Chapter 10: Wanting to Build a Room Alone
Several people discussed it with the team leader, and the general idea was that they would pay for it and ask the villagers to help build it. They all came from big cities and certainly didn't know how to build houses. Moreover, after working all day, they would still have to build the house after work, so it was uncertain when the house would be completed.
They built mud houses. There happened to be an open space next to the educated youth compound. The brigade leader thought it would be better to build a house just like the one the old educated youth lived in, which would save money and effort.
Du Ruoxia didn't think so. She thought it was more convenient to live alone, and she wouldn't have to eat together.
"Captain, why don't we build them separately? I'll build my own little hut. I'm used to sleeping alone and don't want to share with anyone else," Du Ruoxia said.
“Uncle, I also want to build my own room,” Tian Xueying said.
Xiang Xinming and Chen Zongliang are both from Kyoto, so they can do whatever they want. Anyway, their families will send money over, so they're not short of money.
He Meiling's family is quite well-off, but building a house would cost about twenty or thirty yuan. Her parents were unwilling to give her that much. They originally planned to build a house together and contribute a few or ten yuan each, but they didn't expect that they would all want to live in their own rooms, even Du Ruoxia, who came from Haishi, was so wealthy.
Luo Xiaojuan and Wang Sufeng come from families with limited means, but they decided to share a room.
The most embarrassed person now was He Meiling, who weakly said:
"Isn't this too extravagant? It's unnecessary for each person to have their own room. It would be much better if everyone shared a room, which would save money and allow us to help each other. We're here in the countryside to develop rural areas, so let's not act like capitalist ladies!"
The word "capitalist" is a sensitive term these days; it's not something you can just say carelessly.
Du Ruoxia quickly said, "What do you mean? We've all gone to the countryside to respond to the national policy of building rural areas, can't we even have a room?"
Tian Xueying chimed in, "My parents are martyrs, what? Am I some kind of capitalist's daughter now? If you can't speak properly, then shut your mouth!"
Tian Xueying hates it when people say she has a capitalist mentality. When her parents had just passed away, that's what her relatives said to her, and then they brazenly took away the valuables from the house.
"Alright, alright, everyone stop arguing. The captain is still here. Let's hear what the captain has to say." Chen Zongliang quickly intervened to mediate when he saw the women were about to start arguing.
"Now we're seeing if He Zhiqing wants to build a house, or you could consider having two people share a room to save money. A room would cost about twenty-five yuan and can be done in about three days. But the house isn't very big, just enough for a kang (heated brick bed) and a stove!"
Upon hearing the price, He Meiling was tempted. Seeing Tian Xueying's fierce expression and that Luo Xiaojuan and Wang Sufeng were sharing a room, she looked at Du Ruoxia and said, "Ruoxia, why don't we build one together?"
Du Ruoxia didn't want to live with this sixth brother; it would cause endless trouble. Besides, she still had enough money to build a room.
"Excuse me, I'd like to have a room by myself!" Du Ruoxia directly refused her. She was really fed up with this sixth sister. Why did she always drag her along when they weren't even close?
He Meiling dug her nails into her palms, none of them wanted to live with her. Once things settled down, she'd teach them a lesson.
Hiding her gaze, she looked pitifully at Xiang Xinming and said, "Brother Xiang, could you please pay for this first? I'll pay you back as soon as my family sends the money!"
Xiang Xinming immediately shook his head. He was planning to curry favor with Du Ruoxia, but Du Ruoxia clearly disliked He Meiling, so he didn't want to get involved with this woman.
He Meiling looked sadly in Du Ruoxia's direction, but Du Ruoxia immediately turned her head away. "It's several tens of yuan, who knows when you'll pay it back? I won't lend you a single penny. I'm going to be a miser like the 1970s."
"Captain, how about I help Comrade He first?" Chen Zongliang said, unable to bear seeing He Meiling on the verge of tears.
"Brother Chen, thank you so much! Don't worry, I'll pay you back as soon as the money arrives." He Meiling immediately thanked Chen Zongliang shyly.
Du Ruoxia initially thought Chen Zongliang was a decent guy, but now she sees him as a "warm-hearted man"!
Finally, it was settled. After handing the money to the brigade leader, everyone went back. Du Ruoxia and Tian Xueying tacitly gave the brigade leader an extra dollar, which would make things much easier in the future. Since the money was given out separately, it was easy to know who had given more.
Jiang Dezhu counted the money and found two yuan extra. He hurried into the house, handed the two yuan to her, and said to his wife, "These kids from the capital want to build their own houses. Each person pays 25 yuan, and the two girls even gave an extra yuan."
"Keep it. In the future, if there are any light jobs available, take care of them. I just heard that there's another girl whose parents are martyrs. Help them as much as you can!" Jiang Dezhu's wife, Aunt Ying, replied, then put the money away. She managed all the money in the house, and everyone in the brigade knew that the brigade leader doted on his wife the most.
"These educated youth who went to the countryside are all good-looking, especially the three girls, they are so pretty and pleasing to the eye, and the two boys are handsome too," Aunt Ying couldn't help but praise.
"I don't think that young man who helped pay for it is any good. Unlike me when I was young, you were all I could think about, and I never even glanced at other women!"
Jiang Dezhu gave a curt reply: "The older I get, the more I like handsome young men. Who wasn't the village heartthrob when they were young?"
Aunt Ying smiled and shook her head. This old man is really something, not ashamed at his age!
Although it's a day off today, Tang Kaiyuan, a veteran educated youth and an outstanding male educated youth last year, will be explaining the situation of Yuxi Brigade to everyone.
"The production team usually gets up at six o'clock, starts work at seven o'clock, rests from eleven o'clock to one-thirty in the afternoon, and starts work again from one-thirty to five-thirty. Unless there are special circumstances, you can't ask for leave."
"Of course, if you are quick and efficient, and complete the tasks assigned to you for the day, the time is flexible."
Tang Kaiyuan gave a brief introduction to the group.
That being said, some educated youth from better-off families didn't care about work points, and a few were late, left early, or took leave.
Anyway, the regulations aren't as strict as Tang Kaiyuan described.
It will be dinnertime soon.
There were corn and buckwheat pancakes, and some corn porridge.
The corn porridge was very thin, almost like soy milk in texture.
The pancakes were also a bit hard.
However, it wasn't that the people at the educated youth settlement were making things difficult for the newcomers; it was just that this was the kind of food they all ate there.
Moreover, it's good enough to be able to eat your fill; sometimes even that's not enough to satisfy hunger.
Although Du Ruoxia wasn't particularly picky about food, this kind of meal was indeed hard to swallow.
However, given the current environment, she couldn't easily show it.
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