The female educated youths were already seething with anger.
Even the brigade leader, Gu Changjun, still had to ask Qi Ziyue, the person involved, for her opinion.
No one expected that with such a good arrangement offered to her, Qi Ziyue would actually refuse.
She smiled lightly and said, “Brigade Leader, we are educated youths. I’d like to stay in the educated youth dormitory.”
As soon as those words came out, quite a few people thought she was crazy.
From the moment Qi Ziyue arrived, she had never intended to live with local villagers.
In this era, food and clothing were scarce. Grain, cloth, and all kinds of industrial goods were extremely precious. Everyone was barely getting by—so why should you live better than others?
But Qi Ziyue had too many supplies in her space—food, clothes, everything. None of it could be taken out in front of others. So finding a place to stay was urgent.
And if she planned to build her own house later, how could she do it while staying in someone else’s home?
She already had her plans, so she refused decisively. Naturally, this earned her several more hostile looks.
Qi Ziyue didn’t care at all. Since it didn’t affect her interests, she simply smiled at anyone who looked at her.
Her calm and composed attitude made even Brigade Leader Gu Changjun glance at her a few more times.
After a moment, he said, “Alright. Since you’ve all made your decision, you’ll go to the educated youth dormitory.”
“There are already 12 people living there. With your 10 added, that makes over 20. It’ll be crowded, so bear with it for now. After spring plowing, we’ll see if we can build another house for you.”
The dorm leader thanked him on behalf of everyone.
Then Gu Changjun pointed at the new arrivals and said, “Huo Huaijun, take them to the dorm and help them settle in. Get familiar with the environment. Tomorrow you rest, and the day after, you start working and earning work points.”
“Got it, Brigade Leader,” Huo Huaijun replied with a friendly smile.
Gu Changjun waved them off.
But when he looked at Qi Ziyue and Qi Ning’an, he hesitated for a moment, as if wanting to say something—then decided against it and let them leave with the others.
After they left, the brigade leader picked up his loudspeaker and began scolding the villagers, basically complaining that when it came to earning work points they were faster than anyone, but when it came to taking in educated youths, everyone avoided responsibility.
The villagers clearly respected him, but they also retorted that these educated youths looked weak and useless, only good for eating and not for working.
The brigade leader got so angry he finally shouted, “Dismissed!”
The crowd burst into laughter as they dispersed.
Qi Ziyue couldn’t help but laugh too.
In an era where everyone was anxious and cautious about every word they said, this kind of lively atmosphere was rare.
At least this place, according to the original story, seemed capable of protecting them through this turbulent period.
Because of her appearance, Qi Ziyue naturally drew attention wherever she went.
Some female educated youths, intimidated by He Zhaoyue’s presence, didn’t dare approach her.
But several male educated youths from Beijing came from well-off or powerful families and didn’t care about her at all.
A young man named Song Ruoyan slowly shuffled over and asked curiously, “Hey, what are you laughing at?”
He was a typical “compound kid”—a privileged, outspoken type who had seen plenty of beautiful girls in Beijing. But the moment he saw Qi Ziyue, he was stunned.
He had never expected to see someone so striking in a rural place—beautiful, but also bright and lively, with a rare sense of openness and vitality.
Qi Ziyue glanced at him and tilted her chin toward the direction of the brigade office.
“Didn’t you hear what they were saying?”
“What?” Song Ruoyan asked.
Qi Ziyue repeated in a drawn-out tone, imitating the brigade leader:
“‘These educated youths can’t lift or carry anything, besides looking fair and delicate, they’re completely useless—we don’t want them.’”
The surrounding dorm leader couldn’t help but laugh.
Huo Huaijun stopped walking and said, “Comrade Qi, life in the countryside isn’t easy. It’s normal for villagers to dislike educated youths. This place requires manual labor and work points.”
Qi Ziyue nodded. “Right. So we’re just useless people.”
Huo Huaijun rubbed his forehead. Could you at least not say it so bluntly?
Song Ruoyan looked offended. “Us? Useless?”
Qi Ziyue: “Otherwise what? Can you carry manure? Lift hundreds of pounds of grain? Hunt wild boars?”
Song Ruoyan froze. “You… how do you even know all this? Are you really an educated youth?”
Qi Ning’an instinctively stepped forward to shield his mother.
Qi Ziyue rolled her eyes slightly.
She patted the boy’s shoulder and said, “Didn’t you do any research before coming down here?”
“What research? It’s not like going back to the city is hard for us,” Song Ruoyan blurted out.
Before he could finish, a cold voice interrupted him.
“Ruoyan, come back.”
It was Shen Jiatian.
Song Ruoyan immediately ran back obediently—but not before gesturing proudly toward Qi Ziyue as if to say he could hunt wild boars.
He was promptly kicked by Shen Jiatian the moment he returned, clearly being told to shut up.
This only confirmed everyone’s suspicion.
Qi Ziyue had casually exposed their background in seconds.
Song Ruoyan was stunned. “How did she figure that out…?”
He went into silent shock.
Qi Ziyue, meanwhile, walked along holding Qi Ning’an’s hand, casually explaining life in the countryside as they went.
After several turns along muddy paths and a riverbank, they finally arrived at the educated youth dormitory on the west side of the village.
The dormitory sat beside a river lined with reeds, and behind it was a mountain range. Beyond that lay deeper forest areas where wild boars and black bears occasionally roamed.
When they arrived, snow was already covering everything. The building looked like a white box from a distance, with smoke rising faintly from the kitchen.
Huo Huaijun explained the layout:
“There are four rooms in total. Two large rooms are dormitories—separate for men and women. Two smaller rooms for storage and kitchen. There’s also a simple toilet outside, and a place for washing.”
A female educated youth immediately asked, “We share one toilet with men?”
Huo Huaijun shook his head. “The washing room was built after we arrived. The toilet is separate.”
Only then did everyone relax.
Even Qi Ziyue secretly let out a breath of relief.
But the dormitory itself was still overcrowded.
The women’s dorm was a long communal bed with thin bedding already occupying much of it.
Each person had a small cabinet.
Five new female educated youths could only choose between the middle or the entrance positions.
He Zhaoyue complained loudly the entire time, horrified at the conditions.
Qi Ziyue chose a spot near the entrance, giving herself distance from the others.
From her perspective, the conditions were poor—but that was expected in this era.
At least there were beds.
She began organizing her bedding while Qi Ning’an helped her spread the sheets.
But she soon fell into thought.
The wooden bed was hard, and with snow outside, it would likely be freezing at night.
She did have better bedding in her space—but she couldn’t take it out.
Just then, a female voice called from outside.
“I’m the dorm leader. I cooked extra tonight—everyone can eat together before work assignments start tomorrow.”
A young woman introduced herself: Bai Luoyun, the dorm leader.
Finally, someone reliable.
Before Qi Ziyue could ask about bedding, He Zhaoyue spoke first, complaining loudly about the wooden bed.
Bai Luoyun calmly replied that they should buy their own bedding, and use straw from the backyard for padding.
Qi Ziyue reacted immediately and pulled Qi Ning’an toward the back.
Sure enough, several male educated youths were already picking through straw.
Song Ruoyan tried to approach her, but was kicked away again by the cold-faced young man beside him.
Before leaving, Song Ruoyan even reminded her, “I picked out three good bundles for you over there.”
Qi Ziyue followed his gesture and indeed saw better straw placed aside.
She thanked him and took it.
On her way back, she passed He Zhaoyue and the others, who had clearly only gotten inferior straw.
Her judgment proved correct again.
Back at the dorm, Bai Luoyun soon came to call them for dinner.
Before leaving, Qi Ziyue quietly gave Qi Ning’an two White Rabbit candies and signaled him toward Bai Luoyun.
The child obediently ran over and offered them.
Bai Luoyun was surprised. “Whose child is this? He’s so well-behaved.”
Qi Ziyue smiled. “Mine.”
She then asked politely, “Sister Bai, do you know where we can buy quilts? Ours are too thin.”
Bai Luoyun thought for a moment and replied, “There’s a supply shop in the village east. They sell quilts, but they’re all quite thin—you should prepare for that.”
Because Qi Ziyue had reacted quickly earlier and addressed her as “Sister Bai” instead of “Comrade Bai,” Bai Luoyun warmed up to her and shared more information.
Some people were simply more pleasant to help.
Qi Ziyue thanked her.
At that moment, He Zhaoyue and the others rushed off quickly—clearly determined to buy quilts first.