Chapter 30: Passerby A in the 1970s Rural Life Story (4)
Uncle Shu usually brings his own cornbread or something when he comes over. Today he was hungry, so he took the cornbread, opened it, and then handed it to Jiang Yue. He thought he had bought two cornbreads, and that he would just eat them and then deliver the food to Jiang Yue when he got back. He didn't expect it to be meat and steamed buns.
"Yuewa, Uncle Shuanzhu can't eat this, it's too expensive. You can save it for when you get home tonight."
"Uncle, you eat it. It was saved for you. Just invite me over for a meal when you cook meat at home."
After arguing for a while, Uncle Shu thought that eating meat wasn't so easy, and he could only eat it a few times a year. In the end, under Jiang Yue's persistent persuasion, he reluctantly accepted it and found a place to squat down and eat.
Jiang Yue looked at the ox, and to her surprise, the ox was quite obedient to her. After Jiang Yue stood beside it, it stopped making a fuss. At this moment, Liu Ruyan, who had been watching for a while, came over and quietly handed Jiang Yue a few pieces of candy. Before Jiang Yue could accept them, she whispered, "Hello comrade, I want to ask if our brigade allows educated youth to build houses? Is the work tiring? How are the people in the brigade treating us educated youth?"
Jiang Yue glanced at her. The world's plot didn't explain what kind of person she was. Jiang Yue didn't accept her offer of help: "You can build your own houses, but you only have the right to live there. Once you leave, the houses will belong to the brigade. Also, the work is quite tiring. The autumn harvest is coming soon, and it's very tiring, but it will be much better after the harvest."
As for the last question, Jiang Yue didn't answer but just smiled. Liu Ruyan couldn't figure out what it meant either, so she went all out and took out a silk scarf, which Jiang Yue looked at and accepted.
He glanced at the bag, put it in his pocket, and leaned closer to Liu Ruyan, whispering, "I can only say I don't like you. You've been dragged down by the educated youth before you. Actually, our brigade leader is very fair in his dealings with people, but the two groups before you have caused too much trouble. If you trust me, I advise you to work honestly and ask the brigade leader for help if you have any problems. I can only say that as long as you don't cause trouble and live a good life, no one will bully you."
After listening, Liu Ruyan seemed thoughtful and gave Jiang Yue two more pieces of candy. It seemed that the old educated youth had set a bad example for them, but with this information, they knew what to do.
As for the big shots in the apocalypse, they don't care about these things at all. They've fought their way out of mountains of corpses and seas of blood. Jiang Yue can only say that it's best not to mess with them if you're not careful. But thinking about it, that's unlikely. They have the face of a female lead and a unique, aloof temperament. It would be strange if they didn't attract attention.
A while later, Su Yao and her bunch of wings returned. This person was quite impressive; in no time, she had a bunch of sycophants. They were the last group to return. After they put all their luggage on the oxcart, there was nowhere left for them to sit, let alone not let them ride.
Uncle Shuanzhu had Jiang Yue sit on the front right side to slow down the cart, then shouted "Let's go!" and led the oxcart away. It was already 2 p.m. when they set off. After about an hour, some people started to get tired. Uncle Shuanzhu saw that they didn't seem to be faking it, so he found a shady spot under a tree to rest for a while and gave them a sip of water.
"Let's rest for ten minutes and then set off, otherwise it will be dark by the time we get back."
"Hello, I'd like to ask how much longer it will take to get to the brigade?"
Jiang Yue estimated the distance and said, "At the current speed, it will take about four more hours."
This caused an uproar: "Why didn't you send another car to pick us up, given how far it is? Are you just making us walk all the way back? We came here to help you develop the countryside! Don't you all agree?!"
After he finished speaking, the others started making a fuss. Uncle Shuan couldn't help but say, "Another cart is coming? This oxcart was specially approved by the team! Look at the other brigades, they carry their own luggage. They're going further than us, and they won't get back until midnight."
"If anyone doesn't want to go to our brigade, they can go back to the commune right now and we'll transfer them to another brigade. Our brigade will definitely agree! I'll go back and get a certificate for you and send it over."
Upon hearing this, the smart people fell silent, and some understood that the brigade didn't really welcome them. That's just how it is for the villagers; they can't even do the work properly, yet they still have to share grain with them. There's only so much land; if you give it to them, I'll have less.
Some people go to the countryside out of necessity, while others go with genuine ideals to support rural development. It's easy for stereotypes to form when people are forced to do something, and that's how it is when one bad apple spoils the whole bunch.
Some less bright minds, seeing that everyone else was silent, and finding it boring to perform a monologue by themselves, stopped talking as well. After resting for about ten minutes, they set off again. They rested several more times along the way, each time for a longer period, and the return trip took an hour longer than expected.
Back at the brigade, everyone else had finished work and was about to go home for dinner when they saw that more educated youth had arrived. Everyone started making a fuss, asking the brigade leader why more educated youth were coming. The brigade leader had told them when no one was around earlier that day, so no one knew. Now, things were in an uproar again.
Everyone was talking amongst themselves, looking at the educated youth with reluctance on their faces. The brigade leader tried to explain, but no one listened. He angrily shouted, "Why are you yelling at me? I don't want it anymore either. I refused once last time, but this time it's all being forcibly assigned."
After saying that, he looked at Jiang Yue and said to her, "Xiao Yue, tell me what happened today."
"Don't blame the brigade leader, everyone. More than a hundred people came today. All the brigades in our commune are here. Ten of us are considered a small number. There are seventeen others."
After Jiang Yue finished speaking, everyone fell silent. They knew that this situation couldn't be resolved simply by the team leader saying no. The team leader waved his hand and said, "Alright, everyone go back to eat. What are you looking at? Haven't you seen enough yet? Anyone who keeps looking will be assigned to another group."
As soon as he said that, everyone disappeared. The brigade leader looked at the accountant and said, "Don't go home yet. Come with me to the educated youth compound and make arrangements for them."
The accountant nodded, and the team leader then said to Uncle Shuanzhu, "Shuanzhu, take your luggage to the educated youth compound and have the person in charge unload it and keep it safe."
He glanced at the truck full of luggage and his lips twitched. This group had more people than the previous two combined. "Tie you up and go get another pound of soybeans to feed the cow. You've really put in a lot of effort today."
He looked at Jiang Yue and extended his hand. Jiang Yue handed him the list. The captain said to Jiang Yue, "Alright, you've been busy all day. Go back. We don't need you here anymore. I'll give you an extra work point today."
Jiang Yue nodded to the brigade leader, said goodbye to Uncle Shuanzhu and the accountant, and then turned and left. After seeing Jiang Yue leave, the brigade leader took a puff of his cigarette and said to the educated youth, "Go on, settle down today, and come to the brigade headquarters tomorrow to collect your grain. This grain is a subsidy for you educated youth. From now on, you'll have to earn it yourself."
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