Before setting off in the afternoon, Xie Yuyao scooped out the pear flesh, put it in a bamboo basket that had been washed and dried before the meal, and laid it out in the sun to dry.
Arriving at the lawn mowing area, she worked quickly and soon completed her task.
After saying goodbye to her friends, she went to the pear orchard again.
The tranquil mountain forest is occasionally punctuated by the clear chirping of birds from the valley.
Looking at the entire pear orchard, Xie Yuyao felt a sense of peace and tranquility, like the morning bell and evening drum.
An idea popped into her head: she couldn't eat the whole fruit, and she didn't lack the income, so why not follow the call of the educated youth and support rural development?
If the dried fruit is made well, the entire brigade can mobilize its members to produce it together and then exchange it for other goods in the name of the collective, thus improving the lives of all the brigade members.
She had considered involving only the educated youth team, but firstly, it would be impossible to hide it from the Social Democratic Committee and would only create conflict; secondly, if anyone was arrested in the black market transaction, it would turn out to be her fault.
Never overestimate the goodness of human nature or underestimate its evil.
Once she had made up her mind, she spent the rest of her time picking fruit.
When it was time to finish work, she carried a basket of green grass to hand in her work, and then returned to the educated youth compound. She told all the educated youth about her plan and pointed out: "The dried fruit that our educated youth team made in advance can be kept for ourselves to eat, or we can ask the brigade leader to redeem it in the name of the collective, as a reward for our guidance."
Jiang Yan immediately objected: "Why tell others? Only our educated youth team makes them ourselves, and we can sell them for more money."
Xie Yuyao was a little surprised that she would jump out. After observing her for the past few days, she found that although Bei Xiao was annoying, her thoughts were written all over her face.
However, this little follower of Bei Xiao has a dark mind, and she is behind many of Bei Xiao's actions.
“No way! We went to the countryside to support rural development. Now that we have a way to increase income, of course we should tell the villagers and encourage them to participate collectively!” Ren Fei, who was highly conscious of her beliefs, immediately retorted. She glanced at Jiang Yan and said, “I’ll go tell the brigade leader right now and have him organize the villagers to pick fruit.”
Li Weidong frowned slightly and stopped Ren Fei: "Don't rush. Without a finished product, the captain won't easily believe us. Let's stick to Xie Yuyao's plan. Is there anyone who doesn't want to participate?"
He glanced around and saw that most people were eager to try. Faced with this opportunity to make money, even Bei Xiao, who was usually quick to anger, quieted down.
“In that case, everyone except those who cook and chop wood should go up the mountain.”
Xie Yuyao hadn't brought back the fruit she picked that afternoon, so she had to go and give directions. Yang Shumei simply took over cooking for her.
As a result, the villagers saw that almost the entire educated youth team had gone out to borrow baskets and carts from the brigade headquarters to pick and transport sour pears.
They all laughed at the educated youth team for being greedy, even eating wild pears that were extremely sour. When they learned from the children that it was the newly arrived educated youth Xie who had taken the initiative, they became even more disparaging of Xie Yuyao.
As darkness fell, a corner of the main room of the educated youth compound was covered with sour pears.
Tonight's dinner included a new dish: tender corn on the cob.
Not all the corn cobs in the field are old; some are still tender. Many people picking the tender ones peel them and eat them raw, bursting out mouthfuls of white juice.
The brigade leader and the village secretary shouted that no one was allowed to steal food and that it should be collected and distributed uniformly. But some people were so hungry that they didn't care and ate whatever they wanted.
This evening, the corn in the fields was finally all harvested. When it was time to leave work, the team leader distributed the tender corn according to the number of people, and the educated youth team received several dozen ears.
Ren Fei boiled one corn cob per person in water until cooked. The corn was long and the kernels were plump. Although it didn't look big, it had a wonderful fragrance and tasted delicious!
Seeing that Xie Yuyao rarely enjoyed eating, apart from Bei Xiao's boyfriend Xiang Wenshan, the other four male educated youths all handed her their portions.
Xie Yuyao knew they were expressing their gratitude for making the candied fruit, so she didn't stand on ceremony. She let them break off half and give it to her, then continued eating it.
Bei Xiao, standing to the side, almost rolled her eyes to the sky. She took the corn cob from Xiang Wenshan and ate it with gritted teeth.
After the meal, Wu Lihong looked at the wild pears scattered on the ground and asked, "We don't have a winnowing basket, shall we borrow one from someone else?"
"You can string them together with needle and thread to dry. If that doesn't work, you can also boil pear soup or make fruit vinegar. Pear soup can reduce internal heat and moisturize the lungs, making it the best drink in this dry autumn weather. Fruit vinegar can be stored for a longer time and can be drunk as a beverage."
However, judging from their intentions, they want to make all the dried fruit, since they can use the money to buy other things they want.
Illuminated by the oil lamp, the members of the educated youth team worked together.
After washing the pears, cut six slices with a knife and soak them in salt water for two hours. Find a strong thread, string them together with a needle, and hang them under the eaves to dry.
Looking at the bunches of sour pears hanging there, everyone's eyes were filled with hope.
*
At the same time, more than a dozen people were having dinner at Zhao Honghui's home.
Zhao Honghui's grandmother is still alive. She had four sons and two daughters. Her youngest daughter, Zhao Chunling, was born late in life and was spoiled. As she grew up, she was picky about marriage and is still unmarried at the age of 25. In today's society, she is considered an older single woman.
After their descendants became too numerous to live in, they divided the family property.
At that time, only Zhao Chunling was still unmarried. Zhao Honghui's grandparents wanted to take Zhao Chunling and the eldest son with them, but Yang Chunhua made a request: Zhao Chunling had to go out and earn work points.
Zhao Chunling was spoiled and arrogant, and lazy. She had never earned a single work point from childhood to adulthood. Yang Chunhua already had six children to support, and life was difficult enough. How could she possibly support an adult sister-in-law as well?
Finally, because Zhao Chunling cried and refused, Zhao Honghui's grandparents took her and made her their own family, demanding that each of their four sons pay 20 jin of grain per month for their old age.
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