The car became empty as the number of people dwindled. He Tiantian had no time for sentimentality; knowing they were almost at Huai City, Anhui Province, she got up to pack her belongings. She had quite a lot of things, all prepared for her by her parents and Huo Yingjie.
The package beside her contained food, which she had already finished eating. Her large luggage was on top, and He Tiantian stood on an empty seat to retrieve her own luggage, while Li Yuanyuan caught it below.
"I didn't realize you were so small but so strong," Li Yuanyuan praised. She herself found the large package heavy, but He Tiantian had taken it off the shelf in no time.
He Tiantian casually made up an excuse and laughed, "I've been doing manual labor since I was little."
Actually, He Tiantian was also very surprised. She didn't know that she was so strong. In her previous life, she couldn't have imagined that she was so strong.
Just then, a familiar voice came from behind.
"Sweetie, you're here too?" Liu Lingli said. She had only seen a silhouette earlier and thought she was seeing things, so she came over to confirm that it really was He Tiantian.
“Sister Lingli,” He Tiantian said. Liu Lingli was the one who told her about her parents’ death in her previous life. She was from the opposite street and went to the same school. Liu Lingli was two grades ahead of her. They would greet each other when they met on the street.
Liu Lingli was a slightly plump girl with a round face and a tall stature. She was the second child in her family. Her older brother was already working, and her younger brother was fifteen years old. Her family couldn't bear to part with him, so they sent Liu Lingli to the countryside as an educated youth.
"Where are you assigned?" Liu Lingli asked. "Maybe we can be together, and we can look after each other in the future."
"Taoyuan County," He Tiantian said. "And you?"
"Me too," Liu Lingli said, very happy that she had met someone from her hometown!
Li Yuanyuan also joined He Tiantian and Liu Lingli's conversation. When they arrived at Taoyuan County in Huai City, the three of them got off the bus together.
Li Yuanyuan and Liu Lingli offered to help He Tiantian, but He Tiantian refused. He Tiantian was carrying a large bundle on her back, a large, square wicker box in one hand, a package in the other, and a yellow satchel embroidered with "Serve the People" and a military-green water bottle slung across her shoulder. The package Huo Yingjie gave her could only be worn around her neck. Fortunately, it wasn't heavy, and her neck could bear it.
"Sweetie, that's the reception point for educated youth over there." Li Yuanyuan didn't have much stuff, so she walked at the front.
The reception point had a banner that read, "Welcome to the educated youth in Taoyuan County!"
A lot of young people were already standing near the banner, most of them from Nanshi. They gathered here and were then assigned to various towns and villages under Taoyuan County.
He Tiantian followed Li Yuanyuan and Liu Lingli over and stood obediently.
A short while later, a middle-aged cadre wearing a Liberation uniform, black-rimmed glasses, and a pen clipped to his breast pocket came over, opened his notebook, started taking attendance, and then assigned personnel.
As expected, He Tiantian was assigned to Qijia Village, Li Yuanyuan was assigned to Shanyangdaogou, and Liu Lingli was assigned to Hujia Village, which is next to Qijia Village.
Li Yuanyuan left with several other people who were assigned to Shanyangdaogou, while Liu Lingli stood with the people who were assigned to Hujiacun.
He Tiantian was accompanied by one man and two women, all of whom were assigned to Qijia Village.
"Sweetie, we're leaving now. I'll come find you when I have time," Liu Lingli said. "Take good care of yourself."
He Tiantian nodded and said, "Thank you, Sister Lingli. I will take good care of myself."
He Tiantian didn't take Liu Lingli's words seriously. In her previous life, Liu Lingli hadn't come looking for her either! Now that they had just gotten off the bus, Liu Lingli might have the intention, but once they got to the village and were tired from working, she wouldn't take the initiative to look for He Tiantian, afraid that He Tiantian would ask for help.
Watching Liu Lingli leave, He Tiantian stood in a corner and put her things on the ground. She remembered that in her previous life, the people from Qijia Village would arrive after dark, and it would take several hours to arrive.
It seems that the village secretary, Qi Dazhu, personally came to pick them up. However, the oxcart broke down on the way, and by the time it was repaired and they arrived in the county town, it was already evening. They stayed overnight in the county town before returning to Qijia Village. At that time, He Tiantian was both tired and upset, and like everyone else, she complained about village secretary Qi Dazhu, saying that he had lost face in front of the county leaders and had been criticized.
Qi Dazhu was angry. Although he didn't deliberately make things difficult for them, he demanded that the educated youth work the same way as the villagers, and all of them were exhausted to tears.
It's not that Qi Dazhu is a bad person, but he's angry that these educated youth from the city don't understand him and won't listen to his explanations. He worked tirelessly all day, without even eating, to repair the oxcart to pick up the educated youth, only to be met with complaints from the educated youth and criticism from the leaders. Anyone would feel uncomfortable in that situation!
"Why isn't Qi Dazhu here yet!" the middle-aged man frowned, raising his hand to look at the Plum Blossom watch on his wrist. "It's already three o'clock. These educated youths standing here isn't going to make a difference. Go to the waiting hall over there and wait. There's hot water inside."
"In this sweltering heat, their refusal to pick us up means they're dissatisfied with Chairman M's decision," one of the men said, his fair face flushed from the sun. The heat, hunger, and irritability had made him irritable.
He Tiantian knew this person; he was someone others always compared her to: Li Mingkai.
The reason they are being compared is because both He Tiantian and Li Mingkai married locals. He Tiantian settled down in the countryside with Qi Jianguo, while Li Mingkai, after getting into university, never came back. The girl who married him, after receiving a letter from Li Mingkai while pregnant, jumped into the river and died.
This girl is none other than Qi Xiaoyan, the daughter of Qi Dazhu, the village party secretary.
The "Down to the Countryside Movement" was an initiative and directive issued by Chairman Mao, who stated that "the countryside is a vast world where one can make a difference" and that "educated youth should go to the countryside to receive re-education from poor and lower-middle peasants."
Now that Li Mingkai is saying this, to put it mildly, it means that the village committee secretary of Qijia Village is not very enthusiastic; to put it more bluntly, it means that he is not very conscious and should be criticized and struggled against.
Although the middle-aged man was dissatisfied with Qi Dazhu, he was also very unhappy with the man's behavior of constantly labeling others.
Ten words of praise in front of others are not as good as one word of kindness behind their back.
He Tiantian said softly, "I heard from my relatives that Qijia Village in Taoyuan County is quite far from the county seat, and the roads are narrow and mountainous. It's possible that the car broke down, otherwise they wouldn't have deliberately arrived late."
Several people turned their heads and looked at He Tiantian, who had been very quiet.
Upon hearing He Tiantian's words, the middle-aged man smiled and nodded, saying, "Have any of your relatives visited Taoyuan County?"
He Tiantian smiled sweetly and nodded, saying, "Yes."
"Taoyuan County is a tough place, but you've come here, and there's much you can do." The middle-aged man led everyone to the waiting room, where they found seats and waited patiently. He had other things to attend to, so he went to take care of them first, but afterwards, he had four large steamed buns brought to them.
Four people, one for each person.
He Tiantian had finished her food and was full after eating a large steamed bun with some boiled water.
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