RKCFE -Chapter 1 Reborn as an Educated Youth Sent to the Countryside

“I’m sorry, Weiwei. I’ve only ever thought of you as a younger sister. I don’t love you.”

“Song Wei, Luo Yecheng and I are together now. Please don’t appear in front of him anymore. You’re making things difficult for both of us.”

“Song Wei, have you no shame? Luo Yecheng already said he doesn’t like you…”

Splash!

The suffocating sensation of falling into water was unbearable.

Countless memories flashed through her mind like scenes from a television drama.

Song Wei suddenly opened her eyes.

Instead of darkness, an old, plain white ceiling came into view.

Wasn’t I dead?

Then… what’s going on?

“Song Wei, you’re awake! How are you feeling?”

A simply dressed young woman with two braided pigtails, her clothes patched in several places, hurried over and asked with concern.

“You silly girl. Even if Luo Yecheng doesn’t like you, you shouldn’t have jumped into the river.”

Seeing her awake at last, Li Juan let out a sigh of relief.

Song Wei stared at her own hands. Her pupils trembled, her eyes reddened, and tears streamed uncontrollably down her face.

But they weren’t tears of sadness.

They were tears of joy.

She…had transmigrated.

She had arrived in a world without radiation, without mutated plants or animals.

Even the air here was so fresh that she wanted nothing more than to greedily fill her lungs with it.

Seeing her cry, Li Juan misunderstood.

“Don’t cry anymore. Everyone already knows Luo Yecheng and Jiang Xiaowan are dating. If you keep acting like this…”

“My throat’s a little sore,” Song Wei replied hoarsely. “I’m fine.”

I’m just… happy.

Grrrr…

Her stomach rumbled loudly.

It was the familiar sensation of hunger.

Yet Song Wei’s expression remained calm. Back in the wasteland, she experienced hunger every single day. She was long accustomed to it.

“Oh! I almost forgot.”

Li Juan quickly handed over an old aluminium lunch tin that looked as though it had been used for years.

“This was made from your grain ration. I brought it over for you.”

As soon as the lid was opened, the natural aroma of food drifted into the air.

Song Wei’s eyes instantly lit up with longing.

She practically snatched the lunch tin away.

Ignoring the spoon entirely, she tipped the coarse grain porridge straight into her mouth.

Li Juan was stunned.

She looked like a starving wolf devouring its prey.

How hungry must she have been?

The pale, sickly young woman had been driven to this point.

Calling it porridge was generous.

It was little more than cornmeal mush made from old, dried maize, mixed with tiny bits of grit that hadn’t been properly removed.

It scratched her throat slightly.

Yet Song Wei loved every bite.

Because this was genuine food—

Natural food.

Untainted by pollution.

Food that actually smelled like grain.

“Slow down! No one’s going to steal it from you.”

Afraid she’d choke, Li Juan quickly handed her a bowl of water.

Song Wei took it and gulped down several mouthfuls.

Her throat felt much better.

Then she continued eating.

She finished the cornmeal mush in just a few gulps.

The sensation of food entering her mouth… then settling warmly into her stomach…

It was pure bliss.

Not long after she woke up, the doctor came to examine her.

She was still somewhat weak.

“Would you like to stay in the hospital for a few more days,” he asked, “or would you rather leave?”

She chose the latter.

The doctor looked at her, hesitating.

After all, Song Wei truly looked as though she might faint at any moment.

She possessed the delicate beauty of a girl from the Jiangnan water towns—gentle features, a slender frame, and an almost willow-like fragility.

Beautiful.

But clearly not someone suited to farm labour.

And yet she had volunteered to become an educated youth in the countryside.

Now, with her pale, sickly face, anyone who looked at her couldn’t help but feel sympathetic.

“Why don’t you think it over a little more?”

Song Wei’s gaze was unwavering.

“No. I want to leave.”

“…Very well. Your medical expenses come to one yuan.”

Even Li Juan winced at the amount.

One yuan.

What couldn’t she let go of that she’d ended up in the river?

Now she’d suffered herself and had to spend money on top of it.

The doctor couldn’t help advising her as well.

“You’re still so young. Whatever it is, don’t do something so foolish again. Jumping into icy water in this weather is only making yourself suffer.”

Song Wei nodded.

Feeling slightly embarrassed, she asked Li Juan to pay for her first.

“I didn’t bring any money with me.”

Although it pained her, Li Juan still handed over the money.

“You’d better remember to pay me back.”

To her, one yuan was a fortune.

“I’ll return it as soon as we get back.”

Thanks to the original owner’s memories, Song Wei knew exactly where her money was hidden.

Although her body remained weak, her steps were light, and there was unmistakable excitement in her eyes.

Li Juan found it rather strange.

Why does she look… happy?

When they returned to the production brigade, they rode on the brigade’s ox cart, which happened to be waiting in its usual spot.

Several village women carrying small baskets were already sitting aboard, chatting away.

Song Wei’s sharp ears caught her own name being mentioned.

“Isn’t that Educated Youth Song?”

They had been talking about her.

The moment she appeared, every head on the cart turned toward her.

“Oh! Educated Youth Song, you’re better now?”

Though… she didn’t actually look much better.

“Come sit over here. Thank goodness you’re alright. Everyone’s been worried about you these past few days.”

Perhaps they had been worried.

After all, it involved a human life.

But there had certainly been plenty of people enjoying the gossip too.

After all, the entire brigade now knew that Song Wei had supposedly jumped into the river because of Educated Youth Luo.

“Aunt Ma… Aunt Guihua…”

Song Wei’s face remained pale.

The walk had left her sweating lightly, and her lips were almost white, making her seem as though she could collapse at any second.

But she herself knew…

She felt better than ever.

Most importantly—

Her stomach was full.

She was completely satisfied.

Matching the women with the memories she’d inherited, she greeted each familiar aunt in turn.

Most of the others, however, were strangers.

After all, the original Song Wei had only arrived in the countryside less than a week ago.

“Educated Youth Song, you know Educated Youth Luo is getting married to Jiang Xiaowan soon, right?”

One of the older women leaned over with obvious enthusiasm.

“Tsk, tsk… Educated Youth Luo sure is popular. You even jumped into the river for him, yet he didn’t worry about you one bit. He’s still getting married as planned. That just shows he never cared about you at all.”

Another aunt immediately snapped, “Liu Guifen! Why would you bring that up now? Are you deliberately stirring up trouble? Educated Youth Song just got out of the hospital. If something happens to her again, what then?”

Really.

The poor girl had only just been discharged and still hadn’t fully recovered.

Wasn’t she afraid she’d upset her enough to send her right back?

The woman called Liu Guifen quickly shifted farther away.

“I was only telling her what’s been happening in the brigade. If anything happens to her, don’t blame me.”

She looked as though she feared Song Wei might collapse on the spot and pin the responsibility on her.

Song Wei glanced at her.

She knew Liu Guifen.

More accurately, the original owner did.

Just two days after arriving in the countryside, the original Song Wei had argued with an old woman.

Liu Guifen happened to be that old woman’s daughter-in-law.

“I’m fine. Thank you, Aunt Ma.”

She paused, looking puzzled.

“But…”

“Who said I jumped into the river because of Educated Youth Luo?”

Everyone on the ox cart looked at one another in surprise.

Liu Guifen immediately spoke up.

“Educated Youth Song, are you too embarrassed to admit it? Everyone in the brigade knows you jumped into the river because of Educated Youth Luo.”

Although Song Wei had only been here a short time, everyone had seen how she’d been chasing after Luo Yecheng.

Yet Song Wei continued to wear a genuinely confused expression.

“I did like Educated Youth Luo before.”

“But there’s no way I’d jump into a river for him.”

“That day, Comrade Jiang Xiaowan and I happened to meet by the river. We argued a few words over Educated Youth Luo, and we ended up pushing each other.”

“The rocks by the river were slippery, and it had rained earlier that day.”

“I accidentally stepped on a loose stone…”

“…and fell into the river.”