After the 23rd day of the twelfth lunar month, every household begins to prepare for the New Year.
On the 25th day of the twelfth lunar month, Qian Cai, Qian Sheng, He Ying, and Jin Jinxiu brought all the children, big and small, from their families to the commune. However, Guo Ni was also among them.
Guo Ni felt a little embarrassed walking among the Qian family members. She had made an appointment with Qian Duoduo to go to the market together, and Qian Duoduo had come to the educated youth compound to find her early in the morning. On the way to the Qian family, she encountered Qian Xiang, who then carried the fine grains he wanted to send to his parents, which he had exchanged from the brigade, on his shoulder and walked beside her. This made Guo Ni feel a little embarrassed. People passing by only cast curious glances, but everyone knew that Qian Duoduo and Guo Ni had a good relationship, and that Qian Xiang had helped Guo Ni more than once or twice. If something really happened, He Ying would definitely step in.
Qian Cai, a grown man, could sense something was amiss with his son's proactive help to a female educated youth. He glanced at his wife, who was chatting with Jin Jinxiu—was this tacit approval? However, seeing how friendly everyone else was to Guo Ni, Qian Cai didn't say much. Marriage was something that required mutual affection. In any case, he felt that his family's wedding was not far off.
Qian Duoduo had no idea that her uncle was thinking about so many things. She took Guo Ni's hand and said, "Sister Guo, on the day the grain was distributed, what did Jiang Zhiqing want with you? Her eyes were always on your grain. Could it be that she wanted to borrow some from you?"
Guo Ni said with a smile, "You're not very old, but you're very observant. That's right, he came more than two months later than me this year, and he's not doing well at work, so he doesn't have much food and wants to borrow some from me."
Qian Xiang frowned. He didn't have a good impression of that Jiang educated youth. She always tried to shirk her duties when working. But he had no right to speak ill of a female educated youth. He just coughed lightly when he looked at Qian Duoduo from the side.
Qian Duoduo is a very clever person. Upon hearing Qian Xiang's hint, she immediately said, "Sister Guo, you didn't lend the grain to that educated youth Jiang, did you?"
Guo Ni smiled and said, "No, I plan to send my extra grain to my parents. I don't know where I can lend her any surplus grain."
Qian Duoduo immediately said, "Sister Guo, you're brilliant."
Guo Ni looked at Qian Duoduo and laughed, saying, "All day long, your little head is worrying about this and that. Why don't you worry about yourself?"
Qian Duoduo inwardly groaned: It's one thing to act like a child, but what's with pinching my nose?
When they arrived at the commune market, Qian Duoduo said with a smile, "Brother Qian Xiang, why don't you go with Sister Guo to send the grain away? Don't let Sister Guo carry such heavy things by herself."
Qian Xiang nodded immediately, showing no intention of putting down the grain, leaving Guo Ni, who had originally wanted to leave the group to go to the post office, feeling both amused and exasperated! Back when she was at home, she used to carry a sheep and run up the mountain, and no one treated her like a girl. But here, as an educated youth, she was enjoying the treatment of a girl. Looking at the tall Qian Xiang, she felt a sweet feeling in her heart, as if being taken care of was a very good feeling.
Qian Duoduo, holding Jin Jinxiu's hand, winked at Qian Xiang, who was next to Guo Ni, and then went to the market with her parents.
Jin Jinxiu was unaware of the little secret between Qian Duoduo and Qian Xiang. She felt a pang of jealousy. It was no secret in the Qian family that Qian Xiang had taken a liking to Xiao Guo, a young intellectual, and she was happy about it. However, she thought about how her own son, Qian Feng, was only a year younger than Qian Xiang. Qian Xiang was already thinking about getting married, but Qian Feng was currently on an island, and she wondered how he was doing. She also wondered how her second son was doing in the army. He had been sending letters quite frequently before, but now there hadn't been a single one.
Just as Jin Jinxiu was nagging him, Qian Feng received his first letter from Qian Duoduo. Along with the letter came a small package.
Qian Feng was overjoyed to see his package heading back. Once back in his dorm and opening it, he found two large jars of mushroom sauce made by Jin Jinxiu. It was enough to make Qian Feng, who had been eating fish, shrimp, and seafood all the time, feel happy. Finally, he could have a change of pace. That's why we say it's true what they say, a mother pampers herself.
He opened the thick envelope and saw four or five pages of writing inside. Qian Feng felt a warmth in his heart. When he opened the letter and saw that it was written by Duo Duo, a bright smile immediately appeared on his face. He read it word by word and saw that the family had sold a lot of autumn harvest grain, that Duo Duo had found wild eggs on the mountain, and that the family had received his and Qian Yu's letter, as well as his parents' feelings upon receiving it.
Qian Feng looked at it again and again, and finally saw the second brother's address. He curled his lip, thinking that the silly boy always had his own luck. To be honest, he had been in Hainan Island for several months, and every day was nothing but training. Moreover, it was particularly humid here, a completely different climate from his hometown in Northeast China. Now that it was almost Chinese New Year, the Northeast should be covered in snow and ice, and it was very cold. But here, people were still wearing thin shirts and trousers, just like in summer.
Just as Qian Feng finished reading the letter, the dormitory door was pushed open. There were four soldiers living in the dormitory. One of them, who was tall and big, saw Qian Feng reading the letter and walked over with a smile, saying, "Qian Feng, a letter from your hometown?"
Qian Feng nodded and said, "Yes, I sent a letter home when I first came here. I didn't expect it would take a month for the letter to reach my hometown from here."
Qian Feng's roommates all knew that his hometown was Heilongjiang Province in Northeast China, which is the southernmost and northernmost part of the country. Transportation there is not very developed, so they felt that a month was enough time.
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