But truly, none were as bold as these few individuals.
And this year, the four educated youths who arrived later—Bai Xianxian’s group—were also one woman and three men. It was said they were all children from the same factory and had grown up together since childhood.
These rumors had long spread throughout the entire production brigade, and many were waiting to see them make a fool of themselves.
Just thinking about it made Village Chief Niu’s face darken.
But as long as they didn’t cross the line or get caught in the act, he could only offer indirect warnings.
As for whether they listened, even as the village chief, he couldn’t guarantee it.
So every day, he carried a bit of worry in his heart and assigned tasks to keep these few separated.
Unfortunately, after work, they still gathered together, which was truly a headache.
Bai Xianxian and her three followers naturally understood the village chief’s warnings.
However, they didn’t know about what had happened in the village last year and simply thought the village chief had a grudge against them.
Thus, their rebelliousness grew even stronger.
It didn’t matter if their work areas were separate—they still gathered after work and could leave together before starting their tasks.
During breaks, they could still go to town together to buy supplies.
To outsiders, it seemed their bond had only grown stronger.
After Su Mi’s careful analysis, Wang Yajuan was once again tempted.
Especially when she remembered the day it was her and Li Meixian’s turn to cook, and they went to the educated youths’ private plot to pick vegetables.
When the other educated youths returned for meals, they made sarcastic remarks about picking too many vegetables, saying things like, “You don’t know the hardships of fieldwork, only how to take advantage of others.”
“I’ll go to the village chief tomorrow and ask if we can build our own house. Do you two want to join? Forty yuan per person is quite a good deal.”
When she registered, the subsidy money given by the authorities was all with her. Apart from necessary expenses, she still had quite a bit left, more than enough to cover the cost of building a house.
“If we can build one, of course I’d be happy to. Let’s give it a try tomorrow.”
Wang Yajuan calculated the money she had left and said with anticipation.
“No need to wait until tomorrow. It’s already getting dark—let’s go now.”
Li Meixian was impatient. She knew there was a thief in the educated youths’ courtyard, but with so many people, it was unclear exactly who it was. They could only suspect each other.
She didn’t have much money left either, and with fieldwork every day, she feared someone might break in and steal her money one day.
If that happened, she might cry herself to death.
The three of them wasted no time. Su Mi was happy to see them go, giving each a handful of roasted peanuts before they left.
She quickly tidied up the remaining peanuts.
As night fell, she closed and locked the courtyard gate, returned to her room, and entered the Dimensional Space to take a bath.
Since she wanted to develop the village’s livestock industry,
Su Mi naturally went to find the books she had previously collected on how to scientifically raise poultry.
Including books on postpartum care for sows.
She hadn’t paid much attention before, but after searching, she found quite a few.
Common poultry mainly includes chickens, ducks, geese, pigeons, quails, turkeys, guinea fowls, pheasants, partridges, Muscovy ducks, mallards, ostriches, and emus—thirteen types in total.
As for livestock, there are cattle, sheep, horses, donkeys, and of course many more, such as deer, camels, and others, which I won’t list here.
Su Mi only chose common poultry like chickens, ducks, geese, rabbits, pigs, rabbits, and quail.
As for cattle, donkeys, and goats, the entire Niujia Village had only two oxen, one female donkey, and two goats in total.
The goats were privately owned by families, you could say they were heirlooms. The families couldn’t bear to sell them anyway. If they gave birth to kids, they’d just raise them. Once they grew up, any extras would be sold or eaten—nothing would go to waste.
The donkey was left behind by the former landlord. The landlord had long since fled with their family, and they probably couldn’t return even if they wanted to.
As for the land, houses, and furniture left by the landlord, they were naturally confiscated and made public property. Other small, less valuable items were divided among the villagers.
The donkey was one of them. Back then, it was just a young donkey, but now it was a strong laborer, pulling the millstone in the grinding shed every day to earn its keep.
Both oxen were water buffaloes. They took turns plowing the fields and pulling carts to town for shopping.
The ones taking care of the oxen were several people who had been sent down to live in the ox shed, which was located right in the center of the village.
Who could blame them? Oxen were the most valuable. If they were kept in a remote spot, what if they got bitten by wild boars? Or eaten by wolves coming down from the mountains? The loss would be even greater.
So the oxen were well taken care of, but it was tough on the people who had been sent down. They were truly under everyone’s watchful eyes all the time, though normally, the villagers wouldn’t go out of their way to interact with them.
Su Mi learned all this from the village chief’s daughter-in-law, Sun Xiaocao.
Early the next morning, Su Mi didn’t cook breakfast. Instead, she ate the steamed buns she had stored in her Dimensional Space beforehand.
They were still piping hot when she took them out, almost burning her mouth.
After a quick meal, she took the animal husbandry books she had organized the day before and went to work.
Along the way, she ran into villagers heading out to work.
She greeted those she knew, and for those she didn’t, she exchanged simple pleasantries like “Yes!” “Alright!” or “Auntie, heading to the fields too?” before arriving at the clinic.
At this time, Village Chief Niu was at the threshing ground, assigning tasks to everyone.
Su Mi placed the books on the table, wiped the dust everywhere with a cloth, and arranged medical record books, pens, and a blood pressure monitor on the table.
There was also a stethoscope and a box containing thermometers.
Plus a bottle each of iodine and alcohol for disinfection.
With the preparations done, she waited for patients to come.
The term “barefoot doctor” came about because most doctors assigned to villages during this time were half-medical, half-agricultural. Besides treating villagers, they also had to work in the fields to earn work points and support themselves.
That’s how the term “barefoot doctor” originated.
Village Chief Niu naturally knew that, in principle, he should assign field work to Su Mi as well.
But Su Mi was young, a female comrade, and her own conditions were decent enough that she could support herself even without working in the fields.
So Village Chief Niu didn’t assign her any additional field work.
He just let her focus on her main job of treating people.
During the early morning work hours, Su Mi’s clinic was quite idle.
Out of boredom, she picked up the poultry-raising book she had placed on the table earlier.
“What are you up to, Comrade Su? Getting used to your first day at work?”
The speaker was Wang Mantun, the work-point recorder. Don’t think he had it easy—he was busiest when others were finishing work. Even when people were happily eating after finishing their tasks, he had to run all over Niujia Village’s fields and plots to record everyone’s work points.
Most people were still illiterate, and many would argue with him, making the job truly demanding and strenuous, requiring a sharp tongue.
The average person couldn’t handle it, because this line of work not only demanded fairness, strictness, and leading by example, but also forbade personal emotions—otherwise, it would be a desecration of his duty.