Just as the two little ones were able to nimbly back away, Menghai welcomed another group of educated youth.
Yu Yin was drawn over by the rumbling of cars and the sound of gongs and drums outside. Standing at the door, she and Sister Wang looked at the group of young men and women who were covered in dust and had lifeless eyes.
Some of them had just graduated from school, some might have been wandering around for a while before being forced to change their spoiled brat attitudes, and some might have been forced by their patriarchal parents to go to the countryside in place of their brothers...
Behind every face, there may be a story that belongs to them!
These more than one hundred people will not all stay in Menghai County; they will be distributed to the towns and communes below.
Since the end of 1968, many educated youth have come down to the countryside every year, with several hundred coming to Menghai County alone.
You can tell what kind of family they come from just by their clothing, demeanor, and speech. The vast majority of these young people come from working-class families, a few from cadre families, and some from various compounds, commonly known as "compound kids".
"Sister Wang, who decides whether they stay or leave?"
"Didn't you see? Those people are from the educated youth office, the committee, and the construction corps. Our county office will also send people later. All these groups will decide on the final decision together."
"Staying in the Production and Construction Corps is a good choice. You still have to work, but you get paid."
In a society based on personal connections, there must be people whose families have taken care of them, who don't have to worry about making a living, who come here to train or seek refuge.
The two had nothing else to do, so they stood at the door and watched the commotion.
Yu Yin looked at the group of young people who were clearly different from the others. They were all wearing green military pants, white shirts, and their leather shoes had lost their luster and were covered with a layer of dust. If they took off their shoes, the smell would be quite strong.
Although they looked listless, it didn't stop them from shaking their legs and exuding a nonchalant attitude. They must have come from some high-ranking family compound; their faces practically screamed "I'm a big shot."
"Waaah... Ah..."
The little brat's awake. Oh well, the fun's over.
Yu Yin pushed the two children home, attracting quite a few glances along the way. Don't get me wrong, it wasn't because she was too pretty; they probably hadn't seen such a big stroller before.
When I got home, I changed the baby's diaper, fed the baby, and then pushed the stroller back to work.
Most of the educated youth outside the courtyard had already left, leaving about forty or fifty people who remained at the county's production and construction corps farm. Yu Yin didn't pay much attention; it had nothing to do with her.
At that time, Yu Yin did not expect that later, some of the educated youth would have intricate connections with her.
"They sold out pretty quickly, there's not much left."
"Our climate is unique, with crops yielding three or two harvests a year, plus sugarcane fields, rubber plantations, tea plantations... There's just too much work to do. Every day we're either at work or on our way to work, so how can we not make the most of our time?"
Yu Yin had never done farm work before. Apart from what she did in the space, she had never experienced the hardship of sweat dripping onto the soil.
"That's true, they still need some time to adjust. They're all quite young; they're still like children at home!"
"It's as if you're older than them, you talk like an elder. Yu Yin, sometimes you seem like a middle-aged person with rich life experience, and sometimes you're just innocently cute."
Yu Yin was unaware that she gave off this impression; perhaps she had lived a repressed life back then, unlike a young person. Sometimes, unintentionally, past unpleasant experiences would affect her emotions, making them uncontrollable.
When Lu Shurui got home from get off work, dinner was already prepared.
"Why are you back so early today?"
"I took the afternoon off. My third uncle's son, Shuqi, came to the countryside. My third uncle called me and asked us to look after him. He's quite lucky; he was assigned to a production and construction corps farm in the county. I went there to check on him this afternoon."
"What is his birth year in the family?"
Yu Yin didn't know much about Lu Shurui's relatives, nor did she know how many children they had.
“He’s the eldest son in the family, a few years younger than me. He just graduated from high school. He has a younger sister who is two years younger than him, and an even younger brother. If he doesn’t come this time, his sister will have to come in two years. My third uncle and the others are worried about sending girls to the countryside.”
Yu Yin had a decent impression of Aunt Lu. She had sent money and gifts to Aunt Lu when they got married and had children, and they were on good terms with each other. Now it seemed that Aunt Lu loved her daughter and didn't discriminate against girls.
"Why didn't you go to the nearby countryside, but came to the border instead?"
"It is said that this group of people are from the Northwest. They come here because we can help them out. The Northwest is even further away."
Meanwhile, Lu Shuqi, whom Yu Yin and the others were talking about, was exploring the dormitory of the Production and Construction Corps farm. Their dormitory housed twenty people in total, and the living space was not large. There was only a narrow passage between the two beds, and the room was low and damp.
Coincidentally, the pile of white shirts that Yu Yin had seen earlier belonged to the same dormitory as Lu Shuqi. The group of them lay on their beds, feeling utterly hopeless, wondering when they could return to the capital or join the army!
Lu Shuqi has packed all her things. Tomorrow she'll go to her cousin's house to get acquainted with the place. There are also some things her mother asked her to give to her cousin's wife.
Before he left, his mother kept reminding him to be discreet when visiting his cousin's house and not to always freeload. He didn't have to work himself to the bone here, but he couldn't cause trouble. She said that in two years, they would see if he could be transferred back to the city.
Lu Shuqi had given up hope of returning to the city. His cousin had been there for several years and hadn't been able to go back, while the educated youth were leaving in batches.
I've never done heavy work before, and I've heard that working here is very tiring. I don't know if my small frame can handle it.
"Hey buddy, where are you from?"
The woman leaning against the bed, her hair parted, started talking. "It's not good to just stay here like this, let's chat for a while."
My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
