Among the several male comrades, one young man stood out especially.
This should be the male lead from the novel. His appearance was indeed quite impressive.
After everyone loaded their luggage onto the ox cart, they followed behind on foot.
“Move a little faster,” Captain Xu instructed. “It’s already noon. We need to reach the production brigade before dark. The mountain roads are difficult to travel at night.”
“I’m the captain of Qingshan Village. My surname is Xu. You can all call me Captain Xu.”
After placing her luggage on the ox cart along with the others, Li Lezhi followed behind Captain Xu.
About half an hour later, the group entered a muddy dirt road.
Everyone was already panting from exhaustion, and the first person unable to endure any longer was Shen Ruoruo.
Li Lezhi, on the other hand, could still manage. Thanks to her spiritual spring water, she had no shortage of stamina.
“How much farther is it? Can’t we ride on the ox cart for a while and rest?” Shen Ruoruo complained irritably.
“The entire brigade only has this one ox cart. The farming work still depends on it. You city kids are really delicate. How can you compare to rural children? With attitudes like yours, how are you supposed to support the production brigade?” Captain Xu said with a frown.
His words left everyone feeling embarrassed, and they could only continue trudging forward.
After another hour of walking, nearly all the female comrades had fallen behind. Even the male comrades were barely holding on. Zhou Junling’s legs were already trembling.
“How much longer until we arrive?” Shen Ruoruo asked weakly.
“Let’s all rest under the shade over there for a bit. It’s only a little over an hour more before we reach the village,” Captain Xu called out before leading everyone toward a nearby tree.
The moment she reached the shade, Li Lezhi no longer cared about the dust covering the ground. She sat down directly and gulped down water.
At this point, everyone looked completely miserable, and nobody had the energy to worry about appearances.
“Looking at you all, how are you going to earn work points? Qingshan Village believes in more work, more reward. If you end up hungry, don’t come borrowing grain from the brigade,” Captain Xu remarked with a sigh as he looked at them.
At that moment, Li Lezhi silently thanked her luck for obtaining the Female Lead’s spiritual spring space opportunity ahead of time.
Otherwise, even if she had transmigrated here, she would probably have become another stepping stone for the Female Lead.
She understood how difficult life was for people in the 1970s, and now she truly appreciated the sacrifices made by previous generations.
After all, in only five more years, the era of Reform and Opening Up would arrive.
The entire nation would begin developing at an incredible pace.
In that sense, she considered herself fortunate.
If she had transmigrated to the chaotic 1930s, with both internal and external crises looming everywhere, she doubted she would have had the confidence to survive.
After resting briefly, everyone set off once more.
This time, Shen Yueyue proactively moved to the front and enthusiastically encouraged the group, acting as though she were strong and indomitable.
Zhou Junling glanced at her, surprise flashing through his eyes.
If Shen Ruoruo were not so exhausted, she would have gladly devoured her alive. Her entire body trembled with anger.
Shen Yueyue paid her no attention.
Instead, her eyes filled with flirtatious charm as she shyly looked back at Zhou Junling. Tender affection seemed ready to overflow from her gaze.
Seeing this, Li Lezhi could not help shivering.
Then she continued walking with the group, completely ignoring the silent exchange of glances between the pair.
By the time evening approached, they finally arrived at the Sent-down Youth residence.
Coincidentally, the village’s existing Sent-down Youth had just returned from work.
Every one of them was sallow and thin, their expressions indifferent as they passed by Li Lezhi and the others.
Only one young man nodded toward them before walking away.
“The young man at the back just now is the person in charge of your Sent-down Youth residence,” Captain Xu explained. “From now on, he’ll handle all your affairs.”
After telling them to collect their luggage, he turned around and drove the ox cart away.
Left with no other choice, Li Lezhi and the others picked up their belongings and followed the older Sent-down Youth.
They entered a small courtyard enclosed by mud walls.
Inside were three rooms. One was used for storing firewood and cooking during the winter.
The older Sent-down Youth were sitting there resting.
There were six of them in total, three men and three women.
“We only just got some space after a few people left. How are we supposed to fit four more female comrades into the women’s room?” complained a dark-skinned girl with a sharp expression and two braided pigtails.
“Oh, come on, Ruan Zhaodi, stop complaining,” someone said.
“Our men’s quarters are getting four newcomers too.”
“How can that be the same? Your room is already larger than ours,” Ruan Zhaodi retorted.
At that moment, the person in charge of the residence spoke with a smile.
“My name is Zhao Guoqiang. I’m responsible for the Sent-down Youth residence and have been in the Qingshan Brigade for six years. Go put your luggage away first. The room on the left is the women’s dormitory. Any empty space is available.”
Following his instructions, Li Lezhi and the other three girls carried their luggage into the women’s room.
As soon as they entered, they saw a large heated kang bed.
Three spots already contained personal belongings, obviously belonging to the older female Sent-down Youth.
Li Lezhi immediately noticed an empty spot closest to the wall.
Without hesitation, she tossed her luggage there.
When she turned around, she found Shen Yueyue standing behind her with a resentful expression.
Li Lezhi ignored her completely, returned to her spot, and began cleaning and arranging her belongings.
She had never wanted to stay at the Sent-down Youth residence in the first place.
Having so many people sleeping in the same room was torture for her.
Then she noticed that the sleeping spot beside Shen Yueyue belonged to Shen Ruoruo.
A smile instantly appeared on her face.
She was curious whether Shen Yueyue could tolerate sleeping next to her stepsister.
If the Female Lead made the first move to live separately, Li Lezhi would gladly follow. That way, she would not stand out too much herself.
In her opinion, Shen Yueyue would almost certainly choose to live alone.
After all, she was the one who had stolen the family’s money. She probably wasn’t lacking funds.
Half an hour later, everyone had finished unpacking and gathered outside.
Once everyone had arrived, Zhao Guoqiang began speaking.
“Today is your first day here. Tomorrow you can take a day off and go into town to buy daily necessities. After that, you’ll begin working.”
“For meals, everyone contributes their own grain ration and cooks together. Eat however much you contribute.”
“Today’s meal is a welcome feast from us older comrades, so you don’t need to provide grain.”
“Tomorrow, you can go to the village committee and collect thirty jin of coarse grain. The amount will later be deducted from your work points.”
Then he turned toward the older Sent-down Youth.
“Let’s all introduce ourselves so everyone can get acquainted. I’ll start. My name is Zhao Guoqiang.”
The remaining two male Sent-down Youth were Han Jun and Lin An.
The female Sent-down Youth were Bai Yuxia and Jiang Xiaohong.
The girl who had spoken first was Ruan Zhaodi.
Judging by her name alone, it was obvious she came from a family that favored sons over daughters.
The new Sent-down Youth who had arrived together with Zhou Junling was named Liu Jianguo.
Including the newcomers, there were now fourteen people in the entire Sent-down Youth residence.
After the introductions ended, Zhao Guoqiang invited everyone to eat.
On the table were vegetables, cornbread buns, and several coarse grain dishes.
The moment he announced the meal, the older Sent-down Youth immediately began wolfing down the food, clearly accustomed to eating this way.
Li Lezhi and the others also picked up bowls and chopsticks.
Although the food was nowhere near as varied or delicious as what she had enjoyed on Blue Star, she knew this was not the time to be picky.
After only two bites, Shen Ruoruo put down her chopsticks and quietly muttered that the food tasted terrible.
Unfortunately for her, the dishes had already been completely cleaned out.
Only a few empty plates remained.
The older Sent-down Youth had long since devoured everything.
To avoid standing out too much as a newcomer, Li Lezhi picked up a sweet potato and began eating it.
Ruan Zhaodi watched the new arrivals leisurely and thought to herself: Let’s see how long you city people can keep acting proud.
Then she lowered her head and continued eating the food in her bowl.