As Wenxi squatted on the ground washing these things, the icy water made her shiver. There were no matches or firewood, so she had no way to boil water to wash them and could only use well water.
Just then, there was another knock at the door. Wen Xi turned her head and saw an unfamiliar man standing outside, pushing a cart full of firewood. Wen Xi was certain that she did not know this person. She got up and walked over in confusion. When she got closer, she recognized him. Unexpectedly, it was Jin Changfeng, who had changed into his everyday clothes.
"Comrade Jin, it's you!" Wen Xi smiled shyly.
"Comrade Wen, who do you think I am?" Jin Changfeng looked at Wen Xi with a smile in his eyes.
Wen Xi was a little embarrassed, "You changed out of your military uniform and into everyday clothes, and your demeanor changed completely. I really didn't recognize you!"
Seeing Wen Xi's shy expression, Jin Changfeng didn't continue the topic. Instead, he said, "Comrade Wen, I noticed you don't have any firewood here, so I brought you some firewood and a basket of straw for starting a fire. That way, you can boil water for yourselves tonight."
Wen Xi hadn't expected that the whole cartload of firewood was for her, and she immediately felt embarrassed. "Comrade Jin, thank you so much. I don't know how to thank you enough. How about I give you money instead? Consider it an exchange. How much should I give you for all this firewood?"
"Two yuan," Jin Changfeng said.
"What?" Wen Xi asked suspiciously.
"Two yuan will do for this cartload of firewood," Jin Changfeng explained, then delivered the straw to the kitchen and unloaded the firewood from the cart.
Wen Xi hurried over to move firewood, but as soon as she touched it, a sharp pain shot through her finger, causing her to cry out in pain. Jin Changfeng rushed over, grabbed her hand, and examined it. He saw a tiny splinter stuck in her finger and a look of self-reproach flashed across his eyes.
Jin Changfeng had no fingernails and tried several times but couldn't pull out the wood shavings. He reminded Wen Xi to bear with it, and then used his two fingernails together to squeeze the wood shavings out of his fingertips little by little. The pain brought tears to Wen Xi's eyes.
When the sawdust came out, Jin Changfeng finally breathed a sigh of relief. However, this city girl was so delicate that she would cry if she was pricked by a small sawdust.
However, he really couldn't bear to see her in pain, not even if it was just a splinter.
"I...I'll go get the money for Comrade Jin." Wen Xi awkwardly withdrew her hand, turned around and walked into the house. Seeing that the house was quiet, she was a little surprised. She went to check on Shen Jiaojiao's room and found that the girl was sitting on the floor and lying on the edge of the bed, asleep.
Wen Xi helped Shen Jiaojiao to bed and covered her with a blanket. Then she went to Jiang Yue's room, where Jiang Yue was also asleep on the bed. Wen Xi covered her with a blanket as well.
Wen Xi returned to her room, closed the door, took two yuan from the sign-in system's inventory, and handed the two yuan to Jin Changfeng.
Jin Changfeng didn't refuse and directly took the money. If he didn't take the money, Wen Xi might not associate with him anymore. In order to have a chance to meet again, he accepted the two yuan.
Jin Changfeng took out a box of matches from his pocket and handed it to Wen Xi, saying, "You've just arrived, so you probably didn't prepare these things. You can use this box of matches for now."
"Comrade Jin, thank you." Wen Xi didn't know how to thank Jin Changfeng. They had only just met, yet he had already provided her with so much help.
Jin Changfeng didn't say much. He unloaded all the firewood, piled it in the yard, and then pushed the wooden cart away. Although he wanted to stay here, he didn't want to backfire. This gradual approach, slowly winning her heart, was just fine.
After Jin Changfeng left, Wen Xi closed the courtyard gate, returned to the well, and continued washing the dishes. However, after washing only two, the knocking sounded again.
This time it was Captain Qian who brought over the rations for the three of them.
One person has 10 jin of rice, 20 jin of sweet potatoes, and 20 jin of potatoes.
The three of them had 30 jin of rice, 60 jin of sweet potatoes, and 60 jin of potatoes. When Wenxi came, she also brought 20 jin of rice and 20 jin of flour. All of this was enough for the three of them to eat for a while.
They had just arrived in the countryside and didn't have any work points yet, so they couldn't get any grain. They could only borrow or buy it. Buying meant spending money to buy grain, while borrowing grain required repaying it with work points. Wenxi thought about it and decided to buy it with money because buying grain in the village didn't require grain coupons, so it was cheap and affordable.
Wen Xi didn't wake up Shen Jiaojiao and Jiang Yue. She simply gave them all the money for the food. Since she contributed more money, she thought Shen Jiaojiao and Jiang Yue could contribute more in the future.
After Captain Qian left, Wenxi locked the courtyard gate, then fetched water to the kitchen, poured it into two iron pots, and started a fire to boil the water.
The iron pot she brought and the iron pot Shen Jiaojiao brought were both used at home before. They weren't actually dirty; you could just boil water in them and rinse them. Wen Xi brought the smaller pot, which was used at home for cooking rice and boiling water. Since there was no oil in it, Wen Xi continued to use this pot to boil water for drinking.
After the water was heated, Wenxi washed both pots and then filled them with water again. She then boiled the water and poured it into the thermos.
Wen Xi and Shen Jiaojiao each brought a thermos, which is enough for the three of them. It would be great if they could sign in a thermos one day.
After eating two steamed buns and drinking a cup of malted milk powder, Wenxi felt much better. After washing up, she left notes for Shen Jiaojiao and Jiang Yue and put them on the table with the steamed buns before returning to her room to rest.
The bed was ice-cold in winter, so Wenxi got into bed without even taking off her clothes. She only took off her clothes and socks after the bed slowly warmed up.
This isn't Northeast China, so there's no need to sleep on a large kang (heated brick bed). But in the educated youth settlement, there were large communal beds, with several people sleeping on one bed without any partitions. If you turned over, you'd see a face on your left, and if you turned over again, you'd see another face on your right. It was terrifying.
Some people even like to point their smelly feet at other people's heads, which is really unacceptable. Moreover, in her past life, a lot of her money was stolen because there was nowhere to hide it. Even if she put it in her pocket, someone would still rummage through it.
Having suffered in her past life, Wenxi doesn't want to suffer again in this one.
It's so great to be able to sleep in a bed all by myself now.
Wenxi raised her wrist and looked at her watch. This watch was bought for her by her second brother when he first started working, after saving up for several months' worth of wages!
Thinking of her second brother and parents, Wenxi's heart ached. She missed them so much!
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