The next morning, when the children came back from morning exercises, Lin Lan was humming a song, "Our hometown is in the field of hope..."

This was what she thought of when she read Mai Sui and Er Wang's essays. Their essays were full of vigorous and upward energy, which made her think of this.

Sanwang's eyes lit up when he heard this.

Seeing them come back, Lin Lan had to light up the stove for Da Wang and San Wang to inspire them.

"We always have a purpose when writing articles. When the teacher asked you to describe your hometown, he actually wanted you to introduce it to strangers with emotion. What is the general scenery of your hometown? Where is the most beautiful part? What are the customs and people in your hometown like? What developments and changes have taken place in your hometown? Through these, do you have to praise something..."

Since it is a school requirement, it must be politically correct, "praising the spirit of the working people who created the world and marched forward courageously."

As for the following parts such as "under whose leadership", "this and that", "thank you to our great leader", etc., the teacher will say these clichés or add them in, so she didn't say much.

After this explanation, Da Wang and San Wang also got the idea. They just needed to write about the scenery, then about the people, and then express their thoughts and praise something.

Got it.

They made full use of their time to revise their papers, and by the time of the last Chinese class in the morning, they had finished writing and handed them in to the teacher for the first review.

After seeing the essays written by Mai Sui and Erwang, Han Qingping praised them repeatedly, "Look at the essays written by Erwang and Mai Sui. The words are beautiful and fresh, the descriptions are poetic and picturesque, the characters are vivid, the emotions are abundant and natural, and the momentum is harmonious and coherent. You must learn from them well." He asked the two to read them separately so that everyone could follow and learn.

Two of the other students' essays were put together, and the others were basically unreadable. I asked them to rewrite them after the lecture.

When he saw Da Wang, Han Qingping nodded and said, "Well, this article is not bad either. It is full of emotion and detailed. If the village history is compiled, it can be included. But you can reduce the description a little bit and add more descriptions about the hometown, or expand on the elders and fellow villagers."

Sanwang saw that his elder brother was praised, and he raised his hand excitedly, "Teacher, I wrote one too."

Han Qingping's face lit up with joy. "It's great that Sanwang loves to study so much." He took it and read it. He clapped his hands at the first sentence and said, "What a great article!"

Sanwang was overjoyed.

Han Qingping recited: "Our hometown, in the field of hope, is planted with soybeans and sorghum, filling up the large vats and granaries... Our ideals, in the field of hope, are the ocean of knowledge, with the wings of thought... Our party, in the bright east, sows bright hope and leads the giant ship... Our motherland is our hometown, our hope, and our ideal..."

Han Qingping said yes vigorously, and Sanwang was complacent.

Han Qingping: "Student Sanwang, how do you write such good essays?"

Sanwang: “…” I don’t know what I wrote either! I don’t know how I wrote it! My mother sang a little song, and I followed my feelings, and I wrote it down as if I were dreaming.

"Student Sanwang?"

Sanwang thought about it and decided to use his mother's words to fool the teacher, "Teacher, just write about the scenery, write about the feelings, praise it, and follow the party closely..."

"Very good, you have grasped the essence of writing." Han Qingping was beaming with joy, "Students should learn from him. Although Sanwang's grades are not outstanding, he is very thoughtful."

Mai Sui and Er Wang exchanged looks, both feeling helpless. How come they didn't know that San Wang was such a flatterer?

Da Wang looked at his own and silently added two sentences, and it finally became: I love my hometown, I love our party.

After learning about this at noon, Lin Lan almost laughed herself crazy, but she had to pretend to be serious and praise him, "Everyone has their own way of writing. You don't have to force them to be the same. You should show your own personality while maintaining the format."

As long as it is politically correct, she still hopes that her children can maintain their own individuality.

In the afternoon, the children handed in their compositions. Han Qingping praised them endlessly. Da Wang and San Wang's compositions were also highly praised. They were to submit their compositions together with Mai Sui and Er Wang's to participate in the competition.

In the evening, Lin Lan and Han Qingsong gossiped about the children's compositions and couldn't stop laughing.

Han Qingsong's usually cold eyes would become extra soft as soon as he saw her. At this moment, he suddenly said, "I will introduce you to the party. Will you join the party?"

Lin Lan was stunned, then said seriously: "Of course it's good to join the party, but... you still have to pay party dues, why don't we... talk about it later?" Third brother, you can't act on a whim.

She doesn't have a proper job now, and doesn't mention what she does. After joining the party, she still has to pay party dues, which is really a waste of money. In fact, as a member of the masses in her previous life, she was already used to being free and undisciplined. After joining the party, she always felt that it was very high and noble, and she must have a high level of ideological consciousness and strict requirements on herself. What if she is not allowed to sleep in? --

However, Han Qingsong obviously never worried about that. That night, he used both soft and hard tactics to force Lin Lan to write an application to join the party and introduce Han Qingsong and Han Yongfang. Once the application was submitted and approved by the branch, she would be identified as an active member, and she would need to report on her ideological work every month and every quarter.

If nothing unexpected happens, you can officially become a glorious party member in about two years.

After staying for two days, Da Wang sent Xiao Xin back.

In the past few days, Han Yongfang adopted Erwang's suggestion and led the members to dig drainage ditches in the village together with the team leader. They dug several ditches in the east, west, south and north that led to the river outside the village. The residents of each alley then dug a public ditch that led to the street ditch. Everyone has their own area to maintain it to prevent siltation.

There were no work points for this, because it was not farming or building water conservancy projects, but building facilities for the convenience of life in the village, which required the members to take the initiative. As a result, some people were unwilling to move, because for them, working was for the brigade, so they had to get work points.

Who will do the work if no work points are given?

Besides, it hasn’t rained for several days, and the sun is scorching hot every day. Where can the heavy rain come from?

Just don't kill yourself if you're still stuffing it.

Because there were no work points given, everyone had to work on their own initiative, and at least one-third of the people were unwilling to move.

Han Yongfang did not lose his temper. He just led those who were willing to work to dig the collective drainage ditch on the street, and then asked each family to dig the ditch in front of their own door.

After the collective drainage ditch was dug, Han Yongfang called a meeting of the brigade cadres and made a unified decision: "No work points will be given for digging ditches, and work points will be deducted for not digging ditches."

The lazy guys are getting anxious now. Why do you have the final say? Who said we don't dig? You didn't ask us to dig.

Unfortunately, it is useless to make trouble in Shanzui Village.

Then it rained for three days in a row, and those who had not dug drainage ditches in time suffered. Many families had low houses, and the heavy rain could not drain out, so the water in the yard flowed back into the house. Now, there was no need to call for digging drainage ditches anymore. Every family actively cleared the ditches in front of the door and beside the house in the rain, and they must not block or silt up the water.

In the past, when we were doing maintenance for the village's shared facilities, we always paid work points but still did not do a good job. After this incident, everyone was more motivated than anyone else, because not only would we lose work points, but we might also suffer. Sometimes losses can motivate people to take action more than gains.

Han Yongfang felt very happy afterwards.

Although he was powerful and the members were afraid of him, he was reasonable and followed the rules. If the members did not violate the rules, he would not whip them. Because it was a collective economy and collective labor, the cadres arranged everything, big or small, and the members had no autonomy. Over time, they developed the habit of not wanting to use their brains or take the initiative to work. Everything had to be led by the cadres, and all labor had to be awarded work points, otherwise it would be in vain. It seemed that labor was for the collective, the brigade, and the cadres, not for themselves.

In this case, compulsory labor is very difficult to carry out, after all, the law is not responsible.

Now, the consequences of not listening to the old people are now in front of them. After being flooded, they now know how to dig and maintain ditches.

Han Yongfang asked them to maintain the roads near their homes, repair and flatten them in time after rain, and pick up stones and other materials in their spare time to pave the roads in their yards and in front of their homes. Now the members are more willing and respond as soon as they are asked.

Some people also realized what was going on and wondered who could be so mean as to know it was going to rain but keep silent and insist on drowning them.

Of course it was classmate Erwang. He heard from the radio that there were heavy rainstorms in various places recently. Although they had not yet experienced it, it was only a matter of time according to the direction of the summer monsoon. The probability of heavy rain was very high, so he and Han Yongfang suggested digging drainage ditches and repairing the riverside. They couldn't just walk around the street like in previous years, where it would be so crowded when it rained, right?

Especially those families at the back of the village.

Han Yongfang and he hit it off immediately. He could not only teach him a lesson but also deal with those selfish people who didn't want to work and just wanted to reap the fruits of their labor.

Erwang became Han Yongfang's branch secretary's advisor and would chat with him from time to time. Sometimes he would ask his wife to fry two eggs and peanuts, he would drink a little wine, Erwang would drink sweet water, and the two of them would chat. Even the team leader was jealous, as his old friend of many years actually left him to go play with the young friend. He was extremely sad.

Han Yongfang gave Erwang his best pen and encouraged him, "Study hard, kid. Only one in ten people is strong, and only one in ten thousand has a smart mind and good knowledge."

Erwang naturally agreed. Uncle Qingyun had been eyeing this fountain pen for a long time, but he didn't expect that his grandfather would give it to him.

Erwang said goodbye to Han Yongfang and went home happily with the pen.

Lin Lan was talking to Huo Yuan at home.

Teacher Huo and Han Qingping often visited the family, she for Xiaowang, Han Qingping for Dawang and Sanwang. When seeing Erwang, Huo Yuan also praised him, "Mai Sui and Erwang are really good children."

Lin Lan is never stingy when it comes to praising her children, especially in front of outsiders. "These two children not only save me a lot of worry, but they can also help me manage the household. If it weren't for them, I wouldn't have the time to go out."

There are seven people in the family. One person has to do all the work from morning till night, including eating, washing, cleaning up, etc. If she didn't care about the mess, it would be fine, but Lin Lan couldn't help it. So Lin Lan really thinks her child is very capable and helps her parents a lot.

Erwang, on the contrary, felt a little embarrassed. The more his mother praised him, the more he tried to keep a low profile. After greeting Huo Yuan, he went to the east room to find Mai Sui to do his homework or read books.

Huo Yuan said to Lin Lan, "Captain Lin, should we give the child a formal name?"

After all, I'm in a senior grade now, and I can't keep calling you by your nickname when I go to junior high school in the commune.

Lin Lan thought for a moment, "They have big names, Wangguo, Wangjun, Wangmin, Wangjia, and the daughters are called Mai Sui. If they don't like the names, they can change them to their own names."

Anyway, interpersonal relationships are simple now, and it is easy to change your name. You only need to go to the Public Security Bureau. Lin Lan thinks that if you want to change it, it is easy to do so before high school or college. This is not a problem.

Lin Lan considered that the child's name was given by the original owner, and as long as there was no malice or ambiguity, it would be fine to keep calling him that.

When Huo Yuan heard this, he thought about it and it made sense.

After chatting about the children for a while, Huo Yuan talked about the workers, peasants and soldiers students.

She couldn't contain her surprise, "Captain Lin, my application was approved. What a surprise."

Lin Lan smiled and said, "What's so surprising about this? Our team reported three candidates at the time, but the commune meant that none of them could be selected. This required multiple conditions to be reviewed. The fact that you were able to pass shows that you have worked hard and made progress. This is a credit to you and the team."

Huo Yuan still couldn't believe it. Han Yongfang handed her the application form some time ago, and she filled it out casually. After all, it didn't matter that her family was ordinary. If it weren't for her special talents in music and art, she would only be able to farm in Shanzui Village and would not even be able to become a teacher.

Unexpectedly, it was her turn to go to college.

She herself was confused and asked Han Qingping, "Teacher Han, do you think Captain Lin can help me?"

Han Qingping told her not to think too much. If they had a good relationship, then wouldn't his relationship with Lin Lan be even better? If she wanted to help someone, she should help him first. He told her not to have any burdens and just study hard.

Huo Yuan was not rich and had nothing, but she still wanted to express her gratitude, so she went around with the team leaders and then came to see Lin Lan under the pretext of a home visit.

Lin Lan told her not to feel burdened. "If you have any difficulties, just tell the team. You must come back here after graduation and everything will be easy." Lin Lan thought that after Huo Yuan graduated, he would naturally not teach in the village primary school anymore, and it would be no problem for him to teach in the junior high school in the commune.

Huo Yuan felt a little ashamed. In fact, if he was serious, it was only in the past two years. After Lin Lan's children entered school, their school became serious. Before, the children did not study hard, and the teachers were too lazy to teach seriously. Anyway, they would go home to work when they had free time.

Especially after Xiaowang went to school, Huo Yuan found it quite interesting that there were people willing to study music and art.

Lin Lan asked again and found out that Huo Yuan was assigned to study biology at a provincial-run Workers-Peasants-Soldiers University, with a two-year program. At that time, Workers-Peasants-Soldiers University trained specialized talents for political and production needs, and there were no art majors, so biology was also a good major.

She knew that Huo Yuan's family was not well off, and that if he left his job to go to college, he would not have enough food, so he needed the brigade to help him. Fortunately, the government provided subsidies to the selected workers, peasants, and soldiers, and they received 18.5 yuan a month at school, and the brigade also subsidized 30 kilograms of food a month, which was enough. However, the brigade's subsidized food would need to be repaid by Huo Yuan's salary when he graduated and returned to work in the commune.

Going to study is of course a good thing, but Huo Yuan is a little worried about Xiao Wang, so she discussed with Lin Lan, "Captain Lin, I have a cousin who majored in music and works in a cultural troupe. She also needs to go to the countryside this year. I want to invite her to come here to be a primary school teacher."

Lin Lan naturally agreed, "That's great, they are happy to come, we are just afraid of wronging them."

Huo Yuan smiled and said, "How can I feel wronged? Since we have to go to the countryside, our place is better than some other places."

Han Yongfang was of course happy too. With Huo Yuan as their teacher, school was particularly interesting for the children in the village.

So Huo Yuan wrote a letter and asked his cousin Huo Hongzhen to follow this group of educated youth to Shanzui Village.

In late July, Huo Yuan enrolled in university and went to the provincial capital to study with the blessings of Shanzui Village, while a new batch of educated youth also came to Shanzui Village.

That day, Lin Lan rode her bicycle to Lin Mei's house to see the weaving point of their brigade. Yanyan was doing very well there, and she lived in Lin Mei's house every day, and got along well with Qiaoqiao. Qiaoqiao and Haonan also went to school, and Qiaoqiao was weaving while studying. Even Zheng Yaozu became diligent and designed simple patterns. The weaving women wove simple cloth, and the woven cloth was beautiful, so it was very popular among the members. Now the supply and marketing cooperatives have begun to try to sell their cloth, and the textile factories in the county are also contacting them to cooperate with them.

The only problem was the production limit. After all, there were restrictions on raw materials, labor, and policies. But Lin Lan felt that it was still good before the end of the Cultural Revolution.

When she was passing by the brigade on her way home, someone called her, "Captain Lin, come here!"

Seeing that it was the captain, Lin Lan turned around and got off the bike. "Captain, what's the matter?"

The team leader said: "New educated youth have arrived in our village. There are more of them this time, about eight or nine in total."

Lin Lan was surprised and said, "So many?" In previous years, there were only two or three, at most three or four. What happened this year that there were so many distributed?

Lin Lan thought of Huo Yuan's cousin Huo Hongzhen, and she wanted to go and see her.

She went to the brigade and found it was noisy, with more than ten people crowded on one side. Some were talking, some were laughing, some were crying silently, and some had a sullen expression on their faces. She could understand all of this. If you were prepared to go to the countryside, you would be happy to see people you knew. If you were not prepared or had to go to the countryside, you would naturally feel very aggrieved and unwilling. It was okay for you to cry a little, after all, you were all young people in your teens.

In the corner there was a young man in white clothes and black pants, with handsome features, a gentle temperament and a scholarly air, standing out in the dim room.

Lin Lan couldn't help but take a few more glances. Just when she was about to ask who Huo Hongzhen was, she was pulled over by Dong Huaihua.

Dong Huaihua and the team leader were responsible for receiving the educated youth and arranging accommodation for them. She was having a headache. There was no educated youth station in Shanzui Village. The educated youth all stayed in the homes of fellow villagers. This was basically how the local brigades received the educated youth. Those who did not set up educated youth stations all arranged for them to stay in the homes of fellow villagers.

I lived in a member's home and paid one yuan a month as rent.

In fact, many members were jealous. After all, if an educated youth lived in their home, they could get a housing allowance of one yuan a month. If they hosted an educated youth for meals at home, they would get a pound of grain coupons plus eight cents a day. Moreover, the educated youth were knowledgeable and had connections in the city, so they could get a lot of coupons that were not available in the countryside, so it was convenient to ask them to buy things for weddings.

If a family could host eight or nine educated youths this time, it would cost more than one hundred yuan for accommodation alone for a year, which was a considerable sum of money.

Unfortunately, they didn't have the ability to do so. Their house only had two rooms and a kang, and even if the adults and children were squeezed together, there was hardly enough space for them to sleep, let alone outsiders.

And the educated youth were happy about it. After all, some members' homes were dirty and smelly, and the whole family was crowded on one kang. The educated youth didn't have a separate room when they went there, so they had to sleep on the same kang with them. Most people couldn't stand it.

If members cannot find a place to vacate, cadres will be arranged to take over. At this time, most cadres have a high level of awareness and will step up first when encountering difficulties or problems.

Therefore, the homes of the branch secretary, the team leader, Dong Huaihua and others all had educated youth staying there, and they were already crowded. Now that eight or nine more were assigned, there was simply no place to live.

Lin Lan: "If there are more educated youth coming next year or the year after, should we build a educated youth site?"

In fact, there were subsidies for the educated youth who went to the countryside. Some were given a certain amount per person per month, and some were given a certain amount of money at a time. In addition, the brigade would also give some money to the youth who went to the countryside to build a place for them to live. However, since there were few educated youth in their village and the subsidies were low, the brigade did not build a place for them and gave the money to the members, whoever had a place to live would move in. But now that there are more educated youth, it is still possible to build two houses with enough money.

Dong Huaihua: "The branch secretary and the team leader are also discussing it. They are tight on money and materials."

Influenced by Han Qingsong, many young people have separated their families in the past two years, and many have applied to build houses. As a result, the wood, sorghum and other materials of each production team are very tight. In addition, Han Yongfang never mentioned leaving food for the brigade. Generally, he only left enough to feed livestock and emergency food, and the rest was distributed to the members. Therefore, there was no spare money in the brigade, and basically every radish had a use.

Even if we build it, we can only do so next year, and we have to stay in the homes of members first.

Dong Huaihua made some arrangements. Han Dasao's family took in two educated youth, a boy and a girl, her family took in one, and the team leader's family took in one. There were five other people who had no place to stay, so she came to Lin Lan for help.

The captain also expressed the hope that Lin Lan could help, "Captain Lin, your family is very generous, why don't you take in a few educated youth?"

Lin Lan and his wife have one kang, there are two kangs in the east room, and Mai Sui has his own kang, which is quite spacious.

He thought it would not be a problem to take in a few girls and two boys, "They'll stay for half a year at most, and we'll build a center for educated youth next year." The team leader made the decision, and he had to persuade Han Yongfang to agree.

Lin Lan was in a bit of a dilemma. To be honest, she didn't want to let outsiders live in her house at all. It was like sharing a house with someone. It really depended on fate to find the right roommate.

However, she also knew that the captain and Dong Huaihua had no other choice but to come to her for help, so naturally she had to help.

The key point was that she was forced by Han Qingsong to submit an application to join the party, and she realized that she must keep up.

Lin Lan looked around and said, "Don't the brigade have two rooms?" There are also kangs. In winter, the members still gather here to chat.

The captain was a little embarrassed and said, "It's been a long time since it was repaired."

There was a heavy snowfall last winter and two heavy rains this summer, causing two rooms to collapse. Although they can be repaired and used, people dare not live in them. Who knows if they will collapse when they sleep?

The educated youth are very valuable. If they hurt others, it would be difficult to explain.

According to the villagers, everyone had one kang for adults and children. If Lin Lan and her husband slept with their child, at least one and a half kangs would be free, which could accommodate almost all the educated youth.

Lin Lan did not agree immediately. She went to the school to ask the children. It didn't matter if Da Wang had a few boys. Their parents agreed and had no objection. They even welcomed it because they had someone to play with.

Mai Sui had no objection because the kang (kang bed) he slept on was big enough for him.

Lin Lan replied to Han Yongfang that she could arrange five girls, but in the end, three girls and two boys were arranged because there were conflicts among the educated youth. Two female educated youth could not see each other and would fight when they met. Also, two male educated youth could not live together because one of them was fighting with the other.

so……

The captain handed the list to Lin Lan and said, "Shen Yu, Chi Fengshou, Huo Hongzhen, Gao Lu, Fan Xiao, who are you going to..."

Lin Lan's head buzzed, and she immediately interrupted the captain, "Shen Yu?"

The captain immediately pointed at the boy in white shirt and black pants and said, "He's a handsome guy. He looks like your Erwang who is a few years older."

Lin Lan frowned immediately.

The captain whispered: "What's wrong?"

Lin Lan was embarrassed, thinking about how to find an excuse to replace Shen Yu. After all, he was the original male protagonist and he and the original female protagonist Yan Yan were destined to be a couple. According to the plot, he should live in Yan Yan's uncle's house, and then they gradually developed feelings for each other.

Of course, Lin Lan's first reaction was not for the great love between the original heroine and the hero, but for her own daughter. She was afraid that there would be force majeure factors in the original plot that would cause Mai Sui to like Shen Yu again.

This is very troublesome.

The best way is to keep Shen Yu away from Mai Sui.

She pointed at Shen Yu's name and whispered to the captain, "Replace this person."

Captain: “Why?”

Lin Lan: “I don’t like it…”

Captain: “…” Why didn’t I realize you were so casual about it before?

At this time, Shen Yu had already walked over and stood next to Lin Lan. He was tall, and when he lowered his eyes, he saw Lin Lan pointing at his name and saying that she didn't like it and asked for someone else. The smile on his face froze, and he didn't understand how he had offended the very powerful Captain Lin when he had just arrived in the countryside and hadn't said a word.

…

The captain looked embarrassed, coughed, and winked at Lin Lan.

Lin Lan looked at the white shadow standing next to her and suddenly felt a little guilty. After all, she was not the kind of person who would make trouble without reason. This was the first time. She quickly put away the list and randomly looked at a name on the general list, "Zhao Mingjie."

Zhao Mingjie heard this and immediately ran over and bowed to Lin Lan: "Captain Lin."

Lin Lan saw that the boy had a baby face and a happy smile, like a good child. She had a good first impression of him, so she chose him.

Shen Yu stood there without saying a word. He silently took his luggage and exchanged places with Zhao Mingjie. When Lin Lan led a few people away, he looked up at her.

I can't figure it out, how did she offend someone for no reason? Did she dislike him at first sight, or did she dislike something else?

At this time, Caihua came running over breathlessly and shouted to the captain: "Captain, my father said that we can have one more person in our family and live in the same room with my grandfather."

Her grandfather is He Laosan.

The team leader was also afraid that He Laosan would be insulted by the educated youth. After all, he was an old widower who slept on a small kang and did not speak hygienic language.

Caihua smiled and waved at Shen Yu: "Are you Shen Yu? Let's go."

Shen Yu frowned slightly. Why was Captain Lin so disgusted with him, while this little girl was so enthusiastic towards him?

None of this makes sense.

The captain was also very worried and wished nothing could happen. He said, "Shen Zhiqing, you go then."

Shen Yu took his luggage and followed Caihua.

Caihua took the initiative to help him carry a box and said happily, "Don't worry, Shen Zhiqing, this place is just like your own home. If you have any problems, come to me. My grandfather has a lot of problems, don't worry, I will help you scold him."

Shen Yu nodded without saying anything, but in his heart he was still wondering why Lin Lan was so repulsive to him. She was obviously warm and easy-going to others, and the brigade cadres also spoke highly of her.

Lin Lan led the five educated youths back home, and the team leader sent someone to deliver their luggage.

One of these five educated youth was Huo Hongzhen, Huo Yuan's cousin. She had fair skin and a quiet personality, and her eyes were neither timid nor humble. She did not come forward to establish a relationship with Lin Lan in public just because of Huo Yuan's introduction.

One was Zhao Mingjie, the one Lin Lan randomly ordered. He had two dimples when he smiled and looked very cute. Lin Lan had a good impression of him.

The other two greeted Lin Lan but didn't say much. There was also a female educated youth who was crying. She was the prettiest, with snow-white skin, and she kept wiping her tears, as if she was exiled to a barren land.

When they got home, Lin Lan led them to the east room. The east room was now renovated, with a wall in the middle as tall as a person, and above it was a wall made of sorghum stalks and bamboo mats, which could block the view but not hinder ventilation.

At the door hangs a paddy field-style curtain given by Lin Mei.

There was a large bookshelf on the waist-supported kang, piled with books. All of them were bought by Lin Lan and the children, as well as those brought back from the commune and county with the help of Han Qingsong.

Lin Lan said, "Boys sleep on the south kang, girls sleep on the north, and put your gifts on the waist kang in the middle."

They brought their own blankets and boxes, especially the crying girl who brought several boxes. Lin Lan didn't like a messy house.

The educated youths originally thought that Lin Lan's home must be just like the shabby homes of the members in the legend, and that they would find it magnificent when they entered. But when they entered, they found that it was not the case. Lin Lan's home was very clean and tidy. Although there were no glass windows, it was still neat and tidy.

The kang was covered with a half-new but intact bamboo mat, and the quilts were all clean and intact, without even any patches.

The educated youth who had been worried about lice were relieved, thinking that there probably weren't any.

The girl who had been crying suddenly said aggrievedly: "Why do I have to share a room with a boy? Don't you have another room?"

Lin Lan: "That's our room."

Why don't you move in and sleep with the girls? You're all family anyway. The young woman sniffed and said, "It's so inconvenient for a girl to share a room with so many men."

Zhao Mingjie joked, "Fan Xiao, what are you afraid of? There are so many people here, and there is a wall in the middle so no one can peek at you."

Fan Xiao cried even more aggrievedly.

Another short, dark-skinned female educated youth sneered, "You're the only one who's so timid? We finally found a place to live, but you're still picky. Captain Lin's house has the best conditions in the entire brigade. If you're not satisfied, go find someone else's."

Zhao Mingjie also said: "Many other educated youth who went to work in the countryside had to share a kang with other couples and children. It was so inconvenient. This is really good."

Fan Xiao said nothing, but his expression was extremely aggrieved. He wiped away his tears and felt that his future was bleak.

Lin Lan ignored their open and secret struggles and made some arrangements for them. "My fellow students, there are no requirements for living in my house. The only thing is that you should not touch anything that is not yours. This way, you will not have to worry about it, and so will I."

Some people couldn't help but curl their lips and say, "Whoever wants to touch your broken things, just don't touch mine."

"Captain Lin, how are we going to eat?" Huo Hongzhen asked proactively.

They were given subsidies for going to the countryside, more than 180 yuan per person, and also brought food coupons. It was said that when you go to the countryside to work in a production team, whoever you live with will provide you with food, and they only need to hand over the food coupons and money for vegetables.

If there were one or two more people, they could just add a pair of chopsticks, but now there are five of them coming in, five young people around sixteen or seventeen years old. They probably eat more than the whole family, so they have to cook extra food for them, which is a problem.

So Huo Hongzhen asked.

Seeing so many people, Lin Lan naturally decided not to cook for them, even if she paid. Not only was cooking tiring, but it was also difficult to satisfy a wide range of tastes. Who knew what they liked and didn't like to eat? It would be a thankless job.

She said, "I'll go to the brigade and ask them about setting up a cooperative for you educated youth. You can do it yourself, or you can use your work points to ask other members to do it."

Some people were originally worried that she wanted them to eat at home and would take the opportunity to withhold their food, but now seeing her push it away so readily, they felt a little relieved and thought that she was afraid of trouble.

Lin Lan introduced the toilets and bathrooms to them, saying they could use them but they had to keep them clean. Some people disagreed, saying they were from the city, so how could they be worse than the country bumpkins?

Lin Lan added, "There is a river to the west. Those educated youth who can swim can go there to swim and bathe. The female educated youth can stay at home."

After the introduction, she looked at the sky and saw that it was almost time to cook, so she asked them to clean up. Actually, there was nothing to clean up, and they should go to the brigade to ask how to eat.

But they just stood there, no one spoke and no one took the lead, as if they were waiting for someone.

Fan Xiao packed up some bottles and jars, but since there was no place for them, she piled them on the desk. She was covered in dust after a day's journey, so she wanted to wash her face and feet first, but she didn't bring a washbasin.

When they went to the countryside as educated youth, some of them were considerate enough to bring lunch boxes, teacups, washbasins, towels, etc., but some did not, and only thought that they would ask the brigade to help them solve the problem. Fan Xiao brought too many other things with her, and did not have the strength to take a washbasin, so she thought she could buy one locally. She saw a few basins outside Lin Lan's house, one of which was a clean white porcelain basin, so she used it to wash her face.

After washing her face, she took off her sandals and washed her feet.

Lin Lan saw this and immediately stopped her, "Fan Zhiqing, this is my washbasin, you can't use it to wash your feet."

Fan Xiao looked innocent. She thought her feet were not dirty and were cleaner than the faces of many country folks. Just now, she saw many members and children with dirty faces. They had not washed their faces for many days. And wasn't it said that country folks used the same basin for their faces and feet?

Lin Lan pointed to another clay basin and said, "This is for washing feet. It's not cold, so it's okay to rinse it with water."

Fan Xiao looked at the clay basin. Although it was cleaned, it was someone else's foot wash, so she felt it was dirty. Finally, she held the ladle with grievance and looked at the water tank. Even though it looked clean, she still felt that it was dirty everywhere.

After all, we grow vegetables in the yard and raise chickens, ducks and dogs. Who knows if there is chicken poop in it?

She hesitated for a while, and could only endure the discomfort and scoop a bucket of water to rinse her feet. After use, she threw the bucket into the tub.

Lin Lan's family has two water tanks, one in the house is used for cooking, and the other outside is used for washing.

Gao Lu couldn't stand her and started to criticize her again, "Fan Xiao, why did you throw the ladle into the jar? Didn't you see that it was placed on the lid? If you throw the ladle directly into the jar, others will have to reach in to get it. How inconvenient is that?"

Fan Xiao was already unhappy, and her family suddenly suffered a change, and she was forced to go to the countryside. She couldn't go to the commune and had to come to places like this. She felt aggrieved and angry.

Can't they be more accommodating and considerate of her? Well, no one will be more accommodating and considerate of her. She felt sad and wronged. Chi Min had been against her all the way, and now Gao Lu was mocking her. She got angry and retorted, "You didn't know it the first time, but you can remember it next time, right?" She reached out and scooped out the water scoop and put it on the lid.

"You know how to clean yourself. Go to work tomorrow and pick bugs to weed the land, and then you'll know what cleanliness means!" Gao Lu sneered.

Zhao Mingjie smiled and tried to smooth things over, "Let's not quarrel just now. This is not good. We still have to learn from each other in the future."

Fan Xiao was angry at Gao Lu for looking for trouble, and retorted, "What good is a pig nose for!" Gao Lu was not tall, with dark yellow skin, thick eyebrows, dark eyes, and slightly large nostrils.

Gao Lu got angry when she heard this, "What are you talking about?"

Fan Xiao snorted but didn't respond, looking like he was disdainful of arguing.

Zhao Mingjie was a childish boy and couldn't persuade them at all, so they had to rely on Huo Hongzhen and Chi Fengshou.

Chi Fengshou, with a face full of acne, is rather silent and doesn't like to talk much, looking as if it's none of his business.

Lin Lan listened to the noise outside and didn't care for the time being. Strangers must need to get used to each other when they get together. Let them bump into each other and get familiar with each other's tempers for a few days. If they are still like this after a few days of getting familiar with each other, then she will be rude.

Seeing that Lin Lan was about to cook, Huo Hongzhen went over to help and mentioned Huo Yuan's letter.

Lin Lan smiled and said, "Teacher Huo recommended you. You can take over."

Huo Hongzhen smiled and said, "My sister said she is worried about Xiaowang. Unfortunately, the conditions are not good now, otherwise she should take him to a big city to study under a teacher."

Lin Lan: “Indeed.”

Huo Hongzhen continued, "Captain Lin, after receiving my sister's letter, I contacted a music professor there. But he was sent to the May 7th Cadre School and I don't know when he can return. If there is a chance, I can ask him for advice."

Lin Lan asked the professor's name, where he was assigned, etc.

As they were talking, Gao Lu and Fan Xiao started fighting again outside.

It happened that the children were finishing school. Sanwang and Xiaowang ran home first, Erwang and Maisui followed behind them chatting about study, and Dawang followed slowly behind.

He is tall and has long legs. He has grown very fast in the past two years and is already a block taller than Lin Lan.

As soon as I entered the room, I saw two girls quarreling. Fan Xiao was taller than Gao Lu, but Gao Lu was stronger than her. The two were pushing and pulling each other's hair.

Sanwang and Xiaowang stood aside and watched curiously. Sanwang's eyes sparkled with excitement: "It's wrong for you to fight like this."

Everyone thinks that the two of them are not as sensible as a child.

Sanwang immediately took up his stance and started gesticulating with his fists and feet, "You guys have to do this and that... hit me hard!"

The author has something to say: Sanwang: Your fighting posture is wrong, let me teach you.

Xiaowang: You are educated youth, so you must be able to write essays.

Da Wang: Anyone who dares to fight or quarrel while sleeping at night will be thrown out!

…

Erwang: If anyone dares to make my mother angry, I will assign you to do hard labor, haha. If you don't believe me, just wait and see!

Mai Sui: Women should stay away from my father, and men should stay away from my mother.

……………………