Chapter 8 Chapter 8 Zhang Yunhuan, Huangzhuang Brigade
On the train, Zhuo Jia quickly found her seat, stuffed the sack under her, placed the backpack diagonally next to it, and then sat down on the seat. Done!
She looked out the window and saw that others were still struggling to squeeze in. She shook her head. Fortunately, she had foresight and ran fast, otherwise she would be worried that she would not be able to find a seat even if she squeezed on the train.
This won’t work. It’s a two-day and two-night train ride. It’s so far, there’s no way I’ll be able to come back even if you kill me.
"Hello comrade, my name is Zhang Yunhuan. I am an educated youth who went to the countryside. Are you an educated youth who went to the countryside?" A girl sitting opposite Zhuo Jia looked at Zhuo Jia curiously and asked.
Many of the people at this station were educated youth who had gone to the countryside, but the girl sitting opposite her was really different from the other educated youth. The others came up crying, but only this girl came up smiling.
Zhuo Jia nodded: "Yes, I am also an educated youth, my name is Zhuo Jia."
Well, you can tell at a glance that Zhang Yunhuan's family conditions should be good. She has a plump face and new clothes. Most importantly, this person going to the countryside should be temporary, and her family must have a way to get her back!
Hearing that she was also an educated youth, Zhang Yunhuan was curious, but he couldn't help asking, "Where are you going? I'm going to the mountain city."
She asked everyone around her, but unfortunately none of them were with her.
Zhuo Jia's eyes flashed with surprise: "Me too, from Anshi and Hexian, a mountain city."
Could it be that this mountain city is still a good place?
Zhang Yunhuan became even more excited: "Me too, me too, let's go together."
I have company, I have company. As someone who needs friends to accompany me even when going to the toilet, I finally found a company.
Zhuo Jia was also surprised, but it didn't affect her nodding: "Okay."
This is such a coincidence. I just wonder if the two of them can be assigned to the same place. If they can, it should be easier for her to find a partner. If they are far away, then she will have to worry more.
There's nothing she can do about it. Where she gets assigned depends entirely on luck. But that's definitely not the case with Zhang Yunhuan. The place she wants to go to in the countryside must have been carefully considered by her family!
During the next two days and two nights on the train, the two of them became completely familiar with each other. There was nothing they could do about it, as they were the only two educated youth around who were going to the same place. Everyone else got off the train one after another. Of course, some got off and some got on, but in their carriage, from getting on to getting off, they were the only two going to the same place.
When they got off the train in the mountain city of Anshi, people from the Youth League Office were already waiting at the train station. They then had to take a bus to Hexian County. Once there, they would be assigned to various communes, and then from there to various brigades...
After all the trouble, it was already three o'clock in the afternoon when we arrived at Shilou Commune. In addition to Zhuo Jia and Zhang Yunhuan, there were another twenty-six educated youth, a total of twenty-eight people.
The people from the Youth League Office asked them to wait outside while he went into the commune to look for people. Not long after, he came out with a dozen people. The commune secretary said some polite words and asked people from each brigade to start picking up the people.
Zhuo Jia and Zhang Yunhuan looked at each other and began to pray, praying that they would be assigned to the same group.
Fortunately, they were all assigned to the Huangzhuang Brigade. Unfortunately, the brigade leader was not in a good mood because only two female comrades were assigned to the Huangzhuang Brigade.
Compared with the expression of the captain of the Huangzhuang Brigade, the expression of the captain of the Mazhuang Brigade next to them was particularly good because they were assigned two boys.
As we were leaving the commune, the Mazhuang brigade leader was still there, grumbling, "Luckily, we were assigned two male comrades; they're strong enough."
Zhuo Jia: "..."
She looked at the captain of the Huangzhuang Brigade, shaking with anger. She grabbed Zhang Yunhuan's hand, lowered her head and whispered, "We two don't eat much."
"That's right, we don't eat as much as boys." Zhang Yunhuan immediately followed up and glared at the captain of the Mazhuang Brigade after saying this.
This old man doesn't look like a good person!
The captain of the Huangzhuang Brigade looked more cheerful. He said with a smile, "Let's go, let's go quickly. The donkey cart is waiting outside. Let's go back and pack up before we miss dinner."
Apart from anything else, these two female comrades are smart and their brains work really quickly!
As for whether I ate less or whether I could work, that was all a matter for the future. At least I had regained the face I had just saved.
After climbing onto the donkey cart, the team leader began to speak: "As you all know, I am the team leader of the Huangzhuang Brigade, and my name is Huang Hongjie. Although our Huangzhuang Brigade is far away from the commune, it is close to the mountains and has water. Moreover, there is less work in our brigade, and the people are easy to get along with."
He was not bragging when he said this. With so many educated youth going to the countryside, there were more or less some bad things said about them in other brigades, but there was no such thing in his brigade!
Zhuo Jia nodded and said with trust, "I believe what you said, Captain."
Otherwise, Zhang Yunhuan would not have been assigned here. After she said that, she talked to Zhang Yunhuan who was still looking around and said, "Sister, I have expressed my opinion."
Zhang Yunhuan, looking around, nodded quickly: "I believe in the captain too."
This place was recommended by her father's friend, and it was her father who used his connections to get her here. Even if she didn't trust the captain, she had to trust her father.
If Zhuo Jia knew what she was thinking, she would definitely give herself a thumbs up. She is so smart!
However, the Huangzhuang Brigade was indeed remote, and it took more than half an hour to get there by donkey cart. By the time they arrived at the brigade, it was already past four o'clock.
The team leader sent the two to the educated youth point and handed them over to a female educated youth named Feng Xiaoyu, and then left. Oh, before leaving, he did not forget to tell them to settle down here and remember to go to the team headquarters to get food.
Zhang Yunhuan was a little surprised: "Our brigade also provides free food?"
So good? Her father is too reliable. Zhuo Jia: "..."
I dare to think even more than her!
Feng Xiaoyu quickly explained: "No, it's an advance payment of food. I'll pay it back when I get work points!"
After that, he quickly led the two of them to the female educated youth's room, saying, "Including you two, there are thirteen educated youth in our educated youth camp, five male and eight female. The rooms in the educated youth camp are big, especially the female educated youth's room. There's a super big kang that can easily sleep more than a dozen people."
When they pushed the door open, Zhuo Jia and Zhang Yunhuan opened their mouths wide at the same time. It was indeed no problem for more than a dozen people to sleep on it, because this kang was a kang that could bend, equivalent to two long kangs!
"There's no place to put bedding, which means there's no one there. You can choose a place by yourselves. Also, there's nothing in the educated youth site except the kang, so you need to buy a cabinet for the kang yourself." Feng Xiaoyu explained to them.
She knew people in other brigades, so she had been to other educated youth sites. The educated youth site in her brigade was considered one of the better ones. Other educated youth sites even had houses where you could see the stars.
Zhuo Jia nodded. Thinking of what Feng Xiaoyu had just said, she turned around and asked, "How many educated youth have gone to the countryside in our brigade?"
She hasn't forgotten her primary goal yet, to get married!
Feng Xiaoyu didn't think much about it and said directly, "Twenty-one. The other eight educated youth have all married and moved out."
"So many educated youth got married here." Zhang Yunhuan asked in disbelief.
She couldn't understand it. You know, when she went to the countryside, her parents repeatedly warned her not to find a partner there, otherwise she would not be able to come back.
And so many educated youth got married here. Is this really normal?
Seeing Zhang Yunhuan's frightened expression, Feng Xiaoyu quickly explained, "No one forced them. They all volunteered. Some couldn't stand the hardship of working in the fields, while others felt they couldn't go back home. It didn't matter if they had family, so they might as well find a good one here."
The relationship between these educated youth and the villagers is very good, so there must be no misunderstanding.
Zhang Yunhuan swallowed and asked quietly, "Then, is it okay if I don't go to work?"
When she came, her mother said she would send her money and tickets.
"Of course you can." Feng Xiaoyu was silent for a moment before saying, "But don't be too blatant. Although most of the people in the team are good, there are always one or two troublemakers who are hard to guard against."
Whenever she mentioned those two scoundrels, she would get so angry. She was not afraid that they would not go to work, but she was afraid that they would go out looking for ways to make money all day long. Fortunately, the team leader and the team secretary of this team were able to keep them under control.
Zhang Yunhuan nodded thoughtfully, seeming to understand but also not understand. But it didn’t matter, she would write a letter to ask her parents.
Zhuo Jia sat on the edge of the kang and thought, if she wanted to live a leisurely life here, she still had to find someone who could keep the situation under control, the kind of person who no one would dare to cause trouble for no matter how her life went.
I'll ask around some other day and find a good one for myself.
"Okay, you two hurry up and pack up. When the male educated youth come back from work, ask them to help you get the food." Feng Xiaoyu said quickly.
She was supposed to go to work today, but because new educated youth were coming and she was the person in charge of the educated youth site, she took a leave of absence in the afternoon.
Zhuo Jia and Zhang Yunhuan looked at each other. They were unfamiliar with the place and didn't know anything, so they could only obey. As for choosing a place to sleep, they just spread the mattress along the kang so that they could put things in other places.
The two first borrowed Feng Xiaoyu's rag to wipe the kang clean, and then made the mattress. Because they didn't have a kang cabinet, they didn't take out the clothes. Zhuo Jia put her clothes in the backpack, and Zhang Yunhuan put them in the suitcase.
After cleaning up, the two came out to find Feng Xiaoyu. It must be said that she was really hardworking. In just a short while, she was already cleaning up the vegetable garden.
"Sister Xiaoyu, did you buy your kang cabinet at the supply and marketing cooperative?" Zhuo Jia asked tentatively.
She suspected that he bought it from the villagers in the brigade.
As expected, Feng Xiaoyu shook her head. "No, I bought it from Huang Hongtao, Uncle Huang San, in the brigade. Uncle Huang San is the only carpenter in the brigade. Not only the kang cabinet, but even the wooden basin for washing feet was bought from Uncle Huang San. Washbasins are sold at the commune supply and marketing cooperative."
"But Uncle Huang also has to go to work, so we have to wait until he's done working before we can go see him."
There was no other way. The brigade was too far away from the county, and the commune's supply and marketing cooperative was too small, so many things had to be bought in the county.
She didn't say anything about buying a wooden basin to wash her face. For people from the city, they were still used to using enamel basins to wash their faces, not to mention that the two new educated youths looked like they came from well-off families.
Soon the educated youth came back one after another. They were all exhausted and dragged their legs weakly, which made Zhuo Jia and Zhang Yunhuan's eyelids twitch.
Seeing that everyone had returned, Feng Xiaoyu went straight to Li Zhuang, the person in charge of the male educated youth group, and said, "Brother Zhuang, go to the brigade headquarters and help them get the food back."
Li Zhuang lived up to his name, being a tall and strong man. He glanced at Zhuo Jia and the others and nodded, "Okay, I'll go right away."
Otherwise, if you arrive too late, everyone at the brigade headquarters will have gone home.
"Don't we have to go together?" Zhuo Jia asked a little embarrassedly.
It's really embarrassing. People have worked a day and I still have to help them carry food.
Feng Xiaoyu smiled and said, "No need. Brother Zhuang is strong enough to carry it back by himself. I'll take you to Uncle Huang's house."
Zhuo Jia: "..."
She looked at Feng Xiaoyu, who was smiling, and then looked at Li Zhuang, who had no opinion and was just looking at Feng Xiaoyu. She felt that she might have discovered something big!
Following Feng Xiaoyu to Uncle Huang's house, Uncle Huang had just arrived and was sitting in the yard drinking cold water. When he saw the three of them come in, he stood up and said, "You want a kang cabinet, right? Come in and choose one for yourselves. Boss, go push our cart and deliver the kang cabinet to the new educated youth comrades."
These educated youth were one of their important sources of income, and he would make some and keep them at home when he was not busy every year.
Zhuo Jia and the others followed Uncle Huang into the utility room and found it was full of wood, tools, finished and semi-finished products, and even wooden bowls and spoons!
"You can choose for yourselves, and then let my eldest brother move you out." Uncle Huang said while standing at the door.
Zhuo Jia and Zhang Yunhuan looked at each other. Since they both had their own plans, they didn't ask for anything too much. They just asked for a kang cabinet and a wooden basin. As for bowls and chopsticks, they had lunch boxes, so they would make do with it for now.
Another reason is that Zhuojia doesn’t have much money left!
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