Everyone has heard of watermelon, but no one has ever eaten it. When they tasted the sweet, crisp, and thirst-quenching watermelon, everyone's eyes widened in surprise.
Kind words just kept pouring out of them like they were free.
After the two buckets of watermelon were distributed to everyone, Wenxi returned to the canteen and continued processing the watermelon. After the watermelon was cut, she called over Wang Xiaoju and Sun Mei, gave each of them a spoonful of watermelon, and told them to eat it slowly on the side.
The watermelons Wenxi brought today were not enough, so she went home and brought two more. In this way, everyone in the production team, including the educated youth, enjoyed a bowl of sweet watermelon.
When Captain Qian ate the watermelon, his eyes lit up noticeably, and then an idea flashed through his mind.
Wenxi returned to the canteen and began processing watermelon rinds. Regardless of the current shortage of supplies, watermelon rinds were a delicious treat. As she processed them, Wenxi asked, "Aunt Xiaoju, Aunt Mei, pickled watermelon rinds taste just like pickled radishes. Would you like to take some back to pickle?"
It wasn't that Wenxi wanted to please them; she was just preparing for next year. She wanted to make sure that no one would have anything bad to say about her next year.
Wang Xiaoju was surprised at first, then blushed a little, "Is it okay?"
"Of course you can have it if you want it!" Wen Xi smiled faintly.
Wang Xiaoju and Sun Mei nodded repeatedly, "Yes."
Afterwards, Wenxi packed a basin of watermelon rinds for Wang Xiaoju and Sun Mei, telling them to take them home now, wash them, drain them, and put them directly into a pickling jar with cucumbers, green beans, and green peppers. They didn't need to worry about anything.
"Wenxi, thank you!" Wang Xiaoju said sincerely, feeling ashamed when she thought about what had happened in the past.
During spring planting and wheat harvesting, the canteen was open twice a year. She cooked with ease, but never interfered with Wenxi's cooking. On the contrary, Wenxi tried her best to cook delicious food for everyone every day, and she benefited a lot from it.
After Wang Xiaoju and Sun Mei left, Wen Xi peeled off the red flesh and green skin from the watermelon rind, shredded it, and added a dish of stir-fried watermelon rind with green peppers. She added soy sauce and dried red chilies, and it looked and smelled delicious.
After Wen Xi finished cutting the watermelon rinds, the air around her was filled with the refreshing aroma of watermelon rinds, so pleasant that it made one forget that it was a hot summer day.
"Wenxi".
Hearing the voice, Wenxi looked up and saw that it was Captain Qian. Wenxi put down her work and followed Captain Qian into the woods outside.
A gentle breeze brings a touch of coolness.
"Wenxi, this watermelon..." Captain Qian asked curiously.
Wen Xi nodded. "Captain Qian, I planted these watermelons myself. I only planted five, but I didn't plant them for myself. I planted them for everyone in the Harvest Brigade. I don't think there's a problem with me doing this, right?"
Everyone grows cucumbers and pumpkins, but if growing a few watermelons is considered problematic, does that mean growing cucumbers and pumpkins isn't a problem?
"No problem, no problem." Fearing that Wenxi would misunderstand, Captain Qian hurriedly shook his head. "I just thought that this watermelon tastes pretty good. I was thinking that if our brigade planted more watermelons and sold them to the supply and marketing cooperative and department stores, wouldn't that increase the brigade's income and make everyone's lives a little better?"
Wen Xi couldn't help but chuckle to herself upon hearing this. That was exactly what she wanted, but the watermelons were hers, and she certainly couldn't let others take advantage of them. So she said, "Captain Qian, you are a good captain who thinks of everyone, and I am very touched. However, these kinds of watermelons aren't something you can just plant on a whim. Could you allow me to take some time to draft a watermelon planting plan for Captain Qian? That way, it will be easier for Captain Qian to succeed when he goes to the commune leaders, right?"
If you want to grow watermelons on a large scale, it's not something Captain Qian can do just because he wants to. He has to submit an application, go through the procedures, and the transactions also need to be done with proper procedures, otherwise it would be considered speculation.
Captain Qian nodded repeatedly, "Okay, then I'll listen to you. Anyway, we can't plant anything this year, so take your time and don't rush."
Seeing Wenxi return to the cafeteria, Captain Qian couldn't stop smiling, as if he saw piles of money waving at him.
I am truly grateful to the educated youth office for assigning such a smart and capable person like Wenxi to their brigade.
Wen Xi had no idea that Captain Qian had become her die-hard fan even before anything was actually going to happen.
In the evening, everyone came over for dinner, and the whole canteen was bustling with noise, with endless praise for Wenxi.
"Don't be fooled by Comrade Wen's appearance. This Comrade Wen is not as good as you all think." At this moment, a mocking voice rang out, and the entire cafeteria fell silent. Everyone stared at the person who had spoken.
Wen Xi looked over curiously, and to her surprise, it turned out to be Qian Qiusheng's second sister-in-law, who was also Chen Dahua's second daughter-in-law.
Back when Chen Dahua hadn't swapped houses with Jin Changfeng, she lived next door to Wen Xi. Wen Xi thought his family were all good people, but now she realized she had misjudged them.
"How did I deceive everyone? Please provide me with evidence, or I will sue you for defamation. That commendation ceremony allowed me to meet quite a few people!" Apart from delivering mint water and serving food, Wenxi had no contact with her, so Wenxi did not understand why this person was standing up to ruin her reputation.
People around them started gossiping about Qian Qiusheng's second sister-in-law. Although many people didn't have much contact with Wenxi, she had always behaved very well since she went to the countryside and had no problems. They couldn't allow others to wrong Wenxi like this.
Seeing everyone unanimously protecting Wen Xi, Liu Youhong angrily lunged at Wen Xi, shouting, "I'll tear your face off! I'll make you stop seducing men! I'll make you eat our eggs!"
As Liu Youhong lunged at her, Wang Xiaoju raised her foot and kicked Liu Youhong away. She was a villager, and it was fine for her to fight with other villagers. But if Wen Xi fought with Liu Youhong, it would mean that she was on the opposite side of everyone, and all her efforts would be in vain.
"Second Sister-in-law Qian, when did I eat your eggs? Please explain yourself clearly. Did you steal the eggs and then try to pin the blame on me because you're afraid your mother-in-law and sister-in-law will blame you?" Wen Xi sneered.
"Don't think I don't know. Qiusheng from my family often brings you eggs and firewood. Since you ate his eggs, it means you accepted him, but you keep him hanging on like this every day..."
Upon hearing this, someone remembered and hurriedly said, "I did see Qian Qiusheng deliver eggs to Wen Xi, several times!"
Liu Youhong got up from the ground, like a victorious rooster, and proudly raised her head. "I didn't lie to anyone. I'm telling the truth. Qiusheng didn't keep the eggs for his own family. He sent them all to that bitch Wenxi."
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