Transmigration: Flirted with My Childhood Sweetheart

The Educated Youth Corps became eerily quiet after Yu Xiangqin's few sentences. Sun Guanghui, not eloquent with words, stammered "you" for a while without being able to squeeze out a complete sentence.

Wen Lan was quick to fire up and was about to flip the table and start a fight when her arms were held down, one on each side, by Lin Nianhe and Wang Shumei.

Lin Nianhe pursed her lips and chuckled lightly, looking docile and gentle.

"Comrade Yu, don't you know how to write the words 'Disaster comes from the mouth'?" Lin Nianhe stared into Yu Xiangqin's eyes and enunciated every word, "Based on what you've said, I could go complain about you for slander. You've not only defamed me but also disrupted the internal unity of the Educated Youth Corps."

"I...," Yu Xiangqin looked at Lin Nianhe in astonishment, disbelieving her own ears, "You dare to bite back when you've spoiled the atmosphere?"

Lin Nianhe snorted with laughter, "What atmosphere have I spoiled? I'm going to ask the brigade leader to send a telegram for me. You several female comrades have been busy cooking for over an hour. If I disturb you again, won't lunch not be ready until evening?"

As she spoke, she glanced at the corn mush and cornbread on the table.

Such a tiny amount of food taking so long to make—who would believe they weren't just dragging out the work?

Yu Xiangqin, seeing Lin Nianhe's gaze, had an awkward expression but still stiffened her neck, lifted her chin, and put on a defiant look as though she'd rather die than admit any wrongdoing.

Lin Nianhe didn't wait for her to respond and continued, "It was the brigade leader's orders for the male comrades to clear out the firewood shed, and everyone worked together. How did it become Comrade Sun helping me alone?"

"Moreover, all I did was ask Comrade Sun where the brigade leader lived and offered to cook for myself. How have these actions become 'spoiling the atmosphere' in your mouth? In your eyes, are male and female comrades not even allowed to speak to each other?"

"Yu Xiangqin, you have a problem with your thinking!"

When it came to verbal confrontations, Lin Nianhe had never admitted defeat to anyone.

The color drained from Yu Xiangqin's face, leaving it deathly pale.

Of course she knew what it meant to "have a problem with one's thinking" and the possible consequences. For a moment, she felt short of breath and her mind went blank, only managing to stammer out, "I'm not."

Lin Nianhe continued to stare at her and went on, "As for the Food Tickets and money that I just mentioned, I don't know who advanced the food. Comrade Sun was the first to speak at the meeting. Is it wrong for me to ask him a question?"

Wen Lan, who had been anxious earlier, now straightened her back after listening to Lin Nianhe's words.

Just as she was about to echo "No problem," she felt Wang Shumei tugging at her hand with more force.

Before Wen Lan could speak, Wang Shumei pinched her wrist hard and preempted her by saying, "We're new here and unfamiliar with the rules. We only saw the brigade leader directing Comrade Sun to take the lead in work. No one seemed to be in charge of the female comrades' side. Not to mention Nianhe, I thought that Comrade Sun was in charge of the Educated Youth Corps' affairs."

Her mouth curved slightly upward as her eyes swept across the faces of the three female Educated Youths, finally resting on Wang Xue:

"And we only recognize Comrade Wang Xue as one of the female Educated Youths. Considering she said she needed to cook today, I thought that, given the arrangements for new Educated Youths to enter the countryside were set long ago, if Comrade Wang Xue was responsible for addressing the female Educated Youths' issues, she wouldn't have put herself on the cooking roster today, right?"

"If that were the case, wouldn't it be like writing 'unwelcome' on her face? We're all Educated Youths sent to support rural construction. It's hard to believe we'd have such an unenlightened comrade."

Listening to Wang Shumei's words, Lin Nianhe turned to glance at Wen Lan.

Look at her brains compared to yours.

We're all locals born and raised, but why such a big gap?

Feeling Lin Nianhe's bewildering gaze, Wen Lan turned to her with a blank, uncomprehending look.

Seeing her simple face prompted Lin Nianhe to sigh.

With that kind of brainpower, she was lucky to have lived this long without being sold off. She really had to thank the innocent times.

Wang Shumei was correct—the female Educated Youths had always been few, and with Wang Xue leading in everyday tasks and work, the straightforwardness of Wang Shumei's words made Wang Xue's face alternate between pale and flushed as the pace of her breathing quickened.

She glanced at the male Educated Youths nearby, her eyes flickering as she spoke, "There are many of us today. I should help Xiangqin and Yulan cook, otherwise, the mealtime will surely be delayed. I'm truly sorry for not being able to help you all."

The reason she provided seemed reasonable; it even subtly suggested that the three newcomers were causing trouble.

The male Educated Youths watching the women's war of words were stunned.

With so many women, there really is more drama. Is the Educated Youth Corps going to be like this every day?

Lin Nianhe smiled with pursed lips and took another bite of the steamed bread, her eyes downcast as she said, "We never intended to ask for help. We do our own work. If someone helps, it's out of kindness; if they don't, it's their right. It's all voluntary. No one can force anyone; no one needs to feel guilty afterward."

After Lin Nianhe spoke, she gave Wang Xue a cool glance.

She could live peacefully in the backyard, but Wang Shumei and Wen Lan couldn't, especially Wen Lan, this naive big sister. She shouldn't be taken advantage of and end up working for nothing without any gratitude.

After all, they were companions who came together. Giving a casual hand shouldn't be a big problem.

It also prevented these people from thinking they could bully her because she looked soft.

Wang Xue felt somewhat panicked under Lin Nianhe's icy gaze.

She was in charge of washing the dishes, and in these times, the meals were simple, and the dishes were easy to clean. Eight people eating needed just eight bowls, but now there were five... oh no, four more people eating together, which meant she would have to wash twelve more sets of dishes and chopsticks every day.

Actually, she wasn't always the one washing the dishes before; Yu Xiangqin and Miao Yulan would also help her. She had planned to rope in the newcomers too, but now she just hoped that Yu Xiangqin and Miao Yulan wouldn't be swayed.

Wang Xue twisted the corner of her clothes and remained silent while Yu Xiangqin wanted to speak but dared not, fearing that Lin Nianhe would turn the spearhead towards her again.

They unilaterally ceased fire, and Lin Nianhe's party came out on top.

Sun Guanghui looked around and asked, "Are you done arguing? Shall we continue with the meeting?"

People: "..."

If they didn't know he was a simpleton, they might have thought he wanted to join in the fray!

The work at the Educated Youth Corps wasn't much, aside from cooking, it was just cleaning the courtyard and tending the vegetable garden in the backyard. The work was still divided into pairs, but the timings were staggered—today cooking, tomorrow sweeping the yard, the day after managing the vegetable patch, which was rather apt.

Sun Guanghui suddenly became insightful and didn't wait for anyone to speak, he arranged the work schedule on his own, and finally said to Lin Nianhe, "If you're going to start the fire yourself, I'm afraid the firewood and water..."

Lin Nianhe: "I'll handle it."

Sun Guanghui let out a sigh of relief, clapped his hands, and said, "Alright, if there's nothing else, take a break. It's almost time to start work."

People dispersed, and Lin Nianhe looked at the half-eaten steamed bread and the small bowl of corn paste in her hands. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and downed the corn paste in one gulp, then walked towards the backyard with the piece of steamed bread.

"Tsk, she's acting as if she's worried others won't know she's a young lady from Beijing, swallowing food as if it's medicine! I think this is just bourgeois lady airs!" Yu Xiangqin grumbled discontentedly as she cleaned the dishes.

Lin Nianhe peeked her little head out from behind the east wall: "Would you like to talk about ideological issues with me again?"

Yu Xiangqin: "..."

Yu Xiangqin was startled by Lin Nianhe's unexpected return and quickly dashed into her own room.

Lin Nianhe clicked her tongue.

Too much bravado and not enough fight.

She wasn't as amusing as tidying up the room...

The new Educated Youth didn't need to work today; they were arranging their things inside their rooms.

Lin Nianhe was no exception.

But now she was in a dilemma.

She needed to hang a curtain, but the wall was made of red bricks, and nailing into it was no easy task.

She looked at the silent electric drill and the nail gun in the space, pondering which of the two tools would be up for the task.