"Don't be afraid, don't be afraid. Auntie said she would protect Shuanzi. From now on, if anything happens to Shuanzi, just cry out loud like Er Ya, and Auntie will come over when she hears you, right?"

Shuanzi nodded vigorously.

Er Ya cried even louder when she saw that Lin Ying didn't hug her.

Lin Ying couldn't help but laugh: "Stop crying. Your brother was scared but still protected you. Your auntie is trying to comfort him first, and you're still upset about your little temper?"

Even so, Lin Ying still held Er Ya in her arms with one hand on each side.

Er Ya clearly hadn't had enough sleep and fell asleep in Lin Ying's arms shortly afterward.

Lin Ying asked Shuanzi, "Are you still sleeping?"

Shuanzi shook his head.

Lin Ying said, "So, are you going to get dressed and go out with your aunt, or stay here with Er Ya? Your aunt is going outside to say a few words. It'll be over soon."

Shuanzi thought for a moment and said, "I'll go out with my aunt."

Lin Ying didn't refuse: "Okay, then I'll even put Er Ya down and help you get dressed."

Lin Ying put Er Ya down and covered her with the blanket. Only then did she dress Shuanzi.

"It might be a bit chaotic outside, but with your aunt here, you don't need to be afraid."

Shuanzi nodded: "Yes, I'm not afraid. I will protect Auntie."

Lin Ying smiled. It turned out that Shuanzi knew that things were chaotic outside and was worried that she would be in danger, which was why he wanted to come with her.

"Okay, then I'll wait for our tethered protection."

After dressing Shuanzi, Lin Ying also got dressed and got out of the car.

The brick kiln is some distance away, so we can't hear what they're saying, but we can be sure it wasn't a pleasant argument.

Moreover, it seemed that those young educated youths wanted to smash the brick kiln, but they were pushed away.

How did Lin Ying know about the educated youth when she had never met them? Of course, it was because of the clothes they wore, which were all issued by the educated youth office.

Lin Ying and Shuanzi got closer before they heard Wu Bo say, "What the hell are you doing? Do you know that all the men in Jinzhuang worked so many nights to make this? You're going to ruin all their hard work!"

The boy in the lead retorted defiantly, "We're not messing around! You're building a brick kiln without permission, you're undermining the country! You're capitalist roaders, and we're helping you correct your mistakes!"

"Yes, we are correcting your mistakes!"

"right....."

Wu Bo sternly rebuked, "What nonsense are you spouting? Lao Xiang, go and get the documents for them to see! This land belongs to Jinzhuang's collective land, and this brick kiln was also built collectively by their commune! It was approved by a document from above. It's not some capitalist roader you're talking about!"

As Lin Ying walked this way, she heard a girl with two braids, her young, pale face carrying an inexplicable sense of superiority: "The whole country is suffering right now, and you're here building brick kilns for your own pleasure. You can't endure hardship, you're just hedonists, capitalist roaders!"

"So, you're someone who can endure hardship?"

Lin Ying's words were so clearly sarcastic that it was hard for others not to notice.

The girl with braided pigtails looked at Lin Ying, who was prettier than her and had better skin, and more importantly, the eyes of the other educated youth next to her were wide open. She couldn't help but glare at Lin Ying.

Who are you?

Lin Ying pointed to the brick kiln behind her: "I'm the technical supervisor for this brick kiln. You just said that they're doing this because they can't endure hardship. Well, let me ask you, this brick kiln was built with their hard work, the soil was dug by themselves, and they do all the work themselves every day. If that counts as not being able to endure hardship, then what does?"

Does that mean I should be like you, staying home all day doing nothing and thinking I'm enduring hardship?

The girl with braided pigtails quickly objected, "I didn't say that. We are all farmers, and our main task is to cultivate the land. We should focus on how to increase the yield from the land, not on these things. That's putting the cart before the horse."

Lin Ying smiled: "How long have you been here?"

"What happened after half a month?"

Lin Ying asked, "So what did you all do in the fields?"

The girl with braided pigtails almost blurted out, "It's snowing heavily now, the ground is frozen, what are we going to do in the fields?"

"Yeah, you've been here for so long, you know the ground is frozen and everyone's hibernating. Are they crazy? Don't they know it's better to stay at home in the dead of winter, warming their beds, smoking opium and chatting? Why do they have to work here day and night without sleeping?"

Seeing that the girl with the braided hair was silent, Lin Ying turned to the others: "If she won't talk, then you will? You've been here for so long, where has your food come from? It's saved from everyone's mouths!"

The Northeast is no ordinary place, especially here, where winter lasts for half a year. During these six months, apart from going out to fish and set traps in the mountains, they have no chance to import any grain.

Where will they get food for you people?

"They pick up their bowls to eat, then put them down and curse their mother. That's exactly what I'm talking about!"