The group delivered the grain back to the educated youth settlement together, and then went to the carpenter's house together.

The carpenter's house is in the center of the village, about a ten-minute walk away. There are several old elm trees by the main road, and under the trees are several smooth, large stones, indicating that people often sit there. The carpenter's house is right next to it; his surname is Yang.

Several people stopped in front of the door and called out, "Is Master Yang home?"

A simple, honest voice replied, "Yes, come in."

Several people pushed open the door and entered. A man in his fifties came out of the side room, holding a plane in his hand. "A new educated youth, are you choosing furniture?"

The men replied, "Yes, Uncle."

"Let me see the forms." The group handed over their forms one by one.

"We have them all, come in and choose."

It was the room where the man had just come out, and An Moxue requested that two more shelves be added to the cabinet.

After waiting a while, and while the others returned the wooden crates and chairs, Hu Dong returned the wheelbarrow. The carpenter had just finished installing the partitions and then helped An Moxue push the wheelbarrow to move the furniture.

An Moxue finished tidying up her things and locked the cabinet. She returned the car and, along with the others, briefly explored the village. Most houses were made of yellow mud and straw, with a few houses made of half stone and half straw, and a few houses made of half stone and mud tiles. Only a handful of houses had blue bricks and mud tiles. Each house had a large vegetable garden, surrounded by fences made of small wooden sticks or branches, and the houses were spaced apart from each other.

We also stopped by a small shop, located in the center of the village, in a dimly lit building by the roadside. It took a few seconds to see the contents inside. A girl with two braids sat on a stool behind the counter, knitting something. She glanced up when she sensed someone coming in, then lowered her head again to continue knitting without saying a word. A few people looked around but didn't buy anything, so they left.

An Moxue asked a few people if they were going to the county tomorrow, and they all said no. They said they could buy the things they needed in town, which was only an hour's walk away, and they all said there was no need to spend money to go to the county.

An Moxue remained silent, and the group returned to the educated youth settlement to rest.

In the evening, the former educated youth returned from work.

Xu Guoqing gathered everyone together and said, "We have new educated youth arriving today. Let's all welcome our new members."

Snap snap snap...

"Now, let's all introduce ourselves, starting with the men. My name is Xu Guoqing, I'm 24 years old, I've been in the countryside for six years, and I'm currently the leader of our educated youth settlement."

"My name is Wang Fuguo, I am 24 years old, and I have been working in the countryside for five years."

"My name is Li Bin, I am twenty years old, and I have been working in the countryside for two years."

"My name is Qu Bing, I'm eighteen years old, and I've been working in the countryside for a year."

"My name is Ge Jiaguo, I am nineteen years old, and I have been working in the countryside for a year."

"My name is Hu Dong, and I am seventeen years old."

"My name is Li Weiguo, and I am eighteen years old."

"My name is Zhang Xiu, I am twenty years old, and I have been working in the countryside for two years."

“My name is Wang Zhaodi, I am twenty-two years old, and I have been working in the countryside for four years.”

"My name is Liu Jie, I am 21 years old, and I have been working in the countryside for three years."

"My name is Ma Li, I am twenty years old, and I have been working in the countryside for two years."

"My name is An Moxue, and I am seventeen years old."

"My name is Qi Hehua, and this is my younger sister Qi Taohua. She is fifteen years old this year."

"Okay, next I'll talk about some things regarding our meals. For food, you just pack whatever you'll eat and how much you'll eat in your lunchbox. We'll all steam it together. Generally, after you finish your meal, wash your lunchbox and fill it with the food for the next meal, soaking it in water to save cooking time. As you all know, we mainly eat corn grits and sorghum here, which don't like to be cooked thoroughly, so they need to be cooked a little longer. The dishes will be distributed according to the number of people after they're cooked. Oil, salt, soy sauce, etc., will be calculated monthly, settled at the end of the month, and the remaining amount will be adjusted accordingly. Any overpayment will be refunded, and any underpayment will be collected." The male educated youth are responsible for fetching water, except for water for bathing and washing clothes. The male educated youth are responsible for the vegetable garden, and the female educated youth are responsible for cooking. Firewood is to be cut on the mountain after the autumn harvest and before spring planting; both men and women must go, or they will have to pay. For the time you newcomers need firewood, you can choose to pay or make up for it after the autumn harvest. You can also go up the mountain to collect firewood during this period, but you can only collect dead branches and branches. It's not good to collect firewood at this time of year, as it's not the season. Zhang Xiu will calculate the food expenses for this month later; you can pay her. Okay, that's all. Anyone have anything to add?

"Xu, are we the only educated youth in our brigade?"

"Some went back to the city, some got married and moved out, and some married local girls and moved away."

Is there anything else? If not, let's call it a day and get ready to cook and eat.

That evening, An Moxue ate her first communal meal since arriving in this world, experiencing the first harsh lesson this era's food had ever given her. The food was boiled in a watery broth, and all she could taste was saltiness.

The next day, An Moxue got up early again and ran around most of the village. She found a spot on the western hillside and started practicing her boxing there.

The morning air in the mountain village is filled with the fresh scent of grass and trees, pleasant and refreshing. It's a natural oxygen bar; it feels like every pore in your body is opening up.

After finishing her morning exercise, she got a letter of introduction from the village chief, explained that she needed to hire a mule cart to go to the county, paid one yuan, and the village chief told her to wait at the educated youth settlement and to have Old Horseman (the cart driver) call her when she left.

After she left on the mule cart, the topic of her became a hot topic at the educated youth settlement. She knew nothing of this, and even if she did, it wouldn't matter; everyone talks about others behind their backs!

She was now leisurely sitting on the mule cart chatting with the old horseman. "Girl, you're a good girl. You don't look down on us country folk. I'm willing to be friends with you. If you ever need anything, just come to me. I'll help you whenever I can."

"Uncle, look at what you're saying. Every family's ancestors were from the countryside. I feel especially close to you. After I finish my business, let's go to the state-run restaurant for lunch. I'll treat you. While we're there, just tell me about our village and the things on the mountain. I want to get to know them and integrate into our village as soon as possible."

"Girl, I'm not bragging, but I drive the cart every day, so you can't really keep anything from me in the village. I know who's good, who's bad, whose kids are dating behind their parents' backs, whose mothers-in-law are abusing their daughters-in-law, hehe, who's keeping a lover or having an affair... there's nothing I don't know..."

At the entrance of the Anping County Post Office, An Moxue exclaimed, "Uncle, you're truly a hidden talent! You'd be an intelligence agent during the War of Resistance! Wait here for me, I'll be right back." She got off the bus with her backpack and entered the post office. At the service window, she handed the document bag to the clerk, explained her situation, and the paperwork was quickly completed. She was told she could pick it up after the 3rd of each month, or even a month later if it was busy with farming. She also wrote a letter to Uncle Zhang in the army to let him know she had arrived safely, and a letter to the aunties at the hospital to let them know she was safe.