Courtyard House: After disbanding the Elderly Care Gang, I went to the countryside to cultivate immo

The oxcart was slow, and it was already past nine o'clock in the morning when it arrived at the commune. A group of people had already gathered in the small open space in front of the township government. Most of them were cadres or commune members sent by various production teams to pick people up, and there were also some educated youth who had arrived earlier and were waiting for assignment. They stood in groups of three or five, their faces showing the fatigue of the long journey and the bewilderment, curiosity or unease about their future fate.

The air was filled with the cacophony of various dialects, coughs, and the mixed smells of luggage.

Lin Shengli and Hu Dongliang drove the oxcart to a relatively quiet corner and tied it up, then walked to the door of the township's educated youth resettlement office to wait.

Around 10 o'clock, all the educated youth had arrived. A staff member dressed in an old military uniform, who looked like an official, came out with a roster and began to call roll by production team.

"Red Flag Brigade!"

"arrive!"

"Advance Brigade!"

"here!"

……

"Heisonggou Brigade!" The voice finally reached them.

"Here!" Hu Dongliang quickly responded and squeezed to the front with Lin Shengli.

The staff member glanced at them, crossed out a name on the roster, and raised his voice to call out, "Educated youths assigned to the Heisonggou production team, assemble here! Lin Shengli, Hu Dongliang, are you here to pick them up? The people are yours now. There are six in total, two men and four women. Here is the list and letters of introduction."

As he shouted, a commotion arose in the crowd, and several young people carrying heavy luggage, with youthful faces and weary expressions from their long journey, moved hesitantly toward them.

Lin Shengli's gaze quickly swept over the six unfamiliar faces, and at the same time he took the list handed to him by the staff. The list contained six names written in a mess: Ke Haoqian (male), Pan Qingzhi (male), Lin Mantong (female), Wang Xueling (female), Zhang Xiuying (female), and Zhuang Hui (female).

His gaze first fell on the two male educated youths.

Both men were wearing brand-new, thick cotton-padded coats, not the usual worker's or peasant's clothes, but a modified version of military overcoats, and shiny suede shoes.

A tall, fair-skinned man with a scrutinizing gaze and an almost imperceptible sense of superiority was slightly frowning as he surveyed his surroundings and the people who were picking him up, Hu Dongliang and Lin Shengli.

The other one was shorter but more robust, with a square face, pursed lips, a serious expression, and a ramrod straight back, as if he were standing at attention at any moment.

Judging from their clothing and aura alone, Lin Shengli had a good idea of ​​what was going on: these two were most likely children of high-ranking officials from some large compound in Beijing. They were completely different from Li Kuiyong, who had grown up in the alleys. They were more like "good kids" with strict family education and "correct" social standing.

The four female educated youths were even more different.

One of them stood out; she wore a bright fuchsia wool scarf that seemed too vibrant for the season and occasion, a well-fitting dark purple cotton-padded jacket that looked very soft, and a pair of slightly worn black leather shoes.

With her fair skin and delicate features, even in her exhaustion, she exuded a captivating beauty and aloofness that seemed out of place with her surroundings.

She slightly raised her chin, her gaze calmly fixed on the distance, seemingly impatient with the noise and waiting before her, yet striving to maintain basic decorum.

This must be Lin Mantong on the list, a girl from Shanghai, she certainly has the air of a big city.

The other three female educated youths were much more simple and unpretentious.

A girl with a round face, two short braids, and big eyes was looking around timidly, her face showing a mixture of simplicity and unease.

A slightly taller woman, also with braids but with more defined facial features and a more direct gaze, exuding a sharp and decisive air, was helping a smaller-looking female educated youth next to her to steady the strap of her backpack, which was about to slip off.

The female educated youth who received help caught Lin Shengli's attention for a moment longer.

She was very thin, extremely thin. Her cotton-padded jacket looked loose and had several patches of different colors on it, and it had been washed until it was faded.

Her complexion was a sallow, malnourished look, and her hair was dry and yellow, styled into two thin braids that hung down over her shoulders.

Her features were actually quite delicate, especially her eyes, which were large but vacant, seemingly unfocused, staring blankly at the ground or some pointless object.

She only mechanically responded to the help from the spirited young woman, barely uttering a "thank you."

Lin Shengli took the list and called out names one by one, finally distinguishing which of the educated youth was who. The tall male educated youth was Ke Haoqian, the slightly shorter one was Pan Qingzhi, Lin Mantong was, unsurprisingly, the one with the red scarf, the round-faced one was Wang Xueling, the remaining spirited female educated youth was Zhang Xiuying, and the one who was malnourished was Zhuang Hui.

Just as Lin Shengli was quickly looking around and analyzing things in his mind, his heart suddenly skipped a beat without warning.

It wasn't because any of the educated youths were particularly beautiful or strange, but because of these names—Ke Haoqian, Pan Qingzhi, and Lin Mantong—in an era when names commonly used characters like "Jun," "Qiang," "Yong," "Hong," "Hua," "Xia," "Ling," and "Xiu," these names seemed too "refined," even carrying a hint of old-fashioned scholarly families or romance novels.

Especially names like "Lin Mantong" and "Ke Haoqian," combined with their drastically different temperaments and circumstances at this moment, instantly brought back fragmented memories of his past life to Lin Shengli's mind—typical character archetypes from popular female-oriented novels about the educated youth era: high-ranking officials' children, capitalist's daughters, simple village girls, and innocent girls with tragic backstories...

"Could it be... that some kind of female-oriented story is really going to unfold in Heisonggou Village?" This absurd yet strangely premonitive thought quietly crossed Lin Shengli's mind.

He quickly suppressed this strange feeling, telling himself not to overthink it. Even if a female-centric story were to unfold, it wouldn't concern him.

At this moment, Hu Dongliang, with his booming voice thick with a Northeastern accent, began to call out: "Comrades from Heisonggou Village, this way! Put all your luggage on this oxcart! Our village is still quite a distance from here, it'll be a while!"

Upon hearing this, the six newcomers began to move, unloading their heavy luggage—huge backpacks, bundled bedding rolls, net bags, washbasins, and so on—one by one, and piling them onto the oxcart.

Ke Haoqian and Pan Qingzhi moved fairly quickly, but their brows remained furrowed, clearly not used to the simplicity of the oxcart and the smell of the livestock. Lin Mantong hesitated for a moment, then placed her small but exquisite leather suitcase and bedding roll beside the cart, and tried to climb onto the cart as well, probably wanting to ride along.

"Hey! Lady, this won't do!" Hu Dongliang quickly stopped him, his tone a little urgent. "This ox is for pulling carts, not people! If we put luggage in the cart, there won't be any room for people to sit! Besides, this old ox can't pull it! We'll all have to walk!"

Lin Mantong's face flushed red instantly. Feeling embarrassed, she bit her lip, said nothing more, and silently retreated to the side.

Wang Xueling and Zhang Xiuying quickly whispered words of comfort to her, but Zhuang Hui seemed not to hear them and continued to stare blankly at her toes.

Seeing this, Lin Shengli stepped forward and explained in relatively gentle but clear Mandarin: "Comrades, our production team is about twenty li away from the commune. The oxcart is mainly used to carry luggage and heavy goods, and everyone has to walk with it. This is also for the sake of the animals, otherwise they will get tired and it will be troublesome for spring plowing. Please bear with us and walk slowly on the road, there is no rush. If you really can't walk anymore, we will find a way to take turns getting on the cart to rest."

His words were reasonable and persuasive, explaining the reasons while also leaving room for maneuver.

Ke Haoqian and Pan Qingzhi exchanged a glance, said nothing, which was taken as tacit agreement.

Lin Mantong's expression softened slightly, and she gave a soft "hmm".

Zhang Xiuying said cheerfully, "What's there to be afraid of when walking! I'm used to it!" Wang Xueling echoed softly, while Zhuang Hui remained silent.

The luggage was packed and piled up on the oxcart, leaving no room for anyone else to sit.

Hu Dongliang led the ox in front, while Lin Shengli accompanied the six new educated youths behind the oxcart. The group began to move slowly toward Heisonggou Village.