The dog days of summer are unbearably hot.

Farmers in the production brigade would not go out to work during the hottest time of the year. They would basically go out early in the morning, come back to rest at noon, and then go out to work again at four or five in the afternoon until dark.

The few new educated youth who had arrived only worked early morning and morning shifts.

But the sun was very strong in the morning and everyone's skin was peeling.

Ma Chaoyang squatted at the entrance of the cave, looked in the mirror, touched his face and wailed, "My face is disfigured--"

Zhang Kangmei, who was sweeping the yard with a broom, heard this and turned to look at him in disbelief, "Why do you, a gay man, care so much about your appearance? Do you want to be a gigolo?" She looked at the mirror in Ma Chaoyang's hand and felt that it was even more shattered, "You actually brought a mirror!"

You can only take so much carry-on luggage, so the educated youth did not bring any non-essential items.

Even many lesbians no longer carry mirrors.

Ma Chaoyang glanced at Zhang Kangmei and said, "Everyone loves beauty. Don't you feel bad when you see your sunburned face?"

"I don't feel bad!" Zhang Kangmei raised his chin, "This is the glorious mark of the working people!"

Ma Chaoyang: “…”

Not to mention, Zhang Kangmei's proletarian worldview, which was as strong as steel, really made his ideological awareness quite low.

Ma Chaoyang decided to stay away from Zhang Kangmei in the future and communicate more with other comrades.

Immediately, Ma Chaoyang went to find Qin Hanshu.

He felt that among so many educated youth, only Qin Hanshu and he spent money to build a cave house to live in, so they must be the same kind of people - unable to endure hardship.

Regardless of whether this conclusion is right or wrong, after the incident with the kiln, Ma Chaoyang did feel that Qin Hanshu was more approachable than other people, and he was willing to ask her for help if he had any problem.

Finding Qin Hanshu in the kitchen, Ma Chaoyang directly stated his purpose, "Hanshu, can you lend me your vanishing cream?"

Qin Hanshu, who was learning how to make fire: "......"

Zhang Yao, who was teaching Qin Hanshu how to make a fire: "......"

Ma Chaoyang explained: "My face is so painful from the sun, so I put on some cream to moisturize it."

Then he said to Qin Hanshu, "Lend it to me for a wipe. I'll buy you a new one when we get to the city."

At this time, Zhao Ru said: "I'll give you mine, and you don't have to pay it back."

Having said that, Zhao Ru wanted to go back to the cave to get it, but was stopped by Ma Chaoyang.

He smiled and said, "No need to trouble you, I'll just use Han Shu's."

In fact, Ma Chaoyang had no other intentions. He just felt that he was more familiar with Qin Hanshu and really didn't want to trouble Zhao Ru.

Zhao Ru was embarrassed, feeling that she had been treated coldly. She smiled as if nothing had happened, turned away and bit her lip in grievance.

Qin Hanshu stood up from in front of the stove and said, "I'll get it for you."

Ma Chaoyang grinned, "Thank you!"

The air is humid in summer, so Qin Hanshu doesn't put anything on her face. The vanishing cream and almond honey she prepared are for winter use.

"Do you want vanishing cream or almond honey?"

Ma Chaoyang thought for a moment and said, "Almond honey, that smells better."

Qin Hanshu said that she had too much luggage and needed to find it, so she asked Ma Chaoyang to go back first and she would send it to him later.

Ma Chaoyang thanked him again.

Then, Qin Hanshu closed the door of the cave and entered the space.

She had been eating and sleeping with other people these days, and she hadn't had a chance to use the space at all.

After entering the space, she washed her face directly with spring water and picked a few plums to eat.

The only fruit trees in the space were peaches, plums, apricots and cherries. She found a watermelon seed that she had hidden in the corner of the cave when she was eating watermelon, and scattered it in the space.

Then, Qin Hanshu took a bottle of almond honey and left the space, which took about seven or eight minutes.

"Take this bottle and use it all." Qin Hanshu handed the almond honey to Ma Chaoyang.

Ma Chaoyang took it and emphasized again, "I'll buy you a bottle when I go to the county town."

Qin Hanshu said: "Speaking of going to the county town, I think we should go there before the autumn harvest. Once the new cave house is built, we will definitely need to buy a lot of things."

"Yes, you are right!" Ma Chaoyang grinned, "We are thinking the same thing again!"

"Tsk." A cold laugh sounded, and Lin Zhiheng appeared from behind Ma Chaoyang, "If she doesn't tell you, are you sure you can remember it?"

Then, Lin Zhiheng said calmly: "Excuse me."

Qin Hanshu and Ma Chaoyang, who were blocking the door and talking, quickly moved aside.

By the time Ma Chaoyang wanted to refute what Lin Zhiheng had just said, the other party had already walked away.

Ma Chaoyang muttered unwillingly: "I thought of that, too, but I just haven't realized that I've thought of it yet..."

Qin Hanshu was speechless for a moment, then continued the previous topic.

"I asked the kiln hoist master today, and he said that plastering will start the day after tomorrow."

After applying the plaster, the cave is basically completed.

Ma Chaoyang said: "Then let's go to the county tomorrow or the day after tomorrow?"

Qin Hanshu thought for a moment and said, "Let's go the day after tomorrow. Go ask for leave from the branch secretary tomorrow."

Ma Chaoyang nodded, "Okay!"

What a coincidence! Before they could ask for leave, Zhou Changan came to the next day after work and told the new educated youth that he would give them a day off to visit the county town.

Zhou Changan: ".......After leaving home and coming to such a far place, you have to buy some things and make your home decent...Tomorrow I will let Erdan drive a tractor to take you there."

The educated youth were surprised and delighted.

After Zhou Changan left, everyone couldn't help but praise him: "Secretary Zhou is such a nice person. He has considered every aspect for us."

Qin Hanshu asked Zhang Yao: "Are you going?"

The team basically didn't care about the activities of the educated youth, and they could go into the city if they wanted.

But Zhang Yao shook her head, "I have no money, I can't buy anything, what can I do..."

Qin Hanshu nodded.

Then she ran to take a look at the new cave.

The new cave is not far from the team headquarters, only two minutes' walk away.

There are eight caves in total, two of which belong to Qin Hanshu and Ma Chaoyang. The remaining six are collective dormitories, divided according to the number of people, with one cave housing about 2-3 people.

The area of ​​the cave dwellings is the same, about thirty square meters.

The area looks quite large, but people conduct all their daily activities in this cave, including cooking.

Because the kang must be heated in the cave, otherwise it would be uninhabitable in the winter. In order to save firewood, there was no separate kitchen kiln. Instead, a stove was built in each cave so that meals could be cooked while the kang was heated.

Qin Hanshu's kiln had already been assigned to her, with eight holes in a row, and the one at the eastern end was hers. Ma Chaoyang's was at the western end.

There is a window next to the cave entrance, and under the window is a kang. The stove is next to the kang, and the inside is connected, with a vent on the outside.

Qin Hanshu had long discovered that although the cave she and Ma Chaoyang lived in looked the same size as the others, there was actually an extra hole at the back.

The hole is not big, but the temperature is lower than that of the cellar, making it a perfect storage space.

Qin Hanshu thought, maybe this was a gift because they paid the money.

The cave house still looked gray and covered with dirt. Qin Hanshu roughly estimated what he needed to buy and then came out.

Furniture for sure.

The furniture in the cave where Zhang Yao lives now were all added by herself, including a desk, a kang table, and a chair, which were made from old door panels that people in the team didn't want, or other kinds of broken wood.

It took several months to put this together.

Nowadays, furniture is a large and difficult item to deal with, whether in cities or in rural areas.

Even though there are trees in Haowan Village, they cannot be cut down at will.

She has a lot of furniture stored in her space, but how can she use them?