"Xiao Ning, let me tell you, if you rest at home and wait until the sun isn't so strong, you can go to the edge of the field or the small woods over there to dig some wild vegetables."
Zhang Xue held the lunch box and ate with Ning Xi.
The room was stuffy and hot, so everyone found a place under the shade of trees to eat, or just squatted at the door to eat.
"Wild vegetables? Aren't they only available in spring?" Ning Xi really didn't know them.
Although she spent a few years in the countryside as a child and played in the fields, both her parents were good at making money and did not treat her unfairly after their divorce.
The pension for the two elders is also very substantial. Grandpa and grandma only need to grow some vegetables to eat, and this is because the two of them can't sit still and insist on growing them.
I was able to recognize the rat snake because when I was a child, my friends took me to catch it and sold it at the market to buy junk food. They also caught field mice, eels and other animals.
Now she clearly remembers that after burning the fur of a large field mouse with straw, it can usually be sold for two or three dollars, and if you are lucky, it can be sold for four dollars!
Unfortunately, she could only watch and never caught it herself.
"Yes, there are still wild amaranth, purslane, and kudzu vine that are still tender. You can pick purslane and kudzu vine, blanch them and dry them, and save them for making dumplings in the winter. They are so delicious."
Zhang Xue found Ning Xi more and more pleasing to the eye. She felt that Ning Xi was thin and petite, which made her particularly want to protect her. She couldn't help but tell her some life tips.
What's more, she herself is half Northeastern. Every winter, the only food at home is cabbage and radish. There is no way to change the taste.
After coming here, I learned a lot of ways to store vegetables from the locals, and even sent a lot of them back home!
"I know Purslane, but I don't know the other two. I'll go out and take a look in the afternoon." Ning Xi thought that if it wasn't so hot, she could walk around more and improve her physical fitness.
Just treat it as exercise. After exercise, make a bowl of brown sugar porridge to nourish your body. It’s so delicious.
Zhang Xue touched her head and said, "That's right. You can't stay at home all the time. If you stay at home all the time, you won't be able to adapt to the conditions here. If you can't go to the fields, you won't earn work points and you'll go hungry."
Ning Xi: ...Why am I treated like a child even though I'm already twenty years old?
"I'll show you the direction later. There are a lot of kids picking grass for pigs over there. It's safe. If you don't know where it is, just ask the kids. They know much more than us!"
"Thank you, Sister Zhang." Ning Xi felt that there were still more good people than good people, and people like Yuan Yin who couldn't stand others doing well were still a minority.
Yuan Yin and Tang Shibin had a quarrel. Now both of them have sour faces and ignore each other. Ning Xi is happy to watch the show.
Around two o'clock in the afternoon, the sun was almost melting the earth, and I was sweating profusely when going to the toilet.
This toilet is just a pit with two wooden boards on top. The weather is hot and there are a lot of flies. It is terrible to see. After squatting in the pit, Ning Xi exudes a lingering stench.
However, the toilets in the city at that time were not much better. They were all public toilets, and there were long queues in the morning to empty the spittoons and use the toilet.
"Are you going out?"
Qu Hua asked for leave for both of them. Chu Hongchen slept in the house for the whole afternoon, and finally got rid of some of the fatigue from sitting on the train for several days.
He just came out to breathe some fresh air when he saw Ning Xi wearing a straw hat, carrying a large bamboo basket, and holding a broken hoe in her hand. She was about to lock the door and go out!
Ning Xi locked the door neatly and hung the key around her neck. "Yes, we're going to pick wild vegetables. Do you want to go? Zhang Zhiqing said we can blanch them, dry them, and send them back home."
"Can I go with you?" Chu Hongchen looked at the bright sun outside and asked with gritted teeth.
"Okay, the wild vegetables are not from my house." Ning Xi certainly had no objection, the two of them could still keep each other company.
As for the others, Chu Hongchen is only 16 years old, and no one would say anything against him if he was left out in the cold.
It was past four o'clock, and the sun's power had not diminished much. Ning Xi and Chu Hongchen were sweating profusely just by moving. They walked towards the small hill where they were going to pick grass for pigs.
Chu Hongchen was very self-conscious. Even though there were not many people on the road, he still kept three or four meters away from Ning Xi.
Tongxiang County is right on the bank of the Yangtze River. It has a flat terrain, abundant water resources, and fields everywhere. It took the two of them about twenty minutes to reach the foot of the hill.
Fortunately, there is only one main road, so there is no way to get lost.
"Are you new educated youth?" It was summer vacation, and there were many children picking grass for pigs on the hill. Some of them looked only five or six years old.
Ning Xi greeted them with a smile: "Yes, hello, let's go dig some wild vegetables."
This should be a carefree age, but everyone is busy making a living. Ning Xi compared it with her childhood and felt very uncomfortable.
I have seen many people say that they want to go back to this era, because modern desires are too strong. People’s lives are better, but they are not happy and not easily satisfied.
Now that she came here in person, what she felt was not satisfaction, but oppression and lack of freedom.
If you have a decent job in the city and a small family, you can indeed live a good life because everyone is treated fairly and the gap between the rich and the poor is not big.
But it is different in rural areas. Farmers do not have regular rest time and will never retire.
Because of last year's floods, the members had to live on relief food. They were all so hungry that their faces were pale and their bodies were thin. When they went to work, their eyes were filled with numbness and fatigue.
......
The children spoke in dialect, which Chu Hongchen could not understand. He was surprised to see Ning Xi communicating with the children without any obstacles.
They are obviously from the same place, why is she so outstanding?
Ning Xi has already become friends with the children over there. Several little girls are eager to teach Ning Xi how to identify wild vegetables, and this will not delay their work.
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