The brigade leader arranged for people to drive oxcarts to the hay yard to dump hay, while Xu Yan and several male educated youths headed towards the educated youth settlement.
The male educated youth were in high spirits, constantly saying how wonderful it would be if they didn't have to work or bask in the sun anymore.
Xu Yan's lips twitched.
When Zhou Jingjing spoke to the captain earlier, she noticed that everyone's expressions were a bit strange, so she quietly asked Xie Zhu a few questions.
really.
There's no such thing as a free lunch!
Zhou Jingjing and the others only knew that the educated youth in that village did not have to work in the fields, but they did not know that it was not that they did not want to work, but that there was no land for them to work in!
What they call one meal a day is just plain water, and sometimes they don't even get that.
Most of the female educated youth in that village couldn't endure it and married villagers, just hoping to have enough to eat and survive.
Judging from Wu Shi's tone now, it seems as if they won't have to do anything in the future, and the Qingshan Brigade will take care of them.
Xu Yan didn't want to get involved in their affairs. Fortunately, she was about to move out of here, otherwise there would be a lot of trouble later.
She walked quickly into the educated youth settlement, put down the hoe she was carrying, and went to the window of her dormitory to look at the water that had been drying in the sun when she left that morning.
In the north, the summer sun is so strong that even enamel basins get scorching hot, let alone water.
Xu Yan carried the water into the house, bolted the door shut, and then took off his straw hat to begin washing it.
The walls of the bungalow were thin and not soundproof. You could hear the male educated youth rushing into the kitchen. After a while, someone stood in the yard and called "Brother Han" a few times, but Han Xiaoyu was not at the educated youth settlement.
Xu Yan didn't pay much attention. After washing up and changing into clean clothes, she took the water out and splashed it at the front door.
As she put the basin back in its place, Wu Shi suddenly stood in front of her.
Xu Yan looked up at him, then straightened up and walked towards the kitchen.
She hasn't cooked for herself these past two days, and has mostly been eating peach shortbread and honey-glazed pastries.
On the one hand, she had never used this kind of rural earthen stove before and didn't know how to use it, only managing to light a fire and boil some water; on the other hand...
The kitchen at the educated youth settlement was small, with only one stove. Cooking in it during the summer was an ordeal. Once the fire was lit, the temperature inside felt seven or eight degrees higher than under the sun.
So Xu Yan usually just eats whatever he can in his dorm room and doesn't want to go inside and experience a sauna.
Today, while Zhou Jingjing and the others weren't back and the kitchen wasn't too hot yet since the stove wasn't on, she wanted to boil some water to soak the peach shortbread in.
"Xu Yan!"
Before Xu Yan even stepped into the kitchen, Wu Shi called out to her.
Xu Yan ignored him and went straight into the kitchen.
Then he scooped a ladleful of water into the pot, covered it with the lid, squatted down, picked up some wheat straw from the ground, put it into the stove, and found some matches to start a fire.
Because she rarely used matches before, it took her four or five matches to finally get a fire going.
“You’ve really changed,” Wu Shi said, somewhat annoyed by Xu Yan’s attitude. He followed her to the doorway and said, “You used to be so kind, unlike now…”
“I’m kinder now,” Xu Yan turned to him and gave him a fake smile.
“I didn’t follow you around asking for money every day, nor did I call the police to arrest all of you robbers.”
"I'm so kind!"
Xu Yan emphasized the following sentence.
When she mentioned money again, Wu Shi became extremely angry.
But just as he had said, Xu Yan had changed. She was no longer as easy to talk to as before, and she had become sharper.
Most importantly...
She became less concerned about Han Xiaoyu.
In the past, whenever Han Xiaoyu was mentioned, Xu Yan had to fawn over him and give him gifts before he would reluctantly say a few good words about her in front of Han Xiaoyu when he was in a good mood.
Xu Yan no longer cares about Han Xiaoyu.
That's when he realized that this person actually had this kind of personality.
"What are you still standing at the door for?" Xu Yan stuffed another handful of firewood into the stove, turned around and saw Wu Shi was still there, and said, "Are you planning to pay back the money now?"
Wu Shi is gone.
Oh.
Xu Yan sneered. Did he really want to come over and try to manipulate her?
That day, Song Guangming said he would give them three months to repay the money. At that time, she had just transmigrated and did not know much about the Qingshan Brigade. She was also bound by the original plot and could not refute Han Xiaoyu's words, so she acquiesced.
I figured three months is three months.
But judging from what happened in the field today, they'll be lucky if they don't starve to death, let alone pay her back in three months.
She needs to find another way to get the money back as soon as possible, because she feels most secure when the money is in her own hands.
Xu Yan thought about it casually.
On the other side.
Xie Zhuo's routine after returning home was similar to Xu Yan's, except that he took a shower directly in the yard.
He took off his shirt and threw it into the large porcelain basin used for washing clothes. He stood shirtless in the shade and buried his entire head in the basin.
Da Bao and Xiao Bao stood on the sidelines watching the excitement.
Seeing Xie Zhuo blow a few bubbles at the bottom of the basin, Xiao Bao immediately reached his hand into the basin, trying to catch the bubbles.
"Third Uncle, Third Uncle, more!"
Xiao Bao giggled.
That's how kids are; they forget things so easily. One day they were afraid their third uncle wouldn't like them and didn't dare to get close to him, but today they're reaching out their dirty little hands to touch his face.
Xie Zhuo exhaled into the water again before suddenly lifting his head.
Water droplets splashed onto the faces of the two little kids next to him, while the rest slid down his face, over his firm waist and abdomen, and continued downwards.
Da Bao and Xiao Bao were taken aback by his sudden action. They paused for a moment before laughing and sticking their hands to Xie Zhuo's pants, intending to use them to wipe their faces.
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