If it were in the past, if someone told them that they would let the educated youth live in their homes, some people would jump up and raise their hands.
Why? Because the educated youth lived in the homes of fellow villagers, so their food rations were shared and eaten together. Those in need would look to the educated youth's food rations. If the educated youth's food rations were not enough, they would have to spend money to exchange for some coarse grains. Some of the more generous educated youth could even get some snacks, and families with children could also benefit from it.
But now…
After the educated youth settlement collapsed, all of the educated youths' stored food was buried inside. Although the educated youth team leader Yang Hong organized people to dig it out in the second half of the night, they were able to only take out a portion of it.
The collapse of their youth camp was different from that of other houses. Most of the members' houses had holes in their roofs caused by hail, but the beams of their house did not hold up. If people had not run fast, this group of youth would have definitely been in trouble.
Although their luggage was also taken out, most of it was broken and rotten.
Several other educated youth were injured.
In this situation, who would be willing to take the person back and raise him
Tian Youfu also said that with the replanting of spring seedlings, food would certainly be in short supply, and it was even a question whether the educated youth could get their food distributed.
And now we have to deal with the planting of seedlings. We are busy all of a sudden. Spring seedlings grow fast, so we basically have no time to rest. We will have to wait until August to find time to repair the educated youth site. We will have to live here for almost four months!
There was no money, no food, and it would take a long time, so the members immediately became unhappy.
Tian Youfu waited and waited, but still no one raised their hand.
The educated youth were furious. They were hit by hail, their settlements were destroyed, and their property and food were damaged to varying degrees. Moreover, the new educated youth had only arrived for one day when they encountered this kind of thing...
Even now, I am being disliked!
Yang Hong had been here longer after all, and although she was holding back her anger, her tone was still gentle: "Captain, please give us some advice. We are educated youth who came to the countryside. We didn't blame anyone else for the collapse of the educated youth settlement, after all, it was a natural disaster. We can't say anything about the loss of things, but you have to give us a solution for the food issue. It will take time for the educated youth settlement to be repaired, and we can't go to work on an empty stomach."
The members did not respond because they were all confused about the rations of the educated youth. The rations of the educated youth were also uneven. The rations of the new educated youth were not bad. They only received five kilograms yesterday, so the loss was not bad. The rations of the old educated youth were received before the Chinese New Year last year, and they were basically all gone.
Jiang Lei said anxiously: "You must give us an explanation!"
Most of the luggage he brought collapsed, a lunch box was deformed, and the quilt was soaked with dirty water. He still slept last night wearing his own thick clothes.
Jiang Lei was so distressed that he couldn't bear it. He didn't bring much with him, and they were all bought with great effort. Now most of them were gone, which made him very upset.
Bai Ling was standing beside him with her head down, not knowing what she was thinking.
Yu Pengcheng was the one who was most seriously injured last night, and he brought the most things with him. After much difficulty in digging them out, he was no longer in the mood to talk and just stood aside waiting for the team to give the result.
Tian Youfu took a puff of his cigarette. He used to dislike smoking during meetings because he thought it was not solemn, but he was really worried at the moment.
Food, food, food.
Although there is no shortage of wild vegetables on the back mountain, we cannot rely solely on wild vegetables to survive until the wheat harvest.
People are so exhausted from eating wild vegetables that they have no strength left, so how can they do farm work in the fields
But the team didn't have much food left, so Tian Youfu had to reserve some in case the higher-ups didn't allocate grain and seeds in time. He quickly used his stored grain to make up for the shortfall.
At this time, it was difficult to allocate the remaining food rations to the old educated youth, let alone the new educated youth.
Tian Youfu smiled bitterly. He couldn't blame the members for not taking the initiative. They all worked in the fields to make grain. When they saw yesterday's hail, they guessed that it would be difficult for the brigade to allocate grain.
At this point, there was no other way.
Tian Youfu: "The Party Secretary, the accountant, and the family of Wu Guihua, our women's director, can accommodate seven educated youth. I will discuss the remaining nine with the Party Secretary. We will share the food equally, and we will make up for it when the autumn harvest comes."
At this point, only the cadres can take over.
Tian Youfu's family has many people and a tight house, but at this time he can only come out and express his opinion first, so that two educated youth can live in the house when the time comes. Party secretary Song Dagui's house can also accommodate two people, and the accountant's house is about the same. Wu Guihua is a new cadre after all, so Tian Youfu can only arrange one for her.
As for food rations, these few families will fill the gap first, and when the autumn harvest comes in, the brigade and the educated youth will each contribute half.
But it is still a loss to say that we can make up for it later. After all, every household is in a tight spot now, especially since the hail has damaged not only the spring seedlings but also the private plots of each family.
Everyone was so tight that they had to tie their belts.
Tian Youfu also knew that this matter would not lead to any result if it was done in public, so he asked everyone to go back to work, and he and the branch secretary would slowly find people to do the work.
The educated youth also understood what Tian Youfu said. Although they would have to deduct half of their salary later, they still breathed a sigh of relief.
It’s true… This time, the educated youth suffered heavy losses.
Although the members had to pick seeds from their private plots and do more work, at least they were not in danger of starving.
Almost all of the educated youth’s belongings were squandered, and if no one cared about them, they would starve.
Tian Youfu left all the educated youth to discuss the details. There were different situations for the old educated youth and the new educated youth, and each educated youth had a different family background. The four cadres who were decided first also had to discuss the details, otherwise it would be difficult to mobilize the members.
Wang Ying and Xu Shuang accompanied Old Lady Xu out. Wang Ying took Old Lady Xu's pulse again in the morning. Old Lady Xu was also hit by several hailstones outside after being awakened last night. Wang Ying was also worried that something had happened to the old lady.
The three of them walked back, preparing to send Old Lady Xu back to sleep first. After all the hustle and bustle last night, few people in the team had a good sleep.
Old Mrs. Xu held Wang Ying's hand and hesitated for a long time before speaking.
"Ying girl, what do you think about me bringing in a few educated youth to stay with me?"
Wang Ying was a little confused, so she didn't consider the matter of the educated youth as affecting her own family.
It is true that she and Xu Shuang were considered to be a family with a relatively good living standard in the brigade, but firstly, she could not allow the educated youth to live in her home. It would be awkward to have an outsider in the house, right? Secondly, she and Xu Shuang did not have enough food.
And even though they went to the mountains to get some fresh food all day and night, they were still short of food. She didn't go to the fields, and she only earned money and the work points for taking care of Cheng Shufen and the others, while Xu Shuang got wages and food coupons. Although they didn't rely entirely on food distribution, the food that they exchanged for the food coupons was mostly coarse grains, and they couldn't eat fine grains as they wished.
Old Lady Xu quickly explained: "Don't worry, I won't ask you and Xu Shuang to provide food. The food I distributed last year is enough, enough to share with the two educated youths with small appetites."
"I just thought that this is a good opportunity to make a difference. You know our family background, it's a mess. Although Xu Shuang is married to you now, there is no problem. But I still think that we'd better be more active. Some people in the provincial brigade have objections..."
Old Mrs. Xu is neither blindly positive nor a saintly person; she has thought seriously about her decision.
There are still nine educated youths in the brigade who have no place to go, so they have to find someone to recruit. Of course, you can choose not to take the lead, but if the family whose turn it is finally, they will think that your Xu family is the best off, so why don't you give the educated youths a place to go.
After what happened to Xu Ming, Old Mrs. Xu is now more cautious.
She was afraid that others would try to implicate herself if they couldn't implicate Wang Ying and Xu Shuang. When life is good for everyone, people can naturally get along well with each other, but when life is bad, they will inevitably get jealous and angry.
Old Mrs. Xu had a good idea: "I took the initiative to take in two educated youths and let them live with me. It's just that the food is above all else..."
This is the most difficult part for Old Mrs. Xu. The food in her family has always been good. Wang Ying can't cook, so Xu Shuang usually cooks breakfast and dinner for her. Wang Ying comes to her place for lunch.
Old Mrs. Xu doesn't mind wasting food, and the lunch she prepares is always different and varied.
But if the educated youth were to eat the same food, not only would she not be able to bear the consumption, but it would also easily become conspicuous.
Imagine that the educated youths got together, and you said you ate potatoes and eggs, while she said she ate steamed buns and rabbit meat. Wouldn't that spoil the food
Wang Ying followed Mrs. Xu's line of thought and understood it.
This kind of thing is really difficult. No one is willing to take in an educated youth. Not to mention food and drink, just having a stranger live in your home is a lot of adjustment. If you get another educated youth who doesn't know what's going on, there will be a lot of trouble later.
But what Old Lady Xu said was right. It would be inappropriate for the Xu family to not make a move in the current situation. Everyone knew that Xu Shuang had not lost her job, and the two of them were living a good life. If they didn't suffer a little loss at this time, others would inevitably be jealous and say sour words.
Wang Ying and Xu Shuang looked at each other and she made a decision immediately: "That's it, Mom, you come and live with us."
Old Mrs. Xu was confused: "Why should I go and live with you? I won't go!"
Her original intention was to take care of the matter herself, not to trouble her son and daughter-in-law.
Besides, Xu Shuang moved there because she married into the royal family. What’s the point of her moving there
"Besides, how can we not keep anyone at home?"
Her old house is well preserved. What if the person who moves in destroys it
Wang Ying: "Don't think too much about it. Let's pick two easy-to-use ones to move in. Lock the room you usually live in and leave a room for them. Move the things in the kitchen over. We'll provide the food and let them cook it themselves. This way it'll be easier to calculate how much they should get. Anyway, we're not going to stop providing food. We'll prepare it according to the standards of other educated youth as usual, and we'll make up for it when the autumn harvest comes."
Wang Ying thought about it and felt that this was not a big loss. Not living under the same roof would save her from getting angry and getting involved in the internal problems of the educated youth. She would give her food as usual, giving as much as others gave her, and no one had to think that she was a big eater.
Wang Ying made the decision: "It's settled. You can stay here. There are exactly two rooms. I'll clean one up for you so that we can keep each other company during the day."
Although Xu Shuang felt it was troublesome, he also knew that his mother and his wife had a good discussion. Moreover, he felt that even if his family did not push for it, Tian Youfu would have to come and mobilize him.
There was nothing we could do. The families in the brigade were all very poor, and few of them had an easy life. Only young couples like Wang Ying and Xu Shuang, who had no children at home, had less burdens and earned more, and their food rations were loosened.
Tian Youfu was really forced into a corner. When Xu Shuang woke up early in the morning, she heard people talking about how a relative of his came in the middle of the night from the neighboring brigade. They said their house had collapsed, and they hurriedly sent their children over to ask them to help take care of the child. The family members had to go back to tear apart the broken house and move their belongings.
It was obvious that the hailstorm this time was quite strong, and the affected areas were not limited to their brigade. Even if the commune allocated grain, it was unknown how long it would take.
Instead of waiting for Tian Youfu to mobilize him, it would be better for him to make the proposal himself as Old Lady Xu said, and he could also pick two easier ones.
Wang Ying and Xu Shuang both persuaded Old Lady Xu, who thought about it and finally agreed. Wang Ying's words were sincere and every word was for her consideration.
Alas, why didn’t I give birth to a little girl like Wang Ying back then.
But it’s almost the same now. Such a good girl finally landed at my doorstep.
Old Mrs. Xu was busy going to talk to Tian Youfu, but Wang Ying was stopped by someone.
"Let's go in the afternoon."
If we go now, the educated youths have not yet come up with the rules, and it would seem that we are in too much of a hurry. If we go in the afternoon, while Tian Youfu is in a state of panic, we can negotiate the terms.
Wang Ying: "You can move in, but you have to choose the person carefully."
Old Lady Xu: "Of course, I don't want that young man named Jiang Lei."
What kind of person is this? A tall and strong young man who speaks and acts like a fool. He even has the nerve to question her daughter-in-law's medical skills.
Xu Shuang hurried to work at the restaurant, and Wang Ying and Old Lady Xu began to clean up the house.
Of the three old houses in the Xu family, two had broken tiles, and only one was intact. The two men moved all the furniture in the house away, leaving behind a bamboo bed, a table and a bench, with a mattress on top, and a large standing cabinet next to it.
Old Lady Xu: "Leave these for the educated youth to use. Move the rest away. I'll lock those two rooms too. I'll have someone fix the tiles on top tomorrow. Just make sure they don't leak."
Old Mrs. Xu cleaned up the place and moved all the food in the kitchen to Wang Ying's house, leaving only the wooden racks that Xu Shuang had someone make, some empty jars, and a few hanging stove grills.
It was also the first time that Wang Ying took a close look at Xu Shuang's kitchen, and her eyes lit up when she saw the hanging stove inside.
"Mom, let's take this hanging stove away as well."
She wants to eat roast duck.