Wu Lihong smiled and said, "With you dressed like this, you won't be afraid of the coldest weather."
"I can't help it, I'm most afraid of the cold," Yang Shumei replied with a smile.
Upon hearing this, the older educated youth's expressions of envy turned into pity.
They spent the winter with Yang Shumei last year and knew that she was really afraid of the cold and wouldn't dare to go out without wearing thick clothes.
People speculated that Yang Shumei's family must have military connections to be able to get her such a thick military overcoat.
Bei Xiao's red cotton-padded jacket was also very eye-catching; it didn't make her look fat, but rather made her look even more petite and cute.
Like Yang Shumei, she was also afraid of the cold. "They called everyone out of the warm room on a freezing day, and I don't know what they wanted to announce."
Li Weidong guessed, "They must be preparing for a winter hunt."
"Winter hunting?" Ren Fei, who had only arrived a few months prior, asked curiously.
Seeing that she still didn't know, Wu Lihong explained to the newly arrived educated youth: "As you all know, there are many wild animals in the deep mountains. Usually, very few people dare to go into the deep forests, as it is easy to not come back."
Speaking of this, she glanced at Xie Yuyao, who had once wandered into the deep mountains and brought back a wild boar. Not everyone is as lucky as her.
She turned her gaze away and continued, "The commune has a rule that each production brigade can organize a hunt every year. Because the deep mountains of Daqingshan are too dangerous, the brigade headquarters set the time in winter, which greatly reduces the danger."
The trees and animals in the mountains belong to the collective. When villagers go hunting, the large animals they hunt belong to the collective, and they may get a few extra kilograms of meat. Only small animals like rabbits and pheasants can be kept by an individual, but even that is not allowed if there are a large number of them; it is considered as appropriating collective property.
Yu Wenjiang was eager to try: "Can anyone go?"
Li Weidong understood his thoughts and shook his head, saying, "Each time it's led by the militia, plus strong and healthy men who often go up the mountain. In previous years, the educated youth team wasn't popular there. In recent years, only your older brother has gone, and he collapsed from exhaustion when he came back."
“I heard from your older brother that they travel very fast, and sometimes they have to chase after prey such as rabbits. He almost fell behind. Moreover, the hunting team has to spend the night in the mountains. Although there are caves to shelter them from the wind, it is extremely cold and very difficult to endure.” The speaker was Xiang Wenshan, who had a good relationship with Yu Wenbo.
Xie Yuyao could sense the dissuasion in Li Weidong and Xiang Wenshan's words, but what they said was probably true.
Ren Fei's focus was: "Will they share the meat they hunt with everyone?"
“You can buy it with money,” Li Weidong explained to her. “At that time, everyone’s income for the whole year will be calculated. Everyone can choose to take money or exchange it directly for grain or meat. The meat is either from the pigs raised by the brigade or from the wild game hunted back, but the hunting team will have a free share.”
As soon as he finished speaking, Chen Kai breathed a sigh of relief. If he could get away with it with money, he would rather not go up the mountain; safety was the most important thing.
He turned to look at Yu Wenjiang, who was clearly still not giving up. "Wenjiang, don't forget what I have to do with you."
Yu Wenjiang then remembered that he was supposed to go to the market with Chen Kai to help Xie Yuyao sell braised meat. If they went into the mountains, they might be late.
Rather than bringing back prey to feed his older brother, fulfilling his promise to Sister Yuyao was more important. Yu Wenjiang said, "Brother Chen, thank goodness you reminded me. Then I won't join the hunting team."
The other educated youths were curious about what was going on between the two of them, but they clearly didn't want to say much, so they didn't ask.
When the group arrived at the threshing ground, the surrounding villagers were talking about the winter hunt.
After the group had gathered most of the people, the captain announced the person in charge of the winter hunt: Zhao Dazhuang, the captain of the Qingshantun militia team.
The Red Flag Commune had a militia regiment whose members were selected from the commune members of the production brigades under its jurisdiction. The regiment was divided into several militia teams according to their origins.
They were responsible for both militia training and agricultural production, and were one of the local armed forces.
In the past decade, many places have seen verbal disputes escalate into armed conflicts. Initially, these conflicts involved sticks, but later they involved homemade rifles, hand ammunition, and even improvised cannons and armored vehicles. Most of those involved were young people, resulting in heavy casualties.
Xie Yuyao has been here for so long, but she hasn't heard anything about the commune militia. Perhaps they have withstood this severe test.
Zhao Dazhuang is as his name suggests; he is tall and strong, and gives people a sense of security just by looking at him.
The brigade leader asked Zhao Dazhuang to select people, without saying that all educated youth should be treated equally, or that male educated youth could also be selected if they wanted to.
When selecting people, Zhao Dazhuang also skipped the educated youth team.
This is no joke; you might encounter wolves and tigers in the mountains, and it could be fatal.
He shared the same view as the brigade leader: none of these educated youths were strong.
Zhao Dazhuang still remembers that a couple of years ago, he couldn't resist Yu Wenbo's pleas and took him along. But once they got to the mountains, Yu Wenbo struggled to even walk, let alone hunt.
Under normal circumstances, the educated youth team might have been indignant. But in this dangerous situation, Zhao Dazhuang's actions conveniently prevented the male educated youth from refusing.
Finally, Zhao Dazhuang selected more than 30 people and agreed to set off early the next morning. Zhao Honghui's second younger brother, Zhao Hongfei, was one of them.
*
After the meeting, Xie Yuyao followed the group back to their residence when she suddenly heard shouts behind her.
"Xie Zhiqing, wait a minute!"
It turned out to be Sister Qiao, the women's director. The other educated youths, seeing this, all knew that her good news with Zhao Honghui was coming soon.
Sister Qiao waved for the other educated youth to leave first, then pulled Xie Yuyao aside and asked, "Educated Youth Xie, did you know that I mentioned Honghui acting as matchmaker?"
Xie Yuyao nodded: "Yes, Aunt Yang told me yesterday."
"That's fine. Your family lives too far away, so you'll have to make the decision about this marriage. You can tell me whatever you want to say."
Sister Qiao patted her hand, beaming from ear to ear. It was truly remarkable that Xie Yuyao, with such excellent qualifications, was able to stay. Both for public and private reasons, she didn't want Xie Yuyao to suffer any injustice.
"Thank you, but I'm not very familiar with the procedures. I'll have Honghui talk to me about it beforehand." Xie Yuyao didn't say that the decision was entirely up to the man.
China is a vast country with abundant resources. While the customs of different regions are generally similar, they also have their own unique local characteristics.
While wedding customs generally follow the tradition of welcoming the bride and bowing to the groom, some places have unique customs.
She had heard of a story in her past life: the father-in-law carries the bride into the house.
It is said to signify the family's welcome and respect for the bride, or it is said to mean that the groom's elders accept the bride as a family member, rather than the bride offering herself up.
But no matter what she said, she encountered resistance and opposition from many girls from other places. If it were her, she wouldn't be able to stand it either.
She would rather not have a wedding than accept such bad habits.
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