Fortunately, Fengsheng Brigade is quite wealthy, and there is a mountain behind them. The houses are not built with mud bricks or clay bricks, but with large, hard, bluish-gray stones, making the houses very sturdy. In fact, to level the walls, they made them twice as thick as regular city walls, providing excellent sound insulation.

The row of seven single rooms for educated youth shared a high ceiling. The triangular structure made it easy to sweep snow down in winter, since there is a lot of snow in Northeast China in winter. A flat roof would easily accumulate snow, and if it got too thick, it would collapse the house.

A sturdy wooden frame served as the roof beam along a row of walls, covered with tiles on the outside and supported by thinner pieces of wood with straw on the inside. The advantages were windproof, warm, and aesthetically pleasing; the disadvantage was… it crumbled easily.

So, for the sake of her sleep quality over the next two years, Yunshu needed to find a way to cover up this part of the kang (heated brick bed). Should she make a bed curtain? Or nail some scraps of cloth to the ceiling?

Oh! I also need to buy some hemp rope to hang curtains and dry clothes.

……

After lost in thought for a while, Yun Shu felt embarrassed to ask the three male educated youths for their help for nothing, so she took out a lot of fruit candies from her bundle as a 'service fee'. Lin Jing Shu also took out three plump apples from 'the house'.

The male educated youths couldn't refuse, so they could only accept it somewhat shyly.

It was another harmonious, lively, and congenial scene, which made Yang Yue, who was hiding alone in the main room and peeping, so angry that her liver hurt.

She couldn't understand why she was being isolated by everyone. On the train, she acted more like a straightforward person who was honest and outspoken rather than scheming, while Xie Yunshu and Lin Jingshu were aggressive and unforgiving.

Moreover, she didn't have any conflicts with the others! But after that incident, these people all tacitly treated her as if she didn't exist, as if there were only the five of them who were sent to Fengsheng Brigade this time.

Selfish people find it hard to admit their mistakes and are more likely to habitually shift the blame to others.

Just then, the former educated youth who had gone out for a stroll before the autumn harvest returned. When they saw the new faces in the center of the courtyard, they immediately realized that these were the new educated youth.

……

Thanks to the positive atmosphere in Fengsheng Brigade, although the former educated youth were anxious about returning to the city, they didn't fight tooth and nail over food, drink, or personal gain.

In particular, the older educated youth could spot the few single rooms with their doors open with just a glance.

What does this mean? It means these new educated youths are definitely not short of money! It means they're not here to share their food rations or take up space in their bunks, but rather to potentially benefit from someone's generosity!

The older educated youths had already experienced the ways of the world, and they all enthusiastically stepped forward to chat with Yun Shu and the others. The two male educated youths who had also rented single rooms were a little reserved, but they were also very polite.

After a brief exchange, Yun Shu and the others learned a lot of useful information, such as how to plant their private plots, where to find vegetable seeds, how to gather firewood, and most importantly, where to collect their food.

The older educated youth also gained a basic understanding of Yun Shu and her group's "not short of money" persona.

So one of the older educated youth, who looked the most refined but had thick, strong arms and was clearly the leader, spoke up and gave some pointers.

When educated youth first arrived in the countryside, the local farm would lend them some grain, mostly coarse grains like sweet potatoes, with very little refined grain. They would return the grain at the end of the year according to their work points earned, and what was left was their entire harvest for the year. If they wanted refined grain, they could exchange it with the farm or buy it; as long as the price was right, the farm members were happy to trade with the educated youth.

But no matter what method you use, you still have to collect the food yourself.

Yun Shu nodded in understanding, because she knew that this wasn't like the 21st century where express delivery and takeout would be delivered to your door; nowadays, everyone was responsible for their own affairs.

Having obtained useful information, Yun Shu and the others thanked her. After agreeing to have dinner together that evening as a way of welcoming the new members, Yang Yue, who felt that her presence had been completely ignored, finally couldn't hold back any longer. With red eyes and a wronged expression, she rushed out of the main room, startling the other female educated youths.

After listening to Yang Yue's self-introduction, the older educated youth quickly glanced at Yun Shu and the others with inquisitive eyes, and they had a vague guess in their hearts.

The female educated youths suddenly felt uneasy, fearing that the atmosphere in the dormitory room, which they had finally managed to make comfortable, would become 'lively' again because of Yang Yue, an outsider. However, since they did not know more specific details about many things, everyone wanted to maintain some dignity.

As the one who was teased, Yun Shu could naturally show her attitude of ignoring Yang Yue, even though Yang Yue explained again in front of the old educated youth that she was just a bit straightforward on the train and hadn't thought too much about it and it was just a misunderstanding. She even apologized to Yun Shu and asked for forgiveness, trying to change her first impression of herself among the old educated youth.

Yun Shu reiterated her previous statement: "We're not that close, so don't get involved."

As her new best friend, Lin Jingshu naturally couldn't let Yang Yue wrongly accuse Yun Shu of being an unreasonable young lady with just a few words. With her quick wit, Lin Jingshu explained in a few sentences how Yang Yue had 'kindly comforted' Yun Shu on the train. Instantly, everyone's hesitant eyes cleared up.

……

Yang Yue felt a surge of resentment, regretting that she had been too impulsive and driven by jealousy, and hadn't thoroughly investigated the two women before breaking off relations with them prematurely.

But it was too late to say anything now. Yang Yue didn't want to be ostracized in this endless period of being a sent-down youth, so she forced herself to calm down and chose to lie low and bide her time.

If she can't outsmart Xie Yunshu and Lin Jingshu, can't she outsmart others?

Yang Yue was seething with hatred inside, but on the surface, she still acted aggrieved and tried to please everyone. This made the older educated youth who had no conflicts with Yang Yue feel embarrassed to ignore her.

Since Yang Yue didn't stay in a single room, it was inevitable that the other female educated youth would have many interactions with her.

No one knows what Yang Yue said to the other educated youths, but by dinner time that evening, Yang Yue was able to easily blend in and chat and laugh with the other female educated youths living in the same room.

The two Shus exchanged a glance, their guard immediately rising.

Yun Shu originally only remembered that Yang Yue in the book caused a lot of trouble for the female protagonist, and even almost succeeded many times. She was like an unkillable cockroach and an unshakeable leech, with formidable fighting power.

Unexpectedly, she now has an irreconcilable conflict with Yang Yue and has become one of the people Yang Yue is targeting.

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