The Tan family home was still quite far from the Educated Youth Dormitory, requiring a twenty-minute walk.
Along the way, Liu Qingping enthusiastically introduced the situation of the production team to Song Ziyao.
“Our team’s conditions are considered pretty good. Ever since the Production Brigade Leader’s father was in charge, our grain production has always ranked among the top in the entire commune. In good years, a work point could be worth as much as one yuan, and even in the worst years, it would still be worth seventy or eighty cents. People won’t go too hungry.”
“But having said that, not going hungry only means not going hungry. There’s enough corn buns, sweet potatoes, and potatoes to eat. Beyond that, there’s not much else. It definitely can’t compare to the city.”
Liu Qingping glanced at Song Ziyao. “At a glance, it’s obvious your family conditions are quite good. Life here may be rather difficult for you in the future. You should prepare yourself mentally.”
Song Ziyao nodded and said: “I prepared myself long ago.”
Tan Jinhe had told her many stories about the hardships of rural life.
Liu Qingping therefore said no more. Instead, she pointed at some of the houses they passed and continued her introductions.
“That household belongs to the accountant. Don’t underestimate him. He’s the third most important person in our brigade, below only the Senior Party Secretary and the Production Brigade Leader. As for his character… just make sure you don’t offend him.”
“The wife in that household is a tailor. No matter what we need made in the countryside, we buy cloth and go to a tailor. The labor fee is very low. Of course, people who know how to sew usually make things themselves.”
Rural craftsmen were permitted to charge fees for their work, such as tailors, masons, carpenters, and the like.
Liu Qingping was extremely enthusiastic, providing remarkably detailed explanations the entire way.
Following her words, Song Ziyao also observed the Tanjia Village of this era.
She had visited Tanjia Village before with Tan Jinhe.
However, at that time, every household in Tanjia Village lived in small villas that Tan Jinhe had helped build. The village roads had all been paved with smooth asphalt, and the village enterprises he had helped develop provided annual dividends of more than a hundred thousand yuan to every household.
It had been a well-off village featured in the local newspapers.
The current Shengli Brigade, however, consisted almost entirely of mud houses or stone houses. Only the accountant’s family, whom they had just passed, lived in a brick house with a tiled roof.
The village roads were muddy dirt paths. Occasionally, they encountered groups of playing children, each one yellow-faced and skinny, as though suffering from malnutrition.
Not to mention any modern facilities, even the most basic electricity had not yet been connected.
No matter how much better conditions were compared to other brigades, in the end, it only meant being able to eat a few more corn buns.
“Ah, we’re here.” Liu Qingping pointed toward a house not far ahead.
Tan Youliang was a carpenter. Compared to others, he had an additional source of income. His three sons were all excellent earners of work points, and his only daughter had married into a worker’s family in the county.
As a result, his family’s conditions could at least rank among the top five in the production team.
Although the family house was also made of mud walls, there were many rooms, and the roof was covered with tiles.
From a distance, Liu Qingping shouted loudly: “Uncle Youliang, are you home? We’d like to have some furniture made.”
First came a burst of barking. Then came the voice of a woman scolding the dog.
With a creak, the half-open courtyard gate swung fully open, and a woman holding a bowl looked at Liu Qingping with a smile.
“Oh, Educated Youth Liu. What kind of furniture are you looking to have my father make?”
After marrying Tan Jinhe, Song Ziyao had mostly interacted with her mother-in-law. During visits to his hometown, she had met his Second Elder Brother’s family and his elder sister’s family.
However, she had never met the eldest brother’s family, the one that had fallen out with them.
The unfamiliar woman before her should be the Eldest Sister-in-law whom Song Ziyao had never met.
Liu Qingping stepped aside and revealed Song Ziyao behind her. “The newly arrived Xiao Song wants some furniture made.”
Wang Guiying sized Song Ziyao up. Her gaze lingered several times on Song Ziyao’s watch and clothes before she warmly said: “My father’s eating right now. Come inside if you have something to discuss.”
The dog had been tied up, and Liu Qingping and Song Ziyao entered the courtyard of the Tan family.
Hearing the commotion, Tan Youliang had already come out. The others were still eating in the main room, but curious gazes were directed toward them.
There were too many people, so Song Ziyao did not dare look closely. She only cast a quick glance into the main room.
Tan Jinhe was eating with his head lowered, seemingly not sharing the curiosity of the others at all.
Tan Youliang appeared to be in his forties or fifties. He spoke little. After wiping his mouth, he directly asked Song Ziyao: “What furniture do you want made?”
Song Ziyao explained her requirements.
Her room was small and could not accommodate too much furniture. If she placed a table and chairs inside, there would be no room for a wardrobe. However, a larger storage chest could be made and placed beneath the bed platform.
Because the room was long and narrow, with a width only slightly greater than that of the bed itself, the table could not be too wide either.
After finishing, Song Ziyao thought for a moment and used a stick to sketch the rough appearance of a bedside cabinet on the ground.
“…Actually, it’s just a cabinet made up of several drawers combined together.”
With both explanations and drawings, Tan Youliang quickly understood and indicated that he could make it.
After finalizing the dimensions, the order was considered settled.
As for the price, both labor and material costs were inexpensive.
Normally, Song Ziyao would have needed to purchase the materials herself. However, Shengli Brigade had its own forest and produced timber, so she could simply buy the wood directly from the brigade.
Song Ziyao paid a two-yuan deposit first and asked: “About how long will it take to finish everything?”
Tan Youliang replied: “I already have work on hand at the moment… I’ll try to complete part of it for you before the corn harvest begins.”
Song Ziyao said: “All right. Then please prioritize the table and chairs. The chest and cabinet aren’t urgent.”
Tan Youliang nodded in agreement. Seeing that Song Ziyao still showed no intention of leaving, he asked: “Is there anything else?”
Song Ziyao did not want to leave so quickly, yet she truly could not think of anything else to say. She could only shake her head and reluctantly turn around to leave.
Before departing, she glanced once more at Tan Jinhe.
He was still eating with his head lowered.
Sigh, how could she possibly get a chance to speak with him?
Inside the house.
Wang Guiying clicked her tongue and sighed. “That newly arrived Educated Youth Song is not only pretty, she’s rich too. She came here and immediately ordered furniture! Hey, did you all see the watch she was wearing? It looked even more high-end than the one Educated Youth Wang wears!”
Yu Xiu let out a sneering laugh. “Eldest Sister-in-law, you’re quite knowledgeable. You can even tell which one is more expensive.”
Wang Guiying smiled and did not seem offended.
“I’m from the town after all. Wouldn’t I have at least that much discernment?”
Yu Xiu was most irritated by Wang Guiying constantly flaunting the fact that she was from town. She rolled her eyes dramatically and was just about to retort when her mother-in-law interrupted.
Zhou Kailian tapped her bowl twice with her chopsticks and sternly scolded: “Can’t eating keep your mouths occupied?”
Zhou Kailian was famously fierce throughout the production team. Both daughters-in-law were afraid of her, and upon hearing her words, they immediately fell silent.
The dining table became quiet for a time.
After a while, Tan Jinhe put down his chopsticks.
“I’m full. I’m heading out.”
Zhou Kailian called after him: “It’s already dark. Where are you going?”
Without turning his head, Tan Jinhe replied: “Going up the mountain for a look around.”
After saying that, he led the family’s big black dog out the door.
The family dog had been trained by Tan Jinhe into an excellent rabbit hunter. One man and one dog frequently went up the mountain after dark and returned around midnight, always bringing back some kind of catch.
Wang Guiying nodded with satisfaction when she heard this.
Her younger brother-in-law ate a lot, so he should contribute more to support the family.
Zhou Kailian, however, was still worried about her son and did not want him going into the mountains at night.
Just as Zhou Kailian was about to ask her obedient eldest grandson, Tan Xuebai, to bring Tan Jinhe back, she saw Tan Xuesong rapidly finish the cornmeal porridge in his bowl, wipe his mouth, and run outside.
“Fourth Uncle, wait for me, I’m going too!”
Neither Zhou Kailian nor Yu Xiu had time to stop him.
In the blink of an eye, he had disappeared.
Zhou Kailian cursed angrily: “Those two little brats never let anyone have peace of mind!”
After catching up with Tan Jinhe, the first thing Tan Xuesong said was: “Fourth Uncle, you lied!”
Tan Jinhe shot his nephew a sideways glance. “What did I lie about?”
Even in the darkness, Tan Jinhe could feel the intense accusation in Tan Xuesong’s gaze.
“You said the new educated youth wasn’t pretty, but that one just now was clearly as beautiful as a fairy!”
Tan Jinhe paused and said nothing.
Fortunately, Tan Xuesong did not think much of it. Instead, he sighed and said: “But although Educated Youth Song is beautiful, she looks very shy and timid. When she was standing in our courtyard, she didn’t even dare look around much. Even when she spoke, it was soft and gentle, like she was afraid of frightening people…
Tan Jinhe remained silent and released the big black dog.
The cool moonlight spread throughout the forest, driving away the daytime heat.
Yet when he thought of those eyes that had practically stuck to him, an inexplicable restlessness suddenly rose within him and refused to dissipate.
Timid?
Shy?
Tan Jinhe let out a soft chuckle.
After Song Ziyao returned with Liu Qingping, dinner at the Educated Youth Residence Compound had already been prepared.
That evening, the newly arrived educated youths still ate together with the senior educated youths. Starting tomorrow, they would cook separately.
A bland bowl of cornmeal porridge and a plate of salted pickled vegetables made up the entire dinner.
Song Ziyao mentioned that she and Wen Xue had already bought a cooking pot. Wang Yiguang smiled and said:
“Actually, if there weren’t so many groups divided up here, causing long waits for cooking, you wouldn’t have needed to waste money on that.”
“But you don’t need to worry too much about firewood and water. Everyone shares those. The male comrades are responsible for carrying water, and the female comrades are responsible for gathering firewood. You female comrades can just follow Comrade Qingping’s arrangements.”
The reason meals were prepared separately was mainly because countless conflicts had occurred in the past over who ate more and who ate less.
However, if everyone handled firewood collection and water carrying separately, it would require more effort than simply doing it together.
Song Ziyao nodded after hearing this.
She had been worried because she did not know how to carry water.
That night, lying on the hard bed and staring into the pitch-black darkness where she could not see her own hand in front of her face, Song Ziyao remained wide awake for a long time.
She had finally gotten her wish and met Tan Jinhe, but she had suffered a setback on the very first day.
Ever since childhood, people had praised her for being cute and beautiful, calling her a beauty in the making. Naturally, she was not unaware of her own attractiveness.
On the contrary, she clearly understood that at her current age, she possessed more than enough charm to attract the opposite sex.
Yet twenty-year-old Tan Jinhe had not even looked at her twice.
The first thing he had ever said to her was: “Don’t stare directly at a man like that”…
After feeling dejected for a while, Song Ziyao quickly cheered herself up again.
It didn’t matter. It was only the first day!
Since twenty-year-old Tan Jinhe had not fallen in love with her at first sight and pursued her proactively the way forty-year-old Tan Jinhe had, then she would take the initiative instead!