"Just turn the corner ahead and you'll be there."

He wasn't lying; it really is just around the corner.

It was nearly eight o'clock at night, and the village was already pitch black, with not a single light in sight. The arrival of the group startled the village's guardians, and the dogs suddenly began barking.

In an instant, the silent village seemed to awaken, with the sounds of roosters crowing and dogs barking filling the air.

Ignoring the noise, Duan Jianhua led his men around the village and headed towards the back of it.

The educated youth settlement was located at the foot of the mountain behind the village. What was rare was that it consisted of five large tile-roofed houses, a large courtyard, and a well in the courtyard.

“This used to be the home of a landlord. But then something happened, and some of the family members died or left, leaving behind this empty house. If you educated youths are not used to living in thatched huts, you can stay here.”

As he spoke, he stepped forward and knocked hard on the door. After a short while, a response came from inside, and the lights came on.

"They're here!"

With a creak, the young man holding the oil lamp opened the door, saw the unfamiliar face outside, and a look of understanding flashed in his eyes.

"Uncle Duan, you've worked hard."

He said, "Make way for the donkey cart."

“This is the most senior educated youth in your educated youth settlement. He knows a lot. If you have any problems, just ask him. If he can’t solve them, then ask me.”

After helping to unload the luggage, the young man looked at the five new educated youth.

"My name is Kan Lei, I'm from Sichuan Province, and I've been here for five years. Please feel free to contact me if you need anything in the future."

Gu Zuozuo and the others exchanged glances and introduced themselves one by one. Neither side had a deep initial impression of the other, since it was dark and they couldn't see each other's expressions clearly with the oil lamps in hand.

"Alright, you guys get some rest. We still have to rush to harvest tomorrow. I'm heading back now."

Duan Jianhua waved his hand and leisurely drove away, leading the donkey cart.

Mission accomplished, he's going home to find his wife.

Kan Lei saw that the group was so tired they were almost sitting on the ground, so he turned around and patted the room where the female educated youth lived.

"Li Fanghua, the new educated youth have arrived. Get up and open the door."

The room was completely silent, without the slightest sound, as if no one was inside.

"Li Fanghua! Ma Cuicui! Jiang Yiyan! Open the door!"

Helpless, he knocked for a long time, but the person inside still pretended not to hear him, which made him a little embarrassed. He had just said that someone needed to talk to him, but he had been humiliated.

The female educated youths inside the room were whispering to each other with their heads close together, occasionally letting out a very small chuckle.

"Sister Hua, are we really not going to open the door for the new educated youth?"

The most timid of them all, Zhu Xiaoxiao, secretly leaned close to Li Fanghua's ear and whispered a question.

"No way! We're already packed to the brim here, and he's trying to squeeze in more people. Do you think I don't see what Kan Lei is up to? Why won't he let the female educated youth move into the remaining empty room? Isn't it because he's planning to arrange for a new male educated youth to move in? Humph, he's really cunning. There are seven educated youth, both men and women, and the male educated youth are taking up two rooms while we female educated youth are crammed into this one room. We can practically bump into each other if we turn around, and Kan Lei is just pretending not to see it! Humph! I'm not opening the door, let's see what he does!"

The other girls exchanged glances. They also disliked Kan Lei's bad habits, but he relied on his seniority to be bossy all day long and spout a bunch of grand principles, which made him particularly annoying.

"What about the newly arrived female educated youth?"

Li Fanghua sighed helplessly, her face showing some embarrassment. Their conflict had involved innocent new educated youth, and it was indeed their fault.

"When I see them tomorrow, I'll apologize to them and explain why. I don't think they'd want to share this big dormitory with us."

They themselves had come from being newly arrived educated youth, so they understood the mindset of the new educated youth to some extent.

Gu Zuozuo twitched her ears and looked at Kan Lei, who was still persistently banging on the door.