Chapter 1 Qingqing
As soon as Lin Qingqing entered the courtyard of the educated youth settlement, she ran into the people from the next dormitory who were going to the kitchen together. She raised her hand to greet them, but they coldly turned their heads away and walked past her.
Lin Qingqing's hand froze in mid-air. She slowly put away her smile, her expression returning to calm, before walking back to her dormitory.
As soon as Lin Qingqing entered the dormitory, she saw that Wang Li's bed was empty. Thinking of what Li Juan had said at noon, Lin Qingqing thought that she might have moved to the next room. Without thinking too much about it, she took her lunchbox to the cafeteria to get food.
Only one person was getting food in the canteen, so everyone lined up along the tables where the food was placed. As soon as Lin Qingqing walked over, she felt that the female educated youth in front of her in line had moved forward a little. At first, she thought it was her imagination, but when the people behind her were also far away from her, while they were very close, she finally realized that something was wrong.
Lin Qingqing frowned but didn't say anything. She silently waited in line, got her food, and then turned to look at the tables in the cafeteria.
She turned around so quickly that everyone was caught off guard, and Lin Qingqing saw them hurriedly lowering their heads or turning their heads away.
Li Juan sat with her friend, looking at Lin Qingqing as if she wanted to say something but hesitated.
Although she didn't know what had happened, Lin Qingqing didn't intend to go over and took her lunchbox back to her dormitory. Just as she finished eating, Li Juan returned from the cafeteria and asked as soon as she entered, "What exactly did you and Wang Li argue about?"
Upon hearing Li Juan's words, Lin Qingqing knew that today's unusual situation must be related to Wang Li, and asked, "What did she say about me?"
"You guessed it?" Li Juan pulled up a stool and sat down next to Lin Qingqing, asking in surprise.
"It's so obvious, it would be hard for me to pretend I didn't guess it," Lin Qingqing said with a smile.
“That’s true.” Li Juan frowned as she recalled what Wang Li had said. “It’s not a big deal, but the situation is rather unusual.”
As Li Juan spoke, she recounted to Lin Qingqing what Wang Li had said to the female educated youth that afternoon.
The content was actually similar to what Wang Li had said that morning. Basically, it was about how Lin Qingqing, taking advantage of Captain Xie's instructions, pretended to be pitiful and took the opportunity to frequently contact Xie Wei.
After Li Juan finished speaking, she was still a little curious: "Are you really thinking of making a move on Commander Xie?"
Before, Lin Qingqing would have definitely denied it outright, but this time she asked in return, "Is it not allowed?"
“It’s not that it’s impossible,” Li Juan said hesitantly, “but as you’ve seen today, if you really make this decision, things will probably get tough for you in the future.”
"They all see me that way because of what Wang Li said?" Lin Qingqing recalled what she had seen today.
She received some indifferent or scrutinizing glances, but even she herself didn't quite believe what she said, and chuckled, "Is Comrade Xie some kind of hot commodity?"
Seeing that she didn't care at all, Li Juan said helplessly, "She's not exactly a hot commodity, but she's close enough."
"Hmm?" Lin Qingqing was a little confused. Although Xie Wei was good-looking and tall, there were good-looking male educated youths in the educated youth team. It couldn't be that every girl would have feelings for him.
Li Juan merely glanced at Lin Qingqing with an expression that said, "You're still too young," and said, "Do you know anything about Commander Xie's situation?"
“I know a little,” Lin Qingqing said.
But Li Juan felt she didn't know, so she listed Xie Wei's situation one by one: "Let's talk about the Xie family first. Xie, the regimental commander, has four siblings. Her eldest brother is the brigade leader, her second brother is a teacher at the county high school, and her sister is said to have joined the provincial cultural troupe. All four siblings have jobs, even in the city. Their family is quite well-off."
Lin Qingqing nodded upon hearing this; the Xie family was indeed accomplished.
"And then there's Commander Xie himself. He joined the army at eighteen and is now a regimental-level officer. Do you know what a regimental-level officer means?" Li Juan asked.
Lin Qingqing didn't know much about soldiers, only vaguely knowing that becoming a deputy regimental commander was a hurdle; there was great potential if one rose to that position before the age of thirty, but things were uncertain after thirty. Lin Qingqing wasn't sure how far she could go, but thinking about it that way, it wasn't surprising that the female educated youth considered Wang Li a thorn in their side because of her provocative words.
But what Li Juan said was not quite in line with what Lin Qingqing thought: "Families of regimental-level cadres can accompany the troops, and I heard that the higher-ups will even arrange jobs for them."
After saying that, Li Juan sighed: "You may not know much about the situation of us educated youth. People in the brigade think that we are city people who have been educated and will return to the city sooner or later. But as you can see, Sister Wang came to Xingfeng Brigade in 1968, and five years have passed, and her hope of returning to the city is still slim."
"And then there's Wang Li. I heard her father is a cadre. He wanted to keep her in the city and even found her a job. But at the last minute, someone reported her, so she packed her things and came here. When she first arrived, she almost cried herself blind. She wrote home every few days, hoping her father could transfer her back to the city. But in the end, she still hasn't been able to go back."
Who would want to go to the countryside to farm when they could work as laborers in the city and receive government-supplied food? These educated youth claimed they came because of Chairman Mao's call, but in reality, they had no other choice. They wanted to go back, but the commune only had two slots for returning to the city each year, and even if everyone fought tooth and nail, they might not get one. So, many of the educated youth went astray.
Xingfeng Brigade had such an example: a female educated youth who went to the countryside in the same year as Wang Fengxia. She was assaulted by the former secretary's son while trying to return to the city, but was unable to do so. She got into a fight with someone, which Xie Baoshan witnessed. The former secretary initially wanted to suppress the matter, but Xie Baoshan refused and reported it to the commune. In the end, the girl did return to the city, but the former secretary was dismissed, and his son was sent to a labor camp.
After that incident, no one in the Xingfeng Brigade headquarters dared to have any more ideas, and the female educated youth who were tempted to participate also gave up.
But life in the countryside is tough. When they were in the city, they never did any manual labor, let alone any hard work. After a few years in the countryside, their faces became darker and their skin rougher, not to mention their hands, which became extremely rough.
Li Juan looked at Lin Qingqing's face and asked in surprise, "I work and you work, how come your skin is so good?"
Upon hearing this, Lin Qingqing touched her face and said, "Really?"
When she first transmigrated, she also found it strange. After all, the original novel mentioned that the original owner of this body was dark-skinned and thin when she was young, so how come she suddenly became fair-skinned when she grew up? In the end, Lin Qingqing attributed this to the author giving the female lead a cheat code, and she didn't care too much about it. Having a face was better than having nothing at all.
Li Juan admired Lin Qingqing's skin for a moment, then continued, "Actually, there are more than just this many female educated youths in Xingfeng Brigade over the years. Two of them returned to the city, and several others couldn't bear it and got married." It wasn't just because they couldn't endure farm work; some were getting older and, seeing no hope of returning to the city, resigned themselves to their fate. Some married male educated youths, while others married brigade members for a quicker and easier life.
Since everyone is getting married, they naturally want to marry someone who is more handsome and capable.
“If I married Commander Xie, I could not only accompany him to the army, but the military would also arrange a job for me. Although I wouldn’t be able to go home, life would still be better than it is now.” Li Juan laughed as she said this. “It’s just that Commander Xie is busy with his work and rarely comes back throughout the year. Everyone has the desire but no opportunity. Seeing you frequently in contact with him, do you think they are angry and jealous?”
Hearing this, Lin Qingqing finally understood that in the eyes of the female educated youth, Xie Wei, even if he wasn't irresistibly charming, was at least a lifeline. It was one thing if no one else made progress, but her frequent contact with Xie Wei, coupled with Wang Li's fueling of rumors, naturally made them see her as a thorn in their side.
Looking at Lin Qingqing's expression, Li Juan hesitated and asked, "Do you want to explain this to someone?"
"Explain what? Say I didn't have any designs on Xie Wei?"
“Now that you’re living in the educated youth settlement, it’s not good to have such strained relationships with others,” Li Juan said with concern.
He hesitated for a moment, then asked, "Or do you really have feelings for Commander Xie?"
"He's unmarried and she's single, why can't I have feelings for him?" Lin Qingqing retorted. If she weren't with Xie Wei, she might explain to everyone to avoid trouble. But she and Xie Wei had already discussed it publicly; if she denied it now, what would Xie Wei think?
Li Juan fell silent for a long time before saying, "Commander Xie's conditions are good, but... what about the educated youth settlement?"
Lin Qingqing paused in her eating. She had chosen to live at the educated youth settlement for safety; after all, she was a girl and not as strong as a man. If she lived alone in an empty house at the end of the village, she wouldn't be able to protect herself if she encountered bad people. However, she hadn't expected that her relationship with Xie Wei would change after moving in, and that the situation at the educated youth settlement was more complicated than she had imagined.
But it was impossible for her to give up on Xie Wei. Perhaps their future wouldn't be smooth sailing, and a perfect ending wasn't guaranteed. But she didn't want to break up with Xie Wei for such a ridiculous reason.
If all else fails, she should move out, or perhaps see if she can live with any of the elderly people living alone in the village.
Having made up her mind, Lin Qingqing said, "Let nature take its course."
"Alright." Seeing Lin Qingqing's firm attitude, Li Juan said helplessly, "With Sister Wang keeping an eye on them, they shouldn't cause any trouble."
...
The next morning after breakfast, Lin Qingqing took her grain coupons and gave Zhou, the general affairs officer, ten jin of fine grains and twenty jin of coarse grains.
Everyone knew about Lin Qingqing's background. When she saw that she wanted to exchange so much grain, General Affairs Officer Zhou asked in surprise, "Why are you suddenly exchanging so much grain?"
"I heard there's a market in Yangshulin Brigade tomorrow, and I'd like to ask someone to help me exchange some things," Lin Qingqing explained.
This was the explanation Director Yang and she had agreed upon yesterday. Even if someone saw them, they could say they went to the market to trade. This way, she would have a reason to buy what she needed.
After listening, General Affairs Officer Zhou nodded and said, "The educated youth settlement will be closed tomorrow. If you don't need to go to the brigade, you can go for a walk with the other female educated youths."
Clearly, he was unaware of the undercurrents within the female educated youth community.
Lin Qingqing didn't intend to say it aloud. She smiled and said, "Okay, if I can rest tomorrow, I'll see if I want to go." She also wanted to go to the market, but she wasn't sure if things would go smoothly, so she didn't say anything definitively.
Zhou, the general affairs officer, just mentioned it casually, without any other meaning. He packed the grain into bags and handed them to Lin Qingqing, asking, "Can you carry this?"
"I can carry it." The original owner had done farm work for several years and was quite strong.
Lin Qingqing carried the things out the door. As agreed beforehand, she didn't take the grain directly to the brigade headquarters, but instead went to Director Yang's house.
To get to Director Yang's house, she had to pass by the Xie family's house. As she realized she was almost there, Lin Qingqing suddenly felt a sense of anticipation, but also a little embarrassed. When she reached the Xie family's door, she lowered her head slightly, deliberately avoiding looking into the yard.
She didn't look inside, but the people inside saw her. Xie Wei strode out of the house, walked to the courtyard wall, and called out, "Lin... Qingqing."
Thinking that the two had already started dating, the "Comrade Lin" that was on the tip of her tongue turned into "Qingqing".
After shouting, Xie Wei felt a little awkward and coughed slightly, but his eyes were fixed on the girl in front of him.
Author's Note: Second update
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