Chen Qiangwei stood in front of the gate of Gu Sannai's house, feeling a bit homesick.
The yard was quiet. Wang Xiaomai had gone to work. It was unclear whether Gu Sannai was at home or out. The old lady was never idle. She was usually sewing, twisting straw ropes, weaving straw hats, or going out to collect firewood, or cutting mugwort or tidying up her private plot.
Chen Qiangwei pushed open the courtyard gate. Every household in Huaihua Brigade did not lock their doors. Even when people went to work in the fields, they would at most push the crossbar to the left. Some even just left the door ajar to prevent the old hens from running away.
When I pushed the door open and went in with my luggage, I saw Gu Sannai standing at the door of the main room, holding a hat that was only one-third braided, and her cloudy eyes were filled with a little excitement.
It's like an elderly left-behind person waiting in front of the yard for his children to return.
Gu Sannai, "I knew it was you who came back. It's about time for you to come back. I've left some rice in the pot for you. Please eat some first."
The sadness of Gu Linger and Huang Meixia in front of Shengli Primary School in the morning did not move her at all, but this scene made Chen Qiangwei feel a little sad, and tears gathered in her eyes.
Chen Qiangwei sniffed lightly and said mischievously, "Third Grandma, you really are a prophet, but I think you are waiting for Sister Guihua's egg cake."
Gu Sannai rolled her eyes at her, put her hat down, and came over to help her carry the things. Of course, Chen Qiangwei refused, and she dodged and quickly walked back to the room with the things.
"It's just a small thing, I can do it myself. Third Grandma, are you knitting a hat? Please make me a hat with a super big brim, preferably one that can cover my whole body."
Although everyone in the countryside has some crude craftsmanship, the straw hats woven by Gu Sannai are generally recognized as the best. They are flat, strong and durable, and they would have sold out in the past life.
Weaving straw hats was also a source of income for Grandma Gu San. In the summer, families who did not know how to weave straw hats would always go to Grandma San's house to exchange eggs, coarse grains, etc. for a few hats to take home.
Seeing that the double harvest was approaching, Grandma Gu San started to weave straw hats busily again. During the double harvest period, the sun was so hot that people would doubt their lives. Even the most stingy people would save a little money at this time to buy some straw hats to take home.
Upon hearing this, Gu Sannai looked at her thoughtfully. Just when Chen Qiangwei thought that Gu Sannai was likely to say that she was picky, Gu Sannai bent down, took the straw hat in her hand, and went back to the main room to continue weaving the straw hat.
Chen Qiangwei first took all the luggage back to the room and put it in order, then took out the egg cake and pork belly from the space. The egg cake was what Sister Guihua asked Chen Qiangwei to bring back for Gu Sannai, and the pork belly was the stock in Chen Qiangwei's space.
It's all tears if I say too much. Chen Qiangwei has been in the countryside for more than three months, and only half of the stock in the space has been sold. Who can understand the feeling of being able to only look but not eat?
Even so, she often faces the gaze of "spendthrift girl" from Gu Sannai.
Taking advantage of the break in studying at Shengli Primary School, Chen Qiangwei sold another batch of vegetables, but this batch of vegetables was much less than the previous one, and she only earned six yuan.
She earned a total of thirty yuan, which she gave all to Ergouzi in exchange for a rice cooker, a frying pan and a kitchen knife.
Iron products were expensive in that era. You needed industrial coupons to buy pots and kitchen knives. Without industrial coupons, the supply and marketing cooperative would not sell them to you.
Ergouzi has the goods, and you don’t need industrial coupons, but the price is extremely high. An iron pot costs eight yuan at the supply and marketing cooperative, but Ergouzi sells it for fifteen yuan!
Chen Qiangwei shamelessly bargained with him for a long time before she exchanged thirty yuan for two pots and a kitchen knife.
However, when she thought about being able to cook her own meals in the space, she no longer felt bad about spending the money.
Chen Qiangwei gave the egg cake to Gu Sannai, and then went to the kitchen to eat. On the table there was a plate of pickled radish, a small plate of scrambled eggs with leeks, and a plate of stir-fried lettuce.
The Huaihua Brigade usually has lunch at 12 o'clock, and it's only a little after 10 o'clock now. It goes without saying that this was specially cooked in advance by Gu Sannai.
Chen Qiangwei ate a whole bowl of pickled radish. Even in the hot summer, sour food is the best to eat with rice.
After dinner, she picked up her backpack and said, "Third Grandma, I'm going to the mountains." The peaches should be ripe by now, so I picked some and brought them back.
Peaches can be eaten as fruit, made into dried peaches as snacks, and even made into canned fruit. Unfortunately, the peaches from Huaihua Brigade are relatively small and are not favored by the commune and Nanshi canned fruit companies. Otherwise, developing it into a side business could provide an extra income.
The peaches from Huaihua Brigade were small, but fresh, juicy, and had a strong peach fragrance. A few days ago, Gu Anxi brought some peaches for Gu Linger, and she was lucky enough to try one, and she'd never forgotten the taste.
As soon as he came back, he didn't rest for a moment and hurried to the mountain to look for peaches.
As soon as I walked out of the hospital gate, I saw Gu Ling'er, who was also carrying a backpack. Gu Ling'er smiled and said, "You are going to the mountains too? What a coincidence."
Chen Qiangwei smiled and said, "Go up the mountain to pick peaches."
Gu Linger was pleasantly surprised. "You like peaches too? I was thinking of going up the mountain to pick some peaches. My mother makes delicious candied peaches, but sugar is too expensive. We only make a little every year, barely enough to fill our stomachs."
Gu Linger couldn't help licking her lips when she thought of the candied peaches.
Her family makes a lot of dried peaches every year, usually salty ones, with fewer sweet ones. After they are made, they ask Gu Xiaowu to send some to her second aunt, who likes dried peaches the most.
Having lived in the mountains for many years, Gu Linger was much more familiar with Nanshan than Chen Qiangwei. She took Chen Qiangwei to her secret base with ease. There were four or five peach trees there, and they were full of fruits. Unfortunately, many of the peaches were still raw.
However, this did not dampen their enthusiasm. They put down their backpacks and started picking the ripe fruits. After picking them, each of them only picked two or three pounds.
The two continued to walk inside.
Gu Linger stopped and said, "We can't go any further. If we go any further, we'll reach Damao Mountain."
Chen Qiangwei's eyes were sharp. "A little further ahead, I think I see a peach tree. Lots of peaches, pink and ripe."
Last time, she went fishing in the stream between Nanshan and Damao Mountain. It was quite a distance from Damao Mountain, and her awe of Damao Mountain was not as deep as that of the people from Huaihua Brigade.
She didn't want to miss this opportunity. Seeing that Gu Ling'er was still hesitating, Chen Qiangwei said, "Why don't you wait here for me, or go back first and I'll pick some myself and give you some later."
Hearing this, Gu Linger made up her mind, "Let's go together. There's strength in numbers."
If she let Gu Linger reap the benefits, she would feel guilty, so it would be better for them to go together. Having someone to keep her company would give her courage.
The two of them walked forward together again. After walking about forty or fifty meters, they saw a peach tree. There were more peaches on the trees than in Gu Linger's secret base, and many of them were ripe. Each one was pink and tender, and looked tempting.
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