After a simple meal at noon, Shen Anning spread the quilt on the kang and took a nap with his younger brother and sister. He set an alarm for 1:40.
Before the alarm clock rang, Shen An Ning woke up at half past one. Seeing that the time was almost up, he woke up his younger brother and sister, closed the door, and went to the village entrance to wait for the uncle who was driving the car.
An ox cart was actually not very big. In addition to Xu Hongxia, the educated youth also included the Shanghai sisters Wang Xinrong and Wang Xinhua.
The old man driving the cart was the village chief's cousin, Old Wangtou. He was in his sixties, but still very healthy and kind. He introduced the people and things in Wangtu Village to them along the way.
Because Wangtu Village is a bit far from the commune town, it takes more than half an hour to get there by ox cart. Time is tight, so Old Wang drove the car directly to the post office. Everyone picked up the packages first. Shen Anning had a lot of big packages, three big packages in total, bulging with stuff. Xu Hongxia's package was sent on the day she arrived, so it hadn't arrived yet.
Leaving An Yu and An Xuan to accompany Old Wang to look after the luggage, they went to buy things separately. Everyone knew that Shen An Ning had relatives in town, so they didn't ask to go together.
Walking and stopping here and there, Shen Anning looked around and got a general understanding of the commune's situation. There was a supply and marketing cooperative, a grain store's sales outlet, a very small state-owned restaurant with a limited variety of food, and a hospital, which was a two-story building. These were all on the main street, and there were also several small workshop-like factories on the edge of the town.
He picked a deserted place and took out the large backpack and snakeskin bag that had been prepared in the space. Shen An Ning did not go to the supply and marketing cooperative. He took the things and went directly to the place where he had an appointment with Old Wang.
"Sister, you bought so many things? They are so heavy." Shen Anyu and An Xuan saw her and came over to help with the snakeskin bag. Only when they got it in their hands did they realize how heavy the things were.
Shen Anning looked at them and warned: “Be careful, there is an iron pot inside.”
After putting the things on the ox cart, Shen Anning took out a few small apples and stuffed one into Old Wang's pocket.
Old Wang didn't take it. Fruits were still precious these days. In the Northeast, only pears and persimmons were cheap. Other fruits were hard to find. "Chen Zhiqing, this is precious. Give it to your brothers and sisters. I don't need it at my age."
Shen Anning gave the two little guys a look, and sure enough, Shen Anxuan directly picked up a larger one and stuffed it into Old Wang's mouth, not letting him refuse, "Grandpa Wang, just take it. You've worked hard today."
Old Wang took it with a smile.
While waiting for someone, Shen Anning also found out from Old Wang that the place where water tanks were sold was in Gengjiatun.
Thinking that there was no well in the yard, Shen Anning asked, "Grandpa Wang, does anyone in our village know how to dig a well?" Although it was close to the river, she didn't want to fetch water every day, so it would be more convenient to dig a well.
"The eldest son of the village chief and several sons of Liu Laogen know how to dig a well, but you'll have to wait a while if you want to. It's busy farming season right now, and they're all strong laborers and don't have time. They'll finish it for you in a day when they have some free time. Our village is next to the river, so the wells don't need to be dug too deep to produce water. They can definitely finish it in a day."
After waiting for a while, around four o'clock, everyone returned to the oxcart after buying things. Because there were a lot of things on the way back, the oxcart moved slowly. When they returned to the village, it was almost five o'clock. Shen Anning was so tired after moving the twins' things into the room that she didn't want to move anymore, but there was no way, she had to keep busy.
With the help of Old Wang, Shen Anning placed the pot on the stove, which was just the right size. Old Wang also helped her mix yellow mud to seal the edges.
After finishing his work, he lay on the kang, stretched his muscles, and directed An Yu and An Xuan to put things in order.
Looking at the sky outside, it was not yet completely dark. Shen An Ning thought that he should get all the things back now while no one was watching, otherwise it would be very troublesome.
The three siblings had a quick dinner and went to Gengjiatun. They found Geng Yue at the village chief's house and went to the place where water jars were sold in the village.
Under Geng Yue's guidance, Shen An Ning asked for two large water jars, one for the kitchen and one for the yard, and two jars for pickling vegetables. Seeing that there were small jars, Shen An Ning also asked for four, ready to use them for storing things in the future.
Geng Yue looked at her and was a little surprised to see that she bought so much: "An Ning, you don't need to pickle vegetables now, you bought too much."
"Hey, I'll need it in the future, and I don't want to bother with it then." Buy it all at once so it will be more convenient next time.
Because it was dark, no one knew she had bought so much. They agreed to pay after the goods were delivered. After thanking Geng Yue, Shen Anning hurried back with her younger brother and sister. She still had to deliver the cloth and industrial coupons to the carpenter's house.
A piece of bright red cloth is very rare. Uncle Carpenter’s wife Li Chunqin likes it very much. “Shen Zhiqing, thank you so much. I don’t know what to say. You just came and haven’t planted any vegetables yet. Just wait.”
Watching Aunt Chunqin rushing to her private plot with a basket to pick vegetables, Shen Anning knew that she was kind-hearted and naturally would not refuse.
It was a good opportunity to tell him what I needed at home. "Uncle Carpenter, we are still in need of two pot lids, two water tank lids, and three small cabinets to be placed against the kang. I need you to make them for me in the next few days."
"Okay, I'll ask your aunt to send you a few pot lids tomorrow, and you just wait a few days for the cabinets. When they're done, I'll take them home on a cart." Wang Genfa thought about it and quickly agreed. He would focus on the cabinets for the next few days.
He took the vegetable basket from Aunt Li, thanked her, and hurried home with his younger brothers and sisters. After the delivery person for the water jar arrived, he helped put the water jar in the kitchen and warehouse and paid twenty yuan.
Shen An Ning has been busy since she got off the train. She is really exhausted. She took a wooden bucket and went out, pretending to fetch water from the river, but it was actually stored in the space. She poured the water into the pot and boiled a pot of water. The three of them simply washed up. This was the first night after moving into the new house, so the three of them slept together. Because it was still a bit cold in the Northeast in April, they made a bed with a thick mattress and didn't heat the kang. The three of them squeezed together just right. The younger brothers and sisters were all children, and they were very hot-tempered. They wrapped Shen An Ning in the middle, and she was like holding two big heaters.
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