Chen Fengshan raised an eyelid and said in a stiff tone, "Once they've bought a house, they naturally won't join in the fun."
"What?!"
Shen Yishan was extremely dissatisfied at this moment. Why? Everyone was a sent-down youth, so why were the two of them treated differently? While others were still worrying about their resettlement, these two quietly bought a house! Why?!
She thought this and asked it aloud: "Why? Why are there empty houses that you sell directly to them without showing them to us?! Why can they buy them while we have to squeeze into the homes of other villagers? This is so unfair! You're giving them special treatment!"
Her shout drew everyone's attention in the courtyard.
Chen Fengshan's head was throbbing from her nagging. His face darkened, and his tone became even colder: "Shen Zhiqing, you need to take responsibility for your words! You can eat whatever you want, but you can't say whatever you want."
Chen Fengshan's voice wasn't loud, but it was incredibly imposing. He turned around and looked at the few people behind him who were clearly also somewhat unconvinced, and said coldly, "What do you mean by 'making exceptions'? You didn't even ask me if there were any vacant houses. What, they asked, so am I, as the brigade leader, not allowed to fulfill my duty to inform them?! There are still vacant houses in the village. If any of you want to buy one, the conditions will be the same as the houses they bought."
"As long as you stay in the village, the house will belong to you. But if you return to the city someday, the house will have to be returned to the village. The money you paid for the house now will not be refunded. If you accept the terms, I'll take you to see the house now."
Chen Fengshan's sharp gaze swept over all the educated youth present, finally landing on Shen Yishan's flushed face.
"So, who wants to buy it?"
Shen Yishan opened her mouth, but like a duck whose neck had been choked, she couldn't utter a single word.
Buying a house?
That fifty yuan resettlement allowance probably can't even buy a door!
What's more, it comes with such outrageous and unfair terms and conditions? This is practically throwing money down the drain!
The courtyard fell into a deathly silence.
Everyone, including Lin Xiangnan, fell silent; no one dared to utter a sound.
Seeing this, Chen Fengshan snorted coldly and ignored the group of frightened city kids.
He turned around and waved to Ruan Tang and Yan Yu, who were still standing there, his tone instantly softening considerably.
"Let's go, you two go find the old Party Secretary and get your grain."
"After you've collected your loot, hurry home, pack your things, and have a good rest for a day."
“New educated youth, you have a holiday tomorrow, but we have to prepare for the wheat harvest the day after tomorrow. We don’t have time to dawdle.”
After saying that, he led Lin Xiangnan, whose face was filled with complicated expressions, and strode out.
Soon, only Ruan Tang, Yan Yu, and the old Party Secretary who had been standing at the entrance of the granary, puffing on his pipe, remained in the large courtyard.
Old Party Secretary Chen Zhangmin, who was also Chen Fengshan's fifth great-uncle, tapped his pipe on the sole of his shoe, turned around and walked inside, uttering a sentence as he did so.
"Come with me."
Ruan Tang and Yan Yu exchanged a glance and quickly followed.
The granary was dimly lit, with a cool, dry atmosphere, and the air was filled with the unique smell of grain mixed with dust.
Chen Zhangmin opened a thick register and asked without looking up, "What's your name?"
"Ruan Tang".
"Yan Yu".
The old Party Secretary used the tip of his pen to draw a heavy checkmark after the two names, then turned around and began to measure their grain with a polished wooden measuring cup.
Golden cornmeal, grayish sorghum flour.
Then, from two other large vats, they scooped out brown rice still with its husks on and coarse flour that was dark in color.
Each person is allocated 30 jin of grain, including 5 jin of rice, 5 jin of wheat flour, 10 jin of corn flour, and 10 jin of sorghum flour.
This is the kind of finished grain ration that only newly arrived educated youth receive.
Chen Zhangmin looked up at the two men and asked, "You put your grain together?"
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