Xia Wan fetched water and then parted ways with Bai Jian. A six or seven-year-old child was sitting at the door of Third Grandma's house. He looked at Xia Wan carrying the water bucket with curiosity in his eyes!
"Are you Sister Xia?" The little child followed behind her; he seemed lively and energetic!
Xia Wan poured the water into the vat, turned to look at him, and asked with a smile, "Oh, my name is Xia Wan! Are you Third Grandma's grandson? What's your name?"
"My name is Erdan, and my grandma is in the kitchen!" Erdan pointed to Grandma Wu San, who was cooking in the kitchen.
Xia Wan glanced into the kitchen, then took out a few White Rabbit milk candies from her pocket: "Here, have some candy!"
Erdan shook his head and took a few steps back: "Sister, you eat it, you don't need to give it to me. I'm not a child anymore, I don't need to eat candy!"
"I already ate, and my teeth hurt from eating too much. Here, have these!" Xia Wan peeled off a piece and put it in his mouth, then put the rest in his pocket. "Eat up, I still want to eat Grandma's cooking!"
"Girl, you can eat the candy yourself to nourish your body. This boy is so strong, why does he need candy?" Third Grandma said to Xia Wan with a smile as she came out of the kitchen carrying a plate.
Although she expressed her disdain for Erdan in her words, the love in her eyes was undeniable. Xia Wan was very happy to give her grandson candy.
It wasn't that I was after these things, but rather that I saw the young woman as capable and that getting along with her wouldn't be too tiring.
She and her grandson receive a monthly pension, and they live a decent life. They can't compare to families with able-bodied members, but they won't go hungry.
"Third Grandma, let me take this!" Xia Wan quickly went over and took the bowl from Third Grandma's hands: "It smells so good! Your cooking is amazing!"
"Sigh, these are all wild vegetables from the foot of the mountain. My old woman can't do heavy work, so I just gather pig feed to earn some work points! I dug these up while I was at work!"
Grandma Wu smiled so broadly her eyes disappeared; after all, who doesn't like to be praised for their cooking skills!
However, Xia Wan wasn't lying; the wild vegetables the old man cooked were indeed delicious.
The meal was simple: cornbread, corn porridge, and stir-fried wild vegetables!
It was far more abundant than the food at the educated youth compound, and it was cooked very well. Compared to the food at the educated youth compound, the latter tasted like pig swill!
Xia Wan picked up a piece of food and put it in her mouth, then couldn't help but give a thumbs up: "It's so delicious! Third Grandma's cooking is amazing!"
"Eat as much as you like, because you have to go to work later, and you'll be busy!" These kids were just unlucky; they came to the countryside right at the busiest time of the autumn harvest!
If it weren't for the busy farming season, there would be some time to adjust. But now that it's this tiring right away, it's no wonder people can't take it!
"By the way, Third Grandma, there are two male educated youths in our educated youth compound who want to move out for meals. Are there any suitable families in the village?"
Xia Wan casually said, "You don't need to make things difficult for me. They just asked me to help them ask around. If there are suitable families, they can talk to them themselves!"
She felt that Grandma Wu probably didn't want to bring anyone else in, since the two male educated youths ate a lot, and the old lady had to cook a lot, which was a bit tiring for her!
Grandma Wu thought for a while before speaking: "There are a few elderly people living alone in the village. Why don't you ask your friend to ask Wu Changsheng? He lives alone and is in good health, but his circumstances are not good. If those two young men are willing to give him food, I don't think he will refuse!"
Xia Wan nodded: "Okay, I'll tell them thank you, Third Grandma! They shouldn't be short of money, they just don't know how to cook!"
Judging from Bai Jian's attitude just now, it seems that the two brothers suffered because they didn't know how to cook. Otherwise, they should have separated long ago, instead of waiting until now.
"They're all pitiful kids. If all else fails, they can come to my place. I'll just cook them more food. As long as they bring their own food, it won't cause any problems!"
Grandma San sighed, her eyes moistening as if lost in some memory.
"You son of a bitch! The man's a couch potato, and the woman's useless too! She can't even cook a meal, the whole family's good-for-nothings!"
Just as Xia Wan was about to say something, she heard her neighbor cursing loudly and a woman timidly apologizing!
"Mom, I didn't eat anything yesterday, I'm so hungry I have no strength! I'll get some more water...Mom, please don't...hit me..."
Xia Wan had a rough idea of what was going on, but she still looked at Grandma Wu with a puzzled expression.
Grandma Wu sighed, "Oh... here we go again, it's the same thing every day..."
"Is it the Xia family? I heard Aunt Cuihua mention them yesterday!" Xia Wan asked softly, "Didn't they say there were quite a few people in the family? Why didn't anyone try to persuade them to stay home?"
Grandma Wu nodded, seemingly worried: "That Xia boy hasn't been back for a while. His mother kicked him out to earn money. Everyone else is just watching coldly, no one wants to get involved! I wonder how Jianguo is doing... Sigh... He's just unlucky to have run into such a family!"
Xia Wan's heart skipped a beat: "Xia... has Jianguo's health deteriorated to this extent?"
"At first, it was just a broken leg that prevented him from walking! But now, he's not being fed every few days, so I'm afraid he's getting worse!" Grandma Wu's eyes flashed with worry, and her brows furrowed slightly.
Xia Wan gripped her chopsticks tighter. She needed to go to the Xia family home as soon as possible. In such a living environment, even if Old Xia really did transmigrate, he wouldn't last long!
I wonder if I'll be able to find some time to go check it out today!
Meanwhile, back at the educated youth compound, Bai Jian hurriedly pulled his older brother aside after returning home.
"Brother, come quick, I need to tell you something!"
Bai Kang was wiping his face with a towel when his younger brother tugged at him, making him stumble: "Ouch, what's wrong?"
He thought something had happened, but when he looked up, he saw his younger brother grinning like an idiot!
It's confirmed, nothing serious!
Seeing that everyone was washing up in the yard and there was no one else in the house except for the two brothers, Bai Jiancai spoke up: "Brother, Xia Zhiqing is eating with the villagers! Let's eat with the villagers too, it's really disgusting to eat with this group of people!"
Bai Kang frowned. He had considered teaming up with villagers, but there were very few suitable people. Now that every family had a large number of people, who would be willing to add two more?
Unless they are willing to pay and happen to meet a kind-hearted family, it's probably a case of insatiable greed!
They had only been in the countryside for a short time and were not familiar with the villagers. In addition, the older educated youth kept saying that the villagers ostracized the educated youth.
They don't interact much with the villagers, so naturally they don't know who would be a good partner!
"Who is Xia, the educated youth, paired with?" Bai Kang thought for a moment and then asked.
Bai Jian paused for a moment before awkwardly saying, "I don't know, but Xia Zhiqing said that family only has an old man and a grandson, and she promised to ask around for us..."
“Okay, if we find a suitable family, we’ll go out and eat together!” Bai Kang’s eyes lit up slightly. That Xia educated youth was indeed different from the others.
Since arriving yesterday, everything I've done has been incredibly unexpected!
If an older educated youth wanted to bully someone, she would directly resort to violence, without caring about what others thought!
The old educated youth said that the villagers ostracized the educated youth, but she got along very well with the villagers!
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