Because the brigade had to take care of families with little food, the Qingshan Brigade would distribute the year's rations to its members after paying its grain tax each year, in order to alleviate the situation where those families would not have enough to eat in the autumn and winter.

After the commune distributes the annual wages, the brigade cadres will calculate how much wages each family can still receive based on the amount of grain they have taken.

While this approach took care of team members facing difficulties, it significantly increased the workload of the brigade leaders.

However, this rule of Qingshan Brigade has been in effect since the second year after the establishment of the production team, and it has been passed down year by year.

Veteran cadres teach new cadres in the same way, so the brigade cadres have no complaints about it.

The villagers and former educated youth were clearly used to queuing up outside in this kind of weather.

The new educated youth were fine at first, but after more than ten minutes, the group standing in the snow gradually couldn't stand the cold weather anymore.

Especially those newly arrived educated youth from Shanghai, most of them were seeing snow for the first time.

Having stood in the snow for so long, my hands and feet are already numb from the cold.

Looking at the still long queue ahead, Gu Xinyi couldn't help but groan, "How much longer will it take to get to the front? My hands and feet are numb from the cold!"

Upon hearing that his girlfriend was cold, Gao Hongyuan hurriedly went to unbutton his thick cotton-padded coat. Gu Xinyi, who immediately understood what he was about to do, quickly reached out to stop him, and said coquettishly, "What are you doing? It's so cold, why are you taking off your cotton-padded coat? Do you want to get sick?"

Although she was complaining, Gu Xinyi felt warm inside.

Despite his chattering, Gao Hongyuan stubbornly insisted, "I'm not cold. You're a girl, you shouldn't get cold. Wear my cotton-padded coat, it'll keep you warm."

As he spoke, Gao Hongyuan broke free from Gu Xinyi's hand and tried to take off his clothes again. It was clear from his posture that he was not just pretending; he really wanted to take off his cotton-padded coat and give it to Gu Xinyi.

Seeing this, Tian Mi, who was standing right behind Gao Hongyuan, got so angry that her eyes turned red. Regardless of how many people were present, she shouted out.

"Gu Xinyi, have you no shame? Wearing a man's cotton-padded jacket in front of so many people, don't you know anything about shame?"

Gu Xinyi was probably used to Tian Mi's unfounded accusations. Instead of being angry, she smiled smugly and said, "What does it matter to you whether I have any shame or not? Tian Mi, I advise you to face reality. You're just jealous that someone is willing to give me a cotton-padded coat, aren't you?"

And if you're cold, you can only stay cold, because no man likes you. Even if you chased him all the way from Shanghai to this remote Northeast, he still wouldn't want you. Isn't that infuriating?

"You, you shameless person! Don't think that just because Brother Hongyuan likes you, you can get into the Gao family. Aunt Lu will never like you."

Tian Mi spoke with great confidence because she had received a reply from Gao's parents, who had been sent to the countryside, a few days ago. In the letter, Lu Wanping clearly stated that she would never agree to let Gu Xinyi, a woman without parents, enter the Gao family.

She also stated that she and Gao Hongyuan's father only recognized her as their daughter-in-law, and that they would come over to help arrange their marriage once their problems were resolved.

Of course, Lu Wanping also subtly mentioned in the letter that the uncle from the Tian family was very influential here, how he usually took care of her and her husband, and expressed her gratitude for it.

In China in the 1960s, although the government had been advocating freedom of marriage for many years, the old ideas that had been ingrained for so long were still deeply rooted in people's minds. That is, marriage was a major event that required the consent of both sets of parents. Otherwise, they would be labeled as unfilial, which would be enough to cause them a lot of trouble.

So after receiving Lu Wanping's reply, Tian Mi's resolve, which had been somewhat shaken by the hardships of life, was strengthened again.

In her reply to Lu Wanping, she assured her that she would definitely protect her brother Hongyuan and ensure that he wouldn't be seduced by those disreputable women.

He also wrote a letter to his great-uncle over there, basically asking him to continue taking good care of Gao Hongyuan's parents.

So during this time, Tian Mi regained her confidence in front of Gu Xinyi and started to hang out with Gao Hongyuan again whenever she had the chance.

Now that Gu Xinyi knows why Gao Hongyuan is wary of Tian Mi, she also understands Gao Hongyuan's feelings. Naturally, she will no longer throw tantrums at Gao Hongyuan because of Tian Mi, thus hurting their relationship.

It was precisely because she understood Gao Hongyuan's intentions that Gu Xinyi felt more confident in teasing Tian Mi.

Hearing Tian Mi use Gao Hongyuan's mother to pressure him, he wasn't angry at all. He just smiled and took Gao Hongyuan's arm, preventing him from taking off his cotton-padded coat.

While saying something infuriatingly, she said, "Nowadays, everyone advocates freedom of marriage. As long as Hongyuan likes me, that's enough. Anyway, it's just the two of us living together in the future. I'm not living with her mother. Do you think I care whether she likes me or not?"

Besides, Hongyuan will naturally handle his mother's affairs. I believe he will manage them well, so you don't need to worry about it. Thank you.

Tian Mi was truly furious. Even though many villagers were already looking in their direction, she still shouted regardless, "You, how can you be so shameless? Her mother clearly doesn't like you, how dare you still cling to Brother Hongyuan?"

Gu Xinyi, on the other hand, remained calm and smiled as she said, "Tian Mi, please think carefully about who is the shameless one. Brother Hongyuan clearly said he doesn't like you, yet you keep pestering him. Where is your shame? I really don't understand how you had the nerve to say those words just now?"

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!