With a dark expression, Mu Xia pulled her out of her arms with one hand.

Xiang Hongjun clicked his tongue in disapproval, and only asked when she finally quieted down, "Why did you call me out? We agreed that we wouldn't sell fine grains; if you want them, you can only exchange them for work points."

He thought the two children would at most want to eat refined grains, but Mu Xia's words surprised him.

"I plan to build a small house next to the educated youth settlement, the money..."

She wanted to say she would pay for it herself, but before she could finish speaking, the brigade leader waved his hands repeatedly, "No! No! All the land in the village is used to grow crops, where would we find the space to build a house for you?"

Absolutely impossible!

Mu Xia wanted to say that the resettlement fee for going to the countryside included a housing subsidy, and since her household registration had been transferred to the brigade, she had the right to get land to build a house.

But policies are policies, and their actual implementation depends on the brigade's decision. Saying that would be tantamount to breaking off relations.

She opened her mouth: "Why?"

If the brigade doesn't provide any subsidies, and even if there's a chance to return to the city in the future, the house is essentially given to the brigade for free. Shouldn't there be a reason for disagreeing?

Xiang Hongjun didn't want to explain: "I said no, and that's final. There's not enough room in the dorms, is there? Let Liu Xiatian's mother stay at the guesthouse. When you go back, just say that's what I said."

The old ox in the shed let out a soft moo, revealing everything the team leader didn't want to say.

Old Ox: 【Why else? A few years ago, there was a beautiful and rich girl who cried and made a scene, insisting on living alone. The following year, she got pregnant, and nobody knew.】

She bled profusely and died while giving birth in the house, hiding it from anyone.

Ruan Xianxian listened intently as Lao Niu continued, "Back then, Lao Xiang was the team leader. The girl who died came from a powerful family, so even if Lao Xiang wasn't held responsible, he was still inevitably stripped of his position."

I vaguely heard about the death of a girl at the educated youth settlement in my previous life, but not as specifically as Old Niu described. It was all tacitly and vaguely mentioned.

Lao Xiang refers to the former captain, and Xiao Xiang is the current captain.

Xiang Hongjun was afraid that the tragedy would repeat itself, which is why he didn't let the educated youth live separately. Although living together would often lead to conflicts, it was still better than the possibility of one or two people dying.

Unfortunately, Ruan Xianxian's purpose for this trip was also to move out on her own, and she was determined to achieve it!

When they came to their senses, the two were struggling. Mu Xia kept stuffing brown sugar into the captain's arms, but the captain kept saying no.

Ruan Xianxian leaned forward and said, "Please take this! It's just a small token of our appreciation."

Mu Xia froze! Incredulous, what did the brown sugar have to do with her?

Finally, Mu Xia made a not unreasonable request, and Xiang Hongjun accepted the candy: "I think the kitchen is quite big, and I'd like to build a separate stove on the side."

"And you?" Xiang Hongjun glanced sideways at the guy who was trying to slip by between the two of them. "Are you also going to build a stove and cook separately?"

"No, no, no!" Washing vegetables, cooking, and washing dishes are all so tiring! Cooking alone is nothing compared to having someone else cook the food and feed it to you.

"I just want to ask, I'm used to sleeping in a high place at home, is it okay if I can sleep in a higher place?"

The brigade leader, as if she had something to say, waved his hand like he was shooing away a fly, saying, "Sleep as high as you like, you can even sleep on the roof beam if you're capable."

His eyes lit up.

Mu Xia sighed and looked at the captain with pity. Only she knew that Ruan Xianxian wasn't unwilling to build a stove; she was simply stingy.

Specifically, he is extremely generous with his own money, but he tries to make up for every penny he spends on others by being dishonest. Didn't you see that when he gives gifts, he always tries to take advantage of his own money?

On the way back, seeing that Mu Xia was not saying anything, Ruan Xianxian reached out her little hand, wanting to help her carry the food.

Mu Xia snapped out of her reverie and, instead of letting her take it, asked, "Don't you want to move out and live alone?"

"I want to!" Ruan Xianxian said honestly, "but the captain won't allow it. I'm the kind of person who never forces others."

What bad luck! Mu Xia left, not forgetting to say before she left, "Give me back my two ounces of brown sugar when you get back."

Ruan Xianxian: ? ? ?

When they returned to the educated youth settlement and told Liu's mother about the brigade leader's decision, Liu's mother immediately objected, showing them her patched clothes and saying that she had no money to stay in a guesthouse.

He also said that since Mu Xia was in good physical condition, he would let her sleep on the floor for a while, and he would make sure to leave before the heavy snows closed the mountain in winter.

When it was time to finish work, the former educated youth returned one after another. Some greeted each other and rushed off to cook, while others lingered at the door to watch the show.

Ruan Xianxian and Mu Xia looked at each other. One of them held Liu's mother's hair while the other lifted her feet. They counted 1, 2, 3 and swayed her out of the house.

Seeing Liu's mother, whose bottom was almost split in two and who was crying tears of pain, Ruan Xianxian couldn't help but laugh.

This is a two-faced, cowardly, bullying woman. I took advantage of her because she was gentle in her past life.

He withheld her food rations for himself, took her clothes to wear, and even wanted her to marry her son who had been released from a labor camp...

Mu Xia tossed the person out lightly, knowing from the other party's skill on the train that she wouldn't hurt Liu's mother. Ruan Xianxian, however, used a lot of force, as if she wanted to kill her.

Just as Liu's mother was crying her heart out, a girl wearing a plaid shirt and straight-leg pants with two braids rushed in. Seeing her pitiful mother, she was terrified.

After finding out the reason, he rushed up and raised his hand to slap her. Unfortunately, he chose to slap Ruan Xianxian, who was petite and looked easy to bully, on the head.

"You bitches! How dare you bully my mother!"

Snap!

Liu Xiatian spun around, then fell to the ground with a thud, clutching her swollen face. Her voice was shrill: "You dare hit me? I'm going to report you to the brigade leader and send you to the farm."

She seemed to have caught Ruan Xianxian by the nose, saying, "Look at how well you're dressed and wearing a watch, are you perhaps a capitalist's daughter?"

No wonder they dare to bully ordinary people in broad daylight; they're rotten to the core.

Snap!

"Ouch! You hit me again!"

Looking at her bright red palms, Ruan Xianxian asked calmly, "Are you calm now?"

"You, you don't pull me back! Let me fight her!"

Liu Xiatian tried to rush forward again, but was stopped by the other two female educated youths. She stopped resisting, hugged her mother, and the two of them hugged each other and cried bitterly.

The male educated youth who witnessed this felt a pang of pity.

There's nothing else to it. Liu's mother doesn't live in their dormitory, and most of the time she helps with cooking and washing dishes. Who wouldn't like a free housekeeper?

Ye Guo had no choice but to step forward and reprimand him with disapproval on his face, saying, "The weapons in our hands are weapons against the enemy. We should unite and help each other and not create internal divisions."

"Comrade Ruan! Hitting someone is wrong. How about this, you compensate this mother with ten yuan and apologize."

"Give her ten yuan?" The mother, who had been faking her tears, stopped crying, exchanged a glance with her daughter, and simultaneously smiled.

If getting slapped twice is enough to build a great unity, then they could get slapped every day.

Opening her fanny pack, Ruan Xianxian took out a handwritten medical record card, strode up to Ye Guo who was plotting something bad, and slapped him across the face.

She kicked the man to the ground, her foot shoving against his ribs, and shoved the medical record card into Ye Guo's face, her voice fierce:

"Open your dog eyes and see clearly! You mentally ill people, let alone hitting someone, I could kill you all and not pay with my life, understand?"