Chapter 68 I want to send something back
Wen Wan read Lao Wen's letter over and over again, then folded it up again and put it together with the letter from her uncle and placed it at the bottom of her backpack.
She felt her health didn't require daily powdered milk. She could use up the milk sent by her family and her grandparents if she was frugal. She had a lot of stuff. Living alone was fine for now, but she wondered if the educated youth would move in later. She didn't know if the team had any carpenters, so she thought it would be best to build a box and put everything in it for safekeeping.
Apart from milk powder, clothes were easy to buy. She had a half-person-high work cloth backpack filled with her clothes. She tried them on herself and folded them into the backpack. She also tried on the shoes and found they fit her feet perfectly.
What was left were a few boxes of vanishing cream, a large bag of candy, and a few pairs of the most popular hairbands and hairpins in the capital. She put them away in a cloth bag.
Finally, there were the tapes and various tickets sent from both sides.
In addition to the radio tickets given by Uncle Xu San, there were also wool tickets, cloth tickets, sugar tickets, grain tickets, meat tickets, and a lot of non-staple food tickets.
Old Wen gave her a lot of food coupons, meat coupons and cloth coupons. She had been gone for only two months. I guess Old Wen sent her the allowances and New Year subsidies issued by the military region during these two months. I don't know if that woman made a fuss.
Wen Wan was a little worried, but she only worried for a while and then stopped caring. Old Wen brought this upon himself, so there was no point in others worrying.
The rest were given by the Xu family. She didn't tell them when she left, but she sent a lot of things this time.
Wen Wan was sorting while wondering whether she should send something back.
Although the Xu family is not short of money, they cannot lack the thoughtfulness.
Perhaps because she had received a package from home, she hadn't slept well all night. When she did fall asleep, she kept dreaming. She dreamed that she was still in the capital compound, and her mother was there, sitting by the piano with a smile and saying to her, "Anbao, you played this part wrong. Listen to how your mother plays it."
The sound of Liu Changqing and Wang Jianmao talking outside did not wake her up. After cooking, the two men came out to see that her door was still the same. After thinking about it, they reached out and knocked on her door.
Wen Wan finally woke up from her dream. She rubbed her eyes for a long time before opening them. The room was already bright. She was suddenly awake. Oh no, she got up too late.
She got up, folded the quilt as quickly as she had ever done in her life, didn't even comb her braids, brushed her teeth, wiped her face roughly, locked the door and ran away.
Liu Changqing stood at the entrance of the shed, holding a bowl and smiling: "It's only been a short time, and there are only two of us left again."
Wang Jianmao scooped a mouthful of rice and swallowed it, saying, "Normal. All good things must come to an end."
"When I went back home for the Lunar New Year, my family repeatedly mentioned the idea of dating. Tell me, were we wrong to hold out for all these years?" At the time, four educated youth arrived in Lujiazui. Two of the women, due to family ties and the hardships of mountain life, found partners with members of the production team within two months and moved in with them. Now they have children everywhere. He and Wang Jianmao were the only ones who persisted, convinced they could return to the city and determined not to settle down here forever. However, it was easier to come here than to return. Theirs was just an ordinary working-class family, and without connections, it was difficult to return.
Year after year, when I go back home for the New Year, my family tells me that if things don't work out, I should just find someone in the mountains. I can't just waste time like this, unable to return to the city and not finding a partner. For men and women alike, youth is such a fleeting period.
After the New Year, two educated youth who had only been here for a few months were both dating here, and his determination collapsed in an instant.
Wang Jianmao smiled and said, "What's the matter? Are you planning to settle down here? We've been waiting for so many years. It won't hurt to wait a little longer, right? Besides, it's already spring and there's no weather. I heard that some educated youth will come here soon. If you really want to date, try to find someone who is educated. Regardless of whether you have something in common, it will save you a lot of trouble if you really need to go back in the future."
He wasn't planning on going out for the time being; he had already arranged his own future. This year, the team had a spot available for admission to the Workers, Peasants, and Soldiers University, which required a vote by the members and the signatures of the team leader and others. He had already done all the necessary work. During his years of being sent down to the countryside, he had been diligent and unslacking, and he was also very friendly and had never had a quarrel. He felt confident that he would secure the spot.
Liu Changqing nodded. "You have a point. It's been a few years, so there's no need to rush." When looking for a partner, no matter where you look, you have to find someone who is suitable. He originally had some interest in Wen Wan, but since she was already dating someone on the team, he should give up the idea.
We’ll talk about it when the time comes!
Wen Wan arrived at the Lu family in one breath. Lu Mingjiang and the others had just finished cooking. Zhang Hongying was still muttering, wondering why no one had appeared all morning. Lu Dongping said he would go and check, and as soon as he walked out of the kitchen, he saw her panting and going out into the yard.
Lu Dongping smiled and said, "I was just about to go to the educated youth center to call you. Maybe you were so happy last night that you overslept, and you just happened to come."
Wen Wan came up to him panting: "I just overslept. If Liu Changqing and the others hadn't knocked on the door and called me, I don't know when I would have gone to bed!"
Lu Dongping looked at her and was slightly stunned: "Don't be so anxious, I'll just go and call you in the morning next time." The little girl was really anxious today. She didn't even comb her braids, and her hair was furry, which was very cute. But her eyes——
His eyes weren't as bright as before, and there was a dark spot on one side, and it was a little swollen.
"What time did you go to bed last night? Why are your eyes so swollen?"
Before Wen Wan could reply, she heard Zhang Hongying shouting from inside the house: "Lu Dongping, what's wrong with you? Wen Wan is here, why did you let her in? It's cold outside, why don't you come inside and talk about it?"
Lu Dongping raised his eyebrows and pointed inside the house: "Come in, the meal is ready."
Wen Wan had finally caught her breath and followed him into the house to eat. After dinner, Lu Mingjiang left first because Zhang Hongying was going to feed the pigs. Wen Wan took this opportunity to tidy up her hair.
Working together was quick. In just a few days, potatoes were planted on a slope. Only two locations were prepared, so the work was completed in a week.
After the potatoes were planted, the land reserved for the winter last year to be used for planting early corn began to be cleaned up. Plowing the land and carrying manure were the men's jobs, so the women were temporarily free and then went to work on their own private plots.
Lu Dongping's family has less than three mu of private land, which was dug out bit by bit with a hoe in the early years. There is a piece at the doorstep, next to it, and a little bit under the yard.
There are also green onions, garlic sprouts and other things in the ground. Those that are edible can be left alone for now. Some radishes and other things can be left for later growth, flowering and seeds. The rest can be pulled up and the soil cleared.
Lu Mingjiang had to go to work, so he could only dig twice in his private plot in the morning and evening. The rest was done by Zhang Hongying herself. It wasn't much, just more than 30 kilograms of potatoes. Wen Wan helped her to pick the potatoes, and they were done in two days.
It was Sunday when they finished their work. The night before, at dinner, Lu Chun'e asked Wen Wan to go with her to pick grass for the pigs the next day. "We went out after breakfast. There was grass everywhere in the wheat fields by the river. By the afternoon, our backpacks were full. It was just one work point, but little by little it adds up!"
Wen Wan naturally had no objection to having someone to keep her company. Although she didn't rely on those work points to make a living, she couldn't give the team change at the end of the year. That would be too embarrassing.
After agreeing, she hesitated for a long time before calling Zhang Hongying: "Aunt, I want to discuss something with you!"
Seeing her like this and her tone, Zhang Hongying felt her eyelids twitching a bit. She glanced at Lu Dongping twice, and seeing that he was also confused and didn't know anything, she became even more panicked. "What's the matter? Tell me."
Wen Wan reorganized her words and blurted out what she had been thinking about for days: "Well, my family sent me a lot of things, not just my dad, but my grandparents, uncles, and aunts as well. I figured it wouldn't be nice to just take something from others without showing any gratitude, and I can't think of anything I can buy to send back to them. So, I was thinking, your family has smoked meat, can I use the money and meat coupons to exchange for some bacon and send it back?"
Although she didn't mean to take advantage of anyone, it still felt difficult to say this.
Zhang Hongying was stunned for a moment, then laughed out loud: "Girl, I didn't think it was a big deal, you scared me. I just wanted to send some bacon home, it's not a big deal, I'll ask Dongping to pack it up for you and send it back." She was just worrying about how to get along with Wen Wan's family, and Wen Wan's words were like a pillow given to someone when they were sleepy.
Although the pig slaughtered at home is not big, there are still some bones and meat there. If you eat less at home, be frugal, do enough favors for others, and increase the number of people you know, it is also very cost-effective.
Wen Wan hurriedly shook her head: "That's not what I meant. I might be asking for a bit too much. I'll pay for it with money, and I have meat coupons. If you can sell it to me, you can calculate with my uncle how much bacon can be smoked out of one pound of pork. If your family can't spare that much, can you help me ask who's willing to sell it to you? That's fine too."
In the past, Old Wen always talked about how delicious the bacon smoked in the mountains was. She was in the mountains now, and he would definitely be very happy if she could get some of this and send it back.
If it’s sent from home, then there must be some at the Xu family’s end, as there are so many people in that family!
Zhang Hongying glanced at Lu Dongping, who nodded quietly at her. She probably understood a little and turned around to agree: "You girl, why are you so distant? If you insist on this, it's fine. I'll discuss it with your uncle later and give you a definite answer tomorrow."
"Oh! Thank you, aunt!" It's settled, the big stone in my heart fell to the ground.
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