As Ye Qiu spoke, she pointed toward Qu Tong’s direction. “It’s that educated youth over there, Qu Tong.”
Zhao Lan looked in the direction she was pointing, hesitated for a moment, and then nodded. “That’s fine.”
Having one person was the same as having two.
After Ye Qiu had approached her yesterday, she had gone to find people who had interacted with the educated youths to understand Ye Qiu’s character.
Many said that the two new female educated youths were not people to be trifled with, but besides that, there were no other flaws to mention. Zhao Lan didn’t care at all about the sour gossip from the village busybodies.
So what if they weren’t easy to mess with? Not being easy to mess with meant others couldn’t take advantage of them, which was a good thing.
Seeing her nod, Ye Qiu said happily, “Then thank you, Comrade Zhao. I’ll go tell Qu Tong this good news.”
Afterward, just as before, she shuffled slowly back to Qu Tong’s side.
“She agreed.”
Qu Tong’s eyes lit up with excitement. She couldn’t wait. “Then when are we moving?”
Ye Qiu thought for a moment. “We have to report it to the brigade leader first, then move on a day when we finish work early. We need to pack our luggage in advance.”
“I haven’t unpacked a lot of my luggage since I just got here, so it’ll be easy to pack.”
After dinner, the educated youths sat in the courtyard to chat.
Yuan Chao calculated the days. “There isn’t much firewood left. Starting next week, we have to take turns going to collect firewood.”
“Ah? We have to collect firewood again so soon?” The veteran educated youth Wang Lili sighed. “I’m already exhausted after work every day; when I get back, I just want to lie down, and now I have to go collect firewood? It’s exhausting.”
“We have to collect it.” Yuan Chao didn’t think it was that exaggerated. “Not to mention that we need firewood to cook every day, we also have to prepare enough for the winter, or how else will we survive it?”
“The winter in Sichuan province is warmer than in the north, but it can still freeze people to death. Don’t take it lightly.” Yuan Chao kindly reminded the new educated youths.
Sitting in the corner, Chen Zhongshi snorted disdainfully. “The new educated youths have money; what can’t they trade for? It’s not your place to fake kindness.”
Su Qing was dissatisfied. “If you can’t say anything nice, just shut up.”
Chen Zhongshi was a total stirrer of trouble; no matter if it had anything to do with him or not, he always had to say something unpleasant, as if someone had offended him.
Yuan Chao helplessly stepped forward again to act as a mediator. “Let’s all say less. Let’s discuss the scheduling.”
There were eleven educated youths in the quarters. Excluding Gao Yuan, who didn’t live there, the remaining ten people were perfectly paired into groups of two.
Ye Qiu proactively raised her hand. “Don’t count Qu Tong and me. We’re moving out in a few days and won’t be staying at the youth quarters.”
Ye Qiu’s words made the courtyard lively.
“You’re moving out?”
“Where are you moving to? Have you found a place?”
Ye Qiu replied, “We found a household in the village. Their family has few people, so they can spare two rooms for us. We’ve already discussed it.”
Su Qing frowned, a little worried. “Is that household reliable?”
He didn’t have any ill intentions; he was just worried about Ye Qiu and Qu Tong’s safety. Two young women moving in with strangers—if that household had male comrades of similar age, they had to be on guard.
Better safe than sorry.
Yuan Chao also spoke up out of concern. “Can you tell us which family you’re moving to?”
He had stayed in the Qingshan Brigade for a few more years after all and knew the villagers better. He could help the two female youths provide some reference; if that household wasn’t good, he would have to dissuade them from moving out.
Although the accommodation conditions in the youth quarters were poor, they could ensure there were no bad people. Even Chen Zhongshi was just sharp-tongued, but he wouldn’t do anything truly bad.
It wasn’t anything that couldn’t be said, so Ye Qiu didn’t hide it. “Zhao Lan’s house.”
“Her house? That should be fine.” Yuan Chao breathed a sigh of relief, confirming their choice.
Hu Kang leaned in, curious. “Educated Youth Yuan knows them?”
“Comrade Zhao Lan only lives with her grandmother. It’s convenient for female educated youths to move in.”
Su Qing thought of something and frowned, asking, “That’s not right. Comrade Zhao Lan only has her grandmother and herself; where would there be so many rooms for two female educated youths to move into?”
Yuan Chao explained what he knew. “Comrade Zhao Lan’s mother passed away early. Her father served in the army and sent his salary home every month. At that time, there were many people in the Zhao family, and several brothers lived together, so they built many rooms. Later, her father sacrificed his life. I don’t know why, but all the others in the Zhao family moved out, leaving only her and her grandmother. Naturally, there are vacant rooms.”
“Grandma Zhao is in poor health and doesn’t go out often, but she is a very good person and is diligent. It is indeed a good choice.”
It wasn’t that there weren’t other families in the brigade with spacious housing, but relatively speaking, Zhao Lan’s home was the most suitable.
A diligent girl of similar age and a kind, approachable elderly woman—moving there meant there was no need to worry about safety.
It was a good choice for Ye Qiu and Qu Tong, and good for Zhao Lan’s family as well.
With two educated youths moving in, it could prevent others from coveting the empty house and provide rent to subsidize their household expenses.
Qu Tong sat on the side, resting her chin on her hand.
She knew everything Yuan Chao said; it was the plot from that era novel.
Zhao Lan’s uncles were not easy people to deal with. Although they were driven out of the house Zhao Lan’s father built by Grandma Zhao, after Grandma Zhao accidentally suffered a stroke, they forced their way back in under the pretext of taking care of her. They even wanted to marry Zhao Lan off to a widower in exchange for a high dowry.
This was also a climactic plot point in the book: while Zhao Lan was dealing with her terrible relatives, she accidentally became acquainted with the male lead and, with his help, escaped these relatives.
The two later understood and fell in love through their interactions, and they naturally got married after Zhao Lan graduated from university.
Hu Kang sighed with regret, “You must come back often after this.”
Ye Qiu and Qu Tong smilingly agreed.
The others asked a few more questions about their moving, and they answered what they could. As for what they couldn’t, the others didn’t press for more.