Chapter 165
A new bamboo mat was placed on the kang in the room, and Qiu Zeming became busy and disappeared.
The brigade welcomed a group of new educated youth.
Although Zhou Jiani was now a cadre in the commune, Zhang Baosheng still subconsciously treated her as a member of the Qianjin Brigade. After receiving the assignment for the new educated youth, he waited for Zhou Jiani at the village entrance in the evening to get off work. He specifically told her, "I'm thinking of applying for resettlement funds from the commune before the harvest. I'll expand the educated youth camp first, connecting it to the one we built last year. Sun Ping and the others will temporarily move into the larger dormitory to squeeze in with the older educated youth from earlier batches. Then, when the expansion is complete, we'll move the newcomers back in."
As in previous years, the newly arrived educated youth were first placed in the homes of their fellow villagers.
However, Zhang Kaishan's family could not take in any new educated youth this year. Now their family was living a comfortable life. The three of them lived frugally. The couple set aside money from their wages to buy food rations from the production team. They gritted their teeth and demolished the previous shed. They built another room with mud bricks and connected it to the main house. After it was built, they let Huihui live in a room by herself. Now the family is very busy.
Zhou Jiani had known for a long time that the new educated youth were coming.
There was a shortage of job vacancies in the city, and those positions that were available were being targeted by the educated youth who had just returned to the city. There was no place for them to get involved, so Aunt Su gave up the idea and made plans early. She put some effort into getting her daughter Xiao Min into the Qianjin Brigade.
Putting aside the question of whether Zhou Jiani would care or not, she had to think hard to get her daughter over to her for the sake of the team's development prospects. She also sent a letter to Zhou Jiani in advance.
Zhou Jiani smiled and said, "If you're not busy that day, no matter who in the village goes to pick you up, just go to the commune and let me know, and I'll go over to take a look."
Zhang Baosheng agreed.
The mentality of receiving educated youth is completely different when the family conditions are poor and when the family conditions are good. In the past, when Zhang Baosheng received the task of receiving educated youth, his brows were so furious that he could kill a fly. The members of the commune did not complain, but they were very disgusted with him.
But it’s different now. They are showing off with pride and really want to open up to let everyone see how good their team is.
The villagers are also happy. Since outsiders came to study after the New Year, many of their families have received them with food and accommodation. Although they cannot make a fortune from this, they can at least earn a few cents extra.
Now that new educated youth are coming, those fellow villagers who have never been in line for reception are all excited, as it will be their turn.
On the day when the new educated youth arrived, Uncle Zhang and Uncle Liu drove a mule cart to the commune, and Liu Tong followed. He turned around and called Zhou Jiani, and they went to the educated youth office together.
Zhou Jiani saw brand new city kids carrying all kinds of packages, big and small.
The young girls and boys had clear eyes. The fatigue of the journey was being replaced by the novelty of arriving in the countryside. There was even a small group of them singing songs with great enthusiasm, completely unaware that the staff of the Youth League Office behind them were frowning in disgust.
Zhou Jiani didn't want to think about how stupid she was at that time. She smiled slightly and glanced at the crowd. She saw Aunt Su's daughter Xiao Min and nodded slightly at her.
Xiao Min was not like the lively group of people next to her. Although there was curiosity about arriving in a new place in her eyes, she also felt a little uneasy. It was not until she saw Sister Jiani, whom she had met once during the Spring Festival, that her heart calmed down a little.
Xiao Min was well-educated by her parents. When she saw that Zhou Jiani did not come up to recognize her, she continued to stand steadily in the crowd and did not run over rashly. However, her uneasy mood was greatly relieved and she felt relieved.
Zhou Jiani's gaze shifted, and she saw several familiar yet unfamiliar faces. She also saw Zheng Yan, the girl who had appeared in the text in her dream. She was clutching a large package wrapped in a blue checkered sheet, resting the edge of the package on her feet to prevent it from touching the ground. She tilted her head and spoke to a girl beside her.
After taking a look, Zhou Jiani withdrew her gaze. Without Liu Ailing's jumping around and inciting people, she would not be excluded, and she would not have much interaction with Zheng Yan and her group.
Every stage is a new beginning, for Zheng Yan and herself.
Seeing her scrutinizing the new educated youth, Liu Tong thought she was trying to identify which ones would be assigned to their forward brigade, so he said with a smile, "We have a list. We'll just read out the names later..." Then he suddenly realized, "What was your procedure last year? What's the same procedure this time?"
However, the people from other brigades of the commune who came to pick up the educated youth saw Zhou Jiani and came over to greet her: "Why are you here, Team Leader Zhou?"
Liu Tong said unhappily, "Team Leader Zhou is from our Forward Brigade. We're welcoming new blood, so shouldn't Team Leader Zhou come over and take a look?"
The other person was the deputy captain of the Shuanghe Brigade. He laughed but did not expose him. He thought to himself, no wonder everyone was talking about it in private, saying that the Qianjin Brigade was clinging to Team Leader Zhou. Team Leader Zhou was obviously a commune cadre, but the Qianjin Brigade did not have this awareness and always pushed Team Leader Zhou into their own hands.
Several people from the brigade came over to greet Zhou Jiani, and Zhou Jiani responded with a smile.
Many new educated youth noticed this scene and were a little surprised at Zhou Jiani being surrounded like a star, and they discussed and inquired with each other.
"Who is that guy? He looks like a cadre, but he's about the same age as us."
"Could she be the daughter of some high-ranking official? So many people are surrounding her and talking to her, it feels like they are all praising her."
"She's so beautiful, why does she look familiar to me?"
Before they could get curious for too long, the Youth League Office saw that everyone from each team had arrived and stood up to ask everyone to assemble. Then they came over to check the list with each team. The staff was busy and sweating. When they saw Zhou Jiani, they smiled respectfully and greeted her: "Team Leader Zhou, go sit inside for a while. There are fans inside."
Zhou Jiani smiled and waved her hand: "No, I'll finish the roll call and lead everyone back to the forward team."
The people in the Youth League Office were surprised. Team Leader Zhou had been transferred to the commune, so why did the Qianjin Brigade invite her along when they came to receive the educated youth?
But since Team Leader Zhou had arrived, the people from the Youth League Office suddenly decided to ask Zhou Jiani to go over and say a few words.
Since she was called over, the people from the Youth League Office first publicized her achievements over the past year. The clear-eyed new youths all cast admiring glances at her.
Xu, who came from other provinces, did not have much understanding, but the educated youth from this province had more or less heard of it, and some had seen it in the newspapers. Their eyes were very eager, and they were inexplicably envious of those who were assigned to the Qianjin Brigade.
"You are so lucky to be in the same team with Comrade Zhou."
"Isn't the information outdated? Comrade Zhou has been transferred to the commune for his outstanding work. Now the entire commune is engaged in the staffing industry. As long as he is in Xihe Commune, any assignment is good."
"Yes, the whole commune here is developing, and we are doing well too."
For the educated youth who came from other provinces, this was undoubtedly an unexpected surprise, and they were full of anticipation for their days in the countryside.
Zhou Jiani didn't make a long speech. It was a hot day, and the newcomers with clear eyes were standing in the sun, sweating profusely. She was afraid that they would get hurt by the heat, so she just said a few words of welcome and hurried down. The Youth League Office began to call people from each team to come over and take their names and take away their people.
Zhou Jiani didn't go back with them. She waited until everyone had gathered, then smiled and introduced Liu Tong, Uncle Liu, and Uncle Zhang to them. She said, "Let me personally welcome everyone here. I hope everyone will leverage their strengths and make positive contributions to the construction of the new countryside in the Qianjin Brigade. Now, everyone, please follow Accountant Liu back to the village. Once you arrive, follow the team's instructions and follow their arrangements. Settle down first, and we'll hold a welcome meeting for everyone this evening..."
As she spoke, her eyes fell on Xiao Min's face. Xiao Min understood what she meant. Sister Jiani was reminding her to follow the arrangements.
Before coming, her mother also told her not to try to build a relationship with Sister Jiani in public, and it would be best not to make the relationship public. If you have this relationship and you get any benefits in the future, those who don’t get them will definitely talk behind your back, thinking that you didn’t get it through your own performance, but through connections.
They had arranged for her to come here simply because they had heard so many stories of female educated youth being bullied in the countryside that it had broken their throats. But Zhou Jiani was here, and the brigade mother had been there herself. The atmosphere was good, and there hadn't been any such scandals. That was more important than anything else.
As for the rest, you still have to work hard and endure hardships, and you can't avoid them just because Zhou Jiani is around.
One educated youth, unaware that Zhou Jiani had been transferred to work at the commune, asked, "Comrade Zhou, aren't you going back with us?"
Zhou Jiani smiled and said, "I'm still at work. Okay, now the men will have one car, and the women will have one car. Let's go back and make arrangements first..."
Liu Tong asked everyone to get in the car, and Zhou Jiani watched them leave and then returned to the unit.
The new educated youth arrived at a more opportune time than Zhou Jiani's group. It was not yet the harvest season, so it was not so busy. The team held a lively welcome party in the evening.
Zhou Jiani took advantage of the crowd to find Xiao Min and asked with a smile, "Are you settled in? Whose house are you staying with?"
Xiao Min was already feeling a bit homesick. Seeing an acquaintance, she couldn't help but feel a pang of sadness, but she managed to control herself and said, "I've settled in. I'm staying with Uncle Zhang, Uncle Zhang Guanfeng, and Aunt Zhang."
Zhou Jiani tilted her head and thought for a moment before saying, "That's good. Uncle Guanfeng is in charge of the village's livestock farming. He looks serious, but he's very down-to-earth." She added, "Stay here and be down-to-earth. It's not busy right now, so you'll have a chance to adapt. Take it step by step. Come to me if you need anything..."
After telling her where she lived, he added, "You can make phone calls in the brigade, but members have to pay for calls to educated youth. You can go to the brigade headquarters tomorrow and ask them to call home."
Xiao Min stared at the stage, nodded, and said, "I understand, Sister Jiani. Don't worry, since I'm here, I will definitely work hard. My mother also told me to try not to cause you any trouble."
Zhou Jiani smiled: "It's not a big deal, but since I just arrived, it's obvious that I haven't taken good care of you. I can't avoid learning and practicing."
"Sister Jiani, I understand everything!"
Zhou Jiani nodded. The little girl was smart, so she could worry less.
Aunt Su had been a big help to her when she started exporting. Now that Aunt Su's daughter was here, Zhou Jiani would definitely take care of her. But she couldn't just assign her easy tasks at the beginning. That wouldn't make sense. And even if she did, Xiao Min would have to be able to stand on her own feet so that her care would flow more smoothly.
Fortunately, Xiao Min herself is a sensible person. Except for the first few days when she felt homesick and uncomfortable, she became a dexterous girl after her body adapted to the new environment. Her fellow villagers have a good opinion of her.
During this period, Zhou Jiani took advantage of Lu Zhaoliang's offer and asked Li Yan to send her a batch of mats. She kept some for her family and as gifts, and sold the rest in the group.
Time flies when you are busy, especially for Zhou Jiani.
From the time Qiu Zeming was so busy that he disappeared to the time he was about to leave, Zhou Jiani had never felt that time passed so quickly. It felt like in the blink of an eye, it was time for Qiu Zeming to leave.
No matter how busy the two of them are these days, they have to stroll back and forth in the alleys of the village.
Bai Haoyang and Wang Qianjin knew about this, but Yu Wanxia and Sun Ping found out later and were shocked. Sun Ping whispered to Zhou Jiani, "Did you know about this earlier?"
Zhou Jiani suppressed her reluctance and nodded: "I know."
"Then..." Sun Ping hesitated, not knowing what to say. In the end, she just mumbled, "I thought you were planning to get married as soon as you were old enough."
Zhou Jiani smiled with her eyes crooked: "If the army had approved it at that time, we would definitely have gotten married."
Sun Ping smiled helplessly and said, "You have a really big heart."
Qiu Zeming was so good-looking and a brilliant man, so Jiani wasn't afraid that he would be chosen by some leader as his son-in-law once he joined the army. But now, she definitely couldn't say anything that would increase Jiani's anxiety, so she could only say something nice: "That's good too. You can take your household registration with you when you join the army..."
Well, that’s the only benefit, in Sun Ping’s opinion.
Liu Yan invited Qiu Zeming to her home for dinner, and also called Zhou Jiani and Sheng Hongshan, father and son, and expressed her gratitude with red eyes.
He was a little confused some time ago, but Qiu Zeming took him everywhere he went, teaching him experience and knowledge in interpersonal relationships in a cramming manner, and occasionally testing his technical knowledge of greenhouse cultivation.
Now that his job was settled, he held a meeting with several key personnel in the greenhouse before leaving. Only then did he suddenly understand Qiu Zeming's intentions. The burly man's eyes turned red at that moment.
Liu Jingguo, Sheng Hongshan, and the others were also reluctant to leave, but they also knew that this was someone else's future, so they kept muttering, "You must come back and visit when you have time."
Qiu Zeming smiled and said, "Of course, my partner is still here, so I have to ask everyone to help me take good care of Jiani in the future."
Sheng Hongshan waved his hands with red eyes: "Don't worry about that. Comrade Xiao Zhou is the lucky star of our Qianjin Brigade. She won't suffer any harm here. As for you, take care of yourself..."
Zhou Jiani leaned her head on Qiu Zeming's shoulder and wiped her eyes with his shirt.
Only at this moment did I realize how reluctant she was.
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