Chapter 353 Educated Youth Sent Down to the Countryside in the 1960s (15)
After dinner, the three of them felt much better and started chatting about funny things that happened at home. Xiao Hu listened with great interest. After they finished chatting, the three of them wanted to wash the dishes, but Jiang Yue stopped them, saying that they should rest early after traveling for several days and that she could take care of these things herself.
After packing up, Xiao Hu was about to leave. He was a very sensible child, but before he left, he was given a bunch of things. The three of them shared some of their things with him. This was because Xiao Hu's family was the same way; they would always give him some of the good food or novelties they had.
It was getting late, so the group didn't rush to pack their things. They decided to wait until they woke up the next day. After seeing Xiaohu off, they closed the door and went back to their room to sleep. When Jiang Yue woke up the next day, they were still asleep. Jiang Yue got dressed, boiled some water, and lit the kang (a heated brick bed).
After taking care of her personal hygiene, Jiang Yue thought about what to eat today. She decided to have porridge for breakfast, since there were still some frozen sticky rice cakes left. After Jiang Yue finished cooking, the three of them woke up. After the pickled vegetables were mixed, they all got ready. While eating, Jiang Yue was flattered by the compliments from the group, which made her feel incredibly comfortable.
"What's wrong? Did you put honey on your lips when you went home for the New Year?"
"Hehe, isn't this troubling Xiaoyue?"
After the meal, the three of them washed the dishes and ate some local specialties. Yao Ling then dragged Jiang Yue to try on clothes. Jiang Yue was the kind of girl who looked sweet. She was a little thin when she first came to the countryside, so it wasn't obvious. But she actually grew out of shape after coming to the countryside. It has to be said that Yao Ling has a good eye and aesthetic sense. Jiang Yue looked quite good in the clothes. It was a pity that she couldn't wear them in the middle of winter, but they would be perfect for autumn.
After dinner, the two boys went out to play. Yao Ling boiled water and took a bath. While watching over her, Jiang Yue found some dried radishes, planning to pickle some to eat. After Yao Ling finished bathing, Jiang Yue's dried radishes were ready. She helped pour out the bathwater because it was too cold for people who had just taken a bath to go out.
The water had been left in the room, making it cold. After setting up the bathtub, Jiang Yue placed a charcoal brazier on the kang (heated brick bed). This brazier was for Yao Ling to dry her hair. Taking a bath was so troublesome these days; if you weren't prepared, it would be even more troublesome if you caught a cold.
"Thank you so much, Xiaoyue. You're so kind to me. If I were a man, I would definitely marry you!"
Jiang Yue rolled her eyes. "You think you can just marry me because you want to? Stop joking around. Hurry up and dry your hair. The temperature is dropping again. I reckon it's going to snow again today."
Just in case, Jiang Yue quietly took out a small warm stone and placed it near Yao Ling in a gap. There wasn't even a doctor in the village. If someone got sick, they would have to rely on the medicines they kept at home. If it got serious, they would have to send it to the commune and then to higher levels. Plus, with this weather, even a minor illness could turn into a serious one.
While pouring water, Jiang Yue took out some small heating stones and decorated the house. This winter seems to be particularly cold, so it's best to take precautions.
Otherwise, since they are all close revolutionary comrades, Jiang Yue would definitely not stand idly by if someone really got sick. In that case, she couldn't play the role of a miracle doctor, and she might even have to waste medicine. It would be better to take precautions from the beginning.
After setting up the heating stones, the house temperature rose by about seven or eight degrees. This temperature increase is not very noticeable to the human body. If the temperature drops further, we can adjust the size of the heating stones.
After finishing her chores, Jiang Yue delivered the hot water to Yao Ling. Wang Liang and Zhang Wei, who had gone out to play, also returned. The two of them immediately closed the door after entering, otherwise someone might have frozen to death.
“Our straw door curtains aren’t very good. We’ll see if we can replace them with cotton door curtains next year.”
"Don't rush to install the curtains. How about we install the glass first? The windows are letting in drafts every night, and I've woken up from the cold several times already."
"Glass is so expensive, and besides, you can't buy it even if you have the money."
"Alright, next time we'll go to the commune and buy some plastic sheeting, then we can seal the windows."
"Plastic sheeting? How do you seal windows with that?"
"Leave this to me. You guys just need to buy the things and see if you can buy some scraps of cloth. Use the scraps to make a curtain, and add some straw inside. Two layers of curtains should make it much warmer. If you have a lot of scraps of cloth, you can also add a curtain to the two inner doors, which will make it even warmer."
"It's a pity we don't know anyone inside the textile factory, otherwise we could get some flawed fabric; that would look much better than piecing together scraps."
"Hey, speaking of which, I remember someone who used to hang out with Wang Liang and Zhang Wei. His wife works at a textile factory, right?"
Who are you talking about?
"That tall, thin guy, wearing a white shirt, we ran into him when we went home before the New Year, I think his surname is Jiang?"
"Oh, him? I think so, but we're not familiar with him. We've only exchanged a few words."
"Oh, never mind then. I thought you two had a good relationship."
"Why don't we give it a try? What if they agree?"
"Forget it, let's just find some scraps of cloth. It's not worth owing someone a favor just to look good."
...
After chatting for a while, it was time to eat. Dinner was simple: stewed potatoes with sauerkraut and cornbread. After dinner, Yao Ling stayed home while the others went up the mountain with Xiao Hu's father to check the traps. As expected, it was another day of no luck. If they could catch rabbits every day, even if the rabbits reproduced quickly, they couldn't withstand being caught by people.
However, the trip into the mountains wasn't entirely fruitless. One of them had managed to gather a bundle of firewood, so at least the trip wasn't a complete waste. After arriving home, Jiang Yue went to feed the chickens. The two boys processed and stacked the firewood. Because of the cold weather, Jiang Yue fed them a little more, otherwise they wouldn't lay any eggs.
Time passed slowly, and before we knew it, it was May. All the weight we had gained over the winter had been used up recently. We ate a lot and exercised little, so everyone gained a few pounds. But the weight gain only lasted a few days, and we lost it all in no time.
Besides working, the group had an extra task every day during this period: digging for wild vegetables whenever they had free time. For the past two years, they had been digging for wild vegetables around this time of year, which saved them a lot of food. Secondly, they would dry the vegetables to eat in the winter, so they wouldn't have to eat pickled cabbage and potatoes every day.
When June arrives, the temperature suddenly rises, giving you the feeling that you're wearing a coat one day and short sleeves the next. During this period, I'm busy from the moment I open my eyes in the morning until I go to bed at night, which is exhausting. Fortunately, I already have a year's worth of experience, and if I do a good job of preparation, I can still persevere.
It suddenly started snowing at the end of September when soybeans were still being harvested. This year's snow came a few months earlier than last year. The world seemed to be filled with only the swirling snowflakes, a vast expanse of white. People around us disappeared, and even the soybeans on the ground were nowhere to be seen.
At this time, the people who came out to work were dressed very thinly, and they even took off their clothes when they were sweating. Just when everyone was in a panic, the brigade leader lit a big fire, called the people over to the fire, and threw some soybeans into it.
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