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Sugar was a very precious thing in the 1970s. No one would have the time to buy it on ordinary days.
For example, if there is a pregnant woman in the family and her pregnancy is not looking good, she can eat a bite of brown sugar to supplement her nutrition.
Not to mention hemp candy, which is a green hard-shell candy made from sugar and mint. It tastes better than common malt candy, lasts longer, and leaves breath fresh after eating. It is especially popular among young people and is a fashionable item nowadays.
Xu Nian estimated that there were about fifty pills in the bag, and he weighed them with a full sense of happiness.
She has become thick-skinned now and is very good at comforting herself. Xu Hongqi no longer treats her as an outsider, so she cannot be pretentious. That is not what a grown woman should do.
She is an expert at taking advantage of opportunities.
Usually Xu Nian eats Liang Ting’s food, but today he finally has something good to share.
By the way, she still owes Liu Xi fifty cents. She has been feeling unwell these past two days and he has been running around for her. It’s so nice of him.
Good sisters didn't say much. Xu Nian just opened it and gave two to each of them. The three of them put one on each cheek. They looked like hamsters, which was very funny.
That bag of candy looked quite big, and the students around kept glancing at it unintentionally, which made people feel a little sad.
Xu Nian was about to leave the cafeteria, but after thinking for a moment, he said something to his two friends, then ran back to find Xu Hongqi and the other man who were getting their meals.
Without saying a word, he took out two pills from the bag and stuffed them directly into their mouths. Not only were the people involved startled, but the people around who were getting their food were also a little confused.
Xu Nian didn't dare to stay and trotted away quickly, but he could still hear Xu Fengkai's silly chatter behind his ears.
"Yeah, my family, my sister."
"You're usually so sensible and kind-hearted."
"Yeah, it's just cute."
Xu Nian's cheeks turned red when she heard this. Of course, she was not shy, but simply too excited. She had never had a smooth journey since she came to school, and today's experience finally made her feel proud.
Taking advantage of this favorable situation, Xu Nian listened attentively in class, wrote and drew in the dormitory after school, and occasionally persuaded himself to work overtime when he had inspiration.
There is only one bad thing. They are so poor here that when you wake up in the morning you often find kerosene ash in your nose that you didn't wash off the night before.
However, I have almost gotten used to the torture in the past two days. After all, I have faith to support me.
Xu Nian's mind is now full of the royalties he received. With the money, he can buy whatever he wants and eat. He won't allow himself to think about the harsh reality at all.
She initially thought about writing articles directly, but after studying newspapers, she found that articles with pictures and text seemed to account for a larger proportion of newspapers.
What does this mean? It means that picture storytelling is popular!
At this time, she wanted to thank her adoptive father in her previous life. Her adoptive father was a politician with a position that was neither high nor low. He was a bit concerned about his reputation. He liked to pretend to be cultured and collect things. He also had a pair of skillful hands and was good at painting.
Xu Nian once learned painting from her adoptive father together with her brother. She was not very talented, but she lived under the same roof as her adoptive parents, so she had the mentality of performing well in everything and had worked hard in this aspect.
Her short film, which combines pictures and text, is about my mother, and revolves around her seemingly ordinary but actually extraordinary life.
What she wrote was relatively simple, with less than a thousand words, similar to previous newspapers. The accompanying picture was a sketch of Xu's mother. Anyone who has systematically studied sketching can basically draw a character very realistically.
She secretly showed it to Liu Xi and Liang Ting. They were both very surprised and asked her when she had learned to paint.
Xu Nian was so scared at the time that her explanation was full of loopholes. She said that she was with her mother every day, so she could paint without thinking.
In the end, she didn't know whether the two believed her or not, they just kept pestering her to draw a picture for them as well.
Xu Nian had no choice but to say yes.
Later she thought about just erasing it and not drawing it, but when she really picked up the eraser to erase it, she felt reluctant to do so. The main reason was that the article was easy to write, but she had been revising this painting for nearly a week.
She really couldn't bring herself to do it, so she turned her attention to Xu Hongqi. Anyway, she had already told him that she had dreamed about the future, so it wouldn't be strange for her to learn painting in the future. She asked him to think of a solution for her.
However, Wen Zhang still didn't let him know. This was his secret and would also be the storage bank for his small treasury in the future.
Time always passes faster when there is something to do. Except for the first two weeks when Xu Nian felt uncomfortable, he felt like a fish in water after that.
She has a strong ability to adapt. At first, she felt a little sad and uncomfortable when she left home, but after staying in school for a month, she almost forgot that she could go home for vacation the next day.
In 1974, the Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day happened to be consecutive, and the Mid-Autumn Festival happened to be on September 30th, and the day before was Sunday. At that time, there was no such thing as a holiday, so you just had to take it.
There are two days off to celebrate National Day, which adds up to four days of rest. The more Xu Nian lay in bed at night, the more beautiful the thought became.
She also found that being the youngest was the best thing. You didn't have to worry about anything, as everything was arranged for you. Her third brother came to the school after get off work this afternoon and told her that he had booked a donkey cart and they could leave on time.
The dormitory was bustling with activity. Everyone was lying on their beds, and some people would get up from time to time to pack some things to take home into the closet.
Xu Nian and her team of three also chatted until very late, and everyone was very sleepy. Liang Ting was still saying, "I forgot to tell my mom that I was bullied last time. I must tell my dad this week.
I just can't believe that someone in Hua County would dare to bully me."
Xu Nian suddenly came to her senses. The matter with Xu Hongqi was not over yet. She thought for a long time but still couldn't figure out how to discourage Liang Ting from complaining.
Finally, he could only say, "It's useless for you to say it now. Your mother will probably scold you for being stupid and tell you to eat more lotus root."
Liang Ting wrinkled her nose. "No way, my mom dotes on me."
Seeing her hesitation, Xu Nian struck while the iron was hot and said, "Then tell me, which smart kid can forget being bullied?"
Liang Ting was unconvinced. "I was just taking it easy, okay? My eldest brother finally agreed to the blind date, and I had to make arrangements at home. How could I bother them with my troubles?"
Xu Nian said quickly, "Then don't say anything. I think that guy is also very cowardly. He doesn't dare to mess with you at all. Look, we went out shopping today and didn't run into him. You were fine when you came home last time, right?"
"Then I'll forget it?" Liang Ting said unhappily.
Liu Xi glanced at Xu Nian and then advised, "Forget it, forget it. Tomorrow is a holiday and you can be happy at home."
"Yes, yes, that's what I mean."
Xu Nian concluded with these words and urged them to go to bed quickly, as they had to get up early tomorrow to clean up.
While she was worried about Xu Hongqi, she was also a little scared. Given how much Liang Ting's father loved his daughter, he might really pursue the matter seriously. Fortunately, Liang Ting was not so spoiled, so the matter was over.
She was the one who urged the other two to go to bed at first, but she couldn't sleep. She got up and rummaged through the envelope in her schoolbag on the table several times before she fell asleep.
I'm still thinking about getting up early tomorrow and going to the post office to submit my manuscript.
——
Xu Nian was awakened by the sound of banging doors. She looked out the window as usual and found that it was still dark. She turned back and looked into the house and saw that several classmates had already gotten up and started packing.
The noise just now was obviously made by them. Many people were woken up, but no one would say anything today. Everyone was more understanding. Some of the classmates' homes were indeed far away from the county. If there was no car to take them or they wanted to save money by not taking the car, it would not be an exaggeration to say that it would take six or seven hours to walk.
Xu Nian's eyes were still a little sore, so she placed the back of her hands on her eyes to wake herself up.
She couldn't sleep because something was on her mind. After waking up, she quietly got out of bed and packed her things.
Yesterday, her third brother gave her two yuan pocket money for this month. She first paid back the fifty cents she owed Liu Xi, and then went to the street with them to buy five sesame cakes. She wanted to buy some other things but didn't need tickets. Otherwise, they were too expensive. She wanted to take more, but there was nothing she could do.
There was still half a bag of candy in the cabinet, so she put it in her schoolbag. She could give it to her nephews and nieces when she got home, and also to sweeten her parents' mouths.
After packing up, there was another big bag of things. It was dawn, and Liu Xi and Liang Ting went home first with the people who were traveling with them. Xu Nian waited for a while before going out.
Apart from going home, her main task today was to mail the manuscript.
She also divided it into two parts, one is an essay combining pictures and text, and the other is a movie review she wrote for "The Red Star" two days ago.
The postage was not very expensive. Xu Nian watched the staff putting stamps and seals on the items, feeling both excited and nervous. When he walked out of the door, he felt a little reluctant to leave.
Because of doing these things, she wasted some time. Seeing that it was getting late, she didn't dare to delay any longer. She trotted back to the dormitory and picked up her heavy schoolbag.
When she came out again, Xu Hongqi and Xu Fengkai were already waiting for her in the dormitory building.
Seeing her coming, Xu Hongqi took the schoolbag and held it in his hand.
Before Xu Nian could say thank you, Xu Fengkai spoke first, "Hongqi, thank you for helping me carry my sister's things."
Xu Hongqi paused and said, "As I should."
Xu Nian felt a little embarrassed for some reason, but fortunately, the three of them only took one bag and were all traveling light, so it didn't look like Xu Hongqi would be tired.
The three of them quickly left the school gate. Xu Fengcheng had also arrived and was waiting at the door.
He was different from them. He had things on his back, in his hands, and hanging around his neck. Anyway, he looked like he had a lot of things hanging around.
Xu Nian walked over first, took the lightest item from his hand like a younger sister, and said, "Brother, you're moving, why did you bring so many things?"
Xu Fengcheng is now a righteous young man. He never stopped smiling, especially when he said to Xu Nian, "Here, these are all given by my factory. I'll let you all try them when I get home and see if they taste good."
"How can there be anything that doesn't taste good? My classmates said that the benefits at Huaxian Wood Furniture Factory are very good." Xu Fengkai spoke first.
Xu Nian couldn't help but feel a little surprised when she saw the canned food. She never cared about this thing before, but last time she ate a small piece given by a classmate, it was cool, soft and smooth, which simply amazed her.
She truly understands what it means to use the simplest ingredients to cook the most delicious food.
"Brother, there are canned fruits. I want to eat them when I get home."
Xu Fengcheng felt a little amused when he saw her greedy look, but when he thought of his old mother at home, he said honestly: "That's probably difficult. Mom has to wait until the New Year at least."
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