Li Cuiying still remembered that Jiang Mengxue had just been craving for frozen pears and persimmons. Although they couldn't freeze them today, it was still okay to eat a few to satisfy her craving.
Jiang Mengxue also squatted at the entrance of the cellar and kept watch, shining a flashlight from above so that she could clearly see what was happening below.
There were already piles of Chinese cabbage, radishes, sweet potatoes, potatoes, even some winter melons and pumpkins, as well as some canned food.
Li Cuiying's voice came from below: "I learned to make some canned tomatoes from someone earlier. When there's no vegetables in the winter, I can use them to make soup or scrambled eggs. It can also improve the diet. Otherwise, if we eat radishes and cabbages every day all winter, the sight of them will make people want to vomit."
Jiang Mengxue had forgotten about this. Canned tomatoes can be kept for at least a year, and they can be used as a side dish when there are no vegetables to eat in winter.
Li Cuiying put the things in a basket and asked He Xiaoying to pull it up, and then she climbed up by herself.
"You guys wash and eat at home. I'll go to your second uncle's workplace this afternoon, and then I have to go back to the Women's Federation. I'll be back before dusk. You guys can do whatever you need to do at home."
"Second Mother, if you are in a hurry, just ride your bike there, and hurry up." Jiang Mengxue's bicycle has been left at home and no one rides it. Li Cuiying runs outside every day and spends most of her time on the road.
"No, it's still warm after a walk. Your second uncle's workplace is not far from us and we'll be there in a short while."
Li Cuiying washed her hands and patted her body with a towel. She was covered in dust after going downstairs.
"Okay, I'm leaving. You can just play here if you have nothing to do, old lady. I'm going to work."
Old Mrs. Tian sat comfortably in a chair basking in the sun, waving her hands without even opening her eyes.
Jiang Mengxue took some water from the bucket, washed a few pears, and gave one to He Xiaoying and the old lady respectively.
"You can try it too. We grow them in our yard back home. I've eaten one before and it was quite sweet."
I don't take care of the fruit trees I plant at home except for occasional pruning.
So the fruit is not very big, but it is quite sweet and full of juice.
"Sister Xiaoxue, this pear is so sweet." He Xiaoying had never eaten such sweet fruit.
When she was a child, she only picked some wild fruits at the foot of the mountain near her home.
But most of the time, the wild fruits are picked by the children in the village before they can ripen.
He Xiaoying picked some wild vegetables a few times when she went out to dig them. It was rare for her to come across one that was a little sweet, which would make her happy for a long time.
But every time she encountered it, she would hide and eat it secretly.
Because if she brought it home, her stepmother would definitely search for it and give it to her younger brothers and sisters, and she would definitely not be able to eat any of it.
At that time, my wish was that as long as I grew up and got married, I would no longer have to live a life of hunger and cold.
He Xiaoying is not very willing to think about her past life now. She just needs to know that she is living a good life now and will live an even better life in the future, and her heart is full of hope.
Old Mrs. Tian only has a few teeth left, and she is still grinding her teeth slowly with the few in front.
"It's quite sweet, much sweeter than the wild fruits picked from the mountains. Cuiying and her husband always bring back a lot of them when they go home every year."
In the past, if the couple couldn’t finish the food they brought home, they would share some with their neighbors, but this year Li Cuiying was reluctant to share it.
She originally planned to make some canned food or wait until winter to make frozen pears and persimmons for Jiang Mengxue to eat.
When winter comes here, supplies are very scarce. Either they can't get enough to eat, or fruits like this are extremely scarce.
Old Mrs. Tian took a long time to finish the whole pear, then washed her hands in a basin and prepared to go home.
"You youngsters, have fun by yourselves. I'm old and need to take a nap in the afternoon. I'm going home."
Jiang Mengxue only came back after she sent her to the gate.
"Xiaoying, what are you planning to do this afternoon? Do you want to rest at home or go out for a walk?"
He Xiaoying has no place to stay now. The house allocated to her is already under renovation. She just wants to go and take a look and clean it.
"I'm planning to go check on my house. I don't know how the renovations are going. I want to clean it up first so I don't have to rush to move when the time comes."
Jiang Mengxue could understand her happiness of having her own house.
No matter how small or shabby the house is, as long as it is a private space that belongs entirely to you, it is something worth being happy about no matter what.
"Then I'll go with you to help. I don't even know where you are yet, so I won't know where to look for you if I want to."
Jiang Mengxue was not very familiar with the area, and could not find any other places except her home, the hospital, or the supply and marketing cooperative.
Especially the neighbors nearby, there are more than a dozen families living in this row.
It's a bit like they are at a crossroads, with rows of houses on both sides of the intersection.
The Gu family lives in the second row, yard number one, on the left side of the road.
The house that He Xiaoying was assigned was on the right side, going straight in to the sixteenth yard in the seventeenth row.
There are several families living in their yard.
There are two families living in the three main rooms, and two families also living in the two side rooms.
He Xiaoying's house is the third room of the side house. It used to be a vegetable garden and was only built by someone in the past two months.
The yard was quite lively when they arrived.
The women in these families are at home taking care of the children and doing housework, and at this time they are sitting in the yard to bask in the sun.
In He Xiaoying's room, someone was hammering and repairing the roof.
As soon as the two of them came in, the women from other families noticed them.
Several of them had ideas about this house from the beginning, and when they started preparing to build the house, they asked people from the Housing Authority.
But at least they still have a house to live in, even if it is not spacious and they are not eligible for an extra room.
Everyone lived in the same yard and was worried that the property would be divided among one of the families. The atmosphere between the families was a bit subtle during that time.
For any of these families, as long as the house is not given to the people in the yard, it doesn't matter to whom it is given.
But if any one of the families in the yard is assigned the property, the other families will feel unbalanced.
So when they learned that the house was given to He Xiaoying, they did not object.
Moreover, everyone lives nearby and knows what He Xiaoying has experienced. Especially as a woman, they can understand her current situation better.
So when He Xiaoying came over these two days, they were all quite enthusiastic.
"Xiaoying is here. Come in and sit down. They're still fixing it. You brought a broom with you. Are you planning to clean the house today?"
Jiang Mengxue didn't recognize them, so she walked to the door of He Xiaoying's room and looked inside.
Two men were standing on the kang and pasting newspapers on the wall. Not only was the room full of dust, even the straw mat on the kang was already prepared.
The floor and kang were swept spotlessly clean, and half of the room was covered with newspapers, making the whole room look very tidy.
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