Chapter 13: Zhang Qian Confesses

Without needing to accommodate others, her speed increased significantly, and since she didn't have to bundle firewood on the way, it took her exactly thirty minutes to run to the Educated Youth Station.

She poured the chestnuts from the large basket onto the courtyard floor to dry, placed the firewood in the passageway on the other side, took a military canteen from home to fill with hot water, grabbed three broken bowls, and only then headed up the mountain.

After arriving on the mountain, she saw the two of them still picking chestnuts, with half a basket already filled.

"I brought hot water; let's rest for a moment and have some." An Yinan opened the canteen, rinsed the bowls, and then poured the water to hand to the two of them.

The two of them knocked on their backs; having squatted for a long time to pick chestnuts and fearing being pricked, they could only maintain one posture, which was truly quite tiring.

"It's so tiring, this water even tastes sweet." Xie Yuanyuan wiped away her sweat.

An Yinan smiled, "It's tiring now, but when you're struggling through the winter, you'll feel fortunate."

Without firewood to burn, people really will freeze to death.

Without food to eat, people really will starve to death.

"Anyway, I'm following Nan Nan, and I definitely won't go wrong." Xie Yuanyuan raised her small fist.

Zhang Qian looked at the large expanse of the Chestnut Forest, "I'm afraid it will take seven or eight days to finish picking them all."

The day after tomorrow, they have to get busy with the autumn harvest, so these chestnuts probably won't be finished.

"Quanshui Village has a rule: there is no upper limit on Work Points for anyone's labor; the more you do, the more Work Points you get." An Yinan drank the warm water, looked up at the blue sky, and smelled the fragrance of grass and trees; such an environment would no longer exist in a few decades.

Zhang Qian was silent for a moment.

Xie Yuanyuan felt a bit helpless, "Although I can't do much work, but... I can buy grain..."

When she came to the countryside, her father had already told her that if she couldn't do the work, she should just do a little less; in any case, her family wouldn't let her go without grain.

What An Yinan had just said was directed more at Zhang Qian; she didn't know how long this guy intended to keep hiding.

Zhang Qian looked up at An Yinan, "How did you figure it out?"

An Yinan raised an eyebrow; he admitted it? That was quite straightforward.

"I might not have mentioned it, but my father was a martyr."

A martyr...

A heavy topic.

"I am not sad. When he was alive, he loved the two of us siblings very much. Whenever he was home, he would accompany us every day and agree to all our requests."

"People in the Military—their walking, breathing, sensitivity, and observation are not what ordinary people possess. You look like you're sweating, but your breathing is not disordered, which doesn't match your persona."

"Moreover, whenever there is any movement, you observe it at the first opportunity, which does not match the reaction of a normal person."

"Hmm, and also... do you want me to keep going?"

An Yinan wore a half-smile; she originally didn't want to point it out, but he seemed to be observing her too much, and she didn't want to play the fool.

"You are very good at observing." Zhang Qian hadn't expected that he would have so many loopholes.

These were loopholes he didn't usually pay attention to; fortunately, this wasn't a battlefield or an undercover mission.

Otherwise, he would likely be dead beyond repair.

"I have a mission; it's not aimed at you, but there are orders from above to look after you while I'm at it." Zhang Qian didn't hide it either.

A martyr's child, and besides, after interacting these past few days, he trusted An Yinan as a person even more.

"Good." An Yinan nodded and said nothing more.

Having a mission meant she couldn't ask, couldn't bring it up, and couldn't talk about it.

That he could confess so readily this time probably also had the approval of those above; she didn't want to know anything else.

As long as it wasn't aimed at her, everything else was fine.

Xie Yuanyuan looked at this one, then at that one, not understanding what kind of riddle they were speaking in; sigh, going to the countryside is truly bitter.

"Let's get to work; after we deliver this load today, we can still pick one more time." An Yinan stood up, her hands picking rapidly.

The other two occupied their own directions, and all three had their backs turned.

In a place where the two couldn't see, An Yinan still maintained her 1:2 rhythm, picking swiftly.

One hour later, two large baskets appeared.

"I'll go down together this time." Zhang Qian shouldered a basket and looked at An Yinan.

An Yinan nodded.

"You can rest for a while; you don't have to keep picking, these things can't be picked clean. The canteen is left up here, drink some water in a bit." She gave an instruction to Xie Yuanyuan.

The two went down the mountain one after the other; although An Yinan had more raw strength, Zhang Qian clearly had more agility, and the two of them moved at a speed that was neck and neck.

Returning the same way, when they passed the firewood bundles, An Yinan placed two bundles on her basket and carried two bundles in each hand.

Zhang Qian followed suit and also brought six bundles down the mountain.

The two returned to the back courtyard through the small gate, then laid out the chestnuts to dry and stacked the firewood in the passageway on the other side.

"Oh my, how did you pick so many chestnuts?" Li Xiue was on cooking duty today; she had just walked to the Second Courtyard when she saw the chestnuts on the ground.

An Yinan wiped her sweat, "We just happened to see a chestnut forest, right on the Back Mountain; are you going to pick some?"

Mountain chestnuts were a bit small, and besides, it was public land anyway, so she wasn't planning on hiding it.

"Back Mountain? I can't go there; it's a bit steep, and the people in the village don't go to the Back Mountain either. You two be careful as well." Li Xiue smiled and went to the First Courtyard to pick vegetables.

Zhang Qian and An Yinan shouldered their baskets and headed toward the back again; this time An Yinan also brought two large cloth bags, and one cloth bag could hold as much as a basket of chestnuts.

After arriving at Quanshui Village, An Yinan had a good mindset; an inexhaustible amount of strength and the confidence from her space were enough to let her survive in this era.

"You're back so fast?" Xie Yuanyuan rubbed her eyes.

The two of them had only taken fifty minutes for this round trip.

An Yinan rubbed her brow; the two of them were secretly competing, and that mountain-climbing speed was practically flying.

How could the speed not be fast?

"Keep picking; we brought two cloth bags this time, so we can load two more baskets in a bit." An Yinan poured what Xie Yuanyuan had picked into the cloth bag, and the three of them squatted on the ground and got busy again.

Although it was still a 1:2 ratio, the two over there were also gradually finding their rhythm, and their speed increased.

After An Yinan finished picking one basket, she saw that the two people over there also had more than half a basket.

After she poured the whole basket into a cloth bag, she started picking again.

It was 3:30 in the afternoon, and the three of them finally filled the cloth bags and baskets; Xie Yuanyuan carried a basket on her back, An Yinan secured the cloth bag onto the large basket, and Zhang Qian did the same.

The three of them slowly headed down the mountain; when they passed the firewood, An Yinan and Zhang Qian each carried four bundles, and the remaining one was held in Xie Yuanyuan's arms.

Xie Yuanyuan looked at the two of them and felt that she was the abnormal one? Too weak!

When they reached the middle of the mountainside, Xie Yuanyuan's foot slipped, and she was caught by An Yinan with quick eyes and fast hands.

"Give the large basket to me." An Yinan took the large basket from behind Xie Yuanyuan and carried it on her own chest.

Zhang Qian silently carried the firewood.

When it came to strength, Zhang Qian was convinced; perhaps only the boss could compare to her.

When the three of them arrived at the Educated Youth Station, the sky had already started to darken.

After spreading out the chestnuts, they entered the room and saw that the furniture had all been delivered, along with two brand-new large water vats.

"Just eat at my place today; they probably didn't make food for you over there." This time was already past the meal hour, and the Educated Youth Courtyard naturally wouldn't touch the two people's grain rations when they saw they hadn't returned.