The group loaded their belongings onto the handcart one by one until it was piled high.

Chen Xiangdong pulled from the front, while Yan Mingyuan and Su Cen pushed from either side. As for Tang Qiuyue… best not to mention it—she was already out of breath just from walking.

They stopped the cart in front of Su Cen’s newly purchased house. Chen Xiangdong and Yan Mingyuan helped unload her things.

“Thank you!” Seeing that the three of them were fairly easy to get along with, and thinking that there might not be enough space in the dormitory for so many items, Su Cen took the initiative and said,
“If you don’t have enough room for your things, you can store them in my yard for a few days.”

Chen Xiangdong and Yan Mingyuan exchanged a glance, then nodded.
“Thanks for the help.”

They unloaded everything except for the basins they needed for the night and placed the rest in a corner of Su Cen’s yard where firewood had been stacked before. It was covered with a thatched roof, so they didn’t have to worry about the rain.

Chen Xiangdong and Yan Mingyuan went to return the handcart, while Su Cen headed back to the educated youth dormitory to get her luggage. Tang Qiuyue, who had no choice but to stay in the dormitory until her house was built, followed her back.

When the two arrived, they immediately noticed that their luggage in the corner had clearly been rummaged through.

Tang Qiuyue cried out,
“Ah! Who went through my things?!”

Su Cen stood in front of the luggage, her expression darkening. She really hated dealing with this kind of trouble. Turning around, she walked toward the male dormitory.

“Comrade Zhao, while we were away, someone went through our luggage. Did you see anyone near it?”

Zhao Gang stepped out. Seeing that all four of their belongings had been disturbed, he frowned.
“Let me take you to the team leader.”

At that moment, a voice interrupted:
“Oh, what’s the point of going to the team leader? I did it. I just wanted to see what the new arrivals brought.”

The speaker was a female educated youth with a sallow complexion, a sparse braid, and triangular eyes. Her tone was full of provocation.

“Tian Xiaolan, it’s you again!” Zhao Gang snapped.

Tian Xiaolan curled her lips, not the least bit ashamed.
“I just took a look. It’s not like anything got damaged. Why make such a fuss?”

Su Cen looked at her coldly.
“You think it’s justified to rummage through other people’s belongings?”

Just then, Chen Xiangdong and Yan Mingyuan returned.

Seeing Su Cen and Tang Qiuyue’s expressions, and then noticing their disturbed luggage, Yan Mingyuan frowned.
“What’s going on here?”

Tang Qiuyue pointed at Tian Xiaolan.
“Brother Yan, this woman went through our things. Check if anything’s missing!”

“Hey, don’t accuse people falsely. I only looked—I didn’t take anything.”

Tian Xiaolan had wanted to take something, but since others were present at the time, she didn’t get the chance.
“She was there too,” she added, pointing at Zhang Yingying.

Zhang Yingying saw everyone looking at her, her eyes instantly turning red.
“I…”

She had delicate features and fair skin compared to the older educated youths who worked in the fields year-round. With tears welling up in her eyes, one of the male educated youths immediately stepped forward.

“I’m talking to you, Tian Xiaolan. Why drag another girl into this?” he said.

“What’s it to you, Ye Chunsheng!” Tian Xiaolan retorted.

“Enough!” Zhao Gang, as one of the earliest arrivals and a figure of authority, silenced them. No one spoke further.

He turned to Su Cen and the others.
“Check your belongings.”

After checking, nothing was missing. They exchanged glances and nodded.

“Nothing’s gone,” Chen Xiangdong said to Zhao Gang.

“Tian Xiaolan, no matter the reason, what you did was wrong. You must apologize today. If this happens again, I’ll report it directly to the commune,” Zhao Gang said sternly.

At the mention of reporting to the commune, Tian Xiaolan finally showed some hesitation.
“Sorry, everyone. I shouldn’t have gone through your things.”

She turned and went back to her room, muttering,
“I’ll find another chance next time.”

Since Su Cen and the others had just arrived, and nothing had been stolen—and besides, except for Su Cen, the others would soon move out once their houses were built—they chose not to pursue the matter further, though their expressions remained unpleasant.

Seeing everyone gathered, Zhao Gang cleared his throat.
“Tonight, the older educated youths have pooled some grain to host a welcome gathering. From now on, we’re one group, so let’s get to know each other.”

He then turned to Su Cen and the others.
“The team leader sent word that he forgot to arrange your grain loans. The other new arrivals have already received theirs—you’ll need to go over again.”

“Then we’ll trouble you to keep an eye on our luggage,” Yan Mingyuan said politely.

“Don’t worry, I’ll stay here,” Zhao Gang replied readily. As the person in charge of the dormitory, it didn’t reflect well on him that something like this had happened on the newcomers’ first day.

The four of them headed back to the team office.

“You finally made it,” Wang Jianguo said when he saw them arrive.

“Male educated youths can borrow up to 100 jin of grain, females up to 80 jin. We have cornmeal, sorghum rice, soybeans, and millet. What do you want?”

Su Cen thought for a moment.
“Uncle Team Leader, I’ll take 40 jin of cornmeal, 20 jin of sorghum rice, 10 jin of soybeans, and 10 jin of millet.”

“I’ll take the same,” Tang Qiuyue said immediately.

Wang Jianguo quickly wrote out two slips, then looked at Chen Xiangdong and Yan Mingyuan.

“50 jin of cornmeal, 30 jin of sorghum rice, 10 jin of soybeans, and 10 jin of millet.”

“I’ll take the same as Comrade Yan,” Chen Xiangdong said.

“Alright.” Wang Jianguo wrote two more slips and pointed across the way.
“Take these to the granary and have the storekeeper weigh it out.”

After a moment’s thought, he stood up.
“Actually, I’ll go with you.”

The granary door was closed. Wang Jianguo called toward a nearby small room,
“Lao San, come out and weigh grain for the new arrivals!”

“Coming, big brother!” A man came out and said to the four of them, “Give me the slips.”

Seeing their empty hands, he frowned.
“You didn’t bring bags to carry the grain?”

He went inside and brought out several old cloth sacks.
“I’ll pack it for you first. When you get back, transfer it into your own bags and return these.”

Su Cen and the others thanked him repeatedly.

By the time they finished and carried the grain back, it was almost dark. In the dormitory kitchen, two female educated youths were already tending the fire and preparing to cook.

Su Cen carried her belongings into a small room and did a quick clean-up so she could rest for the night.

Chen Xiangdong and Yan Mingyuan went to the communal sleeping area to make their beds.

Tang Qiuyue didn’t know how to make a bed. She originally wanted to ask Yan Mingyuan for help, but seeing that the room was full of female educated youths, she could only bite her lip and do it herself.

It would still be more than ten days before the houses were ready, so settling the current living arrangements was the priority.

Once everyone finished tidying up and returned to the yard, the older educated youths had all come back.

Liu Fengxia walked out with her bowl and chopsticks, holding a piece of rice cake. She smiled and handed it to the girl by the stove.
“Comrade, is there a place to cut this? Let’s add a dish for everyone.”

“Just give it to me,” the girl replied, her eyes lighting up at the sight of the rice cake.

Su Cen’s heart stirred. She went back to get her bowl and took out five eggs from her storage space.

Returning to the kitchen, she placed the eggs on the counter and said politely,
“Comrade, could you help make a pot of egg soup with these? We can all share.”

The girl immediately smiled more warmly.
“No problem! We’re in for a treat today—I’ll make sure everyone gets some.”

She silently approved, thinking these two new girls knew how to behave well.

Seeing this, the others also went back to fetch items. Yan Mingyuan brought a piece of cured meat, Chen Xiangdong took out five eggs, Tang Qiuyue brought a pack of biscuits, Lin Jiajia brought a plate of pickled cabbage, and Li Weiguo brought a pack of sponge cakes.

Li Zhaodi thought to herself that they were all fools—the older educated youths had already said they would provide the meal, so she wasn’t contributing anything.

Zhang Yingying also didn’t want to contribute and pretended not to notice what was happening.