But when the accountant asked her if she wanted to borrow some money first and pay it back when she earned work points the following year, she still refused.
Sitting on the kang (a heated brick bed) wrapped in a quilt, Cai Xiaoyu felt hopeless whenever she thought about these things. She even wondered if she would die in the winter of her first year in the countryside.
After all, many educated youth died in the countryside in various accidents. One of her neighbors' older sisters died in the countryside. The news that came back was that the older sister accidentally fell into the water and drowned.
But only she knew that the older sister was an excellent swimmer; she could easily drown in an ordinary river.
The place where the neighbor's sister was sent to the countryside was too far from their hometown. Even if the neighbor's family didn't believe the result, the mountains and rivers were too far away, and who could go to such a distant countryside to investigate how that sister died?
In the end, the matter could only be dropped.
The rooms of the male and female educated youth were separated only by a kitchen, and the male educated youth in the other room could hear Cai Xiaoyu crying clearly.
However, the male educated youths were also annoyed by the constant bickering between Cao Qing and Cai Xiaoyu, so they simply pretended not to hear Cai Xiaoyu's crying.
Everyone had finished dinner by now. Because it was so cold, most people would sit on the kang (heated brick bed) chatting or reading after their meal.
The brothers Li Anbang and Li Dingguo have recently become fascinated with basket weaving, and in their spare time, they sit on the kang (a heated brick bed) and weave various small items.
Although Dong Haisheng didn't wear glasses and didn't look as much like a bookworm as Sui Yuanchao, he was a real bookworm, always reading whenever he had time.
Because he loved reading, when choosing his berth, Dong Haisheng specifically chose the side of the kang (a heated brick bed) that no one liked to live in, just so he could easily read against the wall.
Sun Xingguo had made up his bed early and was now quietly lying in bed, it was unclear whether he was asleep or not.
Only Zhang Tienan was leaning against the wall by the kang (a heated brick bed), cracking hazelnuts and muttering with a look of disgust, "Now she knows how to cry. What was she doing before? If it weren't for her causing trouble all the time, would Zhou and Cao, the educated youth, have been able to move out on their own? That's two yuan a month, enough to buy a big piece of meat."
Song Weiping was one of the older members of the later batch of educated youth, and could be considered an elder brother among the new educated youth.
He frowned upon hearing Zhang Tienan's words. The former educated youth compound had clearly been divided into two factions. The original educated youth were very united, and they did not live with the newcomers. Therefore, the original educated youth would unconsciously exclude the new educated youth.
Although this exclusion was not intentional, it made life very difficult for these newly arrived educated youth. If they could not unite, their future life would be even more difficult.
Thinking of all this, Song Weiping's expression turned somber, and a hint of worry appeared in his eyes. He couldn't help but say, "That's true, but Cai Zhiqing is a female comrade with quite a few problems."
"He's a comrade-in-arms who went to the countryside with us; it's only right that we grown men take care of him."
At this point, Song Weiping frowned slightly, as if he was thinking about something. Finally, as if he had made up his mind, he continued, "I see that she has far too little firewood. The winters in Heilongjiang Province are exceptionally cold. If she relies on the little firewood she has gathered, Cai Zhiqing may freeze to death in a few days, even before the weather gets the coldest."
At this point, Song Weiping's tone was tinged with anxiety. Seeing that everyone was looking at him, he paused for a long time before saying with a troubled expression, "So I was thinking, when we go up the mountain to collect firewood recently, could everyone collect a little more each day?"
With so many of us, if each of us brings her a bundle a day, it'll be enough for her to collect for several days. If she's careful with her burning of food when the mountains are snowed in, it should be enough for her to survive the winter.
Of course, this is just my personal suggestion; how to actually do it is up to everyone.
Upon hearing that he was to help Cai Xiaoyu gather firewood, Zhang Tienan was the first to object.
Zhang Tienan roared angrily, "Why should we?! If it weren't for her causing trouble all the time, we could still be eating with Zhou Zhiqing and the others. We wouldn't be stuck with a bunch of grown men working around the stove every day, and the food we make is absolutely awful."
Zhang Tienan's voice was full of dissatisfaction and resentment.
Then, he said indignantly, "Besides, she's not even in a hurry. She only gathers a small bundle of firewood a day. Why are you so anxious?"
I've seen her several times. While we were all gathering firewood in the mountains, she was picking wild duck eggs alone in the meadow at the foot of the mountain.
She never mentioned spending a single penny of the money she earned from selling duck eggs in town every few days on us.
Why should we all be expected to gather firewood for her for free? Zhang Tienan's eyes revealed his incomprehension and anger towards Song Weiping.
After Zhang Tienan was the first to express his opinion, Wang Gang quickly chimed in, "I think Zhang Tienan is right. Why should she be lazy and not collect firewood, but then make us collect it for her when there's no firewood left?"
Isn't this the behavior of a capitalist's daughter? We absolutely cannot encourage this kind of evil trend!" Wang Gang's face was full of disapproval, and his tone was firm, as if he deeply abhorred this unfair phenomenon.
Led by Zhang Tienan and Wang Gang, who were filled with righteous indignation, everyone began to criticize Cai Xiaoyu, and the scene became extremely heated.
Everyone's emotions were fully stirred up. Everyone felt indignant about Cai Xiaoyu's actions and unanimously believed that people like Cai Xiaoyu did not deserve any sympathy.
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