Chapter 31 Arrival in the Great Northern Wilderness
Left with no other choice, Bai Linlin had to promise some payment before the group of male educated youths reluctantly agreed to help. They hurriedly carried the package off the vehicle and, following instructions, moved it to the designated location.
When they stepped out of the train station, the clock had already quietly struck two in the afternoon.
As soon as they exited the station, they heard someone shouting in broken Mandarin: "All educated youth going to Sunflower Commune, gather here!"
They were greeted by a young man and a middle-aged man, both of whom were commune cadres responsible for picking up and dropping off educated youth and assigning them to various production brigades.
We finally arrived in the Great Northern Wilderness.
Upon hearing her name, Xu Zhili took An'an's hand and headed straight towards the direction where the Xiangyanghong Brigade sign was being held.
Her movement caused some noise around her, so much so that the newly arrived educated youth didn't hear what name she called.
The captain of the Xiangyanghong Brigade was a man in his forties.
At this moment, looking at the group of educated youth from the city in front of him, he couldn't help but smile bitterly to himself.
Then, he cleared his throat and said loudly, "I am Xie Jianguo, the captain of Xiangyang Brigade. I will call the roll: Xu Zhili, Liu Chunmei, Li Weiguo, Bai Linlin, Meng Haozi, Lu Yanchen, Yao Xueru. Alright, everyone is here. Welcome to Xiangyang Brigade."
As soon as Xu Zhili heard the names "Lu Yanchen" and "Yao Xueru", she felt a shiver run through her body.
Wow, those two names are characters from a novel she read when she was bored during the apocalypse!
The novel is called "Transmigrating to the 1960s: The Boss's White Moonlight".
Lu Yanchen and Yao Xueru are the male and female protagonists in this novel.
It turns out I've transmigrated into the world of a period novel!
Xu Zhili looked closely and saw that Lu Yanchen was handsome and rugged, while Yao Xueru was delicate and sweet. Just by listening to their accents, she knew they were from the capital. Sure enough, the two of them perfectly matched the characters in the novel.
Thinking about this, Xu Zhili thought to herself that this trip to the countryside would probably be quite exciting.
Fortunately, whether she is now called Xu Zhili or used the name Lin Zhili, she is just a marginal character in this book.
As long as I stay far away from the male and female protagonists, I shouldn't get unnecessarily involved in their affairs.
Over here, the brigade leader sized up the six educated youths in front of him. Judging from their clothes and their delicate skin, he figured none of them were used to farm work.
There was a little girl among them, who looked to be under fifteen years old.
The brigade leader couldn't help but mutter to himself, "What are the family members thinking? How could they bear to send such a young child to the countryside to suffer?"
The captain took the half-smoked cigarette from his mouth, tapped it hard on the sole of his shoe, and extinguished the cigarette butt.
I couldn't help but wonder: looking at their delicate skin, could they withstand the severe late spring cold in the Great Northern Wilderness?
During the wheat harvest, it's so busy, can you work non-stop?
With so much work to do in spring sowing and autumn harvesting, does it mean that in the end all of it will fall on the shoulders of the older commune members?
But the higher-ups gave a strict order that these educated youths must be properly resettled.
Helpless, the captain could only swallow his sighs and force a smile onto his face.
He said, “Fellow educated youth, now put your luggage on the oxcart and we’ll walk back ourselves. It’s still twenty kilometers from here. If you walk fast, you can still make it to dinner tonight.”
"What? We have to walk 20 kilometers by ourselves? Good heavens, even if it's 20 kilometers, it will take at least five hours to get there!" One of the educated youths couldn't help but complain.
“Five hours! Captain, why didn’t you send a car to pick us up? Why did you make us walk back?” another educated youth complained.
“Young man, this isn’t the city, the conditions aren’t that good. In the countryside, it’s good enough if there’s an oxcart to help you carry your luggage, let alone expecting to have a car to ride in,” the brigade leader explained patiently.
"Alright, everyone, let's not waste any more time and get going. Let's go, let's go... Wait, Xu Zhiqing, why are you holding a little boy's hand?" Only then did the brigade leader notice the little boy next to Xu Zhili.
Only then did everyone belatedly realize that the little boy next to Xu Zhili was the one who was being looked at.
"Captain, I came to the countryside in response to the call to support rural development and contribute to a better life. But after my father remarried, his family has always disliked my brother and me since we were little, and they beat and scold us all the time."
"My family all think An'an is stupid and a burden. If I go to the countryside, they definitely won't care whether An'an lives or dies. I have no choice but to take An'an with me to the countryside," Xu Zhili explained helplessly.
After saying that, she quickly added, "Oh, right, here's proof that An'an came with me openly and honestly, and it's definitely not human trafficking." As she spoke, she took out the relevant proof from her pocket and showed it to the captain.
Upon hearing Xu Zhili's plight, everyone felt a pang of sympathy and no longer cared about her having a child with her.
After all, it's really not easy for a young girl to have to take care of a child.
The brigade leader sighed helplessly and said to Xu Zhili, "Xu Zhiqing, it's not that I'm deliberately making things difficult for you or don't want you to take care of this child. Think about it, you're not very strong to begin with, and you'd probably have trouble even taking care of yourself, let alone raising this child."
Besides, this child is only six years old; he can't earn work points. I think you should think of another way to send him back to his relatives' house.”
“Captain, I really don’t have any relatives left. Besides, An’an’s situation is special. Even if we had relatives, I really wouldn’t feel comfortable letting him live a life of dependence on others and having to be subservient to them,” Xu Zhili said earnestly, her face full of worry.
“Captain, these two siblings are so young and they've already suffered so much. Since they're already here, please agree to let them stay. I'm willing to help them out.” Just then, Lu Yanchen stepped forward and spoke up for Xu Zhili.
Upon hearing this, Xu Zhili couldn't help but look at Lu Yanchen, who was also looking at her.
In Lu Yanchen's eyes, this female educated youth was tall and thin, like a bamboo pole. Her hair was slightly dry and yellow, and her cheeks were so thin that there was almost no flesh. Only her eyes were bright and sparkling, revealing a lively spirit.
Judging from her appearance, she's probably only about fifteen years old, yet she's willing to take care of a younger brother who's considered a burden by others. This girl's character is so noble; she truly deserves our help.
Xu Zhili seemed to sense Lu Yanchen's goodwill. The two looked at each other and nodded slightly. Then they both looked at the captain, their eyes full of expectation, waiting for the captain's approval.
This scene was witnessed by Yao Xueru.
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