The brigade leader led the educated youth to the courtyard where they lived. The courtyard was somewhat deserted, with several dilapidated houses arranged in a haphazard manner.
The brigade leader called out to a middle-aged man, "Li Hua, these are the new educated youths who arrived this year. Arrange rooms for them."
Li Hua was the head of the educated youth settlement. He had dark skin, a strong build, and his eyes revealed a simple and capable nature. He stepped forward, looked at the educated youth in front of him, and a kind smile appeared on his face.
Li Hua has been here for seven years. Seven years ago, he came to this remote rural area from the city, filled with uncertainty about the unknown and anticipation for a new life. Upon arrival, he was shocked by the harsh living conditions in the countryside. Resources were scarce, oil and salt were rare, and meals were extremely simple, often just watery soup, barely edible. The hardship of farm work exceeded his expectations; the heavy labor put immense pressure on his body.
"Welcome everyone to our educated youth settlement. You must be tired from your journey. Let me show you around the rooms first. The conditions here are limited, so please bear with us," Li Hua said.
He led the educated youth into a room. The walls were mottled, with much of the plaster peeling away to reveal the soil underneath. Inside were several simple wooden beds covered with worn-out bedding, emitting a faint musty smell. A corner was piled with miscellaneous items, making the already cramped room feel even more crowded.
“This room can accommodate four people. You can discuss and decide how to allocate the space,” Li Hua said.
Next, they came to another room, which was slightly smaller and dimmer than the previous one. There were also several wooden beds in the room, and an old educated youth was sitting on one of them, looking at them with a hint of dissatisfaction in his eyes.
“This room can only accommodate three people, and one person is already living here,” Li Hua explained.
Li Hua led the educated youth to see each room in turn, and finally said, "Take a look at how to allocate the rooms so that you can settle in as soon as possible. We'll start working tomorrow. But since you've just arrived, you have three days to rest and buy some daily necessities. You can borrow food from the brigade headquarters."
The educated youth began discussing room allocations among themselves, and the scene became somewhat noisy.
“I want to stay in that room that belongs to someone,” one of the educated youth said.
“Then I’ll go to that room too,” another educated youth chimed in.
Li Hua watched from the sidelines, occasionally offering them some advice.
After a while, the rooms were assigned, and the educated youth began to move their luggage into their respective rooms.
At this moment, several older educated youths from the settlement came over. They looked at the new educated youths with impatient expressions on their faces.
"Another bunch of troubles have come. How are we supposed to live like this?" an old educated youth complained softly.
“That’s right, the place isn’t very big to begin with, and now so many people are coming,” another former educated youth chimed in.
"I don't know what these people can do. I just hope they don't cause us any trouble."
Although their voices weren't loud, some of the newly arrived educated youth still heard them, and the atmosphere suddenly became somewhat awkward.
Lin Qian heard the complaints of the older educated youth and felt somewhat uncomfortable, but she chose to remain silent. She quietly carried her luggage into the room that could accommodate four people.
Seeing that Lin Qian had chosen this room, Su Yao and Liu Cui quickly followed her inside. Lin Qian didn't say much, but simply began making her bed.
Of the two rooms for the girls, one was larger and could accommodate four people, while the other was smaller and could only accommodate three. The larger room was already occupied by two older educated youths, Zhou Min and Wu Lan.
Their belongings were simply placed beside the bed, and the room was filled with a faint, worn-out atmosphere.
The walls were somewhat yellowed, and the floor was uneven. After Lin Qian, Su Yao, and Liu Cui chose this room that could accommodate four people, Zhou Min, who was originally living there, showed a hint of displeasure and complained, "This place is already small, and now so many people are coming." Wu Lan said helplessly, "There's nothing we can do, it was arranged this way." Lin Qian and the others ignored the old educated youth's complaints and began to organize their belongings.
In the smaller girls' dormitory, an older educated youth named Wang Qin was already living. When she saw her new roommates come in, she only glanced at them indifferently before continuing with her own business.
The conditions inside the house were very basic, with only four wooden plank beds and a worn-out table. Lin Qian walked to her bed, put down her luggage, and began to fetch water. She picked up a somewhat tattered bucket, walked to the well in the yard, and laboriously drew a bucket of water.
Back in her room, Lin Qian dampened a worn-out rag with water and began wiping the bed. Water dripped from the rag onto the floor, forming a small water stain. Lin Qian carefully wiped every corner, hoping to make the bed a little cleaner.
Su Yao and Liu Cui also began to imitate Lin Qian, fetching water and wiping the bed.
As Su Yao wiped the surfaces, she kept complaining, "What a terrible place! The conditions are awful."
Liu Cui didn't say anything, she just kept working silently.
The situation was similar in the two rooms for the boys. One room could accommodate four people, and three older educated youths, Zhang Yu, Li Peng, and Zhao Gang, were already living there. When they saw their new roommates come in, they simply greeted them and continued to rest.
The other room can accommodate three people. Chen Qiang, a former educated youth, was quite enthusiastic and took the initiative to introduce the room to his new roommates.
Zhao Yu picked up his towel, wet it, and vigorously wiped the bed, saying, "Since we're here, let's make the best of it. Everyone, stop complaining and get ready to rest." The other male educated youths nodded in agreement and quickened their pace.
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