Zhao Youtian drove a bullock cart to bring the rations he had loaned them. "Ten catties of sorghum flour and ten catties of corn flour per person. If you save them, it will be enough for more than a month. It's already been recorded in the account and you have to pay it back after the autumn harvest. In addition, you arrived late today, and many of the houses in the educated youth site have not been occupied for a while. You will all rest for two days tomorrow and clean up the houses. You can start work the day after tomorrow."

"Uncle Youtian, thank you for your hard work!" Yi Qingqing thanked him sweetly.

"Thank you, Captain!" Liu Chunxing said immediately.

"Captain, take care!"

"Goodbye, Captain!"

Others also said goodbye to the captain.

"Hey, come in quickly," Zhao Youtian said with a smile on his face. The educated youth this time were quite polite, especially Xiao Yi, who was very sweet-mouthed.

After the captain walked away, Wang Lingling complained, "There is too little food."

"Yeah, maybe the team doesn't have much financial resources," Liu Chunxing also said.

Yi Qingqing yawned, "I'm sleepy. I'm going to go back to sleep first. I have a lot to do tomorrow!"

That night, Yi Qingqing had some snacks and didn't even change her clothes. She just lay on the kang and slept all night with her clothes on.

At dawn the next day, Yi Qingqing took a pound of brown sugar and went to the captain's house. She had specifically asked about the location of the captain's house yesterday.

When I got to the door, I saw an old lady carrying a basin and pouring water. "Excuse me, is this Uncle Youtian's house?"

"Hey, who are you?"

"I'm an educated youth who just came here yesterday. You can just call me Xiao Yi. You must be Aunt Guihua, right? I have something small that I want to ask Uncle Youtian for help with," Yi Qingqing said, stuffing the brown sugar in her hand into Lin Guihua's hand, "Give the children some sweetness."

"Oh, it's Xiao Yi, the educated youth. Yesterday, your uncle Tian came back and said that you seem to be the most sensible among the educated youth. Come here if you want to. Why do you bring anything with you? Come in quickly." Lin Guihua refused with her mouth, but her hand steadily received the gift. She turned around and shouted to the room, "You Tian, ​​Xiao Yi, the educated youth is here!"

When Yi Qingqing entered the room, she saw Zhao Youtian sitting on the kang. He must have just finished his meal. When he saw her come in, he waved for her to sit down.

"Uncle, I won't be polite with you. I want to start my own cooking and find someone to help me build a clay stove. I also want to buy some things. Yesterday I heard you say that there is an old carpenter in the village with good skills and I can exchange food for things with him. I want to ask you for help. Is it possible?" Yi Qingqing went straight to the point.

"Oh, you don't need Uncle Tian for this matter. Aunt Guihua can help you with it, and you won't lose the pound of brown sugar," Lin Guihua promised, patting her chest.

Zhao Youtian thought about it and said, "Your Aunt Guihua is free in the morning. If you need anything, just ask her. She will definitely help you get it done."

"That's great. I've found the right person," Yi Qingqing said with a smile.

"Come on, I'll take you to find someone. If it's too late, we might have to go to work," said Lin Guihua.

"Aunt Guihua, I noticed there's a straw mat on your kang. Is it made by someone in our village?" Yi Qingqing thought of her own dusty earthen kang. It would feel much cleaner if a straw mat was put on it, and she wouldn't have to worry about getting the bedding dirty.

"Every woman in every household can make this, but my sister has the best skills. Not only are the straw mats she weaves tighter than others, she can also make brooms and backpacks!" Lin Guihua said proudly.

Yi Qingqing's eyes lit up, "Can this straw mat, broom, and backpack be exchanged for grain?"

"The food the team lends you is not enough. If you use it to exchange, what will you eat later?" Lin Guihua reminded.

"It's okay. To be honest, I was tricked by my new sister-in-law and had to go to the countryside. My mother was very worried about me, fearing that I would suffer in the countryside. She brought me a lot of food coupons so I wouldn't starve. So it's no problem to exchange some for food when I go out," Yi Qingqing explained.

What she intended to create was an image of someone who was pampered at home, often helped, and not short of money or tickets. After all, when she signed in later, she could save the money she got, but she would have to find a way to use the tickets. After all, if she saved them, they would become a piece of waste paper, and there was also a redemption date.

Lin Guihua and her daughter-in-law didn't have a good relationship either. When she heard her talk about her new sister-in-law, she immediately felt sympathy for her. "Auntie can help you with a thick straw mat, a backpack, a broom, and two kilograms of sorghum flour. I can also ask my old sister to give you a few feet of straw felt to nail on the wall next to the kang to keep out the dust and keep you warm. How about that?"

Yi Qingqing nodded repeatedly, "Great! You are such a good person!"

In this day and age, being given a good person card is a great compliment, and Lin Guihua was very happy.

Then she took Yi Qingqing to the village chief's house. Lin Guihua's old sister was the village chief's wife.

The team leader and the village chief of Xiangshui Village are very harmonious, otherwise the wives of the two families cannot be sisters.

"Dongmei, Dongmei, come out quickly, good news is coming!" As soon as she entered the door, Lin Guihua's loud voice resounded throughout the yard.

"What good news brings you to see me so early?"

I heard voices before I saw anyone.

They have the same loud voice, no wonder they can get along like old sisters, Yi Qingqing thought.

"Didn't the new educated youth arrive yesterday? This little educated youth Yi asked me where the straw mat on my kang came from. She wanted to make one too. I had to brag about your craftsmanship. She wanted to exchange two kilograms of sorghum flour for a straw mat, a backpack, and a broom. I also gave her a few feet of straw felt and asked her to go back to the educated youth point to help promote you. You can also exchange more things," said Lin Guihua, holding Xu Dongmei's hand.

"That's no problem!" Xu Dongmei said as she went into the house and carried the things out. "Just bring the food over from the back."

"Thank you, Aunt Dongmei," Yi Qingqing said with a smile.

After leaving the village chief's house, Lin Guihua asked her what she wanted after she went to the carpenter.

Yi Qingqing counted carefully and found out that she needed a large box for clothes, tables and chairs, bowls and chopsticks, spatulas, ladles, basins and buckets, and the doors and windows of the house needed to be repaired.

"About 6 kilograms of sorghum flour are enough," said Lin Guihua.

Yi Qingqing nodded in agreement.

Lin Guihua thought of something and whispered to her, "Auntie, you seem to be quite straightforward and you just came from the city, so you should have some tickets. At home, I have a small water tank and an iron pot with a small hole on the side that are unused. Can I exchange them with you for some soap tickets, cloth tickets, sugar tickets, etc."

Upon hearing this, Yi Qingqing was deeply grateful that she had gone to the captain's house this morning and made friends with Aunt Guihua, such a great treasure. She thought she would have to go to the county town to buy a pot tomorrow before she could have a hot meal. A small hole here didn't matter, as she still had a water jar, which solved her water problem. She was so happy.

One of the tickets she had on her was prepared for her by Zhao Xianglan, and the other was from the educated youth gift package.

Among them, Zhao Xianglan prepared even more for him.

She sorted them out this morning. In addition to food coupons such as grain coupons, meat coupons, sugar coupons, snack coupons, etc., there were also coupons for daily necessities such as toothpaste and soap, and even a thermos coupon and a flashlight coupon. There was a total of 200 yuan in cash. Yi Qingqing seriously suspected that her mother had brought all the family assets to her.