There is a well in the Youth Corps Courtyard, which makes getting water quite convenient, without the need to carry it.
After freshening up, Yi Chichi starts preparing breakfast.
Yesterday, she bought a small stove from a villager to conveniently prepare medicine and food for herself.
It's not a coal-burning industrial stove, but one made of clay for burning charcoal.
After borrowing some fire from the kitchen, she cooked herself a bowl of porridge.
Just as she was having a couple of bites, Wu Yongfei came out with a cornbread.
Seeing her eating porridge, he swallowed and said, "Mr. Yi, that really looks tasty."
Inside, Bai Chen and the others, who were eating breakfast at the table, frowned upon hearing his words.
Here we go again!
Does Wu Yongfei have a screw loose? Every time a new Youth Corps member comes, he has to do this.
How can he be so thick-skinned?
Bai Chen instinctively wanted to get up to stop him, but was held back by Wang Nan.
"Don't rush, let's watch first."
She didn't say what to watch, but everyone on site except Zhou Qiuyu instantly understood what she meant.
They wanted to see how Yi Chichi would handle it before deciding what attitude to take towards her.
Unaware of their thoughts, Yi Chichi frowned, "How can you tell this bland soup is tasty?"
Wu Yongfei's smile froze on his face, and Yi Chichi, as if she didn't see him, muttered to herself, "Feeling tempted even by a patient's meal, what kind of person is that?"
Shaking her head, she carried the bowl back inside.
After she left, Wu Yongfei took a deep breath, turned back inside with a grim face, and complained to Bai Chen and the others, "Mr. Yi is so stingy, not a bit of unity and love."
Ge Sujuan snorted, sarcastically retorting, "You talk as if you're very generous and full of unity and love. Why don't you share some of your preserved meat with us?"
No matter how good the porridge is, it's still food for nourishing her health.
"Mr. Yi was right, you even set your sights on a patient's meal. Wu Yongfei, your skin is really thick."
"You..."
"Shut up!"
Wu Yongfei slammed the table, intending to fight, but Bai Chen stopped him with a stern shout, "I don't care about your conflicts, if you've got guts, go fight outside."
With a cold glance at both of them, "If you're not fighting, then sit down and eat your meal quietly, and get ready for work."
Bai Chen's authority was effective, and his words quieted them down.
Zhou Qiuyu, holding her bowl, looked at them both and then silently focused on her meal.
Eating more keeps your mouth busy, preventing you from talking nonsense or making mistakes.
Yi Chichi, having heard the noise, glanced towards the kitchen with a complicated expression.
It's fortunate they separated; otherwise, the days ahead would be quite lively.
After eating and drinking their fill, it was time to head to work!
When Yi Chichi and the others arrived at the big drying ground, it was already filled with villagers.
Since Yi Chichi didn't show up much yesterday, her appearance today drew curious glances and whispers from the villagers.
"Oh no, this Youth Corps member doesn't seem like someone meant for work, with those skinny arms and legs. I'm worried she might break if she exerts too much force."
"I've given up on Youth Corps members working, just let them muddle through without crying."
"The one who cried yesterday was terrible; big tears and snot everywhere. It freaked me out!"
These words had those who heard Zhou Qiuyu crying yesterday feeling a headache.
They lost interest in Yi Chichi too; no matter how pretty a Youth Corps member is, once she starts crying, she's no longer appealing.
Yi Chichi looked at Zhou Qiuyu, "Did you cry yesterday?"
She scratched her face, looking a bit embarrassed, and mumbled, "Working was too tiring and tough, but I'll try my best not to cry today."
No one would feel sorry for her, and no one would help her; she could only rely on herself.
Ms. Nan Nan was right; she had to stand on her own. Crying doesn't solve any problems, it only annoys people.
Thinking of this, she told Yi Chichi, "You shouldn't cry later; if you really can't hold it in, wait until we get back home."
"Alright."
Although she wasn't prone to crying, she appreciated Zhou Qiuyu's kind advice.
"Our task today is to go to the east to harvest corn, still according to the original cook distribution."
At this point, the team leader looked at Ma Chunhua, "Madam Ma, the newly arrived Youth Corps members are under your team today, you teach them."
"Sure, team leader, I promise to teach the young lady clearly."
Ma Chunhua responded cheerfully and then waved at Yi Chichi, "Young lady, come here."
"Okay!"
Yi Chichi ran over cheerfully, smiling and greeting everyone, "Hello, Aunties."
"Hello, hello, hello."
Though Yi Chichi was thin, she had a pretty face.
Ma Chunhua, who had a bit of vanity for beauty, stared at her for a long time, liking her more and more, and started chatting with her.
She asked her age and why she was so thin, among other things.
Upon learning that she was in poor health and needed time to recover, her expectations for her gaining weight grew.
"You just follow me and work well."
"... Okay."
She was willing to work well, but she had no confidence in how well she could do it.
In her original world, she never lifted a finger in the household, and spent six figures annually on her hands alone.
Let alone farm work, she didn't even wash dishes.
The original owner wasn't as lucky and started working at a young age, but it was primarily childcare and housework, with no experience in farming either.
For this, Yi Chichi could only pray that the work later wouldn't be too difficult; otherwise, she'd worry that Aunt Ma and others would be frustrated with her.
Zhou Qiuyu and the others had fixed teams and didn't need reassignments.
Thus, after a few instructions from the team leader, he proudly led the others, carrying the red flag, towards the fields.
Upon reaching the destination, he stuck the flagpole into the ground, recited some quotes, and then waved his hand to announce the start of work.
The task for today was harvesting corn.
The vast cornfields were intimidating just at a glance.
The corncobs had to be plucked, and the corn stalks couldn't be wasted either; they needed to be chopped up and fed to the cattle and sheep.
Wearing gloves contributed by Aunt Ma, Yi Chichi plucked earnestly; it wasn't difficult, and she handled it with ease.
She could also listen to the Aunties chatting.
"Hey, did you hear? Something happened in the neighboring team."
Yi Chichi perked up her ears, with her experience reading period novels, these kinds of topics usually led to big scoops.
Sure enough, as Aunt Ma and the others asked what had happened, Aunt Niu began to reveal more.
"Old Zhang's second child and one of their team's Youth Corps members were caught rolling in the hayfield."
"What?"
Aunt Ma looked shocked, "Isn't Zhang's second engaged to Old Huang's eldest daughter?"
"Yes, he's engaged, but that didn't stop him from rolling in the hayfield with a Youth Corps member."
Aunt Niu, who spilled the news, looked disdainful, "I always said those female Youth Corps aren't any good."
Goodness, that's a typical case of condemning a whole group for the actions of one.
Unwilling to be misjudged, Yi Chichi gloomily said, "Auntie, you can say what you want, but please don't include all the Youth Corps members. I'm not that kind of person."
"I wasn't talking about you."
Aunt Niu turned back to glance at her, seemingly pondering something, and softly asked, "Xiao Yi, let Auntie ask, do you have a partner?"
"No!"