When Wang Qiufen heard the news at home, she was first shocked, then panicked, and rushed over there anxiously.
Seeing her eldest son, Zhao Jianbin, who had arrived earlier, fussing over Yang Shumei, her panicked heart finally calmed down, and she muttered unconsciously.
"It's good that she's alright...it's good that she's alright...If something really happened to her, her Jianbin would be a widower...Pah, pah, pah, don't talk nonsense, don't talk nonsense."
Zhao Jianbin didn't realize his mother had also arrived. After confirming that Yang Shumei was alright, he grabbed a shovel and started digging for items.
Yang Shumei, along with other educated youth, moved to the brigade headquarters office with the help of the community members.
In the entire Qingshantun village, besides the educated youth compound, two other mud houses also collapsed.
Fortunately, there was an early warning, and the family members moved away from the dangerous building. Apart from their belongings being buried, everyone was unharmed.
In addition, Jiang Yan's house at the foot of the mountain, which she had just moved to, was destroyed by a landslide, but she escaped the disaster because she was being held in solitary confinement.
After this incident, the solitary confinement was lifted, and the brigade leader told her to go to the brigade headquarters to wait for further arrangements with the other educated youth.
The unexpected rainstorm caused severe damage to the houses of the residents of Qingshantun.
The brigade leader and several brigade cadres held a meeting to discuss Yu Wenbo's medical expenses and the future living arrangements for the educated youth.
In the already cramped office, several brigade cadres argued heatedly, their faces flushed, and they couldn't reach an agreement at all.
The captain sat in his chair with a frown, listening to their arguing. Annoyed, he tapped the table, signaling them to be quiet.
The group of people, engrossed in their heated argument, failed to hear the tapping on the table and continued their intense discussion.
The captain slammed his hand on the table, startling them. The room fell silent as everyone turned to look at the captain who had made the final decision.
The brigade leader frowned, the lines on his face appearing even deeper. After much deliberation, he made a final decision: "Use all the money in the account to save lives first, and at the same time apply for assistance from the commune and the educated youth office."
Accountant Li immediately objected: "What will happen when we calculate work points at the end of the year if we run out of money in the account?"
"We'll deal with things at the end of the year. Lives are at stake, so let's get through this first."
The other cadres disagreed with the brigade leader's words, saying, "We can't let the whole village pay for an outsider. If everyone finds out, won't there be an uproar?"
Seeing the speechless team leader, Party Secretary Liu suggested: "Why don't we mobilize the masses and organize a donation?"
"That's a good idea. We'll hold a big meeting tomorrow morning to call on this."
After discussing the medical expenses, the brigade leader arranged for the other educated youth to "spread out to families with better living conditions and spare rooms."
Although Qingshan Village was poor, fortunately, there were still more than a dozen families with decent conditions.
“But I’m afraid these community members won’t want the educated youth to stay in their homes. Besides, there are so many educated youth, how should we arrange the selection?”
The brigade leader glared and said, "Hmph! Anyone who dares to refuse is disregarding the unity of the collective, and their family will not get a share of pork or anything like that in the future! As for who will live in whose house, let them choose each other first."
At this point, everyone felt relieved and didn't say anything more. Their arguments stemmed from their fear of conflict between the villagers and the educated youth, which could affect unity. Since the brigade leader had spoken, those who were unhappy would likely have to accept it.
With the arrangements for the educated youth finalized, the next step was to select which families would accept them.
Everyone here knows the situation of each household in Qingshan Village very well, and the brigade leader directly ordered them to go and call for help.
While waiting, the captain, who was slightly relieved, made two preparations and looked around the courtyard that was being used as the brigade headquarters.
The brigade office looks quite large, but it's not really suitable for people to live in.
A group of people came here and looted and vandalized the courtyard, destroying it beyond recognition. They demolished the stove, the heated brick bed, and other places where gold bars might have been hidden.
There are collective threshing machines, diesel engines, and all sorts of tools lying around. If they were organized, they could make room for one or two rooms, but they have nowhere to cook.
In addition, their clothes, bedding, and daily necessities were all buried, and many of them need to be replaced. If they live with the community members, they can borrow them temporarily.
Hopefully, no one will cause any more trouble.
Soon, the community members who came to discuss the matter arrived. These people brought their entire families, young and old, along with their neighbors.
After the autumn harvest, a heavy rain fell from the sky. The villagers, who were used to working, were bored out of their minds. When they heard that something was going to happen, they all rushed to the brigade headquarters.
The small lobby was packed with onlookers. The brigade leader looked at the huge crowd of people watching the spectacle and explained the arrangements.
"You all know what happened in the early hours of the morning, right? The village's educated youth housing collapsed, and the living and accommodation of those dozen or so educated youths became a problem. Our brigade cadres discussed it and decided to arrange for the educated youths to live in your homes, one person per family, until the educated youth housing is repaired and they can move back."
As soon as the brigade leader finished speaking, he was met with opposition from many villagers, who discussed the matter and said all sorts of things.
"Don't let them stay at my house. My house is very dirty, and those city kids won't be used to it."
"My house only has a few rooms, there aren't any spare rooms for them!"
"Exactly! My family is barely making ends meet, where would we get the food to feed another person!"
The captain immediately silenced them: "Alright, alright! Stop shouting, everyone! We all know who we are!"
He glanced around and said sternly to the complaining villagers, "If you have such a lack of collective spirit, then from now on, you won't get a share of any of the pigs or fish that the Qingshan Village collectively operates!"
"But it's not that I don't want to, it's just that the people who came here are clean and don't want to live in my dirty place!"
Upon hearing that they wouldn't receive any produce, the complaining members immediately changed their excuses.
"Yes, yes, I still have a newlywed wife at home. What if this male educated youth moves in and causes some trouble?"
Upon hearing this, the young wife objected: "I'm worried that the female educated youth will move in and seduce my husband!"
Some people said, "I have unmarried sons and daughters in my family. No matter if they are male or female educated youth, they can't live in my house. What if my sons or daughters are tricked into going there? Who will I ask for compensation?"
"......"
For a time, everyone's attention was focused on the strict separation of men and women.
The brigade leader was extremely distressed. All these people were saying was just to prevent the educated youth from moving in.
Regardless of gender, in full view of everyone, who would dare to do something indecent?
All the male and female educated youth standing in the corner were almost in tears from anger. They had never been so humiliated in their lives!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
