Xu Ningyan watched the backs of the old and young people. Among them was a child of about eight or nine years old, following behind his parents and family. Before entering the cowshed, he turned back to look at Xu Ningyan, his eyes fixed on the tomatoes and cucumbers in her hand, his eyes full of longing.
Xu Ningyan clearly saw the child swallow his saliva, but he was very obedient and did not ask his family for anything.
With a sigh, Xu Ningyan turned and went back to her own courtyard, where she made a cold noodle dish for dinner.
The lackey wandered around outside for a while, swore an oath that the number one dog in the united brigade was back, and even took the opportunity to go up the mountain.
When it came back, it had a pheasant in its mouth, and its body was still warm to the touch, so it seemed to have passed away not long ago.
Xu Ningyan had no choice but to boil water again and prepare the pheasant.
It was getting late, and Xu Ningyan was too lazy to cook. Since there was no one else in the yard, she simply put the cleaned pheasant into her spatial storage, planning to cook it the next day.
As for the beautiful feathers on the pheasant's tail, they were collected; they would be quite nice used as decorations for vases.
After finishing my meal and washing up, I sat in the courtyard, fanning myself and enjoying the breeze.
From the courtyard, you can see smoke rising from the cowshed below, but you can't smell any food.
Perhaps because of the hot weather, the people in the cowshed finished their meal and saw that it was getting dark outside.
At this time, people from the Unity Brigade generally wouldn't come this way; they would gradually come out of the house and sit at the door to enjoy the breeze and cool off.
This was probably the most relaxed and comfortable time of their day.
Xu Ningyan was enjoying the cool air in the courtyard. There were no lights on inside the house, but everyone living in the cowshed knew that the owner of the courtyard had returned.
Several older people were instructing the younger ones: "The owner of that courtyard is back. We must be careful these next few days, and avoid it if possible, so as not to cause trouble!"
Some people were indignant: "Didn't you say that the woman who lives in that courtyard, her husband was also sent down from Beijing to this place? He was exonerated last year and even went to work at the county's machinery factory. We don't have any other intentions. Can't we at least ask her husband about the situation in Beijing?"
“I think so too. Even if we can’t find out about the situation in the capital, it would be good if we could get in touch with her! I heard she works at a department store in the county town. We could ask her to buy us some things we urgently need occasionally. That would be better than us being stuck here and unable to get out, right?”
“That’s right! We were sent down to the countryside in a hurry, and we didn’t bring anything except two sets of clothes and a blanket. It’s okay for now in the summer, but what will we do when it gets cold? The old are old and the young are young. If we don’t get some cotton and cloth, I’m afraid we won’t be able to survive the winter—”
When this was mentioned, the older folks all fell silent. They were old, but they still had children.
Finally, he sighed and said, "We can't rush things. Let's see how things go first! Xiao Fang, find an opportunity to ask your friend if you can avoid troubling a young girl like that!"
They all saw Xu Ningyan today; he looked to be only a teenager, still a child in their eyes.
The middle-aged man named Xiao Fang readily agreed.
The oldest one thought for a moment and then said, "Let me make this clear first: if the young lady refuses to help, you can't have any ideas about her! We all know that being assigned to the Unity Brigade is already much better than being assigned to other places! We've all inquired and know that the Unity Brigade doesn't deliberately make things difficult for people and has the least malice towards people of our status, which is why we tried to find a way to be sent here."
“Over this period of time, everyone has felt that the Unity Brigade has treated us quite well! You all know what kind of treatment people from other brigades receive! In fact, we've benefited from the men there and received their favors! Just for that, we should be grateful to them! So, if they agree, it's our good fortune; if they have reservations or other reasons for not agreeing, then we can't blame them! Do you understand?”
"To put it more clearly, what are we people like now? We're too busy keeping a low profile to even think about offending anyone! We're lucky to be able to stay here peacefully!"
After saying that, he went into the cowshed with his hands behind his back.
The others looked at each other, all with thoughtful expressions.
Xu Ningyan was unaware that the people in the cowshed not far away were talking about her, but she sneezed twice.
I thought it was just a bit chilly in the mountain breeze. I checked the time and it was about time, so I took a flashlight and went back inside to sleep.
Sure enough, it was cool in the mountains. Xu Ningyan was so cold in the middle of the night that she had to cover herself with a thin quilt. Unlike in the county town, where even though it was a private courtyard, it was so hot that it didn't cool down until after 10 p.m.
I slept very well that night.
Opening my eyes, I realized that I had returned to the Unity Brigade.
Not having to go to work or do any jobs, Xu Ningyan rarely had such a pleasant time.
I leisurely got up to brush my teeth and wash my face, cooked a pot of porridge, made some egg and vegetable pancakes, and served them with a small dish of pickles. I had a delicious breakfast.
Xu Ningyan took the pheasant out of her spatial storage, intending to make a pot of chicken soup. She could then use the soup to make noodles.
As for the chicken, take it out, shred it, mix it with minced garlic, seasonings, and chili oil, and it's great to eat with noodles.
The chicken soup simmered on a low flame. Xu Ningyan put on a straw hat and went to tend to her private plot.
Before I came back, I was so grateful to Aunt Xie, but now that I'm back, it's my responsibility to weed and water the plants myself.
Aunt Xie has probably been neglecting her private plot of land these past few days because of Xu Changfeng's return.
Although Xu Changfeng remembers to water the plants every day, the weeds haven't been pulled up for several days.
Xu Ningyan was pulling grass when she looked up and saw two furtive figures approaching from a distance.
Upon closer inspection, wow, isn't that Miao Cuihua and Wan Chunni, mother-in-law and daughter-in-law?
What are they doing here?
Without a doubt, it's definitely not a good thing.
Xu Ningyan stood up warily, staring at the two of them.
Miao Cuihua and Wan Chunni also saw Xu Ningyan and immediately put on smiles: "Siya, we heard you came back yesterday? Why are you already in the fields today? You don't need to do this little bit of work. Just let us know and either Erya or Sanya can do it for you."
“You’re a working person now, so let us do these chores! You kid, such a big thing happened, why didn’t you tell us? You’ve been wronged, haven’t you? We told you a long time ago that that guy surnamed Gu is no good person, but you wouldn’t listen! Now you’ve been taken advantage of, haven’t you?”
Xu Ningyan immediately understood that they must have heard the news that Gu Zhiyuan had returned to the capital.
How did it reach their ears so quickly?
He paused for a moment, then took a step back without a trace of a smile: "Don't try to get close to me, I'm not buying it! Just say what you have to say, or shut up—"
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