"It wasn't just good luck; it just so happened that they needed a translator, and I happened to be there!" Zhuang Zhimeng said modestly.

"Luck is also a form of ability, but it's still up to you to have the skills. From now on, all you need to do is gather pig feed and complete your daily tasks!"

"Thank you, Uncle Baogen. Gathering pig feed is very helpful! You go ahead with your work, I'll go find Aunt Tian now."

"Alright! Go ahead, your Aunt Tian has her private plot in the backyard."

Thinking of home makes Zhuang Zhimeng crave noodles with soybean paste.

Zhuang Zhimeng's mouth watered just thinking about Old Beijing-style fried noodles with soybean paste.

Aunt Tian was famous in Anyang Brigade for making delicious sauces and pickled vegetables. When the sauces and pickled vegetables were ready, the villagers would come to her to exchange them.

Zhuang Zhimeng planned to exchange some soybean paste, cucumbers, and carrots for some to take back with her.

"Aunt Tian, ​​I want to exchange some soybean paste, cucumbers, and carrots."

"Well, you've come at the right time! The soybean paste is freshly made. I'll serve you a big bowl. Just bring the bowl back to me later!" Tian Cuie said, handing Zhuang Zhimeng a big bowl of soybean paste. It was thick, dark, and had a rich, savory aroma.

After thanking Aunt Tian, ​​Zhuang Zhimeng carried the soybean paste, cucumbers, and carrots home.

Take out the marinated roe deer meat that An Qingbai sent over earlier, chop it into minced meat, and fry it with the soybean paste that we just got back from Aunt Tian. Add ginger shreds, star anise, cinnamon and bay leaves. The aroma of the fried sauce is so strong that it can be smelled for miles.

Authentic old Beijing-style fried sauce noodles have at least eighteen kinds of side dishes just for the toppings.

Zhuang Zhimeng didn't have the necessary resources, so she made a simplified version.

Make noodles made from a mixture of wheat flour and cornmeal.

Fry the sauce until it's cooked, then top the noodles with shredded cucumber, carrot, and cabbage. Pour the sauce over the noodles. It tastes absolutely amazing.

Zhuang Zhimeng handed each of them a few cloves of garlic, and Su Mengmeng and Jiang Yanxia exclaimed that they enjoyed it very much, eating with gusto, leaving only the sound of slurping noodles in the kitchen.

Su Mengmeng ate three bowls, and Zhuang Zhimeng and Jiang Yanxia also ate two bowls. It was really delicious.

Zhuang Zhimeng also told them about finding a translation job, and Su Mengmeng and Jiang Yanxia were both happy for her.

On the second day of work, Zhuang Zhimeng's task was to cut pig feed. She needed to fill six baskets of pig feed a day, earning three work points each day.

Zhuang Zhimeng accepted the task, carried her basket on her back, and happily went to the place to gather pig feed.

Zhuang Zhimeng has been in the countryside for two months now, and she's no longer the complete novice she once was. At the very least, she can now identify which plants are pig feed.

Do you also know which types of feed pigs like to eat and which they dislike?

Zhuang Zhimeng was slowly cutting pig feed when she heard the noisy voices of children nearby.

"Give me all your pig feed! I want it!"

"I won't give it to you!"

"I'll hit you if you don't give it to me!"

…

Zhuang Zhimeng turned her head to look and found that it was that chubby boy bullying Yangyang again.

Zhuang Zhimeng threw a small pebble at the chubby boy.

The chubby boy was startled and fell to the ground.

When the chubby boy saw that it was Zhuang Zhimeng, he refused to comply.

"It's you again! I'm going to tell my mother and have her deal with you."

Zhuang Zhimeng wasn't going to spoil the kid. She walked over and told the chubby boy, "If you don't tell your mother, you're a little dog. And all you do is tattle, you're a tattletale!"

"Tattoo! Tattoo! An Baojin is a tattoo!" The children surrounding them shouted.

"You tattletale!"

…

"I'm not a tattletale! I'm not a tattletale!" The chubby boy was almost in tears.

"You keep telling your mother all the time, aren't you just a tattletale?"

No! It's not!

"I just saw you bullying someone again, didn't I! Here's what I'll do: whoever hits him gets a piece of candy."

"Really?"

"Of course, I don't lie to children."

As soon as she finished speaking, a child actually hit the chubby boy, and Zhuang Zhimeng gave him a piece of candy.

Immediately afterwards, each child rushed up and hit the candy, and each received a piece of candy.

Of course, the children are still young and don't have much strength; at most, they'll have bruises.

"If you go home and tell on me, your friends definitely won't play with you anymore. And they'll call you a tattletale from now on."

"I'm not a tattletale!" An Baojin shouted and ran away!

When An Baojin arrived home, his mother, Zhao Jinhua, immediately greeted him: "My darling, you're back! Mom steamed some eggs for you. Are you hungry? Come and eat..." Before she could finish speaking, she looked up and noticed that something was wrong with An Baojin's face.

"Who hit you? Tell your mother, and I'll go settle the score with him. How dare he hit my precious child!"

“Yes…yes…” An Baojin was about to speak, but then stopped himself when he remembered Zhuang Zhimeng’s words, afraid that others would call him a tattletale.

"I fell by accident."

"How could you be so careless? Your mother would be heartbroken if you hurt yourself. You have to be more careful next time, okay!"