Yun Hao had volunteered to go to the countryside. In everyone’s eyes, he was different from the others.

The others were all forced to go; if they’d had any choice, they wouldn’t have come to the countryside.

This was also the reason Yun Hao was so impressive in the hearts of the educated youth.

He was truly here to help build up the homeland, while they spent every day just hoping to go back.

Yun Hao was suffering in silence.

It was true his father was a factory director and his mother was a department head. The policy was that one child per family could stay, so he shouldn’t have had to go to the countryside. But the truth was, he had a younger brother.

When his mother was pregnant with her second child, she gave birth prematurely at eight months. There was an old saying: "a baby born at seven months lives, one born at eight months doesn’t." The family was extremely worried.

Later, they had someone look into it.

The elders in the family believed in such things. Fearing something might happen to the child, his parents also secretly had someone look into it. That person said the boy would live, but his existence couldn’t be revealed to anyone before he turned sixteen.

To ensure their younger son survived, his parents hid the news of his birth. His brother was raised in the countryside from a young age, looked after by his grandmother. Yun Hao didn’t know if any of it actually worked.

His brother had been incredibly weak in the hospital, but after being sent to the countryside, he had paradoxically grown more and more energetic. He was ten years old now, and aside from being a bit thin and frail, he was perfectly fine.

His parents sent him to the countryside because they actually wanted to bring his younger brother to live with them.

When the time came, they would just say he was a relative’s child.

If Yun Hao were still at home, having two children in the family would be too conspicuous.

With Yun Hao in the countryside, everyone knew Director Yun and his wife were progressive thinkers, so no one would say much. A relative’s child staying for a while wouldn’t be a problem either.

But unfortunately, this was something he couldn’t tell anyone.

Yun Hao pushed aside the chaotic thoughts in his mind and looked at the article in the newspaper, his eyes filled with fervent admiration.

"Mr. Bai Mu’s literary talent is truly incredible. If only I could meet him."

Hearing this, the others wore looks of yearning.

They also desperately wanted to know what a person with such foresight and such firm convictions looked like.

Would he be like one of those great literary figures, all scholarly and refined? Perhaps he even wore glasses to look more cultured.

In their minds, this Mr. Bai Mu had to be at least fifty years old.

Although Hu Ziqiang also thought Mr. Bai Mu was brilliant, he had been afraid of teachers since he was a child. He was sure Mr. Bai Mu must be a very stern little old man. While the others were discussing meeting him, Hu Ziqiang didn’t dare join the excitement. 𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎

If he really got the chance to meet that stern little old man, he’d probably be too nervous to even speak clearly.

But as he stared at Yun Hao’s face for a moment, he grew a little puzzled.

"Yun Hao, you don’t look so good."

He had been fine when he left in the morning, but now his complexion looked a bit dark.

Hearing this, Yun Hao shook his head. "I think I’m getting sick."

"I started feeling dizzy and groggy on the way back."

"It’s my turn to cook today. Ziqiang, can we switch?"

Seeing how much discomfort he was in, Hu Ziqiang immediately said, "You should get some sleep. I’ll cook tonight."

After watching Yun Hao lie down to sleep, Hu Ziqiang got up to go chop firewood in the yard.

Whoever cooked also had to chop the firewood—that was the rule at the educated youth station.

He had just stepped outside when he saw Li Hongmei standing at the door of the women’s quarters, looking at him with an excited expression.

Hu Ziqiang immediately wanted to turn back. ’I can’t give Li Hongmei any false hope.’

But then he remembered that Yun Hao was sick today and he still had to cook, so he could only brace himself and walk out.

Li Hongmei had seen Yun Hao return, which was why she had rushed out of her room, just to get a glimpse of him.

Besides, she had already checked the duty roster and knew it was Yun Hao’s turn to cook today.

’Who would have thought that after waiting here with a face full of anticipation, the one to come out would be that punk, Hu Ziqiang!’