“People can actually live in such a dilapidated, dangerous house? I refuse to stay here!”
Seeing the chaotic, ramshackle room before her, Qu Tong couldn’t believe it. How could such a hazardous structure be fit for living?
“If you don’t want to stay, you can go find the brigade captain and suggest they move us to a larger room.” Having listened to this young lady complain the entire way, Ye Qiu was starting to lose patience.
Hearing the annoyance in Ye Qiu’s tone, Qu Tong’s temper flared instantly. “What kind of attitude is that!”
“What kind of attitude?” Ye Qiu raised an eyebrow, a smile playing on her lips. “Young lady, please get this straight: we are all educated youths sent to the countryside now. I understand if you aren’t used to rural life. But no one is obligated to tolerate your moods. If you’re dissatisfied, fine—go find the brigade captain to solve it yourself. If the brigade captain can’t solve it, go find the commune leaders, or the county officials!”
“You…”
Qu Tong was left speechless. She was pampered, not stupid; she knew that creating trouble for the brigade captain the moment they arrived would inevitably invite the villagers’ resentment.
Ye Qiu dropped her smile. “So, you don’t want to go find the brigade captain? In that case, keep it to yourself and don’t take your anger out on me.”
Su Qing and Hu Kang, who had traveled together with them, exchanged glances. They had thought the female comrade Ye Qiu was gentle and easygoing the whole way, but they hadn’t expected her to be such a tough nut to crack.
After dealing with Qu Tong, Ye Qiu ignored the spoiled girl and went about finding a vacant spot for her own luggage, waiting for the other female educated youths to return so she could make space for them.
Once her things were settled, Ye Qiu clapped her hands and stood up, intending to familiarize herself with the surrounding environment.
But before she could step out of the room, her wrist was grabbed by Qu Tong.
“Ye… Ye Qiu, wait for me. I’m scared to be alone.”
Although she had just been scolded by Ye Qiu, in this completely unfamiliar place, Ye Qiu—who had traveled with her the whole way—was someone she was already very familiar with. She didn’t want to be left alone in this tiny, cramped room.
Ding—detected the presence of collectable exotic energy in the host’s vicinity.
The system’s stiff, mechanical voice suddenly sounded.
Ye Qiu looked up at Qu Tong in surprise.
This was the program left behind by 02314. It only had basic functions for collecting exotic energy and accessing the system mall; it was a stripped-down version of a system. After all, 02314 was a very busy entity with more than one host under its command, and the era Ye Qiu was in was far too ordinary to require much of its attention.
It seems Qu Tong is not such a simple character after all.
Despite having other thoughts, Ye Qiu looked at the faint, barely perceptible plea in Qu Tong’s eyes and asked, “I’m going to find Comrade Yuan to get the lay of the land. You’re coming too?”
Qu Tong nodded repeatedly. “Yes, yes, I’ll go wherever you go!”
Taking her along wasn’t a problem, but Ye Qiu warned her in advance: “Then don’t go running your mouth.”
After the reminder, Ye Qiu took the young lady outside and happened to run into Yuan Chao and others who were about to head out.
Yuan Chao spoke first: “Comrade Ye Qiu, Comrade Qu Tong, have your belongings been settled? I’ll take you to find the brigade captain to register.”
“Then I’ll trouble Comrade Yuan.”
Yuan Chao was an outgoing person and spent the whole way explaining Qingshan Production Brigade.
“Zhao Yuanchao should have told you that Qingshan Brigade is not particularly hostile to outsiders.” Seeing them nod, he continued with a warning: “But you must also be clear that some of the good jobs won’t fall to us educated youths. Unless you’ve made a contribution to the village, your life will just be like that. But fortunately, the village cadres are fair in their dealings. As long as you work hard, your work points won’t be undercounted, and there will be no shortage of grain for us at the end of the year.”
“Does that mean there are some light jobs in the village? What do they involve?”
Yuan Chao gave examples: “Scorekeepers, accountants, and primary school teachers are considered relatively easy.”
Su Qing was surprised. “Qingshan Brigade has a primary school?”
Jobs like scorekeeper or accountant were unlikely to be given to educated youths, but a primary school teacher position was something they could strive for. After all, the educational level of educated youths was generally higher than that of the villagers, which counted as some kind of advantage.
Seeing the four educated youths looking at him with hopeful eyes, Yuan Chao immediately shattered their expectations. “Don’t bother thinking about it. The primary school teacher position won’t fall to us, either.”
Hu Kang wasn’t pleased. “Why? We are high school graduates; could we possibly be inferior to them?”
“You are inferior,” Yuan Chao said bluntly. “The village primary school is small; it only accepts students from the few surrounding brigades. There are few students, so two teachers are enough.”
“Not even one of the two teachers’ positions is for educated youths?”
“Well, there is one. One of the teachers is an educated youth, but the other is the brigade captain’s younger sister. She graduated from junior high. Her level isn’t very high, but she is perfectly capable of teaching primary school students, so no new teachers are needed.”
“Doesn’t that just go to show that there is hope for us?”
Yuan Chao shook his head. “The situation is different. The educated youth working as a teacher there was among the first batch sent to the countryside and has been in Qingshan Brigade for seven years. Plus, they once saved a child from the village who fell into the water; we can’t compare ourselves to them.”
When he first arrived in the countryside to work in the fields, he was so tired every day he couldn’t get up. He hadn’t stopped thinking about switching to a lighter job, but after asking around, he found there were no positions he could switch to. As time went on, he gave up on the idea. It was better to just honestly work the land; at least he wouldn’t starve.
Hu Kang wilted; there really was no comparing.
Su Qing followed up: “Then for new educated youths like us, what kind of work will be arranged?”
Yuan Chao thought for a moment. “It should be the same as us. At the beginning, they will give the educated youths time to adapt and arrange light work, but the work points definitely won’t be very high. Once you are used to it, you can switch to a job with higher points. You might even be able to earn ten points.”
Su Qing shook his head repeatedly, mocking himself: “I can’t do it. With my skinny frame, I’d better not push myself.”
Whether or not he could subsidize his family was secondary; he couldn’t actually let himself be used like a beast of burden!
Qu Tong lifted her chin, adding delicately: “That’s right, before I came, my parents told me I must take good care of myself. I can’t do such heavy labor.”
After saying this, she sought Ye Qiu’s support. “Ye Qiu, don’t you think so?”
Ye Qiu looked at the perfectly natural Qu Tong with surprise.
Young lady, you really don’t hold a grudge. I just scolded you a little while ago, and you’re acting like nothing happened?
Not hearing her reply, Qu Tong turned her head to look at her: “Ye Qiu, say something!”
Ye Qiu nodded in agreement to her wishes, expressing that she only wanted to be a “lying-flat” little wastrel.
After hearing the system’s notification, she had thought Qu Tong was a difficult character, but after interacting with her, it seemed she really was just a cute, “empty-headed” simple-minded young lady.
Ye Qiu silently repented for judging a book by its cover.
“Brother Yuan, what is that place?”
Qu Tong suddenly pointed to some dilapidated houses on the small hill opposite and asked.
Following the direction of her finger, Yuan Chao’s expression shifted.