Everyone carried their luggage into the Zhiqing Point.
The courtyard was spacious, said to be left behind by an Old Landlord over a decade ago.
Two people stood in the courtyard and hurried forward to greet them as they entered.
“Alright, this is our Zhiqing Point,” the Brigade Leader announced, standing in the center of the courtyard and looking at the group.
“This is the Brigade Accountant, Gu Youkang. This is the Old Educated Youth, Fang Jian.
Get to know each other. They’ll fill you in on the situation here at the Zhiqing Point. If you have any issues, come find me.” With that, the Brigade Leader left.
Fang Jian watched the Brigade Leader depart so abruptly and felt somewhat helpless. Steeling himself, he stepped forward to greet the newcomers.
“Comrades, hello. I’m Fang Jian, 22 years old, and I’ve been Down to the Countryside for five years.
At the Zhiqing Point, there are two wing-rooms in the front—east and west. The east wing-room houses male educated youth, and the west wing-room houses female educated youth.
In the middle are the kitchen and a small meeting room. The woodshed is in the northwest corner, and the toilet is in the northeast. There’s a newly dug well in the courtyard, so fetching water is convenient for us…”
After finishing, Fang Jian glanced at the group’s expressions, hesitating to say more.
The Brigade Accountant, Gu Youkang, nudged him with an elbow, signaling him to continue.
“Ahem, well, the thing is, the east and west wing-rooms already house three male educated youth and two female educated youth.
Currently, conditions in the wing-rooms are quite tough, and I’m afraid we can’t accommodate all of you.” Fang Jian took a deep breath before continuing,
“So, the Brigade Leader considered your accommodation issues and had new houses built at the back.”
He then led the group toward the rear.
The Accountant, still in the courtyard, also gestured for them to follow. Nan Mo, at this point, felt a wave of exasperation, as if she had stumbled into some future pyramid scheme.
The group followed Fang Jian to the backyard, where two neat rows of Blue Brick Houses stood, resembling townhouses of the later generations, though only one story high.
Each unit had a small yard enclosed by a Bamboo Fence, giving the appearance of independent cottages.
Fang Jian led them into one of the vacant houses. “All the houses here are the same. This is the kitchen—the Cooking Stove is already built. You just need to buy a pot to start cooking.
This is the bedroom—we’ve Built a Kang. Later, you can buy a Kang Table to rest and eat here.
There’s also a private toilet. Female comrades can install a Bath Barrel here for convenience…”
Nan Mo almost laughed at Fang Jian’s spiel—it was as if a real estate agent had taken over.
The educated youth were thrilled, never expecting such good conditions at Xiangyang Brigade.
Xu Mei and Wu Mingyue were already picking out spots. Back home, they hadn’t had their own rooms, yet here they were in the countryside with one.
“However…” Fang Jian, seeing everyone’s satisfaction, felt awkward about what came next.
Noticing Fang Jian’s hesitation, the Accountant took over. “The thing is, these houses require an additional rental fee.”
“What?” Xu Mei exclaimed. “Aren’t we supposed to be provided housing by the brigade? Why do we have to pay rent?”
Xu Mei hadn’t expected to pay rent to live here, and Wu Mingyue was also displeased.
“Comrade, if you don’t want to pay rent, you can always stay in the main courtyard up front. We’re just giving you more options, heh,” the Accountant said smoothly.
Aside from Xu Mei and Wu Mingyue, the others found this reasonable.
Tang Yifan spoke up at the right moment, “So, how is the rent calculated?”
Seeing that everyone else could accept the terms, Gu Youkang continued, “Three yuan per month, payable annually. The land in the front yard will count as your Private Plot.”
Nan Mo and the others also found the price reasonable and agreed to rent.
Wu Mingyue didn’t think three yuan per month was expensive, but when she heard it had to be paid annually—totaling thirty-six yuan—she felt a pang of reluctance.
However, afraid of being outshone by the other female educated youths in front of Tang Yifan, she steeled herself and registered with the accountant to rent a house.
There were two rows of houses, five units in each row. Chen Ruonan accompanied Nan Mo and the others in selecting their rooms.
Nan Mo wanted a house in the first row, and Lu Yuanyuan naturally followed her. Hu Mingliang also chose a unit in the first row with them.
When it was Chen Ruonan’s turn, the three of them, aware of her family’s financial difficulties, were thinking of an excuse to help her without making her feel uncomfortable.
“Accountant Gu, I’ll take this one,” Tang Yifan said, walking over and pointing to the unit next to Nan Mo’s.
“Then I’ll take the one next to Brother Yifan,” Lü Zhihui said, unaware of Tang Yifan’s reason for choosing that spot, though Wu Mingyue understood perfectly.
“Brother Tang, why don’t you choose a unit in the back row? I’d be scared living there alone,” Wu Mingyue insisted, determined not to let Tang Yifan get too close to Nan Mo—after all, he was the man she had her eyes on first!
“No way! Why should Brother Yifan move to the back just because you want to? We don’t even know you!”
Lü Zhihui was well aware of Wu Mingyue’s intentions—she had seen right through her flirtatious behavior on the train.
“Comrade Lü, how can you say that? We’re all revolutionary comrades who have come Down to the Countryside together. How can you claim not to know me?” As she spoke, Wu Mingyue’s eyes welled up with tears again.
Nan Mo just wanted to stay away from these troublemakers. Seizing the opportunity, she tried to persuade Chen Ruonan, reasoning that three yuan a month was a small price to pay for peace of mind.
“Ruonan, you can live here. I’ll cover the rent. If you feel uneasy about it, you can help me with some chores.”
“That’s right, Ruonan, you should stay here. Hu Mingliang is useless—you can protect us. Nan Mo and I will split your rent!” Lu Yuanyuan chimed in.
Hearing that Chen Ruonan would provide protection, Hu Mingliang eagerly added, “Count me in too! Nan Mo, my cousin, and I will each chip in!”
Chen Ruonan felt deeply conflicted. She had already accepted so much food from them—letting them pay her rent was simply too much.
“No, no…” Chen Ruonan waved her hands in refusal.
“Enough, it’s settled. You’re only renting because of us, so just live here without worry,” Nan Mo said firmly.
“Accountant Gu, Chen Ruonan will take this unit,” Nan Mo declared, handing thirty-six yuan to Accountant Gu.
As the youngest in her family, Chen Ruonan now found herself the oldest among the four of them. After a few days together, she had grown fond of these three younger “siblings.”
Besides, helping out with chores was nothing—and protecting them was something she had planned to do anyway. Such small efforts could never justify covering her rent. Ah, well. From now on, their problems are my problems, she thought.
And so, the four westernmost units in the first row were taken by Hu Mingliang, Lu Yuanyuan, Nan Mo, and Chen Ruonan.
The accountant took out pen and paper, collecting payments and issuing receipts on the spot.
Tang Yifan, annoyed by the two women’s bickering and somewhat irritated by Nan Mo’s evasive attitude toward him, randomly pointed to a unit in the back row.
“I’ll take this one.”
Wu Mingyue and Lü Zhihui promptly chose the units on either side of Tang Yifan.
After the housing assignments were settled, Fang Jian told them to tidy up their rooms and gather in the front yard once they were done.
One by one, the group moved their luggage into their new homes, leaving those who hadn’t rented rooms standing awkwardly in the courtyard.
Seeing no one else wanted to rent, Accountant Gu left Fang Jian to handle the remaining matters while he took the money and departed.
Fang Jian and the remaining educated youths stared at each other blankly. He forced a dry laugh and said, “Well… let me take you to the front courtyard.”
The other educated youths followed Fang Jian to the front courtyard, leaving only Xu Mei stomping her feet in frustration.
Compared to the backyard houses, the communal sleeping platform in the front wing-room appeared completely unappealing.
This was precisely the strategy the Brigade Leader and accountant had devised together.
After looking around, Chen Hongxia and Peng Liang also expressed their desire to rent the backyard houses.
After all, those who managed to become educated youths in Xiangyang Brigade all had connections—their family circumstances were quite decent.
Only Xu Mei, Chen Jianming, and Jiang Haodong had gotten here purely by luck.
The two male educated youths carried their luggage into the men’s dormitory. Seeing that all the female educated youths who came with her had rented rooms, Xu Mei glared resentfully toward the backyard.
“Comrade Xu, take your time settling in. We’ll gather in the meeting room later,” Fang Jian said before quickly making his exit—Xu’s expression had grown truly unpleasant to behold.