As Jiang Xile followed Guo Dongxu over, she saw two elderly women sitting solemnly under the locust tree, talking about something.
"Aunt Liu, Aunt Xu, are you enjoying the cool air? Here they are!"
"Oh, it's Guo Zhiqing! What brings you here?"
"Oh, this is Comrade Jiang Xile, a new educated youth at our educated youth settlement. I'll take her to the brigade leader's house."
After Guo Dongxu finished speaking, he introduced Jiang Xile to him:
"Comrade Jiang, this is Aunt Liu, and this is Aunt Xu. They are both very kind and helpful members of our Progressive Brigade. If you have any questions in the future, you can ask them for help!"
"Hello Aunt Liu, hello Aunt Xu, I'm Jiang Xile. I'm new here, so please take good care of me!"
"Oh, no problem at all! Comrade Jiang is really handsome! Your Aunt Xu and I, aside from everything else, just love good-looking people. Come visit Aunt Xu's house sometime!"
Jiang Xile smiled and nodded, then took out four pieces of fruit candy from her pocket and handed them over.
"We've just arrived and don't have much to offer. Here are two pieces of fruit candy for you two ladies to sweeten your mouths. We have something to discuss with the brigade leader, so we'll be leaving now!"
"Hey kid, why are you being so polite? Keep this candy for yourself!"
"I have more, ma'am, you can have it, it's not worth two cents!"
"Hehe, look at what you're saying. Well, we appreciate your kind gesture. If you ever need anything, just come and find me anytime!"
Jiang Xile nodded, and then followed Guo Dongxu towards the brigade leader's house.
The brigade leader's house was not far from the educated youth settlement. It was the third house inside the village after entering the village. It had a black gate that was slightly taller than the other houses.
"Knock knock knock!"
Guo Dongxu stepped forward and knocked on the door.
"Who is it! In the middle of the day!"
With a creak, the black door slowly opened, and a middle-aged woman in a gray top appeared before the two.
"Aunt Li, we've come to see the brigade leader!"
"Oh, it's Xiao Guo! Come in, come in quickly!"
"Thank you, Auntie!"
"Don't mention it, we're all family!"
Jiang Xile glanced at Guo Dongxu, then at Aunt Li. The two were clearly very familiar with each other, and it was evident from their attitudes that Guo Dongxu was a man of good manners.
"Aunt Li, this is Jiang, a new educated youth at our educated youth settlement."
"Hello Aunt Li, I'm Jiang Xile. I apologize for the intrusion!"
"Oh dear, we all live in the same brigade, there's no need to disturb us. You just arrived, why didn't you get a proper rest before coming over? Is something wrong?"
Jiang Xile smiled but didn't say anything, while Guo Dongxu took over the conversation.
"That's how it is, Auntie, as you know, the girls' dormitory at the educated youth settlement isn't very big. The kang (heated brick bed) in the west wing hasn't been set up yet, and now that three more female comrades have arrived, there's nowhere for them to stay!"
"So that's how it is. Then what are you all doing here?"
"Isn't there a small storage shed next to the houses on the west side? Comrade Jiang wants to build a kang (heated brick bed) there to live in, so he came to find the brigade leader!"
"Oh, I see! After the autumn harvest, it seems we'll have to hurry up and set up the kang (heated brick bed) in the houses on the west side, otherwise we really won't have room for any more people!"
"Yes, these educated youth come in waves, and nobody knows when the next batch will arrive!"
"That's right!"
As they were talking, the three of them walked from the doorway to the front of the main room, where Aunt Li called out to them.
"Boss, Xiao Guo is here to see you! Come out quickly!"
A shed had been set up outside the door, perfect for cooling off in the summer. After calling everyone over, Aunt Li led Guo Dongxu and Jiang Xile to sit down there.
"Here, have some water. I just drew it from the well, it's nice and cool!"
Aunt Li moved very quickly; as soon as she finished speaking, she poured out three bowls of cold water.
Guo Dongxu and Jiang Xile didn't refuse; it was just a bowl of cold water.
After walking this far, the two of them were indeed quite thirsty.
"Gulp... gulp..."
He drank the bowl of water.
"Wow, this well water is so refreshing!"
"Right? Xiao Guo, another bowl, please. It's hot today, look at all the sweat on your forehead!"
"Hehe, it's alright. Thank you for your concern, Auntie. In our brigade, you're the kindest and most caring person when it comes to taking care of the younger generation."
"You're so sweet-talking, nothing can stop you!"
While the two were chatting and laughing, Captain Li Tiejun also came out of the house.
"Oh, look how happy my wife is! Little Guo, come visit often when you have time. Every time your aunt sees you, she's as happy as a flower!"
"Yes, Uncle Li, with you saying that, I'll definitely come a few more times. Don't find me annoying then!"
"That's impossible!"
Li Tiejun sat down next to Aunt Li and picked up her bowl to drink.
"Phew! That's refreshing!"
With a "glug glug," the bowl of water was empty again. Only then did Li Tiejun look at Jiang Xile and say:
"Why is Jiang Zhiqing here? Is something wrong?"
Jiang Xile nodded, glanced at Guo Dongxu, and then said:
"Well, Captain, the girls' dormitory can't accommodate the three of us, so I thought I'd tidy up the small storage room on the west side and live there myself."
Don't worry, I'll cover all the expenses myself, it's just that the room is a bit small.
So I'm thinking that after I finish tidying up, I can live alone. I wonder if that's feasible!
After listening, Li Tiejun looked at Guo Dongxu again. Receiving the signal, Guo Dongxu immediately spoke:
“Jiang Zhiqing is right. We came here hoping they could try to squeeze in, but we didn’t expect that there wouldn’t be enough room for their bedding, so we came to ask you for help.”
The place Jiang Zhiqing was referring to was the small storage shed on the west side, which used to store miscellaneous and mostly useless things.
"In that case, let's do as Jiang Zhiqing says. If you pay the fees, then the right to use that room belongs to you."
"That's no problem, but you have to promise that I'll be the only one living in that room until I leave the Progressive Brigade!"
"That's no problem either. The storage room is small to begin with, it's good enough for one person. The row of big houses on the west side will be cleaned up after the autumn harvest, and the educated youth can stay there when they come back."
Jiang Xile was naturally happy to get the answer she wanted. Regardless of what the big house in the west was like, having a small house of her own in the educated youth settlement was already a good start.
"Thank you very much, Captain. But I've just arrived here, so I'll have to trouble you with tidying up the house and setting up the kang (heated brick bed). All I can do is offer some money!"
"No problem, I'll arrange for someone to do it for you in a bit. Just give me three yuan for the labor and materials, and you won't have to provide meals!"
"No problem, then I'll trouble you, Captain!"
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