Chapter 44: I’m Moving Out!

As soon as Secretary Zhou spoke, all the educated youths in the courtyard turned their eyes toward Song Yue, Zhang Aiguo—who was carrying water—and Secretary Zhou.

But most of the attention… landed on Zhang Aiguo.

This…

What’s going on? Who is this person carrying water?

Then, the educated youths saw Huang Xiuying and her child enter right after, along with the brigade secretary and the brigade leader…

So many officials had shown up all at once!

The older educated youths immediately sensed that something was off.

Did Song Yue really go to the brigade leader for help?

Even if she did, there was no way she could have returned this quickly!

They were dumbfounded, a bad premonition settling in their hearts.

Lin He glanced at Song Yue before quickly looking at Zhang Aiguo again, her gaze flickering.

The aura of this man carrying water was different—he seemed important.

Zhao Zirui and Li Xinyue stared blankly. Where did Song Yue find all these people?

Liu Wei clenched her hands together. That shameless Song Yue…

She had said she would fetch water herself, but now she had a man doing it for her!

Just as the atmosphere grew eerily silent—

“Secretary Zhou!” Lin He suddenly raised her voice, shouting loudly, “You came just in time!”

“You have to judge this fairly!”

She rushed up to Secretary Zhou, wiping at her eyes. “Wuuu wuuu wuuu…”

Song Yue: “…” That was a bit over the top.

Secretary Zhou: “…”

Can’t they give him a break?

The senior leader was right there!

This was utterly humiliating!

Secretary Zhou gritted his teeth inwardly but maintained a pleasant expression as he gently asked, “Comrade Lin, don’t cry. Tell me properly what happened.”

Lin He sniffled. “Here’s the situation…”

Zhang Aiguo glanced at Lin He before turning to Secretary Zhou. “Comrade Zhou, you handle this. I’ll take the water over.”

Secretary Zhou turned his head immediately. “Alright, Leader.”

The educated youths were stunned upon hearing Secretary Zhou refer to Zhang Aiguo as “Leader.”

Their gazes toward Zhang Aiguo changed in an instant.

Zhang Aiguo ignored their reactions, only turning to Song Yue. “Comrade Song, where’s the water vat?”

His gentle demeanor sparked a wave of jealousy among the educated youths.

A senior leader!

A senior leader was treating Song Yue differently! And even carrying water for her!

Why?

What made Song Yue deserve this?

Liu Wei clenched her fists so tightly that her knuckles turned white, jealousy driving her nearly mad.

Song Yue pretended not to notice the envious stares and led the way. “This way.”

She guided Zhang Aiguo toward the water vat.

Meanwhile, Lin He was complaining to Secretary Zhou, her voice as loud as possible.

The older educated youths turned pale as they listened to her grievances.

At the water vat, Zhang Aiguo set down the buckets and began pouring water.

Song Yue lifted another bucket.

After emptying the bucket, Zhang Aiguo picked it up again and watched as Song Yue poured water.

“In most educated youth stations, fetching water is usually done by the men, while the women collect firewood or cook—lighter tasks as a trade-off.”

“But it seems reversed here at your station, Comrade Song?”

Song Yue set down the bucket and smiled at Zhang Aiguo. “Leader, here, we firmly believe that women hold up half the sky.”

Zhang Aiguo’s eyes twinkled with amusement. “You’re quite something, young comrade~”

“On one hand, someone over there is complaining. On the other, you’re telling me women can hold up half the sky.”

“Who should I believe?”

Song Yue answered without hesitation, “Both.”

Zhang Aiguo gave her a deep look. “If I have to believe both, then I should go listen.”

“Mhm.”

After finishing their conversation, they carried the buckets back to hear Lin He’s complaints.

Though… they honestly didn’t need to.

With how loudly Lin He was shouting, even people outside the educated youth station could hear her.

Once Secretary Zhou finished listening to the whole situation, his face darkened. “So, after all this fuss, it was just about a few buckets of water?”

Lin He nodded.

Secretary Zhou turned to the older educated youths. “You’ve been arguing for so long—have you cooked dinner yet?”

The older educated youths were stumped. “…”

Chen Xue shook his head, answering guiltily, “No.”

Secretary Zhou let out a cold huff. “So you had time to argue with the new educated youths, but no time to fetch water?”

“All of you were once newcomers. You should understand how hard it is to adapt when coming from the city to a place like this. Shouldn’t you be helping each other?”

“They said they were going to fetch water but simply hadn’t gotten around to it yet. And because of that, you started a fight and caused internal strife?”

“If you’re already acting like this after just a short time, how much worse will it get in the long run?”

His questioning left the older educated youths speechless.

Their heads hung low, guilt creeping in.

Lin He spoke up. “Leader, we came to the countryside to build this place, not to fight and create conflict.”

“I don’t want to keep arguing with them. For the sake of collective unity and to prevent tarnishing the reputation of educated youths, I want to move out of the station.”

The older educated youths: “!!!”

Move out of the station?!

Song Yue’s eyebrows twitched. That was exactly what she had been planning to say, but Lin He beat her to it.

The brigade secretary and brigade leader glanced at Lin He.

Both of them: “…”

Saying this in front of a senior leader and the commune secretary!

Secretary Zhou paused for a moment before saying, “Comrade Lin, if you want to move out, you should discuss it with the brigade leader or the village secretary.”

“See how they arrange things.”

“Alright.” Lin He agreed without hesitation. “I’ll talk to the brigade leader later.”

“Sorry for troubling you, Secretary Zhou.”

With that, the matter was settled.

Zhang Aiguo spoke up. “Comrade Zhou, about the water…”

Secretary Zhou quickly stepped forward. “Leader, as I promised earlier, I’ll take care of it.”

Zhang Aiguo handed over the buckets and carrying pole to Secretary Zhou.

Secretary Zhou took them and left to fetch the promised water, with the brigade leader following him out of the educated youth station.

Zhang Aiguo glanced at his wife, Huang Xiuying.

Huang Xiuying understood immediately. She let go of her child’s hand, took a package from the driver, and walked over to Song Yue.

“Comrade Song, I wasn’t sure what you liked, so I just bought a few things.”

“Please don’t mind it.”

As she spoke, she shoved the package into Song Yue’s hands.

Song Yue instinctively raised her hand to refuse. “Sister, this is too…”

Huang Xiuying insisted, “You saved my life, Comrade Song. This is nothing.”

“If you don’t accept it, I won’t be able to sleep tonight.”

Her child chimed in, “Pretty sister, please take it.”

Zhang Aiguo added in a low voice, “Comrade Song, we came all this way…”

They had all spoken.

Refusing again would be meaningless.

“Thank you, Leader.”

Song Yue thanked Zhang Aiguo and took the cloth bags. “Sister, you’re too kind.”

Huang Xiuying smiled. “Just a small token, Comrade Song. Please don’t mind it.”

Song Yue responded, continuing to chat with Huang Xiuying.

The others stood aside, watching them talk.

Secretary Zhou returned after fetching water and stood off to the side.

“Is Educated Youth Song here?”

A sudden voice interrupted their conversation.

Song Yue: “?”

That was Zhou Ye’s voice?!

Everyone turned to look.

Lu Huaishen and Zhou Ye had entered. Secretary Zhou, the brigade secretary, and the brigade leader all tensed instantly