Chapter 32 Passerby A in the 1970s Rural Life Story 6
Jiang Yue wasn't concerned about the affairs of the educated youth. She was chatting with Er Gouzi, the brigade leader's son, at the warehouse. Er Gouzi had just returned from picking up corn kernels all day. Because some of the corn in nearby fields had been husked before being brought back to the threshing ground, some kernels would fall off if there were any bumps or if someone stepped on the corn. During the autumn harvest, the children did this kind of work, picking up all kinds of grains that had fallen from the ground, and they would earn one work point every day.
Jiang Yue took out a piece of candy and handed it to Er Gouzi. Er Gouzi's eyes and mouth sparkled. He looked at Jiang Yue and finally shook his head, saying, "No, my mom said I can't eat other people's candy. Candy is very expensive."
"Eat up. Consider this an advance payment. My family is still short of firewood. After the autumn harvest, can you find a few friends to collect firewood for my family for a few days? I'll trade you some candy for it, how about that? Consider this an advance payment. If you agree, then eat up."
"Really?"
Jiang Yue nodded and handed the candy to Er Gouzi. Er Gouzi took it, put it in his mouth, licked the wrapper, and then folded it up and put it away. "Don't worry, Sister Yue, I'll find you a few more people to collect enough for you all winter. I'll eat one piece of candy from you today and collect more for you every day."
Jiang Yue patted Er Gouzi's head, and exclaimed, "Ew, it's all covered in dirt!" She then said, "Then it's settled."
Er Gouzi nodded and went home. At noon, most people went home to eat and rest, but some of the older educated youth were still working. They relied on work points to make a living, and if they couldn't keep up with the pace, they had to work overtime. Otherwise, there wouldn't be enough food, and their families couldn't support them. In fact, some of them even had to support their families.
Not long after the break, the brigade headquarters started ringing the bell. Jiang Yue went out to work as soon as she heard the sound. There was no midday gathering, and everyone went straight to the fields. It wasn't until the sun had completely set and the moon had risen that everyone walked back under the moonlight.
The following autumn was the same. Li Mengqi and Liu Ruyan also became much darker and thinner. Although they earned three or four work points a day and wore sunscreen and sun protection gear, they lived with the old educated youth and dared not eat anything. Even if they found a place to sneak a few bites every day, it wouldn't help.
By the time the autumn harvest was over, almost everyone had lost weight. Before they could even rest for a few days, they started drying the grain, because the grain quota was due to be handed over in a few days. After all this, they finally managed to hand over the grain quota before October.
After paying their grain tax, they could finally take a break. Li Mengqi and Liu Ruyan took this opportunity to talk to the brigade leader about building houses. Otherwise, they wouldn't be able to build anything once the weather turned cold and the ground froze. The brigade leader told them about several types of houses that could be built with different materials. At the moment, adobe houses seemed the most practical option. The brigade leader led them to a family that had adobe bricks, and they managed to gather enough materials to build a house.
Then they went to a house built by someone who knew how to build houses and talked about it. They took the two girls to the house construction site and said, "Alright, you can discuss the rest. You can decide what kind of house to build."
The day after they finished discussing it, they started building the house. Apart from a few sarcastic remarks from some people at the educated youth settlement, no one said anything, because some people had already gone out to build houses. The two of them each built two small houses, similar in style to Jiang Yue's house but not as big. They also enclosed a small courtyard, saying it was for growing vegetables. Jiang Yue thought it was probably to avoid being discovered while eating, since they were all people with secrets.
These past few days, Er Gouzi and his friends have been gathering firewood for Jiang Yue every day. Jiang Yue had been giving her candy for the past few days, originally making up an excuse that she was out of candy and had to go to the commune to buy some. But if she kept taking it out, wouldn't people become suspicious? So they asked if they could just give her money. In the end, they discussed it and agreed that she would give him two cents a day. Jiang Yue didn't care how they split it.
Days passed by, and Jiang Yue would occasionally go up the mountain with the people to find some wild vegetables and mushrooms. Before she knew it, it was almost the end of October. Fortunately, she had collected enough firewood, enough to last her through the winter. Jiang Yue thought that she would have no relationship with the female lead in this world, but one day the two of them suddenly showed up at her door.
That day, Jiang Yue was looking after her cabbages, preparing to pickle them in a few days. Just as she stepped out of the vegetable garden, she heard someone knocking on the door. Jiang Yue dusted off her hands and went to open the door.
When she opened the door, she saw Li Mengqi and Liu Ruyan. Jiang Yue looked at them and asked, "Is there something you need?"
"We went to the brigade leader's wife to buy some cabbages. She said your family planted a lot this year. May we buy some?"
Jiang Yue remembered that she had mentioned it to her aunt a few days ago when they went to chat. She told them to close the gate after they came into the yard, and said, "Yes, I mentioned it to my aunt. Come and see me."
After saying that, Jiang Yue led them to the vegetable garden, where they saw a lush and green garden with all kinds of vegetables growing well. After they walked around the garden, Jiang Yue said, "How about this, I can give each of you fifty catties. If you think that's not enough, you can go and find some more from other places."
"Thank you so much!" Li Mengqi said with a smile.
Jiang Yue was somewhat surprised. This was the first time she had seen Li Mengqi speak so kindly. Before, in the village, she was always cold and aloof, and no one dared to approach her.
“Um… Jiang Yue, could you sell us some other vegetables? We’ll pay for them!” Liu Ruyan quickly added from the side.
Jiang Yue hesitated for a moment, then thought that since she couldn't finish them all anyway, she might as well sell some to them.
"Okay, you can decide which ones you want, and we can share some of each."
After selecting the vegetables they needed, the two found a basket and slowly carried them home. When it was time to pay, Liu Ruyan said mysteriously, "Jiang Yue, do you want money or cured meat? I have some cured meat here, do you want some?"
Jiang Yue's eyes lit up. Had Liu Ruyan bought it through her shopping mall? So Jiang Yue said to Liu Ruyan, "Can I take a look?"
Liu Ruyan opened the cloth on the basket, revealing two large pieces of cured meat. The meat was bright red and glossy, plump, and perfectly smoked. Jiang Yue nodded and said, "That's fine, that's fine, let's change it."
After saying that, he looked a little conflicted: "But is your price expensive? How much can I get for this?"
Liu Ruyan didn't respond to Jiang Yue's words, but simply took out a piece and stuffed it into Jiang Yue's hands. Jiang Yue picked it up and it weighed about ten pounds. Before she could react, she heard Liu Ruyan say, "I'm giving you this one. Consider it an exchange for your cabbage and radish."
Upon hearing this, Jiang Yue shook her head. A pound of meat cost seven cents, while a pound of her cabbage only cost seven cents. The price difference was tenfold, and this exchange was too unfair.
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