The deal was settled. The two looked at each other, and He Chen'an felt as sweet as if he had eaten candy.
Wenxi took a few lotus pods out of her basket, placed them on the stone table, and peeled out the lotus seeds one by one. The lotus seeds were very tender, with a green outer skin that could be easily scratched with a fingernail.
He Chen'an picked up a lotus seedpod and asked curiously, "Xiaoxi, what is this?"
"This is a lotus seedpod, the fruit that grows after the lotus flower has faded. It can be eaten when it's tender." Wen Xi peeled a lotus seed, split it in half with her fingernail, took out the slightly bitter lotus heart in the middle, and then handed the white lotus seed flesh to He Chen'an, "Try it."
"Did you pick them from the water?" He Chen'an looked at Wen Xi disapprovingly.
Wen Xi smiled and said, "The water is very shallow, only up to my knees. Don't worry, I won't go into the deep water. I'm not stupid."
He Chen'an then ate the lotus seeds. They didn't have much flavor, just a crunchy texture, but they weren't bad. They could be eaten as a snack to pass the time.
Seeing Wenxi peel a few, He Chen'an knew how to peel them, so he started peeling them too. When he saw that He Chen'an was about to throw away the sticky lotus seed hearts, Wenxi quickly stopped him, "These lotus seed hearts can be soaked in water to drink. I want to keep them to dry and soak in water to drink."
The two of them finished eating the two lotus pods. Wen Xi raised her hand to check the time and saw that it was almost time for He Chen'an's afternoon work. She said, "It's almost time for you to go to work. Let's hurry up and go!"
He Chen'an carried a basket to the vicinity of the hospital. He handed the basket to Wen Xi, watched her get into the car, and then walked into the hospital.
When Wenxi got out of the car, the scorching sun made it impossible for her to open her eyes. She quickly shielded her forehead with her hand and then ran to a tree by the country road.
She simply couldn't walk for more than an hour under the scorching sun.
Just then, two large trucks drove towards them. Wen Xi hurriedly retreated to the very edge of the road, afraid of being accidentally injured. However, the first truck stopped in front of her, and then a somewhat familiar face appeared.
It was Gu Ningzhi from the transport team.
“Comrade, I need to go to the countryside. Can you give me directions and I’ll take you part of the way? How about it?” Gu Ningzhi asked.
No wonder it's so hard to run into her in the city; I never expected she lived in the countryside.
Since she was from the countryside, her determination only became more apparent. If it were anyone else, they would probably have already offered themselves to him, given that he had a driver's job that everyone envied.
“We were sent by the commune secretary. If you don’t trust us, don’t you trust the secretary?” Gu Ningzhi got out of the car and walked up to Wen Xi.
Wen Xi thought for a moment and then nodded in agreement. After all, she was someone with a system, and ordinary people couldn't hurt her.
Otherwise, we'd have to wait here until evening to go back. Even if we didn't die from the sun, we'd be scalded to death by the scorching air, since it's been such a long time!
Gu Ningzhi opened the car door, gestured for Wen Xi to get in, and then quickly got in himself. "Comrade, we need to go to Fengshou Brigade. Could you please give us directions?"
Upon hearing "Harvest Brigade," Wen Xi was slightly startled. Could it be that this person had been inquiring about her without even asking her name?
But when she remembered that she had just said that the secretary had sent him, then she probably wasn't there for her. Wen Xi felt relieved and got off the bus at the brigade in front of the Fengshou brigade. She pointed out the direction of the Fengshou brigade and then took a detour back from another brigade.
Before arriving home, Wenxi moved some things into her basket and then went straight home. Pushing open the gate, she found the entire yard quiet, with even the chickens in the coop lying listlessly in the shade.
Hearing the noise, Shen Jiaojiao and Jiang Yue came out of their respective rooms. Shen Jiaojiao quickly poured Wen Xi a glass of cold water, saying, "Are you starving? Drink some water quickly."
Wenxi put down her basket, took the teacup from Shen Jiaojiao, and gulped it down. She had only walked for a short while, but she hadn't expected it to be so hot.
Jiang Yue went to the well to fetch a basin of water and brought it to the table in the main room. Wen Xi quickly wet a towel and wiped her face, neck, and armpits, which were too hot.
After tidying up like this, it definitely feels much cooler.
“Xiaoxi, Tian Shengnan came to find us as soon as you left this morning. She said we’d all have dinner together tonight to welcome the new educated youth.” Shen Jiaojiao took everything out of her basket and placed it on the table.
Wen Xi nodded thoughtfully, "Okay, I understand. I'll go out and pick some celery later so they can eat their fill tonight."
When they first arrived, the older educated youth held a welcome banquet for them. At that time, she made three dishes of wild vegetables and served them over. She even deliberately held back her culinary skills and made the wild vegetables taste so-so.
This time it won't work, because everyone in the entire Fengshou Brigade knows that she is a very good cook. If she cooks something haphazardly again, everyone will know that she is deliberately fooling people.
Wenxi asked Shen Jiaojiao to wash and salt the meat and bones she had brought back to prevent them from spoiling. Then she took the basket and went out.
Upon arriving at the river bend, Wenxi lifted several bamboo baskets from the water and caught the small fish and shrimp inside. Then, she picked half a basket of celery from the riverbank, processed and washed it right there in the river, so she wouldn't have to bother going home.
There should be about twenty people having dinner together tonight. If we don't prepare a lot of dishes, there might not be enough for everyone to have a chopstick.
Back home, Wenxi went to the foot of the mountain behind the house and picked a basket of purslane. After returning home, Wenxi asked Shen Jiaojiao to wash the purslane, while she and Jiang Yue went to the kitchen to cook.
The celery and purslane were simply stir-fried. As for the small fish and shrimp, she first made the spicy broth, and then put the palm-sized crucian carp into it one by one. She specially selected twenty crucian carp of similar size to avoid anyone complaining that the fish they ate was smaller than others.
Don't be fooled by the fact that they're all only junior high or high school graduates; their character is questionable, and they're actually capable of doing such things.
In the evening, the three of them, each carrying a basket, headed towards the educated youth settlement.
Arriving at the gate of the educated youth settlement, Wenxi politely knocked on the door, even though it was open. Having learned from her previous experience, she didn't want to give others another chance to scheme against her.
"Xiaoxi, you're here." Song Lan was happy to see them arrive and came over to greet them, after all, Wenxi had helped them many times before.
Although we see each other in the cafeteria every day, it's been quite a while since we've had a proper get-together.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
