Since the decision had been made regarding who was going to the countryside, they also had to carefully consider the destination.
Ye Weijun proposed an idea—his hometown, the Qingshan Brigade.
“Back when the famine struck, our whole family left our home and settled here in Jin City. Although I wrote a few letters home after settling down, and haven’t gone back to visit in all these years, the Qingshan Brigade is still our roots. At the very least, there are some relatives and old acquaintances there. If Third Child goes there, she won’t be afraid of not finding anyone if she runs into trouble.”
In his memory, the people of the Qingshan Brigade were not necessarily all saints, but most were simple and kind. If someone in the village ran into difficulties, people were willing to lend a hand. Plus, with the layer of kinship, it was better than going to a place where one was completely unfamiliar with the surroundings.
Zhao Li nodded in agreement: “Your dad is right. Having relatives to help out is always better. The Qingshan Brigade isn’t too far from here, so it’s a good place. It’s just a bit cold in winter. Don’t worry, Third Child; as your mother, I will definitely prepare everything for you.”
Neither Ye Weijun nor Zhao Li expected their daughter to survive on her own labor points; since Ye Qiu was physically weak, they, as parents, had to prepare for her in advance.
After comprehensive consideration, Ye Weijun made the final decision: “We’ll go to the Qingshan Brigade. We’ll go to the Educated Youth Office to register right now.”
Registering early meant they could still choose where to go. If they dragged it out until the end, they would be at the mercy of the Educated Youth Office’s arrangements.
Over the next few days, Ye Xia was busy taking over the job, while the others tried every means to exchange for nationwide food coupons and industrial coupons. They also prepared as much winter clothing and bedding as possible.
Fortunately, Zhao Li was good at managing the household. Even while raising four children and buying a job for the eldest, there was still some savings.
Every member of the Ye family was busy preparing supplies for Ye Qiu, all intended for her to take to the countryside. Even the eldest daughter-in-law, Zhang Xiaoyan, who was usually the most inclined to take advantage of others, sent over quite a few good things for Ye Qiu, despite complaining with some sour remarks.
It must be said that material goods were the greatest source of confidence in this era. Looking at the supplies prepared by the family, Ye Qiu felt much more confident about her future life in the countryside.
Over the past few days, she had already collected the anomalous energy from Ye Xia. It was only after the system recovered it that it displayed the exchangeable goods for the first time.
It could only be said that even if, as 02314 said, it was a “cooperation with World Consciousness,” a useless system was still a useless system. She was simply too young to realize that there’s no such thing as a free lunch from heaven.
The goods in the system mall couldn’t be described as all-encompassing; they were more like completely unrelated. According to 02314, the “Alien Energy Collection System” was exactly as its name suggested—it could only collect anomalous energy that the host could come into contact with. Beyond that, it had no other functions.
Even the existing, extremely crude system mall was something 02314 had requested to be installed only after considering the potential needs of the host. Because of this, the goods in the system mall were severely limited; they could only be used to exchange for items that already existed in the current era, and the scope was strictly restricted.
As for lethal high-tech weapons or advanced technological products… well, she was just dreaming.
Non-professional was non-professional; it couldn’t compare to the systems in those novels.
Fortunately, Ye Qiu hadn’t pinned all her hopes on the system, otherwise, she definitely wouldn’t have been able to handle this major blow. But looking on the bright side, being able to exchange for supplies from the system mall meant she didn’t have to worry about going hungry or cold after going to the countryside—it was much better than the worst-case scenario she had previously imagined.
It was still dark outside when the whole Ye family woke up. Even Ye Chun and Zhang Xiaoyan, who lived in the factory’s staff housing, had come over. Although everyone had arrived, no one spoke, and the air felt stagnant.
Ye Qiu had to be the first to speak: “It’s almost time; we can head to the station.”
As she spoke, she reached out to grab the bag on the floor.
Her hand had barely touched the bag when she was stopped by her younger brother, Ye Dong: “Third Sister, let me carry the luggage.”
It wasn’t until he spoke that Ye Qiu noticed this younger brother from her memories. Ye Dong was the youngest and the one Zhao Li loved the most. He had a fearless personality, but the family arguments over this period had matured the child who used to only care about food and play.
Ye Weijun and Ye Chun also each picked up a large bag. And so, the group arrived at the train station.
The area in front of the green-skinned train was packed with people. The Ye family couldn’t even care about the sorrow of parting as they fought to squeeze into the crowd, trying to find the train car.
“Third Child, you climb up first, and we’ll pass the luggage to you,” Zhao Li directed.
Looking at the window, which was higher than she was, Ye Qiu couldn’t believe it: “Me? Climb up?”
She wasn’t even as tall as the window. Was her mom serious?
But she looked left and right and had to admit that her mom was indeed serious. The train was packed, and it really was easier to climb through the window than anything else; many people around them were climbing through the windows.
Zhao Li urged: “Don’t just stand there, climb up! If you don’t, you won’t be able to get on once it gets more crowded.”
Ye Qiu had to rub her hands together, bracing them against the window frame to push herself up. With the help of Zhao Li and Ye Xia, she managed to flip inside.
Su Qing and the others were chatting happily when they suddenly saw someone drilling through the window. They were still stunned when the female comrade who had just climbed in took the lead to speak:
“Greetings, comrades. My seat is right next to yours. I’m sorry to trouble you, but could you please make some room so I can bring my luggage in?”
They were all people headed to the countryside, and since this female comrade was polite and smiling, Su Qing and his friends naturally had no objections and quickly made way.
Seeing she was a young woman, Su Qing even proactively asked: “Do you need any help?”
“No, no, I don’t have much luggage; I can do it myself.”
When Su Qing heard this, he quickly moved aside to let her receive her luggage from her family.
Then… then he watched with his own eyes as Ye Qiu pulled three large bags, each nearly half a person’s height, through the window.
Su Qing was dumbfounded. This female comrade was truly a match for any man!
“That female comrade is really strong!” his companion whispered, leaning in.
Su Qing coughed twice and gave his companion a nudge. How could one comment on her like that right in front of her?
Ye Qiu stowed her luggage and leaned back toward the window: “Dad, Mom, let’s talk a little more.”
However, Zhao Li waved her hand, refusing: “No, we’re going to head back now. Remember to send a telegram when you arrive. Remember to write home often, and if anything happens, be sure to mention it in the letters!”
After saying this, she pushed Ye Weijun and turned to leave.
The moment she turned around, her tears couldn’t help but fall. Her chest felt as if it were stuffed with cotton, making her feel incredibly uncomfortable. She didn’t want her youngest daughter to see her crying when she left, so she had only rushed to have the family leave after giving her instructions.
But she still couldn’t hold it back.
Ye Qiu had sharp eyes and saw the tears Zhao Li shed. Even the usually silent Ye Weijun had reddened eyes. As for Ye Xia and Ye Dong, they were already crying with snot and tears all over their faces.
Perhaps it was the influence of the original owner’s emotions, but Ye Qiu felt her own eyes stinging as well.