Chapter 281 Dividing dishes

The morning's work was too tiring, so Song Lubai took a mug of cold boiled water from Wei Yang and drank it all in one go.

Chen Dongyang looked up and said, "Auntie, I want to drink too."

As Song Lubai poured her water, Wei Yang, stirring the zucchini in the pan, said, "You're quite busy today."

Song Lubai said, "Everyone just went home now, and with so many people, it's inevitable that there will be some arguments. We can go later this afternoon, when the weather is cooler, and then we can pick the vegetables."

When Wei Yang came back at noon to cook, the neighbors living nearby started gossiping behind his back.

The women thought that Commander Wei was a good husband who knew how to manage a household and loved his wife. If this were in their families, they would rather go hungry than wait for their wives to come home and cook. If they cooked late, they would get scolded.

Unlike Commander Wei, who knows how to take action himself, and even serves his wife tea and water when she comes home.

Wei Yang didn't think that his wife had to do all the housework; it was only right that whoever came home first should cook.

The whole family needs to eat. If he can cook, then let him do it.

He served the dishes and said to Song Lubai, "They definitely aren't as good as what you make."

After handing out the steamed buns to the group, Song Lubai said, "They look good."

With limited seasonings, Wei Yang only added garlic, salt, and soy sauce, and it did taste quite good.

Chen Jingwen said, "My aunt is the best at cooking, my uncle is second best, and my mom is the worst cook."

"Uncle, when will Mom be back?"

Wei Yang said, "At least twenty days. You guys stay home and wait patiently."

The round trip alone would take twenty days just to travel.

"I'll find you some books in a few days. Even if the school can't teach you much in the future, you still have to study hard."

After dinner, Chen Jingwen washed the pots and pans, while Wei Yang went back to his room, picked up his coat, and said, "I'm going to the company in a bit. I might be back tonight. You and Dongyang will sleep together tonight. Make sure the door is secure."

After agreeing, Song Lubai said, "Could the troupe give us some vegetable seeds? It's almost time to plant cabbages, and the vegetables in the ground won't last much longer."

Wei Yang said, "Have your Director Liu go to the regiment to ask for it."

Wei Yang was almost at the door with the clothes in his hand when, taking advantage of Song Lubai's momentary lapse in attention, he swept her up in his arms.

He pinned her against the door, her legs wrapped around his waist.

The two kissed, making soft, wet sounds.

Song Lubai felt that he had improved a lot.

After a while, he put the person down and said, "I'm leaving."

Song Lubai went to the next room to take a look. Chen Dongyang was already asleep in bed, and the two brothers were also lying in bed.

She went back to sleep peacefully and slept until after 5 p.m. When she went out, she saw a pile of yellow earth not far away.

She gave Chen Shaohua and his brother some instructions and then called Chen Dongyang to go to the supply and marketing cooperative together.

When they reached the mound of earth, she asked, "Are you preparing to build a courtyard wall?"

The old man sitting there quickly stood up and said, "We're going to make adobe bricks. This soil isn't good enough. Yellow soil would be best. Let's try it first and see if we can build them up."

Song Lubai said, "Teach us when you're done."

The old man readily agreed.

When Song Lubai came from Shicheng, she saw yellow courtyard walls on the way, with straw fragments mixed in, but many places were cracked.

She knew that building walls with bricks would be the best option, but people couldn't even live in brick houses, let alone build walls with bricks.

When Song Lubai arrived at the supply and marketing cooperative, Zhao Jingyuan and Liu Fang had already arrived.

The sun was still quite strong, and the vegetables would wilt easily after being picked, so the three of them waited another half hour before moving on.

With the help of other villagers, the vegetables were harvested very quickly.

The quantity of each type of vegetable was weighed and recorded before being sent back to the supply and marketing cooperative's warehouse.

The four areas grow roughly the same types of vegetables: zucchini, persimmons, green beans, cucumbers, and a small amount of green peppers and watermelons.

The number of households in each area is known. The team leaders had already done the statistics by noon. Song Lubai made the records and calculated how to allocate the households before taking Chen Dongyang home.

It was past nine o'clock, but it wasn't dark yet. It was a cool time of day, and a crowd had gathered in front of Old Li's house. Chen Shaohua and his brother were also watching the commotion.

In the afternoon, Song Lubai saw a pile of dirt in front of his house. When she returned, the pile of dirt had turned into a mud wall that was higher than her calves.

"Didn't you say you were going to remove the mud bricks? Why are you just plastering them on the wall?"

This kind of paste probably won't be as sturdy as a mud brick pile.

Old Li wiped his sweat and said, "Making mud bricks won't work. They'll crack as soon as they dry. It's not as solid as directly plastering the wall. If you add some straw to the mud, it won't matter if it cracks. You can just pile it up to a meter and a half high, and it won't collapse easily."

At this time, almost all the men from each household had returned home, and after eating, everyone went to Old Li's house to help out.

Building a wall isn't a particularly skilled job. It involves applying plaster, tamping, and smoothing with a shovel. No high quality is being pursued. A dozen or so men work together until after 2 a.m., and a wall about 1.5 meters high is completed.

Song Lubai got up at around 7 a.m., while the three children were still sleeping. After washing her face and brushing her teeth, she went to the supply and marketing cooperative.

As she passed the half-dry wall, she thought to herself that her neighbors were really quick to act.

The time for distributing vegetables is between 7:30 and 8:30. Everyone in the household is there at this time, so naturally nothing is missed.

Each household sent one person to leave their fingerprints and collect their vegetables. There were four lines in four different areas. If people arrived at the same time, they could collect their vegetables in less than half an hour.

Many people in the queue grumbled that it would be more convenient to pick the fruit themselves, and that having to queue up so early in the morning was really troublesome.

Song Lubai pretended not to hear, saying that if they didn't do this, everyone's vegetable gardens would be lost.

However, it was indeed a bit early to come and pick up the vegetables so early in the morning. She thought to herself, why not arrange to distribute the vegetables at eight or nine o'clock in the evening? By then, it would still be dark, and most of the workers would have returned.

"Comrade, how is this food divided? Why did the person in front of me get more than 1.2 jin (500 grams) while I only got 0.6 liang (300 grams)?"

Song Lubai said, "It's calculated based on the number of people in the area and the weight collected yesterday. One adult is three liang, and one child is two liang. Her family has three children and two adults, so it's twelve liang. Your family only has two people and no children, so it's six liang."

This man felt it was unfair and was about to say something when the person behind him said, "Comrade Lü, if you're talking about unfairness, we feel it's unfair too. If I remember correctly, you and your wife didn't grow any vegetables, yet you got them for free. You've already gotten a great deal."

Comrade Lü blushed and said, "I've only been here for two months, how could I have time to grow vegetables in a garden?"

Song Lubai said, "I didn't have time before, but I'll have to make time from now on. No one can eat vegetables for free."

She raised her voice and said, "Attention all team leaders in each area! Every household must be involved in the labor."

The squad leader responded from the ranks.

After hearing this, Comrade Lü collected the vegetables, pressed his fingerprint, and left in a hurry.

After distributing the vegetables and tidying up, Song Lubai took seven or eight chili peppers, a zucchini, and a small handful of green beans and walked back.

This is what her family eats for a day.