"Everything you dug up is here. Take it back and wash and dry it as needed."

At the Qingshantun Brigade headquarters, all the unearthed items were in one corner.

The brigade leader had all the educated youth sort their belongings, while reminding them, "Don't take anything that isn't yours. We don't tolerate petty theft here."

"Don't worry, Captain, no one in our educated youth team would do such a thing," Li Weidong said, then glanced at the educated youth and signaled for everyone to behave themselves.

Besides the educated youth sorting items, a large crowd of onlookers stood nearby.

They had nothing better to do, so they came over to join in the fun.

"Wow! They even have polished rice! When did life in this educated youth team become so good?"

"Malted milk powder, brown sugar, beef jerky, and White Rabbit candy—they're really rich!"

“Take a look, aren’t those bed sheets and duvet covers high-end products from a Shanghai factory? I saw them at a relative’s wedding; they were part of the bride’s dowry, and I heard they’re hard to buy even if you have the money.”

"Really? But it doesn't look very nice covered in mud."

......

With each item assigned to its owner, the remaining pile of belongings belonging to the female educated youth all went to Xie Yuyao.

Seeing that most of the items discussed earlier were there, those who were previously unwilling to let the educated youth stay began to have second thoughts.

If Xie, the educated youth, had stored up so much fine grain, then if she lived with her family, her family could also eat fine grain every meal.

Thinking of this, an auntie was the first to ask, "Captain, Xie Zhiqing doesn't have anywhere to go yet, right? Otherwise, I'll reluctantly take her in."

"Since you're so insistent, let her come to my house. I like her very much and will definitely treat her well."

"Let's go to my house instead. My Chunni is about the same age as her, and the two girls can keep each other company."

......

The other educated youths were utterly disgusted by their greedy faces.

Yang Shumei brought over a sack to clean up, and upon seeing this, she sneered: "What did you say this morning? Have you forgotten so quickly?"

"Yeah, how does it feel to slap yourself in the face?" Bei Xiao mocked arrogantly.

These greedy and disgusting women!

"What nonsense are you talking about! I invited Xie Zhiqing, not you. Look at your jealous faces, how ugly they are."

The woman who spoke first jumped up and retorted, but was stopped by the captain.

"Shut up, all of you! Who said Xie Zhiqing has nowhere to go? Even if she hasn't been assigned a place yet, it's not your family's turn!" The brigade leader slammed his fist on the table in anger. These people had completely humiliated him. "How dare you covet what belongs to her? I'll have the women's director come over and give you a good talking to!"

Several women dared to insult the educated youth, but dared not challenge the brigade leader and the women's director. They left one by one, filled with resentment and anger.

Yang Shumei moved Xie Yuyao's belongings to the brigade leader's house. She washed and scrubbed them, and Aunt Tian and her daughter-in-law helped. It took them a long time to finally get everything sorted out.

"Aunt Tian, ​​this rice has been soaked in water. Can we still eat it after washing it?" Yang Shumei asked, pointing to a bag of rice that was already covered in mud and water.

Aunt Tian immediately replied, "Of course we can eat it! This is fine grain! We can't waste it."

“This bag of rice was bought by me and Yaoyao together. Let’s pour out half of it and cook this for dinner tonight.” The brigade leader’s family is quite large, and this half weighs about five pounds. It will be used up in one or two meals.

Aunt Tian was unwilling to take advantage of the situation. "That won't do. I'll just cook one portion for you, and you can dry the rest and eat it slowly."

Yang Shumei smiled and said, "Aunt Tian, ​​if you're being so formal, I won't feel at ease staying here! Just listen to me."

However, Aunt Tian still refused to accept it, and Yang Shumei finally forced her to agree by threatening to move out.

*

In the afternoon, Li Weidong and Party Secretary Liu went to see the commune director and the director of the educated youth office. After learning about the situation, they both expressed their sympathy and told them that the higher authorities would allocate relief funds, which would be disbursed as soon as the money arrived.

This torrential rain not only caused problems in Qingshan Village, but also resulted in house collapses and casualties in other production brigades.

In the past, the county would allocate funds for relief in such accidents, but that amount of money was like a drop in the ocean compared to the huge medical expenses of the seriously injured.

Secretary Liu suggested that the commune director organize a donation drive, but this kind of thing happens almost every year, and this rainstorm disaster was not very serious, so Director Cao did not agree.

“You all know that our commune is poor, and there aren’t many wealthy people. How about this, you can start a fundraising campaign in the Qingshantun production team. The villagers recently earned some extra income from selling dried sour pears, so we can raise some money.”

Secretary Liu hadn't had much hope to begin with, so he didn't press the issue further.

However, the villagers in the brigade were also struggling financially, and Yu Wenbo was not a local enthusiast, so how much could he raise?

On the way back to Qingshan Village, Party Secretary Liu asked, "Li Weidong, don't several people in your educated youth team come from well-off families? Do they have any ideas about this?"

“The house collapsed, and we’ll have to buy a lot of new household items, and we definitely won’t have the money,” Li Weidong said with a deep frown.

“But every little bit counts, and as the team leader, you still need to rally the masses. You know the living standards in Qingshantun; relying on the villagers makes it even harder.”

"I understand, I'll tell them when I get back."

The two returned to Qingshan Village and told the brigade leader what had happened.

The captain sighed. It was pretty much what he had thought. Now it all depended on how well he could rally support tomorrow.

Thinking of those troublesome women from today, he wasn't feeling very optimistic.

In the entire Qingshan Village, only a few families have spare money, and they are all large families with elderly parents and young children to support. How much can they possibly contribute to an outsider?

Yu Wenbo's injuries are too severe, and he will definitely be transferred back to the city to recuperate. Once he leaves, he will have almost no connection with Qingshantun anymore, so there won't be much affection left for him.

But the thought of him coming all this way only to end up like this made the captain feel extremely sad, so he lit up a cigarette and started smoking again.

Before Xiang Wenshan and He Wenyao set off, Li Weidong called a meeting for the members of the educated youth team.

He first told everyone about the official aid, which everyone had already guessed was true; even if there was aid, the amount wouldn't be much.

“The allocated funds are definitely not enough. The brigade will organize a donation drive, and as our own people, we should do our part to help Yu Wenbo.”

No sooner had she finished speaking than Jiang Yan retorted in a fit of despair, "I have no money! I don't even have money to buy my own daily necessities!"

Li Weidong hadn't expected anything from her, so he ignored her and decided to leave it to the others.

The kind-hearted Ren Fei took out her purse and pulled out a one-yuan bill. "I'll keep one yuan, and you can take the rest. I hope Yu Zhiqing can get better soon."

Her family was of modest means, and she had just left her parents; she had saved up this little money by selling dried fruit.

Although she can be a bit extreme at times, she is a sincere, warm-hearted, and loving person who gives away all she has when it comes to donations.