The Siheyuan of the Young Educated Youth

As we walked along, we naturally chatted.

The hottest topic is Baisha’s experience of returning home.

Baisha recounted her "adventure" in vivid detail again.

Everyone envied me. No matter how hard it was, no one would want to stay in this mountain valley if they could go home.

Naturally, we talked about the problems encountered in life here.

Some time ago, the problem was food. Now Qi Feifei has brought back a lot of mushrooms, and the spinach and onions in the vegetable garden have also grown. In more than a month, the production team's winter storage of cabbage and radishes will be harvested. Although the food is not abundant, it is not so difficult now.

A few days ago, the boys saw the girls taking apart and washing cotton-padded clothes and beddings, and then they realized that there was no one to take care of these things for them. If they wanted to spend a comfortable winter, they had to learn from the female educated youth.

That’s why I wanted to buy thread today.

At some point, Li Danni walked beside Wang Bin and asked, "If you boys don't know how to sew, I happen to be free recently, so I can help you make cotton-padded clothes and quilts."

Everyone knows that Li Danni tinkers with needlework every day, so it's not surprising that she can do it, but it's surprising to see her say she wants to help everyone with needlework, given her indifferent personality.

Everyone was silent for a moment.

Li Danni added: "Everyone is away from home, so we need to take care of each other. I can't do anything else, but I can help with this little bit of work."

That’s true. Li Danni can’t cook and is not good at physical work.

Several male educated youth felt a little embarrassed. After all, Li Danni rarely talked to them. Everyone looked at Wang Bin.

Wang Bin thought for a moment and said, "Thank you for your hard work. Let's buy something for you together. What do you want?"

Li Danni was a little hesitant. She was willing to work, and asking for things seemed strange and stingy. But if Wang Bin could buy her something, she would be very tempted.

Baisha is a straightforward person. "Why are you still embarrassed? Qi Feifei also gets things for work, and we are all treated equally. You've worked hard to make so many clothes and quilts. Tell me what you want."

Li Danni: Actually, she doesn’t want to work for all the male educated youth!

He stammered, "Well, then, can I have an enamel pot?"

After saying that, her face turned slightly red and she glanced at Wang Bin.

Wang Bin agreed without even thinking about it.

An enamel pot, even if several people pooled together to buy it, he could afford it himself.

But sewing clothes and quilts could cost them their lives.

While others were chatting enthusiastically, Qi Feifei was distracted. Her mind was full of that set of boxing techniques. She had just learned it, but she didn't practice it this morning. She felt a little regretful. She was afraid that she would forget it, so she kept practicing it in her mind all the way.

Pan Xiaowen walked up to her and asked her, "Sister, why don't you pick mushrooms anymore? You can take the mushrooms to the supply and marketing cooperative to sell. I have nothing to do, so I can help her carry them over to sell."

Qi Feifei knew he meant well, but still refused.

"If you can get some meat by cutting the pigs and eating the vegetables, I hope I can get some meat."

Pan Xiaowen thought that he could buy meat with the money he earned. But the team leader's pigs would not be slaughtered until the New Year. If they wanted to eat meat, forget it, he would not persuade them.

Pan Xiaowen: "If you need any work or help, just tell me. I will do my best to help you with whatever I can do."

Qi Feifei: "I understand, thank you."

Pan Xiaowen: "I'm serious when I call you sister, so don't be polite to me."

Qi Feifei nodded, "I know."

When they arrived at the supply and marketing cooperative, before entering the house, Pan Xiaowen pulled Wang Bin and Ji Hongbing aside, saying that he was going to the bathroom.

Several female educated youth entered the supply and marketing cooperative first.

Qi Feifei glanced around and saw pencils, erasers, notebooks, needles, thread, thimbles, salt, sugar, soy sauce, vinegar, wine, matches, fruit candies, loaves, sickles, kang mats, baskets...

These are daily necessities for the people living in the mountains.

Plain weave comes in white and red, twill comes in black, blue and white, and there is also a kind of floral fabric that is liver-red with small flowers.

It was hard to describe the scene. Several people looked at Qi Feifei.

Baisha's promise to help her choose the color is now of no use.

Qi Feifei sighed inwardly.

"I want black. Black is dirt-resistant."

Everyone also thinks that twill is thicker and stronger. Although black is not good-looking, it is durable. The blue color is not very bright and is not as good-looking as black.

Finally I bought six feet of black twill.

The price of twill cloth was 46.5 cents a foot, and six feet of cloth cost a total of two dollars and seventy-nine cents, plus six feet of cloth coupons.

Qi Feifei asked, how to harvest mushrooms?

Hazel mushrooms and shimeji mushrooms are more common. Dried hazel mushrooms are 90 cents per pound, and dried shimeji mushrooms are 80 cents per pound. Dried black fungus is 1.3 yuan. We don’t buy fresh ones, only dried ones.

Qi Feifei bought himself a sickle for 4.5 yuan and a bag of salt for 1.65 yuan. He only had 35 cents left in his pocket.

Several male educated youth came in and bought needles and thread and enamel pots and gave them directly to Li Danni. The enamel pot had a pattern of a magpie on a plum tree. Married people or lesbians liked to buy this pattern.

Everyone bought some daily necessities.

On the way back, Wang Bin walked up to Qi Feifei and whispered to her:

"Qi Feifei, if you pick up mushrooms again, can you leave them for us male educated youth?

We want to dry some mushrooms to eat in the winter. If you don't want them for free, we'll trade them for sugar.

White sugar is 75 cents a pound, and we need sugar coupons. We will exchange one pound of white sugar for one pound of dried mushrooms from you. We bought three pounds of white sugar today, so we will exchange for three pounds first. Do you think it's okay?"

Qi Feifei agreed readily: "Okay."

Although it was not as cost-effective as selling at the machinery factory, she would not be too fussy about people who were generous and friendly to her.

Qi Feifei: "I don't have time to dry them, can you guys dry them yourself?"

Wang Bin: "Okay, we are fine, we can bask in the sun by ourselves."

Qi Feifei: "It's not certain when the mushrooms will be harvested, and the species is not certain either."

Wang Bin: "It doesn't matter. Mushrooms and fungus are all fine. We just need to prepare some vegetables for the winter. The variety doesn't matter. It doesn't matter when we pick them. When we get back to the collective household, we'll give you the sugar first."

Qi Feifei: "Okay. It's a deal."

Wang Bin: “It’s a deal.”

Li Danni was walking with Pan Xiaowen and Ji Hongbing, talking about unpacking and washing clothes and bedding.

Pan Xiaowen: "Thank you so much. I didn't dare to take it apart last year because I was afraid I couldn't sew it back together."

Li Danni replied absentmindedly: "You're welcome."

Pan Xiaowen: "Just help us sew, we will take it apart and wash it ourselves."

Li Danni looked at the two people walking together in front of her and bit her lip.

I didn't hear what Pan Xiaowen said at all.

Pan Xiaowen and Ji Hongbing looked at each other.

She raised her voice a little: "Li Danni, do you want us to help you wrap the thread?"

Li Danni came back to her senses: "Ah? Ah! No need, I can wrap it myself."

Qi Feifei has been running in the mountains for many years and is used to being alert to the dangers around her. She also heard the noise from Pan Xiaowen.

After saying goodbye to Wang Bin, he trotted a few steps to catch up with Baisha and Zhu Li and walked side by side with them.

Wang Bin slowed down his pace and joined Pan Xiaowen and the others, giving them a reassuring look.

Pan Xiaowen was relieved, as he was afraid that Qi Feifei would refuse to pick mushrooms.