Her own parents were the same; they wanted to send her half of her father's monthly salary. She had to return the money twice before they stopped. She was probably the only one in the family who was living the best life.
"That's good. San Dan and Si Dan are still growing. I'm just worried that those two boys will get too hungry and it will delay their growth."
“No, my dad is here. We can’t let my two younger brothers go hungry.”
Grandma Qian nudged Qian Xiao: "Don't lie down, that kang is too cold. Light a couple of firewood this afternoon to warm yourself up."
"No, I'll go up the mountain tomorrow and see if I can get some more heat from the stove then, okay?" If the kang (heated brick bed) is heated in the afternoon, the heat won't dissipate at night, how will I sleep?
"Alright, alright, get up and move around a bit. There's some mung bean soup in the well, go have a bowl. The milk has lots of sugar in it. And there are popsicles made by your third aunt in the cellar, go get them if you want."
"Oh, we still have popsicles at home?" She's been back for three days, how come she only heard about it now?
"This isn't something you taught me last year. When the weather gets hot, your third aunt would put some ice in the cellar from time to time. If it got too hot, she could suck on a piece of ice to cool down."
"Tell me, it's like the sun is blazing down here." It feels like you could be cooked alive if you stood in the blazing sun right now.
Qian Xiao shuffled around in her shoes and got an ice pop. It wasn't sweet enough; if it weren't made with mung beans, it wouldn't have been much different from an icicle hanging from the eaves in winter. After eating one, Qian Xiao lost all desire for another. She preferred to just gulp down some mung bean water.
The next day, just as dawn broke, Qian Xiao took her household chores and went up the mountain. It wasn't too hot yet, so it was a good time.
Qian Xiao went up the mountain today with a purpose. She remembered there was a bamboo forest there, but she didn't know if it was still there. There aren't many places to see bamboo in the mountains of Northeast China. She was quite curious when she saw it the last time.
By the way, if there's a bamboo forest, there must be bamboo shoots or something. At that time, she hadn't regained her memory and couldn't remember that there was such a food. It would be good to go up the mountain when the season comes and get some different kinds of food.
After walking for almost two hours, Qian Xiao finally found the small bamboo grove she had come from. Perhaps because few people came here and no one thought of damaging it, the bamboo was of decent thickness, with the thickest being as thick as an adult's arm. She counted the number and thought it should be enough for her needs.
I just don't know if this pillar will ever grow back after she's ruined it. But I can't worry about that now, nothing is more important than people.
She didn't touch the bamboo for the time being, and went directly to the water source. The water source was almost deep in the mountains, and she didn't know where the source of the water was, but seeing that the stream had a fairly abundant water supply, Qian Xiao breathed a sigh of relief.
As long as this water source doesn't dry up, the villagers should have no problem safely weathering the famine.
On her way back to the village, Qian Xiao tried to walk in a straight line from the water source to the village. There were some obstacles along the way, but not many, and they could all be removed by manpower. When she reached the foot of the mountain, she didn't rush home. Instead, she calculated the shortest distance and walked to the ditch by the field.
He quickly calculated in his mind whether the longest possible extension of the bamboo in the bamboo forest would be sufficient.
"Hey, let me handle the calculations. I can give you an accurate answer in a second." Why does it seem like the host always forgets about it when it's doing something it can do? Are they still good partners?
"Ah! Shuangdan, you didn't go with Sun Kaicheng today? Didn't you say you really needed my help lately?" She wouldn't let Shuangdan know that she hadn't even remembered that Shuangdan existed.
"No need for help anymore. There's been a problem with the project over there. They say it can't be done now. Sun Kaicheng is getting ready to get on the bus and come over here." It still loves being a teacher, but the opportunity is temporarily gone.
"What? Why? Wasn't it supposed to be a pretty important project?" How could it suddenly fall apart? Could something terrible have happened?
"Who knows? They say something happened at the higher-ups and the project was halted, but I don't know the specifics," it said, showing no curiosity and not even asking.
"Oh, then remind me when Sun Kaicheng arrives, and I'll take the oxcart to pick him up."
"Okay, what are you doing? I came back and saw you measuring the land." When did its host develop such a hobby? Shouldn't it be lying down and avoiding the cool air right now?
"I was thinking that the river water wouldn't last long, but the water source on the mountain is quite plentiful. There's also a bamboo forest on the mountain. I was thinking of using those bamboos to make a water pipe to bring the water down from the mountain, would that work?"
“It’s not impossible, it’s a big project, but if everyone in your village comes to help, it will be quick. I actually investigated the water in your mountain when we followed someone in last time, and it’s from an underground river. The water source is definitely enough for your village.”
"That's great! I was really worried that after all that effort to bring the water down, it would dry up again in no time, which would be a real headache." If that happened, it would mean she had put in a lot of work for nothing, and she might even get blamed.
"I've already calculated the optimal distance for you, but I didn't see the bamboo forest, so it's difficult to calculate." When it comes to numerical calculations, Shuangdan dares to say that no one is second to none.
“I’ve calculated it out, and it’s more than enough. But this isn’t something I can decide on my own. I need to go back and talk to my grandfather, and we also need to see if the villagers agree.”
This is a big deal, not something a child like her can decide.
"By the way, why didn't Sun Kaicheng come directly from the space? If he had come directly, he would have saved on the train ticket and wouldn't have had to go through so much trouble."
“He said it’s not good to get used to it, and that it’ll be easy to let your guard down and let others notice something’s wrong. By the way, I brought you two packs of White Rabbit candy, it’s the reward Sun Kaicheng gave you this time.”
"Ah! Why are you asking for payment again? That's not right, we're still using their space." All things considered, it's actually still him who owes Sun Kaicheng a favor.
"Oh dear, this isn't what I wanted. He insisted on giving it to you. I guess he just gave it to you as a snack. Don't you love this candy the most? You said six pieces of candy are equivalent to a cup of milk. If you want to grow taller, shouldn't you drink more milk?"
Don't think that just because it's a system, it doesn't know that Sun Kaicheng has ill intentions towards its host. It's seen through Sun Kaicheng's tricks a long time ago, but it didn't tell the host in advance because it thought he was a good person and shared a secret with the host, plus he was generous.
It knew that this world was very different from interstellar space, and that women who remained single and never married would be scorned. It couldn't let its host suffer that.
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