Liao Hongmei saw that Song Ziyao still refused to acknowledge her, but she did not mind.
She knew Song Ziyao’s temperament very well. She was soft-hearted and easy to manipulate.
It was only that she had acted too hastily in the previous incident and had gone a little too far. It was perfectly normal for Song Ziyao to be angry.
Even a clay figurine had a bit of temper.
Once enough time had passed and she coaxed her properly, she would surely be able to win her back. Song Ziyao was generous with her money and possessions. Being friends with her came with many benefits.
With such wishful calculations in mind, Liao Hongmei deliberately checked the registration form to see where Song Ziyao had been assigned.
To her surprise, it was the same commune as hers!
Liao Hongmei became even happier.
Song Ziyao came from a well-off family. She would definitely provide her with plenty of support! When the time came, as long as she sweet-talked her a little, a share of Song Ziyao’s belongings would certainly end up in her hands!
There were eleven Educated Youths assigned to Dongxing Commune.
These eleven people would be distributed among three production brigades.
Which brigade each person ended up in would be decided by drawing lots.
Song Ziyao remembered Tan Jinhe mentioning that although his village had been poor in the past, it had still been one of the highest grain-producing villages in the entire commune, so there had never been cases of people starving to death.
In fact, because of its high grain production, it had even accepted quite a number of Educated Youths.
Song Ziyao looked at the names of the three production brigades and quietly asked the commune official responsible for the assignments: “May I ask which production brigade Tanjia Village belongs to?”
The commune official looked at her in surprise.
“How do you know about Tanjia Village? Do you have relatives there?”
That was not a lie she could easily tell. It could be exposed in an instant.
So Song Ziyao shook her head and said: “Not really. My grandfather once fought guerrilla battles in this area. I heard he was stationed in Tanjia Village before, so I wanted to go to the place where he once fought.”
Old Master Luo had indeed fought battles in this region. Whether he had actually been stationed there was another matter. But even if he had not, he must have passed through every village at some point.
As soon as the commune official heard her words, his expression immediately changed.
“Oh my, so you’re a descendant of a Veteran Revolutionary!”
Then the commune official waved his hand decisively.
“Alright, you’ll go to Shengli Brigade!”
At this time, Tanjia Village was called Shengli Brigade, and it happened to be among the brigades receiving Educated Youths that day.
Besides Song Ziyao, two female comrades and one male comrade were assigned to Shengli Brigade.
The male comrade was called Zhou Shuguang. He wore glasses, had a thin build, looked refined and scholarly, and was very quiet and reserved.
Coincidentally, both female comrades were familiar faces.
One was the young woman who had sat beside Song Ziyao on the train, named Wen Xue. Just like her name suggested, her skin was as white as snow.
The other was Liao Hongmei.
Although Song Ziyao felt disgusted upon seeing Liao Hongmei, she merely reminded herself to be more cautious around her in the future and did not dwell on it emotionally.
As a shout of “Those assigned to Shengli Brigade, gather over here!” rang out, the group finally found their designated team.
“I’m your Production Brigade Leader, Tan Jinshui. Come with me.”
Tan Jinshui was a man in his thirties. He was of average height, and his skin had the reddish-black complexion that came from years of working in the fields.
More than half the people in Tanjia Village bore the surname Tan, and there were many from the Jin generation as well. In the past, Song Ziyao had met quite a few of them while accompanying Tan Jinhe. However, she had never heard of Tan Jinshui.
When Tan Jinshui saw the newly arrived Educated Youths, his already furrowed brows immediately tightened further.
Their brigade had accepted around a dozen Educated Youths over the years, the highest number among all the brigades. He had thought it must surely stop there.
Yet now, out of nowhere, four more had arrived!
Although Educated Youths could read and had an education, they could not handle farm work without at least two or three years of training.
And that was assuming they were hardworking and willing.
Those who were naturally lazy became burdens year after year and ended up owing the brigade huge debts!
More importantly, once the number of Educated Youths increased, they became difficult to manage.
In those brigades that only had one or two Educated Youths, the newcomers were too busy trying to curry favor with the local villagers to cause any trouble.
But when there were many of them, they learned to stick together. No matter what disagreements existed internally, they always presented a united front against outsiders.
As a result, slacking off, cutting corners, and petty theft naturally followed…
Tan Jinshui once again surveyed the group with a worried expression.
Three delicate young women, and even the young man looked as weak as a little chick.
Four burdens had been dumped on him all at once!
“Let’s go!” Tan Jinshui sighed deeply to himself, took the lead, and began walking ahead with his head lowered.
Song Ziyao did not have much luggage, so she was still able to keep up with the pace.
The others, however, were weighed down with piles of belongings and stumbled along awkwardly.
“Ziyao, Ziyao, help me!”
It was Liao Hongmei calling from behind. Song Ziyao pretended not to hear her and quickened her pace.
The commune’s main road was a dirt road.
At that moment, a tractor was parked by the roadside.
It was the transportation Shengli Brigade had sent to pick them up.
Tan Jinshui shouted toward the person standing beside the tractor: “Jinhe, get ready to go!”
Song Ziyao’s body stiffened, and she slowly raised her eyes toward the front.
She had never expected that their first meeting would come so suddenly and without warning.
Tan Jinhe was leaning lazily against the tractor, his long legs crossed. A half-smoked cigarette hung casually from his lips.
He wore a somewhat worn white sleeveless undershirt. The sturdy arms exposed beneath it, like his face, glistened with sweat under the scorching sun.
He was completely different from the mature, refined Tan Jinhe she had known later in life, the one who always seemed to carry a faint smile before he even spoke.
At nineteen years old, his features were far more youthful, and his temperament carried a trace of untamed wildness and unruliness.
Tan Jinhe casually turned his head, and his gaze happened to meet Song Ziyao’s.
The young woman dressed in a white top and black trousers wore two braided pigtails. Her eyes were as clear as water.
And then…
She simply stared at him blankly.
The darkness in Tan Jinhe’s eyes suddenly deepened. Unconsciously, he removed the cigarette, which had nearly burned to its end, from his mouth and turned his head away.
Unable to control herself, Song Ziyao took two steps forward.
She wanted to rush over and throw herself fiercely into Tan Jinhe’s embrace.
But she stopped herself immediately.
He did not know her.
The short distance of only a few meters between them was an enormous chasm.
“…These new arrivals don’t look capable at all. Especially that girl with the two braids. One look and you can tell she’s never done any farm work. Looks like she doesn’t know how to do anything!” Tan Jinshui complained to Tan Jinhe.
Yet Tan Jinhe appeared as though he had heard him and had not heard him at the same time.
He knew that the pretty new female Educated Youth was still staring directly at him.
The cigarette butt in his hand trembled violently.
The burning tip scorched his fingertip.