"You silly girl, that's your brother!"
Hearing her youngest daughter's words, Zhao Cuihong glared at her!
She can say bad things about her youngest son, but no one else can say anything, not even her own daughter.
Zhou Taohua grinned and casually placed the winnowing basket on the courtyard wall so that the string bean husks inside could get some sun.
Zhao Cuihong didn't continue talking about her daughter. She stood on tiptoe and picked out the less desirable beans from the shells.
These string bean husks are all selected from the best string beans, dried and stored for use in stewing bones during the Lunar New Year.
When the time comes, the soaked string bean shells will absorb the oily aroma of the bones, and when dipped in a little chili sauce, they will be fragrant, spicy, and incredibly delicious!
Watching the mother and daughter get along so affectionately, Ruan Miaomiao inexplicably felt a pang of longing for her own family.
They are not from the Ruan family in Haicheng.
It refers to family members who sacrificed themselves to save their loved ones in the apocalypse.
Her life was bought with the lives of her family. Now that she has finally found a stable environment, she must live well!
"Ruan Zhiqing, I'm going to the mountain to collect firewood. Do you want to come with me?"
Ruan Miaomiao had just returned to the courtyard and taken a sip of water when she heard Zhou Taohua's voice coming from outside the courtyard gate.
Although there is still the old Shen family's door in the space that can be chopped down for firewood.
However, after thinking about it, Ruan Miaomiao still went with Zhou Taohua to the mountain to collect firewood.
The mountain next to Jianshan Brigade is called Qinglong Mountain. Qinglong Mountain stretches for several miles, covered with lush trees. After walking for an hour, all you can see when you look up is a canopy that blocks out the sun. It is said that there are leopards and wild boars in the mountain.
Therefore, the villagers were not allowed to venture deeper into the mountains on their own.
Only in winter would the brigade organize able-bodied men to hunt wild boars and other game.
The firewood in the mountains near Jianshan Brigade had been almost completely collected, and Zhou Taohua didn't dare lead Ruan Miaomiao further in. She could only lead people to collect firewood along the edge of the mountain.
They had been collecting firewood for over an hour, and the sun was almost setting when they finally managed to gather a bundle each.
Carrying firewood home, Zhou Taohua looked at Ruan Miaomiao and couldn't help but laugh:
"Ruan Zhiqing, you look so delicate and soft, like you've never done any work before. I never expected you could actually endure hardship and even gather firewood!"
When Zhou Taohua said this, her face was full of surprise: "You know what? When I asked you to come and collect firewood, I was already prepared to help you collect it."
Upon hearing Zhou Taohua's words, Ruan Miaomiao instantly understood: the other party thought she was a good-for-nothing, but still wanted to help her.
For a moment, Ruan Miaomiao didn't know whether she should be angry that the other person thought she was useless, or happy that she had met a kind person.
With an awkward laugh, Ruan Miaomiao shifted the firewood to her shoulder and asked Zhou Taohua, "Taohua, why did you bring me up the mountain even though you clearly thought I couldn't gather firewood?"
Upon hearing Ruan Miaomiao's question, Zhou Taohua blurted out without hesitation: "Because you're good-looking. I like good-looking people."
Just standing next to me makes me happy; you don't even have to do anything.
"It's just that I'm not a man. If I were, I would definitely marry you and pamper you, I wouldn't even let you fetch your own foot bath!"
Zhou Taohua's lips moved swiftly, making no attempt to hide her admiration and fondness for Ruan Miaomiao's beauty.
Originally, Ruan Miaomiao was feeling down because the other person called her a good-for-nothing, but after hearing this, she immediately cheered up: So what if she's just a vase? Most people can't even be a vase!
"Ruan Zhiqing, let me tell you, you are simply the most beautiful woman I have ever seen in my life, even more beautiful than the actresses I've seen in movies when I went to the county town..."
With stars in her eyes, Zhou Taohua followed behind Ruan Miaomiao, carrying firewood. The more she talked, the better she felt about Ruan Miaomiao: "Ruan, you are not only beautiful, but also have a high level of ideological awareness. You actually came to our remote rural area to work in the countryside."
She's hardworking and learns quickly. I only taught her a little bit, and she already knows how to gather firewood. She's also very hardworking. She's practically the most perfect woman in the world..."
"..."
At first, Ruan Miaomiao felt quite pleased with herself when she heard Zhou Taohua's praise.
However, upon hearing the rest, I couldn't help but feel a little apprehensive: Am I really that good?
Do I deserve these praises?
Feeling a little flattered by Zhou Taohua's praise, Ruan Miaomiao reached the foot of the mountain and spotted a figure in the distance.
He was dressed in rags, emaciated, and his face was covered in filth.
However, with just one glance, Ruan Miaomiao felt a familiar bond with that person, her heart trembled, and she almost forgot to breathe.
"Who, who is that?"
Stopping in her tracks, Ruan Miaomiao looked in the direction of the woman and asked Zhou Taohua.
Zhou Taohua, who was still racking her brains for words to praise Ruan Miaomiao, heard the question and looked in the direction Ruan Miaomiao was looking. After recognizing her, she quickly said to Ruan Miaomiao:
"Ruan Zhiqing, that's a stinking intellectual who was sent down to the countryside."
After saying that, seeing that Ruan Miaomiao's big, watery eyes had become a little moist, he quickly pulled her forward:
“Ruan Zhiqing, my mother said you have a kind heart, but don’t feel sorry for these stinking intellectuals.”
They may not be bad people, but you are an educated youth who has been cultivating your revolutionary spirit in the vast countryside and is determined to stay rooted in the countryside. If you get close to them and are reported by someone with ulterior motives, it may implicate you.
At that time, they might be sent to a labor camp or demoted to a cowshed.
"Look at them, it's so hot, and they live right next to the cowshed watching over the cows. Not only does the cow dung stink, but the fleas on the cows are huge. If one bites you, even half a pound of brown sugar wouldn't be enough to make up for it. With your delicate skin, you couldn't live like that..."
Zhou Taohua's words were full of concern for Ruan Miaomiao, but the more Ruan Miaomiao listened, the more heartbroken she felt for the person she had just seen.
Despite her worries and anxieties, Ruan Miaomiao pretended to be nonchalant and followed Zhou Taohua back to the village.
Although she wasn't carrying a lot of firewood and had to switch shoulders several times along the way, Ruan Miaomiao's shoulders still had red marks from the pressure.
However, Ruan Miaomiao had no time to think about these things right now.
She took out some flour from her spatial storage, poured it into an enamel basin, cracked ten eggs into it, and then chopped two ounces of pork and threw it in. After mixing it well, she heated the oil in a wok and prepared to fry the pork until crispy.
The house she rented was at the back of the village, and her neighbors were all far away. The only one who lived close by was Zhou Taohua's family.
Even so, it's about twenty meters away, so there's not much to worry about the neighbors smelling it.
Besides, she's never been poor, so what's wrong with eating some meat?
After working for almost half an hour, I finally managed to fry a whole enamel basin of crispy pork.
Feeling it wasn't enough, she boiled about ten more eggs.
After finishing dinner, it was only a little past nine o'clock. Ruan Miaomiao took out some parchment paper from her spatial storage, packed a few portions of fried crispy pork into it, and threw it into her spatial storage.
After that, he took out some hard currency, brown sugar, and poured out about half a pound.
By evening, although they hadn't spoken, Ruan Miaomiao had a vague guess in her mind: that was probably the person she was looking for.
Even if it weren't true, just for that identical face, she would still be willing to share something with this woman who was immersed in suffering...
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