The educated youth settlement had a large courtyard with several adobe houses facing south.

The brigade leader tied the cow to a jujube tree in the yard.

He briefly explained some things to the educated youth: "This is the educated youth compound. The girls' dormitory is on the east side, and the boys' dormitory is on the west side. They are all communal sleeping areas, and you will live here from now on. There are supervisors for both the boys' and girls' dormitories. If you have any questions, you can ask them. Since you have just arrived, you don't have any food. You can go to the brigade headquarters to inquire about a month's worth of rations. The autumn harvest is coming soon, and you can use your work points to offset the rations after the harvest. The brigade will also distribute some more food to you. You will have a day and a half to settle in and rest. You will start work the day after tomorrow. Now, take your luggage down."

The educated youth took their luggage off the oxcart and carried it to their dormitory.

Luo Jingyan had at least read time-travel novels and understood the principle of striking first; otherwise, she wouldn't have been able to get a good spot in the dormitory.

She had considered moving out, but before that idea came to fruition, she wanted to try to secure some favorable terms for herself.

She had already given Luo Changtian some instructions beforehand, and the siblings quickly grabbed their luggage and headed towards the dormitory.

Luo Jingyan had already noticed a small, separate house in the northwest corner of the courtyard. However, the roof of the house had several holes, and it was definitely uninhabitable without repairs. She decided to settle the house first.

She carried her luggage and walked into the female educated youth dormitory. The large dormitory bed inside was about seven or eight meters long and could sleep eight or nine people.

The room was empty. Luo Jingyan didn't know where the old educated youth had gone. Had they all gone to work?

Winter comes very early in Northeast China; it usually arrives right after autumn.

The heated kang (a traditional heated brick bed) is connected to the stove. The side closest to the stove is the warmest, while the end of the kang is the coldest.

She noticed that there were already five bunks on the side facing the stove, which should belong to five older educated youths, so she put her luggage in the sixth bunk.

Jiang Manyue followed her in and put her luggage next to hers.

Next was Lin Shanshan, and last was Du Yinan.

After putting her luggage away, Luo Jingyan went to the men's dormitory.

There were two older educated youths in the men's dormitory. They said that the autumn harvest was in two days and the team had given everyone three days off. Most of the educated youths went to the county town to relax.

Luo Changtian and Luo Jingyan were in similar positions, both occupying the middle of the heated kang (a traditional Chinese bed-stove). If they didn't move out, they wouldn't feel too cold sleeping there in winter.

She swept the kang (a heated brick bed) for Luo Changtian, took a worn-out mat from the side and laid it on top, then helped him make his bedding.

Zhao Wensong looked somewhat embarrassed and ultimately didn't speak to Luo Jingyan. Of course, Luo Jingyan didn't pay any attention to him either.

As Fang Zhiyuan laid out the bedding, he would occasionally steal glances at Luo Jingyan. Zhao Wensong was standing between them, making it difficult for him to make a move.

"Sister, you go ahead and do your thing, I can handle this myself," Luo Changtian said.

"Okay, you're all grown up now, you can do this little thing by yourself."

Luo Jingyan jumped off the kang (a heated brick bed) and went back to the girls' dormitory. Before she even entered, she heard arguing inside.

"Didn't you see Jingyan's things here? Why are you taking her spot?"

“I didn’t take her things. She left her things here, but she didn’t spread out her bedding here. I spread out my bedding here first. This is my territory. I didn’t touch your place. You’d better mind your own business.”

Luo Jingyan walked in and saw Du Yinan laying out bedding in the spot she had taken, while her own luggage was placed in Du Yinan's spot.

She walked over and, without saying a word, ripped off the quilt that Du Yinan had just unfolded and threw it on the ground.

"This is my territory, get down here!"

Du Yinan said angrily, "Who said it's your territory? You didn't put your bedding on it. Pick up my bedding and don't get in the way of me making the bed."

Instead of picking up her bedding, Luo Jingyan grabbed her arm and pulled her off the kang (a heated brick bed).

Then, I took my luggage and put it on the shelf.

Du Yinan stumbled and fell off the kang (a heated brick bed), landing on the ground. She snapped at Luo Jingyan, "How can you be so barbaric?"

Luo Jingyan clapped her hands: "Can't I vent my grievances? Ha, you can't be gentle with unreasonable people, lest they become unrepentant."

Du Yinan stood up and picked up her bedding.

"Luo Jingyan, you're bullying me by taking advantage of your position. Who told you not to be here earlier and to run around everywhere? If you had laid out your bedding, I wouldn't have taken up that spot."

Luo Jingyan glanced at her sideways: "I've already put my luggage here, isn't this my territory? When you put your bedding on here later, I'll say that's not your territory, and I'll throw your bedding out again."

Du Yinan snorted, took the bedding away, and put it at the end of the kang (a heated brick bed).

Luo Jingyan brought over her luggage and swept the kang (a heated brick bed). There wasn't even a tattered mat in their room, so she simply didn't bother to make up the bedding first.

"It's a full moon. Let's go out later and see which villager's family sells straw mats. Let's buy one to put under our feet."

"Mmm." Jiang Manyue said, "Jingyan, we don't have anywhere to put our clothes and stuff, so we need to find someone to make wooden crates."

"Let's do it together, and then we'll go to the brigade to collect the grain later."

Luo Jingyan went to inform Luo Changtian.

Luo Changtian said, "Sister, I'll go with you. I want to see what this village is really like."

Luo Jingyan, Luo Changtian, and Jiang Manyue were walking down the street when they encountered an old woman. Luo Jingyan approached the old woman and asked, "Auntie, do you know who does carpentry around here?"

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