Once Gao Shuwen saw that the problem of books had been solved, he began looking for a place in the village to build a school. This was a major event for the village and a good thing, so the villagers responded enthusiastically, and everyone who could contribute helped.
Gao Shuwen also told the villagers that the children do not need to pay tuition fees, only some book fees, which will not cost much. If the brigade really has no money, it can pay in advance. Basically every family can afford to send their children to school.
He Yuhan took on the task of preparing textbooks and immediately prepared to go to the county with Han Yixian.
The two went into the mountains the day before and hunted some pheasants and rabbits. They packed some up and kept some at home, planning to take the rest to the county the next day to improve the lives of Gu Qishen and He Zhenhua.
The next day, Han Yixian rode his bicycle with He Yuhan to the county.
They only had one bicycle at home, and since Han Yixian would also need one in the future, the two decided to buy another one so it would be more convenient to use later.
When they arrived in the county, they first bought bicycles. Then, when they reached a secluded place, He Yuhan took out a bag of rice, a bag of flour, a basket of eggs, and a piece of pork belly weighing more than five pounds.
He Yuhan, having her own resources, didn't want her older brother to be too frugal with food. Gu Qishen also benefited from this.
Around 11 a.m., the two arrived at He Zhenhua's house with their belongings. He Yuhan had a key to her older brother's house, so she opened the door and went inside.
He Yuhan went into the kitchen and, seeing there weren't many dishes, took out some local vegetables, as well as miscellaneous snacks like wood ear mushrooms, mushrooms, and vermicelli. She also took out some seasonings from her spatial storage, along with some grains, white sugar, and brown sugar. Suddenly, He Zhenhua's kitchen was filled with plenty of food.
After Han Yi put the grain away, He Yuhan said, "Brother Yi, it's almost noon. I'll make a simple noodle soup with soybean paste. Go to my brother's workplace and ask my brother and Brother Gu to come back for lunch."
Han Yi nodded and said, "I'll go now. Are you tired? Otherwise, I'll cook when I get back."
He Yuhan said, "What's so tiring about cooking? You should go now. My older brother and the others are probably about to get off work."
Han Yixian didn't delay and went downstairs to find Gu Qishen and the others on his bicycle.
He Yuhan first soaked some mushrooms and wood ear fungus for later use, and then kneaded a large piece of dough to make noodles later.
She took out some pork belly, chopped some, and fried it into a large bowl of meat sauce. Then she chopped some potatoes and carrots, minced the soaked mushrooms and wood ear fungus, and added a lot of diced meat to make a meat gravy. She blanched bean sprouts and wild vegetables in boiling water and used them as a topping for noodles.
He Yuhan finished preparing the dishes, and Han Yixian and the others returned as well.
As soon as He Zhenhua entered the house, he smelled the aroma of meat. He ran to the kitchen door and saw his younger sister cooking. He asked, "Little sister, what did you make that smells so good?"
He Yuhan said, "We got here a bit late today, so I'm going to make a simple Zhajiangmian (noodles with soybean paste). I'll fry the meat sauce and also make some meat gravy. I guarantee you'll love it."
Upon hearing this, He Zhenhua exclaimed happily, "Oh dear, then I'm going to have a good meal! You don't know, we eat cornbread every day at the canteen for lunch. It's a little better at home in the morning and evening, when we can occasionally make some white flour dumpling soup or rice, but we don't get any meat. Now, the smell of meat makes my mouth water."
Han Yixian said, "Yuhan, you haven't rolled out the noodles yet, have you? You take a break, I'll roll them out."
He Yuhan didn't stand on ceremony with her husband and immediately told Han Yi to start rolling out the noodles. She then brought the cooked dishes to the dining table in the living room.
After greeting He Yuhan, Gu Qishen said, "Yuhan, I heard from Yixian that a primary school is going to be built in Beili Village. Are you here in the county to get primary school textbooks? You don't need to worry about these textbooks, I'll help you get them. There aren't many, so it shouldn't be a problem."
Upon hearing this, He Yuhan smiled and said, "Then it will save me and Brother Yi a lot of trouble. Thank you, Brother Gu. Brother Yi and I went into the mountains yesterday to hunt some pheasants and rabbits for you. It was a bit late at noon, so we didn't have time to cook them. We cooked them for you tonight to improve your meals. You can eat them when you come back tonight."
Gu Qishen smiled and said, "Then we'll wait to have a good meal tonight. Don't worry, I'll bring the book back to you today."
Han Yixian was strong and quick, and soon he had rolled out the noodles. The water was boiling, so he started cooking the noodles. A pot of noodles was cooked very quickly.
He Yuhan said, "I'm not too hungry yet. You guys eat first, I'll continue cooking. There's plenty of noodles, everyone's full."
He Zhenhua sat down at the table and said, "I won't stand on ceremony. I've been craving my little sister's cooking for a long time."
Han Yi first ladled a large bowl of noodles for Gu Qishen and He Zhenhua, saying, "Eat up, we still have to cook a big pot. There's plenty of noodles."
Since everyone was familiar with each other, Gu Qishen didn't stand on ceremony and sat down with He Zhenhua to start eating. They were really hungry after a busy morning. It was rare to find meat sauce and gravy mixed with pure white noodles, and they were only able to enjoy this delicious food thanks to He Yuhan.
Soon the second batch of noodles was ready, and Han Yixian sat down to eat with He Yuhan.
After finishing a large bowl of noodles, He Zhenhua felt full and in the mood to talk. "It was really satisfying. Yuhan's fried noodles with soybean paste are amazing. I can never get enough of them."
Seeing her older brother's happy expression, He Yuhan laughed and said, "Didn't I save rice and flour for you? It's not hard to have some noodles."
He Zhenhua ladled out another bowl of noodles, shook his head, and said, "I didn't realize how difficult it was when I lived with my parents in City C. Now that I'm living on my own, I know how tough it is to make a living. Qi Shen and I aren't very good at cooking, so we usually just make do with whatever we have at home. Most of the time, we make dumpling soup."
We mostly ate in the cafeteria. The cafeteria food was usually cornbread, and the dishes were mostly vegetarian. Even if there was meat, it was scarce, and you usually couldn't get any. Qi Shen and I had to set an example by not buying good food in the cafeteria or fighting with others, so our stomachs were practically as empty as they could possibly be.”
Gu Qishen continued, "The conditions here are much worse than in City C. Meat is scarce, and the same goes for refined grains. The supply is mostly coarse grains. It's already a good condition for us to be able to eat rice and wheat flour from time to time."
We didn't dare let anyone know we were eating dumpling soup at home, for fear someone would come to borrow grain. Luckily, Zhenhua and I were new here and didn't know the neighbors very well, and given our positions, no one dared to come to us asking for grain.
Han Yixian frowned and said, "Are the conditions in Qianyuan County this bad?"
Gu Qishen sighed and said, "Even in the county town, the supply of goods is very scarce. People have money and coupons, but there's nothing to buy."
He Yuhan knew immediately that her older brother and Gu Qishen had been starving lately, so she put some meat sauce and gravy in their bowls and said, "Let's not talk about this now, let's finish eating and then talk. I made a lot today, so please eat more."
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