The assignment of rural locations wasn't arbitrary. The Educated Youth Office would investigate the conditions of each Production Team, so they had some understanding of which teams were prosperous and which were impoverished.
Song Xiu Jun had chosen the Xianghong Brigade under Zhengyang Commune in Qing County, located in the northern Hei Province.
The investigation results showed this brigade's leadership had only a 15% probability of making things difficult for educated youths, while the likelihood of educated youths getting along harmoniously with villagers after arriving was 65%. Both these metrics were better than the other two brigades under consideration.
However, only 10% of Xianghong Brigade members could eat their fill, while 90% suffered from hunger.
If such a brigade were to experience another natural disaster, it would likely struggle to survive.
The memories of those three years remained far too vivid.
But she wasn't afraid of going hungry. Her space was packed with supplies, enough to last her a lifetime. However, some items weren't appropriate for this era and couldn't be openly brought out.
Song Xiu Jun replied firmly: "I'm certain about choosing this brigade. We educated youths are going to the countryside to be re-educated by the poor and lower-middle peasants. I hope to use my limited knowledge to help the villagers. The Chairman said the countryside is a vast world where much can be accomplished."
The woman looked at her with utter disbelief. Normally, this information wasn't supposed to be disclosed, and educated youths generally weren't allowed to choose their own rural locations. She'd only made an exception because this was the child of an acquaintance.
But this child was clearly stubborn and wouldn't listen to advice—no wonder her mother said she was born contrary.
Thankfully she wasn't her own child, though this thought had to remain unspoken. The woman said with mixed feelings: "Alright then, sign here. I'll give you your train ticket and subsidy."
The subsidy was only 30 yuan, not very much.
Although Song Xiu Jun had ample supplies and gold bars worth hundreds of millions, she had no money from this era. After all, she hadn't anticipated her miscalculated arrival.
There were many things to prepare for going to the countryside—enamel basins, lunch boxes, padded clothes, quilts… These couldn't be bought with just 30 yuan, and they required ration coupons too.
After leaving the Educated Youth Office, she hesitated for a long time. Perhaps… she should check out the black market?
After locating Shanghai's black market, she first found a deserted corner to apply makeup, then took out some white flour and rice from her space.
The black market was hidden in a remote alley. She searched for a long time according to the map but couldn't find it.
Finally, after observing the alley for a while, she identified the lookout and was led to the black market entrance. The door appeared quite ordinary, but upon opening it and entering the building, she discovered an entirely different world inside.
The buildings in this area had been connected, concealing a small market. Sellers didn't hawk their wares, and buyers inquired about prices in hushed tones.
The exit wasn't where she had entered either.
There was another layer of security inside: "Buying or selling? Selling costs three cents."
Not wanting to set up a stall, Song Xiu Jun directly opened her cloth bag: "Fine grains, interested? Also have oil."
The man looked down for a closer inspection: "How much do you have?"
"Five hundred jin each. But you'll need to provide containers for the oil," Song Xiu Jun planned to make just one transaction for startup funds for going to the countryside. Coming to the black market was both difficult and unsafe.
The man nodded and led her into an office to meet with the person in charge.
After some final haggling, they settled on prices with coupons: white flour at 30 cents per jin, rice at 22 cents per jin, and cooking oil at 1 yuan per jin. These were more expensive than at the Supply and Marketing Cooperative, but the black market's retail prices would certainly be even higher, especially since the flour and rice she provided were of the highest quality.
"Preferably give me nationally valid coupons, any type will do," Song Xiu Jun said through a voice changer, emitting the sound of a sixty-year-old woman.
They agreed to meet for the transaction in the small woods west of the city, an area deserted after dark. This location was selected through map screening as most suitable for such activities.
Carrying several oil buckets, she sneaked away and found a secluded corner to store them in her space before heading directly to the western part of the city.
After scouting the area, Song Xiu Jun deliberately arrived early at the meeting spot in the evening.
She took out the rice, flour, and cooking oil from her space. The cooking oil was from the future, so she had to pour it bucket by bucket into the containers obtained from the black market.
The black market dealers arrived pushing a handcart. To avoid drawing attention, only four people came. They moved with practiced stealth—footsteps completely silent, the cart's wheels making only faint rolling sounds.
Exchanging a glance with the man in charge from earlier, she watched as he tossed over a cloth bundle. Counting the money by moonlight, she stepped aside to let them proceed.
The four worked efficiently, weighing and loading the provisions without uttering a word throughout. Only after finishing did the man whisper, "Comrade, if you have more goods in the future, you can contact us again."
Song Xiu Jun nodded and quickly left the grove.
One of the men accompanying the leader leaned in and asked, "Brother, should we follow her?"
The leader gave him a dismissive glance and signaled to leave. "Anyone who can supply this much isn't ordinary. We're in business—we operate on trust."
The four departed in the opposite direction.
After leaving, Song Xiu Jun went straight to the Jiang residence. With Jiang Ai Dang and her sibling hospitalized and Li Qiu Ying attending to them, only Jiang Jian Guo was likely home. Yesterday's report wouldn't yield immediate results, as the factory director and Public Security would need to investigate rather than taking one side at face value.
Returning late at night would be hard to explain, so she simply climbed through the window into her room. Fortunately, the Jiangs lived on the second floor, making it easy to scale. She'd deliberately left the window unlocked earlier—after all, this era had no thieves.
With her departure to the countryside in just four days, she still needed to purchase supplies. She headed directly to the department store.
The black market had provided plenty of coupons: national grain coupons, sugar coupons, soap coupons, cloth coupons, and even tobacco and alcohol coupons she didn't need.
She bought everything. The tobacco and alcohol could be used for gifts after settling in the countryside—local connections mattered more than distant officials. Since she planned to retire in Xianghong Brigade and stay there for life, building good relations with the Production Team leadership was crucial.
After each purchase, she'd find a secluded spot to store the items in her space. Several trips later, she finally acquired all necessary goods.
For lunch, she went to a nearby State-run restaurant.
The living standards in Shanghai had always been relatively high, and the State-run restaurant was packed, forcing her to share a table.
She ordered two meat dishes and a bowl of rice. Her tablemates were two young women who appeared around Song Xiu Jun's age, dressed fashionably in bulaji dresses and leather shoes, with plump faces glowing with health.
"A Min, have you found a job yet?" one of the girls asked.
The girl being questioned shook her head with a pained expression: "My dad said I should obediently go to the countryside. He said if no one from our family goes, he'll lose face completely."
"You know what? My neighbor came back to visit a few days ago and was so thin you could hardly recognize them."
Song Xiu Jun kept her head down eating, but her ears perked up. Hearing this, she couldn't help interjecting: "Are you looking to buy a job?"
The two girls across from her widened their eyes in unison: "Comrade, keep your voice down!" In this era of cautious words and deeds, although jobs could be bought and sold, no one would discuss it openly for fear of being caught with evidence.
The job-seeking girl stood up and sat in the empty seat beside her, familiarly linking arms with her: "Sister, do you have any leads? If you could share some information…" Then she made a money-counting gesture, leaving everything unspoken.
"I'm preparing to go to the countryside. My father left me a job."
The girl's eyes instantly lit up: "Sister, if you have time after the meal, let's talk in detail."