Honghe Village,
At Production Team Leader Liu Yong’s home.
“Production Team Leader, another batch of Educated Youth had arrived from above. This time, our village had been assigned five of them. The call just came in saying the Educated Youth arrived last night, and we should go to the county town early in the morning to pick them up.”
Liu Yong was eating breakfast. Upon hearing that more Educated Youth had arrived, his brows immediately furrowed.
“There’s already no space in the Educated Youth accommodations. Where are we supposed to place them?”
The visitor wiped the sweat from his forehead and said helplessly: “There’s nothing we can do. Fortunately, our production team only received five this time. I heard the villages below also received six or seven each.”
Liu Yong only complained verbally; he did not dare refuse them. Refusal would be equivalent to disobeying organizational orders.
He could only gather two young men from the village to go pick them up.
Looking at the people working in the fields, Liu Yong casually picked two sturdy ones.
“Guo Shun, Wei Ye, you two are strong. Come with me to the county town to pick up the Educated Youth.”
Every time Educated Youth arrived, they carried large bags. It was also unknown whether they were male or female, so bringing two strong men would make things easier.
Upon hearing this, Guo Shun frowned and wiped the sweat off his forehead. He muttered to Wei Ye beside him: “They’re just always causing trouble. I’m still busy earning work points.”
Wei Ye was a head taller than him, nearly 1.9 meters tall. His build was strong and well-proportioned, shoulders broad and legs long, exuding a strong masculine presence.
He wore a straw hat that covered the upper half of his nose bridge, revealing only a sharp chin with a layer of faint stubble, giving him a rugged look.
Wei Ye put down his work and said flatly: “Let’s go.”
Guo Shun opened his mouth but eventually followed helplessly.
The Production Team Leader in the village was not someone to offend. Refusing would be disrespectful and would surely bring trouble later.
Seeing them come over, Liu Yong instructed Guo Qing to prepare the ox cart, while he spoke to Wei Ye with a smile.
“Young Wei, it’s already been a month since you returned to our village. How are you adapting?”
Wei Ye lifted his straw hat slightly, revealing a straight nose bridge and a pair of cold, peach-blossom eyes.
“Pretty good. Thank you, Production Team Leader, for your care.”
Liu Yong smiled in satisfaction and patted his sturdy shoulder. “Good, good. Your army subsidy payment should be arriving soon. I heard from your father that it might be 1,000 yuan?”
Wei Ye did not even raise his eyelids. “It’s not that much.”
Liu Yong was already used to his attitude. Wei Ye had been adopted by the Old Wei family. It was said he was picked up and brought to Honghe Village when he was six, and he did not take the Wei family surname.
At sixteen, he was selected by the army and taken away. Every month, the Wei family received a 30 yuan subsidy.
Until last month, he returned due to injury. It was said he had injured his head, receiving seven or eight stitches. The doctor mentioned concussion and hearing impairment.
In any case, he could no longer serve in the army. However, the army still issued him subsidy payments. In this era, 1,000 yuan was a considerable amount.
Some families could not even earn that in ten years.
The villagers were extremely envious. Matchmakers had been visiting the Wei family every day for the past month.
Unfortunately, Wei Ye had always been stubborn and indifferent since childhood, and no one in the family could control him.
Old Wei’s wife was a distant relative of Liu Yong. Thinking of how her cousin had cried at his home yesterday, Liu Yong coughed lightly and said with the authority of a Production Team Leader:
“Wei Ye, your parents raised you with great difficulty. You cannot forget your roots. Your younger siblings still have not married.
This money is like timely rain. As the eldest brother, you should first find a girl and settle down. Your younger brother’s partner has long wanted to marry in, but they are still short of 100 yuan bride price. You brothers can each build a house. After marrying, you’ll have more space to live.”
Wei Ye curled his lips slightly. His dark eyes remained emotionless as he said calmly: “Production Team Leader, the subsidy is only six hundred. It is money issued by the organization for my medical treatment. I was injured while defending the country. If that money is privately taken by others, it is illegal. Even if one does not get shot, they would still have to serve years in prison.”
Liu Yong was startled and blurted out: “We’re all family. Is it really that serious? Are you unwilling to spend the money?”
“My army leaders told me so. If you don’t believe it, you can go and ask around.”
Wei Ye did not even look at him. He had nearly lost his life and had sacrificed his military-earned subsidy. Why should it be used to benefit those people?
He was not unaware that Old Man Wei had picked him up at the train station back then. After arriving at the Wei household, he had been beaten and scolded by the couple, and all dirty and exhausting work was thrown onto him.
If not for a passing kind-hearted military leader, he would have starved to death.
Later, after joining the army, he finally lived like a human being. His benefactors taught him to read and write, and only after adulthood did he begin formal training.
He had always believed he would remain in the army, but he was injured—especially the hearing impairment, which meant he could never return.
Wei Ye clenched his fists tightly. Even if the money were thrown into the river to feed fish, he would not give a single cent to that family.
If not for wanting to investigate the truth from back then and figure out his own identity, he would not have returned to this place he hated, nor lived with that disgusting family.
Liu Yong’s smile faded slightly as he saw that persuasion was useless. If it were not for the army occasionally checking on Wei Ye’s situation, he would not have spoken so politely.
To him, Wei Ye’s money was essentially the Wei family’s money. Old Wei’s wife was in charge of the household, and the cousin had also been obedient.
His son was engaged to an only daughter from the city, whose parents were formal workers. The bride price demanded was 500 yuan, and they were still 200 yuan short. Wei Ye’s subsidy was exactly timely assistance.
A trace of dissatisfaction flashed in Liu Yong’s eyes. Once the army stopped visiting after a few months, things in the village would be entirely under his control.
“Production Team Leader, the ox cart is ready.”
“Alright, let’s go. Wei Ye will drive the cart since he is not tired.”
……
By the time the Production Team Leader of Honghe Village led them to pick up the Educated Youth, it was already noon.
At the same time,
Su Qiu and four unfamiliar Educated Youth sat under a tree, having waited since morning until their buttocks were sore.
The place was hot and stifling. Beside her were two female Educated Youth, and opposite were two male Educated Youth. She could not even take food out from her spatial dimension easily.
“We’ve been waiting all morning. Why hasn’t anyone come to pick us up yet?”
The female Educated Youth with twin braids complained again.
The short-haired female Educated Youth patted her to comfort her. “Jiao Jiao, it’s probably because the village doesn’t have cars and uses ox carts or donkey carts. It takes time on the road. It’s already noon; they should be here soon.”
Geng Jiao had delicate features and a pretty appearance. She pouted and hugged her friend’s arm. “Xuefei, if you weren’t with me this time, I wouldn’t know what to do.”
The short-haired female Educated Youth, called Xuefei, looked about eighteen or nineteen years old. She had neat bangs, plain but fair features, and gave off a gentle and refined aura.
The two male Educated Youth opposite them took the opportunity to speak.
“Hello comrades. We should all be assigned to the same place. My name is Xu Xiangyang. I’m from Qing City.”
“My name is Liu Bin. I’m from Hai City.”
The two girls also introduced themselves.
“My name is Geng Jiao. I’m from South City.”
“My name is Wang Xuefei. I’m also from South City.”
Su Qiu saw that everyone had introduced themselves and followed along: “I am Su Qiu. I am from Jing City.”
Upon hearing this, the other four looked at her in surprise.
From Jing City?
Judging by her malnourished appearance, thin and looking like she was only fourteen or fifteen, she clearly seemed to come from a poor background. They had not expected her to be from the capital city.
Su Qiu seemed to understand what they were thinking, but she did not explain. They were not familiar with each other yet, and it was better to speak less—too many words could lead to mistakes.
With strangers, it was best not to reveal too much.