As night falls, every household has gone home to finish their meal, turn off the lights and rest. The ox carts sway into the village. Apart from the sounds of bicycles and ox carts, the only sounds are the barking of dogs in every household.
"This village is the closest to the main road among the several brigades. Therefore, every household has the habit of raising dogs. Even the educated youth have dogs in their yards." Lu Shiqian told the newly arrived educated youth while driving the ox cart, "If any of you are afraid of dogs, you must overcome your fear."
The dogs in the village are guarding the house, and they will bark if a stranger approaches.
Su Jin sat in the back of the car, looking at the dark road behind, thinking that she must go to the supply and marketing cooperative to buy a flashlight tomorrow.
Fortunately, the family had industrial coupons, so Su Jin was able to buy a flashlight. Otherwise, it would be difficult to go out at night.
"You..." Su Jin reached out and tugged at the corner of his clothes, "Do you know where I can find a flashlight?"
Lu Shiyi moved his ears and heard Su Jin's soft voice.
"I'll bring you a flashlight later." Lu Shiyi glanced at the flashlight in his right hand, figuring that the little girl was from the city and that it would be inconvenient for her to go to the toilet at night without a flashlight. "I'll take you to the educated youth camp and lend you my flashlight. You should go to the supply and marketing cooperative in the commune tomorrow. I'll take you there!"
Lu Shiyi rode his bike with Su Jin all the way, wanting to keep the little girl by his side to protect her.
He was transferred from the Imperial Capital Military Region. If his hometown and uncle were not in Northeast Province, this mission would not have fallen on him.
Su Jin pursed her lips and said nothing. Although Lu Shiyi was a stranger, he was very enthusiastic.
"I'll just go to the county town with everyone else." Su Jin declined softly, "There are so many things to buy."
"You're petite, and you need to buy a lot. Can you carry it all by yourself? Winter will be coming soon, so you need to buy everything before the mountains are closed due to heavy snow." Lu Shiyi slowed down his movements and moved a little further away from the oxcart. "Before the mountains are closed due to heavy snow, I should arrange for you to stay at a villager's house. My house is big, so you can live together."
Su Jin calmed down, curious about why Lu Shiyi was so enthusiastic.
"The people at the educated youth site are not easy to get along with. It would be better if you lived outside." Lu Shiyi pedaled quickly and caught up with the ox cart to the educated youth site.
The lights at the educated youth site were on, and the old educated youth were standing not far away waiting for them.
"Shiqian, why are you so late this year?" Lin Teng stood in the distance, looking at the ten people coming in. "Are you the educated youth coming here today?"
"Yes," Lu Shiqian nodded, "We'll have them go to the supply and marketing to buy things tomorrow. You're an old educated youth, so make clear the arrangements for the winter in the village. I'm leaving first!"
Lu Shiyi helped Su Jin move the things off the ox cart. Lin Teng looked at the enthusiastic Lu Shiyi in surprise.
"I'm one of the first educated youth to arrive. You can call me Lin Teng. You can rest up at the educated youth camp tonight. Tomorrow you can go to the supply and marketing cooperative to buy things. After a while, the mountains will be closed due to heavy snow, and all the educated youth will go to the villagers' homes to share meals. They won't come back to live here until spring comes," Lin Teng said as he stood in the courtyard. "This is considered the coldest place in China. If the mountains are closed due to heavy snow, you might not be able to go out for nearly a month. The educated youth initially spent the winter at the educated youth camp, but due to insufficient preparations, one of them froze to death."
Lin Teng's introduction frightened the educated youth. Su Jin looked at the other three people, and they all looked confused.
"Lin Teng, have all the old educated youth gone to live in the village?" Wang Dahong looked at Lin Teng and asked, "How are we going to sleep tonight?"
"There are two rooms for men and women, two for you guys. You can live there first." Lin Teng pointed to the back and said, "There's a toilet at the right corner. Get up at 7 o'clock tomorrow and go to the brigade headquarters. Captain Lu will arrange for you to stay in the villagers' homes."
Su Jin looked at the package at her feet and was a little worried about where to go tomorrow. Lu Shiyi was a good choice. She didn't want the family she was living with to have too many people.
"Don't stand here, it's too cold!" Lin Teng said hurriedly. He went to the kitchen with a flashlight, lit the stove, and boiled water for everyone. "You've just arrived here, so you need to get familiar with everything. I'll make breakfast for you tomorrow. As for food... you can give tickets and money. Women will get 30 cents per kilogram of food tickets for three meals a day, and men will get 60 cents per kilogram of food tickets for three meals a day. We use the rations of our old educated youth."
Su Jin agreed with Lin Teng and gave him the ticket and money, and they were even.
"Su Jin, you can come to my house. My family has the smallest population in the village." Su Jin stood at the door, keeping a distance from the others.
Lu Shiyi parked his bicycle nearby and suggested twice that Su Jin live at his house.
Lin Teng was surprised to hear Lu Shiyi's words. Before Su Jin came to the village, many female educated youth wanted to live with Lu Shiyi at his house, but he coldly rejected them.
I heard that Lu Shiyi's grandfather and father were serving in the Imperial Capital Military Region and this was just his hometown. After hearing the news, the female educated youth wanted to win his favor even more.
"Su Zhiqing, right? If you prefer quiet, Minister Lu's family is the best choice. Other families have one or two families." Lin Teng looked at Lu Shiyi's gentle face and spoke in his favor. "According to village rules, each villager can only have one Zhiqing living there. No one's family has enough food. The new Zhiqing has no food. Even if we give them food coupons and money, they won't be able to buy food when the mountains are closed due to heavy snow."
Su Jin looked at Wang Dahong and the others. The three of them were standing not far away and nodded at Su Jin. Hearing Lin Teng's address to Lu Shiyi, the three of them wanted to give the best family to Su Jin.
The other six educated youth did not do anything and looked at Su Jin who turned to look at Lu Shiyi.
"Please take care of me during the winter. I will follow Comrade Lin Teng's instructions and give you food coupons and money. Let's go to the supply and marketing cooperative tomorrow to see if we can buy some food." Su Jin learned to cook since she was a child in both of her lives because of her parents' busy work. She has a good cooking skill.
Lu Shiyi smiled faintly: "In that case, I'll help you move your things back home, and you'll stay there today?"
"Let's send the luggage back first. I'm staying at the educated youth camp tonight!" Su Jin didn't want to be special and wanted to ask the other three for their advice.
Lu Shiyi nodded in agreement and left with two large pieces of luggage. Su Jin held a flashlight in her hand and looked at the figure returning in the dark in the distance. A warm feeling warmed her heart.
The four of them entered the educated youth camp and found a large bunk bed on each side. The room was freezing cold.
"No wonder we had to spend the winter at the villagers' homes. The firewood the educated youth collected was probably only enough for daily cooking," Lu Shan said with emotion. "An older sister of mine who lives not far from home was an educated youth in Northeast China. When she went back for the Lunar New Year, she specifically mentioned how cold it was during the Lunar New Year and sometimes there wasn't enough firewood."
Su Jin quickly made the bed and the quilt, and listened to the other three people talking about what they knew. She lamented that she thought too little.
"I'm going to stay at Minister Lu's house tomorrow. Whose house are you planning to go to?" Su Jin asked.
"Do you know Minister Lu?" Wang Dahong asked curiously. "I see that Minister Lu treats you very well. He's a soldier, so there shouldn't be anything special going on."
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