Chapter 5 Arrival
The train was late and should have arrived at 11:30, but it didn't arrive in Yao County until 12:00.
"We've arrived at Yao County. Let's get off the bus."
"Don't be in a hurry. Check your belongings and don't leave anything behind."
"Where are my shoes? Who kicked them away?"
"That's my bag, you got the wrong one."
"I have too much stuff, can you help me get a bag?"
"Sure, treat me to a meal."
“.......”
The carriage was noisy. Lin Qi, who only had a bag, was squeezed in the crowd. In front of her was Sun Zhigao, and behind her was Ming Kangjian. She was pushed out of the car by the two of them.
After getting off the train, everyone was divided into many teams, which went non-stop to the county bus station, and then took buses from the bus station to various communes.
Lin Qi thought the smell on the train was already unpleasant enough, until she got on the bus and realized that it was just an appetizer. She really couldn't praise the means of transportation in this era. Even in the end times, she had never ridden in a bus with such a strong smell.
It took two hours to get from the county to Jiahe Commune. Lin Qi experienced the most painful two hours since she came into this world. As soon as she got off the car, she rushed to the side of the road, vomited with her eyes rolled back, and knelt on the ground.
"It's indeed a trouble." Ma Guizhi curled her lips.
The others also looked at Lin Qi. Although they didn't say anything, the word "trouble" was clearly written in their eyes.
Jian Tongyi glanced at Lin Qi and changed the subject. "It's three o'clock in the afternoon now. It may take quite a while to get from the commune to the brigade. Let's go to the commune first to see which brigade we are assigned to."
"Then what are you waiting for? Let's get going quickly, otherwise it will be dark and we won't be able to reach the village."
After Lin Qi vomited everything in her stomach, she felt much more energetic and her stomach felt better. She carried her bag on her back, and Ming Kangjian held her arm as she followed the team with difficulty.
"That Zhao Haiyan only said that you are a fool, but didn't say that you have difficulty in moving." Ming Kangjian looked helpless, "You have a bad brain, slow movements, and poor speech. What can you do after you get to the countryside?"
Lin Qi: “….”
Knowing that the educated youths were coming today, the leaders of the various teams had already arrived at the commune to wait. As soon as they saw the educated youths, no matter what they thought in their hearts, most of them smiled and took the initiative to greet the educated youths.
But there were also some who looked grumpy, "The brigade doesn't have much land to begin with, it's hard to feed the team members, and now so many people are coming, what are we going to eat? Nothing to eat?"
As soon as these words were spoken, the scene froze for a moment.
Lin Qi raised her eyebrows. It turned out that the educated youth who came to the countryside to build the motherland were not so popular?
However, regardless of whether the team leaders were willing or not, it was a foregone conclusion that the educated youth would join the brigade and become members of the brigade. They had no say in the matter, nor could they refuse.
Lin Qi was assigned to the Anliang Brigade, along with Ming Kangjian, Ma Guizhi, and Jian Tongyi. When these three people learned that Lin Qi was in the same brigade as them, they showed varying degrees of depression and anger on their faces.
Ma Guizhi even pointed directly at Lin Qi, "She has a problem with her brain."
The captain of the Anliang Brigade was stunned and looked at Ma Guizhi blankly.
"She's a fool." Ma Guizhi said more bluntly, "She's just a burden. If the brigade doesn't want to keep an extra idle person, it's best to send her back."
A fool?
Luo Feng suspected that he had heard it wrongly, and subconsciously scratched his ears with his hands, hesitantly saying, "Is this girl not very smart?"
"Yes." Ma Guizhi's answer was resounding.
Luo Feng was dumbfounded and blurted out, "Why send a fool to our village?"
As soon as the words came out, without waiting for others to answer, he guessed the reason.
What could be the reason? Being abandoned by the family.
Look at her body, as thin as a child of eleven or twelve years old, her small face, which is blue and pale, and her eyes are dull. How many days has it been since she had a full meal?
Lin Qi, who was frightened by Luo Feng's gaze, said: "......"
Luo Feng didn't want to bring a fool back to the team, otherwise he wouldn't be able to explain to the team members. He went to find the leader of the commune, a man in his fifties, and even threw a tantrum, but still couldn't change the established facts.
"We can't control whether the educated youth stays or goes, and it's no use for you to cry to us. She's just a small girl, and your team should just treat her like a cat or a dog, and don't let her starve to death."
Luo Feng covered his face with his hands. "There is not even a single cat or dog hair in our brigade. Who can afford to raise those things?"
"Let's take the people back first and think of a solution when we get back. It's getting dark soon. If we don't leave now, we won't be able to see the road."
"well!"
Luo Feng came driving a bullock cart. "Put the luggage on the cart and let's walk."
Not only did everyone walk, he also walked.
"Captain, Lin Qi moves slowly and walks very slowly. She takes one step for every two steps others take. Why don't we let her get in the car?" Ming Kangjian suggested.
The others had no objection. They had all seen how Lin Qi walked, and they knew that whenever she walked, it was Ming Kangjian who held her hand.
Luo Feng: “….”
It turns out that being stupid isn't the worst thing.
During this day, Lin Qi took three types of transportation. In terms of comfort, the train was the best, the ox cart was the second best, and the car was the worst.
The ox cart was bumpy and shaking all the way, and Lin Qi fell asleep not long after getting on. When she opened her eyes again, the sky had fallen and the cart had stopped.
"Here are the houses that the village has prepared for you. There are three rooms in total. Two of them can be used for sleeping, and one can be used for storing miscellaneous items. The kitchen is in the yard. We'll find someone to help you build a stove tomorrow." Luo Feng explained.
Before Ming Kangjian and the others could say anything, someone approached with a torch, "Did you bring the person back?"
"Yes, we're back. There are seven of us in total, four men and three women." Luo Feng helped unload the things from the ox cart. In the darkness, no one saw his frown.
The torch was getting closer and closer. The woman holding the torch was startled when she saw Lin Qi opening her eyes dazedly in the car. "Oh, there's someone else in the car!"
"Her situation is rather special. I'll tell you later." Luo Feng said in a deep voice, "Have you prepared food?"
"We have wild vegetable and grain cakes. Can they eat them?" The woman's eyes stayed on Lin Qi for a few seconds, then turned to the others with a worried look on her face. "These men and women are so fair-skinned. Can they work?"
After two consecutive questions, Ming Kangjian and others sensed the suspicion, distrust, and unwelcome in the other party's tone!
It was said to be a wild vegetable and multi-grain cake, but in fact it was a wild vegetable root and coarse bran cake. Lin Qi's throat was sore from eating this cake. After finishing one cake, she drank two large enamel cups of water.
"We men live in the east room, and you guys live in the west, is that okay?" Jian Yitong asked.
"Why don't we live on the east side and you live on the west side?" Ma Guizhi asked back.
Jian Tong glanced at her, picked up his things and walked towards the west room. "The two rooms are about the same size. I don't care which one I live in."
Ma Guizhi and the other girl looked at each other and picked up their luggage. In addition to the luggage, Ma Guizhi also held a torch in her hand, which was left by the aunt who had just delivered the food, saying it was for them to use.
Lin Qi was the last to arrive at the house. The house was empty, with only a few large wooden boards on the ground, and not even a bed. Ma Guizhi and another girl looked at the wooden boards on the ground, dumbfounded, obviously not expecting the situation in the countryside to be so bad.
While they were stunned, Lin Qi chose a wooden board near the inside, put her backpack on it, and sat down. She beat her legs with her hands and looked around calmly. The house was more than three meters high, with blue bricks and blue tiles. Some of the tiles were broken. Looking up, you could see two or three stars in the sky. The blue bricks were mottled, slag-like, and covered with moss, and there was a damp and moldy smell.
"You say she is stupid, but she knows how to occupy a good position. Tsk~" the girl leaning next to Ma Guizhi said sarcastically.
"Gan Tian, I'm not stupid." Lin Qi corrected.
Gan Tian widened her eyes in surprise, "You can still remember my name, it seems you are not stupid."
"Even if she is not stupid, she is mentally retarded. Listen to the tone of her voice and look at her expression. If she is not mentally retarded, with such a good appearance, she can be exchanged for a dowry if she is married off. She must be stupid. No one wants to marry her. Her family has no choice but to send her to the countryside." Ma Guizhi's inference was well-founded.
Gan Tian nodded in agreement, "He's also a poor man."
Ma Guizhi rolled her eyes. "We are the ones who have the pity. We will have to take care of her from now on. She is so slow and thin that she could be blown away by the wind. She definitely can't feed herself. We will have to share some of our food with her."
"Ah!" Gan Tian exclaimed, looking distressed, "Can we not separate?"
Ma Guizhi: "Sure. As long as you can bear to see her starve to death."
"I have nothing to be sorry about. Haven't many people starved to death in recent years?" Gan Tian didn't care. "If she dies, she dies. I'm just afraid that if she dies, we will be in trouble."
Lin Qi: “….”
Is this because he takes advantage of her being "stupid" so he doesn't have to be shy when talking to her?
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