Chapter 40: Going to the Countryside as Educated Youth in the 1970s 3
[This is a parallel fictional world. Please do not take any similarities between place names and people as they appear.]
Zhang Xiaojia quietly stepped out of her father's arms and left him to Aunt Zhu. Zhang Xiaojia felt that she should not be a third wheel for them anymore.
After Zhang Xiaojia quickly sewed the money, Zhang Guocheng looked at the holes and bumps in his daughter's sewing and felt sorry for it. It was the same as before. Fortunately, it was sewn inside, and fortunately he didn't have to wear it.
Zhang Xiaojia had never thought that this was her own skill. Why did she sew like this?
Forget it, never mind!
Zhang Xiaojia saw his father, who seemed to be in good spirits.
"Dad, how are you now?"
"The Lord of Central City has assigned me to the Fifth Army in the Southern Sea Region as Deputy Commander and Deputy Political Commissar."
Zhang Guocheng didn't expect that he would be assigned to the South City Sea Area. He was clearly not allowed to go to the First Army of the North City Snow City. He was so shameless that he almost rolled on the ground, but he was not allowed to go.
The Lord of Central City said that if he went to the Snow City of North City, his daughter would never grow up. What a joke. If my daughter can't grow up, then she can't grow up. I will support her for the rest of her life and I am happy to do so.
One is in the Snow City of the North City, and the other is in the Sea Area of the South City. They take turns traveling by train, car and ship, and the round trip takes at least 15 days.
Zhang Xiaojia's emotions suddenly turned red. At least in the next ten years, the father and daughter could only see each other three times at most and it would be a happy thing.
Zhang Guocheng hugged his wife and touched his daughter's head, as long as she was alive, everything was fine.
When the day came to go to the countryside, Zhang Xiaojia looked at her luggage with her eyes wide open. She was going to the Snow City in the north city, not to escape famine. She had 8 bags of luggage, which were taller than her. She also carried an extra-large military backpack, two cross-body bags, and two bags in her hands.
Zhang Xiaojia no longer felt sad. The train station would not let her get on the train, so she had to check in her luggage. A group of people were in a panic. Aunt Leng saw that all the educated youth were crowded in one carriage. There was no room, and everyone was sitting on the ground. She immediately bought a high-end sleeper train ticket.
After getting on the train, Zhang Xiaojia ran to the educated youth carriage, and was then sent to the sleeper berth by Aunt Leng. After getting on the carriage, she had to squeeze into the educated youth carriage to report to the educated youth leader, and then squeezed back to the high-end sleeper berth. Her broken body was so tired that she was out of breath.
Her father did not let her go to the military corps, saying that it would be better to go to the countryside. He said that he had already arranged it for her. Most of their group would go to the North City Snow City Military Corps, and only a few would go to the countryside to join the production team.
Zhang Guocheng would not harm his daughter. She could get a salary from the ordnance corps, but once the mission came down, she had to do it even if it rained knives from the sky. No, it would be best if the work was less laborious and less tiring, so she could stay at home in the winter and avoid the sun in the summer.
It doesn’t matter whether she has work points or not. The money and tickets her daughter has are enough for her to eat for several years.
When it was lunchtime, Zhang Xiaojia bought it directly on the train. The train station was expensive, but no ticket was required.
Braised pork, scrambled eggs with tomatoes and a large box of rice
Zhang Xiaojia was eating alone in the high-end sleeper berth.
I couldn’t finish it, so I put it in my lunch box. In the evening, I ordered a big bowl of cabbage noodles and put pork belly and eggs in the noodles.
The next day, people arrived in the high-end sleeper berth of the train: a pair of grandparents and a middle-aged woman.
None of the conflicts described in the novel occurred, and people were basically ignored.
I had meat buns for breakfast, they were delicious.
Zhang Xiaojia bought braised pork elbow and three fresh vegetables at noon, put the pork elbow into the lunch box, and the three fresh vegetables mixed with rice tasted delicious.
It was four o'clock in the afternoon when they were about to get off the train. Zhang Xiaojia went to the canteen and bought 30 meat buns, 30 steamed buns, 10 boiled eggs, and 2 raw pork elbows.
After getting off the train and picking up my luggage, Zhang Xiaojia was the prettiest of the educated youth. She had a cart with two meters of luggage on it. Luckily, she'd used StarCraft glue on it, so it wouldn't break. Otherwise, she'd be crying.
The place where she went to work in the countryside was in the northernmost part of the Snow City of Beicheng, called Jiucheng Province, with a small county town below it, a commune below it, and a village below it.
There weren't many people in the group, just nine, and the tractor that came to pick them up was quite large, enough to fit her luggage.
We arrived at the commune by bumpy tractor. It was already night and we spent the whole night on a chair in the commune hall. They said there was a fire wall, but it was very cold.
One of them said, "My name is Liu Yan, and I want to go to Diyitun."
"I am Zhang Qiang, and I am also from the First Village"
"Me too, just like Li Jian"
"I'm from the Second Village, my name is Xiao Rui."
"Qian Min and Qian Qian, brother and sister, went to the Second Village"
"I'm Wang Qiqi, I'm going to the Ninth Village"
"My name is He Miaomiao, and I'm going to the Ninth Village."
"Zhang Xiaojia, Ninth Village."
A group of people started talking, and Zhang Xiaojia felt cold.
The next morning, the villagers came to pick them up.
Zhang Xiaojia was assigned to the ninth village.
The captain looked at her, then at her luggage, then at others, then at her again, then at the luggage again, and then he squatted down and started smoking opium.
Zhang Xiaojia also squatted beside him, looking at him pitifully.
After the captain finished smoking, he stood up and said, "Wait here. I'll take these two people back first and then come pick you up."
Zhang Xiaojia said embarrassedly, "Captain, how about this? Let the oxcart pull me and I'll pull the luggage."
"What do you mean?"
Zhang Xiaojia immediately demonstrated it, and the team leader saw that it was feasible and decided to do it.
Along the way, Zhang Xiaojia gritted his teeth and endured. The ox cart moved slowly for three hours before finally arriving at the village. Zhang Xiaojia's hands were so sore.
The team leader led them to the educated youth dormitory and said, "This compound is for you to live in. There are plenty of houses. You can decide for yourself."
Zhang Xiaojia pushed his luggage but didn't go in. He asked the team leader, "Team Leader, is there a vacant yard in the village to buy?"
The captain looked at the girl, who was being taken care of by someone through connections. She didn't complain along the way, didn't behave in a sociable manner, and didn't speak. He said, "Yes, but it's in the He family. I'll take you there."
Zhang Xiaojia saw that the village was divided into two parts. The He family's houses were all made of blue bricks and tiles, while the other half were made of earthen bricks.
When we arrived at the He family, I wonder what the captain said to an old man?
The old patriarch looked at her twice, nodded, and asked a little boy to take her to see the empty house.
Zhang Xiaojia looked at the child in front of him. His clothes were not patched and were the right size. He wore Liberation shoes. He gave the boy two White Rabbit milk candies, which the boy put in his pocket without even looking at them.
"Sister, what kind of house do you want?"
Zhang Xiaojia directly stated, "It should have a yard, three rooms, a kang (kang), and a fire wall. Both families should be well-off and cook meat frequently."
The little boy took her directly to a yard. Zhang Xiaojia saw that the gate was made of iron and the wall was very high. A grown man could not climb over it. There were also long pieces of glass on the wall. The little boy opened the door and said, "Sister, how about this yard?"
Zhang Xiaojia also entered the yard. The yard was made entirely of stone bricks and there was a well. The backyard was very small, with a row of small rooms for storing firewood. It was a typical sanheyuan. Zhang Xiaojia was very satisfied with it. He put his luggage directly into the room, took out the padlock from his bag, locked the house, and then locked the yard. Then he went to the He family with the little boy.
She asked for 500 yuan for the house. If she left later, she could sell it to the He family, and the He family would give her 250 yuan. So she bought the yard.
When Zhang Xiaojia came out, he asked the little boy, "My name is Zhang Xiaojia, what's your name?"
The little boy said, "Sister, just tell me you're safe."
"Ping An, how many candies do you think I should give to get a child to help me collect firewood?"
Ping An thought for a moment and said, "You can ask the kids on the other side of the village to collect firewood for you. Just give them two candies. If you give me 30 White Rabbit candies, I'll ask the kids to collect firewood for you this year."
Zhang Xiaojia nodded immediately and said, "Great, I've got the firewood."
Back in the yard, the house was new and very clean. Zhang Xiaojia secretly took out the robot and asked it to clean.
The east wing is the kitchen, which is very nice and perfect, she likes it.
There are actually a lot of stoves, big, medium and small, and there are even pots on them.
I took out the buns from the space, ate 3 of them, and felt full.
Coming to the bedroom, there was a big kang, 3 meters long and 2 meters wide. Why was there a door here? When Zhang Xiaojia opened it, he was shocked. It turned out to be a bathroom with a toilet inside, but it was paved with cement in a square shape. Next to the toilet was a washbasin. Zhang Xiaojia filled a basin with water and tried the toilet. It was really flushed clean. He could use the washbasin to wash and brush his teeth.
Isn't this a village, not a city?
She likes it.
There was a knock on the door. Zhang Xiaojia went to open it and a chubby girl said, "Sister, the educated youth is looking for you."
Zhang Xiaojia took out two White Rabbit candies, handed them to her and said, "Thank you, little one."
The child said in a familiar way, "Sister, just call me Fatty. I live on your left."
"Okay, Fatty."
Zhang Xiaojia came to the courtyard of the educated youth. There were 8 educated youth, including her, making a total of nine people.
Four boys and five girls.
The educated youth team leader was called Zhao Bin. He said, "It's winter now, so there's not much farm work. If you work, you can earn five work points a day. During the busy farming season, we worked ourselves to death and only earned seven work points. That's why all the educated youth are working during winter."
Zhang Xiaojia raised his hand and said, "Captain, I'm not in good health. I can't stand the cold in winter. I'd like to stay here for the winter. Is that okay?"
Zhao Bin said with concern, "Comrade Zhang Xiaojia, it's possible, but I'm afraid you don't have enough food."
Zhang Xiaojia smiled and said, "My father told me to do some easy work. I'm not in good health, so I won't mess around. My father will send me some beams and tickets."
One of the female educated youth asked in a bad tone, "Zhang Xiaojia, you don't live in the educated youth dormitory, where do you live?"
Zhang Xiaojia still smiled and said, "I went to buy a house in the He family. I have a lot of luggage and it takes up too much space. I am used to living alone."
"The He family actually sold you a house?"
Zhang Xiaojia looked at him in confusion and said nothing.
"My name is Qiao Xinyi, an old educated youth. The He family doesn't like educated youth very much. I'm quite surprised they actually sold the house to you."
Zhang Xiaojia had a good impression of her and said with a smile, "I've always had good luck."
"We are all educated youth. You are not sociable and are not conducive to unity. Educated youth should unite and fight against the outside world together." Someone said to Zhang Xiaojia.
Zhang Xiaojia looked at him expressionlessly, her tone calm and firm: "We are going to the countryside to help farmers. Our goal is to integrate into the countryside and work together with the farmers, not to create confrontation and conflict."
"You, you, you... humph, whatever you want. Since you're hibernating, there's nothing for you to do here anymore. You can go back."
When Zhang Xiaojia heard this, he immediately turned around and left.
Zhang Xiaojia came to the brigade office and asked, "Captain, can we stay in the house during the winter?"
The captain looked at her and said, "Yes, no work points."
"Captain, I'm going to hibernate for the winter. I need a certificate from the captain. I need to go to the county to buy some things. Are there any furniture makers here? I need to make a few cabinets. Do you have any large water tanks? Who has more vegetables? I can trade with them."
The captain had a headache and said angrily, "Go find the He family. They have what you want."
"Where's the proof?"
"Here you go. From now on, you will be under the management of the He family. You can contact the He family."
Zhang Xiaojia put a pack of cigarettes on the table, said thank you, and ran away.
When Zhang Xiaojia arrived at the He family, he saw Ping An.
"Ping An, do you know who here is good at carpentry, who has more vegetables, or who has an extra large water tank?"
"Sister, Uncle He Ba is good at carpentry. You can buy vegetables at the market. Uncle He Yi can make water tanks. You can ask him for help."
"market?"
"Yes, it's run by the Revolutionary Committee. Only people from the village can trade. People from the city are not allowed to come in."
"Can the educated youth go?"
"The educated youth who have settled down can do that."
"Every day?"
"No, it's once a month, and it's the day after tomorrow. This time it's in the First Village. Gather here at 5 a.m. The tractor will take you there. Sister, you have to go to the village to get a certificate."
"Thank you, peace"
Zhang Xiaojia returned to the house and immediately called 3095 in his mind.
3095 arrived late and said in a condescending tone, "What's up? I'm busy."
"3095, this world is different from the 1970s I knew."
"Host, history cannot be changed, so I never said to take you back to the 1970s on Earth. This is a parallel world. This planet is called Blue Star, and your country is called Hongguo."
"So the rules here are different from those on Earth in the 1970s?"
"Yes, the families here are very powerful. You should forget about what happened on Earth and don't use the 1970s on Earth as a reference."
Zhang Xiaojia was speechless. She had always thought she was going back to the past, but she had no idea it was a parallel world.
"Every world has its own rules. Find them yourself. Don't use your world as a case study."
"But here, work points, going to the countryside, tickets, ..."
3095 interrupted her and said, "Any resemblance is purely coincidental, isn't that okay? I have something to do, so I'll leave first."
Hehehe~ Can you be perfunctory anymore? Zhang Xiaojia scratched his hair.
Ping An's voice came from the door, and Zhang Xiaojia quickly ran over to open the door.
I saw a group of 30 or 40 children, each carrying bundles of firewood weighing about 30 kilograms.
Before she could say anything, Ping'an directed them to put the firewood in the small room in the backyard.
After she had put the firewood in place and prepared the candies, she heard Ping An say, "The firewood in the backyard room isn't full yet. We need to go collect some more. Go quickly. Once you're done, you'll have two candies."
As soon as he finished speaking, the group of children ran away to collect firewood.
Ping An said, "Sister, if the rooms in the back are full, you won't be cold this winter."
Zhang Xiaojia felt guilty because those kids were only 8 or 9 years old and they were carrying 30 kilograms of firewood.
In the previous life, the cubs of Shaxing were arrogant and conceited.
Zhang Xiaojia touched Ping'an's head and said, "Ping'an, is this the child from the other side of the village?"
"Well, our village was merged. This was originally Hejia Jiuxiang Village. They lived in the mountains, and our village built houses for them."
Zhang Xiaojia gave candy to each bundle of firewood. Seeing the children smiling happily, she felt very satisfied.
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