On the 16th day of the twelfth lunar month, Zhou Bing asked Han Chen to drive a tractor to take him to the county town to take a bus. When Han Chen returned to the commune from the county town, he went to the supply and marketing cooperative to say hello to Xuemei.
Although the village collectively earned more money this year than last year, after paying off the debt for buying tractors and keeping some spare money, the village's income is almost the same as last year.
So this year, the wage for a worker in Liujia Village was still 13 cents, and Zhou Bing agreed with the village cadres to use the money to buy food when he returned home. Therefore, Zhou Bing only asked for 30 to 40 kilograms of rice to take back, and he exchanged the rest for cash.
Zhou Bing sent his quilt, clothes and other items back in a package, and carried a large backpack with rice and some important items in it. He also carried a large iron pot in one hand.
After Xuemei got off work, Han Chen took out a small iron pot from a room in the new blue brick house.
It is not convenient to buy an iron pot now. You need an industrial ticket. Iron pots are small in quantity and expensive. An iron pot with a diameter of 16 cm costs six yuan.
Xuemei and Han Chen have been waiting for the supply and marketing cooperative to buy iron pots for the past few months, but the few that came to the cooperative were all reserved by the leaders above, and two of them never even showed up at the supply and marketing cooperative and were gone.
Xuemei looked at the small iron pot with a diameter of 20 centimeters in front of her with a look of surprise in her eyes. She asked, "Where did you get this iron pot?"
Han Chen replied, "This is the smaller of the two iron pots Zhou Bing brought from home. He said one would be enough for him, so I bought the smaller one. I took twelve yuan from your money box and gave Zhou Bing two industrial tickets!"
"It's a good buy. Our family is just in need of an iron pot. After the spring comes, we can make some earthen bricks and build a kitchen. Then we can boil water and wash ourselves here." Xuemei picked up the iron pot and took a look. It was enough to cook food for six or seven people.
Han Chen smiled and said, "I was afraid you would say I overpaid. That's what I was thinking too!"
Xuemei said a little embarrassedly. "No, it's quite suitable. It's cheaper at the supply and marketing cooperative, but it's hard to find. This iron pot looks quite new, and it would cost at least fifteen yuan outside. We took advantage of Zhou Zhiqing, and he even gave us a wedding gift!"
Han Chen hugged Xuemei's shoulders and said, "It's okay. I'm taking him to the county town for free today. I paid for the tractor's fuel myself.
Oh, I forgot to tell you. I even took the pound of grain coupons you left at home and bought him a pound of steamed buns at the state-owned restaurant. I figured he was in a hurry and wouldn't have time to prepare much food for the journey.
"That's fine, but it's better not to take advantage of others." Xuemei had just finished answering when she noticed Qingya and the other two were secretly leaning against the doorway, observing what she and Han Chen were doing.
Xuemei patted the hand on her shoulder, and Han Chen also noticed those three guys who loved to join in the fun. Xuemei was more shy than him and was not used to having some intimate actions in the presence of her family.
Han Chen took his hand off Xuemei's shoulder and glanced at Ruirui and the other three. The three little ones ran back to their room, and then Han Chen took Xuemei's hand and went into the room.
Han Chen pulled Xuemei to sit down, and then said, "Xuemei, there is something else I need to tell you!"
"What's the matter? Tell me!" Xuemei asked.
"Zhou Bing, asked me for a favor before leaving today?" Han Chen said a little embarrassedly.
Xuemei felt that it was not a good thing when she heard it. She looked at Han Cheng and motioned him to continue.
Han Chen took a sip of water and continued, "He told me to write to him every few months. He wanted to know about Shengnan's situation! He also said he wouldn't disturb her life, he just wanted to know how she was doing."
Xuemei frowned and was silent for a moment, then asked, "You didn't agree to him, did you?"
"I didn't agree to him on the spot. I felt that this matter concerned Shengnan. I told him that I would come back to discuss it with you. I rejected him tactfully. He should understand what I meant, right?" Han Chen said a little distressedly.
Xuemei breathed a sigh of relief and said, "It's good that she didn't agree! Hesitant decisions lead to chaos. This isn't fair to his fiancée either. If he wants to marry someone else, he should be more careful. And don't bring a bad influence to my Shengnan!"
Han Chen also nodded, a little worried.
"I think he can be quite stubborn sometimes. Will he write to me again and ask about Shengnan?"
"Just don't write to Shengnan. If he wants to write to you, he can write. Anyway, we just don't have to reply to any letters about Shengnan. In the future, I will pay more attention to letters about our village in the public society! Don't worry too much!" Xuemei said.
Now most of the villagers ask her to bring back their letters.
After Liu Xiu learned about Zhou Bing's affairs, he flew into a rage at home and even planned to ask Zhou Bing for an explanation. Wasn't this teasing her daughter Shengnan? Because of this, Yanan hurried to the Liu family and asked Liu's father and mother to persuade Liu Xiu.
Later, under the persuasion of Liu's parents, Liu Xiu did not go to Zhou Bing to settle the score privately. Liu Xiu also thought it through and was afraid that if someone accidentally heard their conversation during the trip to the educated youth center, Shengnan's reputation would be ruined.
Liu Xiu was also relieved that only his family knew about Shengnan and Zhou Bing's mess. At the same time, Liu Xiu was also afraid that this matter would be exposed by someone unknown to them one day. After Zhou Bing left, he began to rush to find a son-in-law for Shengnan.
Shengnan was in no mood to do anything, but Liu Xiu refused to listen, believing that the incident between her and Zhou Bing was caused by Shengnan's disobedience. Liu Xiu was now full of energy and was asking around the village about young men from different villages. No one could persuade him.
If it wasn't too late this year, Liu Xiu would have started looking for Shengnan again. However, Shengnan couldn't hide for much longer, as Liu Xiu had already made an appointment with someone to start looking for a date on the third day of the first lunar month next year.
Yanan secretly complained to Qingya several times, saying that her mother wanted her sister to find a son-in-law who would live with the family. She had become obsessed with it. Now every day when she came back from work at the tofu shop, she would pull her sister aside to nag about this matter. Her sister's ears were covered with calluses several centimeters thick from all the listening.
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