What was unexpected was that when the train stopped the next day, the two girls who had been fighting all night actually got off the train.
If I were assigned to a place, I would probably be able to make a lot of money.
At noon on the fourth day, Ning Xi felt like her bones were about to fall apart. She had to change people in the carriage several times before she arrived at her destination - Cangyang City, Nanji Province.
My back aches, my legs cramp, and I feel completely drained, as if I could collapse at any moment.
After leaving the station, there was a government car waiting outside to pick up the educated youth. There was a card hanging around its neck with the name of the place where the educated youth were picked up written in black.
We took a bus to Tongxiang County and arrived at the county seat, then changed buses all the way to Wutong Commune, where the road became a bumpy dirt road.
"Xia Zhiwei, Ning Xi, Zhu Hongchen, Zhang Guangqi, Yan Qing, come to me!" An old man in a blue cloth shirt was holding a piece of paper, speaking with a heavy accent and occasionally speaking in dialect.
Ning Xi was surprised to find that she could actually understand it! It was a bit like the dialect spoken by her grandparents.
"Hello, sir. I'm Ning Xi." She walked to the old man with her luggage on her back.
When the old man saw her coming, he took a pen and made a mark on the paper, then started shouting again. After a long time, people gathered together.
It turned out that his name was Chu Hongchen, another was called Zhang Guangji, and the other girl was called Yan Jing. Only Xia Zhiwei and Ning Xi's names were called correctly.
"Put your things on your back and follow me." Seeing that everyone was gathered, the old man asked others to walk in front.
"Ah? Sir, my legs are shaking. How can I walk? Is there any bullock cart or something?"
Xia Zhiwei was tall, with somewhat dark skin, and judging from his voice he didn't look very old, but when he heard that they were leaving, he couldn't help but wail.
"Just point the way, the cows are crowing and plowing the fields!" The old man, the captain of the Yuzhuang Brigade, turned a blind eye to the miserable plight of the educated youth and strode in front.
"This is the educated youth camp. The men live in the front and the women live in the back. It's almost time to get off work. Wait here for a moment. I'll have someone bring your food."
The captain gave some instructions and left, leaving the five people looking at each other in confusion.
There are three earthen-walled bungalows in front, two large and one small. There is also a small vegetable garden around the houses, where cucumbers, eggplants, and peppers are planted. There is also a field of corn at the edge, which is sprouting.
"I'm so tired. Do you want to eat the whole cucumber?" Xia Zhiwei noticed with his sharp eyes that there were several green cucumbers on the cucumber rack, which is a rare commodity in the north.
It is only available in summer, and you won’t be able to buy it if you get up too late, let alone give it to your children to eat raw.
"There are quite a lot of them. Let's take one each." Seeing that no one paid attention to him, Xia Zhiwei continued to instigate and pulled Chu Hongchen's arm into the vegetable field.
"I don't want it. This is the result of someone else's labor. Taking it without asking is stealing." Chu Hongchen shook off his hand and silently moved away from him.
Zhang Guangji was a little tempted, "You won't complain if you don't eat it, right?"
After saying that, he glanced at the others, and seeing that no one reacted, he followed Xia Zhiwei into the vegetable garden and picked a cucumber each.
"I picked the hard-to-find ones, so you'd better not talk too much later." Xia Zhiwei wiped the cucumber on his body casually and started to chew it.
"This fresh cucumber is so delicious!" Zhang Guangji finished eating it in two or three bites, but still wanted more, and kept looking towards the vegetable garden.
Yan Jing reminded him with embarrassment: "Don't eat it, we are new here, it's not good to take other people's things like this."
They all came here together, and if people found out, they might have something against all of them.
As they were talking, the members of the commune and the educated youth who had finished work came back from the fields one after another.
The leading female educated youth first greeted the others: "You must be the new educated youth, right? My name is Qu Hua."
She wore straw sandals and a straw hat, and even though it was summer, she still wore long sleeves.
The other educated youth were dressed similarly.
When she got closer, she could smell the fishy smell of sweat mixed with mud and water on them, and there were spots of mud on their faces. Ning Xi guessed that they must be harvesting rice in the fields.
Qu Hua took out his key, opened the door, and went in first: "Your place has been cleaned up, the empty space is here."
Someone also took the male educated youth away.
Ning Xi and Yan Jing walked in. The light inside was dim. They stood there for a while to adjust before they could see the empty space.
There is no kang here, but it is not a separate bed either. It is just a big bunk bed made of earthen bricks underneath and wooden boards on top.
There are wooden stakes on the side for tying the mosquito net.
The innermost position is empty, apparently it is prepared for the new educated youth.
"You must be tired after coming here. Pack up your things first. We can get to know each other better in the evening. I'm going to take a shower first. You can find some clothes and I'll take you to take a shower later."
Qu Hua was one of the earliest group to arrive, but she went to the countryside at the age of 16. She is only 21 years old now, but she is experienced and kind, and is the person in charge of the educated youth site.
None of the other female educated youth came in. Qu Hua opened the door and went out.
"How is it, Sister Qu? Are you the type who is easy to get along with?" There were a few female educated youth outside. When they saw her come out, they surrounded her and asked her all kinds of questions.
The weather was already hot, and being surrounded by people made it even more stuffy. Qu Hua pushed them away helplessly, "How can I tell? I don't have a keen eye, but they are both very polite."
After she opened the door and pointed to the seat, both of them thanked her without complaining about the poor conditions.
"Just be polite."
"Never mind, let's take a shower. I can't stand the itchiness anymore. Why is this straw so prickly..."
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