The youth dedicated train for this trip has two destinations.
One is Hei Province where Yi Chichi is headed, and the other is a farm on the Inner Mongolia border.
The train cannot go directly; it needs to detour to Qiqihar first to drop off the youths going to the farm, then continue onward.
In the 1970s, the train's speed was 60-80 kilometers per hour, and the journey from Lincheng to Qiqihar totaled over two thousand kilometers.
Oh my, I can't calculate it, it would be hopeless!
It feels like after this train ride, her lower body will disappear.
Yi Chichi, calculating the time, looked miserable. Across from her, a girl with round, red eyes and dimples sniffed, "If you want to cry, then cry. It's everyone's first time leaving home for such a long distance. No one will laugh at you."
Yi Chichi, "..." I don't want to cry, the ones who should be crying now are Yi Jing and the others.
If nothing unexpected happens, the Youth Office should be going to her house to deliver the notice.
Thinking about Yi Jing also having to go to the countryside, the little person in her heart does a joyful hula dance, yet on the surface, she remains calm and says, "Thanks for the concern."
Not a word more.
The sweet girl's eyes immediately softened, "You're stronger than me. By the way, my name is Pu Yu, I've been assigned to the Construction Corps. What about you?"
The Construction Corps is a good place. It has a salary, apparently twenty or thirty a month, which isn't low even in the city.
Yi Chichi felt a tinge of envy rising in her, but she smiled without showing it, "My name is Yi Chichi, an educated youth going to the countryside for communal living."
"My name is An Hao, assigned to a forest farm."
Once someone started talking, the girls consumed by the sorrow of leaving home quickly shifted their attention and began to join the conversation.
They were teenagers filled with beautiful expectations for the future. With separate compartments for males and females, they all got along quite well.
They helped each other look after luggage, didn't encounter traffickers or petty thieves, and smoothly arrived within Hei Province.
Then, the food on the train ran out.
Just as Yi Chichi and the others were getting dizzy from hunger, the train reached Qiqihar and food supplies were replenished.
A batch of bread, supported by the people of Qiqihar.
The taste wasn't great, but it filled the stomach.
Yi Chichi didn't mind and ate heartily.
Sitting next to her was An Hao, a girl with clean, neat teeth, slender, soft fingers, and well-dressed.
A little spoiled, having never really suffered, but she wasn't a bad person.
She took a bite, wrinkled her face, and lightly muttered, "This bread is awful."
Dry and rough, the texture was unpleasant.
"Even if it's not good, you have to eat it. It's better than starving."
Yin Meiyun, with her youthful hairstyle, spoke earnestly, "If you really can't eat it, you don't have to, but don't throw it away. Save it for the forest farm as a gesture, it won't be wasted."
An Hao replied with an "Oh," and seeing Yi Chichi eating happily, nudged her with her elbow, "Chichi, do you like eating this bread?"
Not really.
But whether she liked it or not, it didn't matter. In this era, being full meant happiness, and there was no room for pickiness.
Besides, the upbringing she had didn't allow for wasting food.
"It's okay, I need to eat enough, or else I won't have the strength when we arrive."
"Why would you need strength when you get there? Isn't it just getting on a car with the people who come to pick us up?"
Pu Yu blinked her big round eyes, pure and cute.
"We might have to walk."
Yi Chichi kept it short, "Not every team has a tractor. We can't fall behind and leave a bad impression when we're new."
It would make integration into the environment difficult.
Adapt to the environment accordingly.
Now that they're in the countryside, living comfortably requires being perceptive.
The girls present were clever and quietly finished their bread after hearing what she said.
An Hao even muttered to herself as she patted her stomach after swallowing the last bite, "Actually, I found it quite tasty after eating it."
Yi Chichi and the others smiled but said nothing.
By late September, the temperature in Hei Province had already dropped, making it hard to sleep at night due to the cold.
Fortunately, they would arrive the next morning, so they just had to hang in there a bit longer.
The next morning, a little after eight, the train finally arrived at the destination.
Amidst the loud gathering calls, Yi Chichi and the others disembarked with their luggage.
"Chichi, we're going to be separated. I'll miss you."
It was Pu Yu speaking, the young girl was a genuine sweetheart, and what made her truly special was her cheerful and smile-filled nature.
She was well-versed in the ways of the world, with a perfect sense of boundaries.
Compared to the somewhat delicate An Hao, Yi Chichi preferred her more.
Upon hearing, she smiled and said, "Maybe the places we're going to aren't far apart."
Pu Yu sighed, "I hope so."
But once they got to the allocation point and asked the officials picking them up, they found out that the Construction Corps, forest farm, and farm where Pu Yu's group was assigned were over a hundred kilometers away from Yi Chichi's Kao Shan Village, with the closest being over forty kilometers.
With the hope of visiting each other gone, they exchanged addresses and went their separate ways.
She carried her luggage and walked out with the crowd.
The train station was packed with people, and the loudspeaker announcements were nonstop.
Amidst the noise, Yi Chichi distinguished a voice calling, "Educated youths going to Baoshan County report here!"
Five minutes later, she stood at the Baoshan County Youth Office's designated spot.
The Youth Office official checked her registration and paperwork, then pointed to the military-green Liberation truck at the back, "Go wait on the truck."
Thus, a weary Yi Chichi boarded the Liberation truck headed for Baoshan County.
There were over thirty educated youths on the truck, and since everyone hadn't arrived yet, it wouldn't leave immediately.
It was too noisy to sleep, so they could only chat and exchange information.
Baoshan County had a farm, a forest farm, and a Construction Corps, and most of the youths on the truck were headed to these three places.
Only Yi Chichi and a girl named Zhou Qiuyu were going to Kao Shan Village.
Perhaps because they were headed to the same place, Zhou Qiuyu automatically grouped herself with Yi Chichi, switched places to sit beside her.
When she noticed Yi Chichi looking over, she smiled amiably.
The girl had a plain but pleasant appearance, yet her captivating eyes stood out.
Clean, striking, and her agreeable demeanor exuded a lively aura like a small deer in the forest.
Yi Chichi smiled at her, "Close your eyes and rest."
"Okay."
The child was obedient, and at her voice, cuddled her small bundle next to Yi Chichi on the seats and fell asleep almost immediately.
In no time, she was snoring, her quality of sleep enviably high.
Especially as the vehicle started moving, bouncing along the road so much it felt like they might be thrown off, yet it didn't wake her, making it even more enviable.
The vehicle shook for over four hours before they finally reached Baoshan County.
After getting off and transferring to another vehicle, with one more round of adjustments they settled onto a tractor bumpier than the Liberation truck, finally reaching Baoshan Commune a little past two in the afternoon.
This time, there was no need for more transfers; Yi Chichi, holding onto Zhou Qiuyu, headed to the Kao Shan Village station and met the team leader Liu Chengqi who was there to pick them up.
Seeing the two young girls standing before him, the team leader furrowed his brow.