"Oh...ah..."
The little wild donkey wagged its tail, lowered its head to eat a bite of crushed corn, and then proudly looked up at the tree.
Seeing that the two annoying little balls dared not fly out again, it wagged its little tail even faster.
Lu Fangfang walked over with a smile and rubbed the donkey's head.
"You stubborn little donkey, you're really something, you can even catch flying birds."
"Oh...ah..."
The little wild donkey nudged Lu Fangfang's arm, then looked up at her, as if urging her to give him the melon seeds she had promised.
Lu Fangfang coughed, patted the donkey's head, and then turned and went into the house.
Inside the breeding farm shed, Sister Lanying and Sister Shufen were still busy. She went in for a look and found that the two of them had even wiped down the bamboo cages.
It seems the salary increase has really upset them.
Back in the storage room, she went to her desk and started sketching.
After working for a while, she was just getting into the idea when she heard a banging sound outside, like someone was chiseling ice.
Lu Fangfang listened with some curiosity. The ice in the river outside had already been dug up by Xiuxiu and her sisters-in-law, so it wouldn't be easy to catch fish again.
Having sat for a while, she called to Xiaohua and Xiaozanghu that she wanted to go for a walk.
In the courtyard, the little wild donkey, having eaten and drunk its fill, saw Lu Fangfang come out and quickly got up to follow her.
After leaving the farm and walking to the riverbank, Lu Fangfang looked on curiously and saw that the person chiseling ice in the river was none other than Li Dajun.
He was holding an iron pickaxe, smashing the ice with all his might. There was a small basin next to him, but it didn't contain any fruit yet.
"Comrade Li Dajun, are you trying to catch fish by breaking through the ice?"
Li Dajun looked up at her, then nodded somewhat embarrassedly.
"Isn't it because Hai Mei is back? She's not feeling well right now, so I wanted to dig up some fish to help her get some nutrition."
Lu Fangfang understood.
She looked at the spot where Li Dajun was chiseling ice, then shook her head and said, "Comrade Li Dajun, this spot has been chiseled several times by others, there aren't many fish left. Why don't you go downstream and take a look? Maybe there are still some fish nests there."
Li Dajun glanced at the nearby ice cave, then scratched his head.
He felt that Lu Fangfang's words made sense, thanked her, and then carried his pickaxe downstream.
Lu Fangfang looked around again, then turned and went to the meadow.
Leading Little Flower, Little Tibetan Fox, and Little Wild Donkey, she took a walk on the grassland.
In the distance, she also spotted a little weasel carrying a pika.
It glanced this way, saw the little Tibetan fox there, and didn't dare to come over. It grabbed the pika and ran away quickly.
With the snow gone from the grasslands, it became much easier for the little weasels to hunt.
The little wild donkey looked at the pika in its mouth and hesitated.
It let out a burp, then slowly wagged its tail and followed Lu Fangfang.
"Look at you, so pathetic."
Lu Fangfang looked up and slapped it. This gluttonous donkey really wants to eat anything it sees.
She tightened her clothes and led the three little ones up a small hill.
Looking around, she noticed a pika peeking out and nibbling at the dry grass in the meadow not far away.
The little rabbit seemed to have spotted the group of people on the hillside, and it was so frightened that it immediately turned around and ran back into its burrow.
For some reason, Lu Fangfang suddenly felt like laughing.
It must be incredibly tough for the pikas living on this grassland.
Besides the predatory weasel, there are also snow leopards, Tibetan foxes, and even the Tibetan wild ass, which used to graze, has started eating meat. It's truly a tough struggle for survival.
Hearing the thumping sounds coming from the river again, Lu Fangfang turned around and saw that Li Dajun was chiseling at the ice again.
This man treated Zhu Haiming, who was pregnant, quite well. I just wonder if he regrets using Zhuang Mingcheng's photo for the blind date.
After watching for a while, she noticed a gust of wind blowing across the grassland, so she tightened her clothes and hurried back to the farm.
...
That evening, after her husband returned home, Lu Fangfang specifically mentioned that the regimental commander wanted to raise her salary.
If their monthly salary of just over one hundred yuan is approved by their superiors, their family will be much better off in the future.
"Don't worry, since the commander said so, the application will definitely be approved."
Zhuang Mingcheng was also very happy after hearing this. He knew better than anyone how much hard work his wife had put into the farm.
Now that the farm is doing so well, it's time to reap the rewards.
After dinner, Lu Fangfang was drawing illustrations in the inner room and mentioned Li Dajun's matter to him again.
When she returned in the afternoon, she ran into Li Dajun again. He had actually made a good catch in the downstream river, digging up half a basin of small fish, enough to make several pots of fish soup.
"Li Dajun...sigh."
Zhuang Mingcheng sat next to his wife, listening with mixed feelings, and could only sigh helplessly in the end.
The current situation is entirely Li Dajun's own doing.
...
Before we knew it, it was already mid-January, with only half a month left until the Lunar New Year.
That morning, before dawn, Lu Fangfang got up early, dressed, and went to the outer room to wake Xiuxiu.
"Sis, is it dawn yet?"
Xiuxiu yawned; she was still sleepy.
"Get up quickly, have you forgotten what day it is today? We need to hurry to the county to queue up."
Lu Fangfang told Xiuxiu to get dressed and get up quickly, and then heated up the leftovers from last night.
Today is the fifteenth day of the twelfth lunar month, which is also the day the county market opens. The county's grocery store sells the most items today, and she had already inquired with her sisters-in-law about it.
In those days, resources were scarce. Even if you had money and ration coupons, you sometimes couldn't buy anything and had to see if it was available in the market.
They couldn't be late, otherwise their tickets would be invalid and they wouldn't be able to use them.
With the food warming on the stove, Lu Fangfang went to the inner room and took out all the tickets that had just been issued.
Last month, the county gave her one poultry coupon, and a few days ago, two more were issued, making a total of three poultry coupons. She also had two and a half jin of meat coupons that she had saved up, and she hoped to spend them all today.
There are also cigarette and alcohol coupons, sugar and tea coupons, and snack coupons. There are so many things I need to buy today.
Whether she smokes or not, she plans to buy all the items with coupons. Now that she has money, she can't waste the coupons.
A few days ago, the group leader informed her that the higher-ups had approved her application, and starting from the New Year, her monthly salary would be paid according to the new standard.
This is great news; we can't be stingy during the Chinese New Year.
"Fangfang, why don't I go? You're heavily pregnant, so you should stay home and rest."
On the heated kang (a traditional heated brick bed), Zhuang Mingcheng yawned and started getting dressed.
"It's almost Chinese New Year, and your unit is busy too. Stop fooling around and go back to your unit to do your job."
Lu Fangfang replied reproachfully.
She was quite curious about the long queues for New Year's goods in this era and wanted to go and see for herself, but she didn't want to miss it.
After eating in the outer room, she took the little wild donkey outside and hitched it to the donkey cart.
It was still dark, only a little past four o'clock, and very cold outside. She went back inside and got a cotton quilt, which she then put on the donkey cart.
Covering yourself with a blanket on the road will keep you warmer.
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