Chapter 140 Educated Youth in the 1970s (Part 4) I Want to Build! I Want to Learn...
This cutting took nearly five hours.
When the sun was at its zenith, Uncle Xu looked up at the sky, patted the dirt off his trousers, and smiled at the two men, saying, "Alright, it's noon. You two should go back and have lunch! Today is your first day of work, and the team leader said you only need to work half a day. There will be announcements over the village loudspeaker when you arrive and leave work, so listen carefully and don't be late."
Upon hearing this, Song Ce and Jiang Zhangjun quickly responded and walked towards the educated youth settlement along the scorching dirt road. Because they had eaten the jujube cake that Song Ce had given them the night before, Jiang Zhangjun refused to let Song Ce cook lunch and instead invited him to rest inside.
Jiang Zhangjun cooked two large bowls of vegetable soup in the communal kitchen, and then took out a few hard cornbreads from the cupboard, broke them open, and threw them in. After lunch was cooked, the two of them ate with the pickled vegetables that Aunt Xu had given them, and ate with great relish.
After the meal, Jiang Zhangjun stayed in the house to tidy up his things. After washing the dishes, Song Ce told him and headed towards the brigade headquarters. Uncle Xu told him to go east after leaving the educated youth settlement, and turn right after seeing a big willow tree; that's the first house there.
Just as Song Ce reached the entrance of the brigade headquarters, Qin Guangde returned carrying a hoe.
Qin Guangde looked at the new male educated youth with some surprise. The young man was fair-skinned and refined. As soon as he arrived in the fields, many young women and wives secretly glanced at him and stared in amazement.
"Captain Qin, hello!" Song Ce greeted Qin Guangde with a smile.
"Hello, Comrade Xiao Song, what can I do for you?" Qin Guangde put down his hoe, pushed open the door of the brigade headquarters, and asked politely.
"I came here to ask if there are any skilled carpenters in our village? Our house is a bit empty, and I'd like to have a set of tables and chairs made," Song Ce said.
Qin Guangde thought for a moment and said, "Yes, there is. There's a carpenter named Li at the north end of our village. You can call him Uncle Li. He's reliable and skilled, but..."
Song Ce, understanding the implied meaning, smiled and asked, "That's great! I wonder if five yuan is enough for me?"
After hearing this, Qin Guangde laughed heartily, patted Song Ce on the shoulder, and said, "That's enough, that's enough. Old Li is an honest man, and his carpentry skills were passed down from his ancestors. You can't go wrong with him!"
Song Ce nodded and thanked Qin Guangde. Just as he was about to leave, he noticed a hand-held tractor in the shed in the left corner of the brigade headquarters. The tractor was half covered by a tarpaulin, and the handlebars, which were not covered by the tarpaulin, were covered with a thick layer of dust, making it look about 50-60% new.
Following his gaze, Qin Guangde smiled and asked, "What's wrong, Comrade Xiao Song? Are you interested in this lump of iron?"
"Captain, our brigade has tractors too?" Song Ce took two steps closer, reached out and wiped the dust off the handlebars, revealing the dark red paint underneath.
Qin Guangde sighed and said regretfully, "Yes, it was allocated by the higher-ups a few years ago. This thing broke down the year before last. None of the farmers in the village could fix it. They tried to repair it several times but couldn't, so it's just been sitting in the brigade headquarters collecting dust ever since..."
Staring at the slightly old tractor, Song Ce couldn't help but ask, "Such a good piece of equipment, why didn't you get it repaired? It's a shame to just leave it like this."
Upon hearing this, Qin Guangde smiled bitterly and said, "Why haven't we looked for anyone? We've had experts come and come several times, and they all say that a major part inside is broken, but no one can pinpoint exactly what's wrong. This tractor used to be a great help to our village. It was indispensable for plowing, watering, and hauling grain. What a pity! Now it can only be used as a decoration in the yard."
Song Ce knew that in this era, all kinds of materials were in short supply, and without connections or proper procedures, it was impossible to buy such precision components.
Looking at Qin Guangde's worried face, he casually remarked, "New parts are indeed hard to come by, but I wonder if old tractors are easy to find. Maybe we can salvage some usable parts from some scrapped machines?"
Qin Guangde was taken aback upon hearing this. "I hadn't thought of that method. But that educated youth who could repair tractors from two years ago has already returned to the city! People with this skill are a rare breed now, and everyone is rushing to the city. Who would want to stay in a small village like ours!"
Song Ce smiled slightly and looked at Qin Guangde beside him, "Captain, why don't you let me give it a try?"
Qin Guangde didn't react for a moment and asked, "Want to try? Try what?"
Song Ce pointed to the tractor in the yard and said in a very good-natured manner, "I want to try repairing this tractor. My dad worked in a machine factory for half his life, and I've been working with him in the workshop since I was a child, so I know a little bit about it."
Upon hearing this, Qin Guangde's eyes widened, and he excitedly rubbed his hands together, asking, "Comrade Xiao Song, you can repair tractors?"
Song Ce smiled and said seriously, "I can fix it, but we need to take the tractor apart first to check where the problem is."
"Good, good, good!" Qin Guangde said three times in a row, his eyes scanning the young man in front of him. Song Ce was fair-skinned and his demeanor was gentle and polite. At first glance, he looked like a city boy who only knew how to study and had never done any manual labor.
He felt a little apprehensive, but looking at the other man's steady face, he felt that this young man was reliable and dependable. He glanced at the tractor that had been idle for a long time, then at Song Ce beside him, his Adam's apple bobbing several times, and finally he nodded firmly, as if he had made up his mind.
If this young man can really fix the tractor, the whole surrounding area will remember his kindness!
Thinking of this, Qin Guangde laughed and waved his hand, saying, "You young comrade, you're not old, but you've got quite the big mouth! Alright! Since you're willing to try, then give it a try! But let's get this straight first, if you really mess up this tractor and it falls apart, you'll have to figure out a way to fix it."
“Okay!” Song Ce nodded, agreeing to Qin Guangde’s words.
Song Ce volunteered to repair the tractor, which was a major event for the entire Xinhe Village. Although Qin Guangde agreed, he still had to inform the village committee.
"Comrade Xiao Song, you can go back now! I'll call a meeting with the brigade headquarters to discuss this matter," Qin Guangde said with a smile.
"Yes, Captain." Song Ce nodded in response and bid farewell to Qin Guangde.
As Song Ce was walking toward Li the carpenter's house, he heard Qin Guangde shouting over the brigade's loudspeaker: "All brigade staff, please come to the brigade for a meeting immediately! All brigade staff, please come to the brigade for a meeting immediately!" The sound was so loud that even the gray sparrows on the treetops fluttered away.
After navigating three bends, Song Ce stopped in front of a mud-brick house. Just as he was about to knock, the door creaked open. A sprightly old man with a headscarf saw him and asked in surprise, "Young man, who are you looking for?"
Song Ce smiled and explained his purpose: "Uncle Li, I am Xiao Song, a new educated youth in our village. I would like to ask you to help me make a set of tables and chairs."
Carpenter Li put down the plane in his hand, looked Song Ce up and down a few times, and said readily, "Alright! Young man, what kind do you want?" After learning that Carpenter Li did the work on a package deal including materials and labor, Song Ce finally decided on a two-person table and two chairs.
He did the math in his head: the average wage in the city was around 20 or 30 yuan, and even skilled workers only earned 40 or 50 yuan. Overall, the price seemed quite reasonable.
When Song Ce left home to go to the countryside, his mother, feeling sorry for him going out to work at such a young age, secretly slipped him a considerable amount of money. In the original owner's memories, his kind and loving mother held his hand tightly, wiping away tears as she urged him not to mistreat himself while traveling. After arriving, Song Ce opened the cloth bag and counted the money; there were a full 123 yuan inside. Adding some grain coupons and meat coupons, it was enough to support him for over a year, as long as he didn't squander it recklessly.
"Alright, young man, I'll take your measurements tomorrow at noon. I guarantee it won't wobble even after ten years!"
Li the carpenter's cheerful reply interrupted Song Ce's thoughts. He gave Li a dollar as a deposit, and seeing his quick acceptance, Aunt Li grabbed a handful of greens and a still-warm egg and stuffed them into his arms. Song Ce couldn't refuse, so he thanked her repeatedly and accepted them.
On his way back to the educated youth dormitory, Song Ce had just stepped into the courtyard when he heard the sound of cooking utensils clattering in the communal kitchen.
As Chen Shi was putting firewood into the stove, Zhang Shuda opened the door to get more firewood and saw Song Ce returning with vegetables and eggs in his arms.
He immediately straightened up, turned around and gestured towards Chen Shi, who was ladling water into the pot, and whispered, "Look, he went out and came back with such a big bunch of fresh vegetables and eggs! He really came back with a full load! I wonder which fellow villager is so generous."
“He’s a young master from the city. Didn’t you see that when we came to the village, he had two or three more bags than us poor educated youth? How could there not be a lot of people rushing to curry favor with him? Let alone such a small amount of vegetables?” Chen Shi didn’t deliberately lower his voice when he said this, and everyone inside and outside the house heard him clearly.
Upon hearing this, Song Ce's expression remained indifferent. He glanced towards the kitchen but said nothing. Just as he was about to return to his room, Zhang Shuda came running over, his face beaming with smiles, and said politely, "Comrade Song, you're back just in time! We'd like to cook some vegetable soup for lunch. Could you share half of the vegetables with us?"
As he spoke, his eyes were fixed on the egg, and he said meaningfully, "And this egg is the most nutritious thing to put in vegetable soup..."
Upon hearing Zhang Shuda's words, Song Ce laughed heartily, revealing two rows of neat, white teeth. Seeing this, Zhang Shuda thought he had a chance, rubbed his hands together, and walked forward with a smug grin, his fingers almost touching the vegetables in Song Ce's arms.
Unexpectedly, Song Ce reacted very quickly. He took a half step back and dodged to the side, saying with a smile, "Comrade Zhang, I'm really sorry, I don't want to give it to you."
Upon hearing this, Zhang Shuda was taken aback at first, then his smile instantly vanished, and he muttered, "You... how can you be so stingy! We're all educated youth, what's wrong with you sharing your food with us? You don't understand how to help each other at all!"
In the kitchen, Chen Shi slammed the water ladle against the rim of the vat, his dissatisfaction with Song Ce growing stronger. They were all educated people, intellectuals at every level, and now they had the opportunity to come together in Xinhe Village to work on its development. Instead of offering mutual assistance, Song Ce was so disrespectful, refusing them outright. He had no manners! He was ungrateful!
Song Ce smiled slightly and said loudly, "There's nothing I can do. I'm a young master from the city, so I'm a bit stingy. Please don't take offense, Comrade Zhang."
"You!" Zhang Shuda's face turned bright red. He stopped trying to embarrass himself, gave a heavy "humph," and turned to walk towards the kitchen.
"Chen Shi, look at his behavior! So what if he's fair-skinned? As soon as he came to the village, he started flirting with girls like bees to swarm around. Isn't he ashamed? Does he really think anyone cares about his worthless green vegetables?" Zhang Shuda complained angrily as soon as he entered the kitchen.
At that moment, Chen Shi was adding firewood to the stove with his back to him, so Zhang Shuda didn't see the contemptuous and disgusted expression on his face.
"Who knows which girl in the village gave it to him! This morning when I was at work, I saw several girls secretly glancing at him!" Chen Shi said sourly.
Zhang Shuda scoffed, "With his temperament and personality, do you think he'd be interested in these village girls? Dream on!"
"Well, who knows? It's hard to say." Chen Shi sighed deliberately.
Zhang Shuda grew increasingly angry as he spoke, and said indignantly, "If Song Ce really does that, then he has a problem with his conduct! Let me tell you, we'd better stay away from him, lest we get implicated and can't get back to the city one day!"
Chen Shi listened and nodded with a smile in agreement.
At this moment, Song Ce, who had already returned to his room, was completely unaware of all this. He opened the window, and the sunlight outside was just right. The soft, warm sunlight filtered through the glass, casting dappled shadows inside the room and adding a touch of warmth to the simple house.
On the other side, Jian Fangning, who was washing clothes in the yard, heard the commotion. She hesitated for a moment, then took an aluminum lunchbox and walked around the yard from behind the house.
"Song Ce, have you eaten?"
Upon hearing Jian Fangning's voice, Song Ce, who was inside the house, quickly got up, opened the door, and said gently to the shy girl in front of him, "Fangning, I have already eaten."
Jian Fangning looked up, handed the lunchbox to Song Ce, her eyes full of sincerity: "Here are vegetable pancakes. If you get hungry this afternoon, have some! My mother brought me a lot, I can't finish them all by myself."
"No need..." Before Song Ce could even refuse, Jian Fangning placed the lunchbox on the windowsill, waved to Song Ce, and ran away.
Song Ce stood there, his gaze lingering on the aluminum lunchbox on the windowsill, slightly stunned. A sudden lump formed in his throat; such a kind-hearted girl should never have met such a mad and tragic end.
Three months from now, he absolutely cannot let her repeat the same mistake... Song Ce thought somewhat absentmindedly.
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Author's Note: [Sprinkling flowers]
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