On Sunday, Song Yan went to Teacher Bai's house. Seeing what was laid out before her, she understood why Teacher Bai had asked her to come on a Sunday. Teacher Bai had prepared ten sets of Chinese and math textbooks for grades one through five. Although they had all been used, they were in excellent condition. Clearly, the person who used them cherished the books. These books weren't bought with money; Teacher Bai naturally wouldn't accept Song Yan's payment. She even bought five boxes of chalk with her own money. She said it was an occupational hazard—she just wanted more children to learn. Song Yan didn't refuse Teacher Bai's kindness. She respected people like Teacher Bai.

Today, a horse-drawn carriage came to the brigade, and Teacher Bai helped to transport the books to the carriage using a bicycle.

When they arrived at the brigade headquarters, Brigade Leader Wu was overjoyed to see the books. Knowledge inspires awe. Li Yuanzhao, true to her protagonist aura, relentlessly persuaded the brigade leader. "If someone unrelated can care so much about the children, shouldn't we care even more?" Li Yuanzhao ignited the brigade leader's enthusiasm. "Hiring a professional carpenter would cost money, but we won't. Aren't there plenty of timber on the mountain? A plank can be used with four legs." The brigade leader organized people to go into the mountains to cut timber. Within a few days, dozens of simple stools and tables were made…

As the weather gets cooler, villagers of all ages go up the mountain to pick mushrooms and wood ear fungus whenever they have time. Although Grandma's legs still can't walk normally, she can manage with a cane. As long as Song Yan cooks the meal in advance and puts it in the pot, he can go mushroom picking with the village women.

The saying "those who live near the mountains live off the mountains" is absolutely true. Song Yan can not only pick mushrooms in the mountains, but last time Cheng Yousuo's wife dragged her along with Cheng Yousuo and his brothers to collect pine cones.

Song Yan witnessed this firsthand; they had to climb pine trees over ten meters high to knock down the pine cones. The women would collect the cones below. Climbing such tall trees without any safety measures was very dangerous, and usually it was the men in the family who would take the women.

Song Yan went and witnessed it this time, never again. Climbing so high and doing something so dangerous, going along to collect pine cones was just getting a free ride. Song Yan planted pine cones in his spatial dimension, and judging by the growth rate of plants in the space, they should produce pine cones in a little over a month! He also planted some mushrooms in his space.

In fact, people are just like squirrels storing food for winter, constantly stocking up on food at home. They dry vegetables and mushrooms before the autumn harvest. Song Yan is also busy with this every day.

The houses on either side of Song Yan's house had already been assigned to specific purposes, except for the one on the far end, which remained empty. Jiang Xiaoxiao quietly told Song Yan that He Jianian had spoken with everyone at the educated youth settlement. He had persuaded Wu Meili to plead with the brigade leader to let the educated youth move to another house during the winter; that house was much better than the ones at the educated youth settlement. Xiaoxiao felt that if He Jianian moved there, Song Yan might run into trouble.

Song Yan also hesitated about this matter. If things went wrong, Xiao Xiao would suffer in the winter as well. Xiao Xiao, on the other hand, didn't care. Everyone else had lived in the educated youth settlement before, so why couldn't she? Actually, it wasn't necessarily that the house was particularly comfortable; it was just that the house was new.

Song Yan felt that being separated from He Jianian by only one courtyard was fine. However, it would be even better if they were farther apart. From then on, the villagers noticed that Song Yan carried cattails back every day. When they met her, they asked what she needed the cattails for. She said she was saving them to weave something. In fact, Song Yan had already planted cattails in her space. There were large patches of cattails by the ponds or rivers. Song Yan cut the cattails in large swathes. Although everyone wondered how much cattails she needed, the three Cheng brothers, Ren Quan, Chen Xiaodong, and Hu Youguang all helped her carry them back. Cheng Youfu even drove an oxcart to haul them back. The house, the three courtyards, and the garden behind, along with the adjacent wasteland, were all covered with cattails by Song Yan.

The power lines will be brought to the village tomorrow, and the villagers are giving the commune's power bureau staff a warm welcome. They're working at a faster pace, and even have lunch in the village. The brigade leader has promised Song Yan ten work points so she can cook for the power bureau staff. Cooking is a good job; not only can she earn work points, but she can also bring her own food. These days, everyone is short of food. Being able to save a meal is a wonderful thing.

The village sent Widow Wang to assist Song Yan. After all, there were over thirty people, including those from the power bureau and the able-bodied men from the village.

The main dish for lunch was sorghum rice, with stir-fried green beans and meat, plus steamed eggplant. These were actually very ordinary ingredients, with no special cooking methods. It didn't matter who cooked it, but Song Yan was the designated head chef, earning ten work points. Widow Wang assisted, earning six work points. It was Li De who first suggested that Widow Wang cook. The brigade leader then proposed that Song Yan cook, with Widow Wang helping in the kitchen. During the wheat harvest, Song Yan's delicious cooking became famous throughout the village. Therefore, the militia leader and the women's director agreed to the brigade leader's suggestion. Widow Wang felt that everyone was just flattering Song Yan. Of the four cadres in the brigade, the brigade leader was indebted to Song Yan, the militia leader was grateful to Song Yan for saving her child, and the women's director was Song Yan's matchmaker. Only the accountant, Li De, had no influence. Why should she earn six work points while Song Yan earned ten? So, on the first day of cooking, Widow Wang spoke sarcastically.

Song Yan actually despised people like Widow Wang. Li De had a wife; Widow Wang was just a mistress. These days, people call such people "parasites." Two people having an affair is their own business. But the fact that the other person has a family shows that this kind of person has no moral bottom line. What's disgusting is that Widow Wang actually had designs on Wei Aiguo. Working with this kind of person is annoying enough, but she's always causing trouble.

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