"Xu Zhiqing, you and this guy from Huoze City, now his belongings are buried under the rubble and there is nothing left. How about each of you contribute a little to help others get through today?" Uncle Du's matter-of-fact look made everyone's teeth itch.
"Uncle Du, why don't you produce something?" Guan Chuan was the first to jump out and express his dissatisfaction. "You are still a village cadre, shouldn't you lead by example?"
Uncle Du rolled his eyes rudely at this. "Who is a village cadre? I quit long ago. And what are you, a little kid, yelling about? Did I ask you to pay it all? What do you think, Xu Zhiqing?"
Uncle Du said the last sentence while looking at Xu Zhizhou, which seemed to be directed at him.
Du Jiang, Yu Chunxiao, and Qian Meili looked at each other behind the scenes and realized that it was not their illusion. Seeing this, the four of them continued to stand where they were, waiting for Xu Zhizhou's solution.
Xu Zhizhou also sensed that Uncle Du was targeting him. Feeling he had done nothing wrong, he looked confused and asked, "Uncle Du, did I do something to upset you?"
"No"
If Uncle Du's eye roll wasn't so obvious, Xu Zhizhou and the others would be more convinced.
Seeing that he couldn't get anything out of him, Xu Zhizhou didn't plan to continue to argue with Uncle Du. "Uncle Du, it's not easy for us either. The people were given to you by the higher-ups. They are not the same as us educated youth. So this really isn't our turn. Sorry."
"Oh..." Uncle Du was dumbfounded watching Xu Zhizhou's back as he walked away. Why didn't this guy play by the rules? Uncle Du, who couldn't stop him, could only look at other people. Seeing this, everyone quickly walked away.
When they reached the door of the educated youth site, Du Jiang looked back at Uncle Du's depressed expression, thinking that he was afraid that it was Uncle Du himself who asked for things, but he didn't know why.
It was already noon when they returned to the educated youth point. Perhaps the collapse of the cowshed made Yu Chunxiao and the others very uneasy. Not only Yu Chunxiao, but also Luo Yue, Gu Ruomei and Duan Yin gathered in Du Jiang's house, making the already small house even more crowded.
"What are you afraid of? The houses for the educated youth have only been built a few years ago, so don't worry." Du Jiang couldn't understand what these people were worried about, but this didn't affect her at all in making a fire and warming the kang.
"Sister Jiang," Yu Chunxiao said with a bitter face, "I'm not worried about the roof collapsing. After all, Brother Bai Guanchuan went up to clean the roof as soon as the snow stopped. I just... I'm a little uncomfortable with the village chief's behavior today."
Luo Yue: "Yes, Sister Jiang, no matter what, it is a human life. I can understand that the village chief does not want to be involved in the matter, but that guy named Hu Zi is almost frozen stiff, and the village chief is still worried."
Gu Ruomei: "Also, why did Uncle Du ask the educated youth to produce something? That person was assigned to the village, so this should have been produced by the village committee."
Duan Yin: "That's right, Sister Jiang, seeing how the village chief handled the situation today, I'm really scared. If our roof collapsed, would he not help send people to town?"
Uh, Du Jiang had no way to respond to this, so he could only change the subject, "Well, how about we cook it here at noon? I left half a chicken last time and made dried chicken. Since you are all here today, let's stew it together."
"No, Sister Jiang, this won't work. It's not easy for you to save some meat by yourself." Although Yu Chunxiao was tempted, she still declined. "I haven't touched the pork I got yet. I'm waiting for my parents and my sister to come. When the time comes, you can come and eat, Sister Jiang."
Duan Yin: "Well, Sister Jiang, can I eat with you at noon? Don't worry, I won't take advantage of you. I'll provide the potatoes and beans."
Luo Yue: "And me, I'll give you two taels of flour."
Gu Ruomei: "You all eat here, so I won't cook anymore. Sister Jiang, give me one and I'll give you two taels of flour."
The three people's words made Du Jiang laugh and cry, but he couldn't refuse. "Okay, I'll give you another two taels of white flour, and we'll make braised chicken and white flour noodles for lunch."
Seeing Du Jiang and Luo Yue working together, Yu Chunxiao felt a little out of place by herself, so she wasn't going to go back and cook alone. "Jiang Jie, let me join you. I have some eggs and some dried vegetables my parents sent over. I'll get some for you and put them in the pot later. I also have some seaweed, so I can make a soup."
When Du Jiang heard about kelp and dried vegetables, he was happy, "Okay, then let's make a big pot of rice for lunch."
Several girls were laughing and discussing the lunch menu in the room. Xu Zhizhou, who was working outside the door, had a bitter face. Although he was not very willing, he thought that if Uncle Du did not provide food to the guy named Huo Ze, the guy might really freeze to death. He had no choice but to resign himself to his fate and took out half a pound of food to send over. As for clothes, Xu Zhizhou took over his own single clothes that had become too small for him.
Bai Yongjun watched Xu Zhizhou's actions, but he didn't move after a while. The half-grown man was eating the poor. Bai Yongjun was powerless at this time and could only watch Xu Zhizhou walk out with a bitter face.
"Hypocrite," Guan Chuan spat indignantly under the eaves. Others watched Guan Chuan's actions in silence. This group of energetic children, after the baptism of the village, are no longer the people who lived on passion. They have been away from their families working for food and have realized the hardships of not being in charge of the household and the high cost of food and fuel.
Qian Meili and He Jiefang were somewhat moved by the lively sounds next door, but unfortunately He Jiefang was too embarrassed to let Qian Meili come over. After all, he was a man, and being with a group of girls would be embarrassing even though his wife was present.
He Jiefang felt embarrassed, but Li Hongbing wasn't so shy. After listening to the discussion coming from that room, he thought for a while, went back to the room to pick up some food, and knocked on the door. "Sister Jiang, I'm Li Hongjun. I'll also give you some food. Can you give me some when you cook?"
"And me"
"And me"
“…”
Following Li Hongjun's start, the others followed suit. Now no one had to feel embarrassed. He Jiefang also asked Qian Meili to add a pound of fat meat, Du Jiang to contribute half a chicken, and the others to contribute food, dishes, and seasonings. The educated youth camp, which had been cooking separately for a long time, finally welcomed the long-awaited big pot meal.
Stepping into the main house again, Du Jiang felt as if it was a year ago. The meal was extremely rich, with corn grits rice, white noodles, a stew with pork as the base, seaweed and egg drop soup, and dried chili peppers.
Sitting on the bench, Du Jiang was next to Qian Meili again, and under her were the four people who came later, including Yu Chunxiao. Chopsticks were flying on the food bowl, and the room was filled with the sound of chewing.
Both Du Jiang and Qian Meili missed such lively sounds. There was a time when they were also so noisy.
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