"Big brother, these are the ones that Yangmei and I found on the mountain today. We found sixteen, eight for each of us."
Song Yongren was relieved. During the hunger, the villagers had explored all the mountains and there was no major danger inside.
Once he felt at ease, all that remained was happiness. Song Yongren generously took out a wild egg and made a pot of egg drop soup, which he ate with some wild vegetable pancakes. It was a pretty good meal.
But Song Lili still found it hard to swallow. If it weren't for the need to survive, she wouldn't have touched any of this food.
But she couldn't bring herself to boil all the eggs; food was too precious to eat now, and she couldn't be selfish.
Perhaps when she first arrived here, she could have said it, since these three people were not her relatives and she could disregard their feelings.
But... it's been almost two months, and she remembers all the kindness they've shown her; her heart won't allow her to be so selfish.
She could only grit her teeth and eat, telling herself once again that she had to endure in order to survive.
Soon, the autumn harvest arrived. During this time, Song Lili went to the cliff twice, both times accompanied by Zhang Qinghua.
Song Lili moved all the old-looking items she found at home into the cave, and also took away the things that Yang Mei's family didn't need, saying she would come back later.
Not only that, he also asked Zhang Qinghua to bring his own, and encouraged him to bring Li Qinghua's as well.
Zhang Qinghua, unaware of the situation, assumed that Song Lili liked it, and actually went to Li Qinghua's house to search it, but there weren't many items.
However, all the books in his house, except for the old textbooks and some that Zhang Qingguo could use, were here.
During this time, Zhang Qinghua also taught Song Lili some junior high school characters, and he was incredibly surprised by her learning speed.
Song Lili felt a little guilty. She knew them all, but she just couldn't show them to others openly.
Now she not only has to endure this childish behavior, but also pretend not to let Zhang Qinghua see through it; she's exhausted too.
Although the process wasn't pleasant, the result was quite pleasing; Song Lili can now study junior high school material on her own.
She already had a foundation, and with Zhang Qinghua's "enhancement," she could openly read books.
She spent most of her time reading the books Zhang Qinghua brought; she had no interest in the elementary and middle school textbooks.
Life was quite boring, so I could only pass the time by reading.
There was absolutely no entertainment, and she could only survive on gossip. But Song Lili didn't like talking about other people's business, so in the end, reading became the best way to make a living.
Soon, the autumn harvest arrived.
The autumn harvest is not as leisurely as harvesting barley; everyone is going all out, racing against time.
During this period, the worst thing is rain, especially continuous rain for several days in a row. If it rains, the crops that haven't been harvested will fall because they are too ripe, and the harvested crops will also get moldy and sprout because of the weather.
Therefore, in the past few days, everyone, whether children or adults, has been busy harvesting wheat. Picking up ears of wheat is something that children under ten years old do.
This must have been tough on Song Lili. She hadn't done it in a long time, and her movements had become quite rusty. But luckily, she was strong enough to make up for some of the rustiness.
The autumn harvest wasn't a collective effort; each brigade harvested its own wheat first, fearing that some would ripen and fall to the ground, leaving them to watch helplessly as they couldn't be picked up.
This is also called the rush harvest, and it's the busiest time for farmers.
Because this time it was done in a brigade-level unit, Song Lili and Yang Mei suddenly had a lot more time to spend together.
The squad leader of the fifth brigade was Yang Mei's father, Yang Weimin, who arranged for his children to work together and help each other.
Because of Song Lili and Yang Mei's relationship, the two families have become much closer.
Although Song Lili was physically tired lately, she was in a good mood. Every day was sunny and bright.
She asked Yang Mei, "Sister Yang Mei, do you have someone you like? You're fifteen years old now, it's almost time for you to get engaged, isn't it?"
Just as Song Lili thought, girls here get married at sixteen or seventeen, and eighteen is considered quite old.
Another issue is the outdated mindset that has persisted for thousands of years, favoring sons over daughters. People believe that girls are a waste of food at home and are being raised by other families, so many people marry off their daughters at a very young age.
Yang Mei's voice was low and sweet, but Song Lili was not very perceptive in this regard and did not hear it.
"No? Don't you like Li Qinghua?" Song Lili blurted out her question in her excitement.
"You... how could you... how could you know?" Yang Mei's entire face turned red, and her ears and neck were practically bursting with red.
Song Lili astutely grasped the essence of Yang Mei's words: "You mean you like Li Qinghua?" Her eyes were fixed on Yang Mei.
If you look closely, you can see a hint of anticipation and a sense of eager curiosity in their eyes.
Yang Mei, however, assumed that Song Lili already knew something, and immediately became so embarrassed that she didn't know what to say. At this time, people are still very reserved and dare not openly express their feelings.
In the remote Northwest region, things are even more conservative, and marriages are basically arranged by parents and matchmakers.
When girls have someone they like, they keep it to themselves. Boys can ask their families to find a matchmaker, but girls can only rely on boys.
Therefore, Yang Mei was already surprised by Song Lili's unreserved expression of liking her, and what she said next made her lose her composure.
Now, when Song Lili asked, she didn't know what to say, and could only stammer, but she gave Song Lili a definite answer.
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