Chapter 53 Inquiring about the Situation
After a short break, Su Mo did not prepare to cook, and took two cabbage and pork buns to fill her stomach. Then she went to the well and washed and dried the hazel mushrooms that were mostly in the basket. As for the ones that were empty, she left them alone, as fresh ones tasted better than dried ones.
After drying them, she took two bamboo sieves, spread the hazel mushrooms on them, and put them under the eaves where they could get the sun to dry.
Su Mo was quite grateful to Li Yue'e for preparing almost all the things she needed for daily life. Lu Changzheng said that there were not many things in the house before, and his mother went to buy them when they decided to get married.
After finishing, Su Mo prepared to take a nap on the wooden bench in the living room. Not long after she lay down, she heard Lu Fengqin's call from outside the door.
Su Mo got up and went out to see that Lu Fengqin came in with a backpack, followed by her sister Lu Aiqin and the second wife's eldest son Lu Guodong.
Seeing her come out, the three children looked at her with bright eyes.
Lu Fengqin said: "Aunt, my second sister and eldest brother will go with us to harvest the crops."
Su Mo: ...
It seems that no matter what era, candy is very attractive to children, even pig grass is not picked.
"Okay, wait a minute, I'll go get the backpack."
Su Mo took the backpack, locked the door, and set off with the three children. Su Mo knew that they came for candy, so before leaving, she gave each of them a piece of maltose.
The three of them got the candy, and their eyes lit up even more. Lu Guodong even asked, "Auntie, what kind of candy is this?"
"Maltose." Su Mo said with a smile.
"This is maltose!" The three children shouted in unison, and then quickly tore the package and stuffed the candy into their mouths.
When Su Mo first went to Lu's house, she gave maltose to Lu Guoliang and Lu Guoqiang, but the two boys ate all the candy themselves, and then showed off to their brothers and sisters how delicious the maltose was, and they were so greedy. Now that they finally got to
eat the maltose they had been longing for, the three children squinted their eyes in happiness.
This tasted really delicious, just as delicious as the White Rabbit candy that Auntie gave me last time.
Because they had candy, the three children were very excited all the way, chattering non-stop, telling Su Mo a lot of gossip about the families in the brigade, which made Su Mo laugh non-stop.
It was also from the three children's words that Su Mo had a deeper understanding of the Lujia Village Production Brigade.
She knew that the brigade's pig farm raised 40 pigs this year, and Lu Qing'an had to visit them at least three times a day, and he treasured them more than his grandson.
She also knew that the brigade also had a chicken farm. Previously, a lazy man in the brigade went to steal eggs and was caught and locked up for several days, and was criticized and educated in front of the whole brigade.
There was also an old man in charge of the sheepfold who loved to drink. Once he got drunk and slept with the sheep in the sheepfold. The next day, the person in charge of herding sheep was scared to death, thinking that the old man had died in the sheepfold.
It seems that Geng Changqing, this cheap uncle, is still a good commune secretary.
In this special period, if the leaders above do not speak, the production brigades below dare not engage in these side businesses.
After all, many places still apply the principle of "taking grain as the guideline and developing in an all-round way" proposed by the Chairman in a one-size-fits-all manner, focusing only on grain and removing "developing in an all-round way", fearing that those who engage in side businesses will become rich and those who grow grain will become poor, causing polarization.
"Does our brigade have a cowshed?" Su Mo asked casually.
"Yes, our brigade not only has a cowshed, but also a donkey shed. Our brigade has five cows and ten donkeys, which is more than other brigades." Lu Guodong said proudly.
"How do you know so much?" Su Mo asked with a smile.
"My classmate told me." Lu Guodong said.
The elementary school of Lujia Village Brigade has not only students from our brigade, but also students from surrounding production teams that don't have elementary schools. These days, children compete with each other on these things, so Lu Guodong knows it very well.
"Then will you go to the cowshed and donkey shed to play?" Su Mo asked again.
"You can't go there. Bad people live there. Auntie, you shouldn't go there either. It's dirty and messy." Lu Guodong said.
"How do you know they are bad people?"
"Everyone says so, saying that they were punished to live in the cowshed because they did bad things." Lu Guodong said.
Su Mo's eyes flashed, and she didn't continue the topic, but asked: "Guodong, which production teams did your classmates belong to?"
"A lot, Longjia Village, Beiling, Lijiaao, Qingshui..." Lu Guodong tried hard to recall.
"So many, have you been to Lijiaao?" It was written in the book that the original owner's parents were sent down to Lijiaao.
"Yes, I go there every year with my grandmother to bury them." Lijiaao is Li Yue'e's hometown.
Su Mo didn't expect such a coincidence, so she asked, "Is it far?"
"Not far, just walk along Bukai Mountain and you'll be there soon." Lu Guodong was young and didn't have much of a concept of time.
"Grandma said it would take about half an hour to get there." Lu Fengqin added.
The children first took Su Mo to look for chestnuts, but it was obvious that chestnuts were very popular. They had been picked up in many places, except for the last place, on a very old tree, where some were still hanging.
The three children looked up at the chestnuts with green shells on them, feeling a little sorry.
"The shells are still so green, they won't ripen so quickly. We have to come back later, and we don't know if they will still be there by then."
Chestnuts are so delicious, and they like them very much. But their family doesn't pick many every year, because they are all picked up early by others.