After breakfast, those going to work or school went about their business.
Since she was having lunch with some people in the afternoon, Zhang Shuzhen didn't go to work in the family team. Instead, she stayed home to tidy up and prepare the meal.
The forest farm's family members worked not on work points, but by borrowing money.
You get an advance of 80 cents to a dollar for each day's work, and the final settlement is made when the vegetables are sold in the fall.
It's basically like working to earn money, and then spending money on groceries later.
Those who put in more work will have some left over after the accounts are settled, while those who put in less work may have to pay back the difference later.
Sheng Xiping and the other educated youth were in a similar situation.
The agricultural team borrowed money every day for their work, and the accounts would be settled together in the fall.
Those working at the forest farm are seasonal or temporary workers; they go there to work when the forest farm is busy with production.
After the first phase of work is completed and passes inspection, the site will settle the wages.
Occasionally, they can also work as temporary workers on road repairs, house construction, or similar jobs.
Compared to regular workers, educated youth earned less money, had little to no performance evaluation or labor protection, and their earnings were inconsistent.
After a year of hard work, some people have some left over, while others have nothing left and even have to rely on their families for food and drink.
People like Sheng Xiping spend most of their time in the family team during the spring, summer and autumn, interspersed with afforestation and forestry production, and also doing some mountain clearing work on the side.
In winter, we would go to the mountains to work, cutting down trees and carrying timber, and occasionally go hunting with our master.
At the end of the year, you can save quite a bit. After deducting your food and drink expenses, you can still save four or five hundred yuan.
He's definitely number one among the young people in the forest farm.
Turning over two hundred acres of land is no easy task.
The forest farm's family team didn't have large livestock, so naturally they didn't have plows to till the land. Turning the soil was done by people swinging pickaxes to dig and prepare the furrows.
The people in this forest farm are alright; at least they've helped their families grow vegetables and till the land.
Those educated youth from Songjianghe had never done manual labor before, and even after these days of training, they were still not very good at it.
They had only been turning the soil for a short while when their arms ached from exhaustion, and they all sat down on the edge of the field, groaning and complaining.
When Lao Hu and many of his family members saw this, they kept shaking their heads.
These young masters and nobles are hardly work material! What good are they? They'll only cause trouble.
The person has already been arranged, so we can't just send them back, can we?
Since Dadi is close to home, I don't need to eat dry food and pickled vegetables at noon anymore; I can eat at home.
We took a short break at noon and continued working around 1 p.m.
Sheng Xiping had told Lao Hu in advance, so around 4:30 pm, Lao Hu called it a day's work and said we'd continue tomorrow.
The young men cheered, quickly packed up their tools, carried their pickaxes back to the family team's warehouse, and then ran back home excitedly.
"Xiping, what delicious food did you prepare at home today?"
Just as they finished packing up and putting the things away, Gao Haining and the others hooked their arms around Sheng Xiping's neck with expectant looks and asked him questions.
"I don't know what my mom prepared, but the snake from yesterday is definitely in the pot."
I caught some fish this morning, I wonder what my mom did with them.
"Let's go to my place, we'll have a nice meal tonight."
Sheng Xiping was working outside, so how would he know what his mother was cooking at home? As long as there was food, that was fine.
"Well, let's go home and change our clothes first."
Look at all this mess, all dusty and dirty. How can I possibly come to your house looking like this?"
Gao Haining, Chen Weiguo, and the others exchanged glances.
When you go to someone's house for a meal, how can you go empty-handed?
If they can't just give us grain coupons or grain, they should at least buy us some cigarettes, alcohol, or canned goods, right?
Who goes to eat empty-handed? They don't have that kind of thick skin.
It hasn't rained for the past few days, so the ground is a bit dry, and today the ground is covered in dust.
Sheng Xiping looked at himself, then at Zhou Qinglan and the others, all of whom were dressed in a dusty gray.
"Okay, then don't take too long. I'll wait for you at home."
His clothes are really filthy; he should go home and change.
And so, the group parted ways. Sheng Xiping went home first, washed his hair and face with water, and planned to change his clothes to help his mother with cooking.
"Braised snake segments, leek tree chicken mushrooms, braised willow roots in soy sauce, clear stewed small-scaled fish, crucian carp and tofu soup, and stir-fried wood ear mushrooms with eggs."
Fry another bowl of egg sauce, and serve a plate of dried tofu, scallions, lettuce, radish greens, and other vegetables to dip in the sauce.
The staple food is a mixture of rice and millet called "golden and silver rice".
"Son, what do you think? If you think it's not enough, I'll go to the store and buy two more cans?"
While Sheng Xiping was washing his hair, Zhang Shuzhen was reading the menu aloud.
"No need, Mom, this is already plenty."
Six dishes and a soup, plus fish—that's considered quite a high-class meal. On ordinary days, who would be willing to eat like that?
"Now that it's all done, I'll take care of the rest. Don't tire yourself out."
Sheng Xiping haphazardly wiped his hair, put on a shirt, and went back to the kitchen to ask.
"No need, no need, it's almost done. We still have your two younger sisters to help us, right?" Zhang Shuzhen quickly waved her hand upon hearing this.
"Go to the store and buy two bottles of bar; I remember those guys all have a drink."
It's rare for you all to get together, so a little drink is fine.
As Zhang Shuzhen spoke, she took out some money from her pocket, wanting Sheng Xiping to buy some wine.
Sheng Xiping had money in his pocket, so he didn't take the money his mother offered and started to walk out.
Before he could even step out the door, he saw Gao Haining, Tang Fengying, Wang Jianshe, Zhou Qinglan, and others carrying things over.
"Why did you bring so much stuff when you came over for a meal? Do you really think I'm an outsider?"
Upon seeing this, Sheng Xiping's face immediately darkened. These brats are always causing trouble.
A childhood friend came over for a meal and even brought gifts? What does that mean?
"Xiping, Qinglan bought all of these, we just helped bring them over."
Qinglan said that since it was her first time visiting your house, she shouldn't come empty-handed.
Gao Haining winked at Sheng Xiping, signaling him not to get angry. After all, Zhou Qinglan was there, so he should mind his image.
Sheng Xiping glared at Gao Haining and the others. He was willing to bet that, at the very least, the wine among these items was not bought by Zhou Qinglan.
But since Gao Haining had already said that, Sheng Xiping couldn't very well lose his temper in front of Zhou Qinglan.
"Qinglan, you don't need to do this anymore. Come here and feel at home."
Zhou Qinglan blushed slightly and smiled at Sheng Xiping.
"I don't know what my uncle and aunt like, I just bought it randomly, and it didn't cost much."
Since Gao Haining and the others had brought wine, Sheng Xiping didn't need to buy any more, so he led everyone inside.
"Mom, this is Qinglan. We should have met before."
Of these people, only Zhou Qinglan was visiting the Sheng family for the first time, so Sheng Xiping had to introduce her to him.
Hello, Auntie.
"Well, this is my first time visiting your home, and I didn't know what my aunt and uncle liked, so I bought them a few cans of food and two boxes of pastries."
Zhou Qinglan looked embarrassed and quickly handed over what she was holding.
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