Chapter 18 Watching a Movie

Ningxuan had her period and was in pain, but luckily she had some painkillers, which she had bought later. After taking one, she wiped away the cold sweat she had broken out in from the pain and slowly fell asleep.

The next day, Ning Xuan took another day off, citing that she was too weak after her fever had just subsided.

When the educated youth returned from work, everyone had smiles on their faces, which made Ning Xuan very curious.

Before she could even ask, Liang Qingqing spoke up, "Ningxuan, our brigade will be showing a movie tonight when the film projection team comes back. We can go after dinner. Are you feeling better? Can you go out now?"

Ning Xuan understood. Watching a movie, huh? No wonder. These days, villagers don't have much entertainment. After a long day's work, they either chat or try to conceive at night...

There's absolutely no need to worry about the birth rate!

It was a rare treat to see a movie, and everyone was really looking forward to it. They even felt more energetic when working in the afternoon.

Although Ning Xuan had seen many movies in modern times, including giant screen 3D and 4D movies, she was still quite looking forward to the open-air black and white movies of this era, mainly out of curiosity.

Moreover, having been here for so long, if it weren't for the trading system that allowed her to chat with two "online friends" occasionally, she would definitely be even more bored, as she used to spend her time scrolling through her phone.

Before, she was so tired from work that she didn't have time to think about playing. But these past two days have been relatively free, and Ning Xuan has indeed felt a bit bored.

Sure enough, just as they were about to finish work, the commune's projectionist arrived at the brigade with his equipment, and all the children who didn't have to work gathered around the projectionist to watch.

After work, even though the movie hadn't officially started yet, many people were already carrying their rice bowls and small stools towards the drying ground.

A lively sound came from the drying ground, which could be heard even though their educated youth compound was not close by.

The educated youth were quite reserved; they only carried their small stools to the threshing ground after they had finished eating.

By this time, most of the good seats nearby were taken, so Ning Xuan and the others quickly found a place to sit down.

Looking at the bustling scene, Ning Xuan exclaimed, "Wow, so many people!"

Huang Xiaomei chimed in, "It's not just our brigade; many people from nearby brigades also came to watch the movie today, knowing we're showing it here. There will be even more later."

Ning Xuan thought to herself, no wonder, she always felt that there weren't this many people in the brigade.

When they were working, everyone worked separately, only gathering in twos and threes. Also, the educated youth compound was located a little outside the brigade, so going back to the compound didn't require passing by too many houses. Therefore, Ning Xuan didn't really have much contact with the villagers.

Today's movie is "Tunnel Warfare," an old film that everyone has seen several times, but that doesn't stop everyone from being very enthusiastic every time it's shown.

After the video started playing, more and more people arrived, and the front seats were already packed. Everyone then squeezed towards the back of the screen. Although the image was reversed, everyone still watched with great interest.

Some people were holding sunflower seeds, while others had roasted pumpkin seeds, peanuts, corn, or soybeans. However, Ning Xuan noticed that even those who had snacks were not eating many, and everyone ate them rather slowly.

Ning Xuan felt that this scene was really lively. Although material life and entertainment life are not abundant now, everyone's mental outlook is particularly energetic.

Before coming to the movie, Liu Jun and the others had reminded everyone not to sit in too far to the corner or to be alone. Both male and female educated youth should go in groups.

There's a reason they gave that warning. Just two years ago, on the day of the movie screening, when there were many people and it was nighttime, two incidents of "indecent assault" occurred.

One incident involved a female educated youth who was hugged and kissed by a local man on her way back to the dormitory after watching a movie. Many people witnessed the incident.

The woman didn't know the man at all, but she was threatened that if she didn't admit they were dating, they would accuse her of indecent assault. This was a very serious charge, and so many people had witnessed it. In addition, the man was a local, and almost no one sided with the woman. So she had no choice but to grit her teeth and admit it, and later she married the man.

Another story involves a male educated youth who was accused of indecent assault by a local girl. She claimed he touched her and demanded he take responsibility. In the end, he also ended up marrying the girl.

Both of these "hooliganism" incidents occurred in other brigades, but coincidentally, Liu Jun and his fellow educated youth from the older generation also went to see that movie and witnessed the scene where the two educated youths were accused of hooliganism.

From then on, when other brigades showed movies, the educated youth from their educated youth compound would not go to join in the fun. They would only go to watch the movies shown by their own brigade, but they would always emphasize that it was a collective activity.

Ning Xuan understood perfectly. Although she hadn't witnessed it herself, just hearing about it made her feel desperate for the two educated youth who had been victimized.

At the same time, Ning Xuan finally understood why the educated youth in their educated youth compound never went out alone even during the day. For example, when she wanted to go out yesterday, Zhao Yulian would take the initiative to accompany her.

Then, if there was anything to do and they went to the team members' homes, they would not go alone. If there were only two female comrades, they would not go into the team members' homes. Ning Xuan always felt that the educated youth in their educated youth institute were quite cautious.

Actually, it's not just their educated youth compound; in the surrounding brigades, the educated youth are no longer as innocent as they were in the first two years, and their safety has improved a lot.

But even with increased vigilance, it's impossible to completely eliminate these kinds of incidents; we can only try our best to be careful.

Looking at her thin arms and legs, Ning Xuan secretly reminded herself to be more careful.

.

While Ning Xuan was enjoying a lively movie, Lin Yuhan encountered some trouble.

To save money, she has been renting a house in an urban village since graduation. She has been renting this place for 3 years. She has always thought that her landlady is a nice person and speaks very kindly.

So when Lin Yuhan raised the rent twice before, she thought the landlord was a good person, and it would be troublesome to find a bad landlord again. Also, as she lived there longer, she had more and more things.

So even though living in an urban village has many inconveniences, she's too lazy to move.

The rent, which started at 300 yuan a month, has now increased to 500 yuan a month.

Today, the landlord suddenly said he wanted to raise the rent by 200.

Lin Yuhan was so angry she laughed. A single room of less than 30 square meters in an urban village, with the simplest decoration, was going to cost 700 yuan a month.

If you add in the water and electricity bills, the rent and utilities alone will cost 1,000 yuan a month. With 1,000 yuan, she could rent an apartment in a residential complex. Although the rent in a residential complex is more expensive, the utilities are cheaper, and the environment is better than in an urban village.

Lin Yuhan originally thought that now that she had the system, she could work hard and save up enough money to buy a house, so she was too lazy to move for the time being.

But the landlord wanted to raise the rent, and Lin Yuhan refused, saying she wasn't going to be taken advantage of.

Then the landlord told her that she had to move out tonight, and if she hadn't moved out by tomorrow, it would be considered that Lin Yuhan had illegally trespassed.