Qin Xiaoxiao packed her things and happily boarded the oxcart to the county town. When the two siblings arrived at the county commune's educated youth office, the other group of educated youth had not yet arrived.
Qin Xiaoxiao and Qin Ye took advantage of this time to go to the state-run restaurant to find Qin Hai. They each ate two large meat buns and drank a bowl of mutton soup. They brought twenty meat buns home before returning to the commune.
Grandpa Huang was sitting on the oxcart, smoking, with a worried look on his face.
Qin Xiaoxiao smiled and took a meat bun out of her package and stuffed it into Uncle Huang's hand. "Uncle Huang, have a bun. What's troubling you? There are so many people in our village, we can always find a solution."
Grandpa Huang chuckled as he took the meat bun and put it in his pocket, reluctant to eat it. "What's there to worry about? With Captain Qin here, we'll get through this."
Seeing this, Qin Xiaoxiao took out another steamed bun and stuffed it into Grandpa Huang's hand. "Eat it, don't be stingy. We're counting on you to catch the bus back later, so don't go hungry."
Grandpa Huang's eyes welled up with tears. "Xiaoxiao, you... I can't say anything more. Thank you so much, child. If you ever need anything in the future, just tell me. I'll help you if I can."
Qin Xiaoxiao waved her hand dismissively and said, "It's nothing. We live in the same village and he's an elder who watched me grow up. It's just two meat buns. I can afford it. Besides, my brother paid for them. I'm just using my brother's buns to be a good person."
Qin Xiaoxiao looked at Qin Ye with a mischievous grin, making Qin Ye both laugh and cry. "That's just how this girl is, she's really naughty. Don't mind her, Uncle Huang, eat up. We bought a lot, we won't miss these two."
Grandpa Huang drives the cart for the village because he is in poor health and unable to work. Moreover, he is a recipient of the Five Guarantees (a government-provided social welfare program for the elderly, disabled, and orphans), and he lives with only a young grandson. They are struggling financially, so the village team gave him the cart-driving job to ensure that he and his grandson have something to eat.
Grandpa Huang sighed, tears streaming down his face as he stuffed steamed buns into his mouth.
He wasn't unfamiliar with meat buns; he had eaten them when his sons were still alive. But this meat bun in his hand tasted better than any he had ever eaten before, so delicious that it brought tears to his eyes.
Seeing Grandpa Huang's appearance, Qin Xiaoxiao and Qin Ye couldn't help but feel a lump in their throats and turned their heads away from him.
The three waited for another ten minutes or so, and then a bus pulled up from not far away. Qin Xiaoxiao and Qin Ye stood on the oxcart and looked up.
"They must have arrived."
After Qin Ye finished speaking, he pulled Qin Xiaoxiao into the commune's courtyard.
There were many oxcarts and people along the wall in the commune courtyard, clearly there to pick up educated youth like them.
Seeing this scene, Qin Xiaoxiao suddenly recalled the scene when she came a few months ago. It seemed to be the same as today. The people in charge of picking up people in each village were all frowning and squatting in the corner, smoking one pipe of cigarette after another.
Qin Xiaoxiao and Qin Ye exchanged a glance and then blended into the crowd.
After waiting for another ten minutes or so, the group arrived at the commune compound with their luggage.
Qin Xiaoxiao stood on tiptoe and looked around, and immediately spotted the most fashionable girl in the crowd.
The girl was very pretty, with fair skin, two dimples when she smiled, and long, black hair braided into two large braids on either side, each tied with a handkerchief.
The girl was wearing a red cashmere coat and black cotton boots. Qin Xiaoxiao noticed that the girl was wearing a white knitted turtleneck sweater under the coat. Even in Shanghai and Beijing, this outfit would stand out from the crowd and would make everyone turn their heads to take a second look.
Qin Xiaoxiao narrowed her eyes.
She also had this coat; it was exactly the same one that Su Lu had given her a few days ago. It seemed that Su Lu hadn't lied to her; it really was the kind of coat that was popular in Haishi.
Qin Xiaoxiao couldn't wear that coat in the village, so she put it in her space, planning to wear it when she went to the county town in the spring. Therefore, apart from her and Su Lu, no one knew that she also had such a coat.
Qin Xiaoxiao guessed that this girl was very likely Mu Jin, Su Yu's friend, and one of the female protagonists of this world.
After scrutinizing the girl who resembled Mu Jin, Qin Xiaoxiao glanced at another girl in the crowd.
Although this girl wasn't dressed as well as the previous one, she always had a smile on her face and mingled with the male and female educated youth around her, clearly becoming the main character in this group.
This person is a social butterfly, with a bit of a social butterfly syndrome.
This should be Zhou Ying, her brother's destined partner.
Qin Xiaoxiao looked at Qin Ye and saw that he hadn't glanced at the crowd at all, so she secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
It doesn't have to be love at first sight, so she has many opportunities to separate the two and minimize their contact.
According to the book's timeline, Zhou Ying hasn't been reborn yet. Should she stop her from being reborn?
Qin Xiaoxiao narrowed her eyes, secretly calculating in her mind.
Once everyone had arrived, the staff from the educated youth office came out and called out names from the list.
After all the names were read out and the rural destinations for the educated youth were assigned, Qin Xiaoxiao also confirmed the identities of the two individuals.
She was right; one of the two was Mu Jin, and the other was Zhou Ying.
Having determined their destination, Qin Xiaoxiao no longer cared where the rest of the educated youth were going. Soon, the educated youth assigned to Qinjiagou came over carrying their packages.
Qin Ye stepped forward and called out names one by one, then said, "Qinjiagou is not far from here. Everyone can put their luggage in the car and walk to the village. Also, everyone has a day off tomorrow. If you want to pick up your packages, you can come back tomorrow. We don't have much time today, so I won't give you any extra time."
After saying that, Qin Ye moved a step closer to Qin Xiaoxiao, making room for the oxcart so that the educated youth could put their luggage on it.
Zhou Ying's eyes lit up when she saw Qin Ye. After Qin Ye finished speaking, she smiled and stepped forward, "What's your name, comrade? Are you a village cadre?"
Qin Xiaoxiao couldn't let Zhou Ying have any contact with her brother, so she immediately stepped forward to block Zhou Ying's view.
"Hello everyone, I am a former educated youth who went to the countryside last year. I am here to pick you all up. Please feel free to ask me any questions."
After saying that, Qin Xiaoxiao looked at Zhou Ying again, "The question this comrade just asked is irrelevant to you all, and it has nothing to do with the purpose of your trip to the countryside, so I will not answer it."
Although they would find out her brother's identity in a few days, she just didn't want Zhou Ying to know so soon, lest she suffocate.
Zhou Ying bit her lip, looking at Qin Xiaoxiao with a wronged expression, "How can this comrade talk like that? I was just asking on behalf of everyone."
Didn't everyone say that we educated youth should integrate with our peasant brothers? You're preventing us from befriending our peasant brothers; your behavior undermines unity and you should…
Before Zhou Ying could finish speaking, Qin Xiaoxiao suddenly stepped forward and got close to her, staring at her with a sinister smile. "Comrade, you came right up here asking about a man's name and identity. What are you trying to do? What is your purpose? You're not a spy here to cause trouble, are you?"
Zhou Ying was completely stunned.
What? What is she saying? She's a spy? How is that possible? How did she figure out she's a spy?
If that really happens
Zhou Ying broke out in a cold sweat and opened her mouth to explain.
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