Busy times always fly by. After three days of work, Chen Shuning's little house was almost finished thanks to the hard work of the workers who worked from dawn till dusk. There was only a little finishing work left, which was estimated to be completed in another day.

The house next door, Zhong Lingling's, still needs two more days to be completed, so when Chen Shuning asked her if she wanted to go to town to buy things together, Zhong Lingling declined.

She had received confirmation from the brigade leader that new educated youth would be arriving in a few days, and that she would transfer Wang Wenqi's sister's relationship to him at that time.

However, she and Wang Wenqi were told to go to the commune to complete the formalities themselves. In reality, it was just a matter of the two of them delivering gifts to the commune.

So Zhong Lingling planned to go to town to buy things together at that time. Although she didn't care about the few work points she earned each day, Wang Wenqi couldn't do that; he couldn't keep taking leave for no reason.

Chen Shuning chose to go to town to buy things before the house was even built because she was hoping Zhong Lingling wouldn't go back. She didn't want to spend money on the purchases, as she didn't have much money. She planned to use the excuse of going to town to take out the things she needed from her spatial storage.

I also wanted to see if I could find out the location of the black market in town and sell some goods to make some money. I've been too tired from work these past few days, and also because Zhong Lingling lives with me.

Aside from rushing into the space to grab a few things on her first day of work, Chen Shuning hadn't had a chance to explore it.

Just thinking about all the delicious food in her space makes her mouth water, so she's determined to have a good feast while she's in town alone this time.

So Chen Shuning asked the brigade leader for a day off and planned to go to town to bring back everything that was missing from the house.

Another custom here is to treat the builders to a meal on the day the house is completed.

However, although both stove holes in Chen Shuning's kitchen were installed, since Chen Shuning was the only one there, the stove holes were designed for small 18-inch pots, so they couldn't be used to cook large batches of food.

Zhong Lingling's side didn't need to cook in a large pot, and she learned from Chen Shuning to leave two small stoves. So the two of them discussed buying one pound of meat and two pounds of rice for each chef to take back, as a way of treating the chefs to their after-work meal.

Although Zhong Lingling didn't go to town with Chen Shuning today, she still gave Chen Shuning her share of the money and tickets before he left. After all, they were building the house together, so the things for the master should be paid for by both of them.

As usual, Chen Shuning first delivered a large bucket of mung bean water to the construction site, said goodbye to Shen Dahe, and then headed towards the cowshed.

She had arranged with Old Man Yang, who drove the oxcart, early in the morning to hire the oxcart for a day for two cents. Today, he planned to bring back everything needed for the new house in one go. After all, although she could not earn many work points a day, it was not good to take leave all the time.

When they arrived at the cowshed, Old Man Yang had already hitched up the cart and was waiting at the entrance. Seeing Chen Shuning running towards the cowshed, he hurriedly drove the cart towards her, saying, "No rush, no rush, girl, slow down."

As soon as Chen Shuning got settled on the oxcart, he took out an aluminum lunchbox and handed it to Grandpa Yang, saying with a smile, "Grandpa Yang, I have a lot of things to buy today, so I might be back a little late. There's some food I prepared in the lunchbox. It'll still be edible even if it gets cold. If I don't come back for lunch, you can have something to eat. Once my little house is finished, I'll treat you to a nice meal."

"This won't do, this won't do. Girl, you should take the things back right away. I know your newly built house is missing a lot of things, so your Grandma Yang has prepared lunch for me."

"Girl, just go ahead and buy what you want. Grandpa's still waiting for you under the big locust tree at the town entrance. Don't worry about being a little late; the weather's nice today, so it's okay if it gets a little dark."

Old Yang only realized after taking the steamed buns home last time that the girl had given him meat buns. Although the old man had never eaten at a state-run restaurant, he knew that meat buns there were expensive. His wife had complained about this for a long time. Today, he dared not take anything from the girl again, otherwise his wife would complain about him again when he got home.

But who is Chen Shuning? He just loves you, Old Yang. He immediately pouted and stared at the undelivered lunchbox with a wronged look, muttering, "I got up early today to make this for you, but I didn't expect to be disliked."

As soon as Old Man Yang turned his head, he saw the little girl's aggrieved look and quickly comforted her: "Oh, girl, don't be sad. Grandpa doesn't look down on you. You're just a little girl, it's not easy for you to come to our countryside. You don't earn many work points all year round. You can't be so extravagant. Listen to Grandpa, take the things back and eat them yourself. Food is very precious these days."

No matter what Old Yang said, Chen Shuning stubbornly held up the lunchbox and said, "But this is something I made especially for you. My own portion is in the basket. If Grandpa Yang doesn't want it, I can't finish it all by myself. Why don't you take it this time, Grandpa Yang? I'll listen to you from now on, okay? But not this time."

As Chen Shuning spoke, he took out another aluminum lunchbox from the bamboo basket—actually, from his spatial storage—and shook it. "Grandpa Yang, look, I have another one here."

Then he started to act spoiled: "So, Grandpa Yang, look, I've already cooked this meal today. It's hot now and the food won't keep. If you don't want it, then we'll just have to throw it away. You said it yourself, food is precious now, and it would be such a waste to waste it. So please, Grandpa, do me the trouble and eat it for me."

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