The educated youth sitting beside him was named Wu Yongfei, a 24-year-old from Jiang City, who came here in 1969.
The bespectacled Qi Yang was also from Jiang City, a 22-year-old who came here in 1969.
Then there was Zhang Yunhao, an 18-year-old from Beijing, who also came here in 1969.
Zhou Yadong, a 20-year-old from Ganzhou, was also part of the 1969 batch of educated youth.
Ge Sujuan and Wang Nan were both educated youth sent down in 1968, both 18-year-old classmates.
Upon learning that Zhou Qiuyu was only 14, Ge Sujuan frowned but said nothing.
Instead, she changed the topic, saying, "We're busy with the autumn harvest these days. After a good meal, you two should wash up and rest well for the night, or your bodies won't hold up."
"Okay."
The two nodded.
Zhou Qiuyu rubbed her hands and asked, "Will we be eating together in the future?"
Ge Sujuan and the others looked troubled, not very willing.
The main issue was that the girl ate too much. Despite being young and small, her appetite was a bit outrageous.
A big bowl of thick porridge with a large steamed bun still didn't satisfy her as she finished off all the dishes.
It left them all slightly unsatisfied with their own meals.
"As you wish."
The elder brother Bai Chen delegated the choice.
Zhou Qiuyu looked again at Yi Chichi, who met her gaze with serene composure.
"I'll not eat with you guys. I'll borrow some grains from the team tomorrow and return them to you."
Wang Nan grew curious, "Why won't you eat with us?"
Compared to Zhou Qiuyu, they preferred dining with Yi Chichi.
Her appetite was normal, and she didn't smack her lips loudly or dig through the dishes with chopsticks.
Zhou Qiuyu...
Forget it, it's better left unsaid.
Yi Chichi sighed, "Let me keep the mystery for now; you'll find out later."
At that time, Wang Nan and the rest didn't quite grasp her words, but by the next evening, they understood.
After reporting to the brigade office in the morning, Yi Chichi disappeared, reappearing in the evening.
When they returned from the fields, they found her crouched in the yard brewing medicine.
The entire courtyard was filled with the scent of herbs.
Not unpleasant, but not pleasant either.
"Are you ill?"
Ge Sujuan approached with a worried expression.
Yi Chichi gave a gentle acknowledgment, "I need to drink this medicine for a while; I must watch my diet."
"You indeed can't eat with us."
Who knew what illness it was, or whether it was contagious?
She looked somewhat troubled, unsure whether to ask.
Zhang Yunhao, without such concerns, bluntly asked, "Mr. Yi, is your illness contagious?"
This was essentially asking if it was infectious.
Everyone in the courtyard pricked up their ears. Yi Chichi wasn't upset; instead, she smiled.
"My body has been weakened quite severely and needs some recuperation."
After giving her a once-over, everyone finally understood why she was so thin.
Turns out it was due to poor health.
"Well, you go ahead, and we'll get started on dinner."
"Okay."
Half an hour later, Yi Chichi carried the brewed medicine back into the house.
It was too hot and needed to cool down before drinking.
So, she returned the grains she borrowed from them the previous day.
The sent-down youth received a grain subsidy for the first two months, twenty jin of grain per person per month.
Fifteen jin of coarse grain and five jin of fine grain.
Her stomach couldn't handle coarse grains, so she bought three jin of rice and two jin of flour from the brigade leader.
She couldn't afford to return the fine grain since she didn't have enough for herself.
Thus, she paid back the coarse grain she borrowed with more coarse grain.
Wang Nan, just igniting the stove, noticed the cornmeal she brought and commented, "There's a bit more."
Yi Chichi, "..."
She glanced at the cornmeal in the bowl, smiled, and said, "Keep it. If I need more, I'll borrow from you again."
Such trivial amounts weren't worth bickering over, anyway, they wouldn't be dining together anymore.
"Alright."
After returning what she borrowed, Yi Chichi chatted with them briefly before going back to her room to drink the medicine.
It truly tasted terrible.
The thought of drinking such bitter medicine for a while more filled her with overwhelming despair.
She had to figure out a way.
Food supplements are better than medicinal ones, but given her current situation, food supplements were impossible.
So—
"Keep eating."
She swaggered into the kitchen.
Wang Nan and the others were having dinner, gnawing on cornbread and pickles, looking utterly miserable.
"Sit!"
Bai Chen, holding a cornbread while pointing to a bench, asked, "Want some?"
Yi Chichi waved her hands, "I just drank the medicine."
"Then why are you here?"
Ge Sujuan curiously asked.
She smiled sheepishly, "Will the village organize a hunting party up in the mountains after the autumn harvest?"
Bai Chen and the others were so shocked that their eyes widened; they couldn't believe she was asking about hunting.
"Is there really hunting?"
Zhou Qiuyu's eyes brightened, and Yi Chichi wasn't far behind.
Bai Chen and the others were speechless; these two's focus was truly unique.
"Yes."
Bai Chen, who was the earliest to arrive, knew the village situation well and said, "Every year after the harvest, the team organizes a hunting party before the snow seals off the mountains."
"But..."
Yi Chichi and Zhou Qiuyu perked up their ears, leaning forward attentively.
"It doesn't concern us educated youth."
The implication: they had no slot for the mountain hunt.
Zhou Qiuyu's eyes sparkled, "Will the youth be allocated any meat if they catch game?"
"Yes!"
After all, they were part of Kao Shan Village; although they weren't great workers and were frowned upon wherever they went, the team didn't really exclude or mistreat them.
There was a slight difference in treatment, which was understandable.
After all, they were outsiders.
"The amount won't be much; you can buy from the team if needed."
As for how much, that would depend on the situation.
"Any wild boars?"
"Not necessarily."
It was when Wang Nan reflexively answered that he realized something was amiss and asked, "Are you craving meat?"
"Aren't you?"
She countered with another question, and they all laughed. How could they not crave meat, but it was hard to come by.
Buying meat required money as well as tickets.
The critical issue was the supply shortage.
There was no meat for sale in the village, and even when the commune had it, by the time they got the news and went there, it was already cleaned out.
"Don't bother thinking about it, just wait for the harvest to end and see what the captain brings back."
That's all they could do.
In the evening, Yi Chichi sat on her kang examining all her belongings: 1862 yuan, 5 mao, and 6 fen in cash.
There were two kinds of grain coupons: national grain coupons and military grain coupons, totaling eighty-six jin and three liang.
Yi Chichi had no idea where Yi Yong got these grain coupons, but it didn't matter; now, they belonged to her.
Among the remaining tickets, she took the self-confidence vehicle ticket, the sewing machine ticket, and the cash receipt ticket; she left the fabric and soap tickets.
They were not only time-sensitive but also useless outside of Lincheng.
They'd likely end up with Yi Jing, unless they were taken by the Revolutionary Committee.
However, in Yi Chichi's estimation, the Revolutionary Committee would act faster.
Her hypnosis skills weren't learned in vain; she understood Zhang JianShe well enough to know he was pragmatic yet ruthlessly efficient.
With the trap she set, the Yi Yong couple would surely turn on each other.
Nine lives, plus false accusations, would be enough to sentence this couple to death!
Without their parents' protection, Yi Jing and her siblings' future would be filled with endless suffering.