The 60s Island: The Daily Life of a Capitalist Young Lady with the Army - Chapter 105: Is This Guy Fucking Crazy?

Chapter 105: Is This Guy Fucking Crazy?

Xie Chengjun was much more perceptive than Xiang Hongxing.

He didn’t take her polite refusal at face value and directly took the canvas bag firmly in his hand.

“No need to feel embarrassed. It’s only right to help a female comrade.”

The man’s palm was broad and strong, effortlessly taking over the heavy burden.

Xu Jingjing’s cheeks flushed bright red, the color spreading all the way to the tips of her ears.

She lowered her head, following closely behind Xie Chengjun, and said in a voice as soft as a mosquito’s hum, “Comrade Xie Chengjun, you… you’re so kind.”

These words flowed through Xie Chengjun like a warm current, instantly spreading to every limb and bone in his body.

He felt all his weariness vanish, his heart swelling with emotion.

It was worth it!

All the hardship he’d endured today was completely worth it!

Just then, Xiang Hongxing, who was walking at the front, suddenly turned around. His booming, warm voice shattered the silence of the mountain path.

“Oh! So this female comrade needed help after all!”

As if he’d discovered a new continent, he said cheerfully, “I thought you really didn’t need it! You should’ve said so earlier! With the way you were acting just now, I thought you were really strong!”

Xu Jingjing: “…”

She wished she could find a crack in the ground to crawl into.

Is this guy fucking crazy?

She cursed Xiang Hongxing a thousand times in her heart, but on the surface, she had to maintain an awkward yet polite smile.

The night path was treacherous, and the group stumbled along behind Xiang Hongxing.

Perhaps feeling the atmosphere was too heavy, or perhaps genuinely wanting to bond with the new comrades, Xiang Hongxing’s booming voice once again echoed through the valley.

“My name is Xiang Hongxing. I arrived two years earlier than you.”

“I wasn’t forced to come here.”

His tone carried an unmistakable pride.

“A few years ago, when the country first started this initiative, I volunteered to go to the countryside! All to help develop our vast and beautiful rural areas!”

Xu Jingjing nearly rolled her eyes.

Crazy.

Absolutely fucking crazy.

To willingly give up a clean, comfortable life in the city and come to this godforsaken, impoverished mountain village to suffer?

What else could it be if not a mental problem?

While she was inwardly ranting, Xie Chengjun beside her listened with shining eyes, his face filled with admiration.

“Comrade Xiang, you’re truly remarkable!”

His voice trembled with excitement.

“Your ideological awareness is so high! You’re a role model for all of us young people!”

Xu Jingjing’s heart sank.

She knew she couldn’t show even a hint of disdain at a time like this.

So, she immediately suppressed her inner criticisms and put on an expression of utmost admiration, quickly following Xie Chengjun’s lead.

“Yes, yes! Comrade Xiang Hongxing, you’re practically our idol!”

Her voice was sweet and soft, filled with a girl’s sincerity.

“We’d heard about your glorious deeds even before we came! You’re a beacon of light for all us educated youth!”

She almost gagged on her own words, but the effect was surprisingly good.

Xiang Hongxing burst into hearty laughter, his dark face glowing, his entire posture straightening with pride.

“Hahaha, you flatter me, comrades! I just came two years earlier and endured two more years of hardship, that’s all!”

He waved his hand dismissively, then put on a serious expression again, as if he had truly settled that “idol” crown firmly upon his head.

“But don’t you worry! With me here, I’ll make sure to supervise everyone properly from now on, lead everyone to work diligently, and strive to build our Peaceful Village into a model village as soon as possible!”

The smile on Xu Jingjing’s face instantly froze again.

This guy… really knows how to climb the ladder when it’s offered!

I was just casually praising you a couple of times, and you actually see yourself as a supervisor now?

The thought of earning work points under this single-minded “idol” in the future made Xu Jingjing feel darkness clouding her vision.

Fortunately, before long, dim yellow lights appeared ahead.

Xiang Hongxing pointed forward and announced loudly: “We’re here! That ahead is our educated youth home – the educated youth compound!”

Everyone’s spirits lifted, and they quickened their pace.

But as they drew closer, their hearts sank again.

This could hardly be called a compound.

It was clearly just two rows of low, rammed-earth houses built with yellow mud and thatch, appearing particularly dilapidated and desolate in the quiet night.

Xiang Hongxing, however, seemed quite accustomed to it and introduced enthusiastically.

“The east row houses male comrades, the west row houses female comrades.”

He put down his luggage and clapped his hands.

“The only advantage is that the large-scale movement calling for urban youth to go to the countryside has just begun, so there aren’t many people in our compound yet.”

“That means the housing is relatively spacious for now – you can each have your own room temporarily. Go pick your rooms quickly!”

At Xiang Hongxing’s words, their already sinking hearts plummeted to the depths.

“You should be secretly delighted that you can each have your own room now!”

He wore an expression that said “you’ve gotten a great bargain,” grinning to reveal his bright white teeth.

“Wait a few more months when the urban mobilization takes effect and waves of educated youth arrive – then you’ll have three or four people squeezed onto one kang!”

He said it lightly, but to Xu Jingjing and the others, it sounded no less shocking than a bolt from the blue.

Three or four people crammed onto one kang?

What difference was there between that and sardines in a can?

The admiration on Xie Chengjun’s face also froze. He pushed open the nearest creaking wooden door.

A wave of cold air mixed with dust and mildew assaulted them.

Wang Fang and Liu Li followed behind, peeking inside. The tears they had just managed to stop began welling up in their eyes again.

The room was pitch dark, with nothing but one pitifully small window.

Oh, no.

There was one more thing.

Against the wall stood an earthen platform built with yellow mud and stones – that was probably the so-called “kang.”

The edge of the kang had peeled away badly, covered with a worn-out straw mat of indeterminate age, yellowed with black patches, emitting an indescribable sour odor.

Xu Jingjing finally gained the most direct understanding of what “bare walls with nothing inside” truly meant.

“Comrade… Comrade Xiang, is there… no bed board? No table here?”

Liu Li’s voice trembled with tears as she asked cautiously.

Xiang Hongxing waved his hand grandly, completely unconcerned.

“Hey! What do you need those things for? We’re here to build the countryside, not to live in comfort!”

He paused, then as if remembering something, added enthusiastically: “Of course, if you really want them, it’s not impossible.”

“Old Liu at the east end of our village – his carpentry skills are famous for dozens of miles around!”

“If you need tables, stools, or cabinets, you can just trade some grain with Old Liu later!”

Grain?

Xu Jingjing sneered inwardly.

These days, grain was more precious than gold.

For newly arrived educated youths like them, their monthly rations were barely enough to fill their own stomachs—they had to tighten their belts just to get by. Where would they get extra grain to trade for furniture?

It sounded nice to say “trade with grain.”

But frankly, wasn’t it just another way of saying they had to spend money?