Chapter 7: Rent for Five Years

Li Lin and Hu Yingying walked to the back of the house, finding that the two rooms on the east and west sides were locked, indicating that they were already occupied.  

They went through the remaining rooms, eventually choosing two identical rooms in the middle.  

When they came out, they discovered that they were the only ones who had chosen the single rooms; the rest were staying in the mud houses.  

Zhang Jun saw them approaching and asked, “Have you two decided?”  

“Yes, we’ve decided,” Li Lin and Hu Yingying nodded in unison.  

“Alright then, I’ll start talking business.” Zhang Jun’s tone shifted, becoming more serious. “Since you just arrived and don’t have any work points yet, the team will lend you 20 kilograms of sweet potatoes, 20 kilograms of potatoes, 30 kilograms of coarse grain, and 10 kilograms of sorghum rice.”  

Zhang Jun glanced at everyone before continuing, “These are to be paid back after the autumn harvest, when you’ve earned your work points. Our team follows a policy of ‘more work points, more grain.’ If you don’t earn enough work points, you’ll either go hungry or need to buy food with money.”  

“If you agree, come with me to the team office now. If not, you can go buy food elsewhere.” Zhang Jun reminded them.  

“Agree, agree,” everyone immediately chimed in. After all, the offer of free food was too good to pass up.  

“Alright, then take your introduction letters with you,” Zhang Jun added. “I’ll go to the commune tomorrow to register your household registration. Starting tomorrow, you’ll officially be members of Ma Family Brigade, so make sure to work hard and earn your food. Don’t let yourselves go hungry.”  

Li Lin, carrying her things, went inside her room. There was a large kang (a type of heated platform bed) that could fit two people, and a stove had been set up near the door. She smiled, clearly pleased with the arrangement.  

She placed her belongings on the kang, pulled out her introduction letter from her backpack, and tucked it into her pocket. She also put in a few “Big Unity” coupons.  

Then, from her space, she retrieved a lock and key, went out, and locked the door. Hu Yingying was locking her own door at the same time.  

They exchanged a glance and both chuckled. Hand in hand, they headed to the front yard.  

Zhang Jun, driving the ox cart, led them to the team office. There, he pulled out the grain borrowing forms and stamps, and everyone pressed their fingerprints on the documents.  

Afterward, he took their introduction letters and put them away. He then grabbed the rental agreement that Fang Zhiqing had prepared earlier and looked at the two girls.  

“Do you want to rent by the month or by the year?”  

“By the year,” Li Lin and Hu Yingying exchanged a glance and decided that paying for the year was more economical.  

However, after a moment of thought, Li Lin spoke up. “Team Leader, I’ll rent for five years. Can you change the agreement to reflect that?”  

Zhang Jun was stunned, and the others nearby also turned to stare at Li Lin in surprise.  

“I feel like we won’t be the last batch of educated youths. If more come later, and they pay earlier than me, won’t I have to move out?”  

Li Lin’s expression remained calm, and she spoke confidently, “None of us can be sure when we’ll go back to the city. Having a stable room is really important.”  

“Lin Lin’s right,” Hu Yingying quickly added, “I’ll rent for five years too, Team Leader.” She agreed with Li Lin and felt it made perfect sense.  

“Alright, alright,” Zhang Jun said with some excitement. He quickly made changes to the agreement and handed it back to them. “Don’t worry. If any of you go back to the city early, just come to me, and I’ll refund your money. I guarantee it.”  

“Thank you, Team Leader.” Li Lin and Hu Yingying signed the agreement and paid the rent, then followed Zhang Jun to pick up their food.

Liu Lan, Zhang Qinghua, and Sun Xiaogang followed behind Li Lin and Hu Yingying, their eyes filled with jealousy and calculation.

Liu Lan was consumed by jealousy; her eyes were red, and she almost wished she could snatch Li Lin’s money away from her, taking it for herself.  

Zhang Qinghua was a mix of jealousy and scheming thoughts. He thought that if he could win one of the girls over, he could get both their money and satisfy his need for revenge—all in one move.  

Sun Xiaogang, on the other hand, was calculating how to befriend the two girls. He figured that if he could form a good relationship with them, he would have someone to turn to when he needed help later.  

“All the grain has been prepped. The sacks are on loan, so don’t forget to return them after you’ve bought your own,” Zhang Jun said while helping them load the grain onto the carts. “There are two carts at the door; use them to haul the grain. When you return them, just leave them by the gate.”

Once the carts were ready, Zhang Jun locked the main gate and headed off to the fields.  

“Yingying, can you cook?” Li Lin asked as she and Hu Yingying struggled to push the heavy cart, chatting as they went.

“I can cook. When my parents were busy, I was the one who had to make meals for the family, sometimes all day long. In winter, the food would cool down, and I’d have to learn how to cook in advance,” Hu Yingying smiled, replying to Li Lin’s question. “But I don’t know how to use this stove.”

Li Lin looked at Hu Yingying thoughtfully. Something in her intuition told her that Hu Yingying’s family background wasn’t as simple as she let on. But since it had nothing to do with her, she didn’t dwell on it.

“Really? I didn’t know you could cook. Well, I can cook too. As for the stove, we won’t know if it works until we try, right?” Li Lin grinned, showing her usual light-hearted attitude.

“Ugh, finally here,” Hu Yingying sighed with relief as they arrived at their rooms.

Together, they struggled to move the grain back into their respective rooms.

Li Lin surveyed her somewhat dusty room and then pulled out the enamel basin her mother had packed for her. She also retrieved a small piece of gray cloth from her space and headed to the yard to draw water from the well. 

She was quite accustomed to using a well from her rural days, so she quickly filled a wooden dipper with water and poured it into the well. After a few minutes of hard work, the water began to flow out.

Thankfully, it was summer, and the water was cool.

After finishing, she called out to Hu Yingying, asking her to bring her basin for water as well. 

Before Hu Yingying could come out, Liu Lan appeared, holding a chipped enamel basin.

“Li Lin, can you give me some water?” Liu Lan asked, coming over to the well.

“Sure.” Li Lin released the handle of the pump and bent down to pick up the basin, straightening up without even glancing at Liu Lan’s distorted expression. Without a word, she turned around and headed back to her room.

“You’d better wait,” Liu Lan muttered to herself with resentment, staring at Li Lin’s back. Then, she pretended nothing had happened and clumsily began to pump water.

Li Lin didn’t care about Liu Lan’s feelings. Once inside, she found nothing to clean, so she simply tucked her money into her pocket, locked the door, and called Hu Yingying to head to the front yard.

They went to the kitchen where an older educated youth was cooking. Li Lin politely asked, “Comrade, hello. I was wondering where I can buy mats, boxes, and such in the brigade.”

“Exit the main gate, walk straight, and turn right at the second house. That’s the place,” the older youth replied.