Elena's eyes, however, were clearly filled with concern. Sienna frowned in irritation. "It's not good to ask for leave on the very first day. I'll go transplant the seedlings. I can handle a little hard work; it's no problem."

  With that, Sienna gave Elena a weak smile and turned to walk slowly toward the water-filled fields assigned to her. She walked several paces, but Elena's voice never called out to stop her.

  Usually, this 'retreating to advance' trick works perfectly. Why isn't it working on Elena?

  Sienna looked back. Elena had already put on her straw hat and arm sleeves, taken a small bundle of dry straw from the person in charge, and stepped into the field.

  Forget calling her back—Elena didn't even spare her a second glance. Sienna felt a sudden lump in her throat and could only reluctantly head toward the paddy field.

  Throughout the entire morning, Sienna felt like she was dying and coming back to life. It was somewhat bearable before the sun came out, but once it rose, the water in the fields reflected the glaring sunlight. Sienna felt like she might faint at any moment.

  "Aunt Marta, I can still work for a bit longer." Elena wasn't trying to show off; she genuinely felt energetic. It wasn't like her first time in her past life when she felt light-headed and saw stars.

  Marta glanced at Elena. "No need. Weren't you put in charge of the cooking? Hurry back now."

  In Marta's eyes, although Elena looked young and thin with unpracticed movements, she was hardworking. Her speed was a bit slow, but overall, she kept up well. It was clear she had no intention of slacking off.

  Plus, the girl was sweet-talker, calling her "Aunt Marta" with a clear, soft voice that made people feel pleasant.

  Having worked for half the morning, Elena's face was growing pale and her calves were trembling. Marta couldn't bear it and simply told her to go back to the camp.

  "Yes, Elena, hurry back and rest for a while," Anita chimed in. "I'll finish the rest of your work; there isn't much left."

  Having shared the ox cart from the city, Anita had been a calm observer. Her impression of Sienna was average; she felt Sienna looked generous on the surface but was actually quite calculating and strangely targeted Elena constantly.

  However, she hadn't particularly liked Elena either—thinking the thin, small girl would likely become a burden to the group due to poor health.

  As for Lucy, Anita had a good first impression, but Lucy and Elena were best friends, forming a small circle that was hard for others to enter.

  But over the last two days, Anita's view of Elena had truly changed.

  The girl could cook well, kept everything organized, and planned meticulously. Even Anita, who was physically strong, felt like crying from the exhaustion of harvesting and transplanting, yet Elena worked diligently without a single word of complaint.

  Anita reflected on herself: she had been wrong to judge Elena based on her appearance.

  Elena looked at the nearly finished seedling bed and didn't refuse again. She climbed out of the field and washed the mud off her hands and feet in the water channel before heading back to the barracks.

  Only when she stood up after washing did she realize her legs were like jelly.

  Even so, Elena felt a faint sense of joy. Not being dizzy or stumbling was already a huge improvement. If she continued to exercise and eat well, her body would surely recover.

  Sienna had lost count of how many times she had collapsed in the mud. Finally standing up, she looked up and saw Elena walking back along the ridge.

  It wasn't even time to finish work yet. Why was Elena going back!

  In that moment, Sienna forgot her own exhaustion, her eyes shining with excitement.

  Should she go to the scorekeeper to snitch immediately, or save it for the perfect moment to strike a fatal blow? Sienna chose the latter. Having reflected deeply yesterday, she wasn't as impulsive as she used to be.

  However, seeing Elena off the clock while she was still struggling through the mud transplanting seedlings made Sienna feel resentful. Her movements slowed down.

  "Sienna, move faster! You're the slowest one. Look at Anita—it's her first time in the fields too, and she's much more steady." Juana wasn't as easy-going as Lucy's mother; she couldn't stand laziness.

  Sienna wanted to snap back that Juana wasn't exactly a speed demon herself, having transplanted less than Lucy. But Juana was the one the squad leader appointed to lead them, so Sienna didn't dare offend her. She could only bend her waist and work in silence.

  She couldn't help but resent Lucy. Everyone else is working slowly, why are you working so hard?

  Lucy had no idea Sienna was blaming her. She quickly finished her assigned task without even looking up, wanting to hurry over to help Elena.

  "Aunt Juana, I'm finished. I'm going over to the seedling beds to check on things," Lucy said as she headed to the channel to wash up.

  Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

  Juana nodded. She was very satisfied with Lucy. Among the new female recruits, Lucy wasn't the most beautiful, but she was decent-looking and, most importantly, hardworking and honest. Her family was from the city too.

  She had heard that Lucy, like the sickly-looking Elena, was a child of the urban poor.

  Coincidentally, her son was twenty this year—the right time to find a wife. She thought Lucy was quite a catch: eighteen years old, a perfect match.

  Juana was happily planning this in her head when she looked up and saw Sienna faking her work again. "Sienna..."

  Sienna, who had just stood up to stretch her back, stiffened and immediately bent back down to work. Almost there, almost there. She gritted her teeth; once this row was done, she could go back and rest.

  When Lucy reached the seedling beds, she learned Elena had already left. Panicked, she didn't even ask why and ran straight back to the headquarters.

  "Elena! Elena!" Lucy shouted as she ran.

  "Lucy?" Elena poked her head out of the kitchen, looking puzzled.

  Since returning, Elena had boiled water, taken a quick sponge bath, and changed her clothes. She hadn't washed her dirty clothes yet, as she'd have to wear them again for work in the afternoon.

  Seeing Elena safe and sound, Lucy breathed a massive sigh of relief. Only then did she feel the strength leave her body. Though she worked at home, she had never experienced labor this intense.

  "Drink some water first." Elena had added a bit of salt to the cooled boiled water and brought it out to Lucy. "Working like a maniac again? Were you trying to come help me?"

  "Again?" Lucy gulped down the water. After a bowlful, she felt much better and regained a bit of strength.

  "..." Elena froze. She realized it was only their first day in the countryside; she had just referred to something from her past life. She quickly changed the subject. "I'm planning to ask the Brigade Leader if he can help buy some Ren Zhong Huang from the town pharmacy."

  Ren Zhong Huang was a common herbal cooling tea—licorice powder pressed into tubes that had to be scraped off with a knife. It was effective for clearing heat, relieving thirst, and detoxifying.

  With the weather this hot, Elena worried they wouldn't be able to endure it without some cooling tea.

  "No need to buy that. My mom prepared some for me before I left. I'll get it for you." Lucy waved her hand and ran inside, quickly pulling a paper-wrapped package from her luggage.

  Elena took it nimbly and brewed a large pot in the kitchen.

  It was only because today was exceptionally hard that Elena decided to be generous on Lucy's behalf. Next time, she would only look after herself and Lucy.

  Although Elena saw it as a cooling tea, there were conditions where it shouldn't be consumed. She planned to head into the mountains to look for alternative herbs once the busy harvest season passed.

  Elena needed to cook, and though Lucy wanted to help, the fire was already lit and there wasn't much for her to do. She followed Elena's advice and went to bathe.

  When everyone else returned and finished their baths, they one by one came to thank her.

  "Cooling tea? It has nothing to do with me; Elena brewed it," Lucy said, waving them off. She didn't want the credit; she wouldn't have even remembered she had it if not for Elena.

  Elena smiled from the kitchen. "Just this once! I won't be preparing it for you next time. The hot water is boiled here every day; you can brew whatever you like yourselves."

  "Deal." No one felt slighted. Everything cost money and coupons; they couldn't just take advantage of her indefinitely.

  "The water is almost gone. I'll go fetch more with Tomas." After finishing the tea, Luis pulled Tomas to go fetch firewood and water. They also planned to wash in the pond—the male soldiers weren't as picky and thought the pond was cooler for a bath.

  Once Anita had rested enough, she looked for chores to do herself.

  They all knew that Elena gained no extra benefit from preparing meals for them, so they couldn't just sit back and enjoy it guilt-free.

  Sienna, however, was comfortable, sitting by the back door of the farmer's house enjoying the breeze, waiting for her meal.

  After lunch, there were a few hours to rest. Elena didn't have to do the dishes; she washed her own mess kit and went to bed.

  When Sienna returned to the barracks under the scorching sun after her meal, the camp was silent. Everyone had already eaten, washed, and fallen asleep.

  Sienna had intended to just sleep on the wooden boards, but seeing that the other three had all changed into clean clothes, she went to the kitchen. When she found not a drop of hot water left on the stove, her temper flared, and she couldn't help but slam her bucket down.

  "What are you doing?"