"That won't do either. Do what you can, but absolutely no evading labor!" The Brigade leader sternly refused again. "Alright, you may go back."
If this continued, he feared he might faint from anger.
"Su Lan," he called out loudly when he saw Song Xiu Jun preparing to leave with her basket, "Fill a basket with eggs for the young Educated Youth."
Lin Sulan swiftly filled the basket with eggs and warmly saw her out.
"Why did you accept things this time?" she asked curiously upon returning to the main room.
Yan Weiguo puffed on his cigarette and slowly replied: "Brown sugar is rare. Keep it for yourself and our daughter to drink occasionally. I've heard it's good for women."
"You've learned to take advantage too," Lin Sulan said cheerfully, touched by her husband's concern as she stored the brown sugar in the cupboard.
Yan Weiguo tapped his smoking pipe: "Arranging housing for her requires manpower, doesn't it?"
…
Song Xiu Jun didn't care what this couple was thinking. She simply carried her basket and walked away. Just as she turned the corner, someone suddenly jumped out from the darkness.
Startled, she threw a punch.
"It's me, it's me!" Yan Xiang'an quickly identified himself.
"Are you crazy!" She had been genuinely frightened.
"Don't be angry, Sister Xiu Jun. I just thought it unsafe for a young woman to walk alone at night, so I came to accompany you," Yan Xiang'an chuckled.
"Do you know how to hunt?" When Song Xiu Jun ignored him, he wasn't offended. "Want to go up the mountain together?"
"I know the routes. Should we cooperate?"
Song Xiu Jun didn't want to get too involved with him. Villagers with little entertainment often enjoyed gossip. While she liked listening to rumors, she didn't want to become the subject of them.
Not hearing a response, Yan Xiang'an guiltily trailed behind her, watching until she entered the Educated Youth Spot before leaving.
Upon entering the room, Wang Guifang immediately fixed her eyes on Song Xiu Jun's basket: "What's in the basket?"
They were all newcomers, so why did this Song always act so independently?
"Xiu Jun, it's better not to go out too much at night. It's unsafe," said the senior Educated Youth Song Yun, who naturally felt kindly toward Song Xiu Jun, probably because they shared the same surname.
"Thank you, Sister Yun. I went to the Brigade leader's house to exchange for some eggs."
She hadn't concealed her visit to the Brigade leader's house. To avoid wild speculation, it was safer to explain voluntarily.
"I'm injured, and fieldwork is tough. I'm afraid I can't keep up and might hold everyone back, so I specifically went to the Brigade leader's house to get some eggs to replenish my health."
"You should indeed be careful with head injuries. The autumn harvest is coming soon – it's a major event. The Brigade leader won't allow anyone to take leave. Everyone must work in the fields, so you really should build up your strength. Bring the eggs to the kitchen in the morning, you can steam them in the pot with the others."
Song Xiu Jun nodded. The Niu Dan family had delivered the boxes and wooden basin, which were stacked against the wall in front of her Kang space.
Zhang Ruolan had saved hot water for her to wash. Carrying the basin, she sat under the eaves to wash her face and feet. By the time she returned to the room, everyone else was already asleep.
She climbed onto her spot in the darkness. Moonlight flowed like water as the entire Xianghong Brigade gradually fell into slumber.
"Xiu Jun, time to get up," Zhang Ruolan shook her awake, then jumped down from the Kang and quickly changed clothes.
There were now six female Educated Youth. Duties had been reassigned yesterday – pairs would take turns cooking, while the male Educated Youth would fetch water and chop firewood.
Today was Song Xiu Jun and Zhang Ruolan's shift.
She yawned as she took an egg from the basket and went to the kitchen to start cooking porridge. The two worked in perfect sync, preparing coarse grain porridge for breakfast, accompanied by the suancai (Chinese sauerkraut) pickled by the old Educated Youth last winter.
After the meal, everyone went out together. Along the way, households were carrying farming tools as they headed out.
The field was crowded with team members. Seeing the new Educated Youth, the three small team leaders were rather displeased. The Educated Youth weren't particularly skilled at farm work, and with a few more laggards joining, no one wanted them in their own small team.
Brigade leader Yan Weiguo fairly distributed them, assigning one male and one female Educated Youth to each small team.
Song Xiu Jun was assigned to the third small team. The male Educated Youth in her team was named Zhao Shuwen, who surprisingly wore a white shirt on his first day in the field, with his hair slicked down as if licked by a cow.
This attracted pointed comments from several old women and aunties in the small team.
"Little Song Zhiqing, you'll work with me."
The third small team leader, Yan Gang, assigned Old woman Wang to guide her. Old woman Wang was very enthusiastic, pulling her along and showing her the day's tasks: "Today we need to weed this field. You can handle weeding, right?"
"Little Song Zhiqing, where are you from?"
"Little Song Zhiqing, is your hometown lively?"
"Little Song Zhiqing, what do your parents do?"
"Little Song Zhiqing…"
Old woman Wang was quite talkative. By noon when work ended, Song Xiu Jun felt she was starting to hallucinate, still hearing Old woman Wang's voice even after returning to the Educated Youth Spot.
Weeding wasn't particularly exhausting work, though it made her hands sore from pulling. It was probably assigned as lighter work to help the new Educated Youth adjust.
The original body's usual household chores were about as demanding as this. After a day's work, she earned five work points.
After the afternoon shift, the Brigade leader efficiently brought people to demarcate land for construction.
Hearing the commotion, all the Educated Youth came out to watch. When they learned it was to build a house for Song Xiu Jun, everyone was stunned.
"Why can Song Xiu Jun get a house built? We want single rooms too!" Wang Guifang angrily rushed out to question first.
The old Educated Youth remained silent. Having been here for some time, they understood the Brigade leader's character—at least superficially, he wouldn't do anything for personal gain or favoritism. They thought there must be some hidden reason, so when Wang Guifang questioned him, they all nervously watched the Brigade leader.
"You ask why? Because she paid for it. If you pay, you can build too!" the Brigade leader replied irritably.
Wang Guifang was dumbfounded: "Are you stupid? Using money to build a house!"
"None of your business," Song Xiu Jun rolled her eyes.
She walked over to the Brigade leader to listen as he introduced the demarcated land: "The house won't be big. I'll find more people to build it as quickly as possible."
The Brigade leader directly sourced mud bricks from the Production Team, allowing team members to earn some extra income. They started laying the foundation that same day.
Song Xiu Jun returned to the Educated Youth Spot to boil a pot of sugar water and brought it to the construction site.
The workers assigned to the task discovered the drink was sweet and felt this new Educated Youth knew how to handle things, improving their impression of Song Xiu Jun considerably.
The next day, Yan Xiang'an brought the Brigade leader's note to the commune's Brick and Tile Factory to buy bricks and tiles for Song Xiu Jun. Fortunately, the quantity needed wasn't large, otherwise they might not have been able to purchase them.
Song Xiu Jun visited the construction site daily, boiling another pot of sugar water for the team members. Some workers were reluctant to drink it themselves, saving the sugar water instead for their children to come to the site and drink.
The progress was faster than expected, probably because the house was small and simple. In less than two weeks, everything was completed. The courtyard wall was built two meters high, making it impossible to see inside from the outside.
While working, Wang Danniang asked with concern, "Little Song Zhiqing, you've built such a nice house. What will you do when you return to the city later?"
As soon as the bricks and tiles were delivered, Song Xiu Jun immediately became the top topic of gossip in the Xianghong Brigade.
Another person popped up beside them, her face beaming with a smile: "Why go back to the city? What's so bad about our Xianghong Brigade? Little Song Zhiqing, do you want me to introduce you to a match? Our village has plenty of good, single young men."
Wang Danniang pushed her aside: "Li, whether she finds a match or not has nothing to do with you."
"Damei, how do you know it has nothing to do with Gaiying? Her fourth son is still single," another person teased, winking at Wang Danniang.
Wang Danniang was called Wang Damei. The Wang family was the second-largest clan in the Xianghong Brigade after the Yan family, and most villagers were members of either the Yan or Wang families.
Li Gaiying, seeing that her little scheme had been exposed, didn't hesitate and said directly, "My fourth son is such a fine young man—strong and healthy, capable of earning ten work points. Few in the brigade can compare to him!"
"Little Song Zhiqing, if you start seeing my fourth son, I guarantee your life will get better and better. He's a hard worker and good-looking too—definitely a match for you."
She patted her chest confidently, but Song Xiu Jun noticed Wang Danniang giving her a meaningful look and knew there was exaggeration in those words.
"Thank you for your kindness, Old woman Li, but my standards are too high. I need to be picky—ordinary people just don't catch my eye," Song Xiu Jun said bluntly.