Lin Yuexi knew her appearance was too conspicuous, so she constantly used her Spiritual Power to reduce her presence. Otherwise, Xiao Qingqing wouldn't have basically ignored her face this morning.
After going out, she didn't attract too much attention from the young girls either. They were mostly just curiously glancing at her from afar, noting she was a new Educated Youth and in a wheelchair.
Lin Yuexi was a very qualified listener, always cooperating with responses at key moments. Xiao Qingqing really liked talking to her, and through their conversations, she got a general understanding of the First Brigade.
The First Brigade was originally called Stone Village. A large portion of the families were Martyr's family members, and at least half of the remaining were Military dependents. It was known as Hero Village.
During the war, all the young people from Stone Village went out, but less than one in ten returned. She once saw a scene on TV where the Old Clan Leader went to receive coffins returning to the village; it was a realistic portrayal of Stone Village back then.
Many were not even brought back because their place of sacrifice was unknown.
Their fathers and grandfathers were heroes, and many of their sons and grandsons still chose to enlist in the army. According to what Xiao Jingjing knew, over a dozen people from the village had sacrificed themselves in recent years. One of them was Xiao Jingjing's Fourth Uncle, who was also the Captain's youngest son.
For the people of the First Brigade, they both hoped to see people in military uniform and feared seeing people in military uniform, and even more so feared seeing older people in military uniform.
In this era, soldiers were revered, so the First Brigade's status in the entire Hongqi Commune was different. Coupled with the Brigade's own solidarity, basically no one around dared to provoke them.
However, things often have unexpected turns.
First, there were a few street loafers from the Fourth Brigade, also known as blockheads.
There were few in this area whose ancestors hadn't participated in the war. Because of this, not only were the villagers more tolerant of their juniors, but the Commune leaders were also the same; they were all descendants of heroes!
Moreover, they didn't actually commit major offenses. They would only sneak into other people's homes to steal a chicken or kick a dog. They never entered the owner's bedroom, and sometimes they would even clean up for you if they thought your place was dirty.
If there was evidence, they would compensate with money; if there was no evidence, one could only stand at the main door and curse.
Listening to Xiao Jingjing's account, Lin Yuexi felt that these few couldn't be considered the rotten apples for now. It was clear that although the people of the First Brigade didn't like their petty theft, they were quite tolerant of them. After all, chickens were valuable items now, and there was even the saying of a "chicken butt bank."
Then there were the Educated Youth sent to the countryside.
There was no intention of slander; this was a problem of the era. The Educated Youth from the city were indeed more handsome than the village young men and more beautiful than the village girls when they first arrived.
The difference in living conditions between the two sides caused this disparity. Especially since education was not yet popular, and the vast majority of young people in the countryside were illiterate, the difference appeared even greater and more obvious.
The Educated Youth who were favored at home ate well and dressed well, so their complexions were naturally good. Those who were not favored, no matter how bad off, didn't have to do farm work under the scorching sun. Moreover, they had received some education, and their demeanor was different.
Especially the first batch of Educated Youth who voluntarily went to the countryside were all high school graduates who came willingly.
They were fair-skinned, wore nice clothes, and had good appearances, carrying an air of scholarly refinement that rural children who had been toiling in the fields their whole lives couldn't match.
So when the Educated Youth arrived, they not only attracted the attention of the village young men and women but also the adults and children liked them.
"Sister Lin, you don't know, when they first arrived, we treated them very well. If they didn't have enough grain to eat, we all pooled together for them. If they didn't have enough firewood in winter, we brought firewood from our own homes for them..."
According to Xiao Qingqing, the first batch of Educated Youth consisted of eleven people, six men and five women, all from Haishi.
They were all dressed fashionably, with handsome men and beautiful women, though they were a bit delicate. But everyone didn't mind; they were here to help them, and there was no intention of making them work in the fields.
Although they didn't know why people from the city understood farming better than the rural people and even sent people down to teach them farming, it didn't matter. Their Hero Village had to take the lead and follow the Party's call.
Then, the following year, Hongxing Brigade suffered a famine.
That could be overlooked; they would just stop listening to them in the future. But they also harmed their children.
Male educated youth simultaneously had five or six partners from the village, and female educated youth dangled several village boys. The usually harmonious village was constantly in turmoil because of those educated youth, with one daughter stealing money, or another son fighting with his sister-in-law.
Moreover, as the number of educated youth increased, they seemed poised to overturn their village.
The Captain ruthlessly dealt with several educated youth, sending some back and others to the farm. Two were even sent to eat "public food." Only then did the educated youth become more obedient.
So now, the villagers were very displeased with the educated youth. They didn't condemn them all, but they were unwilling to interact with them much, always feeling they were a source of trouble.
Lin Yuexi found it funny and asked with a smile, "Then I'm also an educated youth, why are you willing to take care of me?"
"Sister Lin is different. You don't live at the Educated Youth Point. You and Educated Youth Leng built houses in the village, so you are our village people."
They were considered one of their own.
So that's how it was, was this what it meant to be rooted in the countryside?
At this moment, a young girl in ragged clothes, carrying a large back basket, ran over.
She noticed that the young girls were all carrying back baskets.
"Jingjing, don't you need to go cut pig feed today?"
She shyly glanced at Lin Yuexi, her slightly dark little face blushing like a monkey's backside. "Hello, Educated Youth Lin."
Educated Youth Lin is really beautiful, the most beautiful person she had ever seen, a hundred times more beautiful than that Educated Youth Su.
Lin Yuexi smiled and nodded in response, "Hello."
Ouch, the young girl was so shy she hid behind Xiao Qingqing, but she still wanted to see her more, peeking out her little head to glance at her 'secretly'.
Lin Yuexi took a Milk Candy Block from her 'pocket' and handed it over, "Nice to meet you, here's a treat for you."
Wow, milk candy, even from this far away, she could smell its sweet fragrance.
This Milk Candy Block held immense attraction for the children here. They could basically only eat candy during the New Year, and even then, it was malt candy with a slightly astringent taste.
Families with many children could only eat one or two thumb-sized pieces of malt candy a year, while families with fewer children could eat a few more.
Even later, after the educated youth came to the countryside, some educated youth used favors to exchange for the children's help with chores, but it was difficult for the educated youth to get candy themselves. They were reluctant to eat it, so how could they bear to share it with the children?
The young girl was very embarrassed but couldn't resist wanting to eat it.
While she was hesitating and uneasy, Xiao Qingqing made the decision for her, taking the Milk Candy Block from Lin Yuexi's hand and putting it into the young girl's hand.
"Sister Lin is very, very good, she won't be angry. This candy is especially, especially delicious. I ate one too, hurry and eat it."
Her tone carried a hint of boastfulness, and her gaze towards the pocket holding the candy was filled with longing. She couldn't help but swallow several times.
The young girl shyly said thank you, took out the Milk Candy Block from her pocket, brought it to her nose to smell it several times, and then put it back into her pocket like a treasure.
"Aren't you going to eat it? It's delicious." Xiao Qingqing also enticed her.
The young girl swallowed, of course, she wanted to eat it, but she still shook her head, "Mom gave birth to a sister and doesn't have enough milk, I'll save it for Mom."
After speaking, the young girl seemed afraid that Lin Yuexi would be angry that she gave away the candy given to her, just as she would be angry if a friend gave her a gift and she gave it to someone else.
【Friendship gained from a piece of milk candy】
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