"Dad, you're just receiving the educated youth now?"
Xuemei stopped her bicycle next to Liu's father and saw three male educated youth following behind Liu's father, each taller than the other, especially the one with wheat-skinned skin, who was the tallest and a head taller than Liu's father; the one in the middle was very white and half a head taller than Liu's father. Only his profile could be seen, and even from half of his face, one could tell that his face was angular; the one closer to Xuemei was a little shorter than Liu's father, with an ordinary appearance and a thin body.
"Well, they didn't arrive at the commune until about five forty."
Xuemei looked at the ox cart. Uncle Niu was driving the cart slowly in front. She found that the cart was full of luggage. There were three female educated youth sitting in the gaps between the luggage. One of them was so beautiful that she caught Xuemei's eye at once.
"Uncle Niu, you're here to pick up the educated youth too."
Uncle Niu fled famine to Liujia Village in late 1960 with his five-year-old grandson. Seeing pity for them, the villagers allowed them to stay. Uncle Niu's real name was Niu Dali, a skilled cattle breeder. Since his arrival, all the cattle in Niujia Village have been raised by them. Uncle Niu's grandson, Niu Ping'an, is now ten years old and in the third grade at the commune's primary school. Every day, feeding the cattle and cleaning the pens cost the grandfather and grandson eight work points. Now, Uncle Niu has added two more work points to his oxcart's responsibilities: delivering tofu twice a day to the commune. The village will also give him two more, for a total of ten work points a day.
Then he smiled and said to all the educated youth in Mandarin: "Dear comrades, welcome to our Liujia Village."
All the educated youth were very surprised. It was the first time they heard people speaking Mandarin in Danru Commune. Everyone started to look at Xuemei.
Xuemei noticed someone was looking at her, but she didn't take it seriously. She said to Liu's father, "Dad, can you come home with me first?"
"Xuemei, why don't you go home first? I'll take care of them. These educated youth are having dinner at our house today. Go back and help your mother."
"Okay, I'll be leaving first then."
"Village chief, can you let your daughter take my sister away first? My sister got a little heatstroke in the car these days and is not feeling well. I want her to go to the village to rest for a while." said the charming woman.
Xuemei looked at Father Liu, nodded, and replied, "Comrade, please let your sister get off! I'll take her away first, and you can help look after her luggage."
Looking at the young girl on the oxcart, Xuemei could imagine that normally this girl had big, round eyes that sparkled with innocence, and a small nose and mouth that revealed a quiet demeanor, making one think she was a girl who would never grow up. But now, her hair was messy, her face and lips were pale, and she looked like a sick little girl.
"Hello, comrade. My name is He Jing. Sorry to bother you."
Xuemei held He Jing's hand and said, "Serve the people. Hello, comrade. My name is Liu Xuemei. Can you get in the car?"
…
Liu Xuemei parked her bicycle under the eaves and brought He Jing into the main room.
"Comrade, please rest here for a while."
After saying that, I came to the door of Ruirui and Feifei's room and found Feifei reading a book and Ruirui playing with cardboard on the table.
"Rui Rui, you've finished your homework."
"Sister, you're back. I've already finished my homework."
"Okay, then come out and make this educated youth sister some sugar water. I'll go help mom prepare the meal. Feifei, you continue reading."
…
"Mom, can I help you?"
"Okay, I'm a little busy. Can you help me make another basket of rice cakes? I'll go pick some vegetables from the garden."
…
"Mom, they're back. Your dad and the educated youth should eat in the main hall, right? I'll eat in the kitchen with my two younger brothers. I've left some food."
"Okay, I'll go clear the table, and you just bring out a basket of corn cakes. It's just enough to fill their stomachs, and we can't afford more."
The food for the educated youth tonight and tomorrow morning was all provided by Xuemei's family. A winnowing basket held sixteen fist-sized corn cakes, giving each person two, along with a large bowl of beans and bacon (two taels of bacon), a large bowl of steamed eggplant with chopped peppers, and Xuemei's homemade smashed cucumbers. This meal was no worse than what we'd eat during the holidays.
When Xuemei and her two younger brothers brought the food out of the kitchen, they saw the educated youth washing their hands and faces by the well. After the educated youth went in, Xuemei took her two younger brothers to eat in the kitchen. The three of them also had to eat a basket of corn cakes. Xuemei ate three, and her two younger brothers each had five, which was enough to make them about 50% full. They left two for Father Liu. Father Liu would feel like he had nothing after eating two, and he definitely wouldn't be full.
In the main hall, Mr. and Mrs. Liu asked all the educated youth to sit around the table.
"Dear comrades, welcome to our Liujia Village to support agriculture. You have all been tired from traveling these days. This is a welcoming banquet prepared by my wife for you. We country people don't have any delicious food, but the vegetables are all grown by ourselves. They are very fresh. Would you like to try them?" said Liu's father.
Several educated youth expressed their gratitude to Mr. and Mrs. Liu for their hospitality and praised the delicious dishes cooked by Mrs. Liu.
"Okay, eat first. I'll tell you about other things after you're full." said Liu's father.
After everyone finished eating, Father Liu continued, "The autumn harvest will begin the day after tomorrow, so we haven't had time to build your housing yet. However, we made mud bricks for you a few days ago, and they're drying now. We'll build your houses after the autumn harvest."
"Village chief, where do we live then?" asked the charming female educated youth.
"Don't worry, I'll talk about this next. We've found two families for you. The three female educated youth will live in Liu Xiu's house, and the three male educated youth will live in Li Guanghui's house. We didn't just pick rooms for you randomly. Most other families in the village can only spare a bed for one or two people, and they have to share a room with their families. And some families have daughters and sons who are about to get married. I thought it would be best if you don't live separately. For the sake of your reputation, that's why we found these two families and made room for each of them."
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