With the house situation settled, Chen Shuning felt much more relaxed.
She turned around and went to light the fire to boil water. Chen Shuning, who had been following Chen Ma the whole morning on the day she went to the countryside, had probably already learned how to use this kind of wood-fired stove. Although the process was not smooth, the result was still good, and the hot water was successfully heated.
Chen Shuning had just turned around to go inside to get the white sugar that Chen Ma had prepared for her to make some sugar water for the workers when she turned back and saw Yang Wanqiu glaring at her fiercely, as if she were looking at an enemy.
"What? You want to fight?"
Yang Wanqiu was clearly caught red-handed and was momentarily stunned. Yang Xiaohong, however, looked at Chen Shuning with a smile and asked, "We're planning to go to Grandpa Wang's house now to exchange our suitcases. Shuning, do you want to come along?"
Chen Shuning glanced at the water that had just been boiled, thinking that it would take some time for it to boil, so he gladly accepted Yang Xiaohong's obvious gesture of goodwill.
Ignoring Yang Wanqiu's dark face, Chen Shuning added some more firewood to the stove, went inside to get her small satchel, and went out with the other newly arrived educated youth.
The male educated youth who had packed their luggage early in the morning were already waiting in the courtyard. Wang Chunni, who had gone out to find the brigade leader, had also returned and was excitedly talking to Xu Laidi.
Seeing the three of them come out, the group headed towards Grandpa Wang's house in a grand procession.
It was the time when the villagers were gradually going to work, and these nine educated youth men all looked like the kind of tall, honest, and kind-hearted men that people in this era liked.
Apart from Yang Xiaohong, who was a bit dark-skinned, Yang Wanqiu was truly fair-skinned, beautiful, and had long legs. Chen Shuning's eyebrows and eyes were also quite delicate, but her fair and tender skin was a big plus.
Wang Chunni, with her plump and cute appearance, perfectly matched the aesthetic of the aunties and grandmas of that era—she was plump and well-off. Xu Laidi also had the typical beauty of a woman from Jiangnan. So, when they walked together, they attracted a lot of attention.
During that short journey, their ears were filled with the villagers' gossip about them.
"Look how pretty that educated youth is!" The village lads are sure to stir things up again. These are the kinds of comments they make about Yang Wanqiu, Xu Laidi, and the other pretty girls.
What? Look at that female educated youth, she's fair-skinned and plump, you can tell she comes from a wealthy family. She has a prosperous appearance too. If you're looking for a wife, you should look for someone like her, she'll bring good fortune to the family.
The woman who was sent to the countryside was too thin, with no flesh on her body. She must not be good at bearing children. You can't find a wife like that. This was referring to Yang Xiaohong.
There was also something about Chen Shuning: "Look at that girl, she's so fair-skinned and delicate, she doesn't look like someone who can do farm work. She probably won't earn many work points all year round, and I wonder if she'll go hungry at the end of the year."
Even Liu Xiangyang and the other male educated youths couldn't escape the villagers' gossip. Of course, they all said they were good people, especially Liu Xiangyang and Zhao Qianjin.
Not only was he tall and sturdy, but his upright face was exactly the type of woman that aunties and older women liked in this era. In just a few minutes, several older women came up to him to inquire about his family situation, and their words implied that they wanted to play matchmaker for him.
Embarrassed, Liu Xiangyang, the sunny young man who dared to be the first to stand up on the train, blushed and lowered his head, almost running away from the women's encirclement.
Zhao Qianjin, on the other hand, was tall and strong, and looked like a capable worker, which earned him unanimous praise from the aunties and grandmas in the village.
Then there's Wang Wenqi. Because he's fair-skinned and handsome, and tall and strong, girls passing by can't help but glance at him a few more times, which makes Zhong Lingling look unhappy the whole way.
Chen Shuning, on the other hand, was quite calm in the face of such discussions. He would greet the aunties and grandmas from time to time and chat with them. He would also directly criticize those who talked nonsense.
In addition, the story of Chen Shuning confronting Hu Chunzhi and Liu Guihua when he first arrived in the village last night has also been spread. Suddenly everyone knows that there is a tough girl among the new educated youth in the village, which is exactly the effect Chen Shuning wanted.
Soon, following Liu Shumei's directions, the group arrived at the east end of the village and, sure enough, spotted Grandpa Wang's house with a large jujube tree at the entrance.
The gate to the courtyard was open, and people could vaguely see that there was a lot of timber piled up in the courtyard.
At this point, it was time for the male students to take the lead. Liu Xiangyang quickly walked a few steps, knocked on the wooden door, and shouted into the yard, "Is anyone home?"
Yes, who are you looking for?
No sooner had Liu Xiangyang finished speaking than a somewhat aged voice came from the house, followed by a lame old man who looked to be in his fifties or sixties.
"Are you Grandpa Wang Er? We are new educated youth. We heard from fellow educated youth Liu Shumei that you can exchange for boxes, cabinets and such. We would like to exchange some. Is that convenient for you?" Liu Xiangyang asked politely.
The old man laughed upon hearing this, pointed to the thatched shed in the southwest corner of the yard, and said, "Convenient, what's inconvenient about it? Everything is ready-made, it's all over there. You can see for yourselves what you want to exchange."
At that time, it was a collective economy, and private buying and selling was not allowed. So even if you were buying something, you couldn't say "buy" but had to say "exchange".
Following the old man's finger, everyone saw several boxes for storing clothes, the kind found in the old educated youth's houses, two wardrobes on the ground, and three or four small kang tables placed on the kang.
Knowing that new educated youth were coming, they would usually need to buy furniture, so Grandpa Wang Er had prepared everything in advance so they could buy it as soon as they arrived, which was quite convenient.
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