Chapter 24

Xiao Yicheng said, “Captain, we understand that.”

“If we can return to the city, the house will naturally belong to the team. But Captain, we built the house with our own money. I don’t allow anyone to live in it without our permission.”

The Captain said, “You can rest assured. As long as you built the house with your own money, no one will live in it without your consent.”

Xiao Yicheng asked, “Captain, how is the construction wage calculated? Also, I want to build a brick house. Can you buy bricks here?”

The Captain said, “We usually hire people from the team to build houses here. If you provide meals, it’s 50 cents a day. If you don’t, it’s 70 cents a day. As for bricks, we don’t have them in our village. You need government approval to buy them.”

“I’ll mark a spot for you tomorrow morning. You can take a look and see if you like it. If you do, you can start building tomorrow.”

“There must be bricks in the county town. If you have a way, you can go check there, Comrade Xiao.”

“Okay, Captain. I’ll find a way to get the bricks. When can we start construction? We want to move out of the educated youth center as soon as possible.”

The Captain said, “After I finish the meeting tomorrow morning, you can start construction. We have a girl in our village who’s also starting construction tomorrow. She’s building her own house.”

“You’re both very lucky to choose the same day. The girl also just broke off ties with her parents and grandparents. That’s why she’s building her own house.”

Xiao Yicheng heard that there was a girl in the village who was bold enough to break off ties with her parents and grandparents. He was curious to know what kind of girl she was. This was completely different from the girls he knew in the village.

The Captain said, “You just arrived. You have a day off tomorrow. You know this, right? You can prepare everything you need. Once you start working, you’re not allowed to take leave every other day.”

“You just arrived. Go find the accountant tomorrow morning and get your grain. This is a loan from the team. You’ll have to repay it with your work points. You know this, right?”

Gu Beihui said, “Captain, the old educated youths told us all this.” Xiao Yicheng asked, “Captain, can we go to the forest behind the mountain?”

The Captain said, “You can go to the forest behind the mountain, but if you hunt wild boars or bears, you have to turn them over to the team. If you hunt pheasants or rabbits, just keep them. As long as no one sees you, everyone will turn a blind eye. But you’re not allowed to go deep into the mountains. If anything happens, the team won’t be responsible.”

“Okay, Captain. We know all of this.” Xiao Yicheng said, “Captain, can you give us some lighter work when we start working? It’s okay if we get fewer work points. You don’t have to worry about us not having enough grain to eat. If we really don’t have enough, we’ll buy it ourselves.”

The Captain looked at their clothes. He knew they were rich young masters from Beijing who came to experience life. He could tell from their aura and clothes that they weren’t short of money. The Captain tapped his pipe. “Okay, I’ll see if there’s any light work and arrange it for you.”

Xiao Yicheng said, “Thank you, Captain. We won’t disturb your rest. Please accept these things.” The Captain said, “Take them back. What are you doing? What if people see? It’s not good.”

Xiao Yicheng said, “Captain, don’t worry. No one saw us when we came out. We even avoided the people at the educated youth center. No one will gossip.”

The two men left without waiting to see the Captain’s reaction. The Captain was indeed shocked. He didn’t expect these city kids to be so generous. He probably couldn’t even buy these good things in their town.

Good wine, cigarettes, milk candy, brown sugar, and Great White Rabbit milk candy. This… this… He was no stranger to the world, but these things were truly amazing. They couldn’t buy them without coupons.

After they left, Hu Guiqin, the Captain’s wife, came out. She saw the things on the table and widened her eyes. “Dear, these city kids are so generous.”

The Captain said, “You didn’t see their clothes. They were like the rich young masters from paintings. They didn’t look like they were here to work in the countryside. They’re so handsome. Their skin is whiter than the girls in our village.”

The Captain said, “Just looking at their clothes and how rich they are, our village won’t be peaceful. You know what kind of people are in our village. They’ll probably want to take advantage of them when they see they have money. They’ll try to push their own daughters onto them.”

“Ugh, dear, I’m not putting down the people in our village, but they should look at themselves. They can’t even read. How could they match up to the rich young masters from the city? They probably wouldn’t even give them a second glance.”

“Look at the new female educated youths. They’re all wearing dresses and little shoes. They’re all dolled up. Their skin is white and rosy and smooth. How can they compare to the women in our village? They’re as black as coal, have pimples, can’t read, and are all big and strong.”

The Captain said, “You’re so excited. I was just saying. Besides, those rich young masters from the city, can they be easily targeted by those people? They’ll probably get nothing but trouble. They should be realistic. A pot needs a lid. Don’t dream of things that don’t belong to you. They have such good conditions. Of course, they’ll find someone who’s their equal.”

The Captain said, “Keep an eye on our daughter. I don’t want her to have unrealistic expectations. Besides, with our family’s conditions, it would be a miracle if those city educated youths could truly like our daughter.”

Hu Guiqin said, “Don’t worry. I’ll keep an eye on our daughter. I might not be educated, but I’m good at judging people. Those educated youths are all just pretty on the surface. They’re not reliable. If we marry our daughter to someone like that, won’t we be hurting her?”

“Okay, I know. I was just reminding you. I’m afraid you’ll get carried away and want to find a good husband for our daughter. Besides, those high-class families in the city aren’t so easy to get into.”

“It’s better to find someone who’s from the same place, is reliable, and can work hard. At least you won’t have to worry about being abandoned one day. Those educated youths who married girls from our village left without a trace. It’s not like it hasn’t happened before.”

“What if something like that happens? How will that girl live?”