After traveling by train, car, bus, and then oxcart, we finally arrived at Yangliu Village of Baiyang Brigade.

The team leader of Yangliu Village took us to the educated youth's residence, gave us a few instructions, and then left. There was only one kitchen in the educated youth's courtyard, one room for men and one room for women, and one toilet for men and one for women. They were all the kind of dry toilets that you see in the countryside. The shower room was next to each room, which was just enclosed by a few wooden planks and covered with straw and mud.

"Lin Zhiqing, you said we live in a place like this, I want to go home." Zhu Jingyi was about to cry again when Lin Jin saw this and quickly said, "Crying is useless. We can't go back now, we can only slowly get used to it."

After saying that, she went into the room. Inside was a large communal bed with three places where blankets were placed, indicating that there used to be three female educated youths here. Lin Jin looked around, chose the place furthest to the side, and started making the bed. After making the bed, she began to tidy up her things.

Seeing that Lin Jin was busy and ignoring her, Zhu Jingyi had no choice but to stop crying and follow her into the room to tidy up. The other female educated youths also finished work one after another. One of them said, "My name is Chen Xiaoyan. Have you gone to collect your grain?" "Oh dear, I almost forgot! The team leader specifically told us to collect our grain before he left. We'll go now. Thank you, Chen Xiaoyan," Lin Jin said, and then led Zhu Jingyi to the village committee to collect the grain.

Back at the former educated youth's place, Lin Jin saw them all cooking and asked, "I brought some dried vegetables and cured meat. Let's cook and eat together tonight!" The other educated youth were very happy to hear this, as they hadn't eaten meat in a long time. Zhu Jingyi also said that she had brought vegetables, and another person who had come with us had brought dried tofu. So, in the end, there were a total of five dishes. There were only nine educated youth in total, and the portions were quite generous, but they still finished everything.

After the meal, several male educated youths vied to wash the dishes.

A female educated youth with small eyes and a sallow complexion said disdainfully, "I didn't see you scrambling to wash the dishes before she came. It's like you've never seen a woman before. You're all vying to fawn over her." Another female educated youth chimed in, "You've already seduced them like this as soon as you arrived. Chen, you'd better be careful, or you'll end up losing both your money and your lover." Lin Jin realized that these two were targeting her. While she was cooking, the two of them were whispering to each other, but Lin Jin hadn't taken it to heart at the time.

Hearing this, Chen Xiaoyan was indignant and immediately said to the two of them, "Lin Zhiqing cooked the meal herself and made it for you to eat. What, you're not allowed to thank her? If you don't like it, you don't have to attend the gathering next time."

The two female educated youths were so angry they turned pale and then red. Lin Jin didn't want to cause trouble, but they'd already dragged her into this mess, so she couldn't just stay silent. "They're all fighting over washing the dishes, what's it to you? If you're so bored, why don't you do some work and contribute to the team?" Lin Jin's words were firm and resolute. The two female educated youths snorted and turned to leave.