Back to the 60s: The Struggle Career of a Charmed Wife
Chapter 1263: Going to the Countryside 2

Chapter 1263: Chapter 1263: Going to the Countryside 2

In the train, more than half of the passengers were educated youths like them, both male and female, carrying luggage, shoulder bags, and mesh bags filled with daily necessities like enamel basins, the majority beaming with excitement and their eyes full of longing for the future.

Zheng Huihui huddled in her seat by the window, hugging her knees.

"Comrades, the countryside is a vast world where we will make a big difference once we arrive!" a young woman with ear-length short hair stood up, waving her arms with a loud voice, "We must go with full enthusiasm, and not show this disheartened and despondent face, making people think the state has forced you to go to the countryside!"

Hearing this accusation, girls like Zheng Huihui who were sad about leaving home quickly hid their expressions, messily wiped their faces with their sleeves, pretending they weren’t among those who had been crying just now.

The girl sitting next to Zheng Huihui was even two years younger than Zheng Huihui, her hair tied into two braids with red bands.

She had been the one crying the loudest, with a melon-seed face, big eyes, small lips, clear white skin, tall and thin, yet her eyes seemed to be filled with water, exuding an air of pitifulness.

"My name is Zheng Huihui, what’s your name?" asked Zheng Huihui, turning her head to the girl.

"Zhou Zhou, my name is Zhou Zhou."

Hearing the accent, she was from the Capital, Zheng Huihui’s expression became much warmer, "I just saw your ticket is to Huaibei City, mine too, so which part of the Wanglou Brigade have you been assigned to?"

Zhou Zhou replied softly, "Wanglou Brigade."

"What a coincidence?" Zheng Huihui’s face lit up with surprise, "I’m also going to the Wanglou Brigade, we can keep each other company."

At this, Zhou Zhou finally showed a hint of a smile on her face.

At home, she was the child who was neither cherished by her father nor doted on by her mother, the most dispensable one. Her older sister was the favorite; to avoid going to the countryside, she took over her mother’s job at the food factory early. Her younger brother was the family’s treasure and stayed at home under the pretense of being too young, leaving the slot for going to the countryside to fall on her, and she was initially assigned to the Mongolian Grassland.

Her grandmother cared for her, saying the great grassland wasn’t a good place, where you could ride a horse for a day and a night and might not even find another person. So she went secretly on tiptoe to see a distant cousin of her grandmother’s, who managed to get her transferred to the Wanglou Brigade in Huaibei City.

The cousin told her grandmother that the Wanglou Brigade was a good place where she could live in peace.

Whether it was a good place or not, Zhou Zhou couldn’t be sure yet, but when they got off the train and found that only the Wanglou Brigade had brought two mule carts to pick them up. After confirming their identities by their names, they invited the seven of them to put their luggage on and then to sit atop the carts; whereas other brigades had at most one or two ox-carts which only carried luggage, not people, and everyone had to walk back with them.

The leader of Wanglou Brigade, an old man in his sixties said, "I am the head of Wanglou Brigade and also the secretary; my name is Wang Zhengguo. I don’t care where you all came from, when you’re in Wanglou Brigade, you listen to me! Now that the luggage is loaded, get on the carts!"

The seven educated youths, three men and four women, involuntarily shivered and obediently sat on the mule carts divided by gender.

Wang Zhengguo drove the cart carrying the female comrades and asked Wang Dachun to drive the other one. He first called Zhou Zhou to move up and sit at front with him, freeing some space for others. While whipping the mules forward, he said, "You are here to receive re-education from the poor and lower-middle peasants, so just learn to work honestly. Don’t be too proud like city folks, saying you can’t do this or that. If you don’t know, learn properly; once you’ve learned, work well. You only get food when you’ve earned work points!"