December in Heilongjiang Province is already very cold, with snowdrifts on both sides of the road. Not only are the roads slippery in the snow, but people wearing only cotton-padded coats may not be able to withstand the cold.
"Uncle Zhang, how much longer until we get to the village?" Cao Bin, a bespectacled young man who had been sent to the countryside during the Cultural Revolution, asked the question that everyone was concerned about.
Captain Guo glanced back and chuckled, "It's not far, it's not far. We'll be there after we cross that mountain."
Lu Qingyan and the others looked ahead.
At this pace, it's such a long way, and by the time we arrive it will probably be the middle of the night, which will be quite a hassle.
"Our production team isn't in a good location, at the foot of the mountain. Every trip to town takes a long walk. Fortunately, our production team has been allocated a truck that the commune has phased out. Every month, the production team allows its members to come to the county town on the first and fifteenth of the lunar month to purchase and exchange necessities. If you want to come to the county town, you can choose that time too," said Team Leader Guo, clearly very proud that the production team had a vehicle. Because of the cold weather, he was also wrapped up tightly from head to toe, constantly shivering to keep warm, just like these newly arrived educated youth.
"Since you have trucks, why didn't you send one to pick us up today?" Liu Yi asked, clearly dissatisfied with the current arrangement.
Lu Qingyan looked up and glanced at her secretly, thinking that this person might be her friend, but she didn't expect that this person was also a troublesome one.
This little girl clearly hasn't grasped the current situation. She still thinks of herself as a precious treasure in her family's hands, someone who should be pampered and protected by everyone. At the same time, she has a sense of superiority as a city dweller and looks down on the farmers who work in the countryside.
"Hehe." Captain Guo chuckled, not answering Liu Yi's question.
In fact, they had picked up educated youth a few times before, and the villagers were already used to the pampered manner of these rich city kids. At first, they did use trucks to pick them up, but those people complained about it. They would explain that the most important job of the trucks was to transport agricultural supplies such as seeds and fertilizers, and that they were the best vehicles available. But those who still complained still did. Now they simply stopped mentioning it and would no longer use such expensive vehicles to pick up these people.
Anyway, after a while, these educated youth will realize that no one will indulge them in this place. In their eyes, they are high and mighty city people, but in the eyes of these country folk, educated youth are not as important as a basket of cow and sheep dung.
At least sheep manure can fertilize the land, while these educated youths who are completely out of touch with reality mostly just cause trouble for everyone. They, the educated youths, despise the countryside, and just as they do, those of us who toil in the fields don't want them here.
Captain Guo took out his water bag, took a sip, and then gave it to the driver.
Guo Dayou took a sip from the mouth of the water pouch, then gave a thumbs up: "Great, it must have been brewed by your sister-in-law. You old Guo, you lied to me last time and said you didn't have any left."
Captain Guo snorted twice: "If I hadn't said that, would you still be able to take a sip right now?"
It's freezing cold, this damn weather is terrible. It's supposed to be the time to hibernate, and even the locals suffer when they come out at this time.
But who can blame us for sending educated youth to school at this time of year?
Fortunately, there was still a little bit of wine left, which could warm one up.
Captain Guo didn't feel comfortable letting anyone else come, so he brought Guo Dayou along, just in time to bring back some things from the supply and marketing cooperative for the members before the New Year.
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