Chapter 17 Chapter 17 Jackals, Tigers and Leopards (Update 1)…

"Of course there are. This mountain, this one, and this one. The further you go in, the more there are. Wolves, leopards, wild boars," the team leader looked up at them. "In the past, there were even bears and tigers. A large number were killed during the tiger-hunting craze in the 1950s, and another large number died during the steelmaking and tree-cutting in the early 1960s. I don't know if there are any left now."

"Really?"

Han Jing swallowed, frightened.

"Why would I lie to you? So don't go deep into the mountains if you have nothing to do. If you run into a pack of wolves, you won't be enough for them!" The team leader felt he had warned them enough. He hit them with a club and gave them a date to eat. He then reassured them, "Don't worry too much. Those jackals, tigers, and leopards are just as feared by humans as they are by humans. Except for the three years of famine, they've never been seen leaving the mountains. There's an old forest ranger in our village, Uncle Wang, who's lived alone on the top of Nanshan Mountain for most of his life, and nothing has ever happened to him."

Hua Feifei, Han Jing and Xu Fei breathed a sigh of relief, feeling relieved.

Only Ye Yu was ready to make a move.

In the future, there has never been any news of any ferocious jungle beasts approaching Yanshan, at least the mountains near Sijiu City.

However, according to historical records, even as recently as the Qing Dynasty, there were documents that said, "There were tigers and leopards in Yanshan, and the villagers were afraid of them. In early autumn, they gathered together to hunt tigers and got them." At that time, the royal family hunted whenever they had time. This shows that Yanshan had Siberian tigers, leopards, black bears, wolves, etc. in the past, and the species was rich.

It's not as good as it used to be, but it's great that it's not all over yet.

Ye Yu didn't know when these birds of prey disappeared, but she felt it would be better to preserve as many wild animals as possible in the suburbs of the old city.

Not to mention biodiversity, even in the harsh end times, while exotic beasts and plants threaten human survival, they are also important strategic resources. They can be used as food, to obtain new energy, and are an indispensable part of the advancement of those with special abilities.

Because of this, people who survive in forests and near the seaside tend to be stronger because they face a harsher living environment. The fundamental reason why Yanjing City, which was a city with strong military strength at the beginning, has gradually declined from a large base to a small base is the lack of strategic resources such as psychics and mutant creatures.

All living things are symbiotic, even in the end times. Humans will always be just a link in the ecological chain of the blue planet. If humans rely only on themselves, they will be finished sooner or later.

But it's still three hundred years too early to talk about this now.

The reason why Ye Yu's eyes lit up as she gazed at the mountains and forests was simply because she was hungry. Although the psychics were powerful, their appetites were also really huge.

"Be careful--" Hua Feifei saw a stone in front of Ye Yu's feet and was about to remind him.

Before he finished speaking, Ye Yu raised his head and walked around it easily as if he had eyes on his feet. At the same time, he also walked around a small mud pit next to him.

Okay, people are different.

Hua Feifei's eyes finally recovered, but her legs didn't. Look, she stuck her foot into the mud again and couldn't even step out. The little leather shoes that were originally polished so bright had lost their original color and were left with only the color of mud. She was so sad that she wanted to cry but had no tears.

"puff."

Ye Yu smiled without any sympathy.

In fact, Ye Yu had a good impression of Hua Feifei and the other two, especially Hua Feifei's half cup of water used to soak the White Rabbit milk candy. Otherwise, how could their luggage not fall down once with just the captain's two hands?

Regarding this, perhaps only the team leader, Uncle Cai, and the slightly more careful Xu Fei noticed it. Hua Feifei and Han Jing, the two big fools, were completely unaware of it.

Hua Feifei, with tears in her eyes, glared at Ye Yu angrily and said, "You've been gloating over other people's misfortunes long enough!"

We walked for more than an hour.

Wangjiagou is located at the low-lying junction of the lower half of the slopes of three green mountains. It is a typical "three-sided mountain area" with only one road on the north leading to Pingquan Town outside. Wangjiagou is also the brigade farthest from Pingquan Town and closest to the mountains in the entire commune.

Mountain villages are not like most northern villages, where villagers’ houses are mostly clustered together. The houses in mountain villages are scattered here and there, hidden among the layers of mountains and forests. Most villagers live in the mountains, and there is more land in the low-lying plains.

There are two small streams running through the middle of the village, which are left from the east and west slopes. The ancestors of Wangjiagou must have settled and multiplied here because of this water source, and Wangjiagou got its name from this.

When they finally arrived at Wangjiagou, it was almost dinner time and smoke filled every house, which reduced the number of villagers watching the educated youth to a minimum.

Wang Zhiming first took them to the Dongbian Village, where they saw a row of blue brick bungalows. Except for the one in the middle, the others were granaries. The front and back of the houses were flattened grain drying yards. This was also the core of the entire brigade.

Because it was the first time to receive the educated youth, the village cadres were quite cautious and expectant. After work, most of them gathered in the village to wait for the arrival of the educated youth.

Including accountants, warehouse clerks, women's directors, etc. Some of them even went home to wash their hair and change into clean clothes.

Being teased: "You are not an 18-year-old blooming girl, you are already quite old, why do you want to change your skin?"

"Hey, isn't this because we don't want those city people to look down on us?"

There is no need to worry about this.

Seeing the team leader coming back, the village accountant and others rushed forward to greet him enthusiastically. However, the meeting with the educated youth was very different from what they had imagined. He was so dirty that the color was almost invisible. He must have rolled a hundred or eighty times in the mud.

The director of the women's department asked with concern, "What happened on the way? Why are you so miserable? Are you okay?"

"It's okay. There's a lot of rain in autumn and the mountain roads are difficult to walk on. They are not used to it," explained the team leader.

Because of this, the only clean person among the four educated youths attracted much attention.

Ye Yu followed the captain's introduction and called people one by one.

The director of the women's department couldn't help but praise her: "This comrade is really good-looking and has a nice voice."

It completely matches their imagination of big city residents, perhaps even a little bit more.

You have to know that in rural areas of this era, children started working at the age of seven or eight. They were inevitably exposed to the sun and rain. Nine out of ten of them had dark and rough skin, and they often bent over to work on the ground, which also had a certain impact on the spine.

Compared with the villagers who go to the fields, the village cadres are relatively good.

But they were no match for the young girl in front of them. Her delicate skin could only be achieved by the daughter of a landlord. Her appearance was too eye-catching. They had never seen such a striking girl in the surrounding area.

Captain Wang also introduced Ye Yu as the granddaughter of Wang Gousheng, the third daughter of Wang Laidi, the third daughter of Wang Gousheng. Well, it’s quite a coincidence that both mother and daughter are the third children.

What?

Wang Gousheng’s granddaughter?

To round it off, this is the golden swallow that flew out of their village and now has flown back.

Nowadays people pay a lot of attention to kinship. When the cadres knew that Ye Yu came from their village, they looked at her differently, with the kindness of a half-family member.

Especially the village accountant Wang Dali. His father and Ye Yu’s grandfather Wang Gousheng are brothers. He is also Ye Yu’s cousin and they are related by blood.

He said, "My uncle's three daughters are all good-looking. Back then, matchmakers almost broke down the door of my uncle's house. My cousin Lai Di is the best. Otherwise, how could she have been so lucky as to marry into the city? My niece obviously looks like her."

When it comes to unfamiliar elders, Ye Yu just responds with a smile.

This scene of meeting acquaintances had already been preset. She rejected her cousin's invitation to have dinner at his house, saying that she had just arrived in the village and had a lot of things to pack. She would formally visit her grandparents, uncles, aunts, cousins and other relatives in two days.

At this time, Hua Feifei and the others drank some water and recovered, tidied themselves up a little. Although they were still a little embarrassed, they behaved generously and politely, and finally saved their image.

Moreover, they were cheerful and outgoing, and could get along with strangers more easily than Ye Yu. After a while, they were already calling uncle and aunt skillfully.

If Ye Yu was not related to Wangjia Village, he really could not compare with them in this regard.

The team leader brought them to the village. In addition to introducing the village cadres, the main destination was the warehouse.

The first few batches of educated youth who went to the countryside were still able to enjoy some benefits according to the policy. They could receive part of the food ration for the remaining half of the year for free, that is, 420 kilograms for the whole year multiplied by 1/4 = 105 kilograms of sweet potatoes, in addition to about 30 to 40 kilograms of corn.

Due to the lack of oil and water, everyone has a big appetite nowadays. These subsidized rations certainly cannot make everyone full, but they should not let them starve to death.

If you want to have some other snacks, you can exchange sweet potatoes and corn with the villagers, or spend money and tickets to buy them in town. Of course, this generally refers to normal channels.

Such free benefits were only available to the educated youth who had just gone to the countryside. At the end of the year and the Spring Festival, they could receive another wave of benefits based on the work points they earned during the rest of the year. Starting next year, they would be treated the same as the local villagers. After a few years, the educated youth would have to return the grain they had received. Even so, the villagers at that time were still reluctant to receive the benefits.

At least it's harmonious now.

Ye Yu and the other three were given some rations, and while Uncle Cai and his donkey cart were still there, they could help deliver some more.

The residence of the educated youth was a row of bungalows rebuilt on the basis of the original public canteen.

The building materials are mainly old bricks, with a small amount of new bricks mixed with soil. The only thing missing is too many tiles, because many old tiles have fallen on the roofs of the villagers' houses at some point. Bricks and tiles are not easy to buy now, so half of the roofs can only be temporarily covered with thatch.

The outer circle is surrounded by a fence. The land in the countryside is large, so a large yard is enclosed.

A new thatched hut was built in the southwest corner of the courtyard. It was quite large, and it should not be difficult to separate it into a small bathroom with straw curtains. A kitchen was built on the east side connected to the east room, and the old chimney was used with only minor repairs.

There are still two or three square meters of space left in the middle.

The team leader said that if they wanted to plant something, such as fruit trees or sweet potatoes, they could do so. Every household in the village had a private plot of no more than two mu.

Therefore, the team allocated a private plot to the educated youth in addition to the one in the yard according to the private plots of each household. It was located on the lower slope of the mountain where the educated youth lived. It was not a good location, but it was close to the educated youth site and water source, and the area was acceptable.

As for breeding, those who know the situation are counted based on one household, and no more than four livestock are allowed, usually chickens, ducks, and geese. The richer ones raise cats and dogs, but don't even think about raising cows, donkeys, pigs, etc., as they are all raised by the brigade.

In that row of houses, there is a particularly large room on the west side, which was converted from the former canteen hall. Not to mention two people, at least twenty people can squeeze in.

This room not only has a kang and a glass window, but also has walls and ceilings covered with sorghum stalks and waste newspapers, and it is also kept very clean inside.

The captain meant to let the two female comrades live in this room so they can have company, and the male comrades can choose the small room, which can accommodate them all given their number.

But Ye Yu refused and chose the only small room on the west side of the house. She even said to herself: "I am a light sleeper and I don't like noise. I snore and I don't want to disturb others. It's better for me to sleep alone."

"Rare." Hua Feifei misunderstood that Ye Yu hated her and didn't treat her well, so she angrily picked the biggest and best room. Humph, she would feel more comfortable living alone.

“…”

Han Jing and Xu Fei couldn't care less about the lawsuit between the girls. In fact, they also felt that Ye Zhiqing's personality was as cold as his appearance. He not only hated Hua Feifei, but also disliked them. He disliked everyone equally.

The two looked at each other and decided to choose the two adjacent rooms on the east side. There were still two rooms left on the east side, with men in the east and women in the west, which was equivalent to creating a clear dividing line between the male and female dormitories.

"You guys can decide these things yourselves."

The team leader has been busy bringing the educated youth here until now, which can be considered as doing his job conscientiously. After he told the time and place for work tomorrow, he waved goodbye and left.