Time Travel: My Comfortable Life After Going to the Countryside

The next day, just as dawn was breaking, Liu Xiangyang opened his eyes to the familiar whispers; the morning's tenderness was intense and joyful.

He stared at Roland in front of him, gritting his teeth... Meanwhile, Xue Bingbing on the other side also woke up, lazily yawned, and was immediately silenced by Roland's kiss.

Liu Xiangyang got up feeling refreshed, put on his clothes, and went to the courtyard. Taking advantage of the cool morning air, he calmly practiced a set of boxing moves to loosen his muscles. After returning to the main room, he found Le Qi and Le Yao already busy at the stove.

When he finished his exercise and returned to the house, a plate of bowls and chopsticks had already been set on the table: a plate of soft, white steamed buns, a dish of fried eggs that were golden brown on both sides, a large bowl of oily braised pork and potatoes, and a small bowl of cucumber salad and chopped braised meat on the side.

"Brother, wash your face and eat." Leqi brought over a basin of warm water. By then, everyone else had finished washing up and came over as well.

Everyone sat down and served themselves porridge and flatbread.

"Brother, tell me about the new educated youth who arrived yesterday," Le Yao asked vaguely, taking a bite of her steamed bun.

"Hey, what's there to say? Just like when you guys came, we're all exhausted. We'll probably have to rest for half a day today." Liu Xiangyang picked up a piece of salted egg. "We don't start work until the afternoon."

"Was that female educated youth really assigned to Grandma Gu's place?" Leqi asked in more detail.

"Yes, Uncle Zhang decided to give her ten extra work points each month so she can take care of Granny Gu."

"Ten work points?" Zuo Qingqing clicked her tongue. "That's not easy either. Granny Gu is hard of hearing, so there's a lot to do."

"It's better than squeezing into a courtyard with seven male educated youths, which is inconvenient," Xue Bingbing interjected, serving Liu Xiangyang half a bowl of meat soup. "And at least we have a place to ourselves, which is quiet."

Roland ate a small bite of cucumber and said, "She just arrived alone and has to take care of the elderly. It's probably going to be quite difficult for her."

Jiang Xiaowen and He Xiaoqin didn't talk much, focusing on eating.

The conversation quickly turned to work in the fields and other matters in the team. After everyone had finished eating, it was almost dawn, and everyone walked together towards the brigade headquarters.

After Wang Lixin finished arranging the work, Liu Xiangyang found him, took some old newspapers, and left.

The gate to Grandma Gu's house was ajar. Liu Xiangyang knocked on the door, but the courtyard was quiet.

"Grandma Gu?" he called out.

The door was immediately opened, and Bai Jie was already up, wearing a blue cotton jacket, her hair combed into two neat braids, her face clean, except for a few faint dark circles under her eyes, obviously she hadn't slept well. When she saw Liu Xiangyang, her eyes lit up, and she quickly stepped aside: "Comrade Xiangyang, you've come, please come in. Grandma went out, saying she went to help out in the fields."

Liu Xiangyang walked into the side room. The room looked a bit tidier than last night. Her bedding was already folded, and there was an enamel mug on the table.

"Is this the only broken window?" Liu Xiangyang asked.

"This window is no longer enough to block the light." Bai Jie pointed to the small wooden window next to the kang (a heated brick bed). Sure enough, there was a big hole in the lower right corner, which was barely stuffed with a rag.

Liu Xiangyang put down the bucket and newspaper, found the only slightly wobbly stool in the room, stood on it, first tore off the rag, then used a brush dipped in paste to carefully brush it onto the window frame.

Bai Jie stood below, looking up at him. The morning sunlight shone in through the window that hadn't been covered yet, outlining the strong lines of his forearms after he rolled up his sleeves and his focused profile.

As she looked at it, her face felt a little hot, so she quickly lowered her head, found a rag, and began wiping the old table.

The room was quiet, with only the soft sound of a brush scraping through paper.

"Comrade Xiangyang," Bai Jie said softly as she wiped the table, "are you... also an educated youth?"

"Yes, I came last year," Liu Xiangyang replied briefly, his head down as he cut the newspaper.

"You came last year?" Bai Jie was a little surprised, and paused in her work. "Then how come you... are already an inspector? And you get a salary?" Her words were filled with curiosity, as well as a hint of envy and inquiry that were not easily detected.

"I was lucky, plus the team and my superiors trusted me." Liu Xiangyang said calmly as he pasted up the torn newspaper. "I helped out with some things, and that's how this position was assigned to me."

"You're really amazing," Bai Jie said sincerely, her voice filled with admiration. "In just one year, you've become completely different from us." She paused, as if gathering her courage, and then asked, "So... Comrade Xiangyang, where are you from? Judging from your accent, you don't seem to be from here."

"From the capital." Liu Xiangyang continued pasting another piece.

"From the capital? I'm from Tianshi!" Bai Jie's voice suddenly became lighter, carrying a hint of surprise at meeting an old friend in a foreign land. "We live very close by! It only takes half a day by train."

"Yes, that's certainly like meeting an old friend in a foreign land," Liu Xiangyang replied, jumping off the stool to check if the pasted-on window was smooth.

Watching his retreating figure, Bai Jie seemed to find a surge of courage. She bit her lip, lowering her voice further, yet asking clearly, "Comrade Xiangyang... you're so attractive, and so... dashing. There must be quite a few girls in the village who like you, right? Do you... have a boyfriend?"

Liu Xiangyang paused almost imperceptibly as he smoothed out the last crumpled pieces of the newspaper.

He turned to look at Bai Jie. The girl stood there, her fingers unconsciously twisting the rag, her eyes looking at him with nervousness, and a hint of barely concealed expectation and probing.

Liu Xiangyang knew perfectly well that this girl had feelings for him.

"No," he said with a smile, bending down to clean up the brush and the remaining paste. "My mom won't let me get married here."

When Bai Jie heard the "no," her heart skipped a beat, and a surge of emotion mixed with surprise and even greater courage welled up inside her. He was still single! But his next words calmed her down a bit. It seemed like he... wasn't responding to her comment?

"Thank you, Comrade Xiangyang." Suppressing her emotions, she went over to help tidy up. "Can I ask you for help again in the future?"

"Sure, you can come to me if you have any difficulties. It's all about serving the people." Liu Xiangyang picked up the bucket, grabbed the remaining newspaper, and said, "Take a look at this window. If it's not okay, I'll fix it."

Bai Jie went outside and looked carefully. The windows had already been patched up. "Comrade Xiangyang, everything's fine now."

"Okay, then I'll be going now."

"Have some water before you go." Bai Jie filled her enamel mug with water and handed it to him, blushing.

Liu Xiangyang looked at her, took the water, and drank it all in one gulp: "Thank you, the water is very sweet."

Bai Jie blushed as she took the water vat. "It's just ordinary boiled water."

Liu Xiangyang didn't reply, but walked away with his things and a smile on his face.

Bai Jie saw him off at the gate, watching his tall figure walk away. She gently scratched at the doorframe. He said he didn't have a girlfriend, but then he said his family wouldn't let him get married here? What does that mean? Is it okay to date if you're not married?

She felt a little confused and unwilling. When she returned to the room, she looked at the tightly sealed windows and felt much warmer and more at ease inside. She sat back down on the kang (a heated brick bed), her fingers unconsciously twirling the end of her braid.

Recalling Liu Xiangyang's comment about the sweet water, she chuckled to herself, "He's really handsome."

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