Chapter 12 Chapter 12 This cheeky manta can talk?! ...
That day, the man and the caracal confronted each other for a long time, until the caracal finished showing off the bowl of wild boar meatballs on the square table.
Out of instinct, Lin Xinghuo was alert and ready to strike throughout the whole process, but he restrained himself and did not take the initiative.
Tuxun didn't take humans seriously at all. It even pushed aside a few meatballs that were not round enough and were crooked!
Lin Xinghuo stared at the arrogant cat licking its furry mouth, glanced at him, and made a low "tsk" sound in his throat. He jumped off the table and the cat disappeared in an instant.
So fast! Lin Xinghuo rushed forward, but his eyes couldn't catch up with the caracal's speed. Why did this caracal's cry sound so mocking?
But after the caracal left, Lin Xinghuo suddenly realized that the vague sense of surveillance and danger she had felt since the day before yesterday might have been caused by the caracal. Because now her back no longer tensed up as it had before.
"Awoo!" Silly Dahuang happily jumped down from the mountain, staring flatteringly at the five or six ugly meatballs left in the porcelain basin held by Lin Xinghuo.
Lin Xinghuo was hesitating about what to do with the porcelain basin. He couldn't bear to throw it away, but he felt a bit of a dilemma about using it again. It was a wild caracal; who knows how filthy it must be! So what if it was fast? With that short neck and fur, what could it lick besides its paws? Lin Xinghuo even childishly criticized the caracal.
"Eat!" Lin Xinghuo simply put the porcelain basin outside the backyard gate and pulled Dahuang's ear: "Don't eat alone, call your wolf pack together." It was a good reward for the wolf pack.
Da Huang looked up to the sky and howled. Soon, a dozen or so wolves, big and small, came down the mountain one after another. The wolves maintained a certain order and went forward one by one to eat.
Lin Xinghuo observed that the other wolves ate directly from the porcelain bowl, but Dahuang seemed to be afraid of a certain smell. He pulled the meatballs out of the porcelain bowl and took them aside to eat.
The last two old wolves seemed unable to eat the meatballs, and only licked up all the meat scraps and soup in the porcelain bowl. Finally, Da Huang picked up most of the remaining meatball, nudged Lin Xinghuo's hand with his big head, and led the wolf pack back to the mountains.
Lin Xinghuo cleaned the porcelain basin, placed it on the bluestone slab outside the main hall, and happily decided: let it be a special food bowl for Dahuang.
The next day was still a sunny day. Lin Xinghuo got up in the morning and ate a meatball. When he was meditating at sunrise, he found that the internal energy flowed to his stomach and became stronger. The warm feeling spread from his stomach to his whole body as it circulated through the meridians.
"Xiao Lin is here." The old Party Secretary's attitude didn't change much. "Fill out this form and wait for Uncle Huang San to drive over. Then we'll leave."
The mule cart arrived soon, and the copper bells on the mules' necks jingled, making a clear and pleasant sound.
Lin Xinghuo helped the old branch secretary sit up and found that all the educated youth had come, but only Chang Qing was holding the same watch as her.
The originally noisy scene became quiet as soon as Lin Xinghuo came out, as if it was doused with a basin of snow water. Chang Qing pursed his lips tightly, clutched the registration form, and climbed onto the car on all fours with a large bag on his back.
Lin Xinghuo underestimated the intimidation of sheer force these days. Furthermore, abilities exceeding their upper limits often unconsciously aroused a sense of mystical power. Not only did the village commune members become more convinced of the "Little Fairy," but the educated youth also implicitly acknowledged Lin Xinghuo's undeniable "skills." Even Wei Bushun, so clueless he was often used as a pawn, was as submissive as a quail in Lin Xinghuo's presence. Not to mention Chang Qing, who had provoked Lin Xinghuo twice. Chang Qing wouldn't even meet her gaze, a changed man.
"Let's go!" Uncle Huang swung his whip in the air, creating a loud whip flower.
The mule began to run slowly, and the educated youth looked at the mule cart with different expressions, as if they were watching hope fade away, with reluctance and fear in their hearts.
The complex emotions were too obvious, surging like a tide. Lin Xinghuo slowly savored the emotion, and in a trance, she seemed to be making up for a past event: in her previous life, her cultivation was shackled by her state of mind, and she could not make progress for a long time. So, at the suggestion of her master, she returned to the Lin family who had abandoned her. Her mood when she left Wangxian Cave was somewhat similar, but her emotions were indifferent at that time, as if covered by a veil. No matter how hard she tried to understand, she could not make it clear.
"I, I won't compete with you for the last passing spot," Chang Qing huddled at the end, hugging her bag and whispering, "After the training, I'll be transferred to the forest farm."
Lin Xinghuo glanced at her and found that Chang Qing, as the winner of the struggle, was not very happy. Her knuckles turned slightly white as she clenched the registration form, and she kept saying "go to the forest farm" over and over again, as if she was emphasizing it to herself.
What happened to the forest farm?
Lin Xinghuo found out when the mule cart arrived at the commune.
Hongsong Forest Farm, located at the border of Benxian and Linxian counties, sits on either side of Yunxian County, along with Bushan Village. It leans against another branch of the Bushan Mountains, leaning towards the east. The forest farm's distance from the commune and its strict internal management meant that news spread slowly. People only knew of the guaranteed living conditions there, and the educated youth envied the rich and varied communal life. But then, three educated youth from the forest farm committed suicide, and the news spread among the educated youth who had classmates or fellow villagers working in the forest farm. A small number of the students who came to the commune for barefoot doctor training were educated youth, and many were secretly discussing the matter. The forest farm had already issued a notice for open recruitment, and perhaps to cover up the incident, they were recruiting dozens of people, with a leisurely schedule for the medical trainees.
When Lin Xinghuo submitted his application form, he discovered that many of the educated youth had also signed a separate letter of intent to join the forest farm. The educated youth were easily identifiable by their attire; unlike their fellow villagers, most wore grass-green youth clothing, and the girls typically wore their hair short to the ears or in pigtails.
Chang Qing stayed directly in the commune. The commune dormitory was crowded with ten people in a room.
On the way to the county town, the old Party branch secretary explained, "The educated youth had originally voted for Yang Weibao, but this young man was well-informed. When he heard he had to sign a letter of intent for the forest farm, he hesitated. Somehow, Chang Qing was chosen. This time, because the forest farm is recruiting, the commune has temporarily announced that the quota has been relaxed. Each production brigade with a quota can nominate one more trainee for the training."
"We've heard about the forest farm in our village too. Your grandmother Wei's granddaughter married there," the old Party secretary said with a sigh. "It's just that things got a bit rough this time. Actually, it happened a few years ago as well. It's getting a bit rough outside now. We'll get to the county town and do some work as soon as we're done, then return to the village."
Lin Xinghuo originally thought that his big purchase was ruined, but he didn't expect the old branch secretary to take out a note from his pocket and ask Lin Xinghuo to read it to him. The note contained all the trivial things that the villagers in the village asked the old secretary to buy for them.
“…two feet of cotton cloth…” What can you do with two feet of cloth?
Arriving at the county department store, Lin Xinghuo was stunned: there were so many people trying to buy cloth by the yard! Cloth coupons were hard to come by, with workers receiving one or two per month depending on their rank. It took months to save enough for a single garment, especially in the countryside. With two yards of coupons and 40 cents, the old Party secretary managed to snatch a piece of vibrant red cloth from a group of women, returning home triumphantly amidst the grumblings of those around her. The skinny old man held his head high, but Lin Xinghuo felt a little uncomfortable. A vague thought was brewing in her mind, but she suppressed it for the time being.
The things the villagers asked me to bring were small, but the department store at that time truly had everything. Most items required tickets, though. The few that didn't require tickets were either expensive or defective. However, hard-to-find items like defective fabric weren't even on display, so the store staff simply filled them up. Lin Xinghuo, with her sharp ears, overheard the salespeople at the deserted bicycle and watch counters whispering about a new batch of defective fabric with misprints arriving in the warehouse and what patterns they were looking for. Another eighteen or nineteen-year-old girl, who seemed to be in charge of the stationery counter, was chatting and muttering about how expensive toilet paper was and how she'd spent all her allowance.
Defective cloth and toilet paper! Lin Xinghuo's eyes lit up.
Lin Xinghuo helped the old branch secretary carry the full backpack, and the two of them finally arrived at the stationery counter.
The round-faced female comrade came back to greet us with a droopy expression. As soon as she arrived, she immediately barked at us: "Serve the people! Comrade, what do you want?"
The old Party secretary hurriedly said, "'All members of the revolutionary ranks must care for each other!' Comrade, we need notebooks and pens."
The salesman looked them up and down and said impatiently: "'Do it yourself and you will have enough food and clothing!' Comrade, do you have a ticket?"
The old Party Secretary showed him his brigade certificate and Lin Xinghuo's barefoot doctor training student certificate. The ticket seller glanced at them, shook his head, and said they couldn't be bought. The old Party Secretary was a little anxious. How could a child go to school without paper and pens? And it was unclear when the commune supply and marketing cooperative would have supplies.
Lin Xinghuo grabbed the old branch secretary and stepped forward. "'A single spark can start a prairie fire.' Comrade, this is our branch secretary. He's here to meet your leader on a collective mission."
Regardless of whether she looked down on them or not, she couldn't just dismiss them as it was a public matter, so she had to take the two of them to the office in the middle of a row of bungalows at the back.
The department store manager was quite affable and didn't contradict the quotations. Lin Xinghuo lowered the large basket from his back and, mimicking the old Party secretary's approach to the commune and the autumn meat harvest, said as discreetly as possible, "We're from the production brigade down there. We're responding to the call to wipe out the wild boars that are disrupting production..."
Before he could finish his words, the director's eyes were glued to the basket. He had initially assumed the two men were bringing in eggs from the village—a common occurrence. Rural supply and marketing cooperatives and sales outlets charged 50 cents for twelve eggs, while county department stores charged 50 cents for ten eggs. However, few villagers dared to bring eggs directly; most asked relatives in the city to bring them, remaining timid and silent throughout. He had initially thought the two men had some courage, especially since the girl inside was pretty. At first glance, she wasn't particularly striking, but the more he looked at her, the more beautiful she became.
But when he heard that there was meat in the basket, the man no longer cared about the pretty girl at all, he only cared about meat!
Lin Xinghuo removed the sack from above. It contained a young wild boar, which Dahuang hadn't eaten after the meatballs, and a few rabbits and grouse, totaling about fifty or sixty pieces of meat. The department store manager instantly warmed up. He reached out to shake Lin Xinghuo's hand, but halfway through, he felt it was inappropriate and turned around, shaking the old Party secretary's hand. "'We should trust the masses! We should trust the masses!'" The manager, delighted, also started shouting quotations from the Quotations from the Communist Party.
He successfully bought notebooks and pencils, but the stained cloth and toilet paper were so stuffed he couldn't even get his hands in. Lin Xinghuo also unexpectedly spent eight yuan on two 'supposedly defective' pens and a large bottle of smelly ink. The round-faced salesperson was stunned to see Lin Xinghuo casually walk out the door with a large basket slung over his back, a pointed basket in one hand and two stacks of rough paper in the other. He was even more astonished than they were at having such a smooth connection with the director.
Despite the abundance of things, Lin Xinghuo couldn't buy an iron pot, a clay basin, or a hatchet. The county local product company required a ticket. Furthermore, the department store didn't have any defective watches for Lin Xinghuo to buy. Even if it did, she probably couldn't afford them. However, the crowded and talkative nature of these two places allowed her to overhear snippets of talk about the "black market."
Arriving at the home of the old Party Secretary's nephew, Lin Xinghuo realized the red cloth was a favor from the old Party Secretary. Lin Xinghuo didn't say anything at the time, but instead took her exam extra seriously. After grading her exam, the old Party Secretary's nephew's wife, a teacher at the county primary school, breathed a sigh of relief: "Not bad. Good at math, but the Chinese composition was a little weak." She even showed Lin Xinghuo several excellent essays and had them read aloud, saying that this was the only way to quickly improve her writing skills.
The old branch secretary smoked his pipe and watched the little fairy shouting passionately, "Ah! We..." "Ah! We want..." His ears turned red. The niece-in-law still felt that the emotions were not full enough and wanted it to be louder and more intense!
The old Party secretary, laughing secretly with his head down, thought that everyone in the village should come and see the fairy girl, so that no one would be afraid to get close to her and make the children feel uncomfortable.
Lin Xinghuo had never been so embarrassed before, and his face was still hot when he returned to Bushantun.
As a result, when I got home, I saw that arrogant caracal coming again. The look in his eyes that I could tolerate yesterday was intolerable today.
A man and a monkey had a fierce fight.
The result was as expected, both sides suffered losses.
The caracal was very fast and scratched Lin Xinghuo's body, leaving many bleeding marks. The fox cubs surrounded her anxiously, wanting to help lick her wounds but not daring to.
But the cat didn't get much of an advantage. Lin Xinghuo was incredibly strong and his blows were brutal. Although there were no wounds, the cat was still hurt all over.
The caracal looked at the fox cub that had just eaten the meatballs it had fed it, and twisted its furry mouth: "Tsk! Foxes that stray from their path are really stupid!"
Lin Xinghuo's hand froze as he applied the ointment. This shameless manta ray could actually talk?!
The author has something to say:
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Thick-skinned mantis: Please give me a review! Meatballs for a review!
Note: The quotations of '' are all from the Leader's Quotations.
【About update time】
The update is tentatively scheduled for 9:00 am. Because I type slowly, if there are special circumstances and it is not finished, it will be postponed to 8:00 pm or 9:00 pm.
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