Chapter 421: Compulsory Labor
I fantasize about being like Lu Miao, wearing a watch, applying cold cream, and living a rich and bright life from then on.
Li Yue, who was as dark and thin as a village girl, swallowed her saliva.
Mustering up my courage, I walked into the National Komon Eisha Society with my head held high, holding the letter of recommendation.
The compulsory rural class was coming up on Monday, so Lu Miao could only put the matter of dealing with Lu Yuanzheng aside for the time being.
Early in the morning, it was dim outside, with a crescent moon hanging in the sky and a few stars falling.
Tang Mei got up early to cook.
Lu Miao listened to the noise and got up sleepily.
Fu Jingyou followed her and lifted the thin blanket.
Lu Miao squatted under the side eaves of the kitchen, brushing his teeth next to the vegetable patch.
Fu Jingyou prepared warm water for her to wash her face, then bent over the well and washed quickly.
The stubble of hair on his forehead was covered with water droplets, which he had not had time to wipe away.
Fu Jingyou sneaked into the vegetable patch where katydids and crickets were chirping.
He picked two juicy cucumbers, stared at them for a long time, and picked four or five tomatoes that turned half of their faces red.
After Lu Miao washed her face, she came out of the house with her hands and face scented.
Tang Mei had already packed her lunch box and water bottle, and was packing them in her bag, instructing her:
"The water bottle is made of glass. Be careful when you carry it on the road. Don't drop it or get cut."
"Did you get the money? Keep an extra dollar with you in case you need it."
"It's okay to work slowly. Take a break when you're tired, and eat a good lunch."
Tang Mei is an old mother who is worried about her children.
She couldn't help but feel uneasy when her daughter, whom she had raised so carefully at home, had to go out to work in the fields.
He kept on talking and had endless things to say.
Lu Miao is like a rebellious teenager who understands his parents' painstaking efforts but also dislikes their excessive nagging.
"Oh, I know, Auntie!"
Taking the handbag, Lu Miao opened the bag and let Fu Jingyou put the washed cucumbers and tomatoes in.
"I'm going out. I'll be back in the afternoon."
"Be careful on the road."
"I know."
Lu Miao responded, grabbed Fu Jingyou's clothes at the back of his waist, and sat tremblingly on the back seat of the bicycle.
Tang Mei stood at the door, watching the bicycle wobbling around the corner of the alley, then she closed the gate and went into the house to continue her work.
The bicycle clanged twice and stopped halfway.
Since there was no time to eat at home, Fu Jingyou bought two fried dough sticks for Lu Miao.
Lu Miao ate in small bites and asked:
"Are you cold?"
Lu Miao shook his head.
It’s just May and it’s still a bit chilly in the mornings and evenings.
But it doesn't matter. It's summer now and the sun rises early. Everything will be fine once the sun comes out.
Lu Miao's appetite was usually not very good in the morning, and the fried dough sticks were greasy, so she ate half of one and then pushed it away and refused to eat.
Fu Jingyou had no choice but to stuff the remaining fried dough sticks into his mouth in two bites.
He screwed the cap of the glass bottle for her, watched her take two sips to relieve the greasiness, and then continued to take her to the military university.
The school gathers at six in the morning.
Fu Jingyou sent Lu Miao to the school gate and stopped.
He tidied up the loose hair around Lu Miao's ears and said:
"I finish class early this afternoon and will pick you up then."
"knew."
Lu Miao said "hmm", waved at him, and trotted into the school.
Fu Jingyou looked at the place for a while, then turned his bicycle around, went back to have a quick breakfast, and hurried to school.
Working on Labor Day is in line with the title of this festival.
This compulsory class brought together students from several grades and classes in the school.
It took more than an hour to walk from the school to the destination.
The land in the north thaws late in spring.
In May of the Gregorian calendar, the spring wheat that had been sown earlier had only sprouted into seedlings of more than ten centimeters and was about to turn green and enter the jointing stage.
This stage belongs to the post-seedling management period, and the main work is weeding and topdressing.
The rest is the sowing period for early spring crops such as sesame, spring peanuts, and sweet potatoes.
It is said that this period is the busy farming season in the north, and the work is heavy and varied.
But it is possible that the corresponding production teams did not assign such difficult work to the students in these schools because they did not want to trouble them too much.
Lu Miao was assigned to a small courtyard in the morning.
The women from the production team brought two large bundles of sweet potato vines and taught her and two other female classmates how to cut them into small pieces.
The cut pieces are the sweet potato seedlings, which need to be collected later and planted in the field.
The work is neither hard nor tiring.
I just sat on a small stool with my head down for a long time, and my shoulders, back and lower back became very sore.
Lu Miao put down the scissors, supported his lower back with both hands and straightened his back.
When the two girls next to her saw her move, they also put down their scissors and took a break.
"Just now I came here and didn't see anyone planting rice in this area. I glanced around and saw nothing but wheat."
"It's like this in the north, there are few people growing rice..."
"That's what I said! But the land here is really good, huge tracts of it. Back home, I often have to climb over a hill or two to work in the fields..."
No one had been talking while they were working, but now that they were taking a break, some chatter began to rise.
Someone saw Lu Miao wearing a watch and stretched his neck to ask:
"Hey classmate, what time is it now? Is it time for dinner yet?"
Lu Miao took a look and said:
"Almost, it's already a quarter past eleven."
When we left the school, the cafeteria was not open yet, so all the students who came with us had empty stomachs.
When we came here in the morning, some people were already complaining of hunger after just an hour’s walk, let alone at this time.
Lu Miao had a bite in the morning, but didn't eat much. He was a little hungry here too.
Two large bundles of sweet potato vines, it's not difficult for three people to work together.
There wasn't much left, so Lu Miao wanted to finish it quickly and have dinner early. It was almost time to rest, so he picked up the scissors again.
The same was true for the other two female classmates.
We had just asked about the time, and the distance briefly brought us closer.
Later, when we were working, we chatted casually and time passed quickly.
At lunch, the three of them also sat together under a tree to eat.
Lu Miao originally wanted to do as Tang Mei instructed and spend a few cents to ask a fellow villager to heat up his lunch box.
In the end, they refused to accept it.
He kept saying that it was not easy for them as students to study, and that they had to take time out to do work for them, which was hard work.
Not only did they heat up the meal for free, but they also gave Lu Miao three steamed sweet potatoes and asked the three girls to share them among themselves.
Lu Miao brought his own food, but his co-workers Wang Hong and Zhao Ying only brought dry sesame cakes.
Each piece was about the size of Mingyi and Mingxia's fist, and they each got two pieces, which they had received in the cafeteria a few days ago.
Dry biscuits are filling and can be stored for a long time, so there is no need to worry about them going bad during this season.
It's just that it has been away from the stove for too long and it's not as crispy as it was at the beginning.
Now the mouthfeel is weak and the bite is strong, the taste is like chewing a rubber band.
Lu Miao gave them all the sweet potatoes, and they felt embarrassed:
"You should keep it for yourself!"
Lu Miao shook his head and said, "It's okay. I brought enough food with me."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
