Time Travel: My Comfortable Life After Going to the Countryside

Grain Rain has passed.

Farm work in the fields suddenly sprang into action, with men, women, and children all throwing themselves onto the land.

Liu Xiangyang's bicycle wheels were almost constantly spinning; he was no longer just watching, he was taking real action.

Teams three and five almost got into a fight in the field because they were sharing a new rake.

Wang Lixin's voice was hoarse from shouting, but the young men on both sides still stubbornly resisted, gripping their hoes tightly.

When Liu Xiangyang arrived, the scene was at a standstill.

He couldn't squeeze in, so he stood on the outside and shouted, "Put it all down!"

The sound wasn't loud, but it carried a chilling edge.

The crowd fell silent and turned to look at him.

He pushed the cart over, the brass whistle on the handlebars gleaming. "Stealing farm tools? If planting is delayed, which team will be responsible?" His gaze swept over the leaders on either side. "If the rakes break, everyone'll have to dig by hand this year, believe it or not?"

No one said a word.

"Captain Wang," Liu Xiangyang turned to Wang Lixin, "according to the order arranged yesterday, everyone will switch on time. Whoever is late will have their work points deducted. Now, who's on duty?"

Wang Lixin immediately gave his name.

Liu Xiangyang looked over there: "Did you hear that? Take it and use it. The next line, wait."

The whole incident was just suppressed like that.

Afterwards, Zhang Tiejun patted Liu Xiangyang on the shoulder: "Xiangyang, thanks to you. These stubborn mules, sometimes you just have to give in to their tough exterior."

Life at home also became busier.

After the planting began, the scorekeepers had a heavy workload, and Roland and the others returned later and later each day.

Leqi and Leyao manage the warehouse and are inseparable from it. Seeds are put out of the warehouse, farm tools are borrowed and returned, and the accounts are kept in dense notebooks.

Every day when Liu Xiangyang came home, he could see that the two of them looked tired, but their eyes were bright.

"We distributed corn seeds to 68 households today," Leqi reported. "All the paperwork is in order."

Le Yao handed over the ledger: "Brother Xiangyang, look, it's all very clear."

Liu Xiangyang nodded without asking any further questions; he trusted them.

That afternoon, Liu Xiangyang finished inspecting the slope of the second team and rode his bicycle back.

As he passed the grove of trees behind the village, he slowed down and turned into it.

The woods were quiet, save for the birdsong.

Gu Xiaoyu emerged from behind an old locust tree. Her face was paler than the last time I saw her, and there were dark circles under her eyes.

"Li Kaixuan..." she began, her voice a little hoarse, "It almost happened last night."

Liu Xiangyang's heart tightened, and he gripped the car brake: "What's going on?"

"He somehow got some drugs and mixed them into the wine." Gu Xiaoyu spoke quickly, as if she were talking about someone else. "I sensed something was wrong and refused to drink it, but he forced me to drink it. I bit his hand and ran away, hiding in the woodshed for half the night."

She rolled up her sleeves, revealing several fresh, bluish-purple finger marks on her forearms.

Liu Xiangyang's eyes darkened.

Where is Li Jianjun?

"Him?" Gu Xiaoyu twitched her lips. "This morning he cursed Li Kaixuan a few times, calling him a 'useless thing,' and slammed the door and left. I heard him tell my mother-in-law... that if things continue like this, their family line will end, all because of me, this jinx."

She lowered her sleeves, looked at Liu Xiangyang, and the desperate light in her eyes shone even brighter, even a little eerie.

"Inspector Liu, I'm afraid I... won't live to see what you're about to say."

Liu Xiangyang remained silent for a few seconds.

"Hang in there for a few more days." He looked into her eyes. "These are the busiest days for spring planting. Once we get through this, I'll figure something out."

"A solution?" Gu Xiaoyu pressed.

"Here's how I'll get you out of the Li family," Liu Xiangyang said in a low but clear voice, "but you have to promise me you won't resist anymore. If he makes another move, find a chance to run away, understand?"

Gu Xiaoyu nodded vigorously, her eyes a little red, but she quickly blinked and held back her tears.

"I've got it."

"Go back, be careful."

Liu Xiangyang watched her hurried departure and stood in the woods for a while longer.

The wind rustled through the treetops.

As he pushed his cart out of the woods, he ran into accountant Li Jianjun.

Li Jianjun seemed to have just returned from the commune. He was carrying a black leather bag and looked rather unwell. When he saw Liu Xiangyang emerging from the direction of the woods, he paused for a moment, then forced a smile: "Inspector Liu, on patrol? Is there something going on in the woods too?"

"Just browsing." Liu Xiangyang said casually. "Is Accountant Li back from the commune? Have all the spring farming supplies been secured?"

"Ah, it's been taken care of, it's been taken care of." Li Jianjun replied perfunctorily, but his eyes glanced towards the woods behind Liu Xiangyang. "Inspector Liu is really dedicated; he doesn't miss any nook or cranny."

"It's my duty." Liu Xiangyang said no more, got on his bike and rode away.

He could sense that Li Jianjun was standing still, staring at his back for a long time.

The atmosphere was a bit dull during dinner.

Spring plowing is tiring, and even Zuo Qingqing has become less talkative.

He Xiaoqin kept her head down and silently ate her rice, while Jiang Xiaowen sipped her soup.

Roland rubbed his wrist—his hand was sore from writing too many marks today.

Xue Bingbing served soup to everyone, then glanced at Liu Xiangyang and said, "Xiangyang, you don't look well. Are you tired?"

"It's alright." Liu Xiangyang picked up a piece of egg. "That's how spring plowing is. Everyone works hard. Just hang in there."

He noticed that Le Qi glanced at him but didn't say anything, and Le Yao also quietly looked him over.

He knew he had been daydreaming.

That night, it was He Xiaoqin and the others' turn to serve the emperor.

But Liu Xiangyang wasn't really interested.

In the darkness, Zuo Qingqing moved closer and poked his chest with her finger: "Brother Xiangyang, you seem to have something on your mind."

"What's wrong?" Liu Xiangyang grabbed her restless hand.

"It's just a feeling," Zuo Qingqing hummed. "Is spring plowing too tedious? How about I go with you on the inspection tomorrow to cheer you up?"

"Nonsense." Liu Xiangyang slapped her on the shoulder. "Just focus on being a scorekeeper."

He Xiaoqin leaned closer to him from the other side, her soft body pressed against his arm, and whispered, "Brother Xiangyang, go to sleep early if you're tired."

Jiang Xiaowen didn't say anything, but simply reached out and gently took his hand.

The slight irritation in Liu Xiangyang's heart was gradually soothed by their warmth.

But the bruises on Gu Xiaoyu's arm and her words, "It's too late," kept flashing through his mind.

Two more days passed, like a taut string.

The corn has almost all been sown, and soybeans are being planted in the fields in a rush. Everyone's face shows exhaustion and eagerness.

Liu Xiangyang continued his daily patrols, but his routes now included several seemingly unintentional stops near the fields around the Li family's house and the north end of the village where Li Kaixuan often lingered.

That evening, the sky was heavily overcast, and the clouds hung low.

Liu Xiangyang returned from outside, his bicycle seat covered in mud. He had just parked the bike in the yard and hadn't even had a chance to wipe his face when he heard hurried footsteps and suppressed sobs coming from the small door of the woodshed.

The door was suddenly pushed open.

Gu Xiaoyu stumbled in, almost falling over. Her hair was disheveled, half of her face was swollen and red with clear five-finger marks, and her lip was cut and oozing blood.

What was most terrifying were her eyes; there were no tears, only a horrifying, burnt-out light, and a desperate resolve on the verge of collapse.

Several buttons on her old cotton-padded jacket were ripped off, and she was clutching a pair of old scissors stained with dark red blood.

"Inspector Liu... Inspector Liu..." Her voice was hoarse, and her whole body trembled like a leaf in the wind, but her back was straight. "I... I crippled Li Kaixuan."

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