Chapter 4: Arriving at Yuhu Village

She had been reborn for Song Jingzhi. Since she was here, she had to make it clear that Song Jingzhi was her savior. Otherwise, gossipy people would spread rumors if she went to find him.

It was better to let everyone know that Song Jingzhi was injured because of her, and she was here to repay her debt.

He Xiaoqian looked at her, “Xiaoxiao, you’re so brave.”

“He’s from our village, and he’s my nephew.” Song Jianguo laughed. He didn’t expect this beautiful educated youth to have come specifically to find Jingzhi. She was a grateful child.

“Really? That’s great. Uncle, how is he?”

“He just came back a few days after the surgery. He’s still bedridden.”

At this time, they didn’t know that Song Jingzhi’s leg wouldn’t recover, and he couldn’t even walk.

As they spoke, they had already reached the village. The tractor drove directly to the educated youth center.

Song Wei helped them unload their luggage from the tractor.

“The two rooms on the far west side are empty. You two can each have a room.” The educated youth center in Yuhu Village was newly built. The village was afraid that the educated youths would have conflicts, so they built a small room for each person.

“The hall in the middle is where the educated youths hold meetings and eat. The kitchen is at the back. I’ll have Song Wei deliver your grain later. You can deduct it from your work points or buy it. It’s up to you. It’s all fine, no tickets needed.”

The two looked at each other. “We’ll buy it.”

Song Jianguo looked at the two girls. They were from well-off families.

“It’s the time to plant late rice. The educated youths are all working in the fields. You two can settle in first. They’ll be off work soon. By the way, you can rest for two days after arriving. After that, you can work with the older educated youths.”

“Thank you, Village Chief Song.”

“Okay, I’ll go back now. If you need anything, come to the blue-tiled house on the east side. That’s where I live.” With that, Song Jianguo was about to leave.

“Uncle, Song Jingzhi…”

Song Jianguo looked at her, almost forgetting about it. “You see that blue-tiled house on the west side? That’s Song Jingzhi’s home.”

“Thank you, Uncle.” Tang Xiaoxiao gave him a sweet smile.

“Alright, just come to me if you need anything.” He still had the two packs of cigarettes the girl gave him in his pocket.

After Song Jianguo left, the two chose their rooms. He Xiaoqian was next to the other educated youths, and Tang Xiaoxiao was in the innermost room, next to He Xiaoqian.

“Xiaoqian, do you have a lock? If not, I have one for you. I brought two.” She took out two locks from her space.

“I don’t. I’ll pay you. I can’t take your things for free.” He Xiaoqian took out two yuan from her pocket. Locks from the supply and marketing cooperative usually cost that much.

“Okay.” She smiled and took the money. She liked getting along with people like He Xiaoqian, who didn’t take advantage of others.

“Xiaoxiao, I admire you.”

“He was injured because of me. I can’t feel at ease until I see him recover.” She smiled. “Hurry up and pack. They’ll all be back soon.”

“Okay.” He Xiaoqian nodded with a smile.

She pushed open the door. Yuhu Village was quite good to the educated youths. The house was small but complete, with a single bed, a wardrobe, and a desk.

Tang Xiaoxiao quickly packed her things and made the bed. At that moment, Song Wei called out from outside.

“Comrade Tang, Comrade He, your grain has been delivered.”

“Coming.”

Song Wei placed the grain at their doorstep. Because of the difference between men and women, he didn’t bring it into the room.

“Comrade Song, how much is this?”

“The same price as the grain station, 26 cents per pound. No tickets needed. It’s 30 pounds per bag, 7.8 yuan per person.” Song Wei said, blushing.

“Thank you.” The two paid him 7.8 yuan each.

“This Comrade Song is so interesting. He blushes every time he speaks.” He Xiaoqian looked at Song Wei’s back and smiled.

“Let’s carry it in together.” 30 pounds of grain was still quite heavy for girls.

“Okay.”

The two worked together to carry the grain into the room.

“I didn’t expect the grain here to be fine grain.” Song Wei had brought them rice.

“Because they just finished harvesting early rice, the village probably only has rice in storage.”

“That explains it.” It would be quite luxurious to eat fine grain every day.

Not long after, the other educated youths returned. Knowing that new educated youths had arrived, they all sat in the hall.

There were three men and four women in the room, including Tang Xiaoxiao and He Xiaoqian.

“I’m the head of the educated youth center. My name is Liu Dong. I’m 22 years old and from Sichuan Province.” Liu Dong was a young man wearing glasses, looking like a scholar.

“My name is Cao Hui. I’m 23 years old and from Shanghai.” Tang Xiaoxiao didn’t like Cao Hui because he had been staring at her and He Xiaoqian since they entered the hall.

“My name is Xu Zeming. I’m 19 years old and from Xushan.” His words caught Tang Xiaoxiao’s attention.

“My name is Liu Fengjuan. I’m 22 years old and from Sichuan Province.” Liu Fengjuan seemed like a very gentle girl, with a smile on her face.

“My name is Wang Erxi, 22 years old, from Shenzhen.” Wang Erxi had a pair of phoenix eyes, his gaze somewhat captivating.

“My name is He Xiaoqian, 19 years old, from Beijing.”

“My name is Tang Xiaoxiao, 18 years old, from Beijing. I was an educated youth in Xushan before.”

“You were in Xushan before? Do you know how the Xushan Flour Mill is doing?” Xu Zeming stood up and asked excitedly.

“Zeming.” Liu Dong called out, a little worried.

“Sorry, I’m too excited.” Xu Zeming sat back down.

Tang Xiaoxiao shook her head. “The city center was completely affected by the disaster.”

“It’s okay, you guys continue.” Xu Zeming lowered his head, but his shoulders were trembling.

Liu Dong patted him on the shoulder. “We have options for meals at the educated youth center: we can cook together, eat at villagers’ homes, or cook for ourselves. It’s up to you.”

“The educated youth center has three cooking pots, which we can take turns using. We each use our own oil, salt, soy sauce, and firewood. There’s firewood on the back mountain.”

Tang Xiaoxiao looked at He Xiaoqian. “I’ll cook for myself. The firefighter Song Jingzhi in the village saved my life in Xushan. I need to make him nutritious meals.”

All the educated youths looked at her. Liu Dong nodded. “Comrade Tang’s actions are worthy of our learning. Let’s set aside a pot for Comrade Tang to use in rotation. What do you guys think?”

“Okay.” Everyone nodded in agreement.

“I’ll also cook for myself. I’m a picky eater and don’t want to affect everyone.” He Xiaoqian said with a smile.

Tang Xiaoxiao smiled back at her. He Xiaoqian stuck out her tongue at her.

“By the way, the grain you’ve been allocated should be fine grain. If you only eat fine grain, you won’t have enough until the next allocation. You can exchange some coarse grain with the villagers.” Liu Dong reminded them.

The meeting ended. Some of the educated youths went to cook, some went to eat at villagers’ homes, and Xu Zeming went to the village head’s house. Tang Xiaoxiao guessed he was asking for leave to go back to Xushan.

“Xiaoqian, it’s not that I don’t want to cook with you, it’s just…” She looked at He Xiaoqian, feeling a little apologetic.