With Song Ziyao’s brief pause, the three people behind her also caught up.
Panting heavily, Liao Hongmei complained: “Ziyao, didn’t you hear me calling you just now?!”
Song Ziyao came back to her senses, concealed her emotions, and turned to answer Liao Hongmei: “I didn’t hear you.”
Liao Hongmei curled her lips, unconvinced. However, she still remembered her intention to ingratiate herself with Song Ziyao, so she did not say anything more.
Lifting the heavy luggage into the trailer bed of the tractor was somewhat difficult for several Educated Youths.
After hesitating for a while, Zhou Shuguang was the first to act.
After all, he was a male comrade. No matter how thin and weak he was, his arm strength was still greater than that of the female comrades. Gritting his teeth and exerting himself, he actually managed to fling his luggage up.
The luggage landed in the trailer bed with a dull thud. Judging by the weight, it was probably books.
After that, Zhou Shuguang climbed up as well.
Wen Xue called out: “Zhou Shuguang, give me a hand.”
Without saying a word, Zhou Shuguang came over and helped Wen Xue.
Song Ziyao’s luggage was neither bulky nor particularly heavy. In truth, she could have lifted it up herself.
But after a thought crossed her mind, she came up with an idea!
“Um, Comrade…” Song Ziyao called out toward Tan Jinhe, who was seated at the front of the tractor. “Could you help me lift my luggage?”
Song Ziyao did her utmost to make her voice sound gentle and pleasant, while maintaining an expression that was somewhat expectant but not overly fervent.
After speaking, she was already considering how she should thank Tan Jinhe after he helped her and how she could say as many words to him as possible.
However, Tan Jinhe did not even turn his head.
Instead, only Production Brigade Leader Tan Jinshui strode over.
Song Ziyao: “……”
Tan Jinshui looked unwilling, but his movements were swift as he lifted Song Ziyao’s luggage into the trailer bed.
Afterward, he also helped Liao Hongmei with hers.
Lowering her eyes in disappointment, Song Ziyao thanked Tan Jinshui.
Tan Jinshui waved his hand and urged Tan Jinhe to hurry up and set off.
The tractor started with a puttering roar and headed toward Shengli Brigade.
After leaving the commune, the sandy dirt road gradually turned into a muddy road.
The muddy road was full of pits and bumps, jostling everyone in the vehicle until they felt thoroughly battered.
Song Ziyao knew that she could not make her feelings toward Tan Jinhe too obvious now.
She tried hard to restrain herself, only sneaking a glance toward the front every few minutes.
Even so, Tan Jinhe still noticed it.
That gaze was like a spark. Wherever it landed, it seemed to ignite.
His throat felt dry and itchy.
Tan Jinhe rolled his Adam’s apple with difficulty and lifted his undershirt to wipe the sweat from his face.
He wanted to increase the throttle and end this journey as quickly as possible, but the tractor failed to cooperate and instead stalled.
Tan Jinshui asked nervously: “What’s wrong? It broke down again??”
Tan Jinhe replied: “It’s probably the same old problem. I’ll fix it and it’ll be fine.”
The people in the back also took the opportunity to get off and stretch their sore, jostled backsides.
The moment she jumped down, Wen Xue crouched by the roadside and started vomiting.
Liao Hongmei quietly mocked her, saying: “So delicate.”
Who would have thought Wen Xue heard it? She immediately turned around and glared at Liao Hongmei.
“What did you say?!”
Seeing that Wen Xue had a fiery temper, Liao Hongmei did not dare argue back. She sheepishly shut her mouth and ran to the front to watch the tractor being repaired.
As Tan Jinhe crouched on the ground repairing the tractor, everyone except the vomiting Wen Xue gathered around to watch, giving Song Ziyao a perfectly legitimate opportunity to observe him openly.
Tan Jinhe, thirty years younger, was not much different in his brows, eyes, and facial contours from the version she had imagined countless times.
Open and broad-minded, yet with hidden sharpness beneath.
Only that sturdy body, packed with obvious strength and solid muscle, was somewhat beyond her expectations.
She remembered Tan Jinhe once saying that his family had been poor when he was young, and he had never eaten his fill. As a result, even during the most energetic years of youth, he had still felt listless every day and lacked the motivation to do anything.
Whenever Song Ziyao heard that, she would hold him heartbrokenly, comfort him, and kiss him.
But looking at Tan Jinhe now, swinging his arms as he cranked the engine…
He certainly did not look like someone who lacked energy.
Once the tractor started again, everyone climbed back aboard.
Just as Song Ziyao was preparing to turn around and return as well, she heard Tan Jinhe say in a low voice with a furrowed brow: “Don’t stare straight at men.”
Before she could react, Tan Jinhe’s tense, sharply defined jawline had already passed before her eyes.
Ah… he had noticed her…
After another ten or so minutes of travel, the tractor arrived at the Brigade Office of Shengli Brigade.
The so-called Brigade Office was merely a few earthen houses with a large dirt yard in front.
As soon as the tractor stopped, a young man jogged over to greet them.
Pointing at the young man, Tan Jinshui introduced him: “His name is Wang Yiguang. He’s your Educated Youth Team Leader.”
Wang Yiguang enthusiastically added: “Hello, comrades! On behalf of everyone, I’ve come to welcome you. Welcome to our Shengli Brigade Educated Youth family!”
Liao Hongmei immediately began asking questions one after another. “I’ve heard farm work is hard, but exactly how hard is it? Can you earn much? If you don’t work, do you really not get anything to eat?”
Wang Yiguang smiled and replied: “Once you get used to it, it doesn’t feel that hard anymore.”
Upon hearing Liao Hongmei’s words, Tan Jinshui had already darkened his expression. He interrupted in a deep voice: “Come over first and collect your grain advance. Then we’ll take you to your dormitory.”
The granary was located behind the Brigade Office buildings, next to a storage shed where farming tools were kept.
For the Educated Youths sent down during the earlier years, the state had provided subsidies.
Money subsidies and grain coupon subsidies.
Later on, those were discontinued.
Educated Youths became the same as commune members and had to rely entirely on work points to support themselves.
The newly arrived Educated Youths had not yet started earning work points, but they still needed to eat, so they could only borrow grain from the brigade first. At the end of the year, the accounts would be settled.
Each of the four newcomers was advanced ten jin of cornmeal and twenty jin of sweet potatoes.
Wen Xue, Liao Hongmei, and Zhou Shuguang all frowned.
It was all coarse grain, and the quantity was so small.
However, seeing the expression on the Production Brigade Leader’s face that clearly said: “Take it or leave it, this is all there is.” and seeing Wang Yiguang smiling as though this were perfectly normal, they ultimately did not voice any objections.
Among the four of them, only Song Ziyao, who appeared to be the most delicate and pampered, remained calm, without complaint or dissatisfaction.
That caused Tan Jinshui to glance at her a couple more times.
After the grain had been distributed, Tan Jinshui gave them some additional instructions. Then, together with Wang Yiguang, he led the group toward the dormitories.
Up ahead in the dirt yard, the tractor was still parked beneath a shed, but Tan Jinhe was nowhere to be seen.