The second day was the same as the first: weeding.
After finishing work, Ye Qiu did not follow the other educated youths back.
“Educated Youth Ye, where are you going?”
Ye Qiu pointed helplessly at the sun. “The sun is too strong. I plan to go into the village and ask who has any unused straw hats I could trade for. Do you guys want any? I can trade for a few extra.”
“Yes, yes, yes! Bring me one, and I’ll give you the money later.” Qu Tong was the first to sign up. Having worked for only two days, she felt she had already darkened by several shades; if she didn’t take precautions, it would be too late.
“I need one too, sorry for the trouble, Educated Youth Ye.” Su Qing and Hu Kang followed suit.
The other youths also placed their orders.
“Bring me one too; my original one is broken and can’t block the sun.”
In this weather, no one could refuse a straw hat.
Having learned their lesson yesterday, the new educated youths had changed into long sleeves and trousers today, but they really hadn’t thought about preparing straw hats.
After parting ways with them, Ye Qiu chose a path at random. It was her first time wandering around the production brigade, and she couldn’t tell the directions, but she figured that walking toward houses and people would be fine.
“Little sister, who are you?” A village woman called out to her, examining her with curiosity. “You’re not from our Qingshan Brigade, are you? I haven’t seen you before.”
“Hello, Auntie.” Ye Qiu greeted her politely. “I’m a new educated youth. I just finished work, and the sun is too strong, so I wanted to see if I could trade for a straw hat.”
“You want a straw hat?” Auntie Li immediately waved her over and pulled her into a corner. “My house has several extras, all woven by my husband. Do you want to come and take a look?”
In the countryside, who didn’t have a few extra straw hats? Being able to trade them for other goods was naturally for the best.
Ye Qiu hesitated. “I still need to go back to eat; I’m afraid it won’t be convenient if it’s too far.”
Auntie Li patted her chest in assurance. “Don’t worry, my house isn’t far. Follow me; we’ll be there in a few steps.”
With that, she led the way, and Ye Qiu followed. Less than two minutes later, they arrived at Auntie Li’s house.
“Er Ya, we have a guest. Pour a cup of water.” After saying that, Auntie Li gestured to Ye Qiu. “Sit here for a moment; I’ll go get the straw hats.”
Before long, Auntie Li returned with deft movements, holding two new straw hats. She handed them to Ye Qiu. “See if these are alright? They’re all new and haven’t been used.”
Ye Qiu took them and examined them closely. “These are indeed nice. What would you like to trade for, Auntie?”
Auntie Li rubbed her hands together. “The supply and marketing cooperative also buys straw hats. How about we go by that price? Six cents per hat. Could you give me an egg or two instead?”
Ye Qiu did the math in her head.
The raw materials for the straw hats weren’t expensive, but weaving them finely and durably took effort. One or two eggs really wasn’t a high price.
Seeing she wasn’t asking for an unreasonable amount, Ye Qiu said, “Auntie, I’ve just been assigned to the Qingshan Brigade, so it’s not convenient for me to trade eggs right now. How about seven cents per hat? What do you think?”
“That’s no problem at all!” Auntie Li beamed with joy. It was a cent more than the supply and marketing cooperative, so she naturally didn’t disagree. “See which one you want; they are all good. If there are any problems later, just bring them to me.”
“Auntie, you know we have four new educated youths here, and none of us were prepared, so I plan to get several at once. Could I trouble you to ask other families if they have any extras? I’d like seven in total.”
Auntie Li agreed immediately. “Of course, no problem. Wait here for a moment; I’ll go out and ask around for you right now.”
Ye Qiu nodded and took out forty-nine cents to hand to Auntie Li.
Auntie Li took it with a smile, instructed her daughter to take good care of the guest, and hurried out excitedly.
A moment later, a little girl of five or six years old walked out, carefully holding a bowl of water. “Sister, drink some water.”
Ye Qiu smiled and took the bowl, then took out a piece of hard fruit candy and handed it to Er Ya. “Thank you, Er Ya.”
Looking at the candy placed in her palm, Er Ya’s eyes widened, staring at the treat, unable to even blink.
Seeing her dazed expression, Ye Qiu chuckled. “It’s okay, go ahead and eat it.”
“Sister, th-this candy is for me?”
Ye Qiu hummed in acknowledgment. Seeing the disappointment in Er Ya’s eyes, she took the candy back, peeled off the wrapper, and popped it into the little girl’s mouth, smiling warmly. “Is it sweet?”
Er Ya’s eyes immediately lit up. She pursed her lips tightly, afraid the candy would fall out, so she couldn’t speak, but nodded repeatedly.
Gently pinching the girl’s soft cheek, Ye Qiu asked softly, “In exchange, will you answer a few questions for Sister?”
How could Er Ya refuse? She nodded frantically. Although it was their first meeting, she declared that this was her favorite “educated youth sister”!
Ye Qiu smiled and patted her small head. “In our brigade, which families have few people and are easy to get along with?”
She couldn’t stay in the communal youth quarters forever. There were two ways to move out: spend money to build her own house, or move into a local resident’s home.
The former was certainly more convenient, and the brigade would surely be happy to approve it. Not only would her moving out reduce the burden on the youth quarters, but if there were ever a chance to return to the city, she couldn’t take the house with her, and it would eventually be left to the brigade. Either way, the brigade won; it was just a matter of approving a piece of land.
However, for now, Ye Qiu didn’t make building a house her top priority. She was reluctant to spend that much money. Building a house, even the simplest one-bedroom, would cost dozens of yuan, which wasn’t worth it when she could potentially return to the city after the college entrance exams in three years.
So, Ye Qiu chose the second path: find a family with few people, easy-going personalities, and an extra room, then pay a small monthly rent. It might not be as comfortable as having her own place, but it was still much better than the group dormitory at the youth quarters.
Housing conditions in the brigade were not ideal. Although there was plenty of land, building a house was a significant expense, so most households were packed tight, and those with extra rooms were few and far between.
Moreover, having a vacant room was only a secondary condition; the most important thing was the character of the people living there. Otherwise, she would face a heap of trouble after moving in, and she didn’t want to waste time or energy dealing with that.
Er Ya thought seriously before saying, “Sister Zhao Lan’s family should be okay. There are only a few people in her family, just her and Grandma Zhao.”
Zhao Lan? Why did that name sound familiar?
Seeing the generous “educated youth sister” in deep thought, Er Ya added, “And Grandma Zhao is a very good person. She even taught me how to weave straw hats. I’ve already learned how! In a few days, after I finish weaving one, I’ll give it to you, Sister, so you can alternate wearing them!”
Ye Qiu chuckled, touched by her gesture. “Then thank you in advance, Er Ya.”
Er Ya puffed out her small chest, proudly saying, “You’re welcome! If Sister wants to go to Sister Lan’s house, I can take you there.”
Ye Qiu nodded with a smile. “Then I’ll trouble you to take me to see it later.”
“I’ll tell my mom in a bit and take you to Sister Lan’s place.”
Although there was a significant age gap, the two had a great time talking. By the time Auntie Li returned, Er Ya had already declared that even including the people in the village, Sister Ye Qiu was her second-favorite sister!