Time Travel: My Comfortable Life After Going to the Countryside

Once outside the city, the dirt road stretched on endlessly, the sun blazing, and dust swirling, quickly giving these young people from the city a taste of hardship.

Blisters formed on the soles of their feet, sweat soaked their clothes and then dried them, leaving a layer of white alkali. The line grew longer and longer, and in the silence, only heavy breathing and the dragging of footsteps could be heard.

Bai Jie walked behind, biting her lip. Her face was pale, and her soaked floral shirt clung to her body, outlining her breathtaking curves. It trembled slightly with her tired steps.

Liu Xiangyang busied himself around the group, helping anyone who was about to collapse. When he saw Bai Jie struggling to walk, he quickly went to support her.

As soon as he grabbed her arm, he felt a soft, yielding sensation in his hand. Composing himself, he said, "Comrade Bai Jie, why don't you get on the carriage and rest for a bit?"

With Liu Xiangyang's help, Bai Jie rested her hands on her knees to catch her breath, shook her head and said, "Liu Tong... the carriage is the team's production tool. Nobody else is riding in it. It wouldn't look good if I rode in it. I can still manage to hold on a bit."

Hearing her say this, Liu Xiangyang didn't press her. He took out a water bottle and handed it to her, saying, "Have some water and calm down. I'll stay here with you. You can rest a bit after walking a little further."

During the rest of the journey, Old Wang offered Bai Jie several times to sit and rest in the carriage, but she refused each time, showing that she was a very goal-oriented person.

When the low, mud-brick houses of Dongsheng Village finally came into view, it was already getting dark. The eight educated youths moved into the village with almost their last bit of strength.

Upon returning to the village, the resettlement work proceeded swiftly.

Lanterns were lit at the edge of the threshing ground, and Zhang Tiejun, Liu Xiangyang, Wang Lixin, Li Jianjun, and some commune members who had come out to watch the commotion were all there.

"Distribute the rations first!" Zhang Tiejun said in a loud voice, pointing to the sacks piled on the ground. "According to the standard, each person will receive 30 catties of coarse grain per month, mainly corn grits and sorghum. Fine grains will have to wait until the holidays. The team will lend them to you for the first month, and the deductions will be made from your work points thereafter."

Accountant Li Jianjun, with a gloomy face, made a record in his notebook and let the educated youth come forward one by one to collect their grain. Bai Jie carried the heavy half-bag of grain she had been allocated, her fingers turning white from the pressure.

Next came the accommodation problem. The youth settlement was already crowded, and with eight newcomers flooding in, there was simply no room for them.

Zhang Tiejun turned around and whispered a few words to Liu Xiangyang, Wang Lixin, and Li Jianjun. "Our village's educated youth settlement wasn't very big to begin with, and now eight new educated youths have arrived. Sigh, this is difficult to manage."

Li Jianjun remained silent. Wang Lixin glanced at them and said, "I went to check this afternoon. The two rooms for the female educated youth are already too crowded. The male educated youth's room can fit these seven people if they squeeze in. What about the female educated youth?"

Liu Xiangyang never speaks up about things in the village that are not related to his duties, so he only brings his ears.

Zhang Tiejun then threw his cigarette butt on the ground and stubbed it out with his foot. He said, "I think it's not safe for Sister Gu in the village to live alone. She's deaf and mute and getting old. Why don't we arrange for Bai Zhiqing to stay at her house? That way, she can be looked after a little. At worst, the village can give her some work points as a subsidy."

"How much would be appropriate?" Li Jianjun interjected at this point.

"My suggestion is to give them 10 more work points each month. That way, no one can say anything. What are your opinions?" Zhang Tiejun looked at them. "Xiangyang, you speak up too."

"I think Village Chief Zhang's suggestion is excellent. It solves both the accommodation problem for the educated youth and the care problem for the elderly living alone in the village. I support it," Liu Xiangyang said after a moment's thought.

Wang Lixin also expressed his support, and Li Jianjun also touched his nose in agreement.

"Alright, now that you've finished distributing your food, let's arrange accommodations for you."

"The educated youth settlement is only so big, and there's only one empty room left. The seven of you new male educated youth will stay in that room," Zhang Tiejun announced loudly, then looked at Bai Jie.

"Comrade Bai Jie, you are a woman. There is no room left at the educated youth settlement. Considering the actual situation, the team has arranged for you to stay temporarily at Grandma Gu's house at the west end of the village. Grandma Gu is a recipient of the Five Guarantees. She is over seventy years old, hard of hearing, and cannot speak. She lives alone. If you stay there, you can solve the accommodation problem and also take care of the old lady's life."

He paused, then added, "Of course, this means you'll have more work, so the team has decided that in addition to the work points you earn normally, you'll get an extra 10 work points each month as a subsidy for taking care of Grandma. What do you think?"

This statement clearly distinguished between public and private matters, and the other educated youth who heard it felt it was reasonable and even felt some sympathy for Bai Jie.

Taking care of elderly people living alone is no easy task. Li Jianjun glanced at Zhang Tiejun with a slight smirk.

Under everyone's gaze, Bai Jie nodded obediently: "Thank you for the organization's arrangement. I am willing, and I will take good care of Grandma."

"Alright, Xie Zhiyong, Team Leader Xie, you take the male educated youth to settle in. The older educated youth should help the new ones," Zhang Tiejun instructed Xie Zhiyong in the crowd, then called out, "Where's Team Leader Luo Lan?"

"Roland is still counting work points; she hasn't come over to watch the excitement," one of the educated youth replied.

Zhang Tiejun looked around and finally settled on Liu Xiangyang: "Xiangyang, you've already picked up the new educated youth, and you're already familiar with Bai, so take her to Grandma Gu's house to settle her in."

"Okay." Liu Xiangyang agreed, walked up to Bai Jie, and said, "Let's go, it's not far."

He picked up Bai Jie's largest bedding roll and then her bag of grain, gesturing for her to follow. Bai Jie, carrying her other smaller belongings, silently followed behind him. The two left the threshing ground one after the other, disappearing into the deepening twilight of the village.

The road was quiet, with only the sound of footsteps. When they reached a relatively secluded side road, Bai Jie caught up and whispered, "Comrade Liu... Xiangyang, how about I help you carry some of this? My luggage is a bit heavy."

"It's alright. You've been walking all day. I think you have blisters on your feet. After you're settled, boil some hot water to soak your feet and pop the blisters. Otherwise, you won't be able to work in the fields tomorrow."

Bai Jie's heart skipped a beat when she heard his concern, and she softly hummed in agreement.

When they arrived at Grandma Gu's house, it was a small, secluded courtyard. An oil lamp was lit in the main room; Grandma Gu hadn't connected to electricity to save money. Liu Xiangyang knocked on the door and pushed it open to go inside. Grandma Gu was shakily getting up and looking over.

Liu Xiangyang walked up to her, gesturing with his hands and feet, then pointed to Bai Jie and explained the situation to Granny Gu.

The old woman looked at Bai Jie curiously, grinned, and pointed to the west wing.

The side room wasn't large, but it was fairly clean, with a kang (heated brick bed) and a table. Liu Xiangyang put down his bedding and food, and scanned the room as if inspecting its condition, his gaze lingering on the thin paper windows.

"It's windy tonight, I'll find some old newspapers to paste it up for you tomorrow," he said, walking to the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed) and looking at it.

"Thank you, Comrade Xiangyang. Why don't you stay and have something to eat?" Bai Jie looked up at him and boldly invited him.