Su Cen walked to the front carriage and faced a team leader wearing a Zhongshan suit with a pen clipped to his chest. His voice was clear and neither humble nor arrogant:

“Comrade, hello. I am Su Cen, a sent-down youth who went to Hongqi Brigade. Just now, two comrades made unwarranted accusations against me, labeling me as bourgeois for eating the dry rations given to me by my family, and even told me to go back home. I would like to ask you to help me judge this matter.”

As he spoke, he handed him his educated youth certificate and martyr certificate from the actual space inside his backpack.

The cadre in charge, surnamed Zhou, was an officer in the district’s educated youth office. He was specifically responsible for maintaining order and comforting the new educated youth. Upon hearing this and seeing the martyr’s certificate, his face immediately darkened.

Bullying new educated youth, arbitrarily labeling them, and undermining unity are major taboos within the educated youth community. Especially since this is the child of a martyr.

“Hello young comrade, I’ll go with you to take a look!”

Officer Zhou followed Su Cen into the carriage, his tone serious:

“The educated youth should unite and help each other, not for you to exclude and label them! They eat the dry food they brought from home, they don’t steal or rob, and their elders love them. What’s wrong with that? The children of martyrs are given preferential treatment by the state. Who are you to criticize them?”

If you dare to cause trouble or sow discord again, I will report you directly to your brigade when we get to the commune!

Li Zhaodi and Zhang Yingying were both deathly pale and dared not lift their heads.

“Young comrade, go back and sit down. Come find me if there’s any further news.” After saying these words, Officer Zhou left.

“Thank you, I appreciate your help!” Su Cen calmly returned to her seat and continued eating.

The educated youth around Su Cen secretly watched her, their feelings shifting from initial amusement to sympathy, pity, admiration, and even anger…

Upon hearing that she was the child of a martyr, Chen Xiangdong looked up at Su Cen with a hint of approval in his eyes.

After this incident, although Li Zhaodi and Zhang Yingying had a lot of thoughts on their minds, they didn’t dare to cause any more trouble on the train.

The carriage became much quieter for a moment.

The train rattled along and came to a stop at Jincheng Station.

These days, there are no assigned seats on trains; it’s all first-come, first-served, whoever grabs it gets it. Tickets only recognize the train number, not the seat.

As soon as the train door opened, another group of educated youth surged in, carrying large and small bags, pushing and shoving as they squeezed into the carriage, shouting:

“Make way! Comrade, make way!”

“Don’t push! Don’t push! The things are going to fall!”

The seats, which were relatively spacious just a moment ago, are now almost completely filled.

One of the girls, with two short braids and carrying a large bag of luggage, moved closer to Su Cen. Seeing there was still a seat next to her, she asked:

“Comrade, may I sit next to you?”

Her voice was gentle and soft, with a slight Tianjin accent.

Su Cen glanced at her and nodded:

“No one’s here, please have a seat.”

Seeing Su Cen’s gentle attitude, Lin Jiajia relaxed a bit and whispered a few words:

“Hello, my name is Lin Jiajia, and I am an educated youth who went to work in the Red Flag Brigade.”

“Su Cen, from the Red Flag Brigade, just like you.”

Upon hearing that they were going to the same brigade, Lin Jiajia’s eyes lit up.

“That’s great! It’s my first time traveling so far, I’ve been nervous for days. From now on we’ll be companions, please take care of me.” Lin Jiajia smiled, her eyes crinkling.

Looking at her like this, Su Cen smiled slightly: “Let’s look after each other.”

The two chatted casually.

Not far away, Zhang Yingying spotted a clean-cut, distinguished-looking male educated youth in the corner, and was about to approach him to strike up a conversation and become acquainted with him.

Before she could even move her foot, a sweet, slightly aggrieved female voice drifted over:

“Brother Yan, can we switch to a sleeper berth? I’m dizzy and feel nauseous…”

“Qiuyue, everything is arranged and cannot be changed at will. Please bear with it.” The other person’s voice carried a hint of helplessness.

Su Cen subconsciously looked up and saw a handsome man and a beautiful woman; their striking good looks were definitely the standard for the male and female protagonists in a novel.

Su Cen subtly withdrew her gaze, and based on her experience reading novels, she secretly resolved to stay away from the two of them in the future.

On the other side, Zhang Yingying glared fiercely in that direction, reluctantly turning back, but dared not say anything, and sat back down in her original seat.

Li Zhaodi saw right through her, and from the bottom of her heart, she despised this woman who would fawn over any male educated youth she fancied. No male educated youth could attract her as much as a steamed bun.

The reason she joined her in targeting Su Cen was simply because she was jealous that Su Cen had so much delicious food but didn’t share it.

After a two-day, two-night train journey, we finally arrived at the station. A batch of educated youth got off and another batch got on, and now all those remaining are from the Red Star Commune.

Everyone, carrying their luggage, crowded towards the train door.

Su Cen and Lin Jiajia also walked out of the carriage carrying their respective luggage.

The platform was bumpy and uneven, and people were standing around it.

Not far away, several people dressed in patched coarse cloth clothes held up wooden signs that read “Red Flag Brigade”, “Red Light Brigade” and “Red Wind Brigade”.

The leader of the Red Flag Brigade was Brigade Captain Wang Jianguo. “Comrades of the Red Flag Brigade, come and assemble quickly.”

Upon hearing the sound, everyone found their respective groups, including Su Cen and Lin Jiajia.

Wang Jianguo glanced around, saw that everyone was standing properly, and shouted, “Quiet down, everyone! Let’s take attendance! Everyone whose name is called, please call out!”

“Li Weiguo—”

“Here!” Despite having traveled by train for three days, Li Weiguo was still in great spirits.

“Liu Fengxia—”

“arrive!”

“Zhang Yingying, Li Zhaodi—”

“arrive!”

“Su Cen, Lin Jiajia, Chen Xiangdong—”

“arrive!”

“Yan Mingyuan, Tang Qiuyue—”

“Here!” came the eye-catching man and woman from the train.

Wang Jianguo, holding a handwritten manuscript, called out as he read, “Alright, everyone’s here! Hurry up, grab your luggage, and get on the tractor with me.”

Everyone quickly bent down, shouldered their luggage, and followed Wang Jianguo toward the tractor.

The conditions in the Red Flag Brigade were much better than Su Cen had imagined; they even had tractors. Looking at the educated youth from the Red Light Brigade and Red Wind Brigade next door, they were carrying their luggage and crowding towards the oxcart parked by the roadside. The oxcart was piled with a lot of miscellaneous items, and it looked like it would be bumpy.

Su Cen couldn’t help but sigh, “Uncle, our brigade is still the most impressive!”

Wang Jianguo glanced at Su Cen. The little girl looked quiet, but he didn’t expect her to be so talkative.

He couldn’t help but boast when he heard someone exaggerate the size of the team:

“Of course! Our Red Flag Brigade is the best in the surrounding area! Other brigades are still relying on oxen to pull plows, but we brought back tractors a couple of years ago. They’re great for plowing and hauling grain! Look at those Red Light and Red Wind tractors, their oxcarts creak and sway for ages, while we can get to the fields in no time. We even earn more work points than them!”

“Then I really benefited from the team’s success!” Su Cen followed behind, carrying her luggage.

He gestured with his chin toward the tractor, his voice loud and proud:

“I’m not bragging, but if you’re assigned to our Red Flag Brigade and work hard, I guarantee you won’t go hungry!”

Seeing this, Zhang Yingying rolled her eyes and sneered inwardly. “Flattering a peasant like this is really beneath you.”