Chapter 21 : Arrival at Hongxing Brigade

“Thank you, Captain. With a leader like you in charge, the team is bound to have a bright future. It’s a real blessing for our brigade,” Yun Siying praised sincerely. Seeing that they even had tractors, she figured this must be an advanced brigade.

Five minutes later, the tractor arrived in front of the post office. Yun Siying got off and walked inside. Nangong Ruochen also got off and followed her in.

Seeing the four large packages, Nangong Ruochen said with surprise, “Did you move your whole house here?”

“I heard it’s hard to buy things in the countryside, so I brought extra. I plan to settle down in Hongxing Brigade from now on,” Yun Siying replied with a smile.

Each of them picked up two packages. Noticing her effort, Nangong Ruochen didn’t want her to get too tired and said, “Why don’t you wait here? I’ll carry the other two bags on the next trip, they’re really heavy.”

“I’m strong, let’s go!” she said cheerfully, easily hoisting both bags and walking ahead. Nangong Ruochen was stunned. So Siying was this strong? On top of that, she had been trained since childhood. That was a good thing, she could take care of herself in the countryside. Otherwise, with her looks, she’d easily attract unwanted attention.

Even though he would protect and watch over her, he didn’t need to be constantly by her side. This way, he could rest a bit easier.

The luggage was soon loaded onto the tractor. Several other educated youth also got on one after another. Once everyone was seated, Yun Siying wrapped a scarf around her mouth and nose. With a “thump-thump” sound, the tractor rumbled back on the road.

Shu Ruxue was still dazed with infatuation. She had just recognized this Nangong educated youth. All the best traits were gathered in him. He was the most popular male educated youth in the entire compound but unfortunately, he was not easy to approach. He was cold, ruthless, and didn’t talk much. He didn’t differentiate between men and women when it came to beating people.

How did Yun Siying get to know such a handsome educated youth? He had already been in the countryside for two years and often received packages from home. Could he be from a military family? The more she thought about it, the more her heart raced. If she could win over this Nangong, it would be perfect.

“Captain, I’m wondering, how does the team arrange housing for us educated youth?” Yun Siying asked. She had read in a novel that educated youth often shared a single room with several people, usually with big bunk beds and no privacy at all.

At the mention of this, the captain immediately perked up.”The team has arranged housing for you educated youth, but with so many of you, it’s a bit cramped. So the villagers pooled money to build a single dormitory with ten rooms, each over 20 square meters.”

“I heard you city folks value privacy, so the villagers chipped in and built ten separate rooms. If you want to live there, you can rent one. The rent is 24 yuan per room per year,” he explained, clearly trying to make a sale.

“Captain, I’ll definitely rent one,” Yun Siying replied without hesitation. She liked the idea, it meant she wouldn’t have to share a room with others. She wasn’t used to that, and besides, she had a big secret to keep.

“Alright, when we get to the village, go to the accountant to pay. He’ll give you a receipt,” the captain said cheerfully. He was pleased, another room rented meant more income for the team. These city-educated youth really did have money.

“Siying, aren’t you going back to live with your parents?” Shu Ruxue asked, a bit displeased.

“Shu Ruxue, I’m an educated youth sent down to the countryside. Of course I should live with the other educated youth. We must unite and work together to build a new countryside. Also what are you trying to catch a rat or something?”

“What are you talking about?” Shu Ruxue wanted Yun Siying to live in her house and work like a beast . Once she moved in, she planned to take over her luggage and money for herself.

“You’re meddling in other people’s business,” Yun Siying said bluntly.

Shen Subai quickly grabbed Shu Ruxue’s arm and said, “Ruxue, say less!”

The tractor jolted forward, dust swirling as it drove farther and farther into the remote countryside. After winding through rolling hills for an hour, they finally arrived at the educated youth settlement in Hongxing Brigade.

When the village children heard the tractor’s noise, they all ran after it many barefoot. Their patched clothes and bare feet didn’t seem to bother them at all; it looked like they had been living barefoot all along. This surprised Yun Siying, who was used to the harshness of the outside world.

In this environment, supplies were scarce, and there were many such children. She didn’t feel much sympathy they simply lived like this.

A few older kids recognized Shu Ruxue and called out from behind, “Sister Yinyin, I heard your parents are high-ranking officials in the city. Why did you come back instead of living a good life there?”

The village’s adults and children all knew about the Li family’s affairs and that Shu Ruxue was the one mistakenly switched at birth. They had heard from their elders that city kids had new clothes, sweets to eat, meat every day, and could go to school a life they envied.

Shu Ruxue looked at the noisy kids with disgust flashing in her eyes and pretended not to hear them.

Lin Zikang in the car glanced at Shu Ruxue with curiosity, wondering if the “Sister Yinyin” the children talked about was really her. The inquisitive look made Shu Ruxue feel like a thorn in her back, but she kept her calm expression.

The tractor stopped at the educated youth settlement, and the children stared curiously at the well-dressed, beautiful educated youths. In recent years, new educated youths arrived every year, so the children weren’t strangers to them they just wanted to see the excitement and novelty.

Yun Siying’s buttocks felt numb from the bumps. She struggled to stand and slowly got off the tractor. Seeing everyone’s messy hair and dust-covered faces, she felt a strange sense of comedy.

She stretched her stiff limbs after getting off, waiting for the other educated youths to get off and move their luggage. Nangong Ruochen had already helped her with her bags. This person was different from the one in the original owner’s memory ,in her memory, he was the most handsome boy in the military compound, often mistaken for a girl.

Kids their age liked to call him a “little beauty” and tease him. He was very angry and suppressed them by force. Gradually, no one dared to call him that in front of him anymore. His youthful face grew cold. He often fought and never lost once, becoming the “king” of the compound kids.

He hadn’t interacted much with the original owner and wasn’t close, but he was surprisingly a very kind person.

The team leader opened the gate of the Youth League courtyard for them and said to Li Zhengyang, who was washing clothes in the yard, “Li Zhengyang, these four are the new educated youths this year. Please arrange accommodation for them and then take them to the team for food.”

“Okay, team leader,” Li Zhengyang replied as he stood and walked over. When he saw Shu Ruxue standing among them, a flicker of surprise passed across his eyes.