“You’re right. Don’t worry, neither of us is the type to cause trouble, nor are we ungrateful. We know what’s best for ourselves,” Chen Enpeng said.

"I heard from the team leader that when the grain is distributed after the autumn harvest, you can pay to buy some, but this isn't a long-term solution. It's better to earn work points yourself to receive the grain."

"Okay, Mianmian, you're still so young, don't worry about it."

"Too"

“Mianmian, we’re both sensible people, not the kind of reckless scoundrels. We know right from wrong and what to do. If you take care of yourself, you don’t need to worry about us. By the way, Mianmian, I heard you get up early every day for morning exercises. Do you think we could join you?” Chen Junjie asked.

"Sure, but do you have enough food?"

“That’s true, Jiezi. Let’s do morning exercises with Mianmian after we move out,” Chen Enpeng said.

Okay, I understand.

"Then Grandpa Huang will tell us about ordering the water tank."

"Okay, how about I give you the money first?"

"No need, you can give it to Grandpa Huang later. We need a lot, and we definitely can't bring it all back in one trip. Besides, it's not too late to bring it back after your house is built."

"Okay, whatever you say."

And so, after Grandpa Huang brought the water tank back, I saw that everything in the house was neatly arranged, and that's what a home should look like.

Because of building the house and buying these things, the three of us became quite the talk of the village. But none of us complained; in fact, we were always well-regarded. We were said to be better than the previous educated youth who came, and even better than those from the neighboring village—we didn't cause trouble and were always willing to work. Gradually, the three of us integrated into the community. People started seeing us running around the village every day, and some children would follow us. Some children would even take us to the mountains to pick mushrooms and wild vegetables, telling us how to preserve what we couldn't finish.

I had just gotten home from work that day when I heard a knock on the door. "Who is it?"

"Sister Mianmian, it's me, Lixia."

"Lixia, you've arrived!" She went to open the door and saw the child standing there. She asked...

My grandma is looking for you.

"Okay, wait for me a moment, I'll go close the door first, I'll be right there." The old lady didn't know what she wanted to see her about. Once in the yard, she locked the house door and the main gate, gave Lixia a piece of candy, and followed her. The place where the educated youth lived wasn't far from the brigade leader's house, only about half a mile away.

"Grandma, Grandma, Sister Mianmian is here!"

"Oh, I know." Hearing her granddaughter's voice, Grandma Gu quickly came out and said, "Mianmian's here! Come in quickly and sit on the kang (heated brick bed)."

"Oh, Grandma, no need to trouble yourself, I can do it myself," she said, and followed Grandma Gu into the inner room.

Grandma Gu held my hand and said, "Didn't you say the other day you wanted to find some wood ear mushrooms and other mushrooms? I've found them all for you. But they all want brown sugar, I don't know if you have any."

"Grandma Gu, how was it all calculated?"

"Right now, brown sugar at the supply and marketing cooperative costs three cents a pound, and you need a coupon. I'll give you a discount of five cents a pound. Our dried goods are all picked from the nearby mountains, so they're free and don't require coupons. I'll give you five cents a pound. That way, one pound of brown sugar can be exchanged for ten pounds of dried goods. How about that?"

"Okay, Grandma Gu, I don't understand these things either, so I'll just do as you say."

"Alright, I'll pick out the best for you, come and take a look," Grandma Gu said, pulling over two large bags that were hanging nearby for me to see.

"Grandma Gu, these are great! None of them are broken, and they're all quite large."

"That's right, you can trust your wife to handle things."

"That's right, you can rest assured."

"There are 100 jin in total. You can give me 10 jin of brown sugar. Does Mianmian have that much brown sugar? If not, other kinds are fine too."

"Grandma Gu, don't worry, we have it. If we weren't worried that the brown sugar would melt and get infested with bugs if left for too long, we wouldn't have traded it. But we'll only do this once, and who knows when it will happen again? This brown sugar was given to us by my parents' comrades-in-arms."

"Alright, I understand, old woman. Should I wait for Dapeng to come back and send it back to you?"

"No need, Grandma, I can do it myself."

"Okay, everyone's working in the fields right now, there's not much of a crowd on the road, you should take it back quickly."

"Okay, I'll bring the brown sugar back to you later."

"Don't worry, it's alright, Grandma Gu."

Unbeknownst to him, all these dried goods actually belonged to Grandma Gu's family and her sons' families. Family members naturally take care of their own, and besides, the wives had all given birth to several children in succession, so their bodies were somewhat depleted. This brown sugar was good for replenishing their bodies, so they could drink more. Moreover, since they could get it without coupons now, why not get more?

Carrying the two bags of dried goods home, I quickly took out 10 jin (5 kg) of brown sugar from my storage space, wrapped in oil paper. The brown sugar these days is all handmade, much better than later brands, and it has no additives. I'll keep the rest for myself. After wrapping it, I hurried to deliver it to Grandma Gu. This time, when I went over, I saw a girl of about 17 or 18 years old in the yard; she must be Grandma Gu's youngest daughter. The girl saw me and asked, "Excuse me, who are you? Who are you looking for?"

"Hello, comrade, I'm looking for Grandma Gu. My name is Li Mianmian."

"It's Mianmian! Come in quickly. This is my youngest daughter, who's in high school in the county town. Cuicui and I were just talking about her. She's the daughter of Comrade Li, who saved your brother's life on the battlefield."

"Hello, Comrade Li"

"Hello, Grandma, I've brought you the brown sugar."

"Okay, didn't I tell you there's no need to rush?"

"It's alright, it's alright, I brought it over to you anyway."

"Alright, wait a moment, I'll go clear out the basket for you."

"well"

Since I had just met Gu Cuicui, who was several years older than me, I didn't say much. Soon, Grandma Gu handed me the basket, which contained a bunch of greens. I heard Grandma Gu say, "There are plenty of greens in the garden at home. If you want some, come and pick them yourself. Don't be shy, Mianmian, okay?"

"Okay, Grandma Gu. I won't stand on ceremony with you. It's getting late, so I'll head back now, Grandma Gu."

"Go back, drive carefully."

After Mianmian left, Gu Cuicui asked her grandmother, "Mom, what happened? Why did Comrade Li come to our area?"

"Oh, this child is pitiful," she said, then told her daughter some things she knew.

"Wow, I just saw her and she's about the same age as Da Chengzi. How come she's so young and already a sent-down youth?"

"Who says otherwise? If their parents hadn't passed away, why would they have come to our village?"

"Mother, what kind of person is this Comrade Li?"