Chapter 25 Let Wen Wan come to live with us
After signing and stamping their fingerprints at the accountant's office, they weighed out their own rations, putting the staple food in snakeskin bags. Lu Mingjiang and the other two carried the potatoes and sweet potatoes directly back home in backpacks. They still couldn't carry them all in one trip, so they had to pile them with the food bags, next to Lu Minghai's.
With Wen Wan watching over it and Lu Dongping also here, there is no need to worry about anyone coming and taking it away.
Lu Mingjiang and his family ran back and forth several times before they got all the food back. Even though it was freezing cold and they were sweating, their faces were filled with satisfied smiles.
After the grain was transported, Lu Dongping was still busy. Wen Wan looked around and didn't see Liu Changqing and the others, so she simply went back.
She planned to buy some fine grains while the rations were just being distributed, but she was still unfamiliar with many of the people in the team, so she had to ask Lu Dongping for help.
As for why she didn't look for Liu Changqing or Wang Jianmao, well, she didn't know why, she just didn't think of it.
Since we are busy, let’s talk about it another day!
I found a bag and went to the edge of the wheat field. I wandered around for the whole afternoon and came back with a cloth bag of wild onions and shepherd's purse.
It was originally Zhu Feng's job to cook, but Zhu Feng and Wang Jianmao were nowhere to be seen at the moment, probably because they had gone up the mountain. Wen Wan was the only one at the educated youth site, so she scooped up some food from her room and cooked dinner.
After several turns of cooking, she is now very experienced in making this kind of corn grits porridge.
She has a good grasp of how much water to add to the pot and how much food to put in.
When the rice in the pot became slightly thick, she turned off the open fire in the stove, then poured all the chopped wild vegetables into the pot and stirred them with some salt.
With wild vegetables and salt, the taste will be much better, and things that taste good always make people happy.
The only thing that makes people uncomfortable is that washing vegetables makes your hands too cold...
When had she ever done this? It was winter, and her two originally white and tender little paws had several blisters on their palms because of clearing the land. After the blisters healed, a thin layer of calluses formed.
This was not the worst. The worst thing was her hands. After washing the vegetables, they were frozen like carrots. When she put them on the stove, they were burned and it hurt like fire.
She wanted to cry again. If she had known earlier, she would not have cooked so diligently.
This is simply not a life for human beings.
When Lu Dongping came, Wen Wan was the only one at the educated youth center. The little girl was squatting behind the stove. Even though she was wearing a thick cotton jacket, she looked so small squatting there, pouting and looking at her hands, looking pitiful.
He stood at the narrow entrance of the shed and coughed softly: "Why are you alone?"
Wen Wan turned around and stood up: "They should have gone up the mountain? I haven't seen them all day today. Are you done with your work?"
As she spoke, she had already reached the entrance of the shed. It was too crowded inside, so she planned to go outside to talk to Lu Dongping, but for some reason, Lu Dongping just stood there at the entrance without moving.
"I'm done. I heard Chun'e say you have something to talk to me about?"
Of course, it wasn't Lu Chun'e who said that. He had heard from that loudmouth Lu Donglin that Wen Wan had gone there at noon, had been queuing with them, and had even asked about him. So, he was so happy that he rushed to the educated youth station again after finishing his work without even eating.
"ah?"
Wen Wan looked up at her and said, "It's nothing serious. We're distributing rations today. I thought since you're on the team and we know each other well, could you help me find out who has fine grains for sale? I'd like to buy some."
Lu Dongping lowered his eyes, watching her rubbing her hands until they were as red as carrots, and frowned slightly: "What's the point of buying fine grains? The four of you are eating from one pot, how are you going to cook some fine grains? Do you have the time to cook for yourself? And cook for everyone? How much food would that take?"
Wen Wan was stunned for a moment. She had never thought about these things!
Lu Dongping sighed: "It's getting late, I'm going back first. I won't go to the commune tomorrow, I want to go up the mountain, will you come with me?"
Wenwan nodded dejectedly.
Lu Dongping looked at her listless appearance, then at her huddled hands, frozen like carrots, and felt a pang of heartache. But he also knew that it was useless to feel sorry for her now. At this moment, he hadn't caught her, and without a clear relationship, there was very little he could do.
"Go to the stove and warm up. I'll go back and find a solution for you. Don't be unhappy, okay?"
Wenwan nodded.
She was so well behaved that he couldn't control his hands and wanted to touch her.
He pinched his palm with his fingers, turned around and left.
After returning home, the whole family gathered around the fire and started eating. He also scooped a bowl for himself, sat down near the back door and said, "Mom, I just went to the educated youth camp, and I was thinking about asking Wen Wan to come and eat with us!"
Zhang Hongying was stunned for a moment, and it took her a long time to swallow the food she had shoveled into her mouth. "Are you crazy? You're inviting someone to your house to share meals before we even start dating. Have you asked Wen Wan about her opinion? What if she disagrees? It's just a matter of an extra bowl of water, but if she looks down on you in the future and you two can't succeed, you'll be laughed at to death!"
Lu Dongping scoffed. "You're overthinking it. It's not uncommon for educated youth in other brigades to share meals with members. They eat what we eat, and we pay them the public grain price with cash and coupons. What's the problem? What does this have to do with success?" His family was considered middle-class and relatively well-off within the brigades. They received a few hundred kilograms of grain each year, supplemented by some from the mountains and their own private plots. He also received a monthly subsidy from the commune, so his family fared better than most.
It is impossible to eat big fish and meat, and it is not realistic to eat white rice and fine noodles for every meal, but it is not necessary to eat grits porridge for two meals a day.
He remembered Wen Wan clearly when she first arrived. Her face was rosy white, as if it would ooze water if you touched it gently. It had only been about two weeks, but her face had already started to turn yellow. It wasn't cracked by the mountain wind like most of the other members of the team, but it still made him feel uncomfortable. Especially when he had just passed by and accidentally saw her red hands from the cold, his heart felt even worse.
The little girl doesn't know anything. She must have suffered a lot coming to the countryside from the big city.
She is not used to eating corn grits porridge every day, but this is the situation now, and many families cannot even guarantee that they will have corn grits porridge all year round.
Therefore, it is completely impossible to eat something different while staying at the educated youth camp.
Then let her live with me at home. I can take care of her better and spend more time with her.
As for whether Wen Wan would agree, he was sure that she would agree.
The next day was a sunny day. It was bright outside just after the sky began to brighten.
Lu Dongping woke up as soon as it was light outside and kicked Lu Donglin: "Wake up!"
Lu Donglin groaned as he crawled out of the quilt: "Why do we have to go to school? It's freezing cold and we have to get up before dawn. It's killing me."
After saying this, seeing that Lu Dongping ignored him, he thought it was meaningless, so he put on his cotton-padded jacket, picked up the book bag and went outside.
Lu Chun'e also got up.
Lu Donglin got some charcoal that he had saved at home, put some of it in his pocket and put some of it in a rotten enamel pot.
The enamel pot is tied with wire and can be carried by hand.
He got some wheat straw to start the fire. The charcoal he had made at home was easy to burn, and after the wheat straw burned, several pieces of it turned red.
Lu Chun'e lowered her voice and called out to him: "Are you leaving or not? If not, I'll leave first. I'm going to be late!" She was attending junior high school in the commune, and Lu Donglin was attending elementary school in the brigade, which was much closer than her.
Lu Donglin threw the book bag to her: "Help me hold it, I'll shake the fire, it doesn't seem too strong."
Having said that, he followed her out and rushed from the small road to the main road below in a hurry.
As soon as the brother and sister left, Lu Dongping got up, went to the back of the eaves and dragged a large tree stump into the house, then went out and brought in some thin firewood to start the fire. Only after the fire was started did Lu Mingjiang and his wife get up.
Lu Dongping sat by the fire and warmed himself before saying, "Dad, are you going up the mountain to chop firewood today?"
Lu Mingjiang took out the palm leaves that were lining his shoes, roasted them, and put them back in. As he put on his shoes, he said, "You go. I won't be going for the next two days. Before the New Year, I'll plow the land and turn it over while the weather is good. After I hand in my assignment, I'll see if there's any manure left. I'll add more so I can plant potatoes in the spring."
Lu Dongping agreed, and that was what he meant.
Zhang Hongying asked, "Dongping, was what you said yesterday true?"
"What's the matter?" Lu Dongping glanced towards the stove.
"It's about asking that young educated youth to come over and live with us."
Lu Dongping nodded: "Really, it's more real than real gold. Cook lunch. I'll talk to her about the extra bowl of water after breakfast."
Lu Mingjiang glanced at him and said, "I've made it clear to you. This relationship is for marriage, and marriage is for life. You have to think it through. Don't get carried away and regret it later, causing chaos at home. Just because I don't care about you now doesn't mean I can't control you."
Lu Dongping said, "I know. I'm an adult, but I don't know that finding a partner is a lifelong thing. Because it's a lifelong thing, a big deal, I have to find someone I like. I absolutely can't just make do with whatever is available."
"Anyway, just pay attention to me."
Lu Dongping snorted twice: "What else do you want to say? Say it all at once, or else you won't give them a cold shoulder when they come back."
Lu Mingjiang snorted coldly and didn't bother to pay attention to him. He got up and went outside.
It seems that if you are sure that the girl will be willing to come.
After breakfast, Lu Dongping took a brown rope and a hatchet and went out directly to the educated youth site.
Wen Wan had just finished her meal.
Liu Changqing and several other educated youth were preparing to go to the mountains to chop firewood. There was only one machete at the educated youth camp, which was purchased by Liu Changqing and Wang Jianmao together. They also twisted several brown ropes, and each of them took one and prepared to go out.
Wen Wan is trying out her backpack.
Lu Changfa's father had good craftsmanship. When he asked for a smaller backpack, he really made a small one. It was much smaller than the normal backpacks used in the team.
Even so, Wen Wan felt a little uncomfortable carrying the child on her back. She always felt like there was something pressing on her back and she couldn't straighten her waist.
Wang Jianmao asked her at the door: "Would you like to walk around the nearby mountains by yourself or come with us?"
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