"How many female educated youths are there in the educated youth settlement now? Actually, I wouldn't mind living together, I'm just asking."
Li Nannan explained, sounding slightly aggrieved.
“Three, plus the two of you, that makes five. If you mind, there’s nothing we can do. This is the only condition our team has. Not to be rude, but Li Zhiqing, how come you don’t have any luggage? Your bag is so small, I doubt you even have a change of clothes in it. Our team doesn’t provide clothes or daily necessities for educated youth. We only give them a little bit of food.”
The dog looked at Li Nannan with a puzzled expression, voicing his biggest question.
Yu Jiu and Qiao Cheng also silently pricked up their ears to listen; everyone was probably curious about this question. Yu Jiu had even secretly packed some clothes from home; otherwise, what would she wear?
"Yes, I have a set of clothes in my bag. I sent everything else to the post office because it's too much trouble to carry it myself."
"That's good."
The dog clicked its tongue in amazement. "Rich people! Sending things is ridiculously expensive. If they can carry it themselves, they'll carry it themselves. Why bother sending it?"
"By the way, where are you all from? From the city..."
Gouzi was a lively guy, and he was the one who kept the atmosphere lively and talked to everyone the whole time, while Xu Zi walked ahead silently, maintaining his dignity as the captain.
Yu Jiu also asked about the team's situation and gained a basic understanding.
However, the mountain path was too long and steep. After only half an hour, everyone felt exhausted and their feet were sore. Li Nannan and Qiao Cheng had stopped talking.
Yu Jiu was also exhausted and seeing stars, but she had the willpower to persevere. In her past life, she walked for three days and three nights without eating or drinking, which truly pushed the limits of the human body. At that time, her consciousness had long since drifted away, leaving only mechanical instinct to repeat the walking.
She pursed her dry lips, took a couple of deep breaths, her chest heaving as she panted heavily. She wiped the fine sweat from her forehead, clutched her luggage, and lifted her aching legs to continue following.
"Stop, everyone. Take a ten-minute break before you go."
Suddenly, Yu Jiu felt a weight on her shoulder; her luggage had been taken away. She looked up at the tall man beside her, wondering when he had returned, and felt a strange mix of emotions.
Xu Zi pretended not to see her gaze, picked up her luggage, and walked to the shady tree, gesturing for them to come over. Gouzi was the first to respond to the captain's call, plopping down on a smooth, large rock.
"I knew you wouldn't be able to hold on. After a couple more breaks, you'll be back at the brigade by noon."
"Get up. Is this a seat for you? Move aside. Don't you know how to give way to a lady?"
"Come here."
Xu Zi kicked the dog aside, raised his chin at Yu Jiu, his movements casual yet imposing, his dark eyes reflecting Yu Jiu's slender figure.
"Ouch, Captain, take it easy! If you kick me and hurt me, who will help them carry their luggage?"
The dog rolled onto the ground with its bottom and simply lay there, not moving an inch.
"Thank you, Captain."
Yu Jiu walked over and sat down without any hesitation. He was still as kind and caring as ever.
Xu Zijiang was too lazy to sit, so he simply crossed his arms and leaned against the tree trunk next to Yu Jiu, his long legs casually propped up, like a loyal and reliable guardian.
"Where should I sit?"
Qiao Cheng, imitating the dog, sat down on the ground, panting and trying to relieve the stuffy heat. However, Li Nannan was still hesitant and refused to sit down.
Xu Zi frowned in puzzlement, his sharp eyes revealing his confusion.
"Isn't there still a rock here? You can sit on the ground. What, do you want me to invite you to sit down?"
There were two stones under the tree, one larger and one smaller, separated, each more than enough for one person to sit on. The larger one had already been given to Yu Jiu, so the remaining one was hers, wasn't it? Why ask?
This female educated youth seems to be a little slow on the uptake.
Feeling rejected, Li Nannan sat down unhappily, thinking that the people on this team were unfriendly. She regretted asking to join another team earlier.
"Alright, let's keep going."
Xu Zijiang timed it perfectly, and when it was almost time, he urged everyone to hurry on their way. He had other things to do in his team and couldn't afford to linger on the road for too long.
"Okay."
Having regained some strength, Yu Jiu felt she could do it again. She reached for her luggage, but Xu Zijiang was faster.
"I'll get it for you."
He casually picked up Yu Jiu's bundle and strode forward, giving Yu Jiu no chance to refuse. Yu Jiu stared blankly at his tall back, then lowered her eyes and smiled gently.
That clueless dog couldn't see the subtle atmosphere between the two of them at all, and he asked loudly.
"Captain, you also have a bundle in your hand. If you take one, then I won't take any!"
"After you've eaten, you don't need to eat anymore."
"No, please, I'll take it!"
The dog quickly hugged the two pieces of luggage tightly and ran forward, panting like a diligent little ox.
Yu Jiu was free of luggage and felt quite relaxed. The rest of the journey was not so tiring. They rested once more along the way, and the group finally arrived at the village entrance.
"We're here! We're finally here! I'm so thirsty!"
In the end, Gouzi took on all the responsibility. He delivered the luggage to the educated youth settlement in one go. The settlement was located not far from the entrance of the village, a little distance from the homes of other villagers.
The house was just an ordinary thatched hut. Although it was simple, it looked quite large and clean. Pushing open the gate led to the courtyard, which was much better than Yu Jiu had imagined.
"The male educated youth will stay in this room, and the female educated youth will stay in this room. See which bed is empty and sleep in it. I'll go get you some grain now. You'll cook your own meals and keep your own grain. Each person will get 30 jin. We'll distribute the grain after the autumn harvest. After that, you'll eat whatever you earn. The team won't give you any more subsidies."
"You've just arrived, so I'll give you half a day to rest and get familiar with the team. You'll be up at four o'clock tomorrow morning to start work."
Xu Zi gave a brief introduction, his deep gaze swept over Yu Jiu, and he openly gave her another look before striding away with his long legs, leaving Gouzi to help everyone.
"Then I'll pack my things first."
Yu Jiu carried her luggage and went in first, choosing an empty bed in the corner. She rolled up her sleeves and wiped the bed mat. There were no cabinets, so she put her clothes on the bed, the thermos on the floor, and other odds and ends under the bed.
She only needed to buy a washbasin and a bath tub; she even brought a set of tableware. Her belongings were few but of high quality, consisting of essential daily necessities.
However, Li Nannan was dumbfounded, staring at the dirty bed, not knowing where to start. She had only brought one set of clothes, a toothbrush, and a water cup; everything else, including the bed sheets, was still slowly being shipped and would take at least two or three days to arrive.
Do you still have a mat?
She had no choice but to ask Yu Jiu for help, speaking in an arrogant tone.
Yu Jiu shook her head; she couldn't help either.
"I only have a straw mat and a thin quilt."
"Your mat is quite big, why don't you cut it in half and give me half? I'll return it to you after I get my luggage."
····
Yu Jiu looked at her speechlessly and said, "Listen to yourself, is this request reasonable?"
"Why don't you go and buy one? There should be someone in the team who knows how to weave straw mats."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
