“Brother Fang, I know. I will be careful with my words and actions and will not let the other educated youth know about my relationship with my grandfather. I will also not let them see me going to my grandfather’s side.”
Song Mincheng is no longer the child who was unaware of the dangers of the world.
This time, Song Yongjun's misfortune was not due to anything he did wrong.
It wasn't because one of his subordinates wanted to do him a favor, which he refused. This led to retaliation from that subordinate, who fabricated a charge against Song Yongjun and reported him.
Then Song Yongjun's competitors found out and took the initiative to confirm the matter before Song Yongjun and Song Hai knew about it.
In the end, even with repeated appeals, they were powerless to reverse the situation.
In the current environment, only caution is the best protection for oneself and one's family.
Because now, if you want to destroy someone, you don't need to see if they've done anything wrong; you only need to see if anyone wants them to do something wrong.
Fang Huai looked at Song Mincheng, feeling both gratified and heartbroken. The child had grown up and become sensible, but unfortunately, the price of this maturity was too high.
Fang Huai took out some grain coupons and money from his pocket and handed them to Song Mincheng: "Here are some coupons and money for you to take."
"No! I don't want it! Brother Fang, I can't take your money and tickets. My uncle already gave me a lot before I came out."
Fang Huai still firmly stuffed it into his hand: "Take it! Listen to me, this money and these tickets aren't for you. They're for your grandfather, and I can't give them to him directly. Keep them on your person for emergencies."
"Alright, don't think too much about it, just take it. The other educated youth have all come down, so we're going back too."
Fang Huai led Song Mincheng back to the people of Hongxing Commune and said to Village Chief Huang, "Village Chief Huang, I'd like to trouble you to take care of Acheng."
“He hasn’t done much farm work before, so he might not be very skilled, but if he does anything wrong, you should point it out and scold him if necessary.”
Song Mincheng nodded: "Yes, village chief, if I do anything wrong or do anything bad, you can just tell me or scold me, and I will definitely learn from it!"
Song Mincheng wasn't naive enough to think that because Fang Huai and the others had put in a good word for him, he wouldn't even have to work in the fields.
No matter how much you try to persuade him, it won't change the fact that he will have to work with the villagers, do farm work, earn work points, and earn his own food rations.
Hearing Fang Huai and Song Mincheng's words, Village Chief Huang wasn't so dissatisfied anymore. To be honest, the pressure from higher-ups and Huang Qinqin's return to the village, asking them to take care of Song Mincheng and the people in the cowshed, had all contributed to the situation.
He was actually dissatisfied, but because of Huang Qinqin's help to the village, he had no choice but to agree.
Seeing how sensible Song Mincheng was, his dissatisfaction lessened slightly.
A smile appeared on his face: "No problem, they're all little kids from the city, they're bound to be unfamiliar with it at first."
At this point, Village Chief Huang deliberately spoke loudly, "But! As long as you have the right attitude and are seriously trying to learn, no one in the brigade will have any complaints about you!"
These words were not only spoken to Song Mincheng, but to all the educated youth.
This was the first time that Hongxing Commune had ever assigned educated youth. However, just because Hongxing Commune hadn't done it didn't mean that other communes hadn't.
The brigade secretary also told them at the meeting that day that nine out of ten educated youth were struggling to earn their own food rations.
They talk about supporting rural areas, but it's really just that cities don't want to support so many people, so they're forcing them in.
Therefore, these educated youth had only one thought: not to cause trouble. They weren't afraid even if the brigade provided them with some food rations.
They're afraid the educated youth will cause them trouble. There was a commune where things got into trouble a few times because of the educated youth. Just hearing about it gives them a headache!
Fortunately, the educated youth assigned to the second brigade seemed to be quite obedient, at least after hearing what Village Chief Huang said.
No one showed any dissatisfaction; instead, everyone answered earnestly, "Village Chief, we understand!"
The brigade secretary and other village chiefs were also satisfied with their answers.
After roll call, the brigade secretary addressed the dozen or so boys, saying, "From now on, you are all members of the Second Brigade of the Red Star Commune. I hope we can all make progress together!"
"Now, all the women will get on the oxcart first, and then everyone else's luggage will be put on it. All the men will walk back. Is that alright?"
"No problem!"
"Very good," the brigade secretary smiled with satisfaction. It seemed their brigade was quite lucky; they hadn't been assigned any troublemakers.
He saw that the First Brigade next door was already arguing. Compared to that, he felt much better.
After watching Song Mincheng leave with the people from the Red Star Commune, Fang Huai planned to go find Zhang Jianhong.
He only had two days left on his vacation. If he couldn't find any evidence within those two days, then he would have to rely on Fang Hui and Xu Weiguo themselves.
As we passed by the other brigades of the Red Star Commune, we could faintly hear arguments coming from their side.
"Why should the women ride in oxcarts while we men have to walk?!"
"Exactly! What? When you're enjoying the benefits, don't you women say that women hold up half the sky?"
Several female educated youths had already sat down, but the words of the other male educated youths made them blush.
Aren't all the other brigades like this? Why is it only the male educated youth in their brigade who are so petty?
The Party Secretary of the First Brigade felt a headache coming on as he listened to their words. Even such a small matter revealed the true nature of the educated youth assigned to them.
They were definitely not easy to get along with. He looked enviously at the educated youth of the second brigade, who were so well-behaved and quiet as they set off to go back.
Meanwhile, these male educated youths were still arguing non-stop, it was so annoying!
"Alright! In that case, let's all walk back! You want gender equality, right?"
"Everyone, take all your luggage back yourselves! Our brigade's oxen are much more precious than yours, so don't let them get tired!"
After he finished speaking, he watched them take their luggage one by one, and then he called the other cadres to get on the oxcart together and led the way.
"Secretary, is this a good idea? Should we just have them walk behind us?"
"What's wrong with that? Since they think it's unfair, then everyone should mind their own business!"
All the educated youth, carrying their belongings in a disheveled state, followed behind the oxcart.
The female educated youth harbored deep resentment towards all the male educated youth. They could have avoided walking altogether, but not only did they have to walk, they also had to carry so much luggage!
Some of the male educated youth were also full of resentment: "It's all your fault for causing trouble! Otherwise, at least we wouldn't have had to carry our own luggage!"
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