"They are the locals, and their backgrounds are redder than ours." Xie Xiuping rolled his eyes. He really can't help it. "We've been telling you newcomers not to mess with them, but you won't cry until you see the coffin, right?"
"But you don't have to be so afraid of them." Wei Shen sprang to his feet, with the wild, reckless blood of youth racing through his veins.
"If we keep tolerating their bad manners, they'll just keep pushing us around. We should never forget to stand tall! And fight against their tyranny! We came here with the courage for progress, not to let them hinder our way. Sure, they're ignorant, and we should be understanding, but that's more reason for us to remain strong and steadfast on our initial intentions."
"...I can't explain it to you!"
He threw out a handful of words, only for this guy to fling them right back, and with interest!
Xie Xiuping stomped his foot, annoyed with these newcomers, his patience wearing thin.
The villagers already dislike them and always refer to them as outsiders when cursing.
But after a few troublemakers were sent packing, things with the brigade members smoothed out, and life settled into a delicate yet peaceful balance. That is, until these hotheaded fools, all nerve and no sense, with more courage than brains, started stirring up trouble again.
"Okay. Okay. That's enough." Gu Shengnan had to step in and be the constant peacekeeper.
The other old educated youths also spoke up to defuse the situation, saying that the Marching Brigade was good enough and that the villagers were not that bad. They are aggressive and a bit hard to talk to, but really! Most of the time, the villagers will ignore them.
In the countryside, it was best to be treated as invisible, ok?
What Xie Xiuping said wasn't just warnings, but the result of accumulated experiences.
So please, you unfortunate brats, have some mercy; you're driving us to tears.
"So that's it?" Lin Li's tears have dried up. She has also gathered her calm after venting her emotions.
By the time the old educated youths showed their spineless attitude, she had already let it go, treating it as a lesson.
Those who can be sent to the Marching Brigade are either lucky, smart, or from decent families that have connections.
Lin Li came from a middle-class family of workers.
With older siblings in front of her, Lin Li knew it wouldn't be her turn to inherit her parents' jobs. So, she stepped forward and volunteered as an educated youth. She gambled on the last scraps of their affection to stir a little guilt in their hearts.
Because of this, her parents not only gave her all the subsidies and prepared her luggage, providing all the needed necessities, but they also went around relatives and friends to find reliable information before signing her up.
They even made repeated visits to the street office, humbling themselves to prevent accidents at the last minute.
Her parents had limited ability. They're helpless, and yes, they didn't choose her, and all they had for her was guilt. But she was their daughter, and she would always be their daughter; they had not abandoned her, and that was enough.
So Lin Li believes in her parents' helplessness and guilt, and that they won't let her be sent to a place from which she can't return.
As long as she holds on, she will always have a home waiting for her.
"Don't worry, that's the end of it. Most of it."
Someone spoke up, and nearly all of the older educated youths nodded in weary agreement.
"....."
The old man spinning tales at the entrance of the street sounds more convincing than all of you combined.
"As for rumors, they won't talk about it for long. Probably. Anyway, you don't have to care too much– Argh…" A girl scratched her head, unable to explain the situation. "Ummm. As long as you are not embarrassed, it will be others that's embarrassed…"
"That's what the daughter of the old account always says."
Qian Feng tensed up, sensitive about this person.
He couldn't figure out if the old educated youths had some kind of friendship with her and doubted they ever took her advice. Still, it felt like she was everywhere.
The old educated youths can only express that it's complicated.
"Anyway, anyway… Just think about the bright side! You know, the turnover of educated youths in the marching brigade is frequent."
"That's right! Multiple people are sent here, but some will leave every year."
As for whether they return to the city or were sent away to further places, there's no need to be clear.
For the new educated youths, even the faintest glimmer of hope was enough to calm all impulses.
Wei Shen frowned, his arm folded in his chest. "Being able to return is our ability, don't make it sound like we owe it to the brigade."
Xie Xiuping's hand itched, his fingers twitching with the urge to act.
Who on earth let this fool out of the house? Are they hoping he'll cause chaos for someone else? Perhaps they want someone to slap some sense into him? If that's the case, Xie Xiuping will volunteer himself.
Sensing his course of action, Gu Shengnan wrapped Xie Xiuping in a bear hug, his mouth running nonstop like a chant, talking about ideologies, unity, and honor, trying to instill some sense of calm in Xie Xiuping's heated head.
"Why are all the people here so short-tempered?" Lu Xia, at the side, asked the profound question aloud.
Qian Feng offered an awkward smile, apologizing for Wei Shen, something which Wei Shen obviously didn't appreciate. It resulted in him initiating a one-sided verbal fight with Qian Feng.
He kept repeating 'fake' and 'hypocrite' over and over, struggling to produce a more precise term to convey his exact view of Qian Feng's character.
Enlightened, Lu Xia gasped. "So, everything ends with a fight in the Marching Brigade."
Li Mengdi, "???"