After Er Ya checked with Auntie Li, she led Ye Qiu to find Sister Zhao Lan’s home.
As they walked, the path felt increasingly familiar. Lost in thought, Ye Qiu muttered to herself, “Why do I feel like I’ve walked this way before?”
Er Ya turned back to urge her on, “Sister Ye, hurry up and look! Up ahead is Sister Lan’s house.”
Ye Qiu looked in the direction she was pointing, and her eyes brightened. The location of Zhao Lan’s house was truly excellent.
The terrain of the Qingshan Brigade was uneven, rolling with hills, and walking meant constantly going uphill or downhill. To avoid water accumulation during the rainy season, most families chose to build their houses on the hillsides.
Zhao Lan’s house was situated on a small hill, with slopes on both sides and a river flowing below. This meant very few people came by, ensuring excellent privacy.
Ye Qiu cupped her hands over her eyes and stood on tiptoe to peer into the distance. “You can see the youth quarters from here, huh?”
“Yeah, it’s not far from the youth quarters.” Er Ya nodded, then pointed to a house not far away, saying, “It’s also not far from Brother Jiang Yi’s house.”
Jiang Yi?
Ye Qiu raised an eyebrow. She remembered Qu Tong’s reaction being quite intriguing when Zhao Yuanchao had mentioned the Jiang family earlier.
“Do you like Brother Jiang Yi?”
Er Ya tilted her head, her eyes full of innocence. “I do! Brother Jiang Yi is good-looking. He’s the best-looking person in the brigade!”
Children didn’t understand the village gossip; she was just a loyal fan of his looks.
Ye Qiu let out a soft laugh. She was silly for asking a child such a question.
Ye Qiu half-crouched and smiled, asking for Er Ya’s help, “Then, Er Ya, could you help Sister ask if there’s anyone at Sister Zhao Lan’s house?”
As she leaned in, Er Ya’s little face turned bright red; the “educated youth sister” smelled so good.
“O-okay, I’ll go right now!”
With that, Er Ya ran toward Zhao Lan’s house with her head steaming, calling out, “Sister Lan! Sister Lan! I brought the educated youth sister to find you!”
With Er Ya gone, Ye Qiu stood at the gate and observed the surroundings.
Zhao Lan’s house was a brick building, a rarity in the village. It appeared to have about three rooms, with a kitchen on the side. In the center of the courtyard grew an old locust tree, and beneath it, there was even a well.
The steps at the entrance were paved with blue stone slabs, scrubbed so clean they almost reflected one’s silhouette.
Ye Qiu couldn’t quite figure it out. Looking at the house, Zhao Lan’s family conditions seemed quite good, so why were there only two people?
Not long after, a girl of seventeen or eighteen walked out of the courtyard.
She was wearing a blue homespun top and black trousers, with a braided ponytail resting on her shoulder. Her features were delicate and pretty, especially her large, almond-shaped eyes, which were full of spirit.
Zhao Lan tilted her head and looked at her curiously. “Er Ya said that Educated Youth Ye has something to find me about?”
“Ding—detected the existence of harvestable alien energy in the host’s vicinity.”
A flash of surprise crossed Ye Qiu’s eyes, but she quickly hid her emotions and walked up with a smile. “Hello, Comrade Zhao. I’m Ye Qiu, a new educated youth. I have some matters I’d like to discuss with you, so I troubled Er Ya to bring me here.”
“Then, Educated Youth Ye, please come inside and sit. I’ll pour you some water.” Zhao Lan greeted her warmly.
Ye Qiu walked into the courtyard with a smile and sat on a wooden bench beneath the locust tree.
Zhao Lan brought over a cup of warm water and handed it to her, her voice crisp and pleasant. “What is it you need, Educated Youth Ye?”
“I wanted to ask if you would be willing to rent out an extra room in your house to me. I would pay monthly rent,” Ye Qiu said, getting straight to the point.
Zhao Lan paused in her movements, furrowed her brows slightly, and repeated in confusion, “Rent a room?”
“Yes, that’s right.” Ye Qiu took a sip of water, composed and calm. “There are too many people at the youth quarters, and the living conditions are quite poor, so I wanted to ask around and see if anyone in the village is willing to rent out a spare room. Er Ya told me that your family has few people and has an extra room, so I came today to discuss it with you and see if you have any interest.”
Zhao Lan pondered for a moment. “My family does have an extra room, but I’ll have to discuss it with my grandmother.”
“That’s only right.” Renting a room wasn’t a small matter; it was worth considering carefully.
After the two exchanged general views, Ye Qiu stood up to take her leave.
“Then I’ll be going now. No need to see me out, Comrade Zhao.” Ye Qiu declined the offer and left the Zhao house, holding Er Ya’s hand.
Er Ya happily swung their joined hands. “Sister Ye, does this mean you’ll be living with Sister Lan soon?”
Ye Qiu explained softly, “It’s not certain yet. I’ll know after Grandma Zhao and Comrade Zhao Lan discuss it.”
“Sister Ye, I’ll tell you a secret.” Er Ya looked up at Ye Qiu with bright, sparkling eyes. “Crouch down, and I’ll tell you my secret!”
Ye Qiu gave a faint smile, crouched down, and looked directly at Er Ya. “What do you want to tell me?”
Er Ya carefully leaned into Ye Qiu’s ear and whispered, “Actually, I also want to live with Sister Lan. I like Sister Lan the most.”
After thinking for a moment, afraid that the generous and beautiful Sister Ye would be sad, she added hurriedly, “You’re my second-favorite, Sister Ye. Don’t be angry, because I’ve known Sister Lan for many years, and you arrived late.”
Touched by the innocent and pure child’s voice, Ye Qiu was all smiles. She copied her gesture and whispered back, “It’s alright. Out of all the children in the village, you are my favorite, Er Ya.”
Hearing her favorite sister say this, Er Ya’s little face flushed red with excitement.
When Ye Qiu returned to the youth quarters full of smiles, everyone had just finished dinner.
She waved the straw hats she was holding. “I bought the straw hats. I got them from Auntie Li in the village. I checked, and the quality is quite good. Seven cents each—a cent more expensive than the supply and marketing cooperative. Do you want them?”
The educated youths naturally didn’t mind the extra cent and went up one by one to pick out the straw hats they wanted.
After she finished distributing them, Su Qing pointed to the kitchen. “I saved some food for you. It’s on the stove. Hurry and eat while it’s warm.”
Ye Qiu thanked Su Qing and went into the kitchen.
Looking at the sweet potato rice in the bowl, she sighed deeply. She used to like roasted sweet potatoes, but after ten days of eating sweet potato rice, even if she liked them, she was tired of it. Although she had bought plenty of snacks when she went to town two days ago, she couldn’t live on snacks for every meal.
Not to mention whether she would get sick of them, she still had to be mindful of what others thought. In this era, the “tallest post” was the first to rot; if she wanted to live well, she had to be cautious. She would hold on for a few more days—once she moved out of the youth quarters, things would be better.
Thinking of the system notification she had heard that afternoon, Ye Qiu felt happy. Another batch of points had been credited; she didn’t have to worry about running out of resources for now.
Ye Qiu silently cheered herself on, feeling that life was still manageable.