Educated Youth in the Countryside: She is the Village's Embroidery Queen!-Chapter 394: Getting Things Done

Kang Youxin opened his mouth to answer but realized that his elder sister probably wouldn’t understand what he said clearly, so he turned around to fetch pen and paper.

He was stopped by Wen’s mother.

"Forget it, not important. In any case, quickly go out and find Chichi. Have her take you to report to the team leader."

Kang Youxin, "..."

His elder sister’s personality was as decisive as always.

He was fine with it; as an obedient younger brother, when his elder sister told him to go east, he absolutely wouldn’t go west.

Thus, Yi Chichi, who was carrying seafood and malted milk, encountered a man who seemed to have missed out on food for centuries because he needed to report. He wolfed down the food and chugged a cup of malted milk without caring about the heat.

Yi Chichi watched in amazement and couldn’t help but warn, "Uncle, slow down, no one is competing for food with you; careful not to choke."

Kang Youxin’s response was to put down the empty cup, burp contentedly, and then grab pen and paper, signaling Yi Chichi to take him to see the team leader.

"Are all your documents in order?"

"They are."

The lack of documents only restricted him to move freely on his own patch of land. To leave the city or travel across several cities, he couldn’t even think of taking a bus without documents.

Worried that Yi Chichi wouldn’t believe him, he undid his army coat and took out his work ID and other travel related documents from his pocket to show her.

Yi Chichi glanced at them and took him to see the team leader.

Before they set out, Wen’s mother, who had come out upon hearing the commotion, reminded them to ask the team leader to find a place for him to sleep.

Yi Chichi agreed and then led Kang Youxin to find the team leader.

When they arrived, they found that the team leader, who had returned with a wooden box and put it down, had gone to the brigade office.

The party secretary and others were also there.

Upon learning Yi Chichi’s intentions, the team leader and others, following protocol, checked Kang Youxin’s documents and arranged for his lodging.

He would stay at the party secretary’s house, in the room of his youngest son, Liu Liang.

Liu Liang, having received his graduation certificate, had found a temporary job at the county’s junkyard through a well-connected classmate.

The distance between the county and Kao Shan Village was too far, making it impossible for him to commute daily, so he stayed at his classmate’s home, sharing a room.

This left his room at home vacant.

As the party secretary put it, it was fully equipped and very convenient.

Kang Youxin, being generous, directly took out five yuan as a lodging fee.

The party secretary refused to accept the money, and Yi Chichi couldn’t possibly let him pay.

She snatched the money back into Kang Youxin’s hand and quickly took out two packs of Da Qian Men cigarettes, handing them over.

"Uncle, you must take this, otherwise there’ll be no lodging."

As soon as she said this, the party secretary, who intended to refuse, immediately retracted his hand.

"Alright, uncle will accept it."

The child’s goodwill was hard to decline once more.

Kang Youxin looked at Yi Chichi with great surprise, as if puzzled by her understanding of social etiquette.

Yi Chichi didn’t have her eyes on him and didn’t notice his change in expression, unlike the team leader and others.

Curious, they observed Kang Youxin’s expression and laughed when they saw it.

"Mr. Kang, don’t think that Chichi looks unreliable. She’s actually very capable."

The implication: she’s sharp in social affairs.

The socially adept Yi Chichi wanted to say, I’m not a fool; I understand what needs to be understood.

But she swallowed her words, saying instead—

"Why is everyone at the brigade office?"

"Don’t even mention it, there’s a notification from above urging us to respond to national policies by promoting production and labor. We’re to mobilize the members to do some work, not just sit around all day in the winter."

Yi Chichi looked at the weather outside, and then at the team leader and others.

Seeing their expressions of helplessness, she also found it absurd.

"So what are you planning to do?"

"We’ve discussed it and decided to pick beans, grind grains, and spread fertilizer—these all count as labor."

Good idea, picking beans can be done indoors.

Grinding grains can also be indoors. The spreading fertilizer part is unavoidable though.

But with frozen manure having no smell and exercise generating heat, it’s not that unbearable once you get started.

"A full-scale mobilization?"

"That can’t be done."

There aren’t that many beans, grains, and manure for everyone to assign; "just doing it appropriately will do."

Yi Chichi immediately understood; this was classic policy above, countermeasure below.

Since it was still early and far from mealtime, Yi Chichi left Kang Youxin with the curious team leader and others.

Kang Youxin was also happy to stay and interact with them, so in the end, Yi Chichi went home alone.

Wen’s mother wasn’t surprised by this, but instead asked Yi Chichi about whether Mu Da could solve Kang Youxin’s issue.

"Mom, you’re really putting me in a tough spot. I really don’t know about this, but we’ll find out when Aunt Mu comes back for a consultation."

Wen’s mother sighed, "Xiao Kang is really pitiful."

A child? 𝑓𝓇𝘦ℯ𝘸𝘦𝑏𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓂

Thinking of Kang Youxin’s weathered and rugged face, and then looking at Wen’s mother, who was naturally beautiful even in old age, Yi Chichi was at a loss for words, "Mom, he looks older than you."

"No, he’s about ten years younger than I am."

Kang Youxin was an orphan, almost starved to death by the roadside, and was saved when their troops passed by.

Then Kang Youxin clung to them and became the youngest soldier in their team.

Recalling these past events, she smiled, "It’s fortunate he isn’t living too poorly now."

Yi Chichi responded, "Mom, have you been in contact with Uncle Kang lately?"

"No."

"Then how did Uncle Kang find us?"

"He must have found out through Aunt Hong’s side."

The Aunt Hong Wen’s mother mentioned was an old comrade they visited in the city last year, named Du Hongyan.

She currently holds a position in the Women’s Federation in the city and has maintained a good relationship with Wen’s mother.

The time Yi Chichi accompanied Wen’s mother to see her, they received a meeting gift, an overcoat supposedly from Shanghai.

It fit her perfectly, but she never got a chance to wear it in Kao Shan Village.

Since she got it, it’s been sitting in her closet, waiting for an opportunity to wear it in the future.

"How’s your embroidery coming along?"

The topic switched so quickly that Yi Chichi was momentarily taken aback before she replied, "It’ll be finished before spring."

"Will you visit Xiao Shi in the spring?"

"Mom, are you going?"

Instead of answering, Yi Chichi asked back, leaving Wen’s mother stunned. Was she going?

Honestly, she wasn’t too eager.

But she missed her son.

After contemplating back and forth, she sighed, "I think I’ll pass."

"Why? Don’t you miss Wen Shi?"

Her prolonged silence was telling, and Yi Chichi saw that she was obviously tempted. She thought Wen’s mother would agree to go, only to find out otherwise.

To be honest, this answer was quite disappointing to her.

She genuinely wanted to take Wen’s mother to see her son; Wen Shi actually missed her a lot too.

"The travel time is too long, and I get seasick."

Mentioning this, Wen’s mother started urging them to have children for the first time since marriage, "Tell Wen Shi that when you visit this time. Whenever you two have a baby, that’s when I’ll travel with you."

The troops will rotate, and the positions will change naturally. By that time, Wen Shi might not even be on the island.

Then she wouldn’t need to take a boat, which would be perfect.