After returning from the farm, Shen Anning cleared the open space in the courtyard and the private plot behind the house, divided them into pieces, and planted Chinese cabbage, cucumbers, peppers, watermelons, pumpkins, persimmons, cowpeas and loofahs.
She took care of everything carefully, and several aunts from the village came to help her divide the land into ridges.
Now the people in the village are very polite to Shen Anning, An Yu and An Xuan, because when Shen Anning is free during the day, she will take a group of children to the mountains to dig wild vegetables, teach them to write, and tell them what vegetables are good for the body. She dare not say openly that they are Chinese medicine, but only say that they are wild vegetables. These children will help her pick up some firewood every day, so she will give these children a piece of candy every now and then. Even the cheapest rock sugar makes these children very happy.
As time went by, these children followed Shen An Ning's lead, and she became the king of the children in the two villages, the kind that everyone obeyed.
In early July, students in Northeast China began their summer vacation. There were so many children in the two villages that they were not allowed to go to the deep mountains, so everyone stayed in the periphery. This year, the city's policies on traditional Chinese medicine were relaxed a bit, because the country's Western medicine has always been in short supply, and the army's consumption is even greater. Under this realistic situation, traditional Chinese medicine has been re-used.
The purchasing station in the town has started to purchase large quantities of Chinese medicine. There are many mountains in the Northeast, and naturally there are many herbs. In order to encourage villagers to go up the mountain to collect herbs, the price of herbs at the purchasing station is three cents more per catty than what the hospital used to charge.
It was under such circumstances that Shen An Ning took a group of children with her and took advantage of the situation to get the most out of the wild vegetables, fruits and herbs on the outskirts of the mountain. Shen An Ning purchased them in the village at the purchase price in the town, and then made some simple preparations before selling them. She was really exhausted.
Shen Anyu and Shen Anxuan quickly made friends. Every time, they would take the account books to reconcile with these children. Many children would exchange candies with Shen Anning, which made many elderly people in the village very happy.
Fruit candies require candy tickets, so Shen Anning is at a disadvantage no matter how you calculate it. Therefore, the head of every wealthy family in the village will ask their children to help Shen Anning with work.
At the end of July, when the Northeast was at its hottest, Shen Anning received a letter from his second brother, Shen Anchen, for the first time in three months. "Anning, I'm glad to see you. Brother is doing well and has settled down in the 1st Independent Regiment of the South China Military Region. Although the training is tough, I've already adapted to it. I wonder how you're doing in the Northeast. When I think of the fatigue and suffering you might be enduring there, I feel uneasy. I've enclosed my address and phone number. I hope you can write back quickly with your younger brothers and sisters. I'm worried about you."
After reading the letter, Shen Anning couldn't control her tears anymore. How could she not understand her brother's thoughts? He must be full of guilt now. The way out that his family arranged for him has become his shackles.
I prepared some long-lasting food at home for my second brother to eat when he was hungry at night. It was summer now, so the only thing I had was some dried meat with preservatives in my space. I also wrote a letter to Shen Anchen about the situation here, letting him know that his family was doing well in the Northeast. I just hoped that he could protect himself and not be impulsive.
Shen Anning rode her bike to the town to mail a letter, and by the way, she retrieved the package her aunt and uncle had sent her, which included a bicycle ticket.
I remembered that she complained in her last letter that ever since she got a bicycle, everyone in the village who needed a bicycle came to her. Those who were getting married or had their daughters married came to borrow her bicycle to show off, and it caused a lot of jokes. This must have been the one her aunt and uncle found for her to avoid such things.
Looking at the letter stuffed in the shoes that the aunt made for them, sure enough, the aunt wrote in the letter that Shen Anning should donate the bicycle ticket to the village, and everything would be left to the village chief to solve.
They took into consideration that Shen Anning had just arrived in the village not long after all, and if the bicycle was not lent, someone would definitely say something, but since her family background was good, it was already known to everyone, so it was better to use a bicycle ticket to buy a good reputation.
Going directly to the village committee, Shen Anning didn't intend to hide it from others, and shouted directly: "Village chief, branch secretary, are the two grandfathers here?"
"Little Shen, the educated youth, is here. You've done a good job recently. The tuition for the hardworking children in the village next semester will be paid from you. You've worked hard." The women's director and the accountant now look at Shen An Ning as if she were the God of Wealth. This time, the villagers owe Shen An Ning a favor.
"I didn't help much. They collected the herbs themselves. Isn't it the county and the commune that need them? We are a village collective. I am just a middleman." Shen An Ning was not modest. This matter really had little to do with her. Anyway, she collected it today and would go to the town hospital and the county to sell it in a few days. She just spent some time teaching these children to recognize herbs and prepare them.
"An Ning, what brings you here today?" The village secretary came out of the house. The village was settling accounts at this time, and they had to distribute grain to everyone before the autumn harvest.
"Uncle Secretary, I'll be frank with you. You know, ever since Uncle Geng gave me that bicycle, I've made a few jokes." Shen Anning looked at the people in the yard, and sure enough, everyone's faces were not very good.
Previously, the bicycle was lent to the son of Hu Dayong's family in the village to pick up his bride, but the bicycle was directly confiscated by the woman's family. The woman's family insisted that it was a betrothal gift. Hu Dayong's wife was a well-known ruffian. She came to the door with a basket of vegetables, implying that she would lend the bicycle to them for two months and then return it. This made Shen An Ning very angry. In the end, it was the village that stepped in to get the bicycle back.
"My uncle is also a soldier. They have better supplies over there, and it's easier to get tickets. A few days ago, I went to town and called him to ask him to help me get a bicycle ticket. I just got it today and I came here. I'll give the ticket to the village for free, and the village will pay for the bicycle. From now on, I won't lend my bicycle to anyone unless it's a matter of life and death. Secretary, I hope you can understand."
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