Yun Qiao shook his head. "I'm not sure. Since going to the countryside, I've had almost no contact with my former classmates."
Shen Qiyun nodded, indicating that he understood, and then changed the subject and asked, "By the way, Sister Yun Qiao, was the girl who came to your house yesterday also an educated youth who went to the countryside?"
Yun Qiao hummed, "Yes. We went to the same company in the countryside."
"Would you mind giving me her contact information?" Shen Qiyun said, "I'd like to collect a few more samples. Otherwise, the report on one person's experience might be rather boring."
Yun Qiao showed a hesitant expression on his face: "Uh... I'm afraid this is not very convenient. After all, if I give you her contact information without her permission, it might not be very appropriate..."
Upon hearing this, Shen Qiyun's eyes flashed with disappointment, but she quickly adjusted herself and said with a smile, "I was inconsiderate. In that case, forget it. But if there's a chance, I hope you can help convey my wish to interview her."
Shen Qiyun said, "After all, I've never come into contact with the educated youth who went to the countryside before, and I really can't find anyone else to interview right now."
Yun Qiao agreed: "Sister Qiyun, I'll ask her for you later."
Shen Qiyun said: "Shall we officially begin now?"
Yun Qiao nodded: "Tuo."
Shen Qiyun said: "Well, first, tell me about the place where you went to the countryside?"
"Yes." Yun Qiao cleared his throat and said seriously, "The place where I went to the countryside is a military farm under Mishan Mountain in Songjiang Province."
Before Yun Qiao could finish her first sentence, Shen Qiyun interrupted her, "Wait a minute, Sister Yun Qiao, let me ask you something, is the military reclamation farm different from the ordinary educated youth who went to the countryside?"
Yun Qiao was slightly stunned. She didn't expect that Shen Qiyun, who was going to do a special project on educated youth, didn't even know what a military reclamation farm was. Didn't he know anything about it beforehand?
Although he had doubts in his heart, Yun Qiao still patiently answered her questions.
"It's quite different. The military farm was actually formerly a military unit, with the full name being the Production and Construction Corps. Therefore, the cadres and positions on the farm are basically retired veterans. Although we were nominally sent to the countryside as educated youth, we actually received a salary for our position and could be considered a glorious soldier of the Corps stationed on the frontier."
"Ordinary educated youth who went to the countryside to work in the fields received no wages, but were paid in cents. Each cent was worth a few cents, and a full day's work was worth ten cents. Girls had less strength and didn't complete their tasks well, so they might only earn six or seven cents a day. By the end of the year, they might not even be able to support themselves, and they would still have to pay back the production team."
Chen Qiyun was surprised: "Yeah, the difference is really big."
Yun Qiao nodded: "Yes."
"Then your life on the farm should be pretty good, not too hard, right?" Shen Qiyun said.
Yun Qiao forced a smile. "It depends on who you compare yourself to. If you compare it to the educated youth in the village, then our educated youth in the Corps are treated quite well. We get clothes, food coupons, and wages. But to say it's not hard work? That's not the case."
"In the summer, I weeded the fields under the scorching sun. Carrying dozens of kilograms of pesticide buckets, I would weed all day long. By the end, my shoulders were so swollen from exhaustion. The next day, my arms ached so much I couldn't lift them, and even holding chopsticks was a struggle. In the autumn, during the rush to harvest, I soaked my feet in the rain until the skin peeled. In the winter, I spread manure in the fields. In temperatures exceeding 20 degrees below zero, the manure froze solid, and I had to work hard with a spatula."
"All year round, the blisters and calluses on my hands never cease."
Yun Qiao said, "I was relatively lucky. I had a skill. After more than six months in the countryside, I passed the exam to become a barefoot doctor and became a company health worker. So my life was relatively easy compared to other educated youth. Otherwise, it would have been a life of constant hardship and endless work."
Shen Qiyun asked: "Then your company, don't you have any entertainment?"
"Entertainment activities?" Yun Qiao couldn't help but smile when he heard that.
"Well, kind of. We have morning meetings and evening meetings, and after the meetings we sometimes get together to sing songs, tell stories, or something. But overall, the pain definitely outweighs the joy."
"If we could return to the city one day, many years later, we might not forget the youth we spent on the black soil of the Great Northern Wilderness, but no one would want to live that life again."
"Youthful years are only for reminiscing."
While listening, Shen Qiyun carefully took notes in his notebook.
After recording, he asked again: "When you were sent to the countryside in the Great Northern Wilderness, did you ever think about when you could return to the city? Or, did the educated youth who went to the countryside with you ever think about when they could return to the city?"
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