"What? You're coming over? Auntie, please listen, Mingcheng has gone on a mission and won't be back for a long time, you..."
"Hello? Auntie? Auntie?"
Lu Fangfang said a few more words before realizing that the other end had already hung up.
She held the phone receiver and was completely dumbfounded.
She glanced at the soldier on the other end of the line, forced a smile, and then put down the phone.
She was completely dazed when she walked out of the phone booth.
Now that Zhuang Mingcheng is not here, and his mother is coming over, he will have to face everything alone.
Just from the tone of her voice on the phone, she knew that Zhuang Mingcheng's mother was definitely not satisfied with her.
This...this...
well!
I returned to the family compound in a daze.
Wang Shufen was holding farm tools and waiting at the gate of the courtyard. When she saw Lu Fangfang's appearance, she quickly asked what was wrong.
“Mingcheng’s mother is coming.” Lu Fangfang gave a wry smile.
"Girl, look how scared you are. Let the old lady come if she wants. You and Mingcheng are in this state, what else can she do?"
Wang Shufen offered her a few words of comfort.
That's what she said, but Lu Fangfang was still worried.
She shook her head, too lazy to think about it anymore. The capital was far away, and by the time the old lady arrived, it would be the end of the month.
After returning home and getting hoes and shovels, Lu Fangfang and Wang Shufen went to the wasteland on the riverbank.
The two of them had been here several times and were quite familiar with the area.
Lu Fangfang pointed to the wasteland next to the river and said, "Sister Shufen, let's split this half-wasteland, one half for each of us, north and south."
My sister-in-law had cleared this land before. With a little tidying up, we can continue planting crops here, which will save a lot of effort.
"This place is close to the river, so it's easy to get water. We can grow some vegetables here. What do you think, Sister Shufen?"
"Okay, then let's plant vegetables. I want this part on the south side."
Wang Shufen agreed.
She looked at the wasteland with great satisfaction.
After clearing this semi-barren land, she can continue to clear land southward along the riverbank, and Fangfang can do the same, continuing to clear land northward.
The two men were located in the south and the north respectively, so it was a contest to see who could cultivate more wasteland.
Next, Lu Fangfang and Wang Shufen got busy.
To grow anything on this semi-barren land, you have to turn the soil over and throw away all the stones and weeds.
Lu Fangfang stretched for a bit, then started wielding a hoe.
She broke up the soil she dug up with a hoe, and threw any large stones or weeds onto the riverbank.
Since it was previously uncultivated land, it wasn't too hard to dig into.
She carefully turned over the soil along the riverbank, bit by bit.
When she got too tired from swinging the spade, she would switch to a shovel and use her newly bought yellow rubber shoes to shovel soil.
Fortunately, she had some food in her belly, and Lu Fangfang, panting heavily, was able to hold on.
As the sun gradually rose, she looked back and saw that Sister Shufen had already turned over a large patch of land, much faster than she had.
"Fangfang, let's take a break."
From a distance, Wang Shufen shouted.
Lu Fangfang wiped the sweat from her forehead and responded.
The two found a clean rock and sat down by the river, panting heavily.
"Shufen's house, come and turn the soil. Are the incubator eggs on the kang (heated brick bed) alright?"
"It's alright, I've had Daya keep an eye on things. It'll be good for her to stay home and copy more books, so she won't run around like crazy in the family compound."
Lu Fangfang was overjoyed; Da Ya was now doubly tormented.
She glanced at the river and spotted small fish swimming around.
Thinking about the jar of butter she had at home, Lu Fangfang suddenly felt a craving again.
These small fish, fried in oil until crispy, and with a touch of chili, oh my, the taste is absolutely delicious.
Thinking about it, she subconsciously swallowed.
"Hey girl? Hey girl? What are you thinking about?"
When Wang Shufen saw that she didn't reply, she waved her hand in front of her.
"Sister Shufen, look at the fish in the river."
Lu Fangfang pointed towards the river.
Wang Shufen squinted and looked carefully into the water, where she spotted the group of small fish swimming around. She immediately smiled.
"Once I buy duck eggs and hatch ducks, I'll let them come and catch small fish to eat."
Lu Fangfang smiled and shook her head. At that moment, she was even more tempted by those small fish than the duck.
Seeing some short willows by the river, she got up, took a shovel, and went over.
She chopped some willow branches with a shovel, carried them back, and started thinking about weaving a cage to catch fish.
"Hey girl, you want to catch fish?"
Wang Shufen watched her weaving something and guessed what was going on.
"Hmm, I want to catch some small fish and fry them until crispy."
As Lu Fangfang spoke, she swallowed again.
Since transmigrating, Lu Fangfang has found herself craving more and more, wanting to eat everything she thinks about and unable to resist.
"That would waste so much gas."
Wang Shufen subconsciously shook her head.
But when she thought of Lu Fangfang's jar of butter, she laughed again.
This girl is quite the big spender now; she can't even finish all that butter by herself, so frying some small fish is nothing to her.
Next, whenever Lu Fangfang had a break, she would weave cages out of willow branches.
She figured that as long as the cage had a big belly and a small entrance, she could catch fish, so she didn't consider the aesthetics.
By noon, her simple fish trap was ready.
Lu Fangfang didn't waste any time on the land by the riverbank either; she turned over about half of the soil and estimated she would be done by the afternoon.
"Hey girl, let's go back and have dinner."
Lu Fangfang glanced at her watch; it was almost one o'clock.
She drank two bowls of beef bone soup this morning, and she doesn't feel hungry yet, but she's extremely tired.
Shouldering a hoe and a shovel, she walked toward Wang Shufen.
The two chatted for a while before returning to their residential compound.
"Sister-in-law Shufen, Comrade Xiao Lu, are you going to clear the land?"
In front of the first row of houses stood several women.
They were all surprised to see the two men carrying farm tools.
"Yes, I plan to clear some land and plant some things."
Lu Fangfang gave a perfunctory reply and quickly walked away with Wang Shufen.
Looking back, I saw several women standing at the base of the wall, still looking this way.
Without a doubt, they're probably talking about her and her sister-in-law Shufen again.
Lu Fangfang had almost gotten used to it and didn't care anymore. She just did what she was supposed to do and let others talk.
...
"Well, I can understand why Comrade Lu is clearing land for farming. After all, she and Battalion Commander Zhuang are both people who don't know how to manage money and spend it extravagantly."
"Why is Sister-in-law Ke Shufen also clearing wasteland? Commissar Xiao's monthly salary plus subsidies is almost two hundred yuan. Why is Sister-in-law Ke Shufen clearing wasteland? Isn't it tiring? It's much better to eat government-subsidized grain."
"It's convenient to grow some things to eat, do you think everyone is as lazy as you?"
"Pah! You have the nerve to talk to me like that? I'm from the countryside, I've farmed for half my life, what's wrong with taking a break now?"
The two sisters-in-law got angry and left with their children.
The remaining women looked around, then took their children and went home.
It's hot now, and it's uncomfortable to be in the sun at midday, so I'll wait until the afternoon to come.
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