As soon as everyone finished eating, they couldn't wait to go back to their dormitories. There was no way around it because the wheat fields were flooded and their calves and feet had been soaked for the whole morning. It was really unbearable.
Du Jiang sat at the head of the bed, leaning on his feet, which had turned white from soaking, and sighed repeatedly, "Can this accumulated water be drained out by the afternoon? If it soaks any longer, the remaining wheat will definitely get moldy, and if there are leeches in the water, it will be ruined."
Qian Meili, who was standing by, couldn't help but shudder at Du Jiang's words. "Stop, stop, stop, Du Jiang, please stop talking. I've never seen leeches, but my grandparents say they're pretty scary. Please don't be such a pessimist..."
"Hey, I'm just saying, it's just a little bit of water, not that serious, not that serious"
"Of course not," Qian Meili lifted up her swollen ankle to show Du Jiang, "Look, this, this, and this. They bit me all morning and it hurt and numbed me. I don't know if it was a poisonous mosquito or some other insect. This morning, when I bent down to bundle wheat, I saw a bunch of unfamiliar black insects floating on the water."
Looking at the large red and swollen bumps on Qian Meili's calves and ankles, Du Jiang couldn't help but gasp, "How can it be so serious? Should we go to the clinic?"
"well"
Qian Meili sighed and shook her head. "No, the ladies in my group this morning said I could just wash it with salt water when I get home. I'd better not spend the money. I've almost spent all the money I brought with me to the countryside. We educated youth are just like the villagers. We only get a little money during the New Year based on our weight, but with the six or seven centimeters I've lost today, I don't even have enough to buy a train ticket."
Thinking along with Qian Meili's words, Du Jiang also felt that the future was bleak and couldn't help but sigh, "Yeah, working from dawn to dusk, I don't know if I can even get a hundred yuan in a year."
Qian Meili laughed out loud, "You think too much, Du Jiang. I've asked the people who work there. A family with many people and a lot of labor can probably earn about a hundred yuan doing farm work. For other families, especially girls like us, it's probably difficult. You know, one centimeter in Dujia Village is only twenty cents, and it has to be adjusted according to the harvest. We don't have enough food to eat, and we often have to use centimeters to replace food. I'm afraid there won't be much left by the end of the year. Anyway, I'm not considering going home this year."
After saying that, Qian Meili spread her hands and changed the topic to the knotweed outside the window. "Why did you pick the horsetail? This thing can't be eaten."
Equisetum arvense. Du Jiang was stunned for a moment, then followed Qian Meili's gaze out the window. Seeing the wilted knotweed plants that had turned their heads after leaving, he realized, "You're talking about knotweed. I forgot it's also called turmeric or penholder. Equisetum arvense is its name, right? It fits its appearance quite well."
Qian Meili didn't know about Ephedra sinica, but since it was the only one in sight, she thought Du Jiang was talking about it, so she nodded immediately. "Yes, that's it. Why would we pick it? We can't eat it, we have to dry it before burning it. There are only a few of them, and they're taking up space on the windowsill."
"It doesn't look very pretty, but it works well if you dry it and soak it in water. I remember it seems to have a heat-clearing effect, so I picked some when I saw it."
"You understand Chinese medicine"
Du Jiang shook his head. "I don't know. I heard from the elders at home that this thing is everywhere on the roadside. I just picked it up when I saw it."
"Is that so? Forget it," Qian Meili turned around and yawned. She looked very sleepy but still forced herself to resist the urge to pick it and reminded, "Just pick it. If you don't understand, you'd better not use common sense. After all, all medicines are poisonous. Besides, no one in the village picks this thing, so you'd better not try. Just soak it in water. When you have time, go to the mountains to find some yellow celery. You can make tea with it."
After saying this, Qian Meili, who was extremely sleepy, lost all energy. She left a sentence "I'm going to sleep first" and fell asleep.
Looking at the half-open window, Du Jiang tiptoed over, leaned over to close the window, then turned around and crawled back to his bed.
Sleep is short, and so are naps.
Du Jiang, who was awakened by the sound of the clappers that signaled her to go to work, yawned one after another, and even tears came out of the corners of her eyes because of her yawns. She looked very aggrieved and smart. There was no way around it. Although Du Jiang was ordinary, her eyes were particularly outstanding. Her bright big eyes expressed the protagonist's emotions all the time, which made people understand and see it at a glance.
But no one had time to pay attention to Du Jiang at this time, because everyone was the same as her, with a look of reluctance on their faces. Well, no, there was one person who was still very energetic.
Looking at Huo Yang's face which remained unchanged as always, okay, this man was very energetic and didn't show any signs of sleepiness at all. This made Du Jiang very suspicious as to whether this man had taken a nap or not.
Du Jiang, who seemed to have nothing to do, kept observing Huo Yang all the way until they reached the end of the field. The sickles were soaked in the accumulated water again, and Du Jiang had to admit that Huo Yang was really not sleepy. This man was full of energy at any time and in any place, which was admirable. However, a person who kept his back straight whether sitting or standing was really a bit out of place and eye-catching. Logically speaking, with such good conditions, he should have joined the army, but why did he come to this remote countryside.
Although Huo Yang's clothes were no different from others, he obviously had fewer patches on his body and was richer, as could be seen from the thermos and daily bills he took out.
Perhaps because he was lost in thought, Du Jiang did not notice Aunt Du approaching until she spoke.
"Xiao Jiang, what are you thinking about? I called you several times but there was no response."
"Nothing, Auntie, why are you following me if you don't go to bundle the wheat?"
"What do you mean by following you? I'm just here to ask you how you're doing."
Facing Aunt Du's relentless pursuit, Du Jiang was so upset that he had to stop what he was doing and look back at her. "No, Aunt Du, you are serious. It's not that I have any discrimination against our village. It's mainly because Li Hongjun is an educated youth. You know what educated youth are, right?"
"I know," Aunt Du said with a look on her face that made Du Jiang lose his temper. She immediately repeated Li Hongjun's words, "The condition is this. His marriage is his own decision. There's no problem with him marrying into the family. As for the rest, I don't know too much, but don't worry, he said it himself. I didn't exaggerate at all. If you don't believe it, you can ask him yourself. I don't think he would hide it from you."
Hearing about marrying into a family, Aunt Du's expression changed, and she couldn't help but mutter, "This kind of marriage, even if people in the city have many children, shouldn't be sad, right? Besides, he's not bad looking and he graduated from junior high school. His parents are really willing to let him marry into a family, and such a long way from home. Why does this sound a bit mysterious?"
Du Jiang shrugged. "I don't know about that. Those are indeed Li Hongjun's exact words."
Aunt Du nodded when she heard that. "I see. Sorry to bother you this time. Well, I remember you didn't raise chickens at your educated youth camp. I have chicks at home. If you want to raise some, come to my house after work and pick up a couple."
When Du Jiang heard about chicks, her eyes lit up and she nodded in agreement without thinking, "Okay, Aunt Du, the village chief will be here soon. I'm working on the line. After work, Qian Meili and I will go over and pick up the chicks."
The two people who had agreed to work quickly bent down and started working. This made Village Chief Du, who had seen them slacking off from afar and was about to scold them, hold back his words and just said, "Work harder," and left with his hands behind his back.
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