgotten.
As it turned out, there was no such chance. No one had come looking for her at all.
The next day, still no one came, but the logging camp’s shuttle bus started transporting people up the mountain.
Yan Xue kept her composure. Only after the shuttle returned in the evening, confirming that most passengers were women with a few young men—likely recent educated youth sent to the mountains—did she seize the opportunity to visit Captain Lin’s house.
The educated youth at the logging camp were also temporary workers, currently assigned to the dependents’ team, which was divided into the agricultural team and seasonal laborers.
Before she even reached Captain Lin’s doorstep, she heard his coughing. It had been over ten days, and his condition still hadn’t improved.
When Yan Xue knocked, it was Captain Lin’s wife who answered, sleeves rolled up as if she’d just returned and was preparing dinner.
The moment she saw Yan Xue, she apologized, "My husband’s illness has gotten worse again. He just took his medicine. If you have something to discuss, you can tell me here."
The smell of medicine did waft out when the door opened, clinging to Captain Lin’s wife as well. Yan Xue hesitated. "Is Captain Lin alright? May I come in and see him?"
"It’s an old ailment. He was injured years ago during logging, and it left a lasting weakness. Every winter when it gets cold, it flares up again."
Captain Lin’s wife gave a bitter smile. "Otherwise, at his age, why would he be so thin? Now he’s been transferred to the dependents’ team. In his state, he can’t even talk properly. You’d better just tell me what you need."
Yan Xue glanced at her, then toward the inner room, but didn’t insist. "Alright. I just noticed that other dependents have already started going up the mountain, so I came to ask why I didn’t receive any notification."
"Well…" Captain Lin’s wife hesitated, looking troubled.
"Was I accidentally left out of the notice?" Yan Xue asked, her clear eyes reflecting the woman’s image.
Captain Lin’s wife sighed. "Not exactly. It’s mainly because you signed up too late. The dependents’ team doesn’t need so many people right now, so you weren’t notified."
At this, Yan Xue lowered her gaze and stayed silent for a long moment, visibly disappointed.
Captain Lin’s wife tried to console her. "It’s not that they’ll never need you. There might be work in a few days, and we’ll definitely notify you then. Don’t worry too much."
She added gently, "And if nothing else, there’s always the agricultural team. They’ll start needing workers next month."
"Are they really not short on people?" Yan Xue pressed, unwilling to give up.
Captain Lin’s wife nodded. "If they were, you’d have been notified already. Didn’t you register with Captain Lin?"
"Fine then." Yan Xue forced a smile and left, clearly displeased.
Captain Lin’s wife watched her go, only closing the door once she was out of sight. She didn’t notice how Yan Xue’s expression shifted the moment she turned away—the discontent melting into calm.
Too calm, in fact. When Aunt Guo next door saw her return, she studied Yan Xue’s face for a long time but couldn’t decipher anything. "Well? What happened?"
Ever since Yan Xue had asked her about it, Aunt Guo had taken an interest. She was the one who’d told Yan Xue about the shuttle bus that morning.
Yan Xue smiled. "Captain Lin’s wife said they don’t need so many people right now, so I wasn’t notified. I’ll have to wait for further news."
"That could be. Don’t fret. There’s always the agricultural team, isn’t there?"
Aunt Guo offered a few more words of comfort, which Yan Xue listened to with a smile. But once back in her room, she grabbed the dried meat she’d prepared earlier and headed to the Liu household.
The Liu children were doing homework by the kang—though, to be precise, only the second daughter, Liu Chunni, was actually working on it.
Liu Chuncai was hovering nearby, instructing her. "The answer is 15. It’s definitely 15. Trust me."
Liu Chunni gnawed on her pencil, frowning. "But I think it’s 1.5."
"I’m in middle school now. How could I get a primary school math problem wrong? It’s 15. Write it down so we can go play!" Liu Chuncai insisted.
The youngest, Liu Weibin, had already strapped on his new roller skates and was gliding back and forth across the room. "Yeah, Second Sister, hurry up! We’ve been waiting forever."
Liu Chunni still doubted, chewing the metal-capped eraser at the end of her pencil until it nearly bent out of shape.
"Mom told you not to chew your pencil. It’s gross!" Liu Chuncai scolded.
Liu Chunni quickly stopped, but unlike her siblings, she was shy, introverted, and stubborn. If she thought something was wrong, no amount of persuasion could make her write it down.
Finally, she turned to Yan Xue, who had just entered. "Sister Yan Xue, do you know how to solve this problem?"
"Let me see." Yan Xue took the workbook and quickly calculated the answer in her head. "1.5."
"How could it be 1.5?" Liu Chuncai protested.
Without a word, Yan Xue took Liu Chunni’s scratch paper and wrote out the steps—clear and straightforward, proving the answer was indeed 1.5.
Now Liu Chuncai scratched her head, while Liu Chunni, reassured, copied the final answer into her workbook.
Liu Weibin, ever the turncoat, immediately switched sides. "Big Sister, aren’t you in middle school? How can you not even solve a primary school math problem?"
Liu Chuncai, unlike her meek younger sister, shot him a glare. "So what if I can’t? It’s not like we’re taking imperial exams. We’re all going to the countryside anyway!"
This was the prevailing mindset of the era. Whether you studied well or poorly, everyone ended up in the countryside—so why bother?
The college entrance exams had been suspended for years, and even if they hadn’t, most people in the logging camp were laborers with little awareness of higher education. Finishing high school was already an achievement.
Yan Xue couldn’t lecture them too much, so she simply asked Liu Chuncai, "If you don’t study, how will you calculate prices when buying or selling things?"
"Wouldn’t learning the basics be enough?" Liu Chuncai grumbled.
"But if you want to be an accountant, you’ll need to learn more. Doctors, nurses, even the engineers at the machinery repair plant—they all had to study."
Seeing the girl fall silent, Yan Xue even teased, "If you don’t read and broaden your horizons, you might get swindled into buying ‘health products’ when you’re older."
"What are health products?" Liu Chuncai asked, unfamiliar with the term.
Yan Xue smiled faintly. "Things that supposedly keep you healthy."
"Like ginseng?"
"Exactly. What if someone tricks you into buying codonopsis root, passing it off as ginseng?"
"I know what ginseng looks like," Liu Chuncai scoffed.
But Liu Weibin, who’d been listening intently, suddenly piped up, "Aren’t codonopsis and ginseng both kinds of shen?"
If phones and hens were both called "ji," he’d probably fall for a health product scam right now.
Only Liu Chunni stayed quiet, absorbing every word while carefully packing her pencil and notebook into her bag.
"Don’t leave yet," Yan Xue said, unwrapping the dried meat she’d brought. "I brought you all some snacks. Finish these before you go out to play."
When the children saw the delicious treats, they naturally got excited, but Huang Fengying couldn't help scolding Yan Xue, "This isn’t made with roe deer meat, is it? There’s barely any left, and you’re still bringing some here?"
"I just figured out how to make it and wanted to show off. Next time, I won’t bring any—I’ll just teach you how to make it yourself," Yan Xue said with a playful blink, leaving Huang Fengying torn between scolding her and letting it slide.
But the food was truly tasty, and the kids loved it, so Huang Fengying asked for the recipe, planning to try making it herself later.
Once the children had grabbed some jerky and run off to play, Yan Xue turned serious. "Auntie, there’s something I’d like to ask of you."
"Just say it. No need for formalities."
"Could you help me find out how many seasonal workers the family team recruited this year? Are there any who signed up but didn’t get in? And is the team short on hands right now?"
Yan Xue strongly suspected that the reason she hadn’t received any notice wasn’t because the team was fully staffed, as Captain Lin’s wife had claimed, but because of something else.
But without proof, she couldn’t jump to conclusions, so she asked Huang Fengying to look into it for her.
Huang Fengying agreed without hesitation. "Sure, I’ll get back to you tomorrow." She didn’t press for details or ask further questions.
The next day, just before noon, Huang Fengying came to Yan Xue’s home, not even stopping for a drink of water before speaking. "I asked around. This year, no one who signed up for the family team was turned away—in fact, they’re still short on workers. Our logging site overfulfilled its quota this year, so there’s more timber to clear, which means more work for the family team. That’s why they started earlier than usual. Because of the early start, a few people couldn’t make it back in time."
Yan Xue knew of two who hadn’t returned—the daughter-in-law of the aunt she’d met the other day and Guo Changping’s wife from next door.
What she didn’t know was whether Guo Changping’s wife hadn’t been notified because she was still in the hospital or if the Guo family had been left out because of her.
After sharing everything she’d learned, Huang Fengying finally asked, "Did something go wrong with your family team assignment?"
"Yeah," Yan Xue admitted helplessly, explaining how she hadn’t received any notice and what Captain Lin’s wife had told her.
Huang Fengying shot to her feet. "That’s just messing with you! I’ll go talk to her!"
"Don’t rush," Yan Xue said, pulling her back down. "We don’t even know if Captain Lin is aware of this. If it was his idea, confronting them won’t do any good."
"Xiao Lin probably doesn’t know, right? Didn’t you say his wife stopped you at the door and talked to you outside?"
That wasn’t necessarily true. Back when they’d taken the compensation from Wang Village and when they’d tried to set her up with someone, hadn’t her aunt Bai Xiuzhen been the one handling things?
And had Yan Songshan really been in the dark? Unlikely. He just preferred hiding behind his wife and playing the good guy.
Yan Xue managed to calm Huang Fengying down. "I’ll think of another way. Arguing with them isn’t the goal—getting the job is."
Huang Fengying saw her point. "Well, if there’s anything I can do, just say the word. If needed, I’ll have Old Liu bring it up with the higher-ups. This isn’t how things should be handled."
"When have I ever held back with you? If I really need help, I might even borrow your three dogs for moral support," Yan Xue joked, finally getting a laugh out of Huang Fengying.
"If you’re serious, I’ll throw in the two geese from the backyard too," Huang Fengying teased back.
But Yan Xue was only half-joking. As she’d said, solving the problem was what mattered most. The next day, she hitched another ride up the mountain.
This time, she wasn’t there to see Qi Fang. She didn’t even enter the camp after getting off the truck—instead, she planned to ask someone where the family team was working.
But before she could go far, someone called out to her first. "You’re back? Looking for Qi Fang?"
Yan Xue turned to see Liang Qimao, the man who’d taken her up the mountain to find Qi Fang last time.
She couldn’t tell if he was pretending ignorance or if he thought she didn’t know he’d egged his brother-in-law into causing trouble at her wedding. Either way, he greeted her warmly.
Yan Xue studied his smiling face. "Aren’t you working today, Brother Liang?"
"The tractor broke down again. Waiting for someone to fix it," he said, waving it off. "The logging team’s deep in the woods now. Want me to help you find them?"
He seemed to have forgotten how he’d nearly gotten her into trouble last time—and how he’d abandoned her there alone.
Yan Xue decided not to look further. "Do you know where the family team is working right now?"
If she wanted answers, she needed to catch them in the act.
Liang Qimao looked surprised. "The family team? What do you need them for?"
"Just some business," Yan Xue replied vaguely.
He clicked his tongue. "Fine, I’ll go ask around. But only for you—I wouldn’t bother for anyone else."
Soon, he returned with the family team’s location.
Yan Xue thanked him and turned to leave, but he followed. "Let me take you there. Don’t go wandering off."
Then, in a familiar tone, he asked, "So, how’s life at the logging site treating you? I didn’t even know you were getting married—missed my chance to give you a gift."
Wasn’t this a bit too friendly?
Yan Xue glanced at him.
He kept talking. "I live right behind your place. If you ever need anything and Qi Fang’s not around, just come find me. I’m home a lot since I drive the tractor."
Yan Xue didn’t respond and quickened her pace, barely engaging with him for the rest of the walk.
Luckily, the clearing work had started near the camp, so they arrived quickly. Yan Xue spotted a few people sitting on a fallen log at the edge, warming themselves by a fire.
One of them looked familiar—Captain Lin’s wife, who was quite pretty.
"Taking a break?" Liang Qimao called out as they approached.
The woman looked up and smiled. "Xiao Liang! What brings you here?" She seemed to know him well.
"Yan Xue wanted to find the family team, so I showed her the way," he said, gesturing behind him without mentioning they’d just met on the road.
Captain Lin’s wife turned to Yan Xue, her expression flickering briefly before she smiled again. "What brings you here? Need something?"
"I’m looking for Captain Lin," Yan Xue said, smiling back. Without waiting for a reply, she raised her voice. "Captain Lin! Is Captain Lin here?"
Almost everyone instinctively turned toward one direction—including Captain Lin’s wife.
Yan Xue took a few steps forward but kept calling out. "Captain Lin! I heard the family team isn’t short on workers this year, so that’s why I wasn’t notified. Is that true?"
She pretended to be in a hurry, not giving him time to answer before adding, "But I also heard the team’s overloaded and needs more people. Which one is it?"
Captain Lin seemed about to speak but broke into a cough. His wife quickly grabbed Yan Xue’s arm. "Calm down. We can talk this over properly."
"It’s been days since work started. How can I not be in a hurry?" Yan Xue wasn’t about to be silenced—she wanted this discussion out in the open.
Her voice grew even louder, "I was planning to ask Secretary Lang about it, but when I heard Captain Lin was here, I came to you first. What exactly is going on?"
She spoke rapidly, perfectly embodying the image of an impatient and flustered young wife.
Even Liang Qimao couldn’t help but ask Captain Lin’s wife, "What’s the matter?"
Captain Lin’s wife hadn’t expected Yan Xue to be so bold. She had assumed Yan Xue, always smiling and seemingly mild-tempered, was too young and shy to push back—that even if her dismissive words hadn’t sent Yan Xue packing, the girl would just swallow her frustration in silence.
But now, with Yan Xue airing the issue in front of so many people, she had no choice but to address it—especially since Yan Xue had mentioned Secretary Lang...
Captain Lin’s wife knew that if this wasn’t resolved, Yan Xue really would take it to Secretary Lang. And Captain Lin knew it too.
Still coughing, he hurried over. "What’s going on? Didn’t I... cough... send someone to notify you? You... cough... didn’t show up yourself."
"Who notified me? I never got any message. I even asked around, and people told me the team wasn’t short on hands, so I wasn’t needed—just to go home and wait."
Yan Xue didn’t say who she’d asked, but as she spoke, she glanced pointedly at Captain Lin’s wife.
Captain Lin also turned to look at his wife, whose smile stiffened under his gaze.
But instead of confronting her, he turned back to Yan Xue. "Then I must’ve forgotten. You... cough... can start work tomorrow."
He took the blame himself rather than pinning it on his wife—suggesting he truly hadn’t known about this.
Yan Xue hadn’t gone straight to Secretary Lang precisely because she’d considered this possibility. She wanted to resolve the matter within the family team first.
If Captain Lin was unaware, the issue would end with him. By not escalating it, Yan Xue was saving face for him—how he dealt with his wife afterward was his business.
If he had known, her public confrontation and mention of Secretary Lang would force him to give her an answer.
Either way, now that the matter was out in the open, Yan Xue’s spot in the family team was secured.
After all, if they didn’t resolve it, she really would take it to Secretary Lang.
Sure enough, Captain Lin immediately told her to start work the next day. Yan Xue let out a relieved sigh. "Good thing I came to ask, or this would’ve been a real mess."
She knew when to push and when to back down—unlike most young people who might stubbornly cling to their grievances.
It seemed her earlier outburst had been mostly an act. Captain Lin gave Yan Xue a long look.
She met his gaze unflinchingly, even joking, "If I hadn’t come here, I’d have thought I’d somehow offended your family."
Captain Lin’s expression faltered—he understood the implication.
Yan Xue smiled and excused herself. "I won’t keep you from your work. We meet at 6:20 tomorrow, right?"
She even knew the exact time—clearly, she’d come prepared.
Captain Lin coughed into his hand and nodded. "I’ll bring your safety helmet and tools to you tonight."
The "safety helmets" used in the forest were actually woven vine hats, locally called "teng douzi." Yan Xue had already seen many people wearing them. The tools for forest cleanup were mainly axes and handsaws.
"Forest cleanup" referred to processing the leftover debris after logging—tree stumps and branches left on the mountain had to be cleared before replanting could begin.
Some forestry teams had dedicated cleanup crews, but Jinchuan Forest Farm, always striving to be the best, assigned the task to the family team, paying them by the day.
The next morning, Yan Xue arrived five minutes early at the meeting point. After a short wait, the transport truck arrived.
Once in the mountains, the group continued cleaning up where they’d left off the previous day. Captain Lin called over a young woman in her early twenties and pointed at Yan Xue. "Lang Yue'e, show her the ropes."
Yan Xue recognized her—it was Yue'e, the woman who’d helped carry Aunt Guo home.
So her surname was Lang. Yan Xue wondered if she was related to Secretary Lang—it wasn’t a common name, derived from the Manchu clan Niohuru.
Lang Yue'e clearly remembered Yan Xue too. She nodded. "Alright," and took her aside, starting with how to use the axe and handsaw.
Lang Yue'e wasn’t much of a talker. She didn’t ask Yan Xue about the previous day’s incident, but others weren’t so restrained. Soon, someone sidled up and whispered, "Yesterday, you said someone told you the family team wasn’t hiring. Who was it? Captain Lin’s wife?"
Yan Xue just smiled shyly, looking nothing like the woman who’d boldly confronted everyone the day before.
The other woman took her silence as hesitation. "Alright, alright, I get it. You don’t have to say."
Then, lowering her voice further, she added, "How’d you cross Cheng Yuzhen? She’s not someone to mess with—real good at sweet-talking the men. Did you see how she acted like nothing happened today? Watch your back—she’ll make things hard for you."
Captain Lin and his wife had carried on as usual today, but not every couple aired their fights like Liang Qimao and his wife, whose arguments could be heard streets away.
Yan Xue kept working, asking, "Is this how you do it?"
"Yeah, pile the thicker branches here, the thinner ones over there." The woman pointed, then whispered again, "I think she’s targeting you because of Qi Fang."
This time, Yan Xue looked up, puzzled.
"Your Qi Fang had that run-in with Yu Yongzhi, right? Cheng Yuzhen and Yu Yongzhi’s sister, Yu Cuiyun, are thick as thieves. Must’ve been Yu Cuiyun who put her up to this."
Word somehow reached the logging team up the mountain. Liu Weiguo shared the same view. "What’d you even do to Yu Yongzhi? Him, his brother-in-law, and his sister are all gunning for your family."
Qi Fang frowned slightly at first but kept clearing snow from around the base of the tree—what loggers called "scrubbing the roots"—to make it easier for the sawyers. "Maybe not."
"Maybe not what?" Liu Weiguo didn’t follow, but when he pressed, Qi Fang clammed up again.
He switched topics. "You’re almost done here, right? Wanna swing by the family team later? Show your wife some support—make sure no one’s giving her trouble."
Qi Fang didn’t even look up. "Didn’t you say she’s tougher than me?"
"Yeah, but even if she is, she’s still a woman. You’re really not worried?"
Liu Weiguo grinned and lowered his voice. "Besides, how long’s it been since you two saw each other? Don’t tell me you’re not missing her. No shame in it—I’ll go with you. We’ll just say we finished early and happened to pass by."
This time, Qi Fang finally looked at him—deep, probing, slightly baffled. "Who exactly wants to go here, me or you?"
Qi Fang: Why are you so eager to see my wife?
The results will be announced tomorrow, sweethearts! Don't forget to catch up on your subscriptions so you don't miss out~
