For others, three yuan might be a lot of money, but for Jiang Xile, being able to get a single room for three yuan was a very good deal.

After leaving the brigade leader's house, Jiang Xile, with Guo Dongxu's introduction, also went to Zhang the carpenter's house in the village.

In the past, other educated youth also bought wardrobes and other items from Zhang the carpenter, so Jiang Xile naturally did not refuse.

Although there are some furniture items that were previously acquired from the Jiang family in the space, it's not convenient to take them out now. Buying two cabinets wouldn't cost much anyway.

It's only been 71 years now. If we wait until the college entrance exam is reinstated to leave this place, it will take at least five or six years. So it's worthwhile to buy new furniture.

Leaving the brigade leader's house, the sixth house to the east is Zhang the carpenter's house, with a vibrant little vegetable garden enclosed by a fence.

Jiang Xile followed Guo Dongxu inside and saw a dark-skinned, honest-looking middle-aged man come to greet her.

"Why did Guo, the educated youth, come over today? What's up?"

"Uncle Zhang, this is a new comrade at our educated youth settlement. She wanted to look at the cabinets and such, so I brought her over."

"Oh, I see! I heard that new educated youth were coming to the team, but I didn't expect to see them so soon."

Carpenter Zhang's gaze lingered on Jiang Xile for a moment, then he praised her:

"This new comrade is really handsome! I'm afraid we can't find such a pretty girl in our entire Progressive Brigade!"

Jiang Xile, who was being praised, didn't think much of it; she already had a certain understanding of her own appearance.

For someone who has survived so many years in the post-apocalyptic world, the word "shy" has long been forgotten.

"Thank you for the compliment, Uncle Zhang. I still need to tidy up my house, so I came here today to pick out some things. Once the house is ready, I'll trouble you to deliver them to me!"

"house?"

Carpenter Zhang was full of questions. Didn't the educated youth all live in the dormitories at the educated youth settlement? Why did they have to clean the house?

Upon seeing this, Guo Dongxu immediately explained:

"Jiang, the educated youth, also lives in the educated youth settlement, but in a small single room on the west side, so it needs to be tidied up!"

"Oh, I see! I thought Jiang Zhiqing was going to build a house in the village!"

"Hehe, no way! Uncle Zhang, you've misunderstood!"

Carpenter Zhang nodded and didn't ask any more questions. He then led Jiang Xile and Guo Dongxu directly to the western warehouse.

"These are some cabinets I had previously made. You can take a look, Jiang Zhiqing. If you don't find any you like, I can also make custom ones according to your ideas!"

"Okay, I understand. I'll take a look at these first."

Carpenter Zhang nodded, and then, at his signal, Jiang Xile strode into the storeroom.

There were quite a few cabinets in the storeroom: tall and short cabinets, kang tables, standing wardrobes, and kang cabinets—you name it.

Jiang Xile looked at the styles, which were common in this era, and the materials were also quite good, belonging to the sturdy and durable type.

"Uncle Zhang, these cabinets are all very well made, so I'll choose from these!"

"No problem, see what you want, and I'll send it to you when the time comes!"

"Uh-huh!"

Jiang Xile nodded and then began to choose cabinets. After looking around, Jiang Xile finally chose a standing wardrobe, a kang cabinet, a kang table, and a cupboard.

Although she doesn't plan to cook for herself for the time being, it's better to be prepared. Besides, she can keep some snacks like cookies and pastries in the cupboard to give herself some privacy.

In addition to these, Jiang Xile also asked for two wooden basins, one large and one small, one for washing up and the other for washing clothes. Of course, she also asked for a washboard.

After all that random stuff, it only cost me a little over ten yuan in the end.

Of course, this amount of money was insignificant to Jiang Xile, but it was a considerable sum for Zhang the carpenter and others.

After she left Zhang the carpenter's house, the news spread that a generous female educated youth had arrived in the brigade.

In particular, this female educated youth was not only beautiful, but also very generous.

Jiang Xile, who had just returned to the educated youth settlement, had no idea that in just a few hours, she had become the subject of much discussion among the brigade members.

Even if she knew, she probably wouldn't care. After all, these are minor matters, and as long as no one is foolish enough to provoke her, she won't hold it against them.

The brigade leader acted very quickly. As soon as Jiang Xile entered the gate of the educated youth settlement, he saw several people moving and lifting things there.

In just a short while, everything that was originally in the small storage room had been cleared out.

The older educated youth had already gone to work, and Guo Dongxu gave a few more instructions to the new educated youth before also heading to the fields.

Now, in the educated youth settlement, besides the six newly arrived educated youth, there are only three strong men left who were sent by the brigade leader to do the work.

Before long, the cleaned-up storage room gave it a brand-new look. Both the windows and doors had been reinforced and were much tighter than before, so there was no need to worry about drafts in winter.

Jiang Xile couldn't help but sigh inwardly, "These three yuan were well spent!"

A short while later, Jiang Xile saw two men walk out and then push back a cart full of adobe bricks.

These adobe bricks were obviously prepared in advance by someone else. You know, if you make adobe bricks in advance, you have to let them dry for at least two or three days before you can use them.

The three had a clear division of labor: one painted the walls, and the other two built the kang (a heated brick bed). They worked very quickly, and by the time the older educated youth finished work in the evening, the small storage room had already been cleaned up.

Now all we have to do is dry the newly built earthen bed in the house before we can move in.

As expected of those who paid for it, the three of them even prepared their own firewood. Looking at the billowing smoke rising from the chimney, Jiang Xile was very satisfied.

Although meals weren't provided, Jiang Xile still made a bowl of sweet soup for each of the three people and gave them a few extra pieces of fruit candy.

"Thank you so much, Educated Youth Jiang. The whole house is all cleaned up now. Do you see if there's anything else that needs fixing? We brothers are all here, so we'll take care of it for you!"

Jiang Xile shook her head.

"The three older brothers have done a great job. They even built a stove for me. What more could I ask for? I just don't know how long it will take before I can move into this house!"

"As long as Jiang Zhiqing is satisfied, that's fine. Otherwise, my father might punish me when we get back. We've already heated this kang for you once today."

There's still plenty of firewood; I've put it all under the window for you. Burn it again tomorrow morning and again in the afternoon, and you should be able to move in the day after tomorrow!

Jiang Xile was thinking to herself that if she could move in the day after tomorrow, it would mean she would have to make do with the kitchen table for the next two days.

Two days is fine, it's not a big deal. Let alone a kitchen, in the apocalypse when being chased by zombies, you'd be lucky to have a doghouse to sleep in!

After thanking the group repeatedly, Jiang Xile saw them off. Then, Guo Dongxu called her to go with the other new educated youths to the brigade headquarters to collect their rations.