Chapter Twenty-Two: The Quarrel at the Educated Youth Compound

Village Chief Zhao’s expression changed immediately when he saw Han Li and his companions bringing gifts. He said, “I figured you three would be coming soon, but what’s the meaning of all this?”

Han Li replied, “Back where we’re from, it’s customary not to come empty-handed when asking someone for help. We’ll be troubling you with the house arrangements, so we brought a little something.”

“It’s just some brown sugar for the children, nothing that could be considered breaking the rules.”

Village Chief Zhao said, “This is all my duty. You should really take these things back.”

Han Li insisted, “Oh, don’t say that. If you don’t accept this, how can we bother you about the house?”

“Hongmin Hao, Xiuying Yang, you two take the gifts to Auntie, then come back to speak with Uncle Zhao.”

Seeing the two girls take the gifts to his wife, Village Chief Zhao said nothing further. After all, these days, no family was well-off, and everyone had a weakness for sweet things. Brown sugar was especially rare — usually, only women who had just given birth would receive a few pounds of sugar coupons, and even then, you might not be able to buy any because brown sugar was always the first item to go out of stock around here.

Han Li then explained their requirements and the size for their house to Village Chief Zhao, who lit his pipe and said, “I can get you enough bricks for the heated kang platform, but if you want a brick house, I can’t manage that many bricks.”

“But if you’re okay with a mud-brick house, that’s no problem. Most villagers make extra mud bricks during their free time to use for building their own homes. You cover the cost, I’ll talk to them, and there won’t be any issue with the bricks.”

Han Li said, “Uncle Zhao, a mud-brick house is fine for us. Honestly, we don’t know much about building materials. We’d appreciate your guidance — so long as it doesn’t leak in the summer rain or collapse under winter snow.”

Village Chief Zhao knocked his pipe and replied, “That’s absolutely no problem. Now, let’s discuss the courtyard wall…”

It turned out the size of the courtyard would affect whether he could grow vegetables, and it was only because of Aunt Liu’s connection that Village Chief Zhao was willing to discuss it with him. The treatment for educated youth sent down to the countryside was different from that of locals. Locals could have a small plot for growing vegetables, but the sent-down youth had no such allotment. If Han Li wanted to grow his own vegetables, he’d have to rely on the size of his courtyard.

Han Li gratefully accepted Village Chief Zhao’s goodwill, expressing his thanks profusely.

When the courtyard wall issue was settled, Village Chief Zhao helped estimate the cost of the house. Because they were new arrivals and had nowhere to eat, they chose not to have meals provided.

The conversation then turned to the cost of the house. Village Chief Zhao quickly calculated an estimate: Han Li’s house would cost about seventy yuan, and the girls’ house would be slightly bigger, about eighty yuan. The houses themselves wouldn’t cost so much, but the courtyard wall was expensive. Hao Hongmin and Yang Xiuying, lacking a sense of security, didn’t want the usual wooden picket fences. Those were cheap, but they didn’t block anyone’s view — anything done in the yard would be visible to all. More importantly, anyone could easily climb over a picket fence at night, and if something happened to the two young women, even if others arrived quickly, their reputations would be ruined.

Han Li didn’t want a picket fence either, but was hesitant to mention it, since most fences in the village were like that. Building a new house was already drawing enough attention; it would seem presumptuous to make a fuss about the wall. But now that the girls had brought it up, it was the perfect opportunity.

Han Li said, “Uncle Zhao, since the girls want a mud-brick wall for the courtyard, I’ll go along with them. Otherwise, the two of them would draw too much attention.”

Village Chief Zhao replied, “You boy… All right, have it your way. I’ll arrange for workers tonight, and you can start construction tomorrow.”

There was a hint of disapproval in Chief Zhao’s tone, thinking, “What’s a grown man afraid of?” But Hao Hongmin and Yang Xiuying looked at Han Li with gratitude — he had taken half the attention onto himself.

With that, the arrangements for their houses were settled, much like a modern turnkey project: they’d just move into the finished house.

After everything was agreed upon, Han Li and the girls handed over the money to Village Chief Zhao, then left his house together. Naturally, they weren’t invited to stay for a meal — no one had much to spare in those days.

Even though Captain Liang had promised them that as long as they worked hard, they’d never lack for food, a person couldn’t live on coarse grains alone. Everyone hoped to save up some fine grains for the New Year, and during the busy farming season, they ate even more. If a household didn’t manage carefully, life could become truly difficult.

Before they reached the Educated Youth Courtyard, they heard heated arguing inside. Outside, a crowd of villagers was gesturing and gossiping — clearly, there was something lively going on. Since life was so monotonous, everyone relished a bit of drama.

Even before squeezing into the courtyard, Han Li and his companions already understood the reason for the argument. The new arrivals didn’t have to work today, and one of the girls, surnamed Du, had wanted to help out with cooking but didn’t have access to the grain. So, she went to the backyard, picked a few cucumbers, and made a cold dish for everyone.

When the older sent-down youth returned, they were displeased. They accused the newcomers of being greedy, saying they’d helped with the cooking just to get at the vegetables in the backyard.

In truth, those older youth weren’t particularly industrious — they did as little as possible, even when it came to growing vegetables in the yard. There weren’t many vegetables planted this year, barely enough to last until the cabbages and radishes were ready. If there was a gap in the harvest, they’d be forced to dig for wild greens or eat salted vegetables to get by. Now, with the new arrivals, the vegetables obviously wouldn’t be enough for everyone.

“So, you newcomers helped with the cooking just to get to the veggies in the backyard, huh?” someone said. “Do you know how much effort it took to grow those? You can’t just take them without asking.”

The quarrel was still about the old and new sent-down youth, and Han Li instantly lost the desire to go inside. He stood at the doorway with the other women, watching the commotion.

Why only older women? Because all the young wives were busy cooking at home. Otherwise, when darkness fell, if the meal wasn’t ready, they’d need to light a lamp, and anyone still living with their in-laws would be scolded by their mother-in-law. Only those who had already become mothers-in-law themselves had the time to come out and watch the excitement. Oh, and there were plenty of children, too.

“We’re all comrades, sent down together to Shanghe Village. Can’t we stop arguing? It was just a few vegetables from the backyard, and they were for everyone. Aren’t you all going to eat them anyway?”