Chapter 14: Educated Youth Residence

Jiang Pan Yu and the others didn’t argue back, as the sister in the story was indeed a bit foolish.

“Aunties, you’ve seen so much more than we have. You’re going home, but we’re leaving our homes thousands of miles away to a place where we don’t know anyone. We’re really nervous. Since you’re locals, could you tell us who in the village we shouldn’t offend?” Jiang Pan Yu deliberately flattered the two aunties.

If they could get some unfavorable comments about the Gao family from these locals and make Tan Yanlu have a bad impression of Gao Shaolin, wouldn’t that be even better!

Tan Yanlu and Duan Zheng’s eyes lit up, and they all started to sweet-talk Yang Guiying and Chen Lamei, serving them tea and water.

The two aunties, flattered by the kind words, actually shared some information: “Our village’s brigade leader is surnamed Qian, and he’s a good person. If you have any issues, he can usually handle them.

The second is our village’s accountant, surnamed Jin. Accountant Jin isn’t a bad person either, but his daughter has been spoiled by their family.

That girl isn’t a good person. If you want to live peacefully, don’t offend her.

There’s also a family in our village surnamed Lai, and they’re not a good family either. They’re a bunch of lazy people. The Lai sons can’t find wives and like to stare at young girls like you.

Don’t be timid. If they dare to stare at you, just scold them back or walk together. Don’t linger in front of them. If you show fear, they’ll dare to cause trouble.”

After Yang Guiying finished, Chen Lamei started talking about other things in the village: “In our village, work is divided into small teams. It’s not up to you to choose which team you want to be in; it’s decided by drawing lots.”

The two aunties went back and forth, telling Jiang Pan Yu and the others quite a bit about their local village.

After traveling by train for two days and one night, they finally arrived in the northern province in the evening.

After such a long train ride, everyone was sore and achy, feeling like their bones were creaking with every move.

They had discussed earlier that the girls would get off the train first.

Then the boys would pass their luggage through the train window, and they would all meet up afterward.

After leaving the platform, they saw that it was already nearly seven o’clock.

In those days, there were no streetlights, and it got dark early. They had no choice but to spend the night at the train station.

When the sky began to lighten, the group shouldered their luggage and walked to the bus station.

They took a bus to the county town, then transferred to another bus to the township, and finally walked to the Educated Youth Office.

At the Educated Youth Office, they were told that someone would be notified to come and pick them up.

After a whole day of traveling, everyone was exhausted.

Fatigue and hunger, coupled with carrying large and small bags of luggage, traveling by bus all day, left them all collapsed on the ground at the Educated Youth Office, unable to move.

They were as wilted as overnight chives, completely devoid of energy.

Yang Guiying and Chen Lamei chose to part ways with them after arriving in the town. Being locals, they didn’t need anyone to pick them up and went home on their own.

After resting for a bit, they poured themselves some hot water from the Educated Youth Office and ate the dry provisions they had brought with them, finally regaining a bit of strength.

By around 8 PM, a few people finally arrived to receive the new batch of Educated Youth.

In fact, those waiting at the Educated Youth Office weren’t just Jiang Pan Yu and her companions.

Educated Youth from all over the country, totaling thirty to forty people, had gathered together that evening.

The ones who came to receive the Educated Youth were the brigade leaders from several villages below. Since the assignments had been pre-arranged, the Educated Youth quickly found out where they were being sent.

Jiang Pan Yu and her group were assigned to Lianshan Village under Yushan Town in Shuanglin County.

The brigade leader of Lianshan Village, dressed in typical farmer attire, pointed to the flatbed cart behind him and said, “Put your luggage here. We’ll be walking back later.”

Relieved that they didn’t have to carry their luggage, everyone happily placed their belongings on the cart.

After a while, a few more people arrived at the brigade leader’s side.

After checking the list, the brigade leader led the Educated Youth away from the Educated Youth Office and headed towards Lianshan Village.

Walking in the dark, the group moved slowly. Along the way, the Educated Youth struck up a conversation with the brigade leader.

They quickly learned some details about Lianshan Village, such as how the village’s labor was divided into ten small teams. This batch of Educated Youth would eventually be dispersed and integrated into these teams.

What the brigade leader said matched exactly what Yang Guiying and Chen Lamei had mentioned earlier.

Since they were newcomers and had no food, the village would lend them a portion of grain.

At the end of the year, when work points were calculated and grain was distributed, the borrowed grain would be deducted from their work points.

If they still had work points left, they could exchange them for grain or even money, which was a common practice.

However, if they had money now, they could also use it to buy work points, which could then be exchanged for grain.

By the time the group arrived at Lianshan Village, it was already past 9 PM. The village was serene under the night sky, marking the beginning of the entire story.

The brigade leader took them to the brigade office to register. During this time, someone else arrived, and the brigade leader pointed to the newcomer, saying, “This is Li Gaoyang, the head of the collective household at the Educated Youth residence. If you need anything, just ask him.

You all follow him to the Educated Youth residence first. Settle in and get some sleep. Tomorrow morning, go to the granary to collect your grain and take care of any necessary tasks. If you’re missing anything, make sure to get it done quickly. Once you start working in the fields, you can’t take leave casually, or you’ll lose work points.

Li Gaoyang, I leave them to you. Arrange everything according to the rules.”

“Understood, Brigade Leader,” Li Gaoyang responded, then led the new Educated Youth to the residence.

Jiang Pan Yu took a look around. The Educated Youth residence wasn’t particularly large or small, consisting of a row of connected rooms. The doors had different colored curtains—dark ones for the boys’ dormitory, light ones for the girls’ dormitory, and a kitchen with a curtain made of Job’s tears.

There were eight new Educated Youth in total—four boys and four girls. Jiang Pan Yu, Tan Yanlu, Shen Shilei, and the newly acquainted Chen Xiaoxue followed the veteran Educated Youth Li Yunying to the girls’ dormitory.

Inside the room, the only light came from a faint oil lamp. Besides Li Yunying, there was another veteran Educated Youth, Zhao Xiuzhu. After exchanging greetings, they all lay down to sleep.

The room was dim, and everyone was exhausted, eager to sleep. The space was small, and the spots were chosen by the girls through rounds of rock-paper-scissors. Shen Shilei had the worst luck, losing every round and ending up with the least desirable spot by the door. It was truly an unfortunate place, as a chamber pot was placed right behind the door for nighttime convenience.

When Shen Shilei slept, her feet were just a step or two away from the chamber pot. The smell was noticeable, and it was nothing short of distressing.

Jiang Pan Yu and Tan Yanlu had chosen spots further inside, leaving Zhao Xiaoxue with no choice but to take the spot next to Shen Shilei.

Most of the girls’ activities were carried out on the bed, as the space was limited. It wasn’t exactly a bed but rather a heated brick bed, common in the north, especially since the weather was cold, and it would be unbearable in winter without heating.

The heated brick bed was an earthen one. Although Li Yunying had cleaned it, there was still dust. They didn’t bother laying newspapers and simply opened their bedding, blew out the lamp, and lay down on the bed. With their eyes closed, they fell asleep instantly, showing just how exhausted they were.

Jiang Pan Yu woke up to the loud crow of a rooster. After a night’s sleep, she finally felt much more refreshed.

Tan Yanlu and the others were also awakened by the rooster’s crow.