You need to raise your pet using a system [Era]

Chapter 215 Zhao Zhongcai Collapses

It's not that people look down on educated youth.

People as old as Lu Mingnan can pull up rice seedlings just fine.

They're all so much older than him, yet they can't even do as much work as a child.

Who wouldn't mind this!

They can't keep going and don't know how to persevere; all they think about is slacking off.

snort!

Who wouldn't mind?

A labor camp during the May Day holiday exposed the true nature of the educated youth, quickly causing the villagers to begin to despise them.

When I first came to the village, the term "educated youth" was used to describe people from the city, whose families were mostly factory workers, who were well-educated, and who were good-looking.

The educated youth people talk about now are all useless, full of lies, and have many petty schemes.

This shows how quickly opinions can change.

If we're talking about who in the village has the most negative opinion about educated youth, it has to be Zhao Zhongcai.

He's a complete mess at work, and I keep giving him trouble.

Even if Wu Cisheng really did suffer from heatstroke and went to the health center, after he woke up, he sent him back to the educated youth settlement, and he said some very serious things to the educated youth in a bad mood.

It's simply a matter of not working to earn work points, and without work points, they won't get any grain, and the village won't care about them.

After making those harsh words, Zhao Zhongcai turned and left, looking at him with disdain.

As I was about to head home, I turned around when I saw Lu Yuanqing's house, and sure enough, I ended up at Lu's house.

The Lu family was having lunch, which Lu Mingnan had cooked after he returned from working.

"Oh, eating porridge? Aren't you afraid you'll get hungry quickly in the afternoon?"

"Uncle Zhao is here! Let's have something to eat!" Lu Yuanqing said with a smile as he stood up.

Zhao Zhongcai didn't stand on ceremony and said, "Alright! I'll freeload off you!"

Lu Mingdong quickly grabbed a bowl and chopsticks from the kitchen; the bowl was full of sweet potato porridge.

"There's no other way, it's too hot. Porridge is easier to swallow!" Lu Yuanqing pushed the bowl of pickled cowpeas toward him.

Sweet potato porridge with pickled cowpeas is a great dish to eat with rice!

"Indeed, it's getting hotter and hotter, but my family is still eating dry rice to prepare for the afternoon's work!" Zhao Zhongcai slurped his food, picking up a pickled cowpea and feeding it to his mouth. The sour taste assaulted his mouth and taste buds. He then quickly drank a large mouthful of porridge.

Lu Mingnan came back early and cooked the porridge, which was only lukewarm, not scalding, so he could eat it without worry.

"So I let them eat their meal, rest for a bit, and then have another bowl before they go to work in the afternoon!" Lu Yuanqing's chopsticks mostly landed on the pickled cowpeas, and he didn't even like to eat the two sections of sausage that Lu Mingnan cooked.

My aunt Zhang Panlan helped me make the pickled cowpeas at home in the first place. In the following years, every year when cowpeas were in season, we would also harvest carrots, young ginger, garlic, and red chili peppers from the field, wash them, and put them in the pickled cowpeas. They would be ready to eat in a few days.

It's truly a perfect accompaniment to rice, especially when paired with porridge!

Seeing that the two were only talking about everyday things, Lu Yuanbo became increasingly impatient and asked directly, "Captain, you're back. Is Wu Cisheng back too? Did he really have heatstroke?"

It takes a lot of talent to get heatstroke in early May.

Lu Mingdong pricked up his ears.

When Zhao Zhongcai mentioned the educated youth, the smile on his face vanished. "They really did suffer from heatstroke!"

He was speechless. He said the same thing: if they're getting heatstroke now, what will they do in July and August? What about during the autumn harvest?

Lu Yuanbo received the answer and sighed in relief.

Zhao Zhongcai didn't treat them as outsiders. Since the topic had come up, he decided to share his reasons for coming to the Lu family.

He came to consult Lu Yuanqing and ask him for advice.

"Yuan Qing, do you think we could apply to the higher-ups to have them all returned?"

Lu Yuanqing paused in his eating, and asked incredulously, "You want to send the educated youth back?"

What an amazing idea!

Zhao Zhongcai, however, didn't see anything wrong with this idea, saying, "That's right! Look at them, they've only been here a few days and they've already caused a lot of trouble. They're not here to build up the countryside; they're here to cause us trouble!"

“The handicrafts made in our bamboo ware factory are not good, so we still have to dismantle and start over. These educated youth are most energetic when they are shouting slogans every day, but they are useless when it comes to working. I really don’t want people like this to stay in the village!”

"Impossible!" Lu Mingdong suddenly exclaimed.

Lu Yuanbo agreed with Zhao Zhongcai: "Why is it impossible? They've been causing trouble all along. Even if we go to the commune, can the educated youth office ignore them? They've sent us a few people who act like they're our ancestors, so they can't just let us return them!"

Zhao Zhongcai, however, lost hope because of Lu Mingdong's words.

He knew that his idea was unrealistic; the targets set by his superiors were not something he could change at will.

He didn't want to go through that incident at the bamboo ware factory again.

The reason he came to Lu Yuanqing for advice was actually more to get him to come up with a plan to drive the person away openly and honestly, without giving anyone cause for gossip.

Lu Yuanqing was speechless.

"Xiao Dong is right, that's impossible!"

"Then let's think of a way to make them leave on their own because they can't stand it anymore!" Lu Yuanbo blinked and offered his suggestion earnestly.

Zhao Zhongcai glanced at him silently, then lowered his head to eat.

Lu Mingdong scoffed, "Fourth Uncle, don't you know why these educated youth were sent to the countryside?"

"I suggest you look at the newspapers in your third uncle's room; you'll find the answer there!"

Lu Yuanbo choked, he just didn't want to watch it!

Meeting Lu Yuanqing's smiling gaze, he shrank back, feeling wronged. It wasn't just him at home who didn't like it.

To be precise, apart from Lu Yuanqing and Lu Mingdong, no one else liked reading newspapers!

Lu Yuanqing put down his chopsticks and said, "Don't even think about it, it's impossible."

"And Uncle Zhao, why are you in such a hurry? Shouldn't it be those educated youth who are in a hurry?"

Once they realize they can't return to the city, and as time goes on and their families can no longer provide them with assistance, they will come to terms with reality.

Zhao Zhongcai was taken aback, then burst into laughter, "That's right! The reason they're making such a fuss is because they can't adapt to working in the countryside. They're making such a fuss because they want to be lazy and not do any work."

"They are the ones who are more eager to get back to the city!"

"I'm just afraid they might do something to get back to the city!"

Lu Yuanqing raised an eyebrow; he was quite perceptive.

Returning to the city isn't so easy.

They went to the countryside as educated youth in order to solve the problem of overpopulation in the city.

It's easy to go to the countryside, but hard to return to the city!

"Uncle Zhao, there are only four educated youths in our village right now, and they're already causing you so much trouble. There will be even more educated youths coming to the countryside in the future, and you won't be able to sleep at all!" Lu Yuanqing joked.

Lu Mingdong added at the opportune moment, "Even before the autumn harvest, there will still be educated youth coming!"

"What?" Zhao Zhongcai and Lu Yuanbo were immediately taken aback.

Lu Mingdong put down his chopsticks, rolled his eyes, and said, "Going to the countryside twice a year, it's written in the newspaper. Brigade leader, you should receive the commune's notice soon!"

Zhao Zhongcai felt as if he had been struck by lightning. Four people were troublesome enough, not to mention the two rural trips a year.

The educated youth would come twice a year.

Zhao Zhongcai felt dizzy!