Gift-Giving

Produced by Tomato Listening. Episode 16: Gift-Giving. With no other option, they had set up an Educated Youth Dormitory. Luckily, some of the educated youths had gradually settled down and started families locally. Otherwise, the dormitory simply would not have been able to take in the newcomers now.

Once a new batch of educated youths moved in, where would there be any room left for them?

The village chief told the commune leaders that their village truly had nowhere left to house people. But since they had rescued him, the response was simple: they had to figure out a way to solve the problem themselves.

Of course, the commune could offer a little subsidy, but everyone knew how much that would be. It certainly would not be enough to build an entire house.

Building another house for the educated youths would inevitably require the village to pay for it. The village chief nearly exploded on the spot.

Kindwater Village's residents were more or less divided among three major family clans. From Village Chief Zhao Fugui, Production Team Leader Wang Tianxiang, and accountant Li Wangsheng, the village's three major surnames were obvious. It was equally obvious that these three clans were not on friendly terms.

Village Chief Zhao Fugui had grievances he could not voice. In other villages, there was either only a village chief or only a production team leader. Within the whole village, that person essentially had the final say and commanded considerable authority.

But what about him? Whatever he did, he had to discuss it with the other two. He was restrained at every turn. It was easy to imagine that using the production team's money to build a house for the educated youths was no pleasant assignment.

What the village chief feared most was the production team leader saying that he had accepted benefits from the educated youths, which was why he was pushing for the house to be built.

The villagers did not care about policies or anything else. They only knew that the production team's money could not be spent on outsiders. If this went wrong, he would end up offending people on both sides.

The more he thought about it, the more upset the village chief became. For several days in a row, he stayed home sighing.

The village chief's wife could not stand watching anymore. "Next time more educated youths come, let Wang Tianxiang pick them up. Whoever picks them up arranges them. It can't be that every single matter falls on the village chief, can it? What does he even do as production team leader?"

The village chief snorted irritably.

"Hmph, you think he's stupid? Every year, he's the one who goes to the commune meetings. Isn't he also the one negotiating how much public grain our village turns in every year? If I push the educated youths onto him, he'll just push this job right back onto me."

"He's the production team leader. This is what he should be responsible for."

The village chief's wife said indignantly.

"Every year after the autumn harvest, the commune holds a meeting to discuss how much public grain each village can hand over the following year. Some villages aren't very smart. The moment they get provoked, they immediately make a military pledge, leaving their villagers to tighten their belts all year long and curse them endlessly."

"Look at Upper River Village last year. Their production team leader got carried away, and the whole village had to tighten their belts. Every year there are meetings, and every year some village falls for it. I don't want to deal with this sort of thing. One wrong move and I'll become the village's sinner."

"If I don't want to offend the villagers, I might end up offending the leaders instead. No matter how you look at it, it's not a good job."

"What do you know? By your logic, I'm the village chief, so shouldn't the educated youths be even more my responsibility?"

The village chief's wife choked on her words. She rolled her eyes at her old man and said no more, though inwardly she muttered that weren't these educated youths here to earn grain rations? How was that not the production team leader's responsibility? Still, she did not say it aloud.

The couple had gotten into an unpleasant argument when a crisp voice came from the doorway. "Is the village chief home?"

Following the voice, the two of them saw Educated Youth Lin standing at the entrance, peering into the courtyard.

They exchanged glances, both wondering what Lin Yuzhu had come for.

Seeing that Lin Yuzhu was carrying something, the village chief's wife hurriedly welcomed her warmly into the courtyard.

Although Kindwater Village had a large population, it also had plenty of land. Nearly every household had a large courtyard, and the homes were spread far apart. It was unlike the county town, where houses stood packed in rows with no privacy at all—say something in one yard, and the neighbors could hear every word.

So Lin Yuzhu was not worried about other villagers seeing her carry things into the courtyard.

It was already getting dark. With only a little daylight left, they did not invite Lin Yuzhu indoors.

Going inside would mean lighting an oil lamp, and the village chief's family naturally could not bear to waste one.

At this hour, no one could clearly see what had been placed on the table anyway. Who would come into the courtyard to inspect it closely? If they could not see it in the courtyard, who could baselessly claim that the village chief had accepted a gift?

Before Lin Yuzhu went to the countryside, the Lin Family siblings had all made some gesture.

Her eldest brother had bought her a pound of White Rabbit Milk Candy, and even Lin Second Sister knew to give a gift, buying her a packet of brown sugar.

The youngest Lin brother had no money, so he had nothing to offer.

Between the White Rabbit Milk Candy and the brown sugar, Lin Yuzhu ultimately decided to bring out half a packet of brown sugar.

Not only was White Rabbit Milk Candy expensive, but to villagers, aside from giving it to children, it had little practical use. It could not compare to brown sugar, and bringing it out would not make her lose face.

After bringing Lin Yuzhu into the courtyard and having her sit down, the village chief pretended to be angry. "You came, so you came. Why bring anything?"

"You're a young girl who came to the countryside alone. That's not easy. Hurry and take this back for yourself."

If Lin Yuzhu had actually taken those words seriously, she would have been a complete fool. Smiling, she said, "Heh, this isn't for free. I have something I need your help with."

The village chief was silent for a moment before speaking with a serious expression.

"What is it?"

"I'm only a village chief. I can't help with anything too major."

Lin Yuzhu glanced at the sky and did not intend to beat around the bush with him. If she delayed any longer, it would be completely dark. Walking back alone at night would not be safe, especially since she had to pass through a cornfield.

"I want to build a kitchen at the Educated Youth Dormitory."

Lin Yuzhu stated it directly.

"What, aren't the older educated youths eating with you anymore? Did they bully you?"

The village chief had never expected Lin Yuzhu to come to him about building a kitchen. Was money burning a hole in her pocket? Why build a kitchen specially?

Lin Yuzhu's goal naturally was not merely to build a separate kitchen. She wanted to take things one step at a time. Only with a reason could she continue discussing the matter.

So she briefly explained what had happened while cooking that day. Eating separately was inevitable.

After thinking it over carefully again, she tested the waters. "Village Chief, how about I build a house by myself in the back courtyard? It doesn't need to be big, just one room—enough for cooking and living."

If she remembered correctly, the original plot's female lead, Li Xiangwan, had discussed it with the village chief and built a simple little house.

The house truly did not need to be large. One room would be enough.

Lin Yuzhu planned to add an enclosed entryway. It did not need to extend far, only wide enough to fit a stove. The stove could connect to a heated wall and a kang bed. That would keep the room warm, and cooking would not leave the place blackened by oily smoke.

It would roughly be like this: after opening the door, there would be a small entry room wide enough for a stove. If one insisted, it could also be called a kitchen.

Further inside would be the main bedroom. The two rooms would share a wall, made into a heated wall. Once the fire was lit for cooking, that wall would become warm—a winter heating miracle.

A kang bed could be built alongside the heated wall, with some remaining space for a table and chairs.

Altogether, it probably would not even take twenty square meters.

It would be a little cramped, but she would have a private space of her own, and it would not cost much.

If it were any bigger, Lin Yuzhu feared the village chief would arrange for newly arrived educated youths to move in.

That would not do. Setting aside the secrets she carried, the National College Entrance Examination would return in a few years. She was no genius, and she had been away from books for nearly ten years. Naturally, she needed to pick them up again. Only a separate room would make studying convenient. There was no National College Entrance Examination right now, so what high school graduate would go back and review middle and high school textbooks?

If others asked about it, she would have to find ways to cover it up. That would be too troublesome. More importantly, there was still the female lead right beside her. How could she not be wary?

Having a separate house would be best. Besides, there was a patch of wasteland behind the Educated Youth Dormitory's vegetable garden. The courtyard could be expanded, and there would be room to build there. That way, she would still count as living with the educated youths, making her less likely to draw attention and keeping her relatively safe.

The moment Lin Yuzhu mentioned building a house, the village chief's heart jumped. This hit exactly where he wanted it to. Great! Educated Youth Lin would spend her own money to build a house, and that would free up a spot at the Educated Youth Dormitory. If a few more educated youths built houses for themselves, that would be even better.

Hearing what Lin Yuzhu meant, the village chief understood that she only intended to build something small, just enough for herself. After thinking it over, he asked tentatively, "How about building it a little bigger?"

"It's too small. It won't be comfortable to live in. If you build it bigger, we can arrange for newly arrived female educated youths to move in too."

Lin Yuzhu smiled at the village chief and said unhurriedly, "I don't have that much money!"

"Oh, right. For the little house I mentioned, how much would it cost to build?"

"If it costs too much, I won't be able to afford it either."

The village chief's face reddened. He knew the little girl had probably seen through his intentions. Afraid that she might decide not to build after all, he hurriedly said, "A mud-brick house won't cost much. A house as large as the Educated Youth Dormitory, um, would only cost around a hundred yuan. Yours is small, so forty or fifty yuan should be enough."

"Mud bricks are easy to get. Nearly every household in the village has some. Buy a little from each household, and you'll have enough. You could make them yourself too. If you wait until after the autumn harvest to build, you can save even more money."

"As for timber, the production team has some. We can allocate some to you. For the heated wall and kang bed, though, it's best to buy some green bricks—use some for the kang, and buy a chimney cap too, so it will be easier to clear if it gets blocked later."

"If you decide to use green bricks, you'll have to go to the commune. I can issue you a permit. For tables, chairs, and other furniture, just find Zhao Tiezhu in the village and he can make them for you. It won't cost much. You won't need to pay the villagers for helping either. Just provide them with a meal."

"Fifty yuan at most, from beginning to end."

The village chief had already done the calculations. So long as he said the green bricks were for building a house for the educated youths, the commune would certainly approve them easily.

Hearing this, Lin Yuzhu realized that after building the house, she would have almost no money left. At that moment, she was immensely grateful to have a system. Otherwise, she truly would not have had the confidence to build a house.

A small mud-brick house would empty out all her savings. Food and everything else cost money now. If Lin Yuzhu had to ram the earth herself, who knew how long it would take before she could build a house.

Rather than spend that time, she might as well think about how to make money.

Lin Yuzhu did not plan to ram the earth herself. After discussing the details further with the village chief, they finally decided she would buy mud bricks from the villagers. Since it would not cost the village chief's family anything, he naturally agreed to help connect her with them.

As for the foundation, the village chief did not mention it. The house would be built beside the Educated Youth Dormitory, and it would not take up much space.

To put it bluntly, although Educated Youth Lin would pay for it herself, in terms of ownership, it would belong to the Educated Youth Dormitory.

If Lin Yuzhu married someone from the village, the house would count as property of the production team. If she wanted a house then, she could pay for a foundation later.

If she returned to the city, it was not as if she could take the house with her. No matter what, the village would not lose out.