"Okay, I'd like to visit your school too, and help you clean your dorm room. Oh, and I need to get a rag to take with me tomorrow to wipe the bed. It's been almost two months since anyone lived there, it's bound to be covered in dust."
The two of them chatted back and forth until they finally finished packing their bags. After checking what they needed to bring for tomorrow, they felt at ease and went to sleep.
It was still pitch black when Xuemei got up. She lit the kerosene lamp and went to the kitchen to boil water, cook porridge, and knead dough.
Today I'm going to make more steamed buns and egg pancakes to take to Southeast. Speaking of egg pancakes, they were a dish invented by Yan Xiaonan.
The main reason was that she missed the modern hand-pulled pancake, so she secretly told her grandmother how to make it, and her grandmother then taught Cuihua how.
When her family asked what it was, Grandma had a sudden inspiration: it's an egg pancake, and the best thing to eat at home right now is an egg pancake.
Because of the cold weather, this kind of food can be stored for a couple more days, so Xuemei made fifteen egg pancakes and boiled ten hard-boiled eggs. The hen at home lays three eggs a day, so there is no shortage of eggs.
As dawn broke, everyone except Yan Xiaonan got up, sat together eating hot egg pancakes and drinking thick millet porridge, marveling at how wonderful life was.
Southeast told Yan Xiaoqiang that he should take Xuemei to school today, and then Xuemei would ride her bicycle back by herself.
Yan Xiaoqiang felt a little sorry for the bicycle and worried that Xuemei would break it, but Cuihua kicked him under the table, so he could only nod, lower his head, and smack his lips as he drank his porridge.
Grandma Yan took out a handkerchief from her pocket, took out twenty yuan, ten jin of grain coupons, and some other coupons, and handed them to Southeast.
“Southeast, be prepared to travel with plenty of money and tickets. Grandma won’t worry. Don’t worry about home, Xuemei is here.”
Southeast took out ten yuan and some coupons: "Grandma, ten yuan is enough. I'll bring food with me, and at most I'll just fetch some water or something."
Grandma shook her head: "Southeast, there's still the cost of books. Don't worry, your uncle gave me the money. We're well-off."
Cuihua also spoke up: "Dongnan, Grandma will give it to you, so just take it with you. If you take it with you, the cost of the books will be more than eight yuan, how can you make ends meet?"
Yan Dongnan firmly refused: "Grandma, North South and Southwest will be starting school in a couple of days. Let them keep the money. Besides, I still have a few cents of lucky money this year."
Grandma Yan nodded: "That's fine. Anyway, it's not far from home. If anything happens, just hurry home."
Southeast nodded: "Grandma, I'll go check on Nan Nan and tell her I went to school when she wakes up." Then she went into the house.
Yan Xiaonan was sleeping soundly, her little face flushed. Yan Dongnan kissed Xiaonan's cheek and said, "Xiaonan, your big brother is going to school. Be a good girl and stay home."
Yan Xiaoqiang rolled up his bedding and tied it to the tripod in front of his bicycle, and put his large luggage bag in the front of the bicycle bed.
Xuemei carried twenty pounds of cornmeal and a thermos, and then sat on the back of the vehicle.
We dared not let Southeast take the wheat flour and rice from home to school, since everyone was struggling financially and cornmeal was already a good food.
There was also a small cloth bag containing ten boiled eggs, seven egg pancakes, some dried meat, and minced meat sauce, which Xuemei had prepared early in the morning.
The car was pushed out of the courtyard gate. Southeast got on his bicycle and told Grandma and his parents to hurry inside so they wouldn't get cold. He especially told Bei and Nan to study hard, or else they'd be in for a beating.
Xuemei sat sideways on the back rack, and Yan Dongnan pedaled hard. It didn't snow today, but the temperature was even lower.
Southeast was walking very fast. He was worried that Xue Mei would get cold, but since he was putting in a lot of effort, he didn't feel cold.
Twenty minutes later, the car stopped in front of the school dormitory. There are two primary schools, two junior high schools, and one senior high school in the town. The primary schools are six years long, while the junior and senior high schools are two years long.
The dormitory was a row of simple bungalows. Each room had a row of large communal beds along the inner wall, with cabinets on both sides, and each cabinet could be locked.
Between the main gate and the dormitory, there was a large four-cornered table with some thermos flasks, teacups, lunch boxes, and some books on it.
Xuemei found Dongnan's bunk, number three, which proved that Dongnan's academic performance ranked third in the class.
While Dongnan was unpacking his bedding and luggage outside, Xuemei had already efficiently wiped down the bed and cabinets, then put the food and some important items into the cabinets.
He then took the luggage bag, neatly folded the change of clothes, laid the luggage bag flat at the bottom of the clothes, and then locked it with a click.
Then he spread the bedding and blankets on position number three and smoothed them out with his hands over and over again.
Southeast also went to the water station to get a kettle of hot water and handed over 20 jin of cornmeal to the canteen. This was a month's worth of food; he would bring his own vegetables and meat.
Xuemei handed the cabinet key to Dongnan, and then took out five yuan from her pocket, which was her savings from several years of New Year's money.
Southeast was angry. All these years she had saved up this little bit of money, and instead of buying herself some face cream, she was always thinking about herself.
Xuemei wasn't annoyed to see that Dongnan was angry: "Dongnan, you should study hard now. When you start working and earning money, buy me face cream and new clothes, okay?"
Southeast nodded: "I will work to earn money to support the family, but you should keep this money safe. I have money, so don't worry. You have class this afternoon, so go home early and don't let Grandma worry."
Xuemei nodded, carefully hid the money, took the bicycle key from Dongnan, got on the bike, and rode home.
Dongnan looked at Xuemei, who was riding shakily at first but then became steady, and thanked his grandmother for finding him such a good wife.
Yan Xiaoqiang was laying bricks in the cellar at home. One of them, from the southeast to the north, was on top, and the other was in the cellar. The two of them were constantly using a rope to lower a bucket to transport the bricks.
When Yan Xiaonan woke up, she was carried to the table for breakfast. She saw two little boys sweating profusely as they helped their family with chores. She couldn't help but think how capable the children of this era were.
Grandma told her what Southeast had said, and Yan Xiaonan nodded, indicating that she would be a good girl and do her homework at home.
Grandma Yan smiled so much her face was full of wrinkles: "My good baby is so good. He knows how to read and write at such a young age. He will definitely be able to get into university in the future."
Cuihua nodded in agreement; her daughter was indeed clever. She glanced at the time; she needed to hurry and prepare lunch, as her husband and son were both doing heavy lifting.
Grandma Yan asked Cuihua to cook rice and steamed buns with a mixture of wheat and pork for lunch today. These foods are filling, and she also asked her to make pork rib soup, which is nutritious and goes well with rice.
Watching the busy Cuihua, Yan Xiaonan, having finished her breakfast, ran to the kitchen. The chickens and rabbits in the family are now kept in the kitchen, where it's warm.
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