Chapter 2: Sailing the Wilds Along the River

The two walked along the street for about two hundred meters before Lin Xiaolan couldn't help but speak, "I just heard that Xinyu has already gone to the countryside. What are you planning to do? Jobs are so hard to find now. My parents have been asking around everywhere, but no factories are recruiting."

Xu Qinghuan believed her. Lin Xiaolan's father was the director of the municipal machinery factory, and her mother worked at the Youth Relocation Office. Even so, Lin Xiaolan only got her job because her third brother gave it up for her; he himself went to the countryside.

"Where did Xinyu go?" Xu Qinghuan asked, her mood a little heavy.

She, Lin Xiaolan, and Qiao Xinyu had been classmates since childhood, attending elementary, middle, and high school together. It had been half a year since graduation, and the Qiao family finally succumbed to relentless pressure from the Youth Relocation Office, sending Xinyu to the countryside.

Xu Qinghuan herself had only managed to delay her departure because Lin Xiaolan's mother had gotten her a temporary job at the Youth Relocation Office for two months. Otherwise, she'd have gone three months ago.

"She went to the northern province, to Shangjiang Brigade in Hongqi Commune," Lin Xiaolan replied. "My brother went to Hongqi Commune too, but he's not in Shangjiang Brigade; he's in Liaozhong Brigade."

"Shangjiang Brigade!" Xu Qinghuan's eyes lit up. That was the hometown of the hidden powerhouse in the novel, who helped Xu Qinghuan achieve fame and success.

According to the timeline, at this point, the hidden powerhouse was still at home farming, notorious throughout the neighboring villages as a local ruffian, infamous and unruly.

(A snapshot of our male lead's AI portrait: the ruffian Jiang Xingye.)

"How come, do you know that place?" Lin Xiaolan asked. "I specifically asked my mom to arrange a good location for Xinyu."

"I don't know it personally," Xu Qinghuan admitted, "but I know the black soil there is rich and fertile, the land abundant, and you can hibernate for half a year without starving."

Imagine lying on a heated brick bed for half a year, with food and drink at hand—what office worker in the twenty-first century wouldn't dream of such a life?

What is so great about staying in the city for work, eight to five every day, never a break, and working straight through holidays?

Xu Qinghuan quickly made up her mind. She had no intention of staying in the city, nor sacrificing her youth and dignity just to cling to urban life.

Her engagement to the Jiang family was arranged by her birth mother, who promised her a job only after marriage.

The original Xu Qinghuan didn't want to be manipulated but also didn't want to go to the countryside, caught in a perpetual struggle that ultimately cost her life.

"When does the next batch of Youth Relocation members leave?" Now that Xu Qinghuan had decided, she wanted to go as soon as possible, to secure her place beside the future powerhouse.

He might be a ruffian now, but he had plenty of followers. One more or less wouldn't make a difference.

She wanted to get close early, hoping for a chance to light his cigarette.

Lin Xiaolan was surprised. "Qinghuan, do you also want to go to the countryside?"

---

Xu Qinghuan nodded vigorously, her face alight with excitement. "I want to go with Xinyu. Lanlan, could you ask Aunt Lin to arrange for me to go there too?"

Lin Xiaolan was tempted herself, blinking in surprise. "Qinghuan, you're too much! You're abandoning me for Xinyu?"

Xu Qinghuan linked arms with her. "Come on, Lanlan, you can't waver now. Xinyu and I will rely on you in the countryside. Not much—just send each of us five yuan a month."

"In your dreams! I only earn eighteen yuan and eighty-four cents a month as a first-year apprentice," Lin Xiaolan laughed. "At most, I'll send you three yuan each."

Three yuan was already plenty!

The two teased each other for a while before Xu Qinghuan sighed, "Lanlan, what should I do if I want to break off my engagement with Jiang Chengxu?"

"You want to break off the engagement?" Lin Xiaolan thought Xu Qinghuan was just upset. "Qinghuan, think it through. You've known each other for so many years."

"Have you ever heard the saying, 'Childhood friends can't compete with fate'?" Xu Qinghuan joked. "I'm planning to go to the countryside—what use is the engagement?"

The original and the male lead had known each other since childhood, went to middle and high school together, the classic childhood sweethearts.

Lin Xiaolan had seen at the cinema how Xu Manman leaned her head on Jiang Chengxu's shoulder; he tried to push her away twice but gave up, letting her stay.

She was worried Xu Qinghuan would be heartbroken, but seeing her so decisive, Lin Xiaolan was happy for her.

After thinking for a moment, Lin Xiaolan suggested, "How about you talk to your second aunt? Xu Manman likes Jiang Chengxu, right? If you break off the engagement, they’ll be overjoyed."

When Xu Qinghuan was three, her father died, and her mother remarried.

Coincidentally, that was when Xu Manman got lost, and her second aunt, heartbroken, took Xu Qinghuan in. Half a year ago, Xu Qinghuan’s uncle and aunt brought their adopted daughter to visit.

That cousin looked very much like Second Aunt Wang Mingxia; upon inquiry, it turned out she was the cousin who had been missing for fourteen years.

Xu Qinghuan returned home, and from inside the room came the voices of mother and daughter.

Wang Mingxia, exasperated, said, "What's so good about Jiang Chengxu? Both of you are bewitched by him. If your sister insists on marrying him, fine, but you—always going on about Chengxu, Chengxu. I'm telling you, you'd better give up on this idea."

Xu Manman replied coquettishly, "Mom, I know, I don't care that much. He's just my brother-in-law. Stop, my sister's coming back."

Xu Qinghuan deliberately pushed the door open loudly to make her presence known. The two came out, and Wang Mingxia, unsure how much Xu Qinghuan had heard, awkwardly greeted, "Qinghuan, you're back?"

"Second Aunt, Manman," Xu Qinghuan greeted them, then entered the room.

---

The Xu family home was crowded, and Xu Qinghuan shared a room with Xu Manman.

Xu Manman followed her in. "Sis, did Chengxu find you?"

"No, I was with Xiaolan."

Xu Qinghuan began folding the clothes scattered on the bed, each patched over patched. If she went to the countryside, it would be cold up north, so she needed to prepare the thickest cotton quilt, cotton clothes, and pants.

These required not only money but also cloth coupons and cotton coupons. The inheritance left by the original owner totaled thirty-two cents, now reduced to twenty-seven.

Her birth mother sent Second Aunt twenty-five yuan a month for foster care, but neither the original nor Xu Qinghuan ever saw any of it, nor had they ever thought to ask.

She didn't know what the original owner thought, but from the novel, Xu Qinghuan knew that after her father's death, her mother married his comrade. Her stepfather drew a twelfth-level wage, nearly two hundred yuan a month, and her mother, in the art troupe, earned eighty or ninety.

That was a very high income.

The reason for the twenty-five yuan foster allowance was that her birth mother didn't want to raise her herself, didn't want her to disrupt the family, and her stepfather insisted because she was his comrade's orphan.

"What were you talking about?" Xu Manman asked, her innocent smile bright.

"About going to the countryside," Xu Qinghuan replied, a little downcast.

As expected, Xu Manman's face showed anxiety; she faced the same threat—if she didn't marry, she would have to go to the countryside. The only decent man she knew was Jiang Chengxu. In the novel, she couldn't compete with Xu Qinghuan and ultimately had to go to the countryside.

"Sis, I'm the one who should worry. You're about to marry Chengxu, unlike me—no prospects, so I have to go."

During dinner, a staff member from the Youth Relocation Office arrived.

The Xu family had five children. The eldest, Xu Hongwei, worked at the food factory; the second, Xu Hongye, served two years in the army, then transferred to the cinema as a projectionist.

The original plan was for Xu Hongye to serve two years as a conscript and then become a volunteer soldier. He suddenly transferred back, and the projectionist job that Xu Qinghuan’s birth mother had reserved for her somehow ended up with Xu Hongye.

The Xu family had three more: the third, Xu Hongtu, Xu Qinghuan, and Xu Manman. All had graduated high school and had no jobs—they were required to go to the countryside.

After the Youth Relocation Office staff left, the atmosphere grew heavier. Wang Mingxia asked, "Old Xu, last time you mentioned that Lao Xiao’s son at the slaughterhouse is at marriageable age. Has there been any progress on finding him a wife?"