But Liu Shumei believes that this is the best way.
They need to be smart but not weak-willed. Only people like that can be a help to the educated youth settlement. Otherwise, if everyone is selfish, these educated youth from outside will be bullied to death.
Reaching out to stop Chen Shuning from getting up, Liu Shumei looked at Chen Shuning's listless appearance and sighed, saying, "How are you? Are you very tired? Can your body handle it?"
Chen Shuning responded with a smile to the well-intentioned concern of others: "It's alright. Although I'm very tired, I think I can still manage."
Liu Shumei can be considered a veteran of the educated youth settlement. She has seen a lot of things come and go, and she will always offer a few words of advice to those who are worthy of her sincere friendship.
"Just do what you can. We female educated youth are generally not very strong. If we can earn six or seven work points a day, we are considered capable. At the end of the year, the work points we earn are enough to make a living, but we can hardly earn any money."
However, even if our going to the countryside saves enough food for one person at home, it's still a contribution to the family, so we shouldn't think about sending money or food home.
Don't listen to those people in the village who always say that we educated youth can't work. The only work people in their village can do in a day is one full work point. Several male educated youths like Feng Weiguo and Liu Qingsong in our educated youth settlement can earn ten full work points.
The girls in the village were just like us, earning only a few work points a day. The villagers were somewhat xenophobic, believing that we educated youth had come to steal their grain, which is why they said that.
"I see you can afford to build a house right away, so your family's situation shouldn't be too bad. Listen to your sister, if your family can help out, don't care what others say, just do as much as you can. Don't ruin your health for a few work points, it's not worth it."
Liu Shumei's words were truly for Chen Shuning's benefit, and Chen Shuning, not one to be ungrateful, quickly replied with a smile, "I know, thank you, Sister Shumei."
Seeing Chen Shuning's attitude, Liu Shumei was obviously pleased and continued, "I saw it with my own eyes. When we first arrived, everyone was like a greenhorn. After being teased by the villagers, they worked their butts off."
Li Ping, who came with me, is one of them. A thin and weak woman like you can earn ten work points just like a man after only ten days.
In addition, the food at the educated youth settlement was just so-so, and the nutrition was inadequate, so he was exhausted in less than half a year.
Although I eventually got a sick leave spot and returned to the city, what good is it to go back to the city?
Unable to find a job, and with a sickly body, unable to find a good husband, you just stay at home. Over time, your younger siblings have long forgotten that you went to the countryside for their sake; they only see you as someone who freeloads at home, and no one likes you.
Sensing Liu Shumei's sadness, Chen Shuning comforted her, "Sister Shumei, we will all be alright. The country will not forget us. Sooner or later we will all return to the city and live a good life."
Li Ping was her childhood friend. When her sister mentioned her, Liu Shumei felt not only heartache but also regret. She regretted not being able to persuade her friend to stay, which led to her friend ending up having to marry an old widower with three children.
Sensing the oppressive atmosphere in the room, Liu Shumei quickly suppressed her sadness and adopted a more relaxed tone, saying, "Actually, it's not bad that we've come to Heilongjiang Province to work in the countryside. Although it's a bit cold in winter, there are many advantages here. We only grow one crop a year here, so we can hibernate in the winter."
Moreover, the mountains here are rich in produce. Even if you don't earn many work points, you can still go into the mountains to collect wild produce after the autumn harvest. There are plenty of hazelnuts, chestnuts, walnuts, and other wild fruits in the mountains.
These things may not fill you up completely, but they can at least stave off hunger, especially chestnuts. When ground into flour and mixed with some wheat flour, they make incredibly fragrant steamed buns.
After the autumn harvest, I'll take you into the mountains and you'll see. Oh, and when it gets cold, the village will organize hunting trips into the mountains. We can even get some meat during the Spring Festival.
They all prefer to go south when they're sent to the countryside. To me, the only advantage there is a bit more grain, but you're busy in the fields all year round, with no rest. Although it helps out a little at home, life there is definitely not as good as here. You'll understand later.
"Yes, Sister Shumei, I also think Heilongjiang Province is pretty good. Actually, my dad served in the army in Jilin Province back then. When I was a child, my dad often talked to me about things here, so when I was sent to the countryside, my parents specially chose this brigade for me."
Chen Shuning was from Northeast China in his previous life. Although he later went to work in the South, his love for his hometown was etched in his bones.
It is precisely because of this passion that Chen Shuning likes to search online for news and interesting stories about his hometown whenever he has free time.
She knew quite a bit about the situation in Heilongjiang Province in the 1960s and 70s, such as beating roe deer with sticks and scooping fish with ladles, wild boars and pheasants running all over the mountains, and she had even heard that there were cases of black bears coming down the mountain to sneak into villagers' homes.
Another thing is the mountain produce, like the hazelnuts, walnuts, and chestnuts that Liu Shumei just mentioned. Although she has plenty of these in her space, the process of going up the mountain to pick them is what Chen Shuning likes the most.
In her past life, she loved to go mushroom picking in the mountains when she occasionally returned to her hometown. It was a truly pleasant and fun experience. Seeing the baskets piled high with mushrooms was incredibly satisfying.
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