The true heiress of metaphysics travels back to the 1970s and recognizes her father, a high-ranking

Fu Moxuan didn't speak. When Jiang Xiechuan asked him how he met Jiang Muyan, the scene at the train station involuntarily came to mind—Jiang Muyan's sharp eyes and swift movements when she caught the human trafficker were completely different from her gentle demeanor at the moment.

Before Fu Moxuan could figure out how to answer, Song Wenhui, who was walking in front of them, couldn't hold back any longer and began to complain:

"Why aren't there any tractors? Is Wanshan Brigade really that poor?"

Seeing this, Zhong Yanshu, who was traveling with her, quickly nudged her arm and whispered a reminder, "Don't talk nonsense!"

"How did I say anything wrong?" Song Wenhui raised her voice defiantly. "Didn't you see at the train station that other brigades were using tractors to pick up the educated youth? Why do we have to walk this far!"

Hearing the argument behind him, Captain Qiao paused, turned to look at Song Wenhui, a hint of helplessness flashing in his eyes, and said in a deep voice, "Song Wenhui, look down at how steep this mountain road is. Even if someone dared to drive a tractor up here, would you dare to ride in it?"

"I..." Song Wenhui was speechless for a moment. She glanced down at the rugged and steep mountain road under her feet. It was covered with gravel and the slope was steep. Let alone driving a tractor, even walking could cause a sprained ankle. No one dared to take the risk.

But because it was a mountain road, with steep slopes every so often, it was extremely difficult to walk, and she simply couldn't keep going.

"But...but I really can't walk anymore!" Song Wenhui's voice softened, with a hint of feigned coquettishness. She secretly glanced at Jiang Xiechuan and Fu Moxuan, who were walking at the back, hoping that these two handsome young men would stand up for her.

Captain Qiao sighed heavily, thinking to himself: "As expected, the female educated youth are still too delicate. She can't even keep up after walking less than half the journey. It will probably be even more difficult for her to work later."

However, seeing that Jiang Muyan and Shao Manzhen did not appear tired at all, his annoyance lessened slightly.

"Then let's rest here for a while," Captain Qiao waved his hand, his tone carrying a hint of compromise.

If Song Wenhui hadn't just arrived and didn't know the way back to the village, he really wanted to let this pampered girl walk back slowly by herself. It would normally take two hours to get to the village, but with all this walking and stopping, who knows how long it would take.

And so, amidst Song Wenhui's occasional complaints, the group continued their journey, stopping and starting intermittently.

When they reached a fork in the road, Captain Qiao stopped and pointed to the fork, giving the group some instructions:

"Follow this side road, and you'll reach the town. If you ever need any daily necessities, just keep walking straight along this road; it's fairly easy to find."

Then continue walking forward, talking as you go:

"We'll be there soon. The village isn't far from the town; it's only about a half-hour walk!"

Apart from Jiang Xiechuan, the others silently remembered what the captain had just said, since they would inevitably have to go to town to buy things.

After walking for another half hour, just as they saw some houses ahead, Jiang Xiechuan said to Fu Moxuan:

"Brother Fu, the Wanshan Brigade is just ahead!"

Fu Moxuan looked in the direction Jiang Xiechuan pointed.

The villages are scattered in a neat and orderly fashion, mostly clustered together. Not far away are high mountains, and of course, there are also many flat areas, with various crops planted on the black soil.

Captain Qiao quickened his pace, leading the oxcart towards the village, while introducing the village to the new educated youth:

"The educated youth settlement is located at the westernmost end of the village. It used to be the brigade headquarters and was renovated a few years ago. It's still relatively clean to live in. In recent years, many educated youth have moved out after getting married, which has freed up a lot of living space. Whether it's a dormitory with large communal beds or a small individual house, there are plenty of options."

Upon hearing "a separate house," Jiang Muyan's eyes lit up instantly. She quickly walked to the other side of the oxcart and asked, unable to hide her anticipation:

"Are there separate rooms available?" She had been looking for a quiet place to live alone, and she hadn't expected things to go so smoothly.

"Yes, those houses were originally rented to you educated youth. After they moved out, they were left vacant! However, although those houses are separate, they are still within the educated youth settlement compound!"

"Then I'll apply for a private room!" Jiang Muyan immediately said.

"Okay, but the rent for this room is one dollar a month! Also, if you live alone, you'll have to collect the firewood you need for the winter all by yourself."

At this moment, Captain Qiao was also very happy to hear that Jiang Muyan had rented a house, since those houses were just sitting idle anyway.

"That's only right!" Jiang Muyan readily agreed. She wasn't short of cash; even though she had bought quite a few things before, she still had several hundred yuan on hand.

Besides, she has ginseng that's been stored for years in her mustard seed bag, so she can sell those herbs if she runs out of money.

However, she thought that once she got here, there would be very few places where she would need to spend money, and she wouldn't need to touch those medicinal herbs for the time being.

At this moment, the other educated youth fell silent after hearing Jiang Muyan's words.

They also wanted a private room, but the monthly rent of one yuan was not a small amount for them, who relied on their families for support and lived frugally. They really couldn't bear to spend this "unnecessary money".

Fu Moxuan was thinking of living alone as well, and Jiang Xiechuan, noticing his thoughts, quickly stepped forward and said:

"Third Brother, I'm living alone now. My room has a big kang (heated brick bed), enough to sleep four or five people. Why don't you come and stay with me? We can look after each other."

Fu Moxuan frowned. He was a little uncomfortable living with others, but then he thought that he was on a secret mission in the countryside this time, and might need Jiang Xiechuan's help to cover for him in the future, so he nodded in agreement.

"Okay! I'll pay the rent from now on!"

Upon hearing this, Jiang Xiechuan quickly waved his hand:

"Third Brother, there's no need for such formalities between brothers! You don't know, this place needs to hoard a huge amount of firewood during the winter. In previous years, I was exhausted from collecting it all by myself. This year, with you here, we can go and collect it together, making things much easier for me! Don't be so concerned about the rent."

Fu Moxuan nodded upon hearing this. The rent wasn't expensive anyway, so he could just bring more food.

As they talked, they arrived at the village. It was work time, so they didn't encounter many people on the main road of the village.

He tied the cow to the old locust tree outside the educated youth settlement before leading several new educated youth into the compound. Jiang Xiechuan, on the other hand, led Fu Moxuan straight to his own quarters.

Captain Qiao pointed to the first row of houses and explained:

"The two rows of houses in front, the one on the east side is the large dormitory for female educated youth, and the one on the west side is the dormitory for male students."

The houses behind this row are all individual dormitories. There are currently a few vacant rooms.

He paused for a moment, then looked at the group and said:

"If you want to stay in a dormitory with shared rooms, you can go directly there to pack your luggage and settle in. If you want to stay in a private room, come with me to choose a room."

Looking at the simple mud-brick house in front of her, with its mottled walls and black-tiled roof, Song Wenhui's eyes flashed with obvious disgust—this house was old and dilapidated, and several people had to squeeze into a large dormitory room, with no private space at all. How could anyone live there?

She also wanted to live in a separate house, but before she came, her parents told her that the family had incurred a lot of debt to buy her younger brother a job and couldn't give her much more financial support. She didn't have much money to begin with, and she needed to save it for emergencies, so she couldn't bear to spend a single dollar on rent.

Just then, Song Wenhui saw Jiang Muyan walking towards the detached houses at the back with Captain Qiao. Her eyes lit up, and she quickly called out, "Jiang, the educated youth!"

Jiang Muyan stopped and looked at her with a puzzled expression.

"Could you..." Song Wenhui bit her lip, paused, and then continued:

"Jiang Zhiqing, could we share a room?"

Actually, what she really wanted to do was get something for free, but she was too embarrassed to say it in front of so many people, and thought she would wait until she moved in.

Anyway, if Jiang Muyan lives alone, she'll still have to pay a dollar in rent. After she moves in, she can just help Jiang Muyan gather some firewood.