Chapter 3 Xie Hezhang

After twenty hours on the train and five hours on an ox cart, the educated youths finally slowly entered the village.

The educated youths who had been sent to the Eastern Brigade of Helian Village all looked pale.

Only Shu Qingyao, who looked the youngest, was the most energetic. She leaned on the ox cart, looking left and right, excitedly looking at the dusty and dilapidated little village, her eyes sparkling.

Even Ruan Wenhui, who was suffering from motion sickness, was surprised. Did Shu Qingyao have relatives in Helian Village?

This radiant expression didn’t look like she was going down to the countryside, but rather like she was going on a blind date!

The instructor was handing over the educated youths to Jin Zhuang, the captain of the Eastern Brigade.

The Eastern Brigade already had nine educated youths, and now five more had arrived, making it difficult to allocate them.

Two men and three women, the oldest was twenty-two years old, and the youngest had just turned eighteen last month!

Jin Zhuang looked at the two frail male educated youths and Shu Qingyao, who looked the youngest, and couldn’t help but bargain with a black face, “Instructor, the Sun Red Brigade next door only has five educated youths, why don’t you give them two of mine? So many girls, I can’t handle them!”

It was the busy farming season, and he didn’t expect the educated youths to be able to do much work right away, but he thought it would be good if there were more male educated youths.

No matter how delicate and weak the male educated youths were, once they went to the fields, they could at least carry a few loads of wheat. After they were trained, they could barely keep up with the main force.

What could those delicate girls do? They couldn’t carry anything on their shoulders or lift anything with their hands, and they would cry if you trained them!

Jin Zhuang was frowning.

The instructor patted his shoulder, “Those who can do more, do more!”

Jin Zhuang also knew that this was a task assigned by the organization, and there was no room for bargaining. He sighed, touched his crew cut, and shouted at the listless educated youths, “Those from the Eastern Brigade, gather over here!”

The educated youths moved slowly towards him, making Jin Zhuang frown. Only the girl who looked the youngest moved the fastest, wearing her little leather shoes, “da da da” she ran to him, first gave him a sweet smile, then handed him a piece of nougat, “Captain, I want to ask you about someone. Is there someone named Xie Hezhang in our brigade?”

Shu Qingyao was also a little nervous.

She had just heard that there were two brigades in Helian Village, the other one called the Sun Red Brigade.

Helian Village was a large village, with the two brigades on the east and west ends, and they didn’t meet each other when they went to the fields.

What if Xie Hezhang was in the other brigade?

Would she have to climb over mountains every day to talk to her future husband?

Shu Qingyao was a little worried.

“You know Xie Hezhang?”

Jin Zhuang took the nougat, looked at Shu Qingyao, “Are you his relative?”

“Oh, no.” Shu Qingyao casually made up a story, “My neighbor is a relative of his family, he told me that he has a relative in Helian Village, and I’m coming down to the countryside this time, my neighbor has a good relationship with me, he said his relative Xie Hezhang is considerate and gentle, and has good interpersonal skills, so he asked him to take care of me.”

“…”

Jin Zhuang looked at her with strange eyes, seeing the girl looking at him eagerly, he coughed lightly, “…I’ll take you to meet everyone when we finish work and have dinner tonight.”

Then he reminded her tactfully, “…Are you sure your neighbor is reliable?”

Shu Qingyao looked at him in surprise, “Of course!”

“Cough, I’ll take you to the educated youth point first.”

Looking at the girl’s clear black and white eyes, Jin Zhuang changed the subject.

If Shu Qingyao wanted to meet Xie Hezhang, he wouldn’t mind introducing them.

It’s just…

Looking at the delicate and ethereal girl in front of him, Jin Zhuang thought to himself.

Just don’t scare her to tears later…

*

The educated youth point where Shu Qingyao and the others went was a courtyard house that had been converted from a landlord’s house that had been confiscated.

Although it was dilapidated, it was spacious.

It was much better than the mud brick house where the educated youths of the Sun Red Brigade lived.

The four…

The east and west wings of the courtyard were divided into male and female dormitories, with the female educated youths living on the east side and the male educated youths living on the west side. The large hall in the middle was converted into a dining hall.

Shu Qingyao was lucky and was assigned a single room, so she didn’t have to squeeze in with other educated youths.

Pushing her suitcase into the dormitory, Shu Qingyao looked around the small room where she would be living for a while.

The room had a wooden single bed and a glass-topped desk under the window.

The room wasn’t big, but because it had been lived in by female educated youths, it was clean.

Shu Qingyao tidied the bed, lay down on it to feel it, then sat up with a grimace.

This bedboard was really hard!

She had never slept on such a hard bed in her life.

Rubbing her small waist, Shu Qingyao sat on the edge of the bed, took out the jade pendant hanging around her neck, and touched it lovingly.

She didn’t know where Xie Hezhang was now. She had come all the way to his hometown, but she hadn’t seen him yet.

…

Because five new educated youths had arrived, the village specially held a welcome party for them.

To reward the new educated youths who had come from afar, Captain Jin Zhuang killed two dogs from his family for the public canteen. The chefs in the kitchen cooked three large pots of meat, adding napa cabbage and potatoes, as well as a handful of dried chili peppers. It was fresh and spicy, and the aroma wafted for miles.

When Shu Qingyao was taken to the canteen, most of the people were already there.

Everyone got a small piece of dog meat and two large pieces of potatoes. The fresh and spicy oil soup mixed with rice, everyone was eating with gusto.

The educated youths and villagers ate at separate tables, the educated youths on one side and the villagers on the other. Shu Qingyao was thinking about Xie Hezhang and wasn’t interested in the dog meat. She kept her head up and looked outside, thinking that it was already dark, why hadn’t Xie Hezhang come to eat after work?

“Yao Yao, I remember you don’t eat spicy food. The dishes tonight are very spicy, you definitely won’t be able to eat them. I’ll eat yours for you?”

Ruan Wenhui, who was sitting opposite Shu Qingyao, finished her meat in three bites. Seeing that Shu Qingyao hadn’t touched her food, she set her sights on her meat. As soon as she finished speaking, before Shu Qingyao could respond, she reached out with her chopsticks.

Usually, they got along like this. Shu Qingyao was spoiled at home and had a lot of delicious food, so she wouldn’t mind her eating hers. She could take whatever she wanted.

But this time, she didn’t know what was wrong. As soon as she reached out with her chopsticks, Shu Qingyao blocked them.

“Who gave you permission to stick your chopsticks in my bowl?” Shu Qingyao said coldly, blocking Ruan Wenhui’s chopsticks and giving her a cold glance.

She didn’t want to eat, but she didn’t intend to give it to her either.

This was for her husband.

Shu Qingyao’s voice wasn’t loud in the canteen, but the other educated youths at the same table heard it and looked up.

Ruan Wenhui didn’t expect Shu Qingyao to be so stingy. She lost face in front of everyone twice, and she forced a smile, “I just saw you didn’t touch your chopsticks, I was afraid you would waste it…”

Shu Qingyao didn’t even bother to answer her. She pushed her hand away, expressionless, and moved her meat towards her, looking like she was guarding against a wolf.

This act directly made Ruan Wenhui lose face and she trembled with anger.

A middle-aged female educated youth at the same table stepped in to smooth things over, pushing her food over, “Ruan Wenhui, I can’t eat spicy food, I’ll give you mine.”

“I’m not eating!”

Ruan Wenhui, who was this age, was not as thick-skinned as she was twenty years later. She was so angry that her eyes turned red, and she threw down her chopsticks and ran away with red eyes.

Shu Qingyao didn’t even bother to look at her and sat there eating her rice.

The educated youths at the table looked at each other, they were not familiar with each other, so no one went back to find Ruan Wenhui.

*

This meal was eaten until it was almost time to leave, and Shu Qingyao still didn’t see Xie Hezhang come to eat.

Did he not eat in the canteen?

Shu Qingyao was a little depressed.

Just as Shu Qingyao put down her chopsticks and was about to leave, a figure walked in from outside, shrouded in the night. Shu Qingyao looked up and was stunned.

It was Xie Hezhang!