Chapter 24

The first place in the previous peanut picking competition was Gu Wenshu, so Gu Wenshu chose the position first, and she chose the head of the kang.

Xiang Nuan was the second one. He didn’t want to squeeze in the middle, so he chose a seat at the end of the kang since he wouldn’t be living there for long anyway.

The remaining two people could only sleep in the middle.

“I finally moved out. I couldn’t stand living in my fellow villager’s house every day. I always felt like a guest under someone else’s roof. Their daughter-in-law kept staring at me, afraid that I would steal her man. She didn’t even consider what kind of person her man was. It’s ridiculous!”

Sun Qiuli lay on the kang and complained about the grievances she had suffered at her fellow villager’s home these days.

Gu Wenshu smiled and said, “Living in someone else’s house is always not as comfortable as staying in your own territory. Although this place is small, it’s nice for us to lie down together and chat when we have nothing to do.”

Li Qinghe said, “Wenshu is right! By the way, we don’t have much work to do these two days, so let’s take a leave and go to the county town to go shopping. It’s a good opportunity to buy some things. The captain should agree.”

The other three also wanted to go, so they nodded in agreement.

“Then let’s go and ask the team leader for leave later! Should we ask the male educated youth to come along? We are unfamiliar with the place, and it will be safer if we have male comrades along.”

Gu Wenshu nodded, “Okay, go ask.”

Li Qinghe grabbed her arm and said with a smile, “Come with me.”

Having said that, he pulled her out the door.

“Wenshu, you’re here.”

Jiang Shang grinned when he saw Gu Wenshu coming over.

Li Qinghe rolled his eyes at him, “Can’t you see a living person like me? You just think of Wenshu, Wenshu.”

Jiang Shang chuckled, “I saw it, but you didn’t have time to shout out. Next time I’ll call you first.”

“Come on, we’re going to take a day off tomorrow to go to the county town to buy some things. Do you male educated youth want to go?”

Jiang Shang said without thinking, “Go! I can help you carry your things!”

“Then go ask other people.”

“good.”

As soon as he entered the house, Li Qinghe began to wink at Gu Wenshu and whispered in the same tone as Jiang Shang, “Wenshu~ you’re here~”

“screw you!”

Gu Wenshu pushed her angrily.

“Tsk, I’m not bad looking, why is there no one chasing me?”

Li Qinghe clicked her tongue and shook her head, lamenting that those stinky men had no vision.

Gu Wenshu chuckled, “Why? You want to get married?”

“I’m not looking for someone here. Let’s talk about it when I get home. My parents don’t want me to marry far away.”

They didn’t know they would have to stay here for more than ten years and thought they could go home after one or two years.

Gu Wenshu sighed when she heard this, “I miss my parents.”

Li Qinghe pursed his lips, “I thought about it too.”

Just when the two were homesick, Jiang Shang and Yang Bin walked out.

Jiang Shang said, “Only the two of us will go, no one else will go.”

Although it is nice to go to the county town for a stroll, not everyone can afford it. The round-trip fare is 20 cents, and city dwellers are also divided into rich and poor.

Gu Wenshu glanced at Yang Bin and felt very happy. She was just wondering whether he would go or not.

Li Qinghe said, “Okay, let’s go ask the captain for leave this afternoon.”

“good!”

Yan Mancang was easy to talk to, and since these educated youth had been relatively honest and active in their work during this period, he readily approved their leave, but he still had to give them the necessary instructions.

“You must come back on the same day! No matter what happens, don’t get involved. The morning bus to the commune is at 7:30. I forgot what time the last bus to the county town is. Remember to ask the ticket seller when you go. But don’t rush back on the last bus, otherwise it will be dark when you get back to the village. Go early and come back early, don’t waste time.”

The six people nodded, “Got it, thank you Captain.”

“Well, go ahead.”

Tomorrow she was going to the county town, and Xiang Nuan’s mind began to become active. There were so many things in the space, should she take some out? Although she was not short of money now, no one would complain about having too much money, right? After she followed the army, she might have even less chance.

However, since there are several of them together, she may not have the chance to act alone. She will have to wait and see. She doesn’t know what the situation is outside, so she doesn’t dare to take too many risks.

After a good night’s sleep, they were woken up by Li Qinghe early the next morning. After getting up and having a simple breakfast, they put on their backpacks and walked to the commune together.

Yang Bin had a pocket watch, and it took them nearly an hour to reach the commune.

“I’m so tired. It’s not easy to get into the city. Yang Bin, what time is it?”

Sun Qiuli leaned against a willow tree, wiping her sweat and complaining. Her family lived in the city, and she only needed to walk a few minutes to go wherever she wanted to go. It was very convenient. It was not like now, when she had to use up all her energy just to leave the village.

Yang Bin looked at his watch and said, “It’s seven twelve. It should be here soon.”

Sure enough, after waiting for another ten minutes, the bus bound for the county town arrived. Several people got on the bus, bought tickets and sat down.

After driving for more than half an hour, several people got off the car at the busiest street and headed straight for the supply and marketing cooperative.

It was Xiang Nuan’s first time to visit a supply and marketing cooperative of this era. It was very modern and had a wide variety of merchandise, which dazzled her.

Everyone had something they wanted to buy, so they went their separate ways and gathered at the gate after they had finished their purchases.

Xiang Nuan didn’t have anything to buy. Her space was fully stocked with everything she needed, including all the daily necessities on display, so she just asked about prices, or listened to other people’s price inquiries.

When she arrived at the clothing area, she fell in love with a men’s wallet, which was a simple black leather design.

“Comrade, how much is this wallet?”

The salesperson looked her over and said indifferently, “Four dollars and fifty cents for one industrial coupon.”

“Okay, I want one.”

You can’t bargain when buying things here, so Xiang Nuan just paid for it and paid for it if she thought she could afford it.

Upon seeing this, the salesperson directly issued a three-way receipt, and then clipped the money given by Xiang Nuan and the receipt on the clip of one of the steel wires above his head. After clipping it, he exerted force with his arm and the small clip was swished to the cashier counter.

Xiang Nuan followed the gaze and found it quite interesting.

In less than a minute, the wallet was swiped back. The money Xiang Nuan gave was exactly the right amount and no change was needed. The salesperson handed her the ticket and the wallet together.

“Keep it.”

“Thanks.”

Xiang Nuan thanked her, put the wallet into her bag and continued shopping. Seeing Gu Wenshu and the others weighing snacks, she went over to buy some.

“Nuan Nuan, you didn’t buy anything?”

Gu Wenshu asked when she saw that she had nothing in her hands.

Xiang Nuan nodded, “Well, after looking around, there’s nothing I need for now.”

The wallet was bought for Yan Fangming, so there is no need to tell them now.

There is a park in the county town, and a few people came out of the supply and marketing cooperative and planned to go to the park together.

When crossing the road, suddenly more than ten people came running from the opposite side. Seeing this, Yang Bin and Jiang Shang hurriedly protected the four female educated youth and hid to the side. But it was too late. They were scattered to both sides. Yang Bin could only protect Gu Wenshu tightly in his arms.

“Are you okay?”

After the crowd passed, Yang Bin lowered his head and asked Gu Wenshu in his arms.

Gu Wenshu was scared at first, but now she is fine and finds herself being protected in his arms. Her face instantly turned red.

“No, it’s okay, thank you.”

Yang Bin found it very interesting to see that her little face was flushed and her eyes were looking around randomly, not daring to look at him.

He curled his lips, “I’m glad you’re okay. You’re welcome.”

“Wen Shu!”

Jiang Shang comforted the other three female educated youth and hurried over.

He looked at Gu Wenshu with worry in his eyes, “Wenshu, are you okay?”

Gu Wenshu shook her head and said, “I’m fine. Yang Bin protected me.”

Upon hearing this, Jiang Shang glanced at Yang Bin who was standing next to her and felt that he was a bit annoying. He wondered why he was not the one who protected Wen Shu just now.