“Indeed, it’s better for us to live together. I’ll ask the brigade leader if I can build a house near you too. I want to live alone. By the way, how much did it cost for your house?”
Qin Wan had already decided she wanted to move out. Only with her own private space could she properly cultivate her abilities. To survive well here, she couldn’t afford to lose the ability to protect herself.
Li Ruolan said, “Not expensive. It’s an adobe house. The brigade leader said about forty to fifty yuan.”
Qin Wan nodded. “I can manage that. I’ll tell the brigade leader. I’ll build near you, and we’ll be neighbors.”
“Sure,” Li Ruolan smiled and nodded.
The three of them finished breakfast and saw Zhou Shengnan, Zheng Fanghua, and Liu Kunming coming to eat as well. After a few words, the two groups separated.
After visiting the state-run restaurant, Li Ruolan and Deng Minghao went to the supply and marketing cooperative to see if anything else was needed. They wandered around until it was time to meet.
Uncle Wang and his son had already been waiting, and many village women had returned from shopping, carrying large packages.
Seeing Li Ruolan and Deng Minghao, everyone looked at them with curiosity.
“You two know each other, right? Walking together so closely… Are you a couple?” a round-faced woman in her thirties or forties teased.
Li Ruolan smiled and nodded openly. “Yes, we’re from Jing City. We were high school classmates, stayed together after graduation, then volunteered to go down to the countryside and arrived here.”
Deng Minghao joined in smoothly, taking a handful of candies from his pocket and handing one to each woman. “We just arrived and don’t know much about the farm work. Tomorrow, when we go to work, you ladies have to look after my partner well.”
The round-faced woman laughed and accepted the candy. “Sure, sure. After eating your candy, I’ll take good care of your partner.”
“You two are really a good match, the handsome man and the pretty woman.”
Li Ruolan smiled and thanked her.
Deng Minghao had a natural charm, and Li Ruolan, having spent so much time with him, had learned from him. Soon, they were completely at ease with the village women.
When Qin Wan and the others returned, they were surprised to see this scene.
Earlier, on the horse-drawn cart, the village women hadn’t shown hostility, but there had been a hint of caution. Now, just half a day later, Li Ruolan and Deng Minghao were completely at ease with them.
Qin Wan, Zhou Shengnan, and Zheng Fanghua weren’t fools. They knew this was a good opportunity to bond with the locals and quickly joined the conversation.
Li Ruolan and Deng Minghao acted as intermediaries, introducing everyone to each other. The new youths and the villagers became familiar with one another.
On the way back, Deng Minghao sat beside Uncle Wang, handing him several cigarettes, and the two chatted happily.
“Your partner is amazing, really able to talk to anyone,” Qin Wan said, giving Li Ruolan a thumbs-up in admiration.
“Maybe it’s a gift,” Li Ruolan said, unbothered.
By the time the cart returned to Shengli Brigade, it was only past four o’clock. They put the items they had bought back in their rooms and found Li Yingying wasn’t there.
They didn’t think much of it and went with the other male youths and Guo Xiaoya to the north side of the village to see Master Zhao, the carpenter.
Zhao had prepared plenty of cabinets and boxes for the new youths. Everything was ready to take away.
Li Ruolan bought one large and one small box. Seeing that woven kang mats were available in the yard, she also took one.
Additionally, she bought a woven bamboo basket, a carrying basket, and a sunhat.
Qin Wan and the others bought the same items, while the male youths only bought one box each but also got baskets and hats.
Because there were so many items, the male youths helped carry them back, taking two trips.
They placed the boxes on the kang by the window, stored their belongings inside, and locked them with small locks.
Except for Li Yingying, everyone did this.
After returning the boxes, the work in the fields was finished. The older youths gradually came back, and Li Yingying returned with them.
It seemed she hadn’t gone to town today but had gone to work in the fields with the older youths.
Once Li Baoguo returned, he took the new youths to collect their rations. Each person received forty jin, all coarse grains.
“Forty jin. If you ration carefully, it should last more than two months. Another month is the busy season, and after that, you’ll receive new rations. Of course, if you eat a lot, you can trade with villagers for extra grains. Just don’t take too much, or you might not have enough energy to earn your work points during the busy season.”
Li Baoguo helped the new youths carry the rations back and explained a lot along the way.
After bringing the rations back, each bag was labeled with its owner’s name and locked in the public kitchen.
Meal duties for the girls had been arranged yesterday, two per pair: Zhou Shengnan and Zheng Fanghua, Li Ruolan and Qin Wan, Li Yingying and Guo Xiaoya.
The older youths cooked today, but the meal was not as good as yesterday’s—thin millet porridge and coarse grain cakes.
Each bite of the cake required several gulps of porridge to swallow, making one’s throat raw.
The older youths ate heartily and quickly, finishing their portions in no time.
The new youths struggled with the hard cakes and ate very slowly.
After finishing, everyone washed their bowls and started taking turns fetching water, washing, and going to bed.
Electricity was not yet available, and oil lamps were costly. People mostly ate and went to bed while it was still light.
Tomorrow was a workday, so Li Ruolan and the others needed to rest well.
Li Yingying hadn’t brought much money and had no protector. Luckily, she had been working for years and still had some strength.
While Li Ruolan and the others went to town to buy things, she went to the fields with the older youths. She worked the entire day and earned six work points.
One point was worth one mao, so she earned six mao today. Exhausted from her first day, she fell asleep faster than anyone else.