The First Day of Work

He cracked two eggs into each of two earthenware bowls typical of the era and beat them. He poured in some warm water and mixed them evenly. He skimmed off the bubbles and foam, then put the bowls in the pot with the steamed buns left over from last night.

Over the firewood in the stove, flames danced with unrestrained passion, but their passion made the person tending the fire retreat again and again.

"Why is it so hot?" Bai Yao felt that today really wasn't a good day.

It was already this hot so early in the morning. Once he went out to work in the fields, wouldn't he be cooked?

He even wondered if he could put a basin of water in the sun with a few eggs in it and have soft-boiled eggs ready to eat when he came back at noon.

Bai Yao wiped the thin layer of sweat from his forehead, then looked at Kong Wu, who was sitting nearby waiting for breakfast. All he wanted to say was that the man wasn't human.

In weather this hot, the man had spent the whole morning carrying water, chopping wood, and watering, yet he hadn't shed a drop of sweat.

All right, he was jealous, but all he could do was envy him.

With a sigh, Bai Yao went to wash up.

He splashed his face with cool water freshly drawn from the well, and a jolt ran through him.

At that moment, he was truly awake.

After washing up, Bai Yao saw that breakfast still wasn't ready, so he went to the sack to find his gear for the day's work in the fields.

Work gloves, a broad straw hat, and sheer sleeve protectors would make sure he neither got sunburned nor hurt.

Of course, he didn't forget to bring Kong Wu's share over, either.

He couldn't help it. He simply couldn't bear to see that handsome face turn into black charcoal.

"Kong Wu, where's your water bottle? Remember to fill it with some cool water later, and make sure you wear these things too."

"Okay." Kong Wu agreed without hesitation. He trusted Bai Yao a great deal.

Seeing Kong Wu agree so readily, Bai Yao couldn't help the corners of his mouth from lifting. That handsome face would be protected. Wonderful.

Soon, breakfast was on the table.

Big steamed buns, steamed egg custard, and a bowl of malted milk for each of them.

It was as "luxurious" as ever, still better than breakfast in 90 percent of the village's households.

But after breakfast, it was time to head out. The work call had already sounded.

"Let's go, let's go."

When they arrived at the brigade office to gather, Bai Yao discovered that the two of them were still relatively early.

Mm, the first two educated youths there.

The other villagers also noticed how Bai Yao and Kong Wu were dressed.

Their only impression was that it was quite ordinary.

The villagers also wore straw hats to the fields, though they didn't have gloves or sleeve protectors, let alone such pretty sleeve protectors.

Even so, it was understandable. After all, compared with the white shirts, dresses, and little leather shoes that educated youths had worn on their first day of work in the past, straw hats, gloves, and sleeve protectors were perfectly normal.

These two newly arrived educated youths were sensible, anyone could see that.

Bai Yao still didn't know that the villagers watching him had compared his fieldwork gear with what previous educated youths had worn and given him their satisfied praise.

Although Bai Yao didn't know what these people were thinking, he could still tell their attitude from their eyes.

He didn't know what had happened, but it was a good thing, wasn't it?

Still, knowing that didn't mean he intended to go up and chat with them as though they were old friends. They had only just arrived, after all, so it was better to know their boundaries.

After a while, more villagers arrived one after another, and Hu Yang and the other two came over together with the veteran educated youths.

Judging by the expressions on the faces of the three of them and the veteran educated youths, though, something lively seemed to have happened that morning.

After arriving, Hu Yang and the other two said a word to Dong Aiguo, then went to find Bai Yao and Kong Wu.

The new and veteran educated youths had clearly formed two separate groups. Quite a few gossip-loving villagers noticed and huddled together to whisper.

As for Bai Yao, once Hu Yang and the other two came over, he asked eagerly for gossip, "What happened? Did you fight them? Did you win? Should we find a chance to sneak up and whack them over the head?"

Hu Yang and the other two were speechless. They hadn't realized Bai Yao had such a wicked taste for stirring up trouble.

"We didn't fight, we just had a bit of an argument," Hu Yang explained.

Bai Yao was a little disappointed, but he didn't show it. He simply comforted them, saying, "It's fine, that's perfectly normal. You live so close together, and everyone has their own ideas. A moment's carelessness can cause friction, so how could you not argue?"

"Exactly. Speaking of which, it was all because of someone's sudden idea." As Hu Yang spoke, he shot Gu Yang a glare.

Bai Yao: !!!

Well, now he was interested again.

"Tell me everything." Bai Yao pulled a handful of melon seeds from his pocket and shared them with everyone, not forgetting Gu Yang.

But when he saw an extra hand, he looked over in puzzlement and saw Dongfang Dazhuang, whom he hadn't seen in a day.

But why did it feel as though Dongfang Dazhuang had grown much more haggard after just one day apart?

Curious! He was extremely curious!

But Dongfang Dazhuang's business could wait. He'd hear the first bit of gossip before turning his attention to the next.

He gave Dongfang Dazhuang some of the melon seeds in his hand, and then the group looked at Hu Yang.

"Early this morning, someone knocked on the gate to our little courtyard, the one partitioned off separately. Comrade Gu answered it. I don't know what Educated Youth Fang and Educated Youth Feng from the front courtyard said to him, but those two female educated youths ended up staying to make breakfast." As Hu Yang spoke, he shot Gu Yang another glare.

Bai Yao also looked at Gu Yang in confusion. Had this kid forgotten to bring his brain when he was reborn? How could he make such a basic mistake? Letting the female educated youths into their courtyard—didn't he care about his reputation anymore?

Hu Yang's next words cleared up his doubts.

"Luckily, he left the gate wide open, or my reputation would have been ruined too. It wasn't until the people from the front courtyard came to make a fuss that I found out those two were supposed to make breakfast for the front courtyard today, but they brought the grain to the back courtyard and cooked it there instead."

"The grain had all been mixed together, and nobody wanted to take a loss, so they started making a fuss. We barely ate any breakfast and ended up with a bellyful of anger instead."

When he finished, Gu Yang explained with a red face, "None of the three of us can cook well. Educated Youth Feng said that if we gave her fifty cents, she could take care of meals for the three of us. I thought we had to work in the fields today and needed to eat our fill, so I agreed. As for Educated Youth Fang, Educated Youth Feng said she'd brought her along to help."

"Uh, I guess Educated Youth Gu meant well but made a mess of things. But when you went to town yesterday, didn't you buy some extra food at the state-run restaurant? And! How did the three of you dare live on your own when none of you can cook?" Bai Yao was at a loss too.

But when he thought about what Gu Yang had done, Bai Yao understood.

He remembered that in Gu Yang's novel, Gu Yang had paid someone to cook for him when he first came to the countryside. That arrangement had only ended when he learned to make dishes other than porridge himself.

That had also led to quite a few "lively" plot developments.

But now that Hu Yang, the protagonist of another book, had also moved in, Bai Yao didn't know whether the plot would still play out as before.

Either way, there would surely be no shortage of the lively scenes he wanted to see.

While Bai Yao was thinking this, Hu Yang sighed at his words and said, "We went too late yesterday, and there wasn't much food left at the state-run restaurant. Otherwise, we wouldn't have ended up without anything to eat. Looks like we really do have to learn to cook."

Before his voice had even faded, Dongfang Dazhuang spoke up. "Cooking is easy. I'll teach you."

Dongfang Dazhuang's words made Bai Yao want to hear the next bit of gossip too.

"Dazhuang, it's only been a day since I saw you. How did you get so haggard?" Bai Yao's approach was to tell the truth.

Dongfang Dazhuang stiffened, then sighed and said, "I went on a blind date yesterday. The result is a long story."

Bai Yao: ...

All right, seeing Dazhuang like this, he vaguely sympathized. Before transmigrating, he had also been one of those leftover men who were constantly urged to marry.

And at Dazhuang's age, he really wasn't young by rural standards. Some people his age even had children who could already run, so it was perfectly normal for him to be pressured to marry.

For this sort of thing, all Bai Yao could offer was moral support.

But speaking of Dongfang Dazhuang's blind date, he remembered that this should be the opening of the book Hu Yang was in.

If he remembered correctly, the day after Dongfang Dazhuang's blind date—today, in other words—the person he'd gone on the date with would transfer her affections to someone else, and that someone would be his future wife.

That's right, the girl had taken a fancy to Hu Yang.

He could watch this dramatic scene unfold in person. Just thinking about it, Bai Yao could barely keep the corners of his mouth from rising.

It was decided. He couldn't stray too far from Hu Yang today. He absolutely couldn't miss the live broadcast.

Dongfang Dazhuang didn't want to talk about the blind date anymore, so they changed the subject.

But as they chatted, the conversation somehow wandered off who knew where.

As for Bai Yao, he chatted while keeping an eye out for any girls approaching. After all, she didn't know Dongfang Dazhuang's blind date.

As he looked around, he spotted someone who seemed a little familiar.

"That should be the girl we met at the village chief's house yesterday, right?" Bai Yao wasn't very sure. He had only regarded her as someone he'd met once, after all, and hadn't remembered her ordinary looks.

The next moment, Bai Yao saw the girl walking toward them.

"Could she be coming to find me? She didn't really fall for me when we first met yesterday, did she?!"

Just as Bai Yao was wondering if he was overthinking things and scaring himself, Dongfang Dazhuang spoke up. "Huh? That's the person I went on a blind date with yesterday. Why is she coming toward me?"

Bai Yao looked at the person Dongfang Dazhuang had indicated and discovered that she was the same girl he'd met once before.

Bai Yao: ???

Well, what a coincidence!