After the frail beauty went to the countryside, she went crazy with scientific research.

Chapter 21, Episode 0021: The Situation of the First Brigade

Lin Yuexi knew that her appearance was too conspicuous, so she constantly used her mental power to reduce her presence. Otherwise, Xiao Qingqing wouldn't have paid much attention to her face in the morning.

After she went out, she didn't attract much attention from the girls. They mostly just glanced at her from a distance with curiosity, wondering why she was a new educated youth and why she was in a wheelchair.

Lin Yuexi was a very competent listener, always agreeing and chiming in at crucial moments. Xiao Qingqing enjoyed chatting with her, and over time, she gained a general understanding of the situation of the group.

The village, formerly known as Stone Village, is home to a large number of families who are relatives of martyrs, and at least half of the remaining families are military dependents, earning it the reputation of a heroic village.

During the war, all the young people in Stone Village went out, but less than one in ten returned. She once saw a scene in a TV series where the old clan chief went to fetch the coffin back to the village, which was a realistic depiction of Stone Village back then.

Many were never brought back, because no one knew where they had perished.

The older generation were heroes, and many of their children and grandchildren still choose to join the army. According to Xiao Jingjing, more than a dozen people have sacrificed their lives in the village in recent years, one of whom was Xiao Jingjing's fourth uncle, who was also the youngest son of the brigade leader.

For the people in the large group, they both hoped to see people in military uniforms and were afraid to see them, and were even more afraid that the people in military uniforms were old.

In this era, soldiers were revered, so the status of the First Brigade was different from that of the entire Red Flag Commune. Furthermore, the brigade itself was united, and basically no one dared to mess with them.

However, things often take unexpected turns.

First, there were a few street thugs in the Fourth Brigade, who were also called "Two Fools".

Few of the ancestors in this area did not participate in the War of Resistance against Japan. Because of this, not only are the villagers more tolerant of the younger generation, but the commune leaders are the same, as they are all descendants of heroes!
Besides, they haven't really done anything serious. When they sneak into other people's houses, they just steal chickens and kick dogs. They never go into the owner's bedroom, and sometimes they even clean your house because they think it's dirty.

If there's evidence, they'll pay compensation; if there's no evidence, they can only sit at the gate and curse.

Listening to what Xiao Jingjing said, Lin Yuexi felt that these few couldn't be considered bad apples for the time being. It was obvious that although the whole group didn't like them stealing chickens, they were quite lenient with them. After all, chickens were valuable things now, and there was even a saying about chicken butt banks.

Then came the educated youth sent to the countryside.

No offense intended. This is a problem of the times. It's true that when the educated youth from the city first arrived, the men were more handsome than the young men from the countryside, and the women were more beautiful than the girls from the countryside.

The disparity in living standards between the two sides has created this difference, especially now that education is not widespread and most young people in rural areas are illiterate, making the difference even greater and more obvious.

The educated youth who were pampered at home ate and dressed well, so they naturally had a good complexion; those who were not pampered, however poor, never had to do farm work under the scorching sun, and since they had all received some education, they had a different kind of demeanor.

In particular, the first batch of educated youth who voluntarily went to the countryside were all high school graduates who came voluntarily.

He was fair-skinned, well-dressed, and had a good image. He had a scholarly air about him, which was something that a rural boy who had spent half his life toiling in the fields could not compare to.

So when the educated youth arrived, they not only attracted the attention of the young men and women in the village, but adults and children alike also liked them.

"Sister Lin, you don't know, we treated them so well when they first arrived. They didn't have enough food, so we all chipped in to help them. In winter, when they didn't have enough firewood, we brought them our own..."

According to Xiao Qingqing, the first batch of educated youth consisted of eleven people, six men and five women, all from Haishi.

They were all dressed stylishly, and the men and women were handsome and pretty, but they were a bit delicate. However, no one cared. They were there to help them, and no one was planning to make them work in the fields.

Although they didn't know why city dwellers knew more about farming than rural people, and even sent people down to teach them how to farm, that didn't matter. Their heroic village had to take the lead and follow the Party's call.

Then, the following year, the Red Star Brigade suffered a famine.

That's fine, we can just stop listening to them from now on, but they're still harming our child.

Male educated youth were dating five or six girls from different villages at the same time, while female educated youth were dating several boys from different villages. The once harmonious villages were constantly in turmoil because of these educated youth. It was always either that a girl from one family stole money or that a son and his wife from another family were fighting.

Moreover, as the number of educated youth increased, it seemed as if they were about to overturn their village. The brigade leader dealt with several educated youths ruthlessly: those who should be sent back were sent back, those who should be sent to farms were sent to farms, and two were directly sent to eat "government" meals. Only then did the educated youths become obedient.

Therefore, the villagers now have a very low opinion of educated youth. They don't condemn them outright, but they are unwilling to have much contact with them, always feeling that they are a nuisance.

Lin Yuexi looked at the little girl's puffed-up face and asked with amusement, "I'm also an educated youth, why are you willing to take care of me?"

“Sister Lin is different. You didn’t live in the educated youth settlement. You and Leng, the educated youth, built a house in the village. So you are one of our villagers.”

They're one of us now.

So that's what they mean by "taking root in the countryside."

Just then, a little girl dressed in tattered clothes and carrying a large basket on her back ran over.

She noticed that the little girls were all carrying baskets on their backs.

"Jingjing, don't you need to cut pig feed today?"

She glanced timidly at Lin Yuexi, her slightly dark face turning as red as a monkey's bottom. "Hello, Lin, the educated youth."

Lin Zhiqing is really beautiful. She is the most beautiful person she has ever seen. She is a hundred times more beautiful than Su Zhiqing.

Lin Yuexi smiled and nodded in response, "Hello."

Oh dear, the little girl was so embarrassed that she hid behind Xiao Qingqing, but she still wanted to see her more, so she peeked out her little head and 'secretly' looked in her direction.

Lin Yuexi took a piece of milk candy out of her pocket and handed it to him, saying, "It's nice to meet you. Here, have this."

Wow, it's milk candy! I can still smell its delicious aroma from this far away.

These candy pieces are incredibly appealing to the children here, as they can only eat candy during the Lunar New Year, and even then, it's the kind of maltose candy with a slightly bitter taste.

Families with many children may only get one or two small pieces of maltose candy the size of a little finger throughout the year, while families with fewer children may get a few more.

Even later, when the educated youth went to the countryside, some of them used benefits to get the children to help them with chores. But even the educated youth had a hard time getting candy. They couldn't bear to eat it themselves, so how could they bear to share it with the children?
The little girl was embarrassed, but she still couldn't resist wanting to eat it.

While she was struggling with her decision, Xiao Qingqing stepped in and took the milk food block from Lin Yuexi and put it into the little girl's hand.

"Sister Lin is so kind, she won't be angry. This candy is especially delicious. I ate one too, you should eat one too."

His tone carried a hint of boasting, and his eyes gleamed with longing as he looked at the bag of candy, swallowing hard several times.

The little girl thanked him shyly, took out a milk-flavored food block from her pocket, smelled it several times, and then put it back in her pocket like a precious treasure.

"Aren't you going to eat it? It's delicious." Xiao Qingqing coaxed her with her voice.

The little girl swallowed hard. Of course she wanted to eat it, but she shook her head. "My mom didn't have enough milk after giving birth to my little sister. I'll save it for my mom."

After saying that, the little girl seemed afraid that Lin Yuexi would be angry because she gave the candy she gave her to someone else, and that she would be angry if her friend gave away the gift she was supposed to give to her.

On the Friendship Forged from a Single Piece of Candy

(End of this chapter)