Chapter Eighteen: Radio Publicity

The autumn harvest was only a few days away, and the competition for the radio announcer position was even closer.

Captain Xie had inquired about when the commemorative banner would arrive, hoping to add a touch of glory to the Fengsheng Production Brigade before the end of the year. With that, the title of "Advanced Brigade" would surely be theirs.

However, Yun Shu and the others were unsure when the police would finalize everything and reach the stage of public commendation, so they could not give the captain a definitive answer.

Captain Xie felt a bit disappointed, but it was fine; what belonged to them would not run away. Even though the educated youths like Xie had only arrived at the Fengsheng Brigade yesterday, they were part of the group now, so their honor was the brigade’s honor. His eldest son, who had served in the military, called this "sharing in the glory."

After filling out the registration forms, the captain kept them for a chat. Lin Jingshu took this opportunity to reach a consensus with him: she would not engage in heavy manual labor, nor would she rely solely on work points for food.

Captain Xie was easy to talk to and immediately agreed that Lin could join the elderly women and the children—who were not yet considered a formal labor force—in picking pigweed or herding sheep.

Satisfied with this arrangement, Lin Jingshu pulled out some candies she had prepared to "bribe" the brigade members for their votes and slipped two to the captain.

Looking at the White Rabbit creamy candies in his hand, the captain was both amused and exasperated. He was far too old for such childish treats, so he quickly placed them back on the table, trying to lecture Lin with a stern, upright expression.

"You young girl, how could an old man like me snatch sweets from you children? Take them back, I don't eat this stuff!"

Lin Jingshu, however, was not easily swayed. With a resolute expression matching the captain's, she pushed the candies back, along with more that Yun Shu had taken out.

"Uncle, who said these are for you? They’re for your little girl at home."

"It's nothing expensive, so you can't push them back!"

"Exactly! We heard from Grandpa Zhang that you have a four-year-old daughter. We’re all girls ourselves, so what’s wrong with sharing something sweet?"

Yun Shu chimed in, leaving the captain speechless. He could only glare feebly, shaking his pipe and grumbling about Grandpa Zhang: "That old man, he just loves to run his mouth!"

"Fine, I won't argue with you two little girls. I'll take them home for Niu-niu, alright?"

"You silly girls, you don't even know how to keep good things for yourselves."

The two Shus didn't want to stay and be lectured further. With a polite "Goodbye, Uncle," they darted out of the brigade office like a pair of rabbits.

Watching the two girls bounce away, Captain Xie was reminded of his own granddaughter growing up, and he couldn't help but smile with genuine affection.

He carefully tucked the candies into his pocket, took a puff of his pipe, and thought about giving them to his precious Niu-niu as soon as he got home.

***

As mentioned before, the captain was neither biased nor stingy; he treated the educated youths and the brigade members equally.

Just like in the brigade’s primary school, where educated youths made up nearly two-thirds of the teachers, everyone who wanted to sign up for the announcer position was given a chance.

Especially after he solemnly announced the rules over the loudspeaker, he specifically publicized the "heroic deeds" of Yun Shu and her group.

This spread much faster than the gossip of the women on the ox carts, and it far exceeded the information-gathering power of any village-head intelligence network.

As a result, everyone in the village knew that the newly arrived youths had done a good deed as soon as they went to town, winning honor for the brigade.

The captain’s broadcast traveled faster than Yun Shu and Lin Jingshu’s footsteps. Before they even returned to their dorms, they were already the most popular figures in the Fengsheng Brigade.

Along the way, people kept showering the two girls with praise. Flustered, they hurriedly explained that the truly brave ones were the three male youths, and that the two of them combined couldn't even take down one person.

Even so, people still insisted on flattering them.

"Oh, it's already impressive enough for young girls to have the courage to fight those bad guys!"

"Exactly! If it were me... my legs would have turned to jelly."

"The Xie and Lin girls are so pretty. I wonder if they’re taken?"

"They look young, probably not. But for such fine girls, the matchmakers will surely break down their doors! Hahaha!"

While the quiet men were fine, the older women were truly capable of making one blush with their blunt comments. Overwhelmed, the two Shus finally fled in defeat.

***

Upon rushing back to the dorms, the veteran educated youths gave a warm round of applause to the five, including Jiang Xiucheng. The group excitedly decided to celebrate; after all, this was not just the honor of the five, but the honor of all the educated youths in the Fengsheng Brigade.

In this brigade, they were a community of shared interests.

Except for the internal competition for the chance to return to the city, they were all labeled the same way by the brigade members.

One person’s success benefited everyone, and one person’s failure dragged everyone down.

It was realistic, but also perfectly normal.

Therefore, the veteran youths showed even more enthusiasm toward the five than they had the day before.

But all of this had nothing to do with Yang Yue, who stood to the side.

Looking sullen, she was pushed to the periphery by the crowd, watching helplessly as Xie Yun Shu and Lin Jingshu—the two she hated most—along with the Jiang she admired, accepted everyone’s praise.

They seemed closer than ever, like an inseparable unit.

But did anyone remember... she was also a new youth who had arrived at the Fengsheng Brigade with them?

Yang Yue was in turmoil, the jealousy she had barely suppressed surging once again. Yet, as foolish as she was, she knew better than to go against the crowd and try to force her presence at such a moment.

So, when the veterans discussed what to cook, she volunteered to help and took one yuan from her meager savings to exchange for eggs at a nearby villager's home.

She claimed, "Although I regret not being able to help Yun Shu and the others get rid of the villains, as a fellow new youth, I share in the honor, so let these eggs be my contribution to the celebration."

Once these words were out, the veteran youths' reactions aside, Jiang Xiucheng and his two companions, who had witnessed Yang Yue’s behavior on the train, frowned. Yun Shu and Lin Jingshu exchanged a silent glance, both thinking the same thing:

Is this Yang Yue... having a breakdown?

Were her words genuine? Was she not being sarcastic about them not inviting her to the county? Did she really want to celebrate with them?

Hearing the well-meaning veterans say that Yang Yue must be trying to mend her relationship with Yun Shu, Yun Shu couldn't help but shiver and pull her shoulders in.

Not sure. Let’s wait and see.