As soon as the train stopped, Shen Zhiyao saw crowds of people shouting:
“Those from Pantang Brigade, over here!”“From Mazhuang Commune, this way, Mazhuang!”“Victory Brigade, gather over here, Victory Brigade!”“Hongqi Brigade, Hongqi Brigade!!”
A middle-aged man wearing a blue jacket, gray pants, and a Qianjin cap was shouting at the top of his lungs. His voice was so loud that he even coughed twice, almost out of breath.
Shen Zhiyao quickly walked up to him, carrying her small suitcase, and smiled to greet him. But with her mask on, he couldn’t see her expression—only her eyes, which curved into a beautiful crescent shape.
Li Zhongjiang was momentarily taken aback. “Young lady, why are you wearing a mask? Are you sick?”
“No, Uncle, I have a cold and don’t want to spread it to anyone. I’ll be fine soon, and I’ll take it off after washing up at the village,” Shen Zhiyao replied.
Although she didn’t want to make friends, she was going to be here for two years until the college entrance exams, so it made sense to be a little sweet and leave a good impression.
Li Zhongjiang nodded, then raised his voice again: “Hongqi Brigade, hurry up and gather!” Shen Zhiyao stepped back a couple of paces—her ears hurt from the volume.
Eight young men and women, including Shen Zhiyao, stood in front of him. “Alright, let’s start roll call. When I call your name, respond with ‘here.’ Got it?”
“Yes…” they mumbled weakly. None of them had experienced this before.
“You city kids don’t want to come down here? Our village wouldn’t want useless sent-down youth like you anyway. You can’t work well, and you still want everyone’s rations! Today you fight, tomorrow you accuse someone of stealing, working in the fields all day, and when you finally get some rest at night, you’re called in to settle disputes—you make my head ache every day!” Li Zhongjiang silently rolled his eyes at the thought.
“Alright, welcome everyone to support rural development. My name is Li Zhongjiang, village chief of Hongqi Brigade—you can call me Uncle Li. Roll call starts: Liu Shuyan!”
“Here!”
“Zhang Xin!” “Here!”
“Li Tingting!” “Here!”
“Lin Yesheng!” “Here!”
“Cao Yi!” “Here!”
“Shen Zhiyao!” “Here!” Li Zhongjiang glanced at her as he called her name.
“Niu Xiaohua!” she spoke up quickly, “Uncle, I changed my name, I’m Niu Jiajia now…”
“Niu Jiajia? The name on my list is Niu Xiaohua. What’s your real name? Are you Niu Xiaohua?”
“Yes, that’s me.”
“Then answer ‘here!’”
“Fan Yugang!” “Here!”
“Wang Haiming!” “Here!”
Li Zhongjiang looked over everyone and silently nodded. Thankfully, only three were girls.
After roll call, he led them to the ox cart. Niu Xiaohua glanced at it and asked nervously, “Uncle, it’s so small—how can we fit?”
“What are you thinking? Our village only has one ox; it’s worth more than a person. You want to ride in its cart? Put your luggage on it and walk!”
“Ah…”
“What ‘ah’? This is all the village has. If you don’t like walking, see that supply store up front? There’s a bicycle that hasn’t sold in a year—buy it if you can afford it and ride back!”
The group reluctantly placed their luggage on the ox cart. The old ox swished its tail and began walking slowly.
After half an hour with no village road in sight, Shen Zhiyao trotted to Li Zhongjiang and quietly slipped a box of cigarettes into his pocket. Li Zhongjiang looked down, thinking, This girl knows how to handle people!
“What’s up, Shen Zhiqing? Anything you need?”
“No, Uncle Li. I just wanted to ask—if we want to buy things, is there any transportation besides the ox cart?”
Li Zhongjiang was relieved—it was just a question, not some impossible demand. Otherwise, the cigarette box might have been returned.
“Nope. The village is poor; we can’t afford tractors. If someone wants to buy something, they walk. Villagers rarely need anything, and trips are usually made by you sent-down youth. For daily necessities, go to the supply store. For rarer items, take a half-hour ride to the commune to reach the town.”
Shen Zhiyao nodded, chatting casually. Over the next half hour, she managed to learn almost everything: how many people were in the village, the personalities of the other sent-down youth, even details about Li Zhongjiang’s family. For a few cents spent on cigarettes, she had extracted priceless information. In Li Zhongjiang’s view, just giving her the cigarette box in exchange for useful information seemed like a bargain. He made a mental note to look after her more carefully.
Soon they reached the village. Shen Zhiyao looked around—it was just like in her dreams: poor, backward, and desolate.
They arrived at the sent-down youth quarters. The veteran youth were already at work. Li Zhongjiang instructed: “The row in front is the boys’ dorms, the back row is for girls. A few separate rooms were built by previous youth who married and had families; those rooms belong to the brigade. Anyone who wants to live separately, come see me—three yuan a month.”
Before anyone could react, Shen Zhiyao strode forward, didn’t wait for him to speak, and pressed six yuan and fifty cents into his hand. Her eyes curved into a smile as she said, “Uncle Li, I’ll rent for two months. Please arrange for two people to clean while I recover—I’ve been sick and just traveled a long way on the train, so I’m exhausted.”
Li Zhongjiang smiled and nodded. Then he asked, “One room left. Who wants it?”
Zhang Xin, Wang Haiming, and Fan Yugang all raised their hands. Li Zhongjiang said grumpily, “Three rooms total. One of the youth leaving recently freed up a room, so only one is left. Decide among yourselves; if you can’t agree, no one gets it.”
Niu Xiaohua muttered, “Then why can Shen Zhiyao get a room? I want one too—I have money.”
“First come, first served. You weren’t fast enough. If you want it now, tough luck—you’ll have to negotiate among the three guys. Understand?” He nodded toward the three boys.
“Niu Xiaohua, why are you so uncooperative? Everyone stays in the collective dorm, and you insist on a private room? Are you playing capitalist lady?”
Niu Xiaohua reluctantly stopped arguing. She had wanted the private room, but seeing Shen Zhiyao’s decisiveness, she could only hold her tongue—Shen Zhiyao’s mouth really was powerful.
In the end, the three boys agreed that Wang Haiming would take the room, but the other two would use his stove to cook. Wang Haiming accepted the arrangement.