"You're looking for Baogen's house! Just keep going down this road, then turn left, it's the third house," the old lady told Zhuang Zhimeng.

When they arrived at the brigade leader's house, they took out a bundle from the warehouse, inside which was a bottle of wine, a pack of cigarettes, two apples, and half a pound of brown sugar. This was no small gift.

Zhuang Zhimeng stepped forward and knocked on the door.

"Who is it?" a woman's voice rang out from inside.

He opened the door and saw a little girl standing outside. He wondered who this pretty little girl was, as he had never seen her before.

"This must be the brigade leader's house. I'm a new educated youth. I need to talk to the brigade leader. Is he home?" Zhuang Zhimeng replied.

"Hey! Baogen, someone's looking for you!" Tian Cuie shouted into the house.

"Who's looking for me?" An Baogen came out from the inner room.

"Oh, it's Zhuang Zhimeng. What's up? Just go to the brigade headquarters to collect your grain." An Baogen was surprised to see Zhuang Zhimeng. She had just been placed at the educated youth settlement, so why was she looking for him already?

"Captain, I'd like to ask if it's possible to build my own house? I'm used to living alone, and I'm really not used to living with a lot of people," Zhuang Zhimeng said shyly.

“Call me Uncle from now on. You can build a house for me. I can get you a plot of land for 50 yuan! Houses in Northeast China take up a lot of land, so they’re not cheap. But let me make this clear: you only have the right to use the house. If you stop living there one day, the house will still belong to the village.”

"What kind of house do you want to build? These adobe houses in the village can be built in two days. If you need help from the villagers, they will pay each person a few cents, without meals. If you want to build a brick house, you will have to find the materials yourself, which will take longer."

"Thank you, Uncle Baogen. I'll just build this kind of adobe house. Could you help me find two people to help me? I'll give each of them one yuan. Thank you so much, Uncle Baogen." How could Zhuang Zhimeng refuse? It was such a cheap price, and most importantly, she would have a house to live in.

“Okay, then come to the brigade headquarters tomorrow and I’ll sign a document for you.” An Baogen thought that this would generate income for the village, so he didn’t object.

Seeing that things were going smoothly, Zhuang Zhimeng prepared to take her leave. She quickly stuffed the bundle in her hands into the brigade leader's hands.

"Uncle, this is a small token of my appreciation. Please don't refuse it; if you don't accept it, it means you don't approve of me!" Zhuang Zhimeng didn't even give the captain a chance to speak before running off in a flash.

Only after Zhuang Zhimeng left did Tian Cuie open the bundle Zhuang Zhimeng had left behind.

Seeing what was inside, they thought the child was really good! "This child is really good. We'll have to take good care of him in the future. It's not easy for someone so young to go to the countryside," Tian Cuie said to An Baogen.

"Don't worry! I know what I'm doing!"

Zhuang Zhimeng returned to the educated youth settlement and saw that everyone had returned. Zhuang Zhimeng was about to speak to Jiang Yanxia when she was interrupted by a sharp, sarcastic voice.

"Hey! Where have you been? You didn't even make your own bed, who's going to make it for you? We're all educated youth, who's superior to whom?" said a female educated youth with high cheekbones who looked mean.

"Where I go is none of your business! Do you live by the sea? Why are you so nosy?" Zhuang Zhimeng wasn't one to tolerate such behavior.

"Alright, that's enough. Luo Qiuping, go do your thing!" Seeing that an argument was about to break out, Wang Lihong quickly stepped in to smooth things over.

Shi Hongye had been talking badly about Zhuang Zhimeng, and Luo Qiuping, seeing how beautiful Zhuang Zhimeng was, felt resentful and wanted to cause trouble for her.

Luo Qiuping rolled her eyes when she saw Wang Lihong speak, and then remained silent.

"Tch!" Zhuang Zhimeng didn't bother to reply.

"Shi Hongye was talking bad about you earlier, and I was so angry that I had a fight with them," Jiang Yanxia said as she helped Zhuang Zhimeng pack her luggage.

Thanks! I'll treat you to something delicious sometime!

"I'll be waiting! By the way, where did you go just now?"

Zhuang Zhimeng then told him about the house construction project; it was impossible to keep it a secret.

“I also want to build a house. How about I be your neighbor? That way we can look out for each other!” Jiang Yanxia suddenly thought it was a good idea.

"Okay! I'll go with you to talk to the brigade leader later." Zhuang Zhimeng also thought this suggestion was good. Since they were unfamiliar with the area, it would be good to have a friend to look after each other.

Jiang Yanxia helped Zhuang Zhimeng make her bed, and the two of them left the educated youth settlement to collect their rations from the brigade headquarters. They happened to run into a few male educated youths, so they all went together.

The brigade headquarters is easy to find; it's very conspicuous and can be seen at a glance.

Upon arriving at the brigade headquarters, each person received 50 jin (25 catties) of grain, all coarse grains including sweet potatoes, corn grits, and cornmeal. That was all; if they wanted refined grains, they had to pay for them themselves.