Three Years Flew By
After Wang Yue and the other educated youths came down from the mountain, they soon returned to the Educated Youth Point. They chatted and laughed along the way, growing more familiar with one another.
The educated youths got busy. Even Zhao Xiaomai went with Zheng Xiaoyan to knead dough and make dumplings, officially becoming part of their little group.
The villagers of Wang Family Village could only shake their heads helplessly at the educated youths' wasteful ways. They figured that before long, the youths would have to rely on their families to send them grain. Otherwise, they might not have enough to eat.
The educated youths, however, didn't seem to realize they might go hungry. They were much like Wang Yue when he'd first arrived in this era: they weren't used to lighting fires in the cold winter, and the new kang at the Educated Youth Point wasn't all that comfortable.
Still, the educated youths had come to the countryside with firm convictions. They believed they were there to receive reeducation from the Poor and Lower-Middle Peasants, and they could handle a little hardship.
Wang Yue admired their conviction. Their optimism was worth learning from in such difficult conditions, but he wasn't about to let Zhao Xiaomai go hungry in the cold winter.
So, unlike the villagers who were waiting to laugh at the youths, Wang Yue took the initiative to explain how serious their grain shortage was. Their food rations were only guaranteed for the first year; after that, they'd have to fend for themselves.
But apart from Zhao Xiaomai, none of the others took his warning to heart. Jichun wasn't all that far away, after all. If they ran out of food, they could just go home and ask for more.
Seeing that no