Chapter Ninety-Seven: You Live by the Sea
He went to deliver the bicycle with great enthusiasm, but returned dejectedly. His behavior over the past few days had been observed by his mother, Cao Qingzhu. Seeing her son's dejected appearance, she sighed and walked over with a hunched back.
"You're back? Didn't Liang, the educated youth, want your beat-up car?"
"Mom, what are you saying? My car doesn't look old at all. Besides, it's not like she didn't want it; she already has a new car."
Zhou Li pushed his bicycle to the edge of the yard and leaned it against the wall. He sat weakly at the entrance of the main room, exchanged a few words with his mother, and then didn't feel like talking anymore.
"As the saying goes, dragons mate with dragons, phoenixes mate with phoenixes, and a rat's son knows how to dig a hole. Even if he was sent to the countryside, he's still a city person. Even if a fallen phoenix isn't as good as a chicken, he's still a phoenix. You, a country rat, still want to eat swan meat? You must be dreaming about sleeping on your Zhou family's grave at night. Your ancestors must have gathered up some divine energy for you, so you can dream of marrying Liang Zhiqing?"
Zhou Li: "......"
Is this something a mother would say?
"Mother, I know I'm not good enough for her, but I just want to be good to her."
Cao Qingzhu suppressed a laugh as she looked at him, "You want to be nice to her? Oh my, hehe... she has to appreciate it too."
Zhou Li: "..."
I felt like dying. I was already in so much pain, and this constant tickling was just maddening me!
Liang Manxiu was overjoyed to receive a bicycle from Shen Yuzhu, but she didn't want to take it to the educated youth settlement, lest someone want to borrow it, which she couldn't bear to part with.
Xiangyang Village suddenly became lively because Liang Manxiu and a few others had found jobs. Apart from the few male educated youths who had gone there that night, no one else in the educated youth settlement knew what was going on.
Ye Danwa, Yuan Mingcui, Wang Yanhong, Zhang Shujuan and their group instantly felt resentful. They were all educated youth, how could they be so biased?
Whether it's going to work on the ground or going to the supply and marketing cooperative, the commune, or working with the agricultural research institute, it's obvious which is better without even thinking about it. They felt uncomfortable, and some of the male educated youth also felt uncomfortable.
The group insisted on going to the commune to report Lü Guangzhi for favoritism.
They were going, but some of the male educated youths who had been spoken to by Lü Guangzhi didn't want to go. They went with them to the grove, and a note was made in their files. In the future, whether it was for city recruitment or for the availability of places at the Workers, Peasants and Soldiers University, they would be given priority.
At this critical juncture, they are unwilling to follow suit and act recklessly.
The idea of reporting them was met with disunity, which annoyed Yuan Mingcui and her group. In the end, they sent Xia Zhenzhen, who was well-liked, to persuade them. After much persuasion, Xia Zhenzhen somehow ended up at Shen Yuzhu's house.
"What did you say? You mean I should go with you to the commune to report the brigade leader, and then get Wang Shu, Feng Zhengyang, and Man Xiu fired? Are you out of your mind?"
Xia Zhenzhen's face was serious, and there was no hint of joking in her expression.
Seeing her like this, Shen Yuzhu couldn't help but wonder what kind of fart she would utter next.
“Shen, I know you have a good relationship with them, but it is precisely because you have a good relationship that you want to stop them from taking shortcuts. This is sinful, uncivilized, improper, and unfair. We are all educated youth sent to the countryside. When there are job opportunities, we should select people openly. Everyone should take the job if they are capable, instead of favoritism and taking shortcuts. If this continues, won’t the atmosphere of the production team be corrupted?”
"......."
Seeing her silence, Xia Zhenzhen continued, "Shen Zhiqing, you have a good relationship with them, so it's easier to talk to them and avoid the educated youth from causing trouble at the commune. It would be embarrassing for everyone. I suggest that this job opportunity be selected based on the principles of openness, fairness, and impartiality, choosing the most outstanding talents. What do you think?"
Shen Yuzhu pursed her lips, composed herself, and then asked, "Does Xia Zhiqing live by the sea?"
"What's the meaning?"
"You're meddling in other people's business!"
Xia Zhenzhen's expression changed slightly. She thought what she said made perfect sense and didn't understand what the sudden sarcasm meant.
“Xia, since the commune leaders decided to give them job opportunities, it means they have something special, that they deserve it, and that they made outstanding contributions without your knowledge. While others were working hard to achieve results, you were lying in your warm dormitories. When others received awards, you jumped out and asked why they deserved them. Don’t you think that’s ridiculous?”
"you......"
"Are the leaders of the commune stupid? If they hadn't considered it, why would they rashly give the job opportunities to those three? Go back and think about it carefully. Don't come up with crooked ideas just because you're feeling resentful. You'll just look like a clown, a naked monkey jumping around everywhere."
Xia Zhenzhen stood up abruptly, her face flushed red from the scolding.
"Hehe, I thought Shen Zhiqing was a person full of justice, with a broad mind and a generous heart. I didn't expect you to be a person who values human relationships above all else. Hehehe, I misjudged you."
"You're right, this is exactly the kind of person I'm praising."
Xia Zhenzhen: "......."
Shameless!!!
After Xia Zhenzhen left, she explained the situation to Yuan Mingcui and the others. Then, the group, carrying a flag, went to the commune to make a scene.
The people helping Qiao Wangshu and Feng Zhengyang's families kept groaning and complaining.
"What are these old women up to, stirring things up?"
"Who the hell knows? They're never quiet. I've never seen such a troublesome educated youth before. They're like they're having a hysteria."
"They're idle with little work. Once there's more work in the fields, do you think they'll still have time to cause trouble?"
........
The educated youth went to the commune full of fighting spirit, only to return utterly scolded. However, this did not seem to dampen their enthusiasm, and they went every day for several days in a row, which gave the commune staff a real headache.
The matter of fighting spies could not be spread, but if it wasn't told, the group of educated youth would always cause trouble. There was no other way, so as soon as spring arrived, Lü Guangzhi had people assign the educated youth the most arduous tasks to the fields.
Because of work-related issues, many educated youth refused to go to work as a form of protest.
But Lü Guangzhi didn't care. If they didn't go, they didn't go. Anyway, if they didn't work, they wouldn't get work points, and if they didn't get grain at the end of the year, it wouldn't concern him.
Amidst the commotion, the two courtyards next to Shen Yuzhu's were completed. They demolished the kitchen and woodshed of the old educated youth settlement and built a pigsty. The group agreed that Wang Liping and Shen Yuzhu would help take care of it, and they would get a larger share of the money after the pigs were sold.
Shen Yuming also built a pigsty at home. She listened to Shen Yuzhu and planned to raise four pigs.
The county had just issued its quota, and Lü Guangzhi helped them get fourteen piglets and piglets. He also went to the commune to help them get the permit to buy soybean cakes.
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