Sienna's plan to share meals with the villagers was exactly what everyone else had hoped for. Her constant nitpicking and complaining had truly begun to ruin their appetites.

  In the evening, when Elena and the others were busy tilling the soil of their private plots, Sienna did not participate. In her words, she would be eating at the local's house from now on and would only provide the grain; there was no need for her to do the backbreaking work of growing vegetables herself.

  Tilling and planting vegetables was no easy task, and the prime planting window had actually passed. Sowing seeds now was merely a hope that they might grow at least a little—even if they only sprouted seedlings, some could still be eaten as greens.

  In addition to the vegetable plots assigned by the military, they also reclaimed the wasteland behind the camp and scattered vegetable seeds there.

  That night, due to exhaustion, everyone slept soundly—except for Sienna.

  Eating at a farmer's house seemed convenient since she didn't have to do anything but sit in the main hall and wait. However, the farmers didn't seem to care much about hygiene. She found a strand of hair in the vegetables, and there was mud still clinging to the stalks. Sienna was so disgusted she barely ate a few bites.

  Now, in the dead of night and with an empty stomach, Sienna tossed and turned, unable to sleep. She sat up and looked at Elena, who was sleeping peacefully on the other side. Sienna's gaze fixed on her. At this moment, if she got out of bed and smothered Elena with a blanket...

  The thought had just emerged when Sienna dismissed it.

  Murder was against the law, and she didn't intend to kill anyone. But it was just like when she used to secretly pinch the neighbor's chicks—pinching them for a while and then letting go—it made her feel a surge of satisfaction.

  Although she felt regret afterward and never dared to do it again for fear of being caught, she would always remember that one time.

  Unfortunately, Elena was a person, not a chick. She would definitely struggle. And with Anita and Lucy sleeping between them, if they found out, she wouldn't be able to explain herself.

  Unable to sleep, Sienna lay in bed reflecting on her actions.

  Regarding Elena, she knew she was being impulsive, but her reason couldn't completely control her emotions.

  Originally, she had planned to slowly get close to Elena and earn her trust. But from the moment they met, things had completely spiraled out of control. Now, she had ended up standing in direct opposition to Elena.

  You must always remember the original goal, Sienna!

  She couldn't let hatred blind her eyes just because Elena was the person who caused her to be sent away back then. She couldn't trade blow for blow just because Elena wasn't cooperating.

  She had to gain Elena's trust and make her spend the rest of her life repaying for the parental affection Sienna had lost.

  —And about the meal-sharing, if she had known the farmers were so unhygienic, she wouldn't have picked a fight with Elena. If nothing else, Elena could actually cook.

  After a night of barely any sleep, Sienna was lethargic when she got up the next day.

  The military had already set the schedule for farm work. When they got up, the sky wasn't even bright yet. But there was no choice; it was currently the heat of summer. It was impossible to work during the noon hours, so they rushed to work in the early morning and late afternoon when the sun wasn't as lethal.

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  Elena got up very early. She and Lucy started the porridge, then she ran laps around the yard of the headquarters. By the time everyone else had washed up, the porridge was almost ready.

  Having just arrived in this remote place, no one knew how to save money yet. Everyone added a boiled egg, which they had traded for yesterday. The pickled vegetables to go with the porridge were a gift from Grandma Chen; chopped and stir-fried with oil, they were especially good with the porridge.

  Meanwhile, Sienna hurried to the farmer's house, only to learn that they didn't have the habit of eating breakfast. They only had two meals a day—lunch and dinner.

  This was a bolt from the blue. She hadn't even eaten her fill last night!

  Finally, the farmer plucked an old yellowing cucumber from the garden and gave it to Sienna. "Life here in the countryside is different from the city. You have to get used to it slowly."

  The implication was that they didn't intend to change their habits for her.

  Besides the lack of breakfast, there was another thing Sienna found unacceptable: they were scheduled to go into the fields today for the rice harvest.

  When they followed the villagers to the fields, Elena and her group were already fully prepared and standing by the ridges.

  Anyone who has experienced it knows how tiring harvesting rice is. In her past life, the rice harvest nearly cost Elena her life as soon as she arrived in the countryside.

  Usually, the young women would be assigned to pull seedlings in the seedling beds, while the young men carried them to the plowed fields. Once the spring rice was harvested, the autumn rice had to be planted immediately. Every year during this season, they had to do two sets of farm work. It was truly busy.

  With their faces to the earth and backs to the sky, whether reaping or transplanting, they had to bend for a long time. The only difference was moving forward versus moving backward. By the end of the day, they wouldn't even be able to straighten their backs.

  Pulling seedlings was the only task that was slightly easier. You could stay in one spot and stand up for a moment while bundling them. Some people sat on high-legged stools to work; as long as it didn't delay the work, it wasn't forbidden.

  "Elena and Anita will go to the fields to pull seedlings today. Marta will teach them. Lucy and Sienna will go to transplant seedlings, and Gloria will lead them." The squad leader announced the assignments.

  The arrangement was completely different from her past life. Elena unconsciously raised her eyebrows.

  In her past life, Elena had almost fainted on the first day. The camp had arranged for her to stay at the threshing floor just to turn the drying rice.

  However, she only did that for one morning. In the afternoon, Sienna approached her with a pained expression, saying her period had arrived and her back hurt. She asked to swap for half a day, promising to swap back tomorrow.

  Back then, Elena was foolish and believed her. As a result, Elena pushed her weak body through the labor, only to collapse from heatstroke. She had to spend two days on IV fluids at the military hospital in Beldora to recover.

  And Sienna wasn't even on her period.

  Because of this, Elena left the officers with a terrible impression: ungrateful, disobedient, and physically weak.

  The brigade had been considerate of her health, yet she had acted on her own.

  Although Sienna admitted it was her idea to swap, the officers saw it as Sienna taking the blame to protect Elena—a sign of responsibility. Sienna even gained a good reputation for "caring" for Elena in the hospital, while in reality, it was Lucy who looked after her. Sienna was just using it as an excuse to rest.

  In this life, Elena didn't faint. Though she looked thin, she was healthy enough, so the brigade assigned her to pull seedlings. Consequently, the tasks for Sienna and Lucy changed.

  This was a good thing.

  "My stomach hurts terribly. My period might have arrived. Can any of you swap with me? Just for one day, and we'll swap back tomorrow. If you have a need next time, I can help you too." Although Sienna didn't understand the difference in tasks, she instinctively felt Elena's work was easier.

  She said this while looking directly at Elena.

  Sienna is actually showing weakness?

  Elena gave her a meaningful look. If it was about acting, she could do it too. Her face was instantly filled with concern. "Is it very uncomfortable? How could your stomach hurt? Was it because you drank too much cold water yesterday?"

  Using the same excuse across two lifetimes, Sienna really took her for a fool in both lives.

  Seeing Elena's concerned expression, Sienna felt satisfied. Changing strategies was working.

  Lucy frowned, worried that the kind-hearted Elena would give in and her body wouldn't handle the work.

  "It is very uncomfortable. I'm sorry, Elena. I've been too sensitive lately because of my physical condition, and my temper hasn't been good. I apologize to you." Sienna felt this excuse was perfect; it explained her past hostility.

  However, Elena did not do as she wished.

  "It's okay, I don't mind. But if you're truly that uncomfortable, I'll go ask for a leave of absence from the Battalion Commander for you. I'm sure he will understand."

  Sienna's brow tightened. Asking for leave on the very first day? Was she crazy? She wanted an easier job, but she couldn't afford to be seen as a slacker on day one!

  Elena did it on purpose!