Reborn in 1977, starting with severing ties with family.

Wang Haiyang actually went to build a snowman.

He didn't go far; right at the door, he took a shovel and cleared all the snow from the doorway, then built a snowman facing the door.

It has a big head, with two stones as eyes, a cabbage head as a mouth, and dried cabbage leaves wrapped around its neck.

Don't tell me, it's quite similar.

After Jiang Sen washed the mushrooms, the half-full tank of water in the house was empty.

He said to Mao Jun, "I'll go fetch some water."

"Go!" Mao Jun said without looking up. "Don't you know where the well is?"

"Know!"

There were no water buckets or carrying poles at our accommodation; we had to walk to the canteen to get them.

Jiang Sen put on his coat, hat, and gloves and went out.

The snow had piled up quite deep; when you stepped into it, it went past your knees.

There was a trail of footprints where Ho Chi Thanh had stepped.

Jiang Sen turned to Wang Haiyang and said, "Clear the road."

Wang Haiyang threw a snowball at him, "Got it!"

Jiang Sen chuckled as he walked out. Just as he reached the path, he heard someone whisper, "Boss Jiang!"

No one else called him that except Wei San.

He turned his head and saw Wei San, with his sleeves tucked in, walking out from behind a tree.

"Is something wrong?"

"Ok!"

"Let's talk while we're walking!"

When the two reached the vicinity of the cafeteria, Wei San left, while Jiang Sen continued walking forward thoughtfully.

When they arrived there, they saw Hu Zhiqing and a few others distributing rations to the educated youth.

After receiving their rations, the educated youth hurried back home.

"Jiang Sen? Why aren't you at home? What are you doing here?" Hu Zhiqing asked.

"There's no water left, I'll go fetch some!"

"Oh, go ahead! Be careful not to fall in!" Hu Zhiqing rarely cracked a joke.

Jiang Sen laughed, picked up the carrying pole, hooked a water bucket on each side, and tossed it around. "If it falls in, you'll have meat with every meal from now on."

"Ha ha……"

The educated youth at the door laughed and shouted that he should fatten up a bit before jumping in, since there would be more oil in that way.

The well is not far away, about fifty meters behind the canteen.

This well was dug together by the first group of educated youth when they arrived, along with the villagers.

After things got sour between the two sides, the village separated them and stopped taking care of them, and the well was assigned to the educated youth settlement.

Beside the well, there was a windlass, and a wooden bucket was tied to a thick hemp rope.

The well pulley was covered in snow, but the well opening was wet and dry, without a trace of snow.

Jiang Sen put down the carrying pole, emptied the snow from the wooden bucket, knocked it off, and threw it into the well. He grabbed the rope and swung it back and forth, then grabbed the handle next to the windlass and started to crank it up.

After a while, the creaking sound came from the bucket.

Jiang Sen held the handle with one hand and grabbed the rope with the other. After letting go with the other hand, he used both hands to lift the bucket up in a few quick movements, poured the water into the bucket, and then threw the bucket back down.

Two times, and both water buckets were full.

He picked up the carrying pole and walked back.

In no time, a thin layer of ice appeared on the surface of the water in the bucket.

The temperature dropped again.

Back at his lodgings, he poured the water into the water tank and turned to deliver the carrying pole.

Before he even got there, someone called out to him again.

"Xiao Jiang!" Xiao Ma walked over with a smile, carrying a cabbage. "Have you received your rations?"

"I just went to fetch water. I'll go get it after I return the carrying pole."

"go quickly!"

"it is good!"

After a few simple words, the two passed each other by.

Xiao Ma took a few steps, then turned back and called him back.

"Xiao Jiang! I need to go to the team headquarters communications room. Do you have any letters or packages to send?"

Jiang Sen looked back at him; through the snowflakes, Xiao Ma's face appeared mottled and indistinct.

When are you going?

"Let's go after we eat!"

"I'll go back and ask. If I don't come looking for you during dinner, then you can go! Don't wait for me!"

"it is good!"

This time, Xiao Ma didn't call out to him again.

After returning the carrying pole and water bucket, Jiang Sen waited for Hu Zhiqing in the canteen for a while.

The educated youth living together all came to collect their gifts together, so it was very quick.

Some people would come to borrow the carrying pole and water bucket, then put them back after carrying the water, and another person would take their place.

Finally, the food rations ran out, and the canteen became empty.

Hu Zhiqing took a basket, put the cornmeal, potatoes, and wild vegetables he had been allocated into it, and carried it on his back.

"Jiang Sen, let's go!"

After locking the door, the two walked back along the road.

Jiang Sen asked, "Captain, I haven't asked you yet, where are you from? You don't have much of an accent!"

Hu Zhiqing laughed and said, "You can't tell, can you? I'm from Guangdong. When I was ten, I went to Beijing with my parents, then to Hunan, and finally to Hebei. Then I went to the countryside and came here, to the Great Northern Wilderness!"

Jiang Sen nodded. "Were you a good student before?"

Hu Zhiqing looked at Jiang Sen with interest. "Why are you asking this? What do you want to learn? Not just Chinese and math, I can even teach you a little bit of a foreign language, I only know a little!"

Ho Chi Thanh seemed to have a lot to say on this topic.

"I was preparing for the college entrance examination after graduating from high school when everything suddenly changed. I was among the first batch of intellectuals sent to the countryside. I can't say whether I was a good student or not, but I was not bad either."

Jiang Sen nodded.

Seeing that he didn't speak, Hu Zhiqing became even more curious.

"What exactly do you want to do with this question? If you like reading, I have a few books you can take a look at."

"No!" Jiang Sen quickly said, "I'm not cut out for studying! I just heard from another educated youth who came with me that the college entrance examination might be reinstated this year..."

"What did you say?" Hu Zhiqing grabbed Jiang Sen's arm, his expression agitated. "Is it true? Say it again."

Jiang Sen did not expect that his words would elicit such a strong reaction from Hu Zhiqing.

“Captain!” Jiang Sen said, “I certainly wouldn’t say anything if it were anyone else, but after being here for a few days, I’ve realized that you’re different from them. You don’t belong here!”

"No, no, let's not talk about that now. Say what you just said again."

"I'm telling you, if nothing unexpected happens, the national college entrance examination will be reinstated this year! If you want to leave here, you need to start studying now!"

Ho Chi Thanh seemed somewhat absent-minded. He wanted to laugh, but then felt that he shouldn't laugh at this. After laughing, he felt that this matter might not be true.

Jiang Sen sighed and patiently explained, "There was a young intellectual who came with me whose parents were both professors at Kyoto University. He was the one who told me that."

Ho Chi Thanh tried to calm himself down, saying, "I want to tell everyone about this; many people have been looking forward to this day!"

Jiang Sen quickly stopped him.

He told Ho Chi Thanh that it was because he had his own plans and that it had nothing to do with anyone else.

"Captain! I've only heard about it, and I don't even know if it's true or not! If you tell them now, it's like giving them hope, and if they don't recover, it's like extinguishing that hope with your own hands! So, you can't say it!"

Hu Zhiqing stared at Jiang Sen for a long time before he finally understood what Jiang Sen meant.

"Let's go back and talk about it! You're right, this matter isn't certain yet, we can't say anything! We have to wait for the instructions from above. I... I was just too excited!"

Back at his lodgings, Hu Zhiqing was still somewhat absent-minded. He would often pick up his water glass only to find it empty, pour some water, then put it down again to clean up the food rations scattered on the floor.

While tidying up, I noticed the kang (heated brick bed) was a bit messy again...

Jiang Sen thought to himself, "Oh no, should I tell him this news? It's too much of a shock."

After dinner, at only 9:30, Mao Jun was washing the dishes while muttering about how heavy the snow was.

Hu Zhiqing sat on the kang (a heated brick bed) and took out several books from a box.

"Jiang Sen, do you want to see it? I can teach you if you don't understand."

High school Chinese and math textbooks.

Jiang Sen quickly shook his head, "No, I'm afraid I'll fall asleep before I've even read two lines."