Lin Ying followed behind Li Yue'e. Li Yue'e did all the talking along the way. They also met several women who were fetching water together, and some were carrying clothes and walking towards the river.
"Water is not readily available here. It takes a long time to fetch water and return, so everyone washes their dirty clothes directly by the river."
Lin Ying nodded to indicate that she understood.
Several military wives nearby looked at Lin Ying curiously. Although Lin Ying's family background was problematic, they were more lenient towards her because of her "honest" appearance and her inability to speak.
I don't communicate with Lin Ying, nor do I cause her any trouble.
Lin Ying felt that there was nothing wrong with her grandfather doing this to her.
It takes about ten minutes to walk from the residential compound to the river. The round trip takes about twenty minutes.
On the way, I heard Li Yue'e mention Lin Ying and learned that this district's family compound had only been established two years ago. Plus, everyone is poor now, and conditions are terrible.
In military dependents' homes, because their husbands are responsible for protecting the country, the women, as military dependents, have to be even more sensible.
Following Li Yue'e to the riverbank, Lin Ying imitated Li Yue'e, drawing and carrying water.
Li Yue'e was used to farm work and carrying a load of water was no problem for her. Lin Ying was now quite strong, so carrying water was naturally no problem for her either.
However, not everyone has the strength. Lin Ying saw some people carrying only one bucket of water home, and she also saw two teenagers carrying one bucket of water together.
Watching Lin Ying looking at the children, Li Yue'e said as she walked, "Sigh, we don't have a school here. The children have to go to the town, which is more than 10 kilometers away, to go to school. But now that there's a revolution, the schools are closed. The children are all at home now."
Lin Ying used up all the water in the family's water tank last night while taking a shower, so she needs to fetch more today. Li Yue'e, on the other hand, needs to fetch water several times to water her vegetable garden.
Li Yue'e's eldest son is ten years old, and her youngest son is six. The two children are very sensible, each carrying a small bucket to fetch water. Although the buckets are small, you can see that the children are very serious.
The water tank and buckets at home were full of water, and Lin Ying thought of helping Li Yue'e, but she refused: "Your family has enough water, so go and rest. My family only needs to make two more trips. Let the two children make a few more trips. My husband said we need to train them."
By the way, we've made plans to go to the mountains to pick wild vegetables. Do you want to come along?
Lin Ying immediately nodded when she heard that she could go up the mountain.
Li Yue'e smiled and said, "Okay, it's cool up on the mountain. We'll go after lunch. I'll call you then."
Lin Ying nodded again, then gestured to Li Yue'e, "Are you sure you don't need my help?"
Li Yue'e waved her hand: "Carrying water is no easy task, you should go and rest."
Lin Ying then went back.
She didn't feel tired, but since they weren't very familiar with each other, she wanted to repay them for their willingness to help her. Since they didn't need her help, she couldn't just keep watching them work at their house.
She simply used a hoe to break up the large clods of soil that she had turned over the day before, tidied up the ground, patted her stomach, and felt hungry again.
Lin Ying went to the kitchen, but they hadn't steamed any buns before, so there was no yeast or sourdough starter. However, she didn't want noodles anymore. So she started searching in the kitchen and, sure enough, found rice in a jar.
After estimating her own appetite, Lin Ying steamed enough for three people.
As for vegetables, she had finished the cabbage. Lin Ying remembered that the supply and marketing cooperative did not sell vegetables. After thinking for a moment, she took her notebook, Little Red Book, and the money in the drawer and went out.
Because she didn't want to speak, she couldn't call out to anyone, and the walls and doors of all the houses were made of tree branches. There was hardly any sound when she knocked.
Just as Lin Ying was hesitating about what to call Li Yue'e, she saw Li Yue'e come out of the kitchen and see Lin Ying.
"Girl, what are you doing?"
Lin Ying quickly took out her notebook and showed her what she had said. Li Yue'e had mentioned before that she had attended school for a few years, so she could read.
Li Yue'e looked at Lin Ying and asked where she could buy vegetables.
"Why buy these vegetables? Every household should grow some. Just wait and see."
As she spoke, Li Yue'e went to her own vegetable garden and picked a lot for Lin Ying with a basket.
Lin Ying hurriedly took out the money, but Li Yue'e refused: "Put it away quickly, we can't speculate. This little bit of vegetables isn't worth much, you can take it home and eat it. I see you've cleared some land, right? After you plant some vegetables, you can pick some wild vegetables this afternoon, that should be enough for us."
Upon hearing this, Lin Ying remembered that private buying and selling was currently prohibited. She quickly put the money away.
After returning home, she took the vegetables that Li Yue'e had given her out of the basket, looked at the basket for a moment, and then put the eight eggs that were left in the house into it.
This time, when Lin Ying went to Li Yue'e's house, she saw a bell on the door and, after thinking for a moment, took it off.
Instead of going to Li Yue'e's house, they rang the bell directly on this side of the wall.
Li Yue'e's youngest son heard the noise, came out of the house, saw Lin Ying, and hurriedly went in to call his mother out.
"Girl, that's a good idea. From now on, if you need anything, just ring the bell and we'll hear you."
Lin Ying nodded with a smile, then lifted the basket to indicate that she was returning it.
As soon as Li Yue'e reached out to take it, she noticed that the weight inside was different. She looked up and her usually rude demeanor instantly became cautious: "Oh, girl, why did you put eggs in there? I told you, these vegetables aren't worth much, the kids at home have had enough."
Lin Ying waved her hand, telling her to take it.
Although Li Yue'e said that, life was tough for everyone these days. They grew some vegetables, and even if they couldn't eat them all now, they would store them for winter. She naturally wanted to thank the person who gave it to her; there was no reason to take something for nothing.
Seeing that Lin Ying was determined to give it to her, Li Yue'e sighed and said, "Alright, if you ever run out of vegetables, just ask your older sister for some."
Lin Ying smiled and nodded. She knew Li Yue'e was also making lunch, and quickly gestured for her to continue. She was going to cook too.
Lin Ying stir-fried some green beans and ate three bowls of rice with them.
Touching her now-full stomach, Lin Ying felt a headache coming on. For the first time, she felt like she might be a bit too much to feed.
If Zhao Si knew how much she could eat, would he regret helping his grandfather?
If not, she could wait for Zhao Si to come back and ask him. If that didn't work, she could write an IOU and pay him back later when she got the money. She had thought about making money, but given her current social status, even if the army arranged a job for her, they would prioritize other military spouses and wouldn't give her a chance.
Lin Ying had never considered the idea of Lin Rong using her spatial ability to grow a lot of food and resell it on the black market, as depicted in Mo Zi's novels. Of course, if she had a spatial ability, she would only think about feeding herself, not about reselling.
Especially in recent years, the consequences of being caught on the black market are very serious. Zhao Si has already affected his future by trying to save her, and she can't hold him back any longer, at least not before the divorce.
Lin Ying had never struggled with money since she was a child. She never imagined that she would be in such a predicament that she couldn't even support herself.
It seems that after going up the mountain with Li Yue'e today, she wants to see for herself whether she can make a living off the mountain.
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