Chapter 24 Gathering.

He Susu returned home and told her family that her article had been selected and published in the newspaper.

The He family was naturally happy for her. When they found out that her article was about the rush to harvest in the rain, they felt proud that they were also featured in the newspaper.

He's father asked his daughter to read the article in the newspaper to her, and at the end he collected the two newspapers like treasures and put them in his room together with the previous magazines.

He's mother looked at her daughter with great pride. She didn't expect that Susu was working in a movie theater and still insisted on writing articles to earn royalties.

Whose daughter can earn twice as much money as Susu? If you tell others about it, they will be envious.

Zhao Miling and Qian Chunhe originally had a lot of complaints about their aunt, but these days, as she kept bringing back meat, rice, flour and other food, their complaints gradually faded away. Now, they admire her even more.

It's good to be educated, because with education you can write articles and make money.

They all turned their attention to their own children, thinking that they were not good at studying and should pay more attention to their children's studies and let them learn more from his aunt!

At night, He Susu habitually opened the shopping system to check and found that the diligence value had increased by 6 points, which means that 2 points of diligence value were awarded for each article published.

Previously, articles submitted to magazines were rewarded with 1 point each time. It seems that submitting to newspapers is more difficult, so more diligence points will be awarded.

She is very happy with it.

He Susu looked at the redeemable items for a while, and when she refreshed the page, she found that there were discounted items again. It only took 1 point of diligence to redeem two kilograms of fragrant pears, while it used to take 2 points of diligence.

Fruits are rare these days and are only grown in cities further south. When shipped here, the price increases several times, and it is difficult to buy them.

Only if the children in the village are lucky enough occasionally can they pick up some wild fruits on the back mountain and taste the juice, which is better than nothing.

With 6 new points of diligence, He Susu exchanged for the maximum limit of 6 pears, a total of 12 kilograms, without hesitation. After all, the pears can be kept fresh in the storage compartment, and there is no need to worry about them going bad.

She remembered reading in a book that stewed pears with rock sugar can relieve cough.

Recently, He's mother may have caught a cold from the rain. She didn't catch a cold, but she coughed from time to time. Sometimes she coughed so hard that she cried, and He Susu felt distressed when she saw it. These fragrant pears came at the right time, and they can be used to make stewed snow pears with rock sugar.

She simply exchanged it for another pound of rock sugar and took it home after get off work tomorrow.

Perhaps because she hadn't eaten fruit for a long time, He Susu felt quite hungry and simply took out a pear to eat.

The pears were clean and did not need to be washed. She did not bother to go to the kitchen to get a knife to peel them, lest she be discovered by her family and have to explain herself. She just took a bite.

The pear was juicy and spurted out directly to fill her mouth, bringing a bit of sweetness. He Susu bit the pear flesh, which was soft and crunchy. Not only did it taste good, it was also very thirst-quenching, and her throat felt much fresher.

I finished the whole pear in no time and temporarily wrapped the remaining pear core with some discarded letter paper. I would take it out and throw it away the next morning.

He Susu tidied herself up and went to bed to sleep.

The next day, He Susu went to work, and the He family also became busy.

The water accumulated in the fields has all been drained away, and the rice seedlings have all been cultivated. The brigade organized them to start planting the seedlings. This planting is related to the spring harvest next year, which is the food for their own mouths. The He family went to work with full enthusiasm.

In the county town, He Susu finished her meal, washed the lunch box and the pot, and did not prepare to sleep on the table as usual. Instead, she took out two kilograms of pears from the shopping system, put them in a package, and rode her bicycle to the meat processing factory to give it to her elder sister.

Her elder sister was so kind to her, so naturally she wanted to share the delicious fruits.

There were few people on the county roads at noon, and He Susu rode her bicycle smoothly. When she passed a street, she glanced at it casually, and was stunned for a second, and her speed also slowed down.

She saw her third sister-in-law Su Yu walking in the street, wearing clothes that didn't quite suit her style and a hat. If she wasn't too familiar with her, she wouldn't have recognized her.

I saw my third sister-in-law talking to a woman, then she handed her some money and she handed her a package.

He Susu guessed that this should be the third sister-in-law buying rice mentioned in the original book. These days, similar transactions are all done secretly, and there is a special place called the black market, which gathers many people who want to sell and buy things.

Since she had the shopping system, He Susu could use her diligence points to exchange for a lot of rice, flour and other food that were rare these days, but she had no intention of selling things on the black market to make money.

Firstly, it is too troublesome. I have money on hand, and I use diligence points to exchange things, so I don’t need too much money. Secondly, it is too dangerous. If I encounter a patrol team coming to arrest people, the consequences of being caught will be serious.

Seeing that the third sister-in-law was disguised and left in a hurry after the transaction with the man, He Susu did not say much and pretended not to see it and continued riding her bicycle to the meat processing factory.

The gatekeeper at the meat processing factory thought she looked familiar and let her in without even registering.

When they arrived at the meat canning workshop, the female worker near the door saw He Susu and directly called He Xiuxiu out. She also said to He Susu: "You two sisters have a great relationship. Either you come to find her or she comes to find you."

He Susu smiled and said, "Since we are close, sisters need to visit each other more often to have a good relationship."

After He Xiuxiu came out, the two sisters left the workshop and found a place under the shade of a tree to talk.

He Xiuxiu: "It's so hot, why are you here instead of taking a rest in the cinema?

He Susu handed her the package and said, "I was lucky enough to buy some fragrant pears, so I thought I'd bring some over for you and the kids."

He Xiuxiu took it and opened it. The pears in the package were quite large, and the skin was intact without any signs of damage.

"Fragrant pears are good things. We don't sell many fruits here in our county. I must be carrying a pound or two of this stuff. You can take some back to eat."

He Susu shook her head: "No, I left some to take home, it's not less than what's in this package, you can take it with confidence, big sister."

He Xiuxiu then accepted it and said, "Okay, Haohao and Juejue love eating fruits the most, I'm sure they will like these pears too if we take them back."

"Just eat it if you like it. Fragrant pears can moisten the lungs and quench thirst. I've tasted one that was quite juicy." He Susu said.

Thinking of the rest schedule, He Xiuxiu said, "Oh, I'm going to rest the day after tomorrow. I've agreed with your brother-in-law to take the two children home to visit. See if you can switch shifts and take a rest so that we two sisters can get together."

He Susu nodded in agreement: "Okay, I understand. It should be okay if I tell Sister Chen."

After finishing her business, He Susu did not stay long. After saying hello to her elder sister, she rode her bike back to the cinema to rest.

When it was time to get off work, Sister Chen came to hand over the shift. He Susu told her that she would take a rest the day after tomorrow, and Sister Chen agreed immediately: "No problem, Susu, go and rest without worry."

The two of them have been working together for a few months and get along pretty well. Whoever wants to take a break will tell the other in advance, and generally the other will agree if there is nothing important.

After thanking Sister Chen, He Susu rode her bicycle home. When she reached the village entrance, she took out two kilograms of fragrant pears from the storage compartment and put them in the package, and then took out another kilogram of rock sugar and put it in, and then continued to ride her bicycle.

After dinner at night, He Susu took out the package and said, "Mom and Dad, I bought some pears today when I saw them for sale. Let's share them. They taste pretty good."

He's mother looked at the pears, which were large and thin-skinned, and said, "They actually have fragrant pears for sale. We have never eaten them before."

Most fruits in the county town are expensive and hard to buy. Most people are reluctant to spend money to buy fruits. For example, even if the He family goes to the county town to buy things, they only buy oil and flour. Knowing that her daughter is willing to spend money to try new things, He's mother didn't say much.

There were a lot of pears in the package, but the girl actually asked everyone to share. With so many eaters at home, they ate all the pears in no time. Before He's mother could stop her, she saw her daughter share a pear with everyone present.

He Susu didn't give the pear to her mother: "Mom, the book says that pears stewed with rock sugar can relieve coughs. I'll make some for you."

Hearing her daughter worrying about her cough, He's mother smiled and said, "Susu is really thoughtful. This stewed pear with rock sugar sounds good. Just tell me how to make it."

The mother and daughter talked and walked to the kitchen together.

In the hall, He's father washed the pear and took a bite. It was just as sweet and refreshing as his daughter said.

Brother He and his friends were eating the pears in their mouths. They were juicy and sweet, worthy of being the fruits sold in the county town. Their high price was justified.

Several children ate pears and enjoyed the sweet juice. The crunchy pear flesh was also very delicious. It was incomparable to the sour fruits in the back mountain. It was so delicious.

In the kitchen, He Susu was unable to snatch the favor from her mother, so she could only watch her peel the pear with a knife, cut the whole pear into small pieces, and remove the core. She lit the stove, poured enough water into the pot, put the chopped pear flesh in, and covered the pot.

"Okay, cook it for a while, and then add some rock sugar when it's almost done."

He's mother said, "This stewed pear with rock sugar must be delicious, with both pears and sugar."

She thought it was something good, so she asked her daughter to drink it with her later, and she ruthlessly cut two pears and cooked them.

The mother and daughter went out and sat for a while.

He Susu: "By the way, mother, my eldest sister said that she and her brother-in-law will be back with their two children the day after tomorrow."

He's mother: "Okay, I'll remember that. There's some meat left at home that can be cooked the day after tomorrow. I'll think about what to cook for them." Now that the work of planting seedlings is done, it's not so busy at work, so I can take a leave.

He Susu calculated the time and went into the kitchen to open the pot lid and add a few pieces of rock sugar. Then she used a spatula to push the pears in the pot to roll, the rock sugar melted, and the soup was a yellow and clear color. The pears stewed with rock sugar were ready.

She completed the cooking process by herself, so she gained 1 more diligence point in the shopping system.

She took two bowls and filled them with pear flesh and soup, which were steaming and exuding a sweet taste.

He's mother came over to help carry it out: "This smells delicious."

He Susu: "There should be one bowl left in the pot. When you finish drinking, bring a bowl to fill it."

He's mother naturally agreed. Knowing that her daughter made this stewed pear with rock sugar to cure her cough, she did not refuse and drank two bowls greedily.

The soup in the bowl cooled down a bit, and He Susu picked it up to drink. The soup was very sweet and refreshing. The pear flesh was very soft after being stewed for a long time, and it was very soft and greasy when bitten. It was completely different from eating it raw.

He's mother also enjoyed the drink. Who could have thought that one day she would not only be able to eat fruit, but also drink pears stewed with sugar?

Soon it was the day after tomorrow, the day He Xiuxiu had said she would come.

The other members of the He family went to work as usual, and He's mother took a special leave to prepare lunch at home.

Following Susu's advice, she planned to slice the pork and make twice-cooked pork. She also dug a Chinese cabbage from the vegetable garden, cut some leeks, and went back to make scrambled eggs.

A few days ago, several children at home went to the back mountain to pick a lot of wood ear and mushrooms when the weather cleared up after the rain. They then fried them with lard and made two more dishes, which were very fragrant.

He Susu exchanged two large crucian carps from the shopping system yesterday, and they were still swimming in the bucket. After breakfast, she rode her bicycle to the county supply and marketing cooperative to buy two pieces of tofu so that her mother could cook crucian carp and tofu soup for lunch.

He's mother was busy in the morning. After taking care of the vegetable garden and feeding the two chickens at home, she began to prepare lunch.

After He Susu came back from buying tofu, she also followed and helped pass things around.

While picking leeks, He's mother said, "It won't be so hard to go back to work after the autumn harvest. The weather is getting cooler and I feel much more comfortable."

He Susu nodded: "That's right, it's hot and I sweat when I move. It's so uncomfortable."

Mother He smiled and said, "Your eldest sister and the others are probably on their way now."

After my eldest daughter started working at the meat processing factory, she would always save one or two boxes of canned meat for Susu to bring back when they were distributed. She also bought meat for her and the old man during the last autumn harvest. I think my son-in-law also knew about this and supported her.

This time when her daughter and her family came back, she naturally had to prepare some delicious dishes to entertain them to save face for her daughter.

About half an hour later, they heard some noise outside. He's mother put down her work and went to greet them, and He Susu followed.

"Grandma, we're back!"

"Hello, aunt!"

When the visitor pushed the door open, we found that it was our third sister-in-law Su Yu who had returned with Dabao and Erbao.

Su Yu called out, "Mom, Su Su."

He Susu replied: "Third sister-in-law, you are back."

Mother He was naturally happy to see her two grandchildren: "Oh, Dabao and Erbao, you are finally back. Your grandma took really good care of you. I see that you have gained some weight and grown taller."

She also smiled at her daughter-in-law, "Xiaoyu, are you taking a break today? Come in and sit down."

Su Yu nodded: "I'll take a break today, thinking about Dabao and Erbao coming back to see you and dad."

Dabao and Erbao were also happy to hear their grandmother praise them for growing taller. They were not shy and were very close to He's mother, sticking to her and reporting about their life at their grandmother's house.

He's mother was so happy that she went to the kitchen and took out three pears to share with them and the third son's wife: "These are the pears that Susu bought. They are juicy and sweet. Eat them to quench your thirst."

Dabao and Erbao happily took it and said politely, "Thank you grandma, thank you aunt."

After saying that, he immediately picked up the pear and started to eat it, praising its deliciousness.

Su Yu didn't hesitate and started eating the pear.

She still found it strange. After her rebirth, she was more willing to spend money on food. Normally, as long as she had meat coupons, she would buy meat and would also buy fruit if she saw any.

But she also hadn't heard of any store selling fragrant pears recently. However, she thought, she didn't go to the grocery store every day, so it was normal not to see fragrant pears on sale.

My aunt-in-law works at a cinema and earns so little money, but she is willing to spend money on pears. She is still as financially comfortable as before.

After eating the pear, Su Yu asked about something that concerned her: "Oh, by the way, mother, the autumn harvest was delayed because of the long rain. The harvest must have been affected. Is there any news yet?"

Speaking of this, He's mother sighed: "After the cut rice ears were dried, the team checked and said that they were about 10% less than in previous years, which is better than expected."

Thinking of the food stored in the kitchen, she felt relieved again. "Fortunately, I made preparations in advance. I asked Susu to ask her classmates to help buy ten kilograms of polished rice and ten kilograms of brown rice to store. This will help to supplement the food for next year."

Su Yu nodded: "That's good."

She was actually very surprised and subconsciously glanced at her aunt.

I didn't expect my sister-in-law to have such a way to buy so much rice. But she didn't agree with her mother-in-law buying another ten kilograms of brown rice. If she wanted to buy rice, she should buy polished rice and eat something good. Buying brown rice is really a waste of money. But considering that the He family relies on earning cents and the fifteen yuan sent back by her husband every month, it is normal.

As they chatted, He's mother reminded them, "By the way, Xiuxiu's family will be back today too. If you all get together, the house will be really lively."

As soon as he finished speaking, there was a noise outside. It was He Xiuxiu's family arriving.

Haohao and Juejue are more lively and close to their grandmother. As soon as they entered the house, they shouted, "Grandma, we are back." When they saw He Susu, they shouted again, "Hello, aunt."

When they saw Su Yu, even though they didn't see each other often, they at least remembered to say, "Hello, Third Aunt."

Su Yu naturally greeted them both with a smile, and taught Dabao and Erbao how to call people.

He Xiuxiu didn't expect to run into her third brother's wife and her two children. They greeted each other and the house suddenly became lively. Haohao and Juejue loved to play, so they pulled Dabao and Erbao to play small games in the yard.

He's mother was entertaining her eldest daughter and son-in-law. When she saw that it was almost time, she got up and went to the kitchen to prepare cooking.

He Xiuxiu naturally couldn't let her mother cook lunch by herself, so she immediately stood up to help, but was stopped by her mother: "You finally came back to your mother's house, how can I let you go into the kitchen to cook? Sit down and rest for a while."

Seeing this, Su Yu stood up and said, "Mom, let me help you in the kitchen. I haven't been home for a long time, and my cooking is not good, so I will help you."

This time He's mother did not refuse and went into the kitchen with the third son's wife.

Seeing this, He Xiuxiu leaned close to her younger sister and whispered in her ear, "Mom is going to teach my third sister-in-law a lesson."

She thought her mother still remembered the last time when Dabao caused her younger sister to hit her head, and her third brother's wife started a quarrel.

He Susu smiled and said, "It's not that exaggerated. They have a very good relationship between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law."

She told the story about the last time her third sister-in-law brought back two children, and her mother forgave her and acted as if nothing had happened.

He Xiuxiu suddenly realized and nodded: "It seems that I am narrow-minded."

Gradually, the aroma of meat wafted out of the kitchen. The He family also came back from work at the appointed time, and they gathered in the main hall to greet each other. The nine children in total were very happy to see each other, and they talked and laughed.

The lunch was very sumptuous, with twice-cooked pork, scrambled eggs with leeks, stir-fried mushrooms, stir-fried black fungus, and crucian carp and tofu soup. There weren't many dishes but the portions were large enough. Everyone picked up some with their chopsticks and ate until their mouths were full of oil.

After the meal, Zhao Miling and Qian Chunhe cleaned up the dishes and went to wash them. This time Su Yu did not help. Zhao Miling and Qian Chunhe had no objection to this, as they all knew that the third brother and sister-in-law helped cook lunch.

However, they still had some opinions about Su Yu. If Su Yu lived at home with the children, she would be responsible for cooking or washing dishes.

As a result, she has now moved back to her mother's home in the county town, and the reason she gave is ready-made: it is for convenience in work, and no one can find any fault with it.

Although they were muttering in their hearts, Zhao Miling and Qian Chunhe still put on a smile on their faces so as not to embarrass the family.

It was a rare occasion for the eldest daughter and son-in-law to come back, so Mr. and Mrs. He were very interested. They didn't even mention taking a nap. They sat in the main room and talked, talking about things in the fields and asking about their work.

He Susu sat beside them, and her eldest sister sat next to her. The two sisters had a lot to talk about.

Brother He and the others naturally sat aside to keep him company. Fortunately, the work during the day was not too heavy, so he was not too tired at this moment and there was no need to worry about lack of energy in the afternoon.

When it was time to go to work in the afternoon, He Xiuxiu and her family went back to the county town first. Firstly, they were afraid of delaying her family from going to work, and they would have nothing to do at home; secondly, they could still catch the oxcart from the village to the county town in the afternoon, instead of walking back.

He's father and mother kindly invited the third son's wife and her two daughters to rest in the room they had lived in before, stay here for one night and go back tomorrow morning, as they also wanted to see their two grandsons more.

Su Yu thought that she had two days off in a row and could take a ox cart back to the county town the next morning, so she agreed.

Dabao and Erbao are in high spirits and don't want to rest. They choose to go with their brothers and sisters to cut grass for pigs. Guifang and her friends cut grass for pigs every day and they even want to be lazy sometimes. Dabao and Erbao are not used to doing this but are very interested in it.

Nothing would happen in the village, so Su Yu just let them go and went back to her room to take a nap.

Seeing that nothing was to do, He Susu went back to her room to take a nap.

Before going to bed, she thought for a moment and said to her third sister-in-law, "Third sister-in-law, my mother takes out the quilt in your room from time to time to dry it. It was just washed not long ago and is very clean. You can use it without worry."

Knowing that her sister-in-law was reminding her husband's family that they were always thinking about them, Su Yu smiled and said, "Okay, I get it."

Dinner was naturally not as sumptuous as lunch, but it was still better than the usual meals. With three more mouths to feed, Zhao Miling simply cooked one more dish.

In the afternoon, Dabao and Erbao followed their brothers and sisters to cut grass for pigs. After completing the task, they ran out to play together. They consumed so much that they were naturally hungry, and ate a lot more than usual.

Su Yu did wash the dishes in the evening. When she took the initiative, Zhao Miling and Qian Chunhe felt embarrassed. Zhao Miling cooked dinner, and Qian Chunhe went to help wash the dishes. There were quite a few dishes in this family.

Afterwards, the family sat and chatted, and Su's mother asked, "Xiaoyu, when the third child wrote to you, did he tell you when he would be back?"

Su Yu shook her head: "I haven't said that. The Lianzhou troops have many tasks and are very busy. Normally, we can't come back without a long vacation."

In her memory of her previous life, her husband would not come back until the Chinese New Year.

After hearing this, He's mother sighed, "It's hard for him to be alone in the army. Last time we sent him fermented bean curd and homemade mushroom and meat sauce as a snack. I guess he has almost finished it. I'll see what I can make and send to him later."

Su Yu didn't expect that her husband's family would send food to her husband, which made her feel a little relieved. She said, "Lianzhou knows that you, Dad and Mom, are worried about him, so you should be careful when you go on missions. I also send him things from time to time."

Late at night, Dabao and Erbao were so tired that they fell asleep on the bed. Su Yu lay on the bed in the familiar room, without thinking too much, and fell asleep quickly.

The next morning, after breakfast, Su Yu took Dabao and Erbao back to the county town on a bullock cart. A little later, He Susu also rode her bicycle to the county town to work.