Besides only children, now every household must have at least one person go to the countryside to support rural development.
"Anything else?" Grandpa Gu asked.
"Grandpa Gu, to be honest, this is one of the reasons why we don't live at the team leader's house. More and more educated youth will be sent to the countryside in the future, and if it goes on for a long time, it will have a bad influence on the team leader, and it will also be difficult to manage."
"Well, what about you? You're still so young," Grandma Gu asked worriedly.
"Grandpa Gu, could you build a few houses in the village and then enclose the yard with high walls?"
"this?"
"How big are you planning to build?" Grandpa Gu asked.
"Not big, it's just..." she said, explaining how she had already planned and constructed the house.
"Alright, this yard isn't very big. Eldest son, where do you think it should be built?" Grandpa Gu asked Uncle Gu.
"Yes, eldest son, we can't let the child live too far away; it'll be inconvenient if something happens."
"Dad, Mom, what do you think of the land to the east of our house? There's less than half an acre of land between our plot and Uncle Gu's plot, and no other family wants it. Why don't we just let Mianmian build her house there?"
"Okay," Grandpa Gu said after thinking for a moment.
"That's certainly possible. There's still about a mile between us and your fifth uncle and his family," Grandma Gu said.
"What do you think, Mianmian?" Grandpa Gu asked.
"I'll listen to you. I don't know anything about building houses." Knowing that they would definitely disagree if he wanted to live at the foot of the mountain, and besides, living close by has its advantages, right? At least not many people would dare to cause him trouble.
"Eldest son, go and arrange for the child to have a house built," Grandpa Gu said.
"I know, Dad. Mianmian, what kind of house do you plan to build? A brick house, or one like the one Uncle's family has?" the team leader asked.
"A house like yours, Uncle Gu's, is just right. You live alone and have only recently come from the countryside, so this kind of place is much more reassuring. Brick and tile houses are too conspicuous."
"Okay, I'll ask around tomorrow if anyone has any mud bricks. As for the timber and stuff, you'll have to pay the brigade for that, or we can deduct it from your earnings when you distribute the New Year's money."
"No need, Uncle Gu, just give me the money directly."
"That's good. By the way, Mianmian will use the mud bricks from the commune members. What are you going to give her? You know we can't use money for transactions now. If you don't have anything else, you can use money later if you really can't, but it has to be done privately."
"Uncle Gu, that's easy. I'll have to trouble you to ask around and see what everyone needs, like brown sugar, white sugar, fruit candy, and maybe notebooks for school. Just tell them what you need. If you don't have any of that, money is fine too."
"OK"
"Mianmian, this candy is valuable. You should keep it for yourself. Why did you have to trade it with them? You don't know how difficult it is to buy candy in our area," Aunt Gu said.
"Yes, Mianmian, listen to your aunt."
"Grandma Gu, Auntie, don't worry, we still have these things. Besides, if we run out, my uncles and aunties in the city will definitely send me more."
"Uncle, didn't the letter say that your parents are..." Grandma Gu said.
"Grandma Gu, they are all my parents' comrades-in-arms, they are very kind people. By the way, Grandma Gu, could you ask around and see if anyone has any mountain produce?"
"What's wrong? We have some at home?" Grandma Gu asked.
"Grandma Gu, how much do you have? Do you have thirty or fifty pounds of each kind?"
"What? So many?"
"Mianmian, what do you need so much for?" Grandpa Gu asked.
"When we were sent to the countryside, my parents' comrades gave us a lot of things, and we felt we had to thank them. If we bought anything else, they definitely wouldn't accept it and would write to scold me for wasting money. On the train, I heard that there are many mountain products here, and they are cheap, so I thought I would buy some of these and send them to them later. You have no idea how expensive these mountain products are in the city."
"How expensive?" Grandma Gu asked.
"It costs a little over a dollar, and you need a ticket, and most importantly, it's limited edition."
"This, really, this is a limited edition?"
Yes, many items are limited edition.
"Okay, I'll ask for you later," Grandma Gu said.
"Old woman, don't mention buying it later, just say Mianmian wants to trade something for it."
"You don't need to tell me, I know what to do."
"Mianmian, you just said that the city is sending so many educated youth to the countryside now. There must be a lot of trouble. Tell this old man about things in the city," Grandpa Gu said, feeling uneasy.
"Actually, the situation in the city is alright right now." After I mentioned a few more things I could talk about, I heard Grandpa Gu say, "Eldest son, when you have some free time, ask the people in the production brigade to build some more mud bricks. I'm worried that when a large number of educated youth go to the countryside, we'll need somewhere to put them. Every household only has a few rooms, so no matter how we arrange things, we have to consider many factors. Whether we can put the educated youth in the homes of the villagers depends on the circumstances."
"I know, Dad, don't worry."
"The old man thinks the house Mianmian just mentioned is well-built. We can arrange it like this: the rooms are a bit small, with a small kang (heated brick bed) in each one, so they don't have to deal with each other's conflicts when they live in the same room, and we won't have to settle disputes for them every day." He then explained how he had just discussed the house construction.
"Okay, Dad, I know how to do it. Build two rows of houses, one for the boys and one for the girls. Also build a canteen and a woodshed, and two big cooking pots."
"Okay, let's arrange it this way."
"Grandpa Gu, there's something else, but I'm not sure if I should ask." Seeing Grandpa Gu and Uncle Gu asking something reminded me of those people who had been sent down to the countryside, so I asked...
Upon hearing this, Grandpa Gu knew the child had something to say. From their earlier conversation, he knew the child was sensible and knew what to say and what not to say. Since the child said this, there must be something more important than sending the educated youth to the countryside. Looking at the other children in the room, he said, "You kids go take a bath and go to sleep. You have to get up early tomorrow. Eldest daughter-in-law, tidy up the table. Old woman, go boil some water for the children and make sure they all wash up."
"Okay, I'll go right now."
"Dad, I understand."
"Grandpa, we'll head out now."
Everyone knew that Grandpa and the newly arrived educated youth had something to discuss, but they knew they couldn't let them know, fearing that if word got out, something bad might happen. It was better to leave it out; they wouldn't know, and they wouldn't let anything slip.
Seeing that everyone had left, he went straight to the point and asked, "Grandpa Gu, are there any people from our brigade who have been sent down to the countryside?"
"How did you know?" Grandpa Gu was a little surprised that the child would ask so directly, and said...
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