After they returned to Liushugou, it started raining again. The rain lasted for a whole day and a night. Liushugou is located at the foot of a mountain. The mountain behind them was rising with vapor because of the rain, like clouds and mist lingering around the mountain. It was so fairy-like that it didn't seem like they were in the human world.
It was already the end of July and the beginning of August. As soon as it rained, the coolness came like a tide. Jiang Youtao and others put on a thin coat early in the morning. She and Gu Nianwei brushed their teeth and washed up in the corridor because the rain outside was too heavy.
Li Yunying poured water into the yard and said, "There has been enough rain this year. After this rain, mushrooms should be growing on the mountain. When we get off work early one day, I will take you to the mountain to pick mushrooms."
Picking mushrooms is addictive. The search all over the mountains and the surprise every time you find a mushroom makes you unable to stop. Everyone, including Gu Nianwei, is fascinated by it.
In her previous life, Jiang Youtao had only seen other people picking mushrooms in short videos. She had been eager to try this activity for a long time, and she had asked Xu Dazui and others about finding mushrooms many times before.
"Okay, okay." Jiang Youtao agreed happily, and Zhang Huihui and Zhao Yonglan also responded positively.
Mushrooms are a mountain delicacy that they couldn't buy in the city before, but now they can pick them in the mountains, dry them and send some home, and their parents can distribute them to relatives and friends. It's such an honor. No one would refuse it unless they are stupid.
After the rain, the educated youth did not go to work. After dinner, they took out their books and read in the kitchen. When they saw good words or sentences, they would stand up and read them aloud to everyone passionately.
Life in the countryside was hopeless and these educated youth were in darkness. Reading and writing became the few ways for them to comfort themselves.
During the slack season, everyone would gather together to read books and newspapers, talk about their recent work experiences, and then make a summary.
Even Zhao Rongguang, who is usually the most unremarkable, would not be absent from a reading club like today.
He was the one who was reading the good words and sentences. He was reading excerpts from newspapers about the four modernizations. When he finished reading, the educated youths' applause resounded throughout the kitchen, blending with the sound of rain outside.
After he sat back in his seat, Wang Shanxi said to Jiang Youtao and the other new educated youth, "Whenever we are not busy with farm work, we will have a reading club. In this club, you can read the good words and sentences you have seen, the poems and essays you have written, and tell stories. When the winter is free, the educated youth from several nearby educated youth camps will have a gathering. At that time, we can discuss our masterpieces with other educated youth."
"This is also a way to make progress together!"
Except Jiang Youtao, the other three were very interested.
Zhao Yonglan had always been an active member of the school. She immediately spoke up: "Director, besides reciting poems and prose, are there other ways to communicate?"
Zhao Yonglan's eyes were full of expectation. She glanced at Zhang Huihui, who immediately helped her out: "Yes, Director. Yonglan was the propaganda committee member of our class when she was in school. She played the accordion very well and almost joined the art troupe when she was in the first grade of junior high school."
When talking about what she is good at, Zhao Yonglan raised her chin high, and when Zhang Huihui mentioned that she almost joined the art troupe, a trace of disappointment flashed in her eyes.
Wang Shanxi was overjoyed: "That's great. I won't hide it from you. Liu Haiyang, the educated youth from Wangjiatun, can play the flute. They have to perform at every gathering. To be honest, I have been fed up with him for a long time. Comrade Zhao Yonglan can play the accordion, which is great. After the autumn harvest, we will go to Wangjiatun for a gathering and we must dampen their enthusiasm."
Among the educated youth, there are some who love to show off like Liu Haiyang from Wangjiatun, and naturally there are also some who are low-key. There are many people with talents, like Gu Nianwei, who can play the harmonica, but she has not revealed this news until now. Zhao Rongguang can also play the trumpet, and he plays it quite well. This is something that everyone in the Liushugou educated youth center knows. Sometimes during the busy farming season, he will take out his trumpet and blow the charge.
But he had never performed before an informed audience elsewhere.
Zhou Zhenfeng was a member of the school poetry team when he was in school. He was very good at writing poems and reciting poems. Whenever he went on stage to recite poems, he would always win the favor of many young women.
This is also one of the sources of Zhou Zhenfeng's confidence.
Now that he heard that Zhao Yonglan could play the accordion, he immediately became interested: "Then let's make up a program? Comrade Zhao Yonglan can play the accordion, she can accompany me, and I will recite poems."
Zhou Zhenfeng spoke frankly, and everyone else, including Zhao Yonglan, knew what he was planning.
Wang Shanxi looked at Zhou Zhenfeng with a hint of scrutiny, Zhao Rongguang's eyes contained hidden sarcasm, and Zhang Huihui looked worried. She wanted to say something, but Liu Yingjun beside her held her hand. Zhang Huihui turned her head to look at him, and he shook his head at Zhang Huihui.
Zhang Huihui bit her lip and hardened her heart not to say anything.
Jiang Youtao and Gu Nianwei looked at each other, and adhering to the principle of less trouble is better, neither of them said anything.
Zhao Yonglan knew Zhou Zhenfeng's thoughts clearly. She neither accepted nor rejected his advances, and she enjoyed the feeling of being pursued. Not only Zhou Zhenfeng, but also other young men in the village showed their affection to her, and she did not reject them.
She responded positively to Zhou Zhenfeng: "I think it's okay. Let me get my accordion and we can get used to it first."
Zhou Zhenfeng was a little excited, not only because Zhao Yonglan did not refuse, but also because Zhao Yonglan was not that important in his heart. He was excited because he could finally stand out in front of people who knew about it. He, like Zhao Yonglan, also enjoyed the admiring gazes of others.
He even once secretly regretted in his heart that it would be great if men could still have three wives and four concubines. In that way, he would not disappoint those women who loved him. Moreover, he believed that with his ability, he would make the women with him live a good life. Even if his ability was not enough to support his family, he didn't think it was a big deal.
Aren't we advocating gender equality now? Then shouldn't women also contribute to supporting the family?
Zhao Yonglan enthusiastically took out the accordion and started working with Zhou Zhenfeng.
Seriously speaking, her accordion playing skills are really good, but it's hard to keep listening to her, right? It makes people lose the mood to read, so everyone left after cheering her on for a while.
Li Yunying and Jiang Youtao also complained: "It's raining, and I just want to read a book quietly. Why is it so difficult? I finally understand Zhou Lingling and the others' pain."
If there is a person who likes to show off in the educated youth's point, and this person is a musician, then the ears of other people will definitely be poisoned.
Li Yunying didn't understand this before, but every time the educated youth gathered, she could always hear Zhou Lingling's private complaints. At that time, she just gave a few perfunctory words of comfort, but now she can empathize with her.
After Jiang Youtao came back yesterday, he told Li Yunying about meeting Zhou Lingling in the car. Li Yunying was very happy that this friend still thought of her, and she talked more to Jiang Youtao.
Jiang Youtao and Gu Nianwei looked at each other, pain evident in their eyes.
Jiang Youtao sighed softly. She looked at the rain outside the house and fixed her gaze on the open space at the foot of the mountain to the east of the educated youth point.
Li Yunying and her friends were very hardworking. They planted fruits, vegetables and melons on that piece of land. After ten days or half a month, they would harvest the vegetables and dry them into dried vegetables. In the winter, this would become a major source of food for the educated youth.
"Sister Yunying, do you think we educated youth can build our own houses?"
Li Yunying was stunned: "You have to ask the captain about this, I really don't know this."
The main reason is that the educated youths before them never proposed to build their own houses. After all, they are not locals. Although they came to the village to work in the production team, they do not consider themselves rural people in their hearts.
Because they did not agree, they naturally had no idea of building a house and settling down in the countryside. Each of these educated youth had a beautiful dream of suddenly waking up one morning and returning to the city.
They didn't have much money, and the heavy farm work only gave them enough to fill their stomachs. When the work points they earned in a year were settled in the autumn harvest, they were thankful if they didn't owe the production team anything.
Even if there is support from the family, it is only three or five yuan a month. It takes two or three years to save up to build a house. Who is willing to spend so much savings to build a house?
Jiang Youtao plans to find the captain tomorrow to ask him first.
While no one was around, Gu Nianwei grabbed Jiang Youtao and said, "Taotao, do you want to build a house for yourself?"
From the orphanage when she was a child to the four years when she graduated from university, Jiang Youtao has always lived a collective life. She has always hoped to have a house of her own since she was a child. She does not require the house to be too big, as long as it can accommodate her and be big enough for her to live.
After graduating from university, she used her meager salary to rent a very small house in a village in the city. Together with the bathroom and kitchen, it was only 12 square meters in total. It was so small that if she put too many things in it, it would be extremely difficult to even turn around. But she felt at peace and free.
After nearly a month of collective life in this era, Jiang Youtao felt bored and tired.
"Yeah."
Jiang Youtao didn't hide it from Gu Nianwei. She had this idea on a whim, but it kept lingering in her mind and she couldn't suppress it.
Gu Nianwei's eyes lit up: "Then let's build it together. Let's build three small rooms, two small bedrooms, a small living room, and a corridor for cooking. What do you think?"
Gu Nianwei had wanted to move out for a long time, but when she arrived, there were only three female educated youth at the educated youth point. Li Yunying had no intention of moving out, and another educated youth named Su Yujiao was dating a postman from the commune post office and they were discussing marriage.
She didn't want to go out and live with her fellow villagers, as that was even less free than living in a dormitory. She even more didn't want to build a house and live alone.
It is not safe for a single, young and beautiful educated youth like her to build a house and live alone.
She was so surprised that Jiang Youtao also wanted to move out now.
Build two small bedrooms, and then close the door and do whatever they want in the house without worrying about their secrets being discovered. If they want to eat something delicious, they don't have to go out and hide it from others.
Jiang Youtao was very happy, and Gu Nianwei was also very happy.
Just as the two were whispering about the future, a small figure wearing a straw raincoat came to the educated youth site.
The noisy music stopped and Zhao Yonglan came over with a gloating expression.
"Gu Nianwei, looking for you."
Gu Nianwei and Jiang Youtao looked behind her and saw that the person coming was Lin Jianzhong's eldest son Lin Wenping.