Chapter Forty-Five: Hidden Motives

“After the autumn harvest, your work points will first be used to pay back the grain you advanced. Whatever work points remain will determine how much grain you can receive. If you then feel the grain isn’t enough to last you through the coming year, only at that time can you use money to buy a little more from the village. But remember, you only get one chance like this a year—the brigade won’t keep this option open for you all the time.”

As Sun Yong listened to Captain Liang’s speech, he finally understood what the village chief had meant earlier.

He had been sent down for over three years now, and he knew all too well the consequences of not having enough to eat during the autumn harvest.

If you couldn’t fill your stomach, you wouldn’t have the strength to work. Without strength, you wouldn’t earn work points, and without work points, you’d spend the whole next year pinching and scraping to get by.

It was a vicious cycle, one almost no one could escape.

During the harvest, the villagers were treated little better than beasts of burden—village chief, brigade leader, team leader, all of them seemed eager to drive the people on with whips if they could.

Thinking of this, Sun Yong shivered slightly all over. His partner, Jiang Xiaoli, was in no better state.

Be a model of learning from advanced comrades, cultivate a spirit of dedication, do more good deeds? First, you had to survive yourself—if you couldn’t, all the slogans in the world were pointless.

In any case, self-sacrifice for the benefit of others was not something Sun Yong would do. The two youth team leaders exchanged a glance, then let their eyes fall to the ants crawling on the ground.

These guesses, of course, they dared not voice. If they ruined things for the village, it would be disastrous.

Village cadres of this era wielded great power, and a word from them could determine the fate of your file.

They quietly calculated how much grain they had left, whether it would see them through the harvest. Maybe they could advance some grain from the village, but if not, they’d have to hurry to the county seat to buy some.

Best to get some fatty pork too—when doing heavy labor, only meat could really restore your strength.

Most of the newly arrived educated youth had yet to realize all this and were still delighted at the grain they’d received.

Only a few, on hearing the quantity, frowned deeply—they clearly knew what lay ahead.

After Sun Yong and the others led the new arrivals to the branch office, someone from the youth courtyard came to fetch them.

Han Li carried his lunchbox with one hand, inside was cornmeal reprocessed for a second time. In the other hand, he held a few cucumbers he’d bartered from Aunt Zhang. On his way out, he ran into Hao Hongmin and another girl.

Noticing that they all carried much the same food, they exchanged a smile and entered the youth courtyard together.

By now, this group of educated youth had grown used to the current workload; gone were the days of utter exhaustion.

After work, each had energy left for something they enjoyed—reading, chess, lounging about...

Hao Hongmin and her companion went to help the girls cook dinner, while Han Li took from his satchel the Little Red Book and leafed through it carefully.

The meal was nothing more than steamed corn buns, corn grits porridge, seasonal wild greens picked by the new arrivals, and vegetables grown in the back garden by the older youth.

For seasonings, there was only salt and garlic—oil was a rare sight—but a warm, filling meal was guaranteed.

As dusk began to fall, Sun Yong returned with the latest batch of new arrivals. Everyone helped them store their grain.

Though puzzled at how little grain they’d brought, no one said a word—since they were here now, the meal was quickly set out.

Sun Yong glanced at Han Li—last time, it was he who had overturned the welcome feast, and Sun Yong hoped there wouldn’t be any troublemakers this time.

“The village chief was rushing us just now, so there wasn’t time for introductions,” he said. “From now on, we’ll be working together. Let’s all introduce ourselves, then we can eat.”

From the moment they entered, the twin sisters kept sneaking glances at Han Li—though the other two girls did the same, just less boldly.

Han Li stood out among the group—not only was he the tallest, he was also the most handsome.

Most of the others had tanned from fieldwork, and some of the less self-conscious boys were as dark as Judge Bao himself.

Only Han Li still looked as he had before; sun and toil had left no trace on him.

His martial arts and reading had given him a bearing none of the others shared. When he stood there, it was impossible not to notice.

As soon as Sun Yong finished speaking, the twin sisters sprang forward to introduce themselves.

“We’re sisters from the Capital. I’m the elder—my name is Yun Jingjing, and this is my sister, Yun Yingying.”

“Sis, you’ve said everything! Actually, we’re not twins, we’re triplets—there’s an older brother above us. Please take care of us in the future.”

Their cheerful tone and distinct Beijing accent caught Han Li’s attention—he hadn’t expected to meet fellow townsfolk here.

“I’m He Mi from Datong in Shanxi. Please look after me.”

This was a girl with a striking figure, even more so than Hao Hongmin. But her face and demeanor were ice-cold, as if everyone owed her money.

“I’m Qi Zhaodi from Chengdu in Sichuan. Please take care of me.”

This girl spoke softly, head bowed, looking delicate and timid.

Her clothes were plain—obviously not favored at home.

“I’m from...”

“I’m...”

“I...”

Han Li only remembered one name among the boys: a Zhang San. His eyes darted constantly, surreptitiously observing everyone. Clearly, he was a schemer, and such people were never peaceful.

Han Li’s attitude was to steer clear of him—to avoid future trouble.

Once the introductions were done, it was time to eat. But with so many people, each had to take their lunchbox or bowl and find a spot—some squatting on the ground, others sitting on the steps.

Han Li carried his meal and two corn buns, intending to eat alone, when Yun Jingjing called him over.

“Comrade Han, since we’re all from the Capital, we’ll need to work together in the days to come.”

Han Li replied, “All educated youth are one family. Helping each other is only right.”

Yun Yingying added, “Comrade Han, we heard a bit about the housing situation from the village chief. Could we ask you for some details later?”

As they asked, Zhang San and He Mi from Datong listened intently.

Han Li said, “Of course. You can also ask Hao Hongmei and Yang Xiuying. We built the house together.”

Yun Jingjing waved dismissively. “We’re from the same place—we’d rather hear a local’s advice.”

Han Li nodded and left with his meal, while Hao Hongmin and the others returned to their own courtyard.

Zhang San smacked his lips and headed over to Sun Yong.

“Captain Sun, thank you for organizing the welcome meal for us...”