Traveling back to 1977

Chapter 170 Two Turtle Eggs

Meanwhile, at Captain Yang's home.

Yang Ju and Aunt Yang were chopping meat in the kitchen. The pigs they slaughtered for the New Year had all been made into cured pork and sausages. The fresh meat they received today was going to be used to make pearl meatballs, tofu meatballs, and radish meatballs for the New Year.

The other children in the Yang family wandered around the kitchen, waiting for a delicious meal to be served later.

Inside the main room, Yang Chuanfu smoked with a worried expression. The smoke covered his entire face, but it couldn't hide the bitterness on his face.

Accountant Liu and custodian Huang also looked miserable, not much better off than him.

After a long while, Accountant Liu finally let out a long sigh, "What should we do?"

Captain Yang rubbed his face and sighed, "If I knew what to do, I wouldn't be smoking here."

Then he spread his hands and said, "Secretary Yang and Captain Zhang from the brigade headquarters reminded me two or three times that it's not appropriate for a lone man and woman to be alone in the same courtyard. I originally thought that after the Spring Festival, when those educated youths came back, there would be a group of people, both men and women, so there would be no need to avoid anything."

As it turned out, they found a unit to take them in, but didn't even tell us. They only came over today to collect the meat after slaughtering the pig for the New Year, and then said they wouldn't be coming back.

They're having it easy, getting paid as factory workers, even sweeping the streets is better than working in the fields. Meanwhile, I'm being put on the spot.

If they were in other places, that is, in a different rural area, the educated youth would not be familiar with the place and people, and they would need the local production team's stamp of approval before they could complete the procedures to return to the city.

However, these educated youths were all from Nanhu Commune, and their household registrations were kept at the educated youth office. They were familiar with the system, and the production team had no control over them. Whether or not they had the official stamp, it wouldn't prevent them from transferring their household registrations back to the commune town. Team Leader Yang had no chance to control them.

That's what's most infuriating.

The custodian, Huang, waved his hand and said weakly, "It's not just you. If Xiao Chen and Xiao Jiang really cause trouble, none of us will be able to escape unscathed."

Accountant Liu slapped his thigh and said through gritted teeth, "It's a small matter if we don't get any credit. Look at Hongxing Brigade, they still can't hold their heads up high. It's all because two educated youths got together a couple of years ago and were criticized by the whole commune. They've become a laughing stock! If something really happens, the whole brigade will be the one who loses face."

Captain Yang gestured with his hand, "Why are you getting so excited? Xiao Chen and Xiao Jiang are still safe and sound. We're just trying to figure out a solution."

Accountant Liu looked at him and said, "What can we do? Every household in the village is full of people. Are we going to let him end up like Old Yu from Team 12, sleeping in the livestock shed with my Sixth Uncle?"

As he spoke, he turned to the other side and looked at the custodian, Huang, saying, "No wonder he ran away."

The custodian, Mr. Huang, looked up and said thoughtfully, "Hasn't his land for building a house been approved? Why don't we hurry up and help him build the house?"

Captain Yang turned to look at him, "How much did Huang Laosi spend building his house?"

The custodian, Huang, did some quick calculations and said, "The adobe bricks were made by ourselves, the mud was mixed by ourselves, and including the wood, labor, and some other miscellaneous items, it cost a total of 368.5 yuan."

Accountant Liu was slightly surprised. "Oh my, it cost 30 yuan more than when Liu Dequan's family built their house last year?"

The warehouse keeper, Huang, nodded. "When the price of some things goes up, building a house becomes more expensive."

Just as Accountant Liu was about to speak, Captain Yang said to Warehouse Keeper Huang, "Building a mud-walled house costs 3 or 4 yuan. Xiao Chen only made a few dozen yuan from selling turtle meat last time, and he bought a bunch of stuff that day. He's probably broke again. How is he going to build a house? Can you lend him some money?"

Then he turned to Accountant Liu and asked, "Or will you borrow it?"

Accountant Liu shook her head without hesitation, "I have no money."

The custodian chuckled and whispered, "I have two ideas. Either the brigade headquarters lends him money to build the house first. Anyway, Xiao Chen earns two work points, so he won't have trouble paying it back. He'll pay it off in two or three years at most."

Captain Yang glanced at him. "You think the brigade headquarters is rich? Water conservancy, fish fry, piglets, spring plowing, seeds, fertilizer, farm tool repair and replacement—all of these cost money. Although it's now contracted out to the teams and the teams settle accounts themselves, some teams still have to borrow from the brigade when they don't have enough money. Borrow money from the brigade to build a house? How could you even think of that?"

Huang, the storekeeper, said, "Then there's another way. Xiao Chen is the coordinator at the brigade headquarters. Let the brigade headquarters arrange a dormitory for him and transfer him away. Wouldn't that solve the problem?"

This time, Accountant Liu spoke up, "The brigade headquarters is just one courtyard, with all sorts of equipment stored there. It's always been Company Commander Zhang and his directly subordinate militia squad on duty and guarding it. If we arrange for him to live there, who will be responsible if something happens?"

Then, with a stern expression, she said, "Besides, once Xiao Chen moves to the brigade headquarters, will he only have one household registration left in Team 6? Aren't you afraid he'll move to Team 5 in the blink of an eye? Within the production brigade, they don't care which team your household registration is in! Who will be responsible if he runs away?"

The custodian, Huang, spread his hands and said, "This won't work, that won't work, I'm out of ideas."

Just then, Yang Ju came in carrying a bowl, forcing a smile, "These are freshly steamed meatballs, please try them."

He placed the bowl on the table, then lowered his head and walked out.

The warehouse keeper, Huang, glanced at her retreating figure, then turned to Captain Yang and whispered, "Still angry?"

Accountant Liu sighed across from them, "She clearly got first place in the exam, but they won't let her study veterinary medicine. No wonder she's angry."

Captain Yang waved his hand, "Never mind her, she'll be fine in a couple of days."

The storekeeper, Huang, sighed. "Huang Ying is the same. She didn't even go over to slaughter the pig this morning. She's been locked in her room and won't go out." Captain Yang took a puff of his cigarette and frowned. "Why would a girl study veterinary medicine? It's not like she's going to be a barefoot doctor. If she wanted to study medicine, I definitely wouldn't stop her."

Ultimately, the spot did not go to the two first-place winners.

Accountant Liu clicked his tongue and remained silent, since this matter had nothing to do with the Liu family anymore.

The third-place winner was also from the Yang family. He barely scored 200 points. After removing the two girls, he had the highest score, so the spot was given to him.

I just don't know if I can compete with the other teams and grab one of the two spots for training at the commune.

If you can't get your hands on one, you'll lose a lot of money.

Accountant Liu picked up a tofu ball, took a bite, and suddenly had an idea. He turned to Captain Yang and said, "Old Yang, the educated youth are gone, we can bring in more people to the educated youth settlement!"

Captain Yang and Warehouse Keeper Huang both looked at him, "Who else is involved?"

Accountant Liu chuckled at Captain Yang, “Look, Xiao Chen is staying at the educated youth settlement, which was arranged by the brigade headquarters. Now she can’t move out or leave. As for Xiao Jiang, needless to say, she was originally an educated youth, so it’s impossible for her to move. And now there are no other educated youths here, which has created a situation where a man and a woman are all alone.”

Therefore, the most crucial point now is not about who to get rid of or who to keep, but how to break this situation so that they are no longer alone together.

Then he looked at the custodian Huang and said, "Isn't Huang Ying angry? It's simple. Send her to the educated youth camp. She loves to learn, so she can learn from Xiao Chen every day. Whether she can learn anything real and how much she can learn depends on her ability. If she's really capable and can drain Xiao Chen dry, then in the future, she can do anything, not just be a veterinarian, but also a broadcaster, an appliance repairman, a cook, and so on!"

"Here you go!"

The storekeeper, Huang, slapped his thigh and grinned, "What's this? Right, even a fool can have a stroke of genius. It's rare to see you, Old Liu, finally see the light!"

Accountant Liu's old face immediately fell down. "What are you talking about? I've always been smarter than you, okay?"

At this point, the custodian Huang stopped arguing with him and chuckled, "Yes, yes, you're so smart, so clever."

Then, looking at Captain Yang who seemed to be deep in thought, he smiled and said, "Huang Ying is one, and your Yang Ju is another. Send them both over to live there, and there won't be any problem."

Captain Yang nodded slowly, "Hmm, that's a good idea."

He suddenly chuckled, about to say something, when his expression changed again. He coughed twice and laughed, "Then let's do it this way. The New Year is almost here. We'll move over on the second day of the New Year, after New Year's Eve."

"Moving on the second day of the Lunar New Year?"

The custodian, Huang, was somewhat surprised. "Isn't this a bit too rushed? In the past, those educated youth wouldn't return to the village until they were fifteen."

Captain Yang chuckled softly, "Since they're going to learn, the sooner the better. The sooner they get there, the sooner they'll learn. Besides, the sooner they get there, the better in case something happens to them."

Accountant Liu, watching Captain Yang's expression, rolled her eyes twice and suddenly laughed, "Is that so? Teaching two is the same as mentoring three. Our Liu family's Liu Dan is about the same age as Yang Ju and Huang Ying. She didn't do too badly on the exam this time, scoring over 180 points and ranking fifth. Why don't we move over together and keep each other company?"

Captain Yang's face stiffened slightly, clearly indicating his displeasure. However, he didn't say much, since both the Yang and Huang families had sent people there, and the veterinarian's spot had gone to the Yang family. It would be too unreasonable to refuse even this small request.

She nodded slightly, "Okay, sure."

This time, the custodian Huang also sensed something was wrong. He crossed his legs, smoked a cigarette, and squinted slightly, but kept scrutinizing the faces of the two people opposite him.

A moment later, he was startled and a possibility occurred to him. He couldn't help but curse the two bastards under his breath.

He then stood up and said with a smile, "Well, now that things are resolved, I'll go back and talk to Huang Ying. That girl is very stubborn; I need to persuade her. I'm off."

After that, he walked out.

Captain Yang wanted to say something polite, but just as he raised his hand, he saw Old Huang step over the threshold. He couldn't help but feel a little strange. This guy was acting like he was putting out a fire. She was just a niece. He could have just said something and that would have been enough. Why did he need to persuade her?

Before he could react, Accountant Liu also stood up and walked out. "I'll go and persuade my niece, Liu Dan. She's stubborn too. I have to say a few words to her. When you're learning skills from your teacher, you can't act like a spoiled child."

Captain Yang was a little confused. Was Liu Dan just being petty?

Isn't that girl quite well-behaved?
His eyes darted around, and he immediately guessed what Lao Liu and Lao Huang were thinking. He couldn't help but curse them under his breath as two turtle eggs.

Then he walked to the door and called out to the kitchen, "Ju'er, Ju'er, come here, something's wrong."

Yang Ju quickly ran out, "Coming!"

(No profanity allowed in the title)

(End of this chapter)