So the idea of the new educated youth going to buy boxes together was simply decided at the dinner table.
After Liu Shumei and Wang Meixiang brought the food to the table, and everyone had arrived, Feng Baoguo stood up and spoke on behalf of the veteran educated youth: "Welcome new educated youth to Qingshan Brigade! We all come from all over the country, and we have come together for a common revolutionary goal. From now on, we will be close comrades who eat from the same pot. I hope that we can unite and help each other and work together for the revolutionary cause. Now, let's all introduce ourselves."
"Let's start with me! My name is Feng Baoguo, I come from Dongshi, and I've been in the countryside for six years. Because I've been here for a relatively long time, everyone elected me as the person in charge of our educated youth settlement. My main responsibility is to handle communication between the educated youth and the village, as well as matters related to the educated youth settlement. If you encounter any difficulties in the future, you can come to me."
Next, the former educated youth introduced themselves one by one.
"My name is Liu Qingsong. I come from Qingdao. I have been working in the countryside for four years."
"My name is Xu Lu, I come from Jinshi, and I have been working in the countryside for three years."
"My name is Dong Weiwei. I come from Shanghai and have been working in the countryside for two years."
After the introductions, Chen Shuning learned that among the original educated youth, the four male educated youth were Feng Baoguo, Liu Qingsong, Dong Weibing, and Li Jun, while the female educated youth were Liu Shumei, Wang Meixiang, Dong Weiwei, Duan Hongxia, Guo Dan, Sun Xiaoxiao, and Fang Qing.
Because the former educated youth had to go to work after the meal, everyone simply introduced themselves and then started eating.
It was called breakfast, but it was really just a bowl of thin porridge that was so thin you could see your reflection in it, a steamed bun that you couldn't tell what kind of flour it was made of, and a piece of pickled mustard greens for each person.
Of all these things, only the bowl of porridge was edible for Chen Shuning. As for the steamed buns and pickled vegetables, Chen Shuning really couldn't stomach their taste.
With the house-building issue resolved, but the new house still needed some furniture, Chen Shuning barely touched his chopsticks at the dinner table. It wasn't until everyone had almost finished eating that he asked Liu Shumei about it.
"Sister Shumei, is it possible to exchange furniture in the village? I'd like to get a new wardrobe for storing clothes."
"Yes, you can exchange it at Grandpa Wang's house in the village. Grandpa Wang injured his leg during the war and couldn't work, so he stayed home and did some carpentry work. After you leave the educated youth settlement, turn right and follow the dirt road in the village to the end. The house with a big jujube tree in front of the door is Grandpa Wang's house. It's easy to find."
"By the way, since you're all here, I'll briefly tell you about our educated youth settlement. Nowadays, we older educated youth cook together. The male educated youth are responsible for chopping firewood and carrying water, while we female educated youth are responsible for cooking."
"As for food rations, everyone takes care of their own. Those who cook will bring their own lunchboxes to pack the grain and steam it together. They will steam only what they need. As for vegetables, there are some in the private plots in the yard. We all tend to them together, so we eat together. As for things like oil, salt, soy sauce, and vinegar, everyone will contribute two cents a month to buy them together."
"If you new educated youth want to eat with us, this is the rule. If you don't want to eat with us, you can cook on your own, but you have to wait until we finish cooking. You also have to take care of things like fetching water and chopping firewood yourselves."
"However, since you new educated youth haven't received your food rations yet, the food for breakfast today is provided by the older educated youth as a welcome gift. Would you like to join us or cook for yourselves?"
Liu Xiangyang and Zhao Qianjin, two male educated youths, couldn't cook, so they naturally had to share meals with the older educated youths. Yang Xiaohong also chose to share meals with the older educated youths, while Yang Wanqiu hesitated for a moment, saying she would think about it before making a decision.
Chen Shuning was going to build his own house and move out, so he naturally wouldn't be eating with the other educated youth. Therefore, he decided on the spot to cook for himself.
As for the days before the house was finished, Chen Shuning still ate with everyone. In addition to his own food rations, Chen Shuning gave the old educated youth a subsidy of one cent a day.
Since neither chopping firewood nor carrying water was something Chen Shuning, with his small frame, could do, he decided to simply take the money and leave it at that.
Zhong Lingling and Wang Wenqi, who happened to be back at this moment, are also temporarily sharing with the old educated youth, just like Chen Shuning. Once Zhong Lingling's house is built, they will start their own households.
Wang Chunni hasn't returned yet; we'll talk about it when she does.
After dinner, the former educated youth went to work in the fields. However, because they arrived late last night, they all thought they should first pack their luggage at the educated youth settlement to see if they needed anything before going to town to buy it and send letters home.
Chen Shuning also needed to send a letter home, but she didn't need to pack her luggage in a hurry. She could pack it after the house was built. So she went back to the barn to rest and wait for the others to finish packing so they could go get their food rations and buy furniture together.
Yang Wanqiu, Yang Xiaohong, and the other three arrived later, so they could only stay at the end of the kang (heated brick bed). It was hot this season, so the two of them didn't feel anything, but they were both from Beijing. Winters in Beijing were already cold enough, but they had heard that winters in Heilongjiang Province were several times colder than in Beijing.
So Yang Xiaohong planned to use the cotton coupons given to her by the educated youth office when she went to town in the afternoon, and then add another layer of cotton to the quilt she had brought.
Yang Wanqiu, however, had other ideas. While Yang Xiaohong was making the bed, Yang Wanqiu took half a bag of brown sugar to the storeroom to find Chen Shuning.
"Shuning, are you really going to build your own house? It must cost a lot of money to build one, right?"
Chen Shuning not only possessed the original owner's memories but also had the tea-tasting experience accumulated in her previous life. How could she not know who Yang Wanqiu was? When she saw her approaching, she had already guessed what Yang Wanqiu wanted to do. Now, hearing her mention building a house, she became even more certain.
My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com