Swaying, swaying—each jolt felt like it was about to snap Li Luoyu’s waist in half. Her stomach churned nonstop. This was pure torture.
The old men’s faces were pale. With no other option, Li Luoyu quietly swapped in diluted spiritual spring water for them, hoping to ease their discomfort a little.
The old green train rattled along at around 50 kilometers per hour for three days and three nights. Finally, on the morning of the fourth day, the loudspeaker crackled with static:
“Ding-dong~ Next stop — Songyang County. Passengers heading to Hongqi Commune, Qianjin Commune, Chaoyang Commune, Songhua River Commune, Tuanjie Commune… please prepare to disembark in advance!”
The moment Li Luoyu heard “Hongqi Commune,” she sprang up from the hard seat.
“Finally, we’re here! If it took a few more hours, I’d have been twisted into a pretzel. Old man, aren’t you excited? We’re getting off!”
Grandpa Li pushed himself up, holding his aching lower back, and flicked her on the forehead.
“Excited my ass! We’re being sent down, not going on vacation. The hard days are just starting—what’s there to be excited about?”
“Heh, old man, we finally don’t have to sit on this bone-shaking train anymore. Why the long face?” Li Luoyu took out a water flask and some snacks, passing them around. “Come on, have a bite and drink some water to hold you over. Who knows when the next proper meal will be.”
Old Yang accepted the flask. “The girl’s right. Let’s all have a little something first.”
Over the past few days, what they ate was either bought on the train by Li Luoyu or taken from her bundle—steamed buns she’d secretly pulled out of her space.
They weren’t exactly full, but they weren’t starving either. Plus, with the help of the diluted spiritual spring water, the elderly men all looked to be in fairly good condition.
“SCREEECH—WOO—”
The train suddenly lurched as it slowed down, the wheels grinding harshly against the tracks. A conductor came by to announce:
“Songyang County has arrived! Passengers getting off, please exit through the right-side doors!”
The two Red Armband officers had been unusually quiet throughout the journey and hadn’t made trouble for Li Luoyu. At the conductor’s call, they woke groggily, rubbing their eyes—but still remembered their duty.
“No rush. Just follow me,” one of them said with a yawn.
The elderly men nodded.
Li Luoyu, carrying her bundle, asked, “For people like us who’ve been sent down—do we go straight to the village? Or do we need to report somewhere first? What’s the process after this? Could you tell me?”
The Red Armband man, still a bit foggy, snapped more awake when he met her clear, steady gaze. He coughed awkwardly, recalling that this group was anything but ordinary—definitely not people he could mess with. He pulled out a yellowed notebook and answered honestly:
“First, go to the commune office to receive your assignment papers. Then the production team will send an ox cart to take you to the village. As for the ‘Cut Tail Committee’… it’s recently been changed to a centralized study session. The schedule’s not fixed yet. There’ll be a meeting at 8 a.m. tomorrow at the brigade office—mainly to read documents and make declarations of loyalty.”
The other Red Armband, leaning by the window, added vaguely, “You’ll be staying in the cowshed. There’s straw inside—barely enough to sleep on.”
Li Luoyu nodded. “Thanks, I understand.”
With a heavy clunk, the train finally came to a complete stop. The moment the doors opened, a wave of hot air mixed with fresh outside air rushed in.
As expected—July weather. Hot everywhere.
Still, July wasn’t so bad. There were still a few months before winter. Plenty of time for her to prepare supplies for the elderly men to get through the cold season.
Li Luoyu slung her bundle over her shoulder, linked arms with Grandpa Li, and slowly shuffled forward with the crowd, all while keeping an eye on the others.
As soon as they exited the station, they heard a man in a straw hat shouting through a tin megaphone not far away:
“Hongqi Commune! Hongqi Commune! Those heading to Hongqi Commune, gather here!”
“Coming!”
A thin young girl with two braided pigtails squeezed through the crowd, carrying an enormous luggage pack on her back and two suitcases in her hands, moving quickly despite the weight.
Grandpa Li was stunned. “Since when are little girls this strong?”
Li Luoyu replied seriously, “Women hold up half the sky.”
But as her gaze swept over, she caught sight of the girl secretly shaking her reddened palms after setting down the luggage. A faint smile tugged at her lips.
Only then did Grandpa Li seem to realize something belatedly.
“Wait… do we even have any luggage?”
Li Luoyu kept a straight face. “Don’t worry about things you shouldn’t. It’ll make you age faster.”
(It’s all in her space anyway—she just needs to find the right moment to take it out.)
Grandpa Li huffed and slapped her hand away. “Scram.”
So there are also sent-down youths.
There were about thirty educated youths assigned to Hongqi Commune, evenly split between men and women. Their chatter buzzed with curiosity and unease—but the moment their eyes swept over Li Luoyu’s group of six, the noise abruptly died down.
“I heard… those are the ones who’ve been sent down…”
The youths instinctively stepped back, their faces full of disdain. Some of the girls even covered their noses with handkerchiefs, as if the group carried some invisible stench. The crowd quickly parted, drawing a clear line between the two sides.
Five weathered faces stood out sharply among the young, lively group.
Except for Li Luoyu.
Someone muttered in confusion, “Why is that pretty girl over there with them…?”
Li Luoyu looked up at the sky, speechless. Then suddenly, she spotted a familiar figure diagonally across from her—the male educated youth who had insulted them on the train but later apologized with a flushed face. He gave her an apologetic smile.
Li Luoyu gave a slight nod in return.
The two Red Armbands came over. “You all come with me—get on that tractor.”
A tractor?
A boxy engine pulling a large open trailer behind it.
Li Luoyu looked around curiously. She had only seen this thing in illustrations from miscellaneous books. It was said that tractors marked the beginning of agricultural mechanization—the “iron ox” leading farmers toward a new life.
But the one in front of her looked more like an old, wheezing beast of burden.
“Stop staring and get on!” the Red Armband urged.
Li Luoyu helped the elderly men climb into the trailer. They squeezed into a corner at the front, sitting or standing, gripping the rails tightly.
Some of the educated youths who were about to board glanced inside, saw the six of them, and immediately bristled with anger.
“Those sent-down people are all scum—why should ‘stinking old ninths’ ride the tractor with us educated youths? We don’t want to sit with them!”
Li Luoyu: “?”
Are they… picking a fight with me?
Well, this is new.