"Xile, that's fast! It's your first time working in the fields, and you've done it so quickly, that's really impressive!"
Jiang Xile looked up and met Su Jinxiu's smiling face. She dusted herself off and walked towards her.
"Jinxiu, are you done too?"
"The progress is pretty good. We still have a whole afternoon left. Let's go back to the educated youth settlement first!"
Jiang Xile looked around and saw that there were still many people bent over, busy in the fields.
"Sister Jinxiu, they..."
Su Jinxiu followed Jiang Xile's gaze and naturally knew what she was worried about.
"Don't worry about others. They're just wasting time here because they're working too slowly. Once we finish our share, we can go back and rest."
"Alright then, I'll listen to Sister Jinxiu!"
The two walked back together, and on the way they met Yang Hongmei and Yin Dongxue, so the group of two became four.
"Sister Jinxiu, you've done a great job as a mentor! I didn't expect Jiang Zhiqing to be so efficient on her first day of work!"
Yang Hongmei smiled and came closer, teasing her half-jokingly.
"Sister Hongmei, you flatter me. I was just doing my best. I didn't want to embarrass Sister Jinxiu!"
"Xi Le is being too modest. Herbal remedies don't require much technical skill."
As long as you are careful and hardworking, you can do a good job. Your efficiency shows your ability, which is a good thing.
Faced with Su Jinxiu's praise and affirmation, Jiang Xile simply smiled and nodded. Yang Hongmei, standing to the side, said with a jealous look on her face:
"Well, Sister Jinxiu has forgotten the old for the new! Now that she has Jiang Zhiqing as her new apprentice, she's completely forgotten about me, her old apprentice. I've fallen out of favor!"
"You're just being mischievous and spouting nonsense!"
Su Jinxiu playfully tapped Yang Hongmei's forehead. Back when Yang Hongmei first arrived at the Progress Brigade, it was Su Jinxiu who guided her in her work.
Over the years, their relationship has become quite good.
"So, it seems I should call Sister Hongmei 'Senior Sister' instead. I never imagined we'd have this connection!"
"Hehe, that's right. But if you call me senior sister, then wouldn't Dongxue become your junior niece?"
Jiang Xile was stunned for a moment, then looked at Yin Dongxue. Yin Dongxue burst out laughing and then reached out to grab Yang Hongmei.
"Alright, you... no wonder you were giving me that weird look earlier, so that's what you were waiting for! You wanted to act superior to your senior? Fine, let this little apprentice show your master some respect today!"
"Haha... Haha... Good winter snow, forgive me... I was just joking... I was wrong... I was wrong!"
Seeing the two of them bickering, Jiang Xile couldn't help but laugh.
The two bickered for a while before finally calming down after Su Jinxiu persuaded them to stop.
As they walked, many more educated youths joined them, and the group continued to grow. By the time they reached the educated youth settlement, more than half of the educated youths had returned.
"Xile did a good job today, go wash up and get some rest, we'll be busy this afternoon!"
"Okay, I understand. Thank you for the reminder, Sister Jinxiu!"
"Why are you being so polite? We all live in the same courtyard, so be comfortable and casual!"
Jiang Xile nodded and said with a smile:
"It's never wrong to be overly polite, does it mean that Sister Jinxiu dislikes me?"
Jiang Xile stared at Su Jinxiu with her big, bright eyes, looking completely innocent, like a Persian cat trying to be cute.
"You little devil, stop your supernatural powers now!"
"Ha ha!"
Yang Hongmei and Yin Dongxue were on duty cooking today. After returning to the educated youth settlement and washing up, the two of them plunged into the kitchen.
Now we have to feed 24 people at each meal. Even though it's only an extra six people, it has increased our workload considerably.
As is customary, lunch usually consists of flatbread and stew. These past few days, people have been busy with work and no one has gone to the back mountain to dig for wild vegetables or pick mushrooms.
So the only vegetables we could eat were the radishes and cabbages from the backyard garden. We took out about ten potatoes from the cupboard; the potatoes weren't very big at that time.
A dozen or so potatoes together weigh only about three or four pounds.
"Dongxue, go to the backyard and pick three cabbages. We'll have cornbread and cabbage and potato soup for lunch today!"
"Okay, I'll go right away!"
After putting down the firewood, Yin Dongxue carried a basket to the backyard. It would be inconvenient to carry three cabbages by hand, so she naturally had to use a basket.
There aren't many kinds of vegetables in the garden. The most common ones are radishes, cabbages, and green onions, since these are easy to grow and are common vegetables for people in the countryside.
This year's rainfall has been good, and the cabbages are growing exceptionally well, with each cabbage weighing five or six pounds.
However, this stuff has a lot of moisture, so even three cabbages, once stewed, don't make much food. What's more, these three cabbages are meant to be shared among twenty-four people.
By the time Yin Dongxue brought the cabbage back, Yang Hongmei had already prepared the cornmeal and was just waiting to make cornbread after the cabbage was cooked.
The two had been working together for quite some time and their teamwork was excellent. Before long, a delicious aroma wafted from the kitchen.
Although there wasn't much oil in the pan, the cornbread, baked in the iron pan, still emitted a unique aroma.
After washing up, Jiang Xile returned to her small storage room. Indeed, the kang (heated brick bed) in the storage room was completely dry, but Jiang Xile still lit the fire again, trying to make it dry even more thoroughly.
The furniture ordered from Zhang the carpenter has been delivered one after another, and it's time to sort out the packages piled up in the corner.
Although she had been working in the fields all morning, Jiang Xile was still full of energy and showed no signs of fatigue.
Following his previous plan, he sorted the contents of the package into the cabinet and then smuggled a lot of things out of his spatial storage.
Curtains, bedding, kettles, enamel mugs, washbasins, and other necessities were neatly arranged throughout the room.
The once empty room was instantly filled with color, as if it had the feel of home.
After this round, even though she was in good spirits, Jiang Xile was starting to feel a bit sore in her back and waist.
Lying on her new kang (heated brick bed), Jiang Xile closed her eyes peacefully. Unfortunately, just as she was about to fall asleep, she heard Yang Hongmei's clear voice calling from outside.
"Dinner's ready!"
Look at the time, it's already 12:30. Time really flies.
With a sigh, Jiang Xile reluctantly got up from the kang (a heated brick bed), took her lunchbox, and went outside.
The kitchen was crowded with people, all queuing up to get their meals!
Jiang Xile glanced around and saw that most of the educated youth had returned, but some of them looked unwell, listless, as if they were about to faint at any moment.
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