After finishing her meal, Qin Hanshu glanced at Kong Chao and waved to Ma Chaoyang.

Seeing Qin Hanshu with a gentle and friendly smile, Ma Chaoyang came running over eagerly, "What's up?"

Qin Hanshu smiled and said, "It's nothing, I just wanted to ask you about our accommodation. Do you know what the team's plans are?"

Ma Chaoyang scratched his head. "How would I know? Didn't the Party Secretary say he'd announce it at the meeting tomorrow?"

Qin Hanshu sighed, "The two cave dwellings at the team headquarters are obviously not enough. Are we supposed to be assigned to the villagers' homes? I have some fussy habits when it comes to living. If we don't get along well, others will be uncomfortable, and I won't be comfortable either."

"Sigh, I'm really worried..."

Ma Chaoyang thought about it seriously for a while, "What else can we do? We can't just..." Ma Chaoyang paused, looked at Qin Hanshu, and asked uncertainly, "Will the team build us new dormitories?"

Qin Hanshu said, "If new dormitories are built, several people will definitely live together, which is not much different from living in a fellow villager's home."

Ma Chaoyang rubbed his chin, looking somewhat worried. "I hadn't even thought about this until you mentioned it. I've always lived alone since I was little. The thought of living with someone else long-term... even with Lin Zhiheng, I wouldn't be too willing. It would be too uncomfortable!"

In this day and age, being able to live alone in a room from a young age shows that Ma Chaoyang's family was indeed well-off.

Qin Hanshu knew that Lin Zhiheng came from a good family, but at this stage his parents went to a cadre school, which is why he was assigned to work in the countryside.

She didn't know Ma Chaoyang before, but she learned from their conversation that he and Lin Zhiheng lived in the same military compound.

Qin Hanshu continued, "Ma Chaoyang, how about we apply to the team and pay for our own cave dwellings to live in? What do you think?"

Ma Chaoyang's eyes lit up, but he hesitated and said, "It sounds good, but will the team agree?"

Qin Hanshu thought for a moment and said, "They should agree. We don't bother anyone else, and we're saving the team money."

“Okay!” Ma Chaoyang readily agreed. “We’ll go see Secretary Zhou tomorrow.”

***

The next morning, all the educated youth gathered in the courtyard of the team headquarters.

As expected, Secretary Zhou was referring to the dormitory renovation project.

"...The team will take full responsibility for repairing the dormitories and won't ask you to contribute anything, but you have to send two female comrades to cook for the laborers working on the kiln."

"Don't worry, the grain will also be provided by the team."

After saying that, Secretary Zhou looked at a male educated youth and said, "Educated Youth Xue, I'm leaving the cooking arrangements to you."

Although Xue Xinrui only arrived last year, he lived in the team headquarters and was responsible for relaying any matters to the educated youth. Over time, he was simply given the title of team leader.

Xue Xinrui immediately replied, "Yes, I will definitely make the arrangements."

After the meeting ended, Ma Chaoyang winked at Qin Hanshu.

The two of them tacitly headed towards the team headquarters office.

Secretary Zhou was alone in the cave dwelling, writing something. When he saw the two of them, he looked up and asked, "What is it?"

Qin Hanshu and Ma Chaoyang exchanged a glance and explained their purpose.

Upon hearing this, Secretary Zhou frowned but remained silent.

Qin Hanshu said, "Secretary, don't worry about the related expenses. We will cover them ourselves. We just need to trouble the team to help arrange the craftsmen to build the kiln. Of course, we will also pay for the craftsmen's meals."

Party Secretary Zhou shook his head and said, "I'm worried that if the two of you live alone in a cave, the other educated youth will have objections."

Seeing that Qin Hanshu wanted to speak, Secretary Zhou raised his hand and said, "Even if you pay for it yourselves, it will inevitably attract envy. I'm afraid you won't get along well with others in the future."

Qin Hanshu said, "In this life, how can one get along with everyone? Besides, someone who is envious of others is obviously petty. Maybe something touched their jealousy. Do you think I should stop living just to be considerate of others?"

Ma Chaoyang glanced at Qin Hanshu, then nodded hurriedly: "That's what I think too!"

Qin Hanshu added, "Secretary, thank you for considering our needs. But things have priorities, and for me, living alone is more important than anything else."

Ma Chaoyang nodded again: "Me too!"

After pondering for a moment, Secretary Zhou said, "Alright then, it's up to you."

The brigade has always adopted a laissez-faire attitude towards educated youth, not interfering too much—as long as they don't cause trouble for the brigade.

Zhou Chang'an's pointing out the potential negative consequences of living alone already showed his thoughtfulness.

After Qin Hanshu returned, Zhao Ru immediately approached her and said, "Hanshu, once the dormitory is repaired, shall we live in the same cave dwelling?"

Zhao Ru wanted to live with Qin Hanshu, not only because she was more familiar with Qin Hanshu, but more importantly because she found that Qin Hanshu, who looked delicate, was actually much stronger than her.

Life inevitably involves some heavy work; how could she possibly handle it on her own? And Zhang Kangmei clearly doesn't seem like a person who would be easy to get along with.

Zhang Yao seems quite capable, but her living conditions don't seem very good. If we lived together, she might be taken advantage of.

After considering all the options, Qin Hanshu is the most suitable.

Unexpectedly, Qin Hanshu said, "I've already talked to the Party Secretary. I'll pay for a cave dwelling myself and live there."

Qin Hanshu's words made Zhang Kangmei and Zhang Yao stop what they were doing and look over.

Qin Hanshu said, "It's not just me, it's Ma Chaoyang too."

Zhang Kangmei frowned and said, "We sent you to the countryside to help with rural development, not to enjoy yourselves. But you're doing the opposite, trying to get special treatment."

Qin Hanshu pretended not to hear.

Zhang Yao seemed lost in thought and didn't say anything.

Zhao Ru was the most disappointed. "Ah... what am I supposed to do? You're just going to abandon me like this?"

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