Chapter 10: The conditions are clear and life is going smoothly
Qi Fang was a little suspicious that Yan Xue couldn't even wait for him to have a holiday, so she left first.
After all, considering the young lady's style of running over without even saying hello, it is really possible for her to do it.
He walked back to the front desk along the corridor painted green skirting and asked the dozing waiter, "Has the resident of Room 103 left?"
"That pretty lady you mentioned?" Since there were few people staying at the Forest Farm Guesthouse, the waiter immediately thought of her. "She's not gone. She left this morning."
You didn't leave?
She just went out this morning, and it's almost noon now. Where can she go when she is unfamiliar with the place?
Just as I was about to ask, the waiter over there seemed to have expected it, "She went to Liu Daniu's house. If anyone asks me, just tell them so."
She also anticipated that he would come to see her when he returned today, so she made preparations in advance.
Qi Fang was a little confused about what Yan Xue was up to. She knew he was coming but she wasn't at the guesthouse. Could it be that she was too bored and went to Captain Liu's house to kill time?
He asked Aunt Liu to help look after the child, but given the backgrounds and educational levels of both families, Yan Xue didn't look like she could get along with the Liu family.
As soon as I left the guesthouse, I ran into Liu Weiguo who was holding a towel and soap.
As soon as Liu Weiguo saw him, he said, "Your sister is at my house. Chuncai thought I looked ugly like this, so she sent me out to take a bath and cut my hair."
It was really at the Liu family. Qi Fang couldn't help but ask, "Is she okay?"
"Very good. Judging from Chuncai's attitude, she's closer to her than me. You can rest assured."
At the time, Qi Fang thought he was exaggerating because he was afraid he would be worried. But when he arrived at the Liu family's house, he saw that not only Liu Chuncai, but also several of the Liu family's children were all in the main room, surrounding Yan Xue and looking at her...
Qi Fang opened his peach blossom eyes, which were always half-closed, and confirmed carefully again, and found that Yan Xue was indeed burning pine cones in the pit at the bottom of the big earthen pot.
The delicate little girl in his memory, wearing little blazi shoes, didn't mind the dirt at all. She squatted in front of the pot, stirring with an unburned stick of firewood, and immediately pulled it out when it was done. Her movements were skillful and not at all rustic. It was obvious that this was not her first time.
The three little ones surrounding her seemed to have become accustomed to being fed. When a pine cone rolled out, they would immediately beat it to death with sticks one by one... Oh, they would smash it and dig out the pine nuts inside.
Liu Weibin, the youngest son of the Liu family, was so impatient that he didn't even care about the heat and immediately put the food in his mouth. With a "crunch", he said, "Sister Yan Xue roasted it at the right temperature. It's delicious."
"Go slowly, or you might loosen your teeth and start crying."
Liu Chuncai glared at her brother, picked out a large one from her own pile, cracked the shell with her teeth, peeled out the seeds, and handed it to Yan Xue, "Sister Yan Xue, you have some too."
The flickering light of the fire under the pot made Yan Xue's eyes watery. Her pretty face, which was the size of a palm, was rosy and glowing with health. There was no pain or impatience at all. It was obvious that she was living a very comfortable life.
"Xiao Qi is here, I guessed you had to come over." Liu Daniu's wife came out from the inner room to greet him.
Qi Fang came back to his senses instantly, "Aunt Liu." He greeted her first, then looked at Yan Xue, "I'm here to pick her up."
"Why are you in such a hurry to pick someone up? I made some bread and dumplings. Stay for lunch and eat with us."
Liu Daniu's wife warmly invited them to stay, and the children all looked up at Yan Xue.
However, Yan Xue still put down the firewood stick and stood up. "Next time, we haven't seen each other for several days. We only met that day."
She went to wash her hands at the washbasin. Seeing the little ones still following her, she couldn't help but laugh and said, "I've been cooking all morning. Isn't that enough for you guys?"
"Who would complain it's too much?" Liu Chuncai curled her lips.
Yan Xue was amused by her little appearance. She reached out and pinched her nose, "At least let me rest for a while." She went into the house to get her scarf and gloves.
Liu Chuncai seemed to have just noticed Qi Fang standing tall at the door, "Brother Qi Fang, you're back too?"
Somehow, Qi Fang suddenly remembered Liu Weiguo's words, "He is closer to her than to me."
In fact, the child's thinking is very simple. He will be close to whoever plays well with him. Not long after Yan Xue finished wrapping up and walked out of the house, Liu Daniu's wife caught up with her and said, "I just remembered, you two should wait a moment."
He went straight to the warehouse and took out two sacks full of pine nuts. "These two bags of pine nuts are Xiao Yan's. Do you want to take them back and sell them yourself, or wait for our family to go down and sell them and then we can help you take them away."
"And mine?" Yan Xue couldn't hide her surprise.
She followed him up the mountain just to see what she could do and see if she could do it. She never thought about getting a share of the stuff.
After all, the pine cones were all blown by Grandpa Liu. She and Liu Chuncai were only responsible for picking up the pine cones from the thick snow and taking turns pulling the sled with Grandpa Liu.
However, Liu Daniu's wife obviously didn't want Yan Xuebai to work. "After all, you have contributed a lot. You have helped to knock out the boxes these days. I have discussed it with your grandfather Liu and will give you two bags as you deserve."
The Liu family was truly generous. She and Liu Chuncai went back the next day and brought back over 3,000 pine cones. Assuming the large ones yielded 20.5 taels, or at most 20.5 taels, and the small ones 1.5 taels, that meant at most 500 to 600 kilograms of pine nuts. The two sacks must have weighed over 100 kilograms.
Yan Xue saw that she couldn't refuse, so she looked at Qi Fang and said, "Then please keep it for me, Auntie. I'll come back to get it when I make my decision."
"Okay, I'll mark it for you, remember to come back and get it."
This time he finally managed to get out. Qi put his hands in his coat pockets and glanced down at the young girl beside him. "Are you still going up the mountain?"
Having just come out of the room, still feeling warm, Yan Xue's scarf was loosely tied, revealing the tip of her delicate white nose. "I went with Grandpa Liu and Chuncai. It was Chuncai who dragged me along. She told me a lot of things and even helped me get a cotton turban, felt socks, and leg wraps."
She did not hesitate to praise the Liu family in front of Qi Fang, but although the Liu family was indeed warm and welcoming, they were able to do so not just out of enthusiasm.
Qi Fang's gaze fell on her pair of curved smiling eyes, "You and Chuncai get along well."
"Maybe it's because I accompanied her to sell things, so she has some revolutionary feelings." Thinking of the unhappy look on the little girl's face when she first saw her, Yan Xue's smile became even wider.
The sun came out today. Although the winter sun is not scorching, it still casts two shadows on people's eyelashes that are as thick as small fans.
Finally feeling a bit cold, she pulled at her scarf, her entire face immediately tucked into the wrapper. It was obvious that she was not only not in any distress, but even more calm than when we first met.
Yes, things like being unable to endure hardship and being unable to get along with others were all his subjective inferences based on his past impressions.
In fact, she had not only been living a comfortable life these past few days, but she had also earned her first pot of gold since arriving at the forest farm...
Qi Fang glanced away, then turned back, still not knowing what to say.
Fortunately, there was a fork in the road ahead, one leading to the guesthouse and the other to the cafeteria. He looked up and said, "Eat first."
After the large group of people returned, the food in the cafeteria was indeed upgraded to a higher level. You could even see meat in the daily stewed cabbage and potatoes.
After the two of them finished their meal, they returned to the guesthouse. As soon as Qi Fang entered the room, the waiter who had been craning his head to stare at him from behind came over and opened the small window on the door. "This can't be closed, and it can't be blocked."
It was obvious that they were on guard against the two men doing something inside. This was still daytime, but they had checked Qi Fang's letter of introduction and kicked him out in the evening.
In the past, relationships between men and women were strictly controlled...
When Yan Xue was poor in her previous life, she had stayed in all kinds of hotels. It was common for her to fall asleep while listening to "The Great Harmony of Life". She remained calm when she heard this, but Qi Fang looked at her more.
Yan Xue pretended not to notice and picked up the thermos that the waiter had refilled and rinsed a cup. "Would you like some hot water?"
"Okay." Qi Fang took off his hat, revealing his freshly trimmed short hair, and sat down on the other side of the kang.
With his hair cut short, his superior features were fully highlighted: high eyebrows, deep eyes, a straight nose, and thin lips. Even without the obstruction of hair, the coldness between his eyebrows and eyes became even more distinct, even revealing a faint sense of laziness and disinterest, which dispelled the passion that should have been in those peach blossom eyes.
He rubbed the rim of the cup with his index finger and spoke in a calm voice, "I'm currently working as a sawhand's assistant in a logging team. My monthly salary is 42.7 yuan, and I get a 15-jin food allowance."
The food coupon subsidy is given by the unit in addition to the monthly supply of 27 kilograms. It is divided into light and heavy physical labor. 15 kilograms a month is completely heavy physical labor.
His eyes fell on Yan Xue's face. "Besides that, the company also distributes a cart of firewood every year."
This is also one of the benefits of the Forestry Bureau. Compared with rural areas and even other local enterprises, the treatment is definitely good, otherwise he would not be nicknamed "Lin Datou".
But compared to working in Yanjing, it was not only hard work, the salary wasn't much, and it was definitely not respectable. The Yan family had already survived the turmoil, so there was no need to be tied to him and spend the rest of their lives in a hopeless state, unless there was some hidden reason.
Qi Fang didn't really want to delve into the matter, but since she wanted to stay, he didn't stop her and simply told her everything.
Yan Xue was indeed no longer the delicate little girl he remembered. She didn't even frown when she heard this, and even looked thoughtful. "Then you have to give me 25 yuan a month for living expenses. I don't have a job yet."
"Okay," Qi Fang agreed readily, "I'll give you 30 every month."
It seems he is quite generous. No wonder he gave a betrothal gift of 100 yuan before even meeting the person.
Yan Xue thought this was a good start and proposed another condition she had thought of before. "I don't have a job now, so I can take care of all the housework. You don't have to do anything at home. But if I find a job or have other income and can cover the family expenses equally, I want to share the housework equally."
This is consistent with her well-educated background, but I don't know what suitable job she can find here.
Qi Fang was thinking casually when Yan Xue glanced over at him. It seemed like a joke but she was actually serious. "You don't disagree with me finding a job, do you?"
"No, that's your own business." Qi Fang has never been interested in other people's affairs. He just asked, "Anything else?"
There is also Jigang who is far away outside the Great Wall, but now is not the time.
Yan Xue hid her eyes and smiled, "That's all for now, but I reserve the right to add more at any time."
This made Qi Fang's gaze linger on her face for a moment, as if he was exploring, but it seemed as if he had nothing in mind. "Then do it as soon as possible. I have to go up the mountain after the New Year, and I can't come down until the snow melts in March or April."
"That's a good opportunity to explain this to Chuncai, so she doesn't have to recommend her brother to me all the time." Yan Xue said with a smile.
She felt that Qi Fang was a cold man, but he was much easier to talk to than she had imagined. He agreed to every condition she proposed, but she didn't propose any.
Unexpectedly, it was just a joke. The man who had been expressionless all the time suddenly froze, "Are you talking about Liu Weiguo?"
Qi Fang then remembered that when others guessed that Yan Xue was his sister, he seemed to have tacitly agreed. When Liu Weiguo asked him if Yan Xue had a boyfriend, he just casually said "no"...
Just as I thought of this, I heard chaotic footsteps in the corridor.
Soon, Liu Chuncai's excited face appeared on the small window of the door. "Sister Yan Xue, I brought my brother here. Let's go dig a hole in the ice and fish~"
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