When Xu Changfeng saw that it was Xu Ningyan, his tense muscles relaxed. He remembered this girl. Wasn't she working in the county? Why did she suddenly come back?
However, this thought only flashed through Xu Changfeng's mind. He cleared his throat and opened his mouth to speak.
Xu Ningyan spoke first: "Uncle Changfeng, you just came down from the mountain, right? I just got back. How is Aunt Xie's health? Please tell her when you go back that I'll go see her after I've tidied up the house—"
After saying that, he nodded to Xu Changfeng, pushed his bicycle, and walked forward.
Xu Changfeng's words were cut off by Xu Ningyan.
Watching Xu Ningyan push the cart to the small courtyard in front, open the gate, push the cart in, and close the gate in one smooth motion, I couldn't help but laugh.
It seems the little girl is quite perceptive; this is telling her that she didn't see anything.
After reassuring the people in the cowshed, Xu Changfeng walked to the private plot not far from the small courtyard, lingered for a moment, and hesitated.
In the few days since he returned, he learned that his own mother, Aunt Xie, was also helping a little girl cultivate her own plot of land in addition to her own.
On such a hot day, Aunt Xie still had to go to the river to fetch water to irrigate her private plot.
He couldn't just stand by and watch, so after accompanying Aunt Xie to this private plot on the first day, he sent her back.
Unexpectedly, I saw a familiar face in the cowshed next door.
These past two days, he's been using the excuse of helping to water his private plot every day, and he's also been secretly sending a lot of vegetables and other produce from his plot to the cowshed.
In the countryside, these vegetables and fruits are not worth much. As long as you have strength and are diligent, your family will never lack vegetables.
However, this acquaintance of his had only been sent down to the Tuanjie Brigade not long ago. The summer harvest had just ended, and he was exhausted. He hadn't received much grain, so life was really tough for him.
When he arrived, they were almost out of food.
If it weren't for his overt and covert support these past few days, we probably wouldn't have been able to hold on.
In fact, the environment in the Unity Brigade was already quite relaxed for those who had been sent down to the countryside.
After all, there was Gu Zhiyuan before, and now the people in the Unity Brigade are all keeping their distance from those who have been sent down to the cowshed, and dare not go too far.
What if another Gu Zhiyuan emerges?
So these people in the cowshed also benefited from Gu Zhiyuan's influence.
Xu Changfeng had originally intended to pick some vegetables and fruits and then deliver them to the cowshed, but when he arrived at his private plot, he realized that the plot probably belonged to that little girl from earlier.
Although according to rural custom, Aunt Xie helped the little girl cultivate this private plot because she was afraid the land would go to waste, Aunt Xie could take at least half of what was produced from this private plot.
Moreover, Aunt Xie is diligent, and the vegetables planted in half of her private plot are growing so well that there is simply more than she can eat.
There are few people in my family, and it would be a waste not to give them away.
But he had been in the army for many years, and taking it without asking was already a violation of discipline, even though he had inquired beforehand and planned to buy the girl something to make up for it when he returned to the city.
Now that the person in question is back, he can't act the same way he did a few days ago.
Therefore, after hesitating for a moment, Xu Changfeng originally wanted to go and greet Xu Ningyan now and make things clear.
But seeing that she was alone and had just returned, I figured she must be busy cleaning the house, so I should avoid any suspicion.
Furthermore, Xu Ningyan also said that he would visit Aunt Xie after he finished packing, so he would talk to her about it then.
After thinking for a moment, he stopped and turned to walk home.
Xu Ningyan was unaware of Xu Changfeng's inner turmoil on his private plot of land. Back in his own courtyard, Xu Ningyan felt exceptionally relaxed.
Although the house had been uninhabited for a long time, the brigade leader and Aunt Xie often came to check on it and clean it, so it didn't look dilapidated.
Open the doors and windows to let the musty smell in the room dissipate.
They then took the bedding and other items out of the closet and put them in the sun to air.
In this kind of weather, an afternoon of sun-drying is enough. Occasionally, use a bamboo pole to tap the quilt to make it fluffier.
I swept the floor, wiped away the dust, pulled out a few weeds that had grown in the yard, and cleaned up the fallen leaves and fruit under the camphor tree.
Finally, he took a bucket to the river to fetch water and came back to wash all the furniture and the bed in the house.
I just went to clean the kitchen.
The firewood in the kitchen was sufficient; before the Lunar New Year, they paid the brigade leader to arrange for someone to collect enough firewood from the mountain to last for half a year.
Now they're all piled up in the sheds built next to it.
I took a bundle of firewood to the kitchen, boiled a pot of water, washed the bowls and chopsticks, and then boiled them in the pot for more than ten minutes to thoroughly disinfect them.
While the dishes were being boiled, I took a machete and chopped up the weeds behind the house, then sprinkled them with lime and sulfur powder.
To drive away snakes and insects.
The house was also fumigated with mugwort for half a day to drive out the poisonous insects and ants.
Otherwise, a house that has been uninhabited for a long time might harbor worms, centipedes, scorpions, or the like in any corner. If one of these creatures crawls out in the middle of the night and bites you, it could be fatal.
The sun was blazing, and Xu Ningyan was drenched in sweat after all that work.
I suddenly miss the days when Gu Zhiyuan was around. With him around, Gu Zhiyuan basically did all the heavy physical work.
However, Xu Ningyan quickly came to her senses, patted her face, and told herself to stop thinking about unnecessary things.
They were about to move the bamboo bed, which had been stored in the house where Gu Zhiyuan used to live, out and drag it to the river to wash it.
As soon as I stepped out of the courtyard gate, I saw Aunt Xie carrying a bamboo basket and wearing a straw hat coming this way.
She hurriedly welcomed him into the courtyard, and Xu Ningyan said with a smile, "Did Uncle Changfeng go back and say that I was back? Didn't I say that I would come to see you after I finished my work? It's so hot, and you're so old, why did you come in the sun?"
Aunt Xie gave Xu Ningyan a reproachful look: "How long has it been since anyone lived in this house? Since you're back, why didn't you say so? We could have come over and tidied it up for you."
He handed the basket in his hand to Xu Ningyan: "Knowing you'd come back to a cold house, I brought you some food. I specially exchanged the wheat harvested this year for a few pounds of flour. Try it tonight. Once the brigade leader and the others find out, they'll definitely bring over your rations."
Then he asked Xu Ningyan, "How many days can you stay this time? If it's just one or two days, don't cook, just come to my house for a meal."
As they were talking, the brigade leader, who had already received the news, entered the yard with his son, carrying flour ground from the newly harvested wheat.
Upon seeing the dusty bamboo bed in the yard, he immediately instructed his son: "Put the flour in the kitchen, help your sister move the bamboo bed to the river, wash it thoroughly, and bring it back."
The brigade leader's son agreed, quickly put down the bag, and carried the bamboo bed towards the river.
Xu Ningyan knew she couldn't stop him, so she simply didn't.
They brought out a few chairs for the brigade leader and Aunt Xie to sit down.
Then he went to the kitchen and used freshly boiled water and freshly cooked bowls to make three large bowls of malted milk powder. He kept one bowl for the brigade leader's son and gave the other two bowls to the brigade leader and Aunt Xie.
The brigade leader and Aunt Xie got used to it.
Everyone sat down and asked Xu Ningyan if she had any business to attend to this time, and how many days she could stay. They also asked when Gu Zhiyuan would be back.
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