Chapter 138: Female Educated Youth 8

They finally endured the journey to their destination. The four of them were excitedly preparing to get off the train. The naive girl had a very sturdy-sounding name: Fan Zili¹.

Who knew what her parents had been thinking.

Book Spirit Number One: “Her name is Fan Zhili.”

Is that so? It’s basically the same thing.

Book Spirit Number One: “…” How is that the same at all?

Ren Xin intended to wait until most of the people had left before disembarking.

But the other four couldn’t wait and had already gone ahead.

By the time Ren Xin leisurely stepped off the train, she saw a large crowd gathered together, waiting for the roll call. The weather was truly sweltering; luckily, she had been smart enough to change into a light shirt while still on the train.

Ren Xin walked up to Fan Zili and whispered, “What’s going on?”

“Roll call. They’re checking if anyone is missing, and then the various villages will come to claim their people. We’re in the same group, so just follow me,” Fan Zhili replied, her face drenched in sweat.

This Zili kid was quite enthusiastic.

“Her name is Zhili! Such a soft and beautiful name, yet it sounds so grating coming out of your mouth!”

Tsk! This spirit was getting harder to deal with!

Once the noisy roll call was finished, the group was split up. The Brigade Leaders² from each village came to collect their charges.

Ren Xin was assigned to Haili Village, also known as the Haili Brigade.

The four people who had shared her train compartment were also assigned there. Including them, a total of eight people were sent to the Haili Brigade. Looking at the Brigade Leader’s expression, it was clear they weren’t exactly being welcomed with open arms.

Ren Xin didn’t care about any of that. She glanced at the three unfamiliar faces—two women and one man. Judging by their disdainful looks, none of them seemed like they would be easy to get along with.

Continuing to be indifferent, Ren Xin shouldered her bedroll and followed the Brigade Leader at a leisurely pace toward the transport.

The Brigade Leader had something to say: “We only have donkey carts here, and they aren’t available for just any situation. Put your luggage on the cart in a moment, but there’s no need for you to get on. You’ll be walking back with me.”

Ren Xin didn’t know how the others reacted, but she gave a loud, clear “Okay!” in response.

The Brigade Leader nodded at Ren Xin, signaling his approval.

The others, however, expressed their dissatisfaction with Ren Xin’s unilateral compliance!

an enthusiastic-looking male Sent-down Youth suggested everyone introduce themselves.

“Since it was my idea, I’ll go first! My name is Fang Zhiqiang, I’m from Shenzhen, and I usually…”

Ren Xin yawned as she listened to the boring introductions. This was far too taxing for a ginseng.

Book Spirit Number One immediately took a high moral ground: “No sense of organization, no discipline. If I were as shiftless as you, I wouldn’t have reached the position I hold today.”

“What position? The position of a leftover scrap?”

Book Spirit Number One threatened to sever all ties!

Hmph, as if she cared!

After walking for nearly two hours, the silhouette of a village finally came into view, and the sound of crashing waves could be heard in the distance.

The others began to cry out in excitement, “Is that the ocean?”

“Oh my god!”

Ren Xin only felt the heat. She was a ginseng who preferred the shade; she wasn’t meant to survive under the scorching sun.

After a bumpy journey, they finally reached the youth point. The so-called youth point was just a house that looked slightly better than the other homes in the village.

The Brigade Leader introduced the place: “There were already four Sent-down Youths here before you arrived. You’ll meet them in a bit. Our life here revolves mainly around the sea; there isn’t much farmland. Your future work will be gathering seafood to earn Work Points³. Starting tomorrow, if there’s anything you don’t understand, just ask the veteran youths. As for grain, the village doesn’t have any to spare for now. You’ll have to go to various households to trade for some to get by. If all else fails, you can fill your bellies with seafood.”

When the others heard they could fill up on seafood, they were overjoyed. This was practically paradise!

Only Ren Xin remained clear-headed.

Book Spirit Number One had a whole pocketful of things to nag about, but Ren Xin muted it.

A ginseng didn’t like anything prone to inflammation—especially annoying little things.

Book Spirit Number One: “…” Huhu, you have to stand up for me!

“Zzz…” Huhu was completely oblivious, simply rolling over to continue sleeping.

Book Spirit Number One was heartbroken. With such an unfilial son, what hope did it have left!

Ren Xin ignored the increasingly dramatic Book Spirit and simply listened to the others arrange the sleeping quarters.

Ren Xin was puzzled. What was there to arrange? There were only two rooms in total: one for the men and one for the women. Was this really worth a debate?

Fan Zhili was the first to break the silence. “I think we should wait for the veteran youths to return before we go inside. Otherwise, it would be quite rude.”

One of the girls said unhappily, “It’s so hot out here. You can wait if you want, but I can’t. If I get heatstroke, are you going to pay for it?”

Fan Zili also got annoyed. “I just think that since we’re the newcomers, we should show some tact. If we just barge in, they’ll inevitably feel offended. Am I wrong?”

The others all chimed in with their own opinions, splitting the group down the middle. Some agreed, while the contrarians naturally opposed.

Ren Xin didn’t want to listen to their useless bickering. She dropped her luggage on the ground and started walking out of the courtyard.

“Hey! Where are you going?” A Female Educated Youth named Zhang Li called out to her.

Ren Xin turned around and said boredly, “I’m going to take a walk and look around. It’s boring just standing here.”

Zhang Li refused to let her go and pressed for Ren Xin’s opinion. “Do you think we should go inside now or wait in the courtyard?”

“What does that have to do with me?”

Zhang Li continued to question her angrily, “How can you be so unsociable? We came here together, so we should stick together and help each other. Don’t you care what everyone else thinks of you?”

“What does that have to do with you?”

Zhang Li: “…”

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Translator’s Notes

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1. Fan Zili: The name ‘Zhili’ (芝丽) means ‘beautiful ganoderma’ (a type of mushroom often associated with immortality and beauty in Chinese culture). The narrator’s initial mispronunciation as ‘Zili’ (自立, self-reliant) and subsequent dismissal of the correction as ‘basically the same thing’ is a running gag, highlighting the narrator’s irreverent personality and the Book Spirit’s exasperation. ↩
2. Brigade Leader: During the People’s Commune era, a ‘Production Brigade’ (生产大队) was a local administrative unit. The leader was responsible for managing labor, resources, and the newly arrived urban youth. ↩
3. Work Points: A system of labor compensation used in collective farms. Instead of direct wages, villagers earned points based on their work, which were later used to calculate their share of the harvest and food rations. ↩