He Gang led a few people to Carpenter Zhao's house to return the trailer, and then went to the brigade office to collect their food allowance.
This group of educated youth received 32 kilograms of food rations per month, of which 2 kilograms were fine grains and 30 kilograms were coarse grains.
Bai Guoguo also received his own ration of 30 kilograms of cornmeal and two kilograms of wheat.
After consulting an accountant, Bai Guoguo spent 5 yuan to exchange for 30 kilograms of brown rice.
In fact, although this is the Northeast, rice is still grown here. It's just that northerners generally prefer noodles and eat less rice.
Decades later, this black soil is still one of the largest rice production bases in the country.
There were no major setbacks in getting the food this time. Everyone was exhausted and just wanted to get the food, go back quickly, have a meal, and then have a good sleep.
He Gang picked up Bai Guoguo's bag of grain easily with one hand.
All that was left for her was a small cloth bag containing two kilograms of wheat.
After witnessing He Gang's temper all day, Bai Guoguo was too lazy to argue with him. She had a good impression of him anyway, so it wouldn't be a bad idea to try to get along with him.
Yang Xiaoyong, Li Dongyang, and Wang Qiuyu also picked up their own rations and silently followed them back to the educated youth site.
After returning to the educated youth compound, He Gang put Bai Guoguo's food in the cupboard, and then dug some loess or mud from the vegetable garden to paste on the edge of her pot.
In this way, the edge of the pot covered with yellow mud would not leak smoke. Then he went out and brought a bundle of firewood to Bai Guoguo.
"Brother He, where did you get the firewood? Fortunately you thought of it, otherwise we wouldn't be able to cook today!" Bai Guoguo asked while washing rice.
"You didn't have time to collect firewood just now, so I took a few other educated youth to the firewood pile at my house and each of us took a bundle."
He Gang lit the stove and checked to see if there was any smoke leaking from anywhere while answering Bai Guoguo's questions.
"Thank you so much, that's very thoughtful of you. I'll go collect firewood and pay it back tomorrow."
Bai Guoguo said that she felt like something was missing, and it turned out that she hadn't considered the fuel issue.
"You don't have to pay it back. It's just a bundle of firewood, there's no need to be so fussy. Besides, you have such weak arms and legs, I'm afraid you can't carry the firewood!"
He Gang couldn't help but think of Bai Guoguo carrying a bundle of firewood that was bigger than her, and then being crushed under the firewood, unable to get up like a little turtle. He couldn't help but chuckle.
"What are you laughing at? It doesn't seem like something good!" Bai Guoguo couldn't help but feel puzzled when she saw him laughing like a mouse that stole oil.
"Ahem, no, no, I'm not laughing at anything. I was just thinking that the snow on the mountain is melting soon and there might be some wild vegetables. I was thinking of taking you up there to pick some one day."
He Gang quickly shook his head to deny it. If the little girl knew that he was thinking about her turning into a little turtle, it would be terrible. It would be strange if this little hot pepper didn't get angry.
"Really? That's nice, but don't we all have to work?"
Bai Guoguo is also very interested in picking wild vegetables. In his previous life, he filmed videos in Northeast China and picked wild leeks, prickly ash sprouts, ferns and other wild vegetables.
Thinking about it now, I still feel a little unsatisfied. I just don’t know what work the brigade will assign them next.
"The brigade may need to discuss your job positions, but all the educated youth here have the opportunity to work in brick kilns or the brigade's primary school."
He Gang was talking while he was lighting the fire, while Bai Guoguo was diligently washing the pot with a bamboo brush that the carpenter uncle had given her as a gift when he bought furniture.
"I heard that you should use pig skin to wipe the pot after opening it. Unfortunately, I didn't buy pork today. Can I use bacon skin?"
Bai Guoguo felt that after brushing the pot several times, it was still not clean enough. Suddenly, she remembered that this kind of iron pot seemed to need to be boiled, so she turned around and asked He Gang.
"It's all lard anyway, so it should be fine. Let me clean the pot. Be careful not to burn your hands."
He Gang stood up, took the bacon from Bai Guoguo's hand, cut a small piece of the skin with fat, and took over the job of boiling the pot.
Bai Guoguo, who was robbed alive, could only turn around to organize the seasonings he bought from the supply and marketing cooperative in the morning, and by the way, he smuggled some supplies out by taking things out of the package while entering the house.
She put all the seasonings on the top shelf of the cupboard, then found the bowls and plates she bought in the morning, took them to the well, washed them, and put them on the third shelf of the cupboard.
The third floor is temporarily empty, and the large grid space at the bottom is used to store some food.
"I've cleaned the pot. Do you think there's anything else to do?"
Just as she put away the dishes, she heard He Gang say that the pot was ready.
"Brother He, I'll make some bacon stewed rice. There's nothing else to do here, so why don't you go call your friend?"
Bai Guoguo thought that it would not be a good impression for a single man and woman to eat in the same room, so she decided to call his friends as well, since they had helped her get food in the morning.
"Okay, I'll call the Red Army and find you a new kang mat."
He Gang also understood Bai Guoguo's concerns, so he simply agreed to her request and brought her a bed mat.
"What is a kang mat? Is it laid on the kang?" Although Bai Guoguo had been to Northeast China in his previous life, and had been on business trips and traveled there, he had never slept on a kang, so he didn't know what a kang mat was.
"It's the mat we put on the kang. We usually use reeds here. I'll go find you a new one. And ask the other three if they want one."
"Then I'll have to trouble Brother He again. Can you help me change the bed? I'll give you the money first. Is 10 yuan enough?"
As Bai Guoguo spoke, she took out a handful of banknotes, found 10 yuan from it and handed it to He Gang.
"You don't need that much. One and a half yuan is enough. The people in the village also pay the same price for the kang mats at Grandma Gao's house."
What He Gang said was true. The kang mats used by everyone in the village were generally woven by their own family members.
Only the family who really doesn't know how to use it or is in urgent need of it will go to Grandma Gao's house to exchange it.
Grandma Gao was the best mat weaver in the entire brigade. She could also weave curtains for dumplings, straw pot lids, and bamboo flats, baskets, and backpacks.
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