Apart from Yuan Chao, who was trying to mediate, the other veteran educated youths stood by and watched coldly, refusing to get involved in the dispute.
A female educated youth with thin, gaunt cheeks cast a quick, disdainful glance at Ye Qiu and Qu Tong, gave a dismissive scoff, and turned back into her room.
Qu Tong was too busy consoling Su Qing to notice the female educated youth’s expression, but Ye Qiu, standing to the side, saw it all perfectly clearly.
“We are all educated youths! Chen Zhongshi is going too far!”
Even after being pulled outside the courtyard by Hu Kang for comfort, Su Qing’s anger remained unpacified.
Hu Kang gave a bitter smile. “We are all newcomers. What can we do to him?”
As soon as these words were spoken, even Qu Tong fell silent.
She began to wonder: was coming to the countryside really the right choice?
The scarcity of supplies, the heavy farm work, the strange environment, and the arrogant, petty educated youths…
In her previous life, Qu Tong was just an ordinary office worker, earning a meager salary every month, with her greatest hobby being reading novels. She never expected that an accident would cause her to transmigrate into a novel set in that era that she had once read, becoming a villainess with the same name.
Although she couldn’t remember many of the plot points, she still recalled the general story of the novel. Therefore, upon realizing she was the villainess in the book, she lost no time in signing up for the countryside movement, even using connections to ensure she was assigned to Qingshan Production Brigade. Her goal was to romance the villain, Jiang Yi, during his most destitute period and successfully cling to the “big shot’s” golden thigh.
Thinking of the dilapidated house she had seen that afternoon, Qu Tong cheered herself on.
You can do it, Qu Tong, you can do it. You are just one acquaintance away from romancing the villain! Believe in yourself—you are the woman of the future richest man. Good days are waiting for you!
Watching her shifting, unpredictable expressions, Ye Qiu didn’t know what she was thinking, only finding it amusing.
The exotic energy in Qu Tong was clearly on a different level than that in Ye Xia; it offered more exchangeable points and was harder to collect. Fortunately, they would be roommates for a long time, so there would be no shortage of opportunities for physical contact.
The only thing that left Ye Qiu feeling resentful was the method of collecting exotic energy. At the current stage, the system level was low, and she could only rely on primitive physical contact to collect it. Fortunately, once the system upgrade was complete, she would be able to discard this backward method.
“Comrade Su, Comrade Hu, you can come in and unpack your luggage. I’ve cleared some space.”
The four new educated youths had been blowing in the cold wind in the courtyard for a while when they heard Li Jiajun, the oldest male educated youth, calling to them from the doorway while holding his quilt.
“I’m going to pack up and stay at the school for a few days. You guys settle in first; we can discuss the room arrangements properly later.”
Li Jiajun was the first educated youth to arrive, having stayed in Qingshan Brigade for seven years. Because he had saved a child in the brigade, he was deeply trusted by the villagers. He had previously worked as a teacher in the village primary school, but after he got married, he handed the teaching job over to his wife, Gu Shu, and went back to working in the fields. He was steady and mature, and very few people—whether educated youths or villagers—spoke ill of him.
“Thank you, Brother Li.” Given his kind attitude, Su Qing felt embarrassed to vent his anger and mumbled his thanks.
Li Jiajun smiled. “It’s nothing. You’ve been on the train for days, so get some rest. You’ll be tired enough once you start working in the fields in a few days.”
With the graceful exit provided by Li Jiajun, Su Qing and Hu Kang thanked him and returned to their room to unpack. Ye Qiu and Qu Tong also returned to the women’s room.
Ye Qiu hadn’t traveled this much in many years. Once the adrenaline faded, she felt her bones creaking. Deciding that there were too many things to unpack, she chose to rest for a full day first. Qu Tong had the same idea.
The educated youths had also been exhausted from the day. Before long, the cramped room was filled with silence, broken only by the sound of deep breathing in sleep.
Sleeping until the sun was high, Ye Qiu woke up to find only her and Qu Tong in the room. When she stepped out, she happened to run into Su Qing doing laundry.
“Brother Su, you’re up very early.”
“I’m used to it. I couldn’t sleep anyway,” Su Qing said, his hands not stopping. “The veteran educated youths have already gone to work, and Hu Kang went out for a walk. We’re planning to go to town in a little while; do you and Comrade Qu want to come along?”
“Yes,” Ye Qiu nodded. She needed to send a telegram home to let them know she had arrived safely. “Then I’ll go call Qu Tong. Call us when you’re ready to leave.”
Su Qing agreed.
After Ye Qiu returned to the room and woke Qu Tong, she started calculating what she needed to buy. In truth, she wasn’t lacking anything; the Ye family had already prepared plenty of necessities for the countryside before her departure. Plus, she still had plenty of points left, so she could just exchange for anything she needed. There wasn’t really anything she had to go to town to pick up.
“Ye Qiu, let’s go.”
Hearing Qu Tong call her, Ye Qiu responded aloud. Stepping outside, she saw Su Qing and the other two waiting for her at the courtyard gate.
Ye Qiu stepped forward briskly. “Are we going to catch the next brigade’s ox cart?”
“You bet. I walked enough yesterday; my feet still hurt, and I don’t want to walk anymore.”
Thinking about going out today, Ye Qiu had asked Gu Shu—the kindest female educated youth—the previous night about transportation. Qingshan Brigade only had three oxen, and they were too precious to be used to pull people. However, the neighboring brigade was wealthier and had an ox cart that traveled back and forth to town. They would take them to town for just three cents.
Most of the villagers were reluctant to spend the money, but the four of them had been so terrified by yesterday’s walk that they reached an unspoken consensus without needing to discuss it: they would take the ox cart.
They were lucky, too; they didn’t have to wait long before the ox cart arrived. Several village women were already sitting on it. Ye Qiu and the others didn’t know a single one of them, so they each paid their fare, climbed on, and found empty spots to sit.
“Are you all new educated youths?” A round-faced auntie asked first, her eyes restlessly scanning the group as she spoke. The new educated youths didn’t recognize them, but the women had seen them enter the village yesterday.
“Yes, we are.”
Su Qing wasn’t skilled at dealing with rural women. Under their scanning gaze from head to toe, he felt completely uncomfortable, lacking all of the smooth, social grace he had shown the day before.
Ye Qiu, however, wasn’t shy at all. She looked back at them boldly. “Auntie, why do you keep staring at us?”
The round-faced auntie felt a bit awkward. “It’s just been a long time since newcomers came to the brigade, so I’m a bit curious.”
Ye Qiu’s eyes lit up. “Auntie, are you from Qingshan Brigade?”
“We are all from Qingshan Brigade, going to the town market today,” a gaunt-looking woman next to her chimed in. As she spoke, her eyes lingered on Qu Tong, her face full of amazement. “Goodness, is that dichilong (polyester)? It looks so beautiful.”
Just speaking wasn’t enough; she reached out with her withered hand, wanting to touch Qu Tong’s clothes.
Yesterday, Old Woman Wang had spotted this female educated youth from the hillside at a glance—a new outfit with bright colors. Today she was wearing another set; although it wasn’t new, it didn’t have a single patch, and it was red. She had never seen such beautiful fabric in her entire life! She had no idea how much money or ration coupons this outfit cost. Her daughter Er Niu was getting married next month, and if she could wear an outfit like this, it would be so decent.
New educated youths from the city were thin-skinned and had good resources; they probably wouldn’t care too much about one outfit. If she asked to borrow it, maybe the girl would be too embarrassed to refuse. Wouldn’t that be wonderful?