“Su Zhiqing, Song Zhiqing, Xiao Song Zhiqing, your packages are really big!”

At the Mento Township Post Office, Li Jin stared wide-eyed at the three giant packages placed on the counter, unable to stop himself from expressing a mix of admiration and envy toward Su Huazhu and the others.

His own package was only the size of a small basket, which was already considered large by others, but in front of these three giant packages, it looked tiny in comparison.

“Our family sent us quilts, old clothes, daily necessities, and textbooks. After all, we’ll be in the countryside for a few years,” Su Huazhu said, not quite sure what exactly was inside.

This time, the clothes and quilts they brought were not much—just enough to get by. If it were any colder, it wouldn’t suffice.

Her mother had vaguely told her about what was inside, but of course, there were other things she couldn’t reveal to Li Jin.

When Li Jin heard that they would be in the countryside for several years, his envy and jealousy quickly faded.

They didn’t know how many years they would stay in the countryside.

At first, their families would still remember them and might send supplies and money, but after a year or two, they probably wouldn’t even receive letters anymore, let alone packages.

With this thought in mind, Li Jin’s interest in the giant packages diminished, and he couldn’t help but feel a little down.

However, Su Huazhu and the others paid no mind to Li Jin’s thoughts.

After signing for the packages, they each picked up one and began to leave.

They still had to go to the supply and marketing cooperative to buy things and then hurry back to work in the fields.

Other than helping the fellow educated youth send letters, the things they asked them to buy were nearly the same—either biscuits, fruit candies, brown sugar, or salt.

Before they decided to pick up the packages, Su Huazhu, Xiao Luo, and Xiao Shu had quietly discussed that they would buy whatever the other educated youth were buying, keeping it low-key and following the trend.

So, the three of them each bought two pounds of biscuits, one pound of fruit candies, and one pound of brown sugar, two candles, and a box of matches.

They paid for their purchases separately, and Li Jin was surprised to see that they had divided everything so clearly. It was a surprise to him.

Li Jin himself bought some biscuits and fruit candies, but didn’t buy anything else.

“Let’s go back. We still have work this afternoon,” Su Huazhu said without hesitation. They had to carry all these things back, and the road was still long.

Xiao Luo and Xiao Shu nodded in agreement.

They needed to go back to earn work points, and they felt it was important to head back immediately.

Li Jin: “…” Ah, just like that… done?! They didn’t even want to go to the state-owned restaurant this time?!

“Go back?!”

He couldn’t help but stammer, wondering if they were avoiding him?!

“Yes, we only asked for one hour off in the afternoon. We can’t go back on our word. Plus, with such heavy packages, we don’t know how long the walk will take,” Su Huazhu replied, nodding.

She was concerned about the heavy packages.

She and Xiao Shu, being weaker girls, had no idea how many stops it would take before they got back to the production team.

Li Jin: “…”

Luckily, on their way back, they encountered a bullock cart that could take them part of the way.

So, Su Huazhu and Xiao Shu climbed onto the cart with their packages, while Xiao Luo and Li Jin had to walk.

For the latter half of the journey, Li Jin helped Xiao Shu carry her large package.

They walked slowly, but they managed to return to the production team within the time they had off.

When they arrived, everyone was already working, so they didn’t have to deal with any more envy from others about their huge packages.

After dropping off their packages at the educated youth point, Su Huazhu, Xiao Luo, and Xiao Shu decided to unpack them.

They locked the important things in their wooden trunks.

The three giant packages indeed contained quilts, two sets of old clothes, one set of new clothes, two pairs of cotton shoes, three pounds of brown sugar, two pounds of milk candies, and a two-pound piece of cured meat.

Su Huazhu’s package also contained three high school textbooks on mathematics, physics, and chemistry, a pack of cigarettes, several tickets, and a letter.

The tickets included two bicycle tickets, three sewing machine tickets, ten industrial tickets, and ten pounds of national food stamps.

The letter was written by Qiao Jiuru, and it only had one sentence: Su Huazhu should give the bicycle and sewing machine tickets to the production team for distribution, and the cigarettes and brown sugar should be given to the team leader and the village secretary when the opportunity arose.

Su Huazhu quickly wiped her eyes and packed everything into the box.

Bai Qingshan didn’t expect these three kids to actually follow through.

Not only did they come back on time to work, but they also worked diligently and seriously.

He couldn’t help but hold them in higher regard.

When evening came and it was time to stop work, Su Huazhu and the others had also completed their tasks.

The sense of achievement made them even happier.

They had seen their family, received so many things, and what more could they want?

Going to the countryside really wasn’t worse than staying in the capital, and that was how the three of them felt.

Back at the educated youth point, Su Huazhu gave the things they had bought for the other educated youth to them.

After dinner, the three of them, like usual, left the educated youth point, but this time they secretly tucked a small package into their cotton clothes.

They wandered outside for a bit before heading straight to the team leader Bai Qingshan’s house.

“Uncle, my parents asked me to give this to the production team. They said everyone could use it.”

Su Huazhu handed the five tickets she had just received to Bai Qingshan as soon as they met.

What?!

Things for the production team?!

Bai Qingshan was curious and took the tickets.

He realized they were exactly what everyone was eager to have right now—bicycle tickets and sewing machine tickets.

This… was really a big move.

“Your parents…”

“My mom said it’s better to give these to the production team than sell them to others,” Su Huazhu replied, not waiting for Bai Qingshan to refuse.

She said it firmly.

“Since it’s your mother’s request, we’ll accept it for the production team. You three are good kids. From now on, just live well here. With us old folks around, you don’t have to worry about being bullied.”

At this moment, Bai Qingshan’s father, Bai Changyuan, decided to accept the donation, without any sense of formality.

“Actually, there’s no need to make a fuss about this. The Qiao family helped us back in the day, and now it’s our turn to help the Qiao family. Maybe in the future, the Qiao family will help us again. The cycle goes on, doesn’t it?”

Old Bai had a clear view of things despite his age. He knew that as long as the two families maintained this relationship, they would have a chance to prosper in the future, and their descendants would live better than they did.

“Uncle, you’re absolutely right. My mom said the same thing.”

Su Huazhu nodded repeatedly. Before she went to the countryside, Qiao Jiuru had indeed said something similar.

Bai Qingshan’s eyes lit up.

He had really underestimated the situation. Everything comes full circle, and helping each other out today would surely come back to benefit them in the future.

Upon hearing that Su Huazhu and the others had also given gifts to Uncle Liu, Uncle Wang, the village secretary, and Aunt Wu, Bai Qingshan personally took them over.