Chapter 138 Educated Youth in the 1970s (Part Two) I Want to Build! I Want to Learn...
The girl smiled shyly, her eyes sparkling. "You're welcome. It's good to help each other out when you're traveling." She then shoved the pencil into Song Ce's hand, turned, and pulled a piece of paper from her canvas bag. "Can you read?"
Song Ce nodded: "I know some of them."
"Wow, that's amazing!" The girl's mouth was slightly open, and her eyes were wide open. "This is my name, but unfortunately I can't write it well even after writing it several times."
Song Ce smiled gently and comforted her, "Take your time, you'll be able to write it well eventually." As he spoke, he took the paper the girl handed him, on which were written six neat characters: Jian Fangning, a native of Shanxian County.
Jian Fangning?
Song Ce was taken aback. In the original owner's memories, there were some vague recollections of this girl's experiences.
Like the original owner of this body, Jian Fangning was also assigned to Xinhe Village. However, three months later, when she was washing clothes by the river alone with a basin, she was harassed by a local hooligan who was passing by. Under the pretense of asking her to lead the way, he dragged her into a cornfield and raped her.
After that, Jian Fangning went mad...
Thinking of this, Song Ce held the paper, his knuckles turning slightly white. Jian Fangning didn't notice his unusual expression and pointed to the words on the paper, saying, "Do you recognize these words?" Her warm breath swept across the back of his hand, carrying a natural, sweet scent.
“…Jian Fangning, a native of Shanxian County,” Song Ce said.
Jian Fangning grinned: "You're amazing! My name is Jian Fangning! What about you? What's your name?"
"My name is Song Ce, and I'm from the capital."
“Beijing? I’ve never been to Beijing in my entire life!” Jian Fangning scratched her head and said softly.
“Yama County isn’t far from the capital. Looking at the map, the two places are actually next to each other,” Song Ce said with a gentle smile.
Sure enough, after hearing this, Jian Fangning felt a bit closer to him. She leaned closer and asked curiously, "Where were you assigned?"
"Huoxian County, Xinhe Village."
"Oh my! What a coincidence! We've been assigned to the same place! I'm from Xinhe Village too!" Jian Fangning was overjoyed and said cheerfully, "That's great, we can keep each other company now."
"Yes." Song Ce smiled, looking at Jian Fangning casually, and asked, "Fangning, why did your family send you to the countryside?"
“There are only two children in my family, my sister and me. My sister was sick a few days ago and has been in a daze, so I came here,” Jian Fangning said carelessly.
"I see... Then we'll take care of each other from now on."
"No problem, Song Ce! Please take good care of me!"
Song Ce lowered his eyes, placed the notebook on his lap, and began writing a letter home, following the original owner's writing habits. Seeing this, Jian Fangning simply picked up Song Ce's empty water cup and got up to get hot water from the carriage connection.
Looking at the scenery rushing past the train window, Song Ce first briefly explained his situation in the letter, and then earnestly stated that he had been too willful, that being a grain store accountant was a good job, and that he hoped his family could try to help his older brother Song Fei again.
In the end, he wrote half of an apology to Song Fei, hoping that he could recover well and forgive him for the angry words he had said before leaving.
...
The train slowly swayed for a day and a night. As the train gradually slowed down, Song Ce knew that Huoxian Station had arrived.
Seeing the petite Jian Fangning struggling to carry a large bag of luggage, Song Ce simply stepped forward and carried her luggage on his back, saying gently, "Come on, let me help you carry it!"
Jian Fangning looked up blankly, and when she saw it was Song Ce, she immediately smiled and said, "Oh? Thank you! Thank you!"
At this moment, Huoxian Railway Station was bustling with noise. The two of them got off the train one after the other. As soon as they exited the station following the flow of people, Song Ce saw a burly middle-aged man shouting at the top of his lungs, "Those from Xinhe Village, come and assemble! Everyone from Xinhe Village, Huoxian! Come on over!"
"Song Ce! He's over there! Let's go over there!" Jian Fangning said happily, carrying the two of their water cups.
The two hadn't walked far when they heard an uncertain female voice behind them: "Xiao Ce?"
Song Ce turned around and saw Qi Ziling carrying a large bag of luggage. When she saw him looking over, she smiled and waved at him.
"Xiao Ce, why are you here? Where's your brother?" Qi Ziling adjusted her glasses and asked in surprise.
"Sister Ziling, my brother accidentally fell and hurt his leg a couple of days ago. The doctor said he needs to rest for a while, so I just came over," Song Ce said.
"How did your brother get hurt? Is it serious? I've been busy packing at home these past few days and haven't had a chance to go see him. How did he manage to hurt his leg when he was perfectly fine?"
Looking at the anxious girl in front of him, Song Ce was stunned for a moment, then smiled and said, "My brother is fine, he's perfectly alright! If you're worried about him, just write him a letter! Anyway, it's not far from Beijing, and if my brother receives your letter, Sister Ziling, he might recover in a few days!"
Qi Ziling blushed deeply at Song Ce's words, and asked somewhat embarrassedly, "Is...is it that obvious?"
Song Ce: "..."
Qi Ziling breathed a sigh of relief when she saw Song Ce's speechless expression. It was all Xiangru's fault for insisting that Xiao Ce liked her, and that he always looked at her with affection... Qi Ziling secretly glanced at Song Ce again, only to see that the young man in front of her had a calm expression, and there was no affectionate love in him at all.
Seeing that Qi Ziling was secretly staring at him, Song Ce asked in confusion, "Sister Ziling, is there something on my face?"
Qi Ziling: "..." Her face turned red all the way to the roots of her neck.
In just a quarter of an hour, four people surrounded the middle-aged man, making a total of seven educated youth, including him, Jian Fangning, and Qi Ziling.
The middle-aged man checked their names, ages, and places of origin one by one, and also examined their identification documents. After confirming that there were no problems, he led the seven of them to a dilapidated oxcart.
This oxcart is usually used to haul goods and crops. The cart is not only dirty, but also has an unpleasant smell.
"Hello everyone, my name is Chen Shi, I'm from Shanxian County, and I'm nineteen years old! From today onwards, we will all receive re-education from the poor and lower-middle peasants in Xinhe Village. From now on, we will support and care for each other and strive to achieve something! We will not seek special treatment, nor will we act like capitalist young masters and misses, and we will not bring shame to our fellow villagers!" A thin boy in a gray-blue cadre uniform stood up, leaning on the side of the car, and said passionately.
Interestingly, after he finished speaking, he glanced at Song Ce a few times, intentionally or unintentionally.
“Well said!” A tall girl with double braids stood up as well: “We want to build up the countryside! We are fearless! Hello Comrade Chen Shi, my name is Wu Wangliu.”
"Hello, Comrade Wu Wangliu."
With Chen Shi leading the way, Wu Wangliu responded, and the others in the car also introduced themselves one after another.
When it was Song Ce's turn, he followed the crowd and gave a brief introduction before sitting down. Unexpectedly, Chen Shi chuckled and said, "Comrade Song Ce, I could tell just by looking at you that you haven't done much manual labor at home. We're definitely going to suffer here in the countryside. Are you prepared?"
Song Ce paused. From the original owner's memories, it was not hard to see that Chen Shi had always been at odds with him, even though they had never interacted before and today was their first meeting.
Jian Fangning pursed her lips after hearing this and muttered, "What happens to Song Ce is none of your business, right?"
Song Ce smiled slightly, gave Jian Fangning a reassuring look, and said in a gentle voice, "No need to trouble yourself."
"Hehe." Chen Shi chuckled again, his expression ambiguous, and said, "But don't worry, we'll help each other out. Right, everyone?"
"Chen Shi, why do you need to worry about him? Look at his nice outfit, he might be transferred back to the city in a while!" A tall, strong boy named Zhang Shuda said with a smirk.
"It's their skill to be transferred back to the city. I wonder whose jealousy has been spilled, why does this car smell so sour!" Qi Ziling fanned her nose and said loudly.
Xiao Ce is her lover's younger brother. If she doesn't protect him, who will?
The oxcart fell silent immediately upon hearing this. Chen Shi glared at Qi Ziling, then looked at Song Ce, pulling Zhang Shuda aside to whisper about crickets. Song Ce's expression remained unchanged, a faint smile playing on his lips, as if they weren't talking about him at all.
The oxcart bumped along the way from the train station to the town and then to the village. By the time it arrived at the Xinhe Village educated youth settlement, it was already evening.
The seven people disembarked from the oxcart one after another, and then unloaded their belongings. This time, Song's mother had prepared quite a lot for her pampered youngest son. Needless to say, there were basic necessities like new quilts, new sheets, toothbrushes, toothpaste cups, towels, and soap, but she had also prepared plenty of snacks, food coupons, and meat coupons. Of course, the most valuable item was the new watch he wore on his wrist.
Chen Shi glanced down at his small package, then at the conspicuous new watch on Song Ce's hand, snorted coldly, and called everyone to head towards the educated youth settlement.
The dormitory for educated youth in Xinhe Village was a row of houses, with mud walls separating the male and female rooms. The houses didn't look very old, and there was a small shared kitchen opposite, which had been simply cleaned up. It looked much cleaner than the houses in the village.
Song Ce glanced around and saw that the leftmost room was the most spacious, a three-person room. Without a doubt, Qi Ziling, Jian Fangning, and Wu Wangliu chose this room.
The middle house has a vegetable garden and houses two people. Although the facilities are old, they are complete and can be lived in after a simple cleaning. The house on the right, near the intersection, is more spacious and well-lit, and even has a small woodshed. The only drawback is that it only has two beds and two cabinets, nothing else.
Chen Shi, holding his luggage, pointed to the house on the left and said, "I don't have much stuff, so I'll stay in this small room!"
“Chen Shi, then I’ll share a room with you!” Zhang Shuda said with a grin. “My family has been poor farmers for three generations, so we don’t care about the size of the house.”
"Great! Welcome, welcome!" Chen Shi stepped forward, patted Zhang Shuda on the shoulder, and said loudly, "Come on, let's tidy up the house!"
Upon hearing Chen Shi and Zhang Shuda's words, Qi Ziling's face immediately darkened. She glanced at Song Ce, who was obediently standing to the side with his luggage, and said bluntly, "Comrade Chen Shi, aren't you going to discuss this with Comrade Song Ce and Comrade Jiang Zhangjun?"
At this moment, a tall, muscular boy with dark skin chimed in, "Comrade Qi Ziling is right, it's fair."
Upon hearing this, Zhang Shuda curled his lip and muttered to Chen Shi, "See? In just a short while, a girl has already stood up for this pretty boy."
Chen Shi smiled but didn't say anything. He just looked at Song Ce beside him, looking like a nice guy: "Song Ce, what do you think? How about we let you and Comrade Jiang Zhangjun have this room? I'm fine with staying anywhere!"
Upon hearing this, Song Ce remained calm and composed, saying, "No need. I can stay anywhere. After all, we can't let a small matter like accommodation make our comradeship like beads on an abacus, moving only when propelled, right, Comrade Chen Shi? Besides, being petty isn't in line with the style of us revolutionary youths!"
Upon hearing this, everyone's gaze towards Chen Shi immediately became meaningful.
Chen Shi was speechless at Song Ce's words, his face turning pale, but he couldn't find any words to refute them. He could only laugh awkwardly twice and say, "Comrade Song Ce, you're really something, your awareness is really high." After saying that, he gave Song Ce a thumbs up.
After the accommodations were assigned, the educated youth began to tidy up their rooms. Although Song Ce and Jiang Zhangjun's room was simple, it was easy to maintain because it didn't have any messy things around it. Jiang Zhangjun didn't talk much; he just kept his head down and packed his belongings.
The two boys, both seventeen or eighteen years old and new to the place, were in the prime of their lives. Under Song Ce's deliberate guidance, Jiang Zhangjun gradually opened up and started talking. By the time the room was properly tidied up, the two had become acquainted.
After all that traveling, Song Ce was starving. He took out a bag of peach shortbread and two pieces of jujube cake from his bag and invited Jiang Zhangjun to come and eat with him.
Jiang Zhangjun initially refused, but then turned around and took out two cold, hard cornbread buns from his bag. He said somewhat embarrassedly, "My mom brought me some food from home before I left. I'll eat these. You can keep the rest."
"You helped me pack so much stuff today. If I had to do it myself, I probably wouldn't have finished by tomorrow. If you consider me a friend, please eat with me, don't be shy!"
People in the 1970s were very simple and honest. When Jiang Zhangjun heard Song Ce say that, he knew that Song Ce wasn't just being polite. So Jiang Zhangjun took the jujube cake from Song Ce's hand with some embarrassment. He had only taken one bite when his eyes visibly lit up.
"Song Ce, what... what kind of cake is this? It's so delicious!"
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