When An Moxue arrived at the educated youth settlement, both male and female educated youth gathered at the kitchen table, reciting quotations and studying ideology.
Whether they were genuinely learning or not, An Moxue admired their enthusiasm and high spirits; at least it would be difficult for her to pretend to be like that.
When the educated youth saw An Moxue arrive, they quickly called her over to study together.
An Moxue then realized that they had to study for two hours every day and submit a report every week. She had missed three weeks and had to submit three reports to make up for it, plus this week's report, for a total of four reports, each with no less than two hundred words.
Furthermore, each of the educated youths would send one person out every night to teach villagers who wanted to learn to read. Each lesson lasted an hour and a half and was held in the large auditorium of the brigade headquarters. The room was large and had a heated kang (a traditional brick bed), so it wasn't cold at all. There were quite a few villagers who wanted to learn, and the auditorium was packed every night. Only they themselves knew how much they actually learned.
From then on, An Moxue began her winter hibernation, spending her mornings studying at the educated youth settlement, occasionally attending classes at the brigade headquarters in the evenings, and then studying online in her personal space when she returned home.
After finishing her studies, she would gossip with the female educated youth. Today, after finishing her studies, Ma Li couldn't wait to go up to her and ask, "Mo Xue, why did you leave so early the day Wang Zhaodi had the accident? Liu Jie and I came out to look for you but couldn't find you. Later, the villagers told us that you had left. We were thinking of having you ride your bike to take her to the hospital in town, but we had no choice but to ask Old Ma for help, which cost us a dime."
"Oh, Aunt Meihua needed to see me, so we left together. Did we miss the rescue? How is it now?" An Moxue replied calmly.
Ma Li said, "When we got to the hospital, the doctor said there was a massive hemorrhage. The baby couldn't be saved, and I almost didn't make it back either. The doctor said we were too late."
Hearing that her words sounded a bit sarcastic, Liu Jie quickly chimed in, "You can't blame Mo Xue for that. It's all because Li Lai Tou's mother didn't care. In the end, we were the ones who pooled our money and took care of her at the hospital."
"How is Wang Zhaodi now? Has she returned your money?" An Moxue asked.
Zhang Xiu continued, "Didn't you see? Wang Zhaodi is so thin she's unrecognizable, like a paper doll. Her face is frighteningly pale, without a trace of color. Li Laitou's mother insists she has no money, and Wang Zhaodi has even less. She can only owe money for now. What can we do?"
An Moxue said, "Even if I were here, I wouldn't dare to give her a ride. She had a miscarriage, and sitting on the back of a bicycle would be even more bumpy and dangerous. It would be better for her to lie down on the bike." Everyone nodded in agreement.
Zhang Xiu said, "You're right. Why not enjoy a good life instead of ruining your child, exhausting yourself, and damaging your health in the future? What's the point?"
Ma Li chimed in, "She wanted to be in charge of Li Laitou's household, but she ended up losing everything. Just you wait and see. Li Laitou's mother, if she had children, it would be fine, but now that she's lost them, she'll be in deep trouble. I've never seen such a fool. Every time her family contacts her, it's asking for money or food, and she still scrimps and saves to send it home. Since she came to the countryside, has anyone seen her family send her anything? Nothing. But she swarms around anyone who has something good, like a bee."
Qi Taohua, not wanting to be confused, asked, "Then Sister Ma Li, why were you so eager to save her?"
"Isn't that a pointless question? If our fellow educated youth don't even lend a hand when we're in trouble, we'll only get bullied by the local villagers. Do you think we can rely on villagers who have no relatives or connections? We'd be lucky if they didn't kick us when we're down. Even if some of them wanted to help, they're all broke themselves and don't know who else they'd be waiting for!"
Ma Li's words instantly silenced everyone, creating an unusually somber atmosphere, especially for the two sisters, Qi Hehua and Qi Taohua, who were younger than them, only fifteen years old. No matter how broken or poor their home was, it was still their home.
They only feel at ease when they have a home. They came here to a place where they know no one and no one, and they don't know if they can go back or when they can go back. The local villagers are wary of them. The longer they stay in the countryside, the less subsidies they receive from home. They are like rootless duckweed, without a place to settle down or anyone to rely on.
An Moxue couldn't bear to see this scene and quickly changed the subject. She asked, "When will we be able to receive our grain?"
Zhang Xiu asked, "What's wrong? Are you running out of food?"
Upon hearing about the issue of food, the two sisters, Qi Hehua and Qi Taohua, immediately perked up, all four of their eyes fixed on her with expressions of seeking answers.
Zhang Xiu felt somewhat uncomfortable being stared at by three pairs of eyes. She coughed lightly and said, "It'll be soon. After we pay the grain tax, we'll be able to distribute the grain. You can also buy subsidized grain in the first year, so don't worry, there will definitely be enough to eat."
Upon hearing this, the two sisters immediately wilted again. There was a food subsidy, but you still needed money to buy it.
An Moxue felt that her change of topic was not very good. Why did the two girls become so listless again?
Ma Li, who could never read between the lines, approached An Moxue again. "Moxue, what have you been doing all these days? Why didn't you come to study with us? I went to look for you, but the door was locked."
An Moxue replied casually, "I asked the brigade leader for leave and went up the mountain to chop firewood. I left early and came back late, so naturally you couldn't find me. What about you? Did you prepare enough firewood? It's cold and you need a lot of firewood."
As soon as she mentioned firewood, everyone fell silent again. Well, this must be a push and shoving game, everyone afraid of being taken advantage of if they do too much work, or being easily exploited and bullied in the future. In the end, it just fizzled out. You can tell by looking at the firewood shed outside.
She felt a bit bored, said goodbye to everyone, and left.
An Moxue returned home, sat on the kang (a heated brick bed), and took out the letter from her schoolbag. She felt a little helpless; what kind of hatred had she incurred?
She took out the letters and started reading them one by one. After reading them all, she concluded that they all had the same message: because of her, their parents were forcing them to go to the countryside. If they didn't go, they would be forced to join the army. In any case, no one was going to stay at home and have a peaceful life.
There was nothing she could do but resign herself to replying. She prayed silently that no more letters like that would come; the pressure was immense. Perhaps her friends heard her prayers, because she didn't receive any more similar letters.
After this snowfall, the weather became noticeably colder. An Moxue added two more pieces of wood to the kang (a heated brick bed) at night, and slept with her headboard exposed at the foot of the kang to help dissipate heat.
Living alone means you can sleep anywhere you want, or sleep on a heated kang bed whenever you want. Don't be too comfortable. Think about how the educated youth in the settlements schemed over a little firewood, only to end up freezing themselves. They didn't even know where they got more or less firewood. Was it worth it? Why bother?
As the weather gets colder, An Moxue has been busy lassoing horses in the mountains to hone her skills, and her studio is piled with cut furs waiting to be sewn.
After dinner, An Moxue slipped into her studio and began sewing. Due to the limitations of the era, many of the designs were basic. She regretted not being able to make beautiful clothes to wear, but she still made some adjustments to the details. Once she got busy, she forgot about the time and didn't realize it was already late at night until the clothes were all sewn and ironed.
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