As the sky darkened, a loud gong rang out across the fields, and the villagers tirelessly made their way home.
The main room of the Brigade Headquarters, which doubled as an office, was bustling with activity as the newly arrived educated youths assembled.
The walls boasted a patchwork of framed certificates and vibrant banners that demanded attention. Slogans like 'Develop the economy, be self-reliant, and work hard in adversity' stretched across the room, while bold words such as 'Unity' and 'Labour is glorious' shouted their messages in oversized letters.
At the center of the formation was 'Always follow the Party, serve the people.'
Some educated youth paused in confusion.
This entire place has a strong feeling of warding off evil.
It might be their misconception. The place was obviously full of progressive thoughts.
According to Comrade Gu Zhiqing, the brigade headquarters used to be a landlord's house.
Except for the Brigade Secretary whom they've met, there were two unfamiliar faces. One of them had a ferocious appearance and a masculine build, while the other appeared to be an amiable elder who smiled as a greeting.
The tough guy with a scar on his face nodded at them and talked with no nonsense. "I'm the Captain of the Marching Brigade, Shen Tiezhu. Educated youths will receive subsidies for the first two months, twenty kilograms of food per month for each person. It's autumn harvest and it's more than enough until the distribution of grains. I already asked someone to pack them for you."
Just as he said, people came in carrying a few cloth bags.
Seeing the leading person with a brilliant smile, the captain felt a headache as his serious expression cracked.
This person was not subtle in her sinister intentions!
Shen Miaomiao didn't care about blinding the captain's dog eyes with her radiance. She swaggered towards the pleasant, good-natured-looking elder and then sat beside him.
Taking out her pen, she took over the work of the accountant. "Come here and record your name, then get your grains. You also have to return the cloth bag after or use work points to offset the cost."
A cheerful army of little radishes rushed into the front line, voices chiming with a 'sister' here and a 'sister' there, and some 'brothers' in between. After experiencing the adults' intimidating welcome that left them trembling, these city dwellers found themselves disarmed by the children's warm smiles and gentle questions, asking if they were tired or if they needed help. Their prior repulse melted and they felt touched.
Moved by the moment, some soft-hearted girls began rummaging through their pockets, eager to find candies and snacks.
When Shen Xingshen wrote down his name, the young girl opened her mouth and read in a crisp tone, "Shen Xingshen."
Their eyes met for a second before he immediately turned to look at the ground.
"Your handwriting is so elegant and good-looking. It matches you."
"... Thank you."
Seeing the guy acting like a shy maiden, Shen Miaomiao wanted to tease him, but then her father poked her waist and she almost yelped out of the chair. Holding down her rarely found shame, Shen Miaomiao was unable to continue and instead turned her attention around to kick her father under the table.
As expected of her father, he retaliated directly by stepping on this unfilial daughter.
"Dad!"
Ouch! Their father-daughter relationship is about to be broken along with her foot!
"Okay, what are you shouting about with your dad? Can I hurt you? Quit playing around, your mother is still waiting for us to have dinner together."
"Dad, you are really my dad."
She came to do his work; what's wrong with carrying some hidden agendas along? She's multitasking! It's called efficient time management!
After receiving their grains, five of the newly arrived educated youth didn't leave right away. They had to settle their housing, and while doing so, also probe about their work. After all, the profound lessons of reality have been knocking on their door and showing off.
While they still held disdain towards these country folks, they had to tighten their skin for a while and learn more to hide it.
At least for the next couple of days, the demons and monsters from the hearts of these naive and arrogant children will be exorcists.
Truth be told, the villagers swear that their unique welcoming was for all to see. Don't blame them for not giving a fair warning to these outsiders.
...
Early in the morning, Shen Miaomiao woke up by herself and tidied the house a bit before making a commotion next door.
Even before the sun rose, her parents, siblings, and sisters-in-law were already busy inside the house. Her little nephews, however, are just like her, waiting for the sun to shine on their butts.
It's still her, their elder, who had to take matters into her hands and dig them out of bed.
The older ones are fine, but the younger ones involved fierce screaming and even some threats of violence.
Of course, crying for their parents was useless, and they still had to submit to the whims of the tyrant Shen Miaomiao as part of their regular morning routine.
They did a little stretch, a run around the village, and then a few boxing exercises. After that, Shen Miaomiao returned the wilting little radishes to their parents for breakfast.
When the gong sounded from the loudspeaker, everyone ran to the fields.
Shen Maiomaio, on the other hand, strolled with a bamboo grass on her mouth.
Despite having a big family, she has no major responsibilities. Her parents do not expect her to farm or demand she do household chores; everything depends on her mood and she just needs to live well.
But when she saw the Captain along the path, she jumped up like a rabbit and disappeared.
Although she doesn't need these work points to eat, it's better not to be an eyesore.
She is the youngest daughter of the old village accountant and has three older brothers that's almost old enough to be her father. Having three additional pairs of parents means she also has a string of nephews that's around her age. These half-grown boys can eat a family poor but they all can already work on the fields, earning two to six work points to feed themselves.
As the only girl in three generations of their family, it's not an exaggeration to say that they have spoiled her silly, and if not for the limitations of the era, they would have wanted to raise her as a city girl.
Shen Maiomiao has no need to suffer, but other families can't be said to have the same condition as hers. As a certified unreasonable bully in the village, her lonely path was unique to herself, and she wouldn't allow other people to carry the burden of someone else.
After a difficult decision to sacrifice her fellows, Shen Miaomiao decided to temporarily take on the militia's work.
It's the autumn harvest and every helping hand counts!