"It's not fair!"
Li Mei refused to accept this.
Wang Mazi didn’t even bother to look up.
He had seen plenty of spoiled educated youths like her.
"If you're not happy, you can carry your own luggage and walk."
"Don’t blame me if I don’t warn you—wild boars roam these mountains at night. If you don’t reach the village before dark, you’ll be keeping them company!"
As soon as Wang Mazi finished speaking, Li Mei shuddered and immediately fell silent.
The others placed their luggage on the oxcart and silently followed behind it.
[Dislike Points +1]
[Dislike Points +2]
[Dislike Points +3]
…
The oxcart was slow, but it was still better than walking!
Shen Nanchu, who didn’t have to walk, sat on the cart, enjoying the pastoral scenery along the way while chatting with Wang Mazi and Wang Xiumei.
She even earned some dislike points now and then—what more could she ask for?
Jiang Shuyi, on the other hand, trudged wearily along the mountain path. After only a short while, her feet felt as heavy as lead, and the blisters on her soles stung painfully.
Watching Shen Nanchu sitting pretty on the oxcart, laughing like a flower, Jiang Shuyi gritted her teeth in frustration.
Li Mei, Fang Jie, and Song Qingyang also grumbled incessantly. Su Jianzhou, however, was used to being a workhorse and simply plodded along without complaint.
But this couldn’t go on forever.
Jiang Shuyi had had enough.
"My feet hurt—I can’t walk anymore. Shen Nanchu, get down and let me sit for a while."
Wang Mazi still had the White Rabbit candies Shen Nanchu had given him tucked in his pocket, so naturally, he sided with her.
"You’ve barely walked any distance, and you’re already complaining? You city kids just aren’t as tough as us villagers."
Li Mei snapped back, "If they’re so tough, why don’t they get down and walk?"
Song Qingyang chimed in, "We came to Wang Family Village to contribute to its development, not to indulge in comfort. We mustn’t adopt the ways of capitalists."
What a joke—riding an oxcart was now a "capitalist indulgence"?
Shen Nanchu thought Song Qingyang would have made an excellent Red Guard.
Just then, the oxcart reached an uphill slope.
Shen Nanchu glanced at her wristwatch.
They had been walking for nearly two hours now.
Not wanting to trouble Wang Mazi further, she said, "Uncle Wang, this slope looks steep—it might be hard for the ox. I’ll get down and walk."
Wang Xiumei followed suit. "Uncle Wang, I’ll walk too."
Wang Mazi thought for a moment and nodded.
The cart was loaded with over three hundred pounds of luggage—the ox would struggle uphill.
In fact, Wang Mazi decided to dismount as well.
Jiang Shuyi and Li Mei, seeing two spots now vacant on the cart, brightened with hope.
Finally, their turn had come!
"This is more like it. Taking turns is only fair."
"Sit? Who said anything about sitting?" Wang Mazi snapped. "Can’t you see it’s a steep slope? Even I’m walking now—you still want to ride? You want to exhaust the ox to death?"
With such a harsh rebuke, Li Mei immediately shut up.
Jiang Shuyi also fell silent, though her gaze toward Shen Nanchu turned icy.
[Dislike Points +10]
She had clearly taken a deep dislike to Shen Nanchu.
Truthfully, once they climbed this steep slope, Wang Family Village would come into view. A short downhill walk of about ten more minutes, and they’d arrive.
Otherwise, Shen Nanchu wouldn’t have gotten off so readily.
Wang Xiumei led Shen Nanchu ahead.
Thanks to their earlier rest, the two climbed the slope with ease.
Jiang Shuyi, Song Qingyang, and the others, however, were miserable.
After nearly two hours of walking, not only had they not reached the village, but now they had to climb this brutal slope.
Their faces were as bitter as gourds.
Shen Nanchu and Wang Xiumei quickly reached the hilltop.
From there, Wang Family Village spread out before them.
Nestled in a basin surrounded by mountains, the village was embraced by a winding stream like a jade ribbon.
Houses with black-tiled roofs and yellow mud walls stood in neat disorder, wisps of smoke curling from their chimneys.
This would be her home for the next few years.
Wang Mazi drove the oxcart to the educated youth settlement.
The settlement was a large courtyard with several rooms, housing all the educated youths assigned to Wang Family Village.
A middle-aged man with a square face stepped out, followed by a few young men and women.
This was Wang Jianguo, the village head.
"Welcome, everyone, to Wang Family Village."
Wang Jianguo wasn’t one for small talk and got straight to the point.
"In our brigade’s educated youth settlement, the men’s dormitory only has two beds left, and the women’s side has three. A new settlement is still in the works. For now, you four women will have to squeeze in together."
Jiang Shuyi and Li Mei immediately frowned.
Who wanted to share a room with that troublemaker Shen Nanchu?
Before they could protest, Wang Xiumei spoke up.
"Village Head, Shen Nanchu can stay at my place. My house has plenty of space."
Wang Jianguo looked at Shen Nanchu. "Comrade Shen, what do you think?"
"That works." Shen Nanchu didn’t hesitate.
She had no intention of cramming in with Jiang Shuyi, Li Mei, and Fang Jie.
Wang Xiumei immediately picked up Shen Nanchu’s luggage.
"Come on, Sister Shen, I’ll take you to my home."
"Sure."
…
Wang Xiumei’s house was at the very end of the village, right at the foot of the mountain, facing the stream.
Opening the door revealed a scene straight out of a painting—a small bridge over flowing water, a rustic home.
Wang Xiumei’s place was quite nice.
But compared to hers, Shen Nanchu was more drawn to another house just a few dozen meters away.
That house was perfectly distanced from the village—close enough for convenience but private enough for solitude.
It was practically her dream home.
If she were to settle down in Wang Family Village, this would be the place.
Shen Nanchu had excellent eyesight.
She could clearly see weeds growing on the roof.
"Sister Xiumei, whose house is that?"
Wang Xiumei followed her gaze.
"Oh, that? That’s Uncle Fifth Wang’s place. Last year, the old couple went to gather firewood and fell down the mountain. By the time anyone found them, they were already stiff. Poor souls—they never had any children, and in the end, there wasn’t even anyone to mourn them."
Shen Nanchu’s eyes lit up.
"So the house belongs to the village now?"
"Yep." Wang Xiumei nodded, then lowered her voice. "People say the place has bad feng shui. No one dares live there."
Shen Nanchu’s eyes sparkled.
"Sister Xiumei, what if I bought Uncle Fifth Wang’s house?"
Thud!
The water dipper slipped from Wang Xiumei’s hand, nearly hitting her foot.
"Sister Shen, you mustn’t!"
"Someone in the village once tried staying there overnight. The next morning, they were screaming and begging to leave—swore they’d never go back."
A shadow of fear crossed Wang Xiumei’s face.
"They said… the house is haunted."
Shen Nanchu shrugged.
"Don’t worry."
She wasn’t afraid.
After all, people were far scarier than ghosts—and Shen Nanchu had never been afraid of those.
…
