CHAPTER 661: CHAPTER 660 THE DIFFERENCE IS...

Sun Yafei, carrying a large bag on her back and a smaller one in hand, had a crooked hat, disheveled clothes, and footprints all over her shoes; it was unclear what she’d encountered on her journey.

"Oh my God, she looks like she’s fleeing a disaster," Wang Hong took what was in her hands and began pulling her towards the village.

Sun Yafei smiled happily, but when she spoke, her voice was somewhat hoarse: "I have my home leave this year, and I thought I’d visit Ten Miles Team before I head back to Shanghai."

"Didn’t you drink any water on the way?" Wang Hong asked, eyeing her suspiciously.

Sun Yafei nodded: "There were too many people on the way, and the main issue... my water bottle froze."

As she spoke, she shook the water bottle she was carrying, which didn’t make the slightest sound.

"Going out for a year and still not becoming any wiser," Wang Hong rolled her eyes in annoyance, dragging Sun Yafei into the Educated Youth Corps and called out, "Someone come help out."

"Coming!"

Lin Nianhe dashed out at the call.

"Yafei?" Lin Nianhe’s eyes lit up.

"Sister Nianhe," Sun Yafei smiled even brighter, her chapped lips bleeding without her feeling the pain.

Seeing that Lin Nianhe was the one who came out, Wang Hong rolled her eyes helplessly: "Never mind, I’ll carry it myself."

"Aunt Wang, how is that any different from pointing directly at my nose and calling me useless?" Lin Nianhe took a smaller bag, sounding a little hurt.

Wang Hong: "The difference is that I didn’t directly call you useless."

People from the Educated Youth Corps came and went; now there was an empty room in the female educated youths’ dormitory, which was previously occupied by Wen Qingqing and Wen Ruannuan.

Wang Hong set down Sun Yafei’s luggage and asked Lin Nianhe: "Where are the others? Why are you here alone?"

"Sister Shumei went home to help her sister-in-law with chores, Sister Xue and Tiechui heard that the Cooperative Society had apples today, so they went to buy some," Lin Nianhe said. "Yufei is sleeping."

"Sleeping at this hour?" Wang Hong couldn’t help but express disdain, sighing, "Really taking advantage of no one managing, doing whatever pleases him."

"Exactly, that’s too much. Aunt Wang, you should go and give him a slap later."

Lin Nianhe poured a cup of warm water for Sun Yafei and asked, "Yafei, when do you plan to head back to Shanghai? Have you bought the train ticket?"

Sun Yafei smiled carefreely: "I just got off the bus and asked, there are no tickets available for the next few days."

Wang Hong: "And you still can laugh about it."

Sun Yafei said: "I just called my parents from the post office, and they said everything at home is fine, my father has also been assigned a job, which is harder but much better than before... so even if I go back a few days late, it’s no problem for me."

Wang Hong looked at her as if she were foolish: "Do you think there will be tickets in the next few days?"

"Ah? Won’t there be?"

Sun Yafei’s eyes twinkled with naive stupidity.

It wasn’t so much her fault as it was that she had never really traveled far on her own—she had always had her parents to arrange everything in the past, going to Ten Miles Team was under their arrangement, to the Great Northern Wilderness as well, and she didn’t have home leave last year.

This year’s trip was her true first experience traveling far by herself.

Wang Hong spoke to Lin Nianhe: "Go, call Uncle Wong and ask him to sort out a train ticket, I’ll prepare some food for Yafei."

"Alright."

Lin Nianhe went to the Team Leader’s office to make the call, while Wang Hong took Sun Yafei back home, cooked her a bowl of noodles, and fried two sunny-side-up eggs.

Wang Huanhuan and Wang Lele hadn’t seen Sun Yafei in a long while and surrounded her, chattering nonstop. Sun Yafei hugged them and pulled out the stationery boxes she had bought for them, delighting the two little girls immensely.

"You just spoil them," Wang Hong served the noodles to her, adding a piece of fermented tofu.

"Thank you, Aunt Wang," Sun Yafei said with a smile that brought out two little dimples, her eyes curved into crescents, much more cheerful than when she had first arrived at Ten Miles Team.

Wang Hong sat by the bed-stove, her brow furrowed tighter as she watched her eat.

After a couple of bites, Sun Yafei noticed Wang Hong’s gaze and felt a bit uneasy, touching her face she asked, "Aunt Wang, what’s wrong?"

"Nothing," Wang Hong wiped her eyes, "You’ve gotten thinner."

Not only had Sun Yafei gotten thinner, but she was also darker, with red veins in her cheeks - gone was the delicate appearance of the young girl she was when she arrived.

"Hehe," all Sun Yafei could do was laugh, bowing her head to eat the noodles, the steam veiling her eyelashes, hiding the glistening tears in her eyes.

Wang Hong watched her, not pulling her hand over until she had finished her noodles.

On the previously white palms was now a layer of calluses, rough to the touch.

"Tired, aren’t you?"

"Mm...a bit tired, yes."

"Did someone bully you out there?"

"No, our squad leader..."

Sun Yafei’s voice trailed off.

She had a new squad leader now, who was very nice, even kinder than Guan Manling.

But she still missed Sister Manling.

Thinking she had been bullied, Wang Hong was about to press on when Lin Nianhe entered.

"Brr... it’s freezing," she said, rubbing her hands and trotting to the bed-stove, warming them on the hot stove before continuing, "Uncle Wong said there’s a train to Shanghai the day after tomorrow afternoon. It’s the last one before the New Year. He managed to get tickets, so we don’t have to worry. We can just pick them up from him before we leave."

"That’s good," Wang Hong sighed with relief, getting up, "You all stay home, I’ll go tell them, Yafei’s come back - after all, you’ve eaten from us for over a year, it’s only right to come to say hello."

Wang Hong, who never dilly-dallied, said her goodbyes and left.

Once she was gone, Sun Yafei asked in a low voice, "Sister Nianhe, how is Sister Manling doing now?"

"We just had a call last week," Lin Nianhe said, "She’s doing okay for now, but winter is always tough, she’s been coughing and can’t sleep well."

Sun Yafei sighed, "When Commander Shen told us, none of us could believe it. After that, we made a donation, but I wonder if it’s enough for their needs."

"Why don’t we call them?" Lin Nianhe suggested, "Last week, Sister Manling said they were going to be discharged and go home for the New Year."

"Can we?" Sun Yafei’s eyes lit up.

"Let’s go, Uncle Team Leader isn’t around today, no one will mind us."

Lin Nianhe pulled Sun Yafei out the door.

However, just as they were leaving, they ran into the villagers who had come to see Sun Yafei.

Lin Nianhe: "Let’s wait a bit, probably not until tomorrow at the earliest."

Sun Yafei was worried about Guan Manling but didn’t feel impatient - she missed the villagers, too.

Sun Yafei brought back many things for everyone, but the variety was somewhat limited - transportation difficulties in the winter meant that the Cooperative Society in the Great Northern Wilderness would sometimes run out of goods, and even when there were some, there wasn’t much variety.

She couldn’t buy anything else even if she wanted to.

Because Sun Yafei had returned, the already lively Ten Miles Team became even more boisterous, and Sun Yafei hadn’t eaten in the same place for days.

Finally, on the second day, she got through to Guan Manling on the phone. Although Guan Manling’s voice was hoarse, she sounded spirited and, upon hearing that Sun Yafei had leave to visit home, she specifically asked her to send regards to her parents on her behalf.