"Dr. Liu?"

"You know him, Xiao Liu."

"Old Shen, if it weren't for Dr. Liu, I would be dead already."

"So that's how it is."

"By the way, Lao Shen, have you arranged a place for the child?"

"Yes, in Jilin Province, Baishi City, Fusong County, Gujiawaizi Brigade, Dayingmin Commune."

Okay, I've made a note of it.

When will you be leaving?

"There's a train to Fusong County in exactly ten days."

Okay, I understand.

"Old Shen, you and Mianmian sit down first. I'll go get the resettlement allowance."

Zhang returned quickly, gave him the money, and said, "Please fill out this form first."

After Uncle Zhang saw that I had finished filling it out, he said

"This is proof, I've taken care of everything for you. This is the money and related receipts. Also, according to regulations, this money should be allocated to the brigade after you arrive at the commune and then managed by the brigade."

I'll give you all the money in advance. Nowadays, when you go to the countryside, you stay in the homes of the villagers. The countryside is not like the city. With this money, you can build a house in the village, but not too big, just enough for one person to live in. Also, there are more and more educated youth going to the countryside now.

"Uncle, just one more thing: once you get to the brigade, just stay close to the brigade members and work. Avoid getting involved in anything between the educated youth or with the brigade members, understand?"

(When educated youth were sent to the countryside, the state allocated resettlement funds to each of them. I remember that when the school sent them to the countryside as a group, each educated youth received 250 yuan in resettlement funds, of which 30 yuan was a dispatch fee, which was issued in the area where the educated youth were sent; the remaining 220 yuan was issued in the area where the educated youth settled.)

The dispatch allowance of 30 yuan was issued by the sending region before the educated youth departed, mainly for purchasing daily necessities urgently needed by the educated youth after arriving in the countryside. Before going to the countryside, the educated youth were students and mostly lived with their families.

Once you arrive in the countryside, you will face independent living, and you will need to purchase a set of simple personal necessities, such as a quilt, mosquito net, and cotton wadding for a mattress.

My 30 yuan dispatch fee was used to purchase the following items: a new cotton quilt, a bed sheet, a mattress pad, and gauze for making a mosquito net.

The new cotton wadding was bought from the county's local products company. I remember it weighed 5 jin (2.5 catties), but I can't recall the grade.

The bed sheet is made of natural white cotton fabric, which is supposedly thicker and more durable than machine-made fabric, so I bought it, even though it's not as white as machine-made fabric. The mattress pad is a printed fabric; the old mattress pad will now be used as the mosquito net's top layer.

"I understand, Uncle Zhang. Don't worry, I won't cause trouble, and I'm not afraid of trouble."

"Good, good, as expected of Doctor Liu's daughter."

With the certificate in hand, I left the educated youth office. Seeing that it was getting late, I invited Uncle Shen to have a meal at a nearby state-run restaurant.

On the way back, Uncle Shen said, "We'll have Aunt Zhou accompany you to get the things you need for the trip to the countryside in a couple of days."

"No need, Uncle Shen. There are still 10 days before I have to go to the countryside. I can take care of it myself."

"This won't do."

"It's feasible, Uncle Shen. I'm free this afternoon, so I'll take a look around at home first. I'll make a list of what I have and if I need anything else, and then I can buy it according to the list. Otherwise, I might buy duplicates and waste money."

"That's true, okay, let's do it your way."

"Oh, isn't this Deputy Division Commander Shen and Mianmian? You're at the bank? By the way, Mianmian, how much is your parents' pension? I heard the government gives you a monthly subsidy," Wang Xiue asked.

Yes! Yes!

"Her father is a deputy division commander, and her mother is the director of a military hospital; they're definitely higher-ranking than anyone else before."

You're right.

When Uncle Shen heard their conversation, he gave me a look that signaled me to hurry home and ignore these women.

Understanding what Uncle Shen meant, he quickly slipped home and locked the door from the inside.

First, I went to my own room to see what was in it. There was a summer quilt for everyday use, a winter quilt, and two new quilts, one for summer and one for winter. My mother had given me these new quilts in the last two years using cloth and cotton coupons, saying that they would be ready when I went to university.

There are four sets of pillowcases, two sets of old and two sets of bed sheets, two pillows (one old and one new), two sets of old cotton-padded clothes and trousers (worn in the last two years), and two sets of new cotton-padded clothes and trousers (one thick and one thin), which are used as covers with the bedding.

There are four sets of old spring and autumn clothes and four new sets, all made to be a bit too big, so there's no rush to wear them for at least the next two years. There are two more summer clothes than spring, autumn and winter clothes, so there are six sets of old and new clothes.

Most of these clothes are military green, which is relatively dirt-resistant and durable.

There are also some of my books from childhood to adulthood in the room.

After seeing all this, I went to my parents' room.

My parents' room was mostly filled with clothes and bedding, but the clothes were mostly military uniforms, with only one set of civilian clothes for each of them. The rest were things they took with them when they went on this mission.

There are also four new military overcoats, which my parents couldn't bear to wear themselves, saying they were saving them for themselves.

There were still two new sets of bedding in the closet, which she said were for her dowry. She planned to save up 8 to 12 sets of bedding for her wedding. Seeing these two new sets of bedding, she immediately put them into her storage space. Even the military overcoat she had just seen was only left on the outside.

Besides these, there are my parents' books, as well as my mother's medical records and lecture notes. I take them out and look through them, putting the more important ones in the space and leaving the less noticeable ones out in the open.

There were also two thermos flasks, two military canteens, three new enamel mugs, a large pot, a small pot, several enamel basins, a coal stove, and a dozen or so coal briquettes at home.

The rest of the items are all small things. Some things that are really hard to carry can be given to Aunt Zhou later, like pickling jars or something. But you have to bring your own pot, because you can't always buy that even if you have money.

After looking around the house, he knew what he needed to buy. He took out the coupons in his hand and looked at them carefully again. Apart from the national grain coupons, he had to use all the others before going to the countryside.

Fortunately, we still have national grain coupons. We can use them to exchange for things. For example, we can use them to buy snacks at the supply and marketing cooperative. We can use both snack coupons and grain coupons. Besides, with grain coupons, we can also have a good meal at a state-run restaurant.

As for the black market in the county town, it's best to avoid it as much as possible. It's 1964 now, and if we wait until this time next year, going there will be suicide! There's everything you could want in this space now, so it's better not to take that risk.

We don't have a sewing machine at home, so I'll take some fabric to Aunt Zhou's house in a couple of days to sew a few quilt covers. Luckily, Aunt Zhou taught me how to sew them a few years ago.