Liu Ni actually felt sorry for her salary. Before the new batch of chickens started to make money, she felt that she should save as much as possible.
Chen Chunhua thought it was okay. Anyway, the mushroom production in the mushroom house in summer was estimated to be not too large, so everyone should be busy. If it really doesn't work out, they can recruit strong men from their families.
"Let's wait until autumn to see if anyone is willing to do this," she said as she pondered. "I'll go to the township and post a job posting first, just in case someone in the village wants to do this..."
There are pros and cons to having villagers come to work for her. The pros are that they all have some experience in raising chickens and they live nearby, so they can come and help whenever there is something.
The disadvantages are the same as when she was considering whether to let Lin Yulan come to work here. It is not right to increase her salary, and it is not right not to increase her salary. What if someone comes to slack off, and if she wants to fire them, she might even make enemies.
Lin Yulan always has that connection with Liang Shengdi, so the villagers can only...
"We'll see when the time comes. Everyone in the village knows who's the best. If there's really someone who's not up to par, just find an excuse to refuse him from the start."
"Yeah, it's still early anyway. It's only June."
But time flies. It’s only June, but it’s already mid-July, and the double harvest of the new year is about to begin.
This year, many children in Sihe Village are about to graduate from junior high school. There are Erniu from Lin Fuqiang's family, Wuni and Liuni from Ma Dexiang's family, and Lin Shugan from Lin Guoqing's family...
Some children, like Liu Ni, gave up the high school entrance examination and planned to start making money to support their lives after getting their junior high school diploma.
However, Lin Erniu finally followed Lin Shugan and Wu Ni to take the high school entrance examination seriously.
The day before the exam, someone came by rowing a boat to sell watermelons at five cents a pound, and brought his own sack to carry them.
The watermelons of those days were not as red and sweet as those later, but they were fresh. A big watermelon weighed more than ten pounds. A sack of more than ten watermelons was loaded and taken home. I soaked them in water and put them under the bed. When I was thirsty, I would cut a piece and eat it with candy. When the weather was too hot and I didn’t want to eat, I would just pick up half a watermelon and eat it with a spoon.
If there are many people in the family, a whole sack of food can be eaten in just a few days.
For example, at Chen Chunhua's house, the last round of watermelons had been eaten long ago. Liang Shengdi was still clamoring to go out on a boat to buy a boatload of watermelons yesterday, but when she didn't get any, she was dying in the fields and couldn't even eat a single bite of watermelon when she got home.
Just when someone comes to sell something, I have to act quickly.
The boat that arrived wasn't a small, black-sailed boat like Liang Shengdi's, but a massive vessel twice its size, capable of sailing out into the river. A boat full of watermelons, only half full by the time it reached Sihe Village from Shaditou in Su County, was left. People rode tricycles, carrying loads on their shoulders, and called out to each other to buy.
Chen Chunhua and Lin Yulan each bought two sacks, which contained almost 20 watermelons and cost them 10 yuan each.
The water network in Sihe Village is already dense enough, so basically no one digs a well. There is a pond right outside the door for Chen Chunhua and her friends, so they don't bother to dig a well. So the watermelons are soaked directly in the water tank, and those that can't fit in are piled up in the utility room on the west side.
Soak it until the evening, then cut it open and eat it, which is just right.
The other three children have already had their summer vacation, but Lin Shugan is still frantically preparing for the exam. It's the last day now, and Chen Chunhua tells him that it's time for him to take a break, eat some watermelon, and relax.
"What time is the exam tomorrow? Do you want me to pick you up?" Chen Chunhua cut the watermelon into large pieces and distributed them to the children. Lin Guoqing asked the second child while eating the watermelon.
Lin Shugan exclaimed, "Aren't you going to start harvesting tomorrow? Why are you sending me off? I can take the exam on my own."
Lin Guoqing laughed twice and pointed at Chen Chunhua and said, "Your mother asked me to express how much we, as parents, value your exams."
Chen Chunhua: …isn’t that what all the kids did when they took exams? Especially when it came to the Gaokao (National College Entrance Examination), she’d watch the news and see all those parents standing at the school gates, some wearing qipao, shouting, “Auspicious day!”
"Then there's no need for that..." Suddenly hearing his parents' emphasis on his high school entrance exam, Lin Shugan felt a little embarrassed. "My classmates should all be taking the exam on their own. I can go with Erniu and my fifth cousin, so there's no need for a pick-up..."
Liang Shengdi finished a piece of watermelon like a wild boar digging for food, then picked up the second piece. "What good is there to give as a gift? We adults might as well finish the work in the fields quickly so that the children don't have to go back to the fields to help after the exams."
Lin Shuying turned to the second brother and whispered softly, "Second brother, study hard for the exam. We'll take care of the farm work! If you can get into a technical secondary school, you'll be living a comfortable life!"
"That's right, remember to bring me along when the time comes!" The third child sat next to grandma, eating in the same manner. As soon as he finished speaking, he was slapped in the face by Lin Guoqing.
"If you keep talking to me like a street urchin, I'll show you what a true brother is!"
"Dad! The watermelon juice in your hand splashed on my face!" Shumei screamed instantly.
"Oh! Sorry, sorry..."
Shu Chao followed their words and shouted, "You hit me on the head too!" As a result, Lin Guoqing slapped him all over the head again.
"You deserve it!"
…
The high school entrance examination consists of six subjects: politics, Chinese, mathematics, English, physics, and chemistry, with a total score of 640. The examination lasts for three days.
These three days passed very quickly for Chen Chunhua and her friends, because they were all busy harvesting in the fields. They went out before dawn and came back after dark. They even had a quick breakfast. As for the students who were taking the exams, they had rice soaked in plain water with fermented tofu, and then went to take the exam.
This also includes Lin Erniu and Wu Ni who went to take the exam together. Their families were too busy and they could only take care of themselves.
At the end of the three days, it was only when Lin Shu hurriedly said, "I've finished the exam," that everyone realized what was going on.
What? Three days have already passed?
Chen Chunhua even felt a little guilty and asked the second brother what he wanted to eat, or if he could catch a chicken today?
Lin Shugan, on the other hand, was relatively indifferent. "The weather is too hot. I don't really want to eat chicken soup. I'd rather have dried vegetable and loofah soup."
These days, kids don’t take a rest like they did later on after taking their exams. They go out and hang out, watch TV, and play computer games.
I had nothing, so I put down my schoolbag and started working. There was no other way, the food rations for the second half of the year were still in the fields. Even if my family didn't urge me to go to the fields, I would feel embarrassed.
Lin Shuying asked her brother how he felt about his test performance. These days, there are no standard answers for exams; it all depends on your own feelings.
Lin Shugan felt that he should be able to get into high school, but he was not sure whether he could get into the high school his sister attended.
Lin Shuying is studying in the No. 1 Municipal High School, which is currently the best high school in the entire Yue City and has the highest admission score. Lin Shuying thinks it would be best if she can get in, but if not, the No. 1 County Middle School is also good and is closer to home.
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