Jiang Tiecheng used a carrying pole to fill the water vat for Chen Ruixue.
"Brother Jiang, what were you talking about just now? What are you going to the village entrance for tomorrow morning?"
"The production team leader said that there is no grain in the village and no grain in the county. He told us that if we want grain, we should go to the irrigation canal repair site first thing tomorrow morning for meals, and we will also receive 18 jin of cornmeal a month."
Chen Ruixue punched her leg in frustration.
"My leg is acting up, otherwise I would have come with you."
"Even if you're ambitious, you still can't go. They only want male educated youth."
Jiang Tiecheng smiled. Fortunately, the swelling in his ankle did seem to have gone down a bit.
"Your foot will be gone for at least two or three days. Just stay home and rest."
Chen Ruixue sighed.
"If male educated youth can earn food, what about female educated youth?"
We can't all just wait to starve to death.
There must be some kind of regulation in the village; I don't believe the county's educated youth office is in charge.
"What you said is somewhat similar to what He Junsheng said."
I'm telling you, you need to think this through. Now that we're going to the countryside...
The saying goes, "Even a powerful dragon can't suppress a local snake."
Unless your parents can stay with you for the rest of your life, as long as they hold onto your file and don't let go, you won't even be able to leave.
Remember, even now, we need a letter of introduction from the village to buy a train ticket. Offending the production team leader won't do us any good.
"The production team leader must know what's going on."
Chen Ruixue pondered these words. She wasn't ignorant or unreasonable; she immediately understood.
"I understand. Okay, then I'll stay home and recover. Anyway, I can't go out in this state."
Jiang Tiecheng smiled, surprised that Chen Ruixue had such a good temper.
The main thing is to listen to advice.
There's a saying that good advice is hard to give, and that's just how some people are. Since Chen Ruixue listens to advice, I'm even more willing to take care of her.
When He Junsheng came to talk to Chen Ruixue about his ideas in the afternoon, Chen Ruixue pitifully lifted up her trouser leg.
"Comrade He, look how swollen my legs are, I can't go. I want to, but I don't have the strength."
He Junsheng returned disappointed, but even so, he still managed to contact seventy or eighty male educated youth.
They agreed that they would not go to the water repair shop the next day; instead, they would go to the county government to ask the leaders of the educated youth office to stand up for them.
They had 150 educated youth, including 100 male and 50 female educated youth.
He Junsheng, with his silver tongue, actually managed to persuade most people.
The next day, very few educated youths waited at the village entrance to repair the irrigation canal; there were probably 12 male and 8 female educated youths in total.
Many of these people came from poor families and didn't even have much food to carry on the road.
We couldn't hold on any longer after arriving here. If we didn't go and repair the irrigation canal, we would immediately go hungry.
Some of them had their own ideas, didn't want to cause trouble, and didn't want to get involved in this kind of thing.
But no matter what, the 20 educated youths came together to wait for the bus.
Jiang Tiecheng originally thought that the female educated youth didn't need to go, but he realized he was wrong when he arrived.
Women here hold up half the sky, so why shouldn't they be allowed to repair the irrigation canals?
It was pitch black, and the howling of wolves could be heard in the distance. A group of people stood shivering in the cold wind, feeling uncertain.
However, the sound of a truck soon followed.
Only then did a few scattered villagers emerge from the village.
It seems the villagers know the exact time to repair the irrigation canals each year better than they do.
The villagers together number quite a few, about seventy or eighty.
Many villagers sneered when they saw that only 20 of the educated youth had come.
"I knew these city folks couldn't endure this kind of hardship. Look at them, look at them."
"Aunt Wang and her family are really a disgrace. They are supposed to be the children of workers in the city, but they are not as good as us farmers."
"Look at them, it's obvious they can't handle hardship."
"Do you think a few will survive this time?"
"Of course, they'd probably wail and scream like ghosts if the irrigation canal were repaired."
"Not everyone can earn this kind of food."
A group of old women laughed loudly, completely disregarding them and instead making comments about them.
A group of educated youth huddled together, their faces grim, many with their heads down, mainly because they felt out of place here.
Instead, Jiang Tiecheng sat next to a middle-aged man who looked like an adult laborer, with a face as dark as an African's.
My hands have thick calluses.
However, you can tell something about this person. Although he works hard all year round, he is actually quite strong compared to the other people who are skinny.
There should be some connections to prove it, at least enough to fill my stomach.
Working with someone like that, you can naturally learn some skills.
Jiang Tiecheng had already planned that coming here to work as a laborer was definitely not an option; he would have to resort to some tricks.
But you also need to find the right path.
Jiang Tiecheng started chatting with the middle-aged man next to him.
As soon as he offered him a few cigarettes, the old farmers around him immediately became friendly and welcoming.
It was thanks to Wu Dazhuang's thoughtfulness that he brought a pack of Daqianmen cigarettes, which came in handy now.
In addition, Jiang Tiecheng has a kind face and a gentle voice, and he always gets to the point when he talks about anything.
They were nothing like the group of educated youth next to them, who either huddled up like quails, silent and withdrawn, or glared at the group opposite them as if they were looking at enemies.
So Jiang Tiecheng infiltrated the Red Flag Brigade in just one hour.
By the time the truck stopped and people got off, Jiang Tiecheng was already calling out "Second Uncle," "Aunt Liu," and "Brother Wu" endlessly.
He has an excellent memory, almost photographic memory, so he can remember clearly any name someone has ever used.
In just a short while, the villagers realized that Jiang Tiecheng was indeed different from the others.
Wu Xiangqian said in a low voice,
"You'll be following me for a while, and we'll definitely be either splitting up to carry sand or stones."
Most likely, it's about carrying stones, which is a physically demanding task.
I know the foreman who's building the canal; I'll arrange an easy job for you.
You've never done this before, you definitely won't be able to handle it if you suddenly start.
Jiang Tiecheng shook his head.
"Brother Wu, how can that be?"
Since I came to the countryside, I already had the idea of learning skills, diligence, and labor from our farmers.
How could I possibly slack off here?
I'll do whatever you do; no need to arrange anything, it's easy.
If you can do it, then I definitely can do it too. I'll grit my teeth and do it anyway.
"Learn from our peasant comrades."
As expected, his declaration of determination immediately won applause from many people.
When the group arrived at the construction site, everyone was a little dumbfounded when they saw it.
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