Time Travel: My Comfortable Life After Going to the Countryside

Village Chief Zhang Tiejun said sternly, "Liu Xiangyang, are you trying to make me make a mistake?"

Liu Xiangyang: "Uncle Zhang, there's no reason to ask for help empty-handed. Besides, we still need you to take care of our house construction."

"My Uncle Lu told me that you and I are old comrades-in-arms, and you are my uncle, Uncle Zhang. This is just a little sugar to sweeten the children's mouths. It's nothing. If you don't accept it, then you don't consider me family."

The two boys had been standing by the table staring at the sugar, their mouths practically watering.

Upon hearing Liu Xiangyang mention Lu Dajun, and looking at his two sons, he didn't say anything more about declining, but instead remarked with emotion, "I've known Director Lu for over ten years."

Liu Xiangyang then told Zhang Tiejun what they had discussed. After thinking for a while, Zhang Tiejun said, "Then I'll make the decision for you. Forget about the brick house. Although you're not short of money, it will cause gossip, have a bad influence, and be a waste of money."

"Adobe bricks are easy to get; every household in the village has them. You can contribute some money to buy them from the villagers. I'll also try to find a way to get you the bricks for the kang (heated brick bed)."

Liu Xiangyang said, "Uncle Zhang, we want adobe houses. As educated youth sent to the countryside, we are here to be re-educated by our fellow farmers. We cannot become detached from the masses."

"As long as the house is habitable, doesn't leak, and doesn't collapse, that's fine. Just tell me how much you want. I'll need Uncle Zhang's help with the rest of the arrangements."

"I have absolutely no problem with that. Have you thought about how big the yard needs to be? A bigger yard will allow you to grow some vegetables, but a small yard won't be useful."

Villagers all had a small plot of land for themselves, while educated youth could only grow some vegetables around their residences, and would be criticized if they grew too much.

Therefore, the size of the yard is very important. After discussing it, Liu Xiangyang and the other three decided that the yard should be bigger, and it would be worth spending more money.

"You yourselves don't even have a place to eat yet, so don't bother providing meals. Consider it a way of paying the villagers who came to help."

Finally, Zhang Tiejun gave them a cost estimate: Liu Xiangyang's house plus the wall would cost 70 yuan, and Xue Bingbing's house would cost 80 yuan.

The house itself only cost about 20 yuan to build, but the courtyard wall was expensive. Zhang Tiejun originally wanted to build a wooden fence for them, but the three girls insisted on an adobe wall because they thought a wooden fence was unsafe. Liu Xiangyang readily agreed.

"Even if you have money, you can't spend it like this. Oh well, whatever. I'll go call people tonight and try to start work tomorrow."

When the four of them were surveying the terrain, Liu Xiangyang had already discussed the matter of needing an adobe wall with them. He said the girls would bring it up for safety reasons, and he was agreeing with them.

With that, the house deal was considered settled, and Liu Xiangyang and his group were just waiting to move into their new home. The four of them handed over the money to Zhang Tiejun and left.

These days, nobody's rich, and relatives won't offer you a meal.

As he passed by the millstone, he encountered five or six children who were about to go home for dinner. On a whim, Liu Xiangyang took out a few White Rabbit milk candies and waved to them.

Several children ran over, and one of them said, "I know you. You're the new educated youth named Liu Xiangyang. My mom just said she's going to marry my sister to you."

How did you know my name?

"That's what my mom said. She said that among all the educated youth, you're the only one with a watch. Your family is well-off, and she wants to marry my sister to you so she can enjoy a good life. My mom also said that you don't know how to manage money and that my sister should take better care of it."

Liu Xiangyang's face immediately darkened. What on earth was this? Xue Bingbing, Le Qi, and Le Yao were laughing so hard they could hardly breathe.

"I'm a new educated youth here, and I have some questions for you. Whoever answers well and quickly will get a treat," Liu Xiangyang said, opening up a White Rabbit milk candy in his hand.

The children's eyes lit up when they saw the big white rabbit in Liu Xiangyang's hand.

Through these children, Liu Xiangyang learned about some aspects of the village, such as how Accountant Li liked to drink and beat his wife and children, and how Captain Wang had a bad temper and liked to curse.

They also learned that wild boars in the mountains would come down and damage farmland, so every year they would organize team members to go up the mountain to hunt wild boars.

Wild vegetables grow there, and in winter, snow frogs can be found in the river. Bears sometimes wander into the village. Sometimes you can even hear the roar of a tiger…

Liu Xiangyang gave each of them a piece of candy and then sent them home.

When they arrived at the educated youth settlement, the older educated youth had already started eating. Xie Zhiyong and Luo Lan invited them to eat together, but the four of them declined and went to cook separately.

The next morning, Liu Xiangyang got up and practiced military boxing for a while. After washing up and having a quick breakfast, he followed the main group to the village warehouse.

Everyone will be divided into small teams, selected, assigned tasks, and given tools for their work.

Last night, Zhang Tiejun arranged the building materials and personnel for Liu Xiangyang and his group, and informed them of their compensation. In addition, the aunties and grandmas who went to the county town with them yesterday also joined in the discussion. When everyone saw Liu Xiangyang and his group arrive, they were all talking about it.

These new educated youths are really something else; they want to build houses as soon as they arrive.

"Liu Zhiqing, you're building a house now, have you found a wife yet? I have a girl who eats little but works a lot, I can introduce her to you..."

"Don't listen to Liu Zhiqing's nonsense. His sister is the worst—lazy and good-for-nothing. My daughter is much better; she can do any kind of work and is obedient..."

"Liu Zhiqing, there's a girl in my distant relative's family. She has big breasts and a big butt, and she's good at bearing children."

The enthusiastic aunties and grandmas stunned the former educated youth. Why weren't you like this when we came?

Zhang Tiejun introduced the educated youth to the villagers: "Captain Wang, you can assign jobs to the new educated youth."

"Everyone, please be quiet. I am Wang Lixin, the production team leader of our village. Let me introduce myself to the new educated youth."

"Our village has about a thousand people. Excluding children, there are 368 adults, who are divided into three teams. The first team consists of strong laborers who earn ten work points a day if they work a full day."

「第二队是50岁以下的妇女15岁以上，18岁以下的孩子，每天6-8工分。」

"The third team consists of men over 60 years old, women over 55 years old, children under 15 years old, and patients, who do what they can. They grow 2-3 centimeters every day."

"The five new male educated youths will all join the first team, and the female educated youths will join the second team. If you have any other skills, you can also share them. If they are useful, you can earn extra points."

Thus, Liu Xiangyang was assigned to the first team, while Xue Bingbing, Le Qi, and Le Yao were assigned to the second team.

After Wang Lixin finished assigning tasks, each team leader led their team members to work.

Liu Xiangyang was assigned to hoe the cornfield. He was given about one acre of land. After observing how the others did it for a while, Liu Xiangyang picked up a hoe and started swinging it.

Liu Xiangyang had never worked in the fields before, so he was a bit awkward at first. But perhaps because he had the brain capacity and strength of two people, Liu Xiangyang quickly mastered the technique of exerting force and slowly surpassed the people around him.

Liu Xiangyang quickly stopped. He was there to relax and not be the first to stick his neck out. He waited until most of the team caught up with him before slowly and leisurely starting to hoe the ground.

Liu Xiangyang neither stood out nor came in last, staying just below average.