Accountant Liu Aiguo was also called away from the dinner table. The policy on the new educated youth had been discussed by the group long ago, so there was nothing to say at this time.
After receiving the money, providing the grain, and keeping the accounts, the two men, who were used to playing both the good cop and the bad cop, were able to cooperate perfectly without needing to give prior notice.
Watching the three men walk away carrying sacks of grain, Liu Aiguo was still a little incredulous.
"Are the educated youth too sensible, or is our teamwork too realistic? It's so easy, I'm not used to it."
Liu Weimin laughed heartily.
“When I went to the meeting, they were there too. I overheard the end of it, which happened to be the part where we were crying and complaining.”
"No wonder, you know what, it really works well."
Sigh, I've heard all sorts of things happening to the educated youth in other villages, and I've been worried sick about it.
We don't expect another Xiao Jian, but we just hope they don't send us two troublemakers like that.
Life was already hard enough; if they add more trouble, it would be unbearable.
"Yes, I'm not afraid of being poor, I'm just afraid of causing trouble."
During the meeting, they all complained to the Party Secretary that these educated youth just ate food, didn't work, and caused trouble. I didn't dare say a word, afraid that I would burst out laughing if I did.
"You now know how good Xiao Jian, the educated youth, was?"
“I knew that before, but after comparing it now, I feel like I’ve struck gold. I can’t let anyone else know.”
"You old geezer, you'd better hide it well and protect it well."
These few seem alright now, but maybe they were scared and haven't recovered yet. We need to be more careful in the future.
Liu Weimin was not polite.
"After these three days, we'll be allowed to go back to work as usual. How long can this little bit of food last?"
Even if you have money in your hands, if you can't buy food, you'll still have to work in peace, right?
When you're so tired you can barely lift your back, you won't have the energy to think about anything else.
Liu Aiguo nodded.
"Just keep it in mind."
By the way, what's going on with Xiao Jian, the educated youth? Before, when there were no outsiders, it was fine with whatever we did. But now that other educated youth have come, and they're all educated youth, if we treat her too specially on the surface, they might have something to say about her.
Moreover, even if he didn't work, the villagers were very kind to Xiao Jian, the educated youth. If things were any different here, it wouldn't look good.
She saved our lives. We know it, the villagers know it, but the newcomers don't understand, don't you think?
"I know, she didn't seem to be slacking off before. Anyway, the work isn't tiring at this time of year, it's just bundling corn stalks and stuff, so let's leave it at that for this year."
I'll ask her again tomorrow, and we'll talk about it next spring.
Seeing that no one was around, Liu Weimin lowered his voice.
"Judging from the news from the commune these past few meetings, it seems things are a bit chaotic up there. We need to keep a low profile and avoid drawing attention."
Liu Aiguo sighed.
"Why can't we just live a peaceful life? It's always this or that problem."
"Alright, stop saying everything. Once we start working, we need to keep the villagers in check. Even though our village is remote, we need to make sure everyone knows what they can and cannot say."
Especially those who love gossiping about everyone else, you really need to talk to them about it.
"They're just bored. If they let them go hungry, they won't have the energy to worry about other people's business."
"You, you!"
Li Yan and the others carried their own grain out of the village office.
Even for Lin Zhaodi, a city girl who usually does the most housework at home, fifty pounds is not an easy task. Chen Jianguo is a man, and Li Yan also does a lot of work at the factory. The group walked and stopped frequently, so it wasn't too difficult.
After all that trouble, by the time they got back to the courtyard of the educated youth settlement, it was getting dark. The group looked at each other; there was no pot, no firewood.
"Why don't we skip dinner tonight and ask Jian Zhiqing early tomorrow morning? We can't just have food, we need more."
The other two had no objections. Fortunately, they still had some food prepared on the way, and with the cold water they had been drinking for several hours, they were able to get through the night.
On the second day of rest, Jian Dan didn't slack off. She thought that since she was going into the mountains today, she could stay there for two days. After two days, she would definitely not be able to go any further in with the villagers. She wanted to take advantage of the fact that it was still not cold to collect everything inside, and also to gather more firewood.
I had just gotten up when I heard a knock on the door. I was a little dazed for a moment before I quickly ran my hair through my hair, put on my coat, and went to open the door.
"You search,"
The word "who" was on the tip of his tongue but he swallowed it back. Oh, it was the new educated youth who arrived yesterday.
"What's wrong?"
His voice was still a little hoarse, as if he hadn't woken up properly.
"Oh, I'm sorry, are we too early?"
"Sorry, we couldn't sleep well in the new place and woke up very early."
I didn't expect her to still be awake at this hour.
That's fine, Jian Dan doesn't plan to go back to the cage anyway.
"It's alright, please come in and have a seat."
There are several wooden stools in the yard, which they helped make when the house was being renovated. They are sitting outside right now.
Simply open the window for ventilation.
"Have you all packed up your educated youth settlement?"
The simple goal is to keep a low profile and avoid making enemies.
Once she started the conversation, the awkwardness among the group eased considerably.
"It's all sorted out, much better than I expected."
"Yes, back home, ten people were crammed into a tiny tenement building, and it was so cramped that you could barely turn around. I never thought I'd have such a big room to myself here."
Seeing that Jian seemed hesitant to speak, Li Yan quickly asked.
"What's wrong? Did we say something wrong?"
Simply wave your hand.
"No, no, what I meant was that no educated youth were assigned to Liujiatun before."
I was in the first batch, and you were in the second batch, but you were the first group of educated youth to move into the settlement, so…
Li Yan understood immediately.
"Oh, that's fine. It's good that we can enjoy some independent space for a while."
Lin Zhaodi only then realized what was happening, and seeing a hint of regret in her expression, she didn't dwell on it.
“This is already much better than home. We came here to support rural development, not to enjoy ourselves.”
Chen Jianguo was a little curious.
"Jian Zhiqing, when did you arrive?"
"August was hotter than now. You're doing well now; the autumn harvest is over, the weather is cooler, and the winter is just around the corner. Right now, the biggest concerns are food and heating for the winter."
They were nice, simple, and willing to talk more.
"Oh, right, I almost forgot, we came here to ask about the firewood and the pot. To be honest, we couldn't start a fire last night."
"Firewood is easy to find, just go up the mountain to collect it. As for the pot, I was lucky enough to buy one; you can try your luck at the supply and marketing cooperative."
If not, the educated youth settlement should have its own private kitchen, right? Do you have any earthenware pots or anything like that? You could put an earthenware pot on the private kitchen.
Many families in the village who don't own iron pots cook this way too.
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