The weather was getting colder now, so Qiu Yuling helped the old man clean out the unused large vat.
The machinery factory distributed winter cabbage, and she thought of pickling half a jar of pickles for the old man. In winter, he could eat it with some noodle soup or something, and it would taste good.
The old man went out again for a while when he heard this, and came back with a lot of cut lotus root, white radish, and carrots. "What do you think is missing?"
"Do you have Jerusalem artichokes and ground radish? Add a little of everything to change the taste."
"Then I don't know if it's possible. Wait for me to ask."
Qiu Yuling was busy with her work, and she didn't stop. Whether there was food or not, it would not affect the other vegetables. She would wash and cut them first.
The old man came back quickly this time, carrying a small bag. "We'll pickle more next week. We can pickle more. Old Zhao's relatives are in the suburbs and they can get this stuff."
"You don't need that much. There are only a few people in my family. I'm going back for the holidays, and you're the only one left. A little of everything is enough. If you make too much and don't eat it in time, it will become sour when the weather gets hot next year."
When the old man heard that he was the only one left, he became visibly unhappy.
"How about you come back to Qiuzhuang with me? Then we can dig up rabbit nests. I'm pretty good at catching sparrows."
Qiu Yuling later found out that the old man had gotten the doorman job by begging for it, and he didn't receive any salary, just to make a living.
If people don't pay and the money is used improperly, there will naturally be special people on duty. Whether he goes or not will never affect other people's work order.
That's why I invited him to go back to my hometown.
The old man was really moved, but he quickly rejected it, "Why would I go? We are not even related to each other, and it would be annoying during the New Year."
"How can we say we're not related? We're still related. If you think it's unfair, I can set up two tables for us."
"Don't tease me, old man. No, no, what if someone steals from my house? What if your aunt and her family come back this year..."
The old man gave a bunch of reasons, but he just refused to go.
Qiu Yuling gave up. The old man had his own concerns. Besides, the old man was not a lonely person, so it was not her turn to take care of him in his old age.
The few elderly people she met here all had the shadows of the elderly people in her family in the previous life, either by transference or by the current situation. In short, she took special care of them.
She said it, but it didn't affect her work. After the vegetables were stacked up, she placed a large stone that she had washed in advance on top. "It's done. I'll come over next week and take a look."
"Are you coming back today?"
"Yeah, there's morning training tomorrow. If I'm late, the teacher will punish me by making me do frog jumps all over the playground again."
The old man filled a bag with all kinds of snacks that Qiu Dahe brought over.
"I won't take it. You can eat it at home. Besides, I'm coming back. It's not like I'm going far away. If you act so old and eat all that, you won't have room for dinner."
Qiu Yuling coaxed him for a long time before he reluctantly took out half of it. The old man insisted that she take the remaining half with her, saying, "I'm an old man, how can I have the time to eat these..."
On the way, Qiu Yuling put all the snacks inside except for the biscuits which were placed outside. When she entered the dormitory and packed up her things, she handed each person a biscuit.
Everyone was happy and enjoyed the meal, laughing and joking.
"Yuling, do your relatives have any sweaters or trousers that you want to knit?" When Qiu Yuling got down from the upper bunk, Qiusha quickly stood up to catch her.
"No, I can get down by myself. It will be difficult for me to get down if you do this." Qiu Yuling refused help. It was ridiculous. She was not a child anymore. How could she ask someone to carry her down?
With my size and the other person's small body, I might not be able to catch her.
After she stopped and stood still, she explained to Qiusha that it was winter now and the work in the yard was not as busy as before. In addition, there was no wool left, so there was no work for the time being.
"Ah? Okay." Qiusha looked visibly disappointed. She was now good at knitting and might get some work. She was thinking of earning more money.
Qiu Yuling understood what she was thinking, but the principle of helping in emergencies but not in poverty applies to all times, and there is no shortage of cases where a little kindness is turned into a grudge.
She wouldn't say she understood human nature very well, but she wasn't willing to experiment with it herself either.
The dormitory is still the same dormitory, and the people are still the same people, but without these ties, everyone is obviously on their own, busy with their own things.
However, Li Feidan and Zhao Xiaogu still called her for everything as before.
One day during morning training, three people were doing handstands on the playground. Zhao Xiaogu spoke quickly and told her the gossip that happened in the dormitory when Qiu Yuling was not around.
"They say you're rich and go out to eat well every week. They also say your soap smells amazing and I wonder how much it cost you to buy it."
"Shut your mouth! Haven't you practiced well enough?" The teacher in charge heard the buzzing sound and yelled. Zhao Xiaogu swallowed the rest of his words and almost bit his tongue.
Qiu Yuling already felt that she was cautious enough. Except for putting malted milk in the cabinet once at the beginning of the first semester, she never did so again. She was not the only one who had oil tea. Bai Qiaolan and Li Feidan also fried some at home.
These girls bought soap and milk more frequently than she did. As for the cafeteria, she never ordered better food than others. Except for bringing meat to the group twice, one of the times was when Bai Qiaolan treated her and paid for it.
Moreover, Bai Qiaolan is the most beautiful, rich and attractive girl in the dormitory. Not only are her clothes patchless, but she also changes them all year round.
Li Feidan didn't look like she was in financial difficulty. Although she didn't live lavishly, her food, clothing, and other expenses in the dormitory were better than Qiu Yuling's.
There are also Zhao Xiaogu and Liu Xiaofang. Liu Xiaofang's father is the team leader. She also said that she has never been hungry since she was a child...
She didn't know where she had gone.
As for her clothes, she was not noticeable in the dormitory, only slightly better than Qiusha and Zhang Caiyue, because her clothes had no patches and she really didn't have any leftovers.
Seeing Qiu Yuling's unhappy expression, Li Feidan whispered, "Don't take it personally. Picking on others is just someone trying to stir up trouble."
After she gave Qiusha two dollars, Qiusha asked her to borrow money twice more. She didn't return it the first time, and she didn't agree the second time. Didn't she get a lot of complaints?
After the morning training, she told Qiu Yuling all these things in order to comfort her. Only then did Qiu Yuling realize that there were so many troubles when she was not around.
I was glad that I didn't give the ten dollars, which also gave me some peace of mind. In the future, I must always be careful not to act on impulse, as good intentions may not go unrewarded.
"She's clinging to Qiaolan so tightly that she even wants to wash her underwear. Qiaolan is also clueless and always helps with dishes. There's still half a piece of soap left, but she gave it to her without blinking an eye."
"That's right. She can't get any advantage from Zhang Caiyue. She and Zhang Caiyue are sometimes on good terms and sometimes off. Some days they're like conjoined twins, and other days they don't even talk to each other."
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