After dinner, Xiang Wenshan took her younger sister and Cao Yu for a stroll around the brigade. They even traded for a washbasin and a straw mat.
Once they finished, the three headed back to the educated youth dormitory.
Before they even reached it, they saw the brigade leader walking toward them with someone else.
They quickened their pace.
When they got closer, Xiang Wenshan called out, “Brigade Leader.”
The brigade leader introduced the man beside him—the person in charge of measuring land for the brigade, who also worked as a mason.
Xiang Wenshan nodded politely. “Brigade Leader, give us a moment. We’ll put our things inside first, then go together.”
The brigade leader nodded.
The two sisters moved quickly, dropped their things off, and came right back out. Cao Yu, having nothing to do, followed along out of curiosity—she wanted to see how houses were built.
The mason got straight to the point. “What kind of house do you want to build? And where?”
Xiang Wenshan repeated what she had discussed earlier with the brigade leader. “Near the educated youth dormitory. About ten meters away will do.”
Too close would be inconvenient—say something here and it’d be heard over there.
Too far wouldn’t feel safe.
The mason glanced at the brigade leader, who gave a small nod.
“Alright, let’s go measure the land.”
After the measurements were done, there wasn’t much left for them to handle. The rest would be arranged by the brigade leader and the professionals.
Once the mason left, the brigade leader said, “Work can start tomorrow. I’ll find twelve men. No meals provided—just wages.”
Around here, whenever someone built a house, other brigade members would lend a hand, usually in exchange for a lunch.
“Mm, alright.” Xiang Wenshan took five ten-yuan bills from her pocket and handed them over. “Brigade Leader, please handle it. If it’s not enough, I’ll add more. If there’s extra, consider it tea money for you.”
The brigade leader accepted it without ceremony. This young comrade knew how to handle things.
After calculating materials and labor, there’d probably still be two or three yuan left over.
Xiang Wenhui noticed him sizing up her sister and quickly added, “Thank you, Brigade Leader. We’ll leave the house matters in your hands.”
He nodded and left, privately acknowledging that the two sisters clearly weren’t short on money.
No educated youth had ever built a house in the brigade before. Everyone was shocked.
The whole brigade buzzed with gossip.
“Those two pretty educated youth sisters are building a house here.
They’re not leaving?
Planning to stay long-term?”
“Who knows? The first batch of educated youths have been here two years already and haven’t gone back.
Who knows when they’ll return.
But city folks sure have money—just build a house whenever they feel like it.”
“That’s right. Whoever marries those two will live in comfort.”
Yu Zhaodi let out a dismissive snort. “What are you thinking? City girls would marry into our countryside?
Besides, those two sisters aren’t exactly prizes either.
The taller one always has a cold face, like everyone owes her something. And she’s sickly—just arrived and already fell ill. Who knows if she has some serious disease?
The shorter one is thin and tiny. Does she even have two ounces of strength? What kind of work can she do? Looks like a pampered treasure at home—so delicate.
And her hips are so small—definitely not good for childbearing.
If you’re marrying a wife, you marry one with wide hips. Easier to have kids.”
Crude words, but not without logic. Around here, families looked for wives who could work and bear children. Marry someone lazy, and you’d regret it so badly you’d sit on the ground crying.
“Yu Zhaodi, your Old Fifth is already over twenty, isn’t he? Why haven’t you arranged a wife for him?”
Her expression darkened. “Over twenty? He just turned twenty, alright?
And what do you mean I haven’t arranged one? He’s the one who doesn’t want to marry.”
At first, she hadn’t wanted him to marry so early anyway—marriage meant spending money.
Better to delay that expense if possible. There had even been a girl before who didn’t ask for a bride price, but when she mentioned it to him, he refused.
Said arranging marriages like that was illegal. Something about freedom of marriage.
“What? Who doesn’t want to marry these days?”
“You know what her Old Fifth is like now. Completely unreliable.
Maybe he really doesn’t want to marry.
Besides, he’s so lazy now he won’t even show up for work. What girl would want to marry a loafer like that?
He’s destined to be a bachelor.”
“True. Zhaodi, you’d better talk some sense into him. At this rate, he’ll be single for life.
He used to be such a hardworking young man. How did drinking a few mouthfuls of river water turn him into this?” There was even a trace of regret in her voice.
Yu Zhaodi felt bitter beyond words.
He used to be so good—worked hard every day, earned ten work points daily, chopped firewood, handled all kinds of chores.
Now?
A pure lazybones.
She cursed him behind his back, scolded him to his face, tried both soft and hard tactics—he just ignored her.
Sometimes he’d even say things that made her furious.
Claiming he’d worked like an ox and horse for the family all these years and deserved a rest.
He was only one person, ate so little—if the grain wasn’t enough, it wasn’t his fault.
He even said his younger brother and sister didn’t work either. But how could he compare to her precious babies?
The nonsense that brat spewed—wasn’t he trying to rebel?
Sometimes she truly suspected something unclean had possessed him.
Otherwise, how could he say such unfilial things? He even declared that from now on, he’d only earn enough work points for his own rations. Whoever’s grain it was, they could earn it themselves.
If the kids couldn’t earn it, their father could handle it. As for him—whoever gave birth to them could raise them.
She’d grab a broom to chase him, but he ran faster than a rabbit.
With a forced smile, she said, “If any of you know a suitable girl, introduce her. Help connect her with Old Fifth…”
She could only hope.
“…Once he gets himself a wife and learns to care about a family, maybe his thoughts will finally settle down.”
“Alright, since you’ve said it, I’ll keep an eye out for Old Fifth when the time comes.
We really can’t let him stay a bachelor his whole life!
We aunties and elder women have to put in some effort from our side too.”