"Okay, then you guys do it." Gu Qingqing dusted the dust off her hands, ran to the shed outside the kitchen, and took a red enamel basin from the washstand.
There were at least five or six of these washbasins in the house. When her mother and her second and third aunts got married, the dowry they brought was bedding and washbasins. They were also supposed to bring furniture as a dowry, but Zhang Cuifen waved her hand and -
"My second son is a carpenter and can do anything. You can keep it for yourselves and don't waste the money."
Later, the matter was left unresolved, but my second aunt's family lived in a small county town in another province, and they had good support there, so her family often sent good wood to Gu Yin.
Her second uncle was very skillful. He made all the chests, trunks, tables, chairs, benches, washbasin racks and beds in the house by himself. He also stored a lot of good wood materials in the utility room next to the shed. He said he would make them as a dowry for her when she got engaged.
When they arrived at the water pumping well, Da Mi came over slowly, wagging his tail and watching her draw water. Gu Qingqing suddenly thought that it had been so long since she came back, but she hadn't seen the educated youth and hadn't met him on the road.
"Uncle." She held the basin and shouted at the top of her voice: "Where is Sister Yuanyuan?"
"I took a bundle of bamboo back."
Gu Bao was squatting next to his second brother: "Brother, help me make two small nets. We are going to go fishing tonight."
"Oh, you don't even see me off." Gu Qingqing said casually, rubbing her hands.
The reason why we didn't meet her just now might be because Sun Yuanyuan went back through the small path in the backyard, and she and Gu Xiong could only come back from the main road while carrying firewood.
"You heartless little bastard, don't I need some handy tools?" Gu Bao rolled his eyes. Seeing his second brother cutting bamboo into strips and winding them into a circle, he ran to the utility room and found a tattered old fishing net.
Gu Yuanchao came over with a pair of copper scissors to help, cutting the flowers into suitable sizes and covering them on the bamboo basket.
"Stop cooking and come over to eat." Han Lianxin came out with the food. "Abao, the girl just now seemed to be an educated youth. She was plump and fair-skinned and looked well-fed. The climate and soil in the city are more nourishing. Why don't you let her stay for dinner before going back?"
The stoves at the educated youth site were all made of earthenware. Han Lian was worried that they wouldn't know how to use them and would go hungry again. The two girls didn't look much older than Qingqing.
"If you don't know how to do it, just learn it. There are so many of them. How can they figure it out with so many brains?" Gu Bao didn't even raise his head: "We have a family of young people who are eligible for marriage. It will have a bad influence if we invite her to eat."
"That's right." Han Lian thought to herself that what Abao said was quite right.
Their house is full of old and young people, and it is really not appropriate to let outsiders, especially girls, stay here to eat. It is bad for their reputation.
"Grandma." Seeing Zhang Cuifen coming out with the bowl and chopsticks, Gu Qingqing hurried over and smiled: "Don't we still have a lot of sweet potatoes and potatoes at home? Pick up a basket for me and I'll send it to Sister Yuanyuan later."
"Girl, you call her Sister Yuanyuan all the time. Do you like her?" Zhang Cuifen glanced at her.
"Not really. They haven't planted their vegetables yet. They were still tilling the soil today. I'm just worried that they might run out of food."
"You are the only one who is considerate." Zhang Cuifen put down her bowl and chopsticks and rubbed her hairy head: "Okay, I'll pick up a basket for you tomorrow. You can ask your brother to accompany you to carry it, because you can't carry it." She actually felt that there were still a few male educated youth in the educated youth point. In the past, it was common for educated youth to marry girls in the village in order to return to the city.
After getting married and living together for a few years and getting a job quota, they just go back to the city and don’t care about their wives and children in the village.
In addition, the educated youth from the city all looked fair and well-mannered, and were indeed very popular with young girls. She was afraid that her granddaughter would be dazzled by them.
Gu Qingqing never thought that her grandma had thought so far ahead. She shook Zhang Cuifen's arm heartlessly and said, "Grandma is the kindest. I will send it over with Brother Yuanchao tomorrow."
"Okay, okay, let's eat quickly. Why hasn't your father come back yet?" Zhang Cuifen looked at the gate of the courtyard.
"Don't wait for him. He said he was going to Lao Qin's house for dinner because they had a meeting." Gu Jin had already greeted Shi Rushuang so he didn't have to cook for him in the evening.
"Then let's eat first. Abao, go call your dad to eat."
"Hey, hey, okay." Gu Bao put the remaining rotten fishing net back into the utility room and went back to the room to call his father.
In the evening, we had pickled radish and cornmeal steamed buns, as well as a big pot of rice and sweet potatoes.
Seeing his grandson quietly finishing several bowls of rice, Gu Tiezhu couldn't help but laugh: "In the early years, the team had a big pot of rice, and it was very lively. Everyone ate as much as they could, just like eating for others."
"What happened next?" Gu Qingqing blinked her big, dark eyes and looked at her grandfather.
"Then we divided the food." Gu Tiezhu laughed, "One month's food was consumed in ten days."
In fact, the villagers did not intentionally eat so much. At that time, the engineering projects were heavy and the country was building water conservancy projects. It took a lot of effort to dig ditches and build reservoirs. Although the road in Datunzi Village is still a dirt road, it was also dug out by people in the past with shovels.
Gu Tiezhu was one of them, and Gu Jin and his brothers also contributed.
"Our generation dug the road, your father's generation built the embankment and repaired the canal to irrigate the farmland, and by the time your generation comes, we will have access to electricity." Gu Tiezhu squinted his eyes and smiled, "With hard work from generation to generation, our lives will get better and better."
Gu Qingqing's little head nodded when she heard this, and Gu Tiezhu was amused by her silly look.
This child is still like the eldest brother, except that he is smarter than the eldest brother. The disciple is better than the master.
After the meal, Gu Qingqing helped to clear the dishes and then made a look at Gu Bao. Gu Bao deliberately kept chatting with Gu Yuanchao next to him, which made Gu Qingqing so anxious that she stamped her feet.
"You two should stop teasing her." Gu Xiong brought out two small baskets and handed one to Gu Qingqing: "Your second brother and I will go to the river to catch fish. You and your uncle can't swim, so why don't you go to the fields by the stream to catch snails?"
Gu Qingqing had wanted to play in the stream for a long time, but the water was shallow. But when she saw her mother looking over here from time to time, she nodded obediently and said sweetly, "Okay, I'll listen to my brother."
"You guys don't all go." Gu Tiezhu sat on a stone bench and watched the second brother continue to do handicrafts. He crossed his legs and tapped his shoes with his cigarette holder: "We are out of cornmeal at home. It's the National Day and we have to defend the country and the east. You guys should stay at home and grind some flour."
"Okay." Gu Weiguo and his friends were no longer at the age of playing around. Two of them went to the storage room to carry the shelled corn kernels. The remaining two, one went to get the cloth bag, and the other prepared to grind the mill.
There is a large stone mill in the middle of the yard, which is said to be about the same age as Gu Qingqing's father. It is used to grind rice and flour at home.
"Grandpa, I'm going out now and will be back soon!" Gu Qingqing ran out carrying the small bamboo basket, with Da Mi following closely behind.
Zhang Cuifen worriedly reminded Gu Xiong: "Don't let her play in the water all the time, come back early."
"Okay, don't worry, grandma."
Gu Bao lazily followed Gu Qingqing and her good friend Zhao Yu, listening to their non-stop chatter.
Gu Xiong and Gu Yuanchao were discussing where to go to chop firewood tomorrow. Gu Heping and Gu Weixing heard their brothers mention that they were going to catch loaches after plowing the fields, and they immediately became excited.
In two days it will be the Mid-Autumn Festival. The moon tonight is already very round, stretching their shadows very long. Gu Qingqing sometimes walks down this side and sometimes walks down that side, making Gu Bao lose his temper.
"My dear, please don't block my way."
"No, uncle, look, the moon is following us!"
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