Although the educated youths at Shengli Brigade never went hungry, they could only eat meat once a month, and that was when everyone pooled their money together to buy it. On ordinary days, meat was out of the question.
Everyone wanted meat, so when Wang Mingzhu and Zhang Bao’er made their remarks, the others lowered their heads and pretended not to hear.
Li Yingying reached for the meat with her chopsticks but had to stop midway. Reluctantly, she withdrew her chopsticks and sat on the bench, crying.
Everyone else ate the meat dishes with relish, paying her no attention. At a time when even getting some meat was difficult, no one was going to give her a few pieces just because she cried.
Li Yingying glared at everyone enjoying their meal with a mix of resentment and hunger. In the end, she could only wipe her tears and eat the vegetables.
After finishing their meal, night had already fallen. Thinking that the brigade leader might have already eaten, Li Ruolan and Deng Minghao took a flashlight and went to ask the older youths where the brigade leader’s house was, then headed there.
To request the brigade leader’s help, Li Ruolan brought two liang of brown sugar, and Deng Minghao added a box of Fengshou cigarettes, twenty-seven cents a box. Not expensive, but already a decent gift since buying cigarettes required a ration ticket.
When they knocked, the brigade leader’s wife, Xu Xiujuan, answered.
“Auntie, is the brigade leader home? We’re the new educated youths and have something to ask him,” Li Ruolan said with a smile.
“He’s here, come in,” Xu Xiujuan replied, a little surprised to see them, but she smiled and opened the door.
Inside, the brigade leader had just finished eating; the bowls and chopsticks hadn’t been cleared. He was sitting on the kang and gestured for them to sit.
Deng Minghao sat beside him. “Uncle Wang, we have something to ask for your help. Please accept these.”
The brigade leader’s expression changed immediately upon seeing the brown sugar and cigarettes. “What’s this for? Just say what you need. If I can help, I will. You don’t need gifts, take them away.”
Deng Minghao grinned. “Think of it as wedding candy and wedding cigarettes from us. You have to accept them, right?”
The brigade leader and his wife were stunned, then looked at Li Ruolan and Deng Minghao in surprise. “You two are getting married?” the brigade leader asked, his voice loud with disbelief.
After junior high, anyone with a city job or getting married wouldn’t have to be sent down to the countryside. Seeing Li Ruolan and Deng Minghao, it was clear they were a couple before being sent down. If they were a couple, why not marry before coming? Why endure hardship here?
Xu Xiujuan seemed to sense something and pulled Li Ruolan up onto the kang, asking for details with curiosity in her eyes.
“Our family situation isn’t good. We aren’t the oldest or youngest, so our parents often neglect us. They wouldn’t spend money to get us jobs or provide a house so we could marry properly. Since that’s the case, we decided to go down to the countryside. That way we have our own house and can work to support ourselves,” Deng Minghao said with a sigh.
His words struck a chord with the brigade leader and his wife. The brigade leader was also a second child who had been overlooked as a child, but he had worked hard and eventually became brigade leader, while his siblings hadn’t fared as well.
“You two haven’t had it easy. You just need a marriage certificate, right? That’s simple. I’ll have Uncle Wang write the proof for you so it won’t delay getting the certificate tomorrow.
Once you settle here at Shengli Brigade, you can live here properly. If you run into difficulties, come to us. We’ll help,” Xu Xiujuan said sympathetically, gently patting Li Ruolan’s hand.
Both Deng Minghao and Li Ruolan smiled. “Besides the proof, there’s another matter, Uncle Wang. Since we’re getting married, we can’t live in the youth dormitory anymore.
We plan to build a house—not too big, just one room, a kitchen, and a yard.”
On the way over, they had already discussed how to build the house. They decided on just one room with a toilet and a surrounding yard. They didn’t want extra rooms. If other youths asked to borrow space, they didn’t want to deal with disputes.
To keep a low profile, they would build a simple mud-brick house, not a fancy brick-and-tile one. One room would be enough, large enough for future children.
The location would be beside the youth dormitory, not in the village. Even married, they needed to stay with the educated youths. In the original story, the villagers were highly exclusive; conflicts with them always left the youths at a disadvantage, so staying in the village was unsafe.
The brigade leader understood Deng Minghao’s plan. “One house will cost around forty or fifty yuan if fully built. Since you’ll have a yard, you need extra mud bricks. The villagers have bricks; they’re cheap, just pay a little.
The wooden beams cost nothing. Plenty of trees are on the mountain, but you’ll need to hire someone to cut and carry them. That’s where money is needed.
The biggest costs are the tiles and hiring workers. Carpentry for doors and windows can be done by Old Zhao in the north of the village.”
Deng Minghao nodded and handed the brigade leader five yuan of large-denomination notes. “Uncle Wang, we leave the house arrangements to you. We don’t know much. If it’s not enough, we’ll cover the rest. Also, can we have a small portion of the vegetable plot? Even with the yard fenced, we need a little.”
“Don’t worry, each youth gets a share of land. I’ll allocate two shares for you,” the brigade leader said, smiling. It was no trouble for him.
After arranging the house, Li Ruolan and Deng Minghao went with the brigade leader to get the proof. Tomorrow, with the document, they could get their marriage certificate.