The 60s Island: The Daily Life of a Capitalist Young Lady with the Army - Chapter 103: What a Kind, Pure and Unpretentious Girl!

Chapter 103: What a Kind, Pure and Unpretentious Girl!

She and several other educated youth assigned to Peaceful Village got off the vehicle with Xie Chengjun.

Peaceful Village—the name alone evoked goodwill.

Yet when they stood at the village entrance, facing the brigade cadres who came to receive them, the smiles on their faces froze.

Other villages at least had ox carts or horse carts to pick them up.

But the Peaceful Village cadres stood empty-handed, merely pointing toward the endless stretch of distant mountains.

“Where’s the cart? Uncle, where’s the ox cart to pick us up?” a male educated youth couldn’t help asking.

The lead village cadre puffed on his pipe, too lazy to even lift his eyelids. “What cart? There’s no cart.”

His voice was dry, devoid of any emotion.

“Peaceful Village is the poorest village in our entire Red Star Brigade. The roads aren’t even connected yet—where would we get an ox cart?”

He blew out a smoke ring and pointed toward the rugged mountain path stretching beyond sight. “Walk yourselves. Cross that mountain ahead, then walk another twenty-some li, and you’ll arrive.”

Twenty-some li… on mountain paths?!

The color instantly drained from Xu Jingjing’s face.

The little leather shoes she’d worn specifically to look pretty now seemed like the biggest joke.

Her beautiful visions of the future shattered into dust.

Xu Jingjing’s entire face turned ashen on the spot.

The village cadre didn’t even bother lifting his eyelids, took another puff of his pipe, and exhaled smoke rings tinged with impatience.

“Let’s go. If we don’t make it before dark, we’ll be feeding the wolves on the mountain.”

With those words, he shouldered his hoe and strode off toward the endless mountain path as if riding wind and fire wheels, never looking back.

He left behind a group of dumbfounded educated youth staring at each other.

“Hey! Wait for us!”

A male educated youth reacted first, hastily dragging his large and small bags as he chased after him.

The others also woke up as if from a dream, scrambling to follow.

Xu Jingjing looked at her semi-new little leather shoes and cursed Xu Xiangsi for the thousandth time in her heart.

If it weren’t for that bitch, how could she have ended up in this situation!

But for now, no matter how much resentment she felt, she had to swallow it.

Gritting her teeth, she picked up her not-so-large luggage bag and merged into the crowd.

The mountain path was even harder to traverse than imagined.

Rather than a path, it was more like finding footing amidst piles of rubble.

Sharp stones dug painfully into the soles of their feet.

Xu Jingjing’s little leather shoes, worn for dignity and appearance, had now become the cruelest instruments of torture.

In less than half an hour, she felt a burning sting on her heel.

A blister had mercilessly formed.

She gasped in pain, her face instantly paling a few shades, but she stubbornly bit her lip without uttering a sound.

Xie Chengjun, walking behind her, happened to witness her restrained demeanor completely.

His brows furrowed slightly, the heartache in his eyes growing deeper.

Meanwhile, the two other female educated youth in the group had long since reached their limit.

“Ouch… my feet… I can’t walk anymore…”

A round-faced female educated youth named Wang Fang plopped down on the ground and started wiping her tears.

Another named Liu Li also leaned against a tree trunk, sobbing.

“What kind of godforsaken place is this?! How much farther?!”

“My shoes are already torn… sob…”

Li Dasha, the village head of Peaceful Village walking at the front, turned back and shot them an irritated glare.

“What’s all this crying! Do you think crying will get you to the village?”

“If we don’t keep moving, it’ll be completely dark, and the blind boars from the mountains will come out for their stroll!”

Blind boars?

At these words, Wang Fang and Liu Li cried even harder, practically wailing.

“I don’t want to be here! I want to go home! I want to return to the city!”

The group of educated youth was shrouded in gloom and despair.

Just then, there was a sudden “rustle” from the grass nearby as a pheasant flew up.

“Ah—!”

Wang Fang and Liu Li screamed like cats whose tails had been stepped on, their piercing shrieks reaching the clouds. The two immediately clung to each other, trembling like sieves.

Xu Jingjing was also startled, her whole body shuddering as she instinctively let out a short “ah” and shrank back half a step.

But only for a second.

She immediately straightened up, one hand soothing her frightened heart while the other reached out toward the two female educated youths who were trembling uncontrollably.

Her own voice still carried a barely noticeable tremor, and her face remained pale, yet she forced a comforting smile.

“Don’t… don’t be afraid, it’s just a bird.”

“It’s fine, Village Chief Li is here, he’ll definitely protect us.”

Her appearance—clearly terrified herself yet stubbornly trying to comfort others—was like a small white flower struggling to bloom in a fierce gale, fragile yet resilient.

But inwardly, Xu Jingjing sneered.

It’s just a pheasant, isn’t it?

When she was a child digging for bird nests in the mountains, these two delicate young ladies probably didn’t know anything beyond playing with mud.

Was this kind of commotion really worth such a fuss?

But she knew men ate this up.

Sure enough.

Xie Chengjun’s gaze was completely fixed on her.

Looking at the two female educated youths who could only scream and cry, then at Xu Jingjing—who, despite her pale face, was trying hard to comfort her companions—his inner scale instantly tipped all the way to the Pacific.

Look! What a difference!

Wang Fang and Liu Li were just spoiled city girls who couldn’t handle the slightest hardship.

But Xu Jingjing?

She was clearly just a delicate girl herself, clearly trembling with fear, yet she had courage and a sense of responsibility!

In a critical moment, she thought not of herself but of her companions!

What a kind, pure, and unpretentious girl!

Xie Chengjun strode forward, his tall figure immediately blocking the space in front of Xu Jingjing.

“Don’t be afraid, I’m here.”

His voice was deep and powerful, carrying a reliable trustworthiness.

Xu Jingjing looked up, her almond-shaped eyes glistening as they held just the right amount of panic, gratitude, and a hint of dependence.

“Comrade… Xie Chengjun…”

She called out softly, as if she had found her anchor.

Xie Chengjun’s heart instantly melted into a puddle.

Looking at her pale little face and the fine beads of sweat on her forehead, then glancing at the pitiful small leather shoes on her feet, he offered:

“Let me take your luggage, I’ll carry it for you.”

Xu Jingjing immediately shook her head like a rattle drum: “No, there’s no need, I can manage myself!”

Though she refused verbally, her hands instinctively shrank back, assuming a stubborn, defiant posture.

“How can a female comrade like you manage.”

Xie Chengjun didn’t give her a chance to refuse, decisively taking one of the luggage bags from her hands.

Only when he held the bag did he realize how light it was, practically weightless.

His heart swelled with even more tenderness.

She must have left in such a hurry—how much had she even managed to bring?

“Let’s go. Follow behind me, I’ll keep an eye on the path for you.”

Xie Chengjun carried two bags as he walked ahead, occasionally turning back to remind her, “Watch your step on this rock.”

Xu Jingjing followed meekly behind him, a triumphant curve lifting the corner of her lips.

Success.

She had known all along—men who came from courtyard backgrounds had the strongest hero complexes.

As long as she appeared sufficiently vulnerable yet resilient in front of him, none could resist taking the bait.

The only pity was that the bag he had taken happened to be the lightest one among her belongings.