Chapter 33 Second Update: Fireside Night Chat

Music can really inspire people, especially songs like "Ode to the Red Plum Blossom".

Anyone who has seen the movie will even recall in their mind the scenes of the ancestors fighting bloody battles in the movie, and those who have not seen it will also be infected by the sound.

I work harder too.

Perhaps this is the charm of literary and artistic works.

Not only did the villagers feel that the afternoon work was very exciting, but Han Jing and Xu Fei, whose physical strength had almost returned to normal, also felt that they were not working as hard as they did in the morning. In fact, they were working very hard, but they were working hard happily.

They actually scored one point higher in the afternoon than in the morning, which means they got a total of seven points today. This is actually above the average level in the village, because only a small number of people can get the full 10 points.

Although I am tired, my energy remains unchanged.

The two of them excitedly high-fived.

On the way home from work, Han Jing saw Ye Yu from the next group from afar. He pulled Xu Fei and trotted to him. When they were about two meters away, he slowed down, cleared his throat, and showed off their singing performance at work in the afternoon.

Xu Fei said, "Hongmei's song is really beautiful. Ye Yu, the song you chose is really appropriate for the occasion."

The villagers in the third group also heard this song and some of them sang along, but they were surprised that Ye Yu sang the song first. Why didn’t she sing it this afternoon?

Little did Ye Yu know that at that moment, he just wanted to stuff cotton in his ears: ...How many people on the team are tone-deaf and don't even know it? If it weren't for the spatial ability to cover up a few, it would be even more terrifying!

Wangjiagou is neither big nor small. Singing can also be heard from the pigpen where Hua Feifei is. The aunts have good voices, and some of them sing even better than her.

Hua Feifei's workload was not heavy, but the environment was a bit dirty. However, as she sang, she imagined herself fighting the enemy on the battlefield, and she became very excited.

She can!

She's fine!

Full of energy.jpg.

Hua Feifei also made progress in the afternoon and earned two work points, and today she earned three work points.

The fourth group has less work to do and usually finishes work the earliest.

When Ye Yu, Han Jing and Xu Fei returned to the educated youth site, Hua Feifei had already returned, taken a shower, and was cooking in the kitchen.

It was Xu Fei's turn today. Xu Fei quickly put his things down and wanted to go help.

"No need. Go take a shower or wash your face first. I can handle this here by myself." Hua Feifei was very confident in the kitchen and added, "I'll make you a simple but delicious dish - fish soaked in oil and salt water."

Whether it's fish in oil and brine, fish in salt water, or fish in oil and salt, the original recipe may be related to fishermen's desire to preserve excess fish.

These four fish are not very fresh and are not suitable for steaming, so they are preserved with salt. The braised fish and pickled fish are filtered, and the remaining ones can be fried.

But deep-frying consumes too much oil.

So Hua Feifei thought of soaking fish in oil and salt water. Although this dish also has the word "oil" in it and requires oil, it consumes much less oil. The steps are simple. Add ginger, green onion and other seasonings to the pot, add oil and fry it, then add water and boil it, and throw in the processed fish.

After a while, the overbearing fishy aroma suddenly came out, making people who smelled it salivate faster.

The wooden table that Ye Yu ordered from Carpenter Zhang was not finished yet, so an old table borrowed from a fellow villager was placed in the yard. It was not the popular eight-immortals table. It was a bit small and uneven, so wooden blocks were needed to pad the two adjacent corners.

A small stove was built with stones in the middle of the wooden table. At Hua Feifei's command, Han Jing moved a large pot of fish out of the kitchen, and the pot served as a large soup plate.

Lunch boxes, porcelain bowls, enamel cups, chopsticks, and spoons are all prepared separately, as are staple foods, whether they are multi-grain cakes, sweet potatoes, potatoes, corn, or others.

There are no stools for the time being, but there are wooden stakes.

While Ye Yu was chopping wood, he chopped off a few pieces of dead wood with a few clicks. After trimming the rough edges with the axe, he made them just enough to sit on.

This was the second dinner at the educated youth site, and it seemed to be more formal than the first.

Han Jing thought they would have to say something, right? Three pairs of eyes turned to Ye Yu. Military power determined status, and they had tacitly agreed that he was the representative of the educated youth.

Ye Yu:

"If you're not active in eating, is there something wrong with your thinking?"

“…”

Well, forget that their representative of the educated youth is a foodie who loves to eat the most in the world. When faced with delicious food in front of him, all he talks about is food.

cooked rice!

Ye Yu picked up a large piece of fish and put it in his mouth, his eyes shining. The fish soaked in oil and salt water was really delicious. It might be because the fish was not only deodorized but also treated with a little bit of flour before being put into the pot. The fish tasted soft, tender and a little salty, not much worse than steamed fresh fish.

Hua Feifei usually thinks Ye Yu is unkind, but as a cook, seeing a eater like Ye Yu is such a great sense of accomplishment! She is happier than eating by herself, and she has a strong desire to keep feeding her.

In fact, Han Jing and Xu Fei were also very supportive, but when facing Ye Yu, they always felt that they were a little bit lacking.

Considering the appetite of people nowadays, four fish are not a lot, not to mention that there was an extra eater named Ye Yu. The fish were eaten up in no time. Hua Feifei and the other two suspected that Ye Yu had chewed up all the fish bones and swallowed them.

It's not impossible.

The remaining fish soup was eaten little by little with the staple food. At this time, everyone was in the mood to chat.

Han Jing, Xu Fei, and Hua Feifei all talked about their work today, and the future was not so bleak, but it didn't seem too bright either.

"It's very different from what I imagined." Han Jing admitted that he underestimated farm work in the countryside.

Xu Fei: "Is this all we've done? Going to the countryside just to learn how to do farm work?"

"What else?" Hua Feifei asked this question without any irony. Because she was said to be too spoiled at home and was fooled by her classmates, she took the initiative to sign up to go to the countryside. Fortunately, because she yearned for the capital, the place she signed up for was definitely not the worst, but the reality of the predicament had seriously hit her ambition.

Xu Fei said helplessly: "We are not only learning to do farm work, but also helping to build the countryside of our motherland."

"Yes."

Han Jing smiled awkwardly. He was not actually an ambitious man. Going to the countryside was mainly arranged by his family, but he did have a heart for building the motherland.

Hua Feifei:

"But what can we do?"

The three of them once again turned their gazes to Ye Yu, who was chewing corn:

……What?

Hua Feifei: "I have White Rabbit candy."

Xu Fei: "Dried chili peppers."

Han Jing: "I bought glutinous rice noodles in town."

It’s okay to give some advice.

Ye Yu asked:

"What's missing from the team?"

"They're short of everything," Han Jing answered quickly. "They're short of money, tickets, clothes, health workers, medicine, meat, and even food like fine grains. There are still several impoverished households in the village who can't even afford coarse grains."

It can be seen that he has inquired about these situations and is quite thoughtful.

Ye Yu:

"So what are you good at?"

The three men looked at each other in bewilderment. They were all teenagers, currently in high school or about to graduate from high school. In fact, they had not yet learned any professional skills. They could neither help the villagers increase their grain production nor make the pigs grow meat. Even working in the fields required guidance from locals.

"Reading?" Xu Fei pushed his glasses and finally uttered a word.

"Yes, yes, reading. There is no primary school in the village yet. We can build a school so that all the children in the village can read and learn the knowledge in the textbooks." Han Jing's voice was full of passion. He is really a very positive person. He is easily encouraged and easily motivated. He is very contagious.

Hua Feifei was obviously infected. She also felt that teaching the children in the mountains was a particularly meaningful thing, and of course she would rather be a teacher than raising pigs.

The three of them just had to stay up late to make plans.

"As expected of a young man," Ye Yu sighed every day, "He's so quick to act."

"What?"

The voice was too soft and Hua Feifei and the others couldn't hear it clearly.

"Nothing," Ye Yu admired their youthful energy, but she still had to pour a little cold water on their ideals. She turned and asked, "Is there a lack of teachers in the village because there is no primary school?"

No, although there are few people who study in the village, there are or have been students studying in junior high school or even high school.

"The previous team leader was the reason for not building a primary school. Now, we're rejecting the proposal not only because studying would prevent students from helping with farm work or earning a few work points, but also because we don't see the benefits of studying for them," Ye Yu said realistically. "Everything needs to take root, and that includes studying and knowledge."

The three of them were silent.

Now Han Jingsan really didn't know what to do. Although they excitedly talked about building primary schools, they never mentioned middle schools or high schools. The chaos in the city had more or less hit the backbone of intellectuals, including these young students.

"Since the villagers don't know the benefits of reading, you should make them understand!" Ye Yu didn't like their dull look and raised his right eyebrow. "You don't think reading is really useless, do you?"

"Of course not!" The three of them retorted loudly, but their voices were not all firm.

"Stand tall and don't underestimate yourself!"

Hua Feifei only felt that Ye Yu at this moment was more imposing than their school seniors.

"Putting aside other things, you can read and write, right? You can contribute articles to radio, newspapers and publishing houses. Once you can earn royalties, the villagers might be happy to send their children to school." Ye Yu casually made a suggestion based on their answers.

Xu Fei and Hua Feifei were fine, but Han Jing suddenly looked miserable: "My Chinese is just average."

"If you don't know, then learn. You can learn even by working in the fields, so why can't you write articles?" Ye Yu added, "Not only that, but you can share every little detail of life: cooking techniques from north and south, songs and literature, hygiene issues, soap making—even if you don't have anything at all. You come from all over the world, have connections and information, so it's not too late to build a network of connections and information now. For example, Han Jing could provide advice to the young people in the village about things to pay attention to when signing up for the army... A longer-term goal could be to build more profitable infrastructure for the brigade."

Han Jing, Xu Fei and Hua Feifei were all very excited and their blood boiled after hearing this.

After Ye Yu took some snacks to the east room to look for eggs, Hua Feifei sighed sincerely: "She is really good at everything." She would never say that to her face.