Chapter 97 "What are your plans?"
Everyone started clapping.
Wang Huaqing said loudly, "Well said! Guixiang, you are doing a better and better job as the director of the Women's Department. You are becoming more and more energetic. Our Qingli and Wumei are also great."
Everyone clapped even harder.
No one noticed that Zhang Ruifeng in the crowd was clapping mechanically, his face pale and covered in cold sweat.
When she heard Yan Guixiang say "struggling in the quagmire, suffering inside, and stuck in a dead end", her heart was almost overwhelmed by fear and panic.
If Binbin hadn't told her upfront that she wasn't going to marry, and if she had agreed to the Zheng family's proposal, would her daughter have had to live this kind of life in the future? Would she have gotten stuck in a rut?
Although she told herself over and over again in her heart that this was all her imagination, nothing happened, Binbin did not marry and would not be tortured by the Zheng family, but for some reason, these fears would not go away. It seemed that such a tragedy had really happened, and her daughter suffered a lot of hardships and grievances when she was not seeing.
Thinking of what she had taught her daughter before, such as "harmony is the most important thing" and "suffering a loss is a blessing", Zhang Ruifeng wanted to slap herself twice.
Binbin, Binbin!
She looked at Xie Yun.
She saw her daughter smiling and her eyes bright, clapping along with everyone.
At this moment, Zhang Ruifeng's anxious heart slowly calmed down.
Her daughter is fine.
She will definitely protect her.
When the women's meeting ended, the snow was still falling and the whole village was covered in silver.
Auspicious snow indicates a good harvest, which is a good sign.
Xie Yun had finished his malted milk. It was cold, and sipping something warm was very comforting. Zhang Ruifeng felt the same way. As they were leaving, Wang Huaqing asked her, "Did you bring anything for Mumu?"
Xie Yun smiled and said, "I was just kidding you."
She held Zhang Ruifeng's arm, and the mother and daughter walked home closely together. There was an inexplicable feeling of "hearing a dog barking at the wooden door, and a man returning home on a windy and snowy night".
Zhang Ruifeng asked Xie Yun, "The snow is so thick, are you going to the county tomorrow?"
"Let's go. Today is the 26th day of the twelfth lunar month. The day after tomorrow is New Year's Eve. I don't think the snow will melt much in the next few days. Besides, if the snow melts, the road will be even more difficult to walk on. It's better to walk on the snow."
Zhang Ruifeng thought about it and agreed. After the snow melted, the road became muddy and slippery, making it even more difficult to walk on.
The next morning, Zhang Ruifeng woke up early again, boiled some water, and cooked beggar's chicken. Her daughter said she wanted to give another one to someone early that morning, so she had to make it.
After making hot water, he called Xie Yun to get up and said, "Come with me. We can be companions on the way to the commune, and you can go early and come back early."
"Yeah. Okay."
Xie Yun agreed verbally and huddled deeper into the quilt.
Last night she practiced her mental strength, entered the space again to make a batch of things and put them in the time-still zone, then took a bath and went to bed a little late. She still hadn't slept for 8 hours.
After calling her, Zhang Ruifeng went to call Xie Shen and asked him if he wanted to go to the commune with her today. The child would be bored at home alone.
"Your sister is going to the Commune Restaurant to eat fried dough sticks today. Do you want to go?"
"Let's not go. I ate yesterday. Let my sister eat today. Mom, you and my sister go. I'll get up and make some porridge for myself later."
Zhang Ruifeng said, "You'd better go. The snow outside is really deep. If you go, you can help your sister carry the basket on the way. That way, your sister only needs to carry it from the commune to the county. What do you think? Will you help?"
"help!"
Xie Shen jumped up, even faster than Xie Yun.
While waiting for the siblings to get up and clean up, Zhang Ruifeng climbed up the ladder to the roof and began to clear the snow. Xie Yun and Xie Shen hurried to clean up and also went to help. This was done to protect the roof from erosion and damage, and to keep the room warm.
After they finished cleaning up, Zhang Ruifeng and Xie Shen each carried a basket. Xie Shen's basket contained a chicken and two apples, while Zhang Ruifeng's basket contained three cabbages and three radishes.
She wanted to take a few more apples, but considering that her own children didn't have much fruit to eat all year round, she gave up. After all, her own children were more important.
"Give the chicken and apple to Comrade Li, and a cabbage and a radish. Take the remaining two cabbages and two radishes to the county. Don't carry them to the commune. It will save you some effort."
"I'll just carry a small basket and two cabbages."
"No, Mom can carry me. Let's go."
All three wore maowoz, a type of straw sandal made from reed spikes. It was a classic snow boot, very warm, with a reed upper and a wooden sole. It also had high heels, making it very convenient for walking in the snow. The sole was a bit too hard, making it a little less comfortable.
【Mao Wozi】
Zhang Ruifeng and Xie Shen put cotton shoes in the basket so they could change them when they got to the store, but Xie Yun didn't need to.
The snow didn't stop until midnight, and the sky and the earth were covered in white.
They gathered with Zhao Hongxia at the village entrance, and the four of them walked towards the commune together.
When Zhao Hongxia saw Xie Yun and Xie Shen, she said, "The road is so difficult today, and you two still want to go to the commune!"
Xie Yun smiled and said, "It's because the road is difficult to travel, so there must be fewer people going out. So I brought a few cabbages to the market to set up a stall. Maybe I can make a few more cents. Cabbages and radishes are usually hard to sell. Every household grows them, and there are too many people selling them."
Zhang Ruifeng: “…”
Xie Shen: “…”
Actually, what Binbin/his sister said was not wrong. Wasn’t she just going to sell cabbages?
Zhao Hongxia: "Sister, I admire you so much. You are so good at calculating accounts. You will definitely live a good life in the future!"
"Hey, thanks for your good words. No work is in vain."
Xie Yun smiled and said, "Today, you who work are not as good as us farmers. You have to go to work regardless of rain or shine, while farmers can rest on such a day."
Zhao Hongxia was surprised and said, "Sister, how can you say that? You didn't even have a rest today."
Xie Yun: "I have a choice. I can choose to go or not. But you don't have a choice."
Zhao Hongxia: "Well, the result is the same."
Zhang Ruifeng asked her, "In this weather today, do your parents still need to go to the brigade headquarters?"
Zhao Hongxia smiled and said, "Of course we will go. My dad walks around the village every morning, afternoon, and evening, and my mom stays at the team headquarters when she has nothing to do. It will be more convenient if someone needs to see her."
Xie Yun asked her, "Are you adapting to working in the commune?"
"I'm adapting. I'm just doing odd jobs now, sweeping the floor, fetching water, wiping the tables, reading books, newspapers, and documents, taking notes at meetings—I do everything. My mom told me to be more diligent and learn some manners, which will be very useful in the future."
"Director Yan is right."
☆
When they arrived at the commune, Xie Yun and the other two went to the state-owned restaurant, while Zhao Hongxia went directly to her unit.
The restaurant was open as usual, but not very busy. When it snows, no one likes to get up early.
Xie Yun asked them to sit down and rest, and he went to buy six fried dough sticks and three bowls of soy milk. The fried dough sticks were 4 cents each, thick and long, and the soy milk was 2 cents a bowl. The total cost of breakfast for three people was 30 cents.
After dinner, Zhang Ruifeng took Xie Shen to the grain store. Xie Yun put all the things in a basket and carried it to Li's house.
She could give all the things in the basket to the Li family. She could just go to the county town and get them from the space. When she reached a deserted place, she added some apples, a chicken, and 10 kilograms of cornmeal to the basket.
She came early today, Li Wenrui hadn't even left for work yet. It was a rare sight for Xie Yun to see him at home.
"Happy New Year, uncle."
"Happy New Year. My wife said yesterday that you would come early in the morning. I didn't expect you to come so early."
"My mom was in a hurry to go to work, so I came here with her."
"Thanks a lot."
Li Wenrui raised his hand to help put the basket down, but Xie Yun stopped him with a smile, "You'd better not move. It's quite heavy."
"How heavy is it?"
Li Wenrui didn't believe it, so after Xie Yun put the basket down himself, he tried to lift it up, and found that it was really heavy! Forget about carrying it from the brigade to the commune, even carrying it from home to the supply and marketing cooperative would make him collapse from exhaustion.
Yu Ziqin said to him, "Xiao Xie always brings dozens of kilograms of stuff every time he comes. You're old and frail, so you'd better not try to be so brave."
Li Wenrui: “…”
Xie Yun smiled and said, "I did bring a lot today. It's almost Chinese New Year, so I figured since I'm here every time, I might as well bring you some more. That way you don't have to worry about food during the New Year."
She opened the basket and took out three cabbages, three radishes, ten apples, two chickens, and a bag of cornmeal. She counted them on her fingers for him, "Our autumn green cabbages weigh six or seven pounds each, and each radish weighs over a pound to two pounds. These two alone weigh over twenty pounds. Ten apples weigh over two pounds, and two chickens with their shells weigh ten pounds. Add to that ten pounds of cornmeal. How many pounds does it weigh altogether?"
Li Wenrui sighed, "Including your basket, it must be almost 50 kilograms. You've been carrying it for more than ten miles, it must have been hard on you."
Xie Yun smiled and said, "It's nothing once you get used to it."
Yu Ziqin smiled and said, "There are still apples. The old man works at the supply and marketing cooperative, and he rarely sees them. Every time they say they have new stock, they can't even get on the counter because they're sold out inside. Your apples look really good and smell very sweet."
"You're just lucky. When I left your place yesterday, I was thinking of going to the market to see if I could find some more New Year's goods for you, and I happened to meet an apple seller. He had an apple tree in his yard, and he hadn't harvested many, so he was saving it to sell during the New Year, and that's when I happened to catch him."
Yu Ziqin smiled and said, "It's not my good luck, it's your good luck. Of course, I'm not bad either."
Li Wenrui asked her, "Yesterday, when you went to the supply and marketing cooperative for the second time, was the child next to you your brother?"
"Yes. He's on winter vacation now. Come with me to the commune. When I come to your place, he stays with my mother. He's very obedient."
"He looks like a good kid."
Li Wenrui asked her again, "What are your plans for the future? You found a job for your mother, but what about you? Are you planning to keep working in the fields to earn work points? If you have any ideas, please talk to my wife. I'm in a hurry to go to work now, and it will be too late if I don't leave now. She can tell me when I get back. We can help you find a solution if we can."
Xie Yun stood up and sincerely thanked Li Wenrui.
Li Wenrui waved his hand: "You guys chat. I'm leaving first."
"Take care."
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