Chapter 22: Daliu Brigade
After getting off the bus, Ning Xiyue took several deep gulps of fresh air before finally feeling alive again.
All twenty educated youth assigned to Yongchuan Commune had come on this same bus, and none of them looked any better — each one looked like they’d just returned from a war. Many of the female comrades’ braids had been completely undone, and some squatted by the roadside as soon as they got off, vomiting heavily.
The group stood around for quite a while before they finally recovered, then they grabbed their luggage and headed toward the commune’s front gate.
The people from the Daliu Brigade who were there to pick them up had been waiting at the gate for a while. Leading them was the brigade captain, Zhang Dawei — a dark-skinned, honest-looking middle-aged man in his forties.
When he saw Comrade Li from the commune leading the group over while he was sitting on the ox cart, his brows furrowed into the shape of the character 川. He jumped off the cart, pulled Comrade Li aside, and said in a low but displeased voice:
“Old Li, I asked you to assign me more educated youth to help with the autumn harvest — not a bunch of delicate girls. What can these fragile girls do? They can’t shoulder heavy loads, they can’t lift with their hands. And one of them even has a head injury. How is that body supposed to handle the autumn harvest? You know better than anyone how exhausting it is. Quickly swap them out for some boys.”
“Old Zhang,” Comrade Li replied helplessly, “I can’t change it. The assignments are all decided from above. You should be grateful — we even gave you three tall, strong male comrades. You don’t know how some brigades only got one man.”
He jerked his chin toward the side. “Look over there at the Dahuan Brigade. That lone boy they got isn’t even as tall as the injured girl in your group. And he’s thinner than the girls too — you can tell just by looking that he doesn’t have any strength.”
Listening nearby, Ning Xiyue thought: Why don’t you just read out my ID number while you’re at it?
The two men were trying to speak in hushed tones, but the captain’s booming voice carried so well that Ning Xiyue heard every word loud and clear. It was impossible to even pretend she hadn’t.
Following the direction Comrade Li pointed, Zhang Dawei glanced at the boy in the other brigade, then back at Ning Xiyue behind him. Sure enough, the comparison made him feel much better.
And when he saw the other brigade captain looking miserable, his mood instantly improved. His displeasure vanished, and he even turned around and smiled warmly at Ning Xiyue.
“Alright then, thanks, Old Li. You’re always looking out for me.” Zhang Dawei clapped him on the shoulder. “I’ll take the kids and head out now. Let’s have a drink next time.”
“Sure, go ahead. I’ve got other things to take care of too,” Comrade Li replied, exhaling deeply once Zhang Dawei turned away — he’d finally managed to placate the old man.
“Alright, kids, get your luggage loaded onto the cart and follow me. We’ve still got more than ten li to go.”
The nervous group relaxed a little upon hearing the captain’s now-friendly tone and quickly loaded their luggage onto the ox cart without wasting a second.
Seeing how efficient the new arrivals were, Zhang Dawei’s smile grew even wider. Compared to the educated youth in other brigades, he was becoming more and more satisfied with his group.
“Captain, can we ride on the ox cart?” Wang Mengmeng asked.
Zhang Dawei didn’t get angry at the question. His smile faded slightly, but he still explained patiently:
“The ox is the most valuable asset our brigade has. We’re busy with the autumn harvest right now, and the ox is already exhausted — it can’t pull people. You’ll have to walk behind slowly. If you get too tired, speak up and we’ll rest a bit before continuing. But we can’t rest too long — it’s not safe to walk the mountain roads at night.”
Ning Xiyue thought the captain was actually quite a nice person — not the type to bully outsiders. He treated them gently and didn’t give them any nasty looks.
Although he had looked down on her at first, it was understandable — after all, she did have an injury on her forehead, so it was reasonable for him to doubt her physical strength. But she would prove her strength with her actions.
Wang Mengmeng, however, still stared longingly at the ox cart. She really wanted to ride it, but she didn’t have the courage. As a newcomer, she was afraid that being even slightly willful would make the captain hold a grudge against her. Still, after standing on the bus for so long, her legs were sore and aching.
She glanced at the other three girls but got no response. Disappointed, she had no choice but to walk behind the cart, feeling a little wronged.
The moment Wang Mengmeng asked her question, Ning Xiyue had already lowered her head and focused on the path in front of her. Since the captain had said they couldn’t ride, then they couldn’t. Hesitating and complaining would only give him a reason to dislike them.
Cows were incredibly valuable in this era — a village might only have one, and all the heavy hauling depended on that single ox cart. The fact that the captain had brought the cart to pick them up at all showed that he was treating them with great respect. Not making them carry their luggage themselves was already a huge favor. Wanting to ride on the cart too? Keep dreaming.
Xia Zhipeng, knowing Wang Mengmeng’s question was inappropriate, quickly tried to change the subject and laugh it off.
Even Liu Yao, who was normally loud and talkative, stayed silent — wanting to leave a good impression on the leader.
At first, the group was very quiet as they walked, too nervous to speak. But later, seeing how the captain tried to ease their tension by talking about the Daliu Brigade, the atmosphere became much more relaxed.
The rest of the journey turned quite lively — they chatted and laughed along the way, and the walk didn’t feel tiring at all. Liu Yao, seeing how friendly the captain was, reverted back to her talkative self.
It turned out that Comrade Wang Jiandong was just as talkative as Liu Yao, and the two of them kept Zhang Dawei laughing the entire way. The sound of laughter never stopped.
Aside from Wang Mengmeng, who was too afraid of saying something wrong to speak much, everyone else said a few words here and there. Chen Yechu didn’t talk often, but whenever she did, her words were right on point, which put the captain in an even better mood.
Ning Xiyue learned that the Daliu Brigade got its name because there was a giant willow tree (dayu) at the entrance to the village.
She also quietly noted down the things Chen Yechu said. From her words and the captain’s reactions, she deduced that Zhang Dawei was a man who loved the land, cared deeply about the harvest, and placed great importance on collective honor. The reason he specifically asked for more educated youth this time was twofold:
1. To help with the autumn harvest.
2. To win the “Outstanding Brigade” collective honor award.
In addition, the captain was clearly a man who doted on his wife.
If you complimented the fine stitching on his clothes, he would beam proudly and say, “My wife made it.” If you followed up with a few more praises about his wife, his smile would grow even warmer, and his gaze would soften with kindness.
Ning Xiyue discovered this by accident when she casually complimented his clothes — and the unexpected result delighted her.
So she started praising him in every possible way, and soon the captain even stopped calling her “Comrade Ning” and began affectionately calling her “Little Yue.”
Ning Xiyue decided that her top priority once she arrived at the brigade would be to win over the captain’s wife — ideally becoming close like mother and daughter. Then she could have the wife speak sweet words to the captain on her behalf, and her life in the Daliu Brigade would be smooth sailing.
It seemed that piece of army-green fabric she had might finally come in handy.
