After driving the car to the supply and marketing cooperative, Lu Yuan gave Hong Xia a list and then ignored the unloading.
"I'm starving. I'll leave the rest to you. I'm going back to eat now, and I'll come back tonight to pick up the car."
Yu Shaoheng also wanted to go with them, but since Lu Yuan had mentioned unloading the goods before, he had no choice but to stay and help unload them.
They had no idea that the other person was just making up an excuse and saying it casually.
Lu Yuan had just finished eating when Lu Guoan came looking for him.
“Ah Yuan, what are we going to do with the people in the cowshed? I see they have nothing but a few clothes, not even a tool to eat.”
Lu Yuan thought for a moment and said, "The old man in the cowshed and Lin Xiaofang left behind earthenware pots, so cooking and boiling water won't be a problem. We'll find some old ones and send them over."
As he spoke, he called over Lu Xiaoqin and Lu Xiaojun.
Do you have any old pots, pans, or quilts at home?
Lu Xiaoqin nodded, "Yes, brother, why are you asking this?"
Since the siblings moved in, their sister-in-law has prepared new things for them, and the old things in the house have been sitting unused.
“A few people came to the cowshed today. They have nothing. Please gather up any unwanted bowls, chopsticks, pots, and old quilts from your home and give them to them.”
"Okay, brother, I'll go get ready right away."
Lu Yuan instructed, "Just pack it up and give it to the brigade leader. Don't have any contact with the people in the cowshed."
"Understood, brother."
After the siblings left, Lu Yuan instructed Lu Guoan, "Uncle, when you go to deliver the things later, put the bowls and chopsticks in two baskets. I'll put some things in the basket for the Wei family."
"Okay, as long as there aren't too many things and they don't look out of place."
Lu Yuan boiled a dozen eggs, took a dozen pancakes from his space, wrapped them in oil paper, and also packed two pounds of salt and one pound of brown sugar.
Lu Guoan put these things into the basket, weighed it down with a layer of straw, and then put in four or five old earthen bowls, a few pairs of chopsticks, and a wooden shovel.
In the other basket, there was a thick layer of straw, and four or five bowls and several pairs of chopsticks on top, except that the shovel was an iron shovel, not a wooden one.
Lu Xiaoqin and her brother also found an old wooden basin and two old quilts.
Lu Guoan took an old wooden basin from his own home and, together with his youngest son Lu Yuanchao, delivered the items to the cowshed.
Upon reaching the entrance of the cowshed, he shouted, "Come out and collect your belongings!"
Upon hearing the shouts, both families came out at once.
Lu Guoan readily gave the basket containing the iron shovel to the Jia family and the basket containing the wooden shovel to the Wei family.
Tang Fenglin saw that there was an iron shovel in his basket and felt that he had gotten a good deal. He gave the basket to his sister-in-law to take back to the thatched hut, worried that the Wei family would say something.
Two wooden basins and two old cotton quilts were left on the ground.
"This is what Comrade Lu, who picked you up earlier, gave me to deliver some useless things from his old house since you had nothing. You can divide them among yourselves."
Tang Fenglin hurriedly stepped forward to choose, picking out what he considered to be a slightly better wooden basin and an old cotton quilt.
The Wei family didn't argue with her and waited until she had made her selections before taking the items back to her room.
Wei Fangxing had already sensed that the basket was unusually heavy. After taking out the bowls and chopsticks, he parted the straw and was immediately shocked to see what was inside.
"Dad, look!"
Everyone crowded around, their eyes wide open.
"this……"
"Shh!"
Grandpa Wei made a shushing gesture, signaling everyone to be quiet.
Wei Wenshu and her daughter Chen Xinying covered their mouths tightly, afraid to cry out.
Grandpa Wei touched the egg; it was still warm, so he knew it had only been boiled for a short while.
"Eat everything that's cooked, including this pancake."
They only feel at ease once the food is in their stomachs; their thatched hut can't hold much.
Each person received two eggs and two fried dough sticks, and this time everyone finally felt full.
"Second son's wife, find a place to hide the remaining salt and brown sugar," Old Master Wei instructed.
"Yes, Dad!"
"Judging from the captain's words, these things were all given by Comrade Lu. It seems our guess was right; the Yu family is secretly helping us," Wei Fangxing said.
"Yes, we must not forget the kindness of the captain and Comrade Lu. Don't take their help for granted and act recklessly. We must keep a low profile in the future, not cause trouble, and not cause them any trouble." The old man gave his earnest advice.
The next day, apart from Chen Xinying and her daughter Wei Wenshu, everyone else in the Wei family went out to work.
Even Grandpa Wei and the youngest son, Wei Wenqi, went out to herd cattle, while the others went to the fields.
Herding cattle was not counted in work points. The two families divided the work and took turns herding cattle, with each family doing it for one day.
Cleaning up cow dung is another example.
The Wei family was exhausted on the first day, but they managed to get two jin of sorghum flour, enough for their family's food for a day.
Lu Yuan ignored them for the next few days, until ten days later when he secretly delivered 20 catties of rice, a pot of soybean oil, and two catties of salt.
The whole family was extremely grateful.
Aside from being tired, the Wei family was doing alright every day.
Although life was extremely hard, the family was together and with Lu Yuan's help, they were able to make ends meet, which was much better than the Jia family next door.
In just a few days, everyone in the Jia family looked pale and sickly. With five people, there were only two able-bodied people. The young girl Jia Liqin and Grandmother Jia Lu Pinru together could only be counted as half an able-bodied person.
Besides taking care of Tang Fenglin, who was pregnant, the mother and daughter also had to cook and herd cattle. Unable to work in the fields, they could only gather pig feed.
A full basket of pig feed can only be exchanged for two work points, and it takes the mother and daughter half a day to gather just one basket of pig feed.
The food earned by the Jia family was far from enough to eat, and Tang Fenglin often used her pregnancy as an excuse to eat more, while the others were dizzy from hunger every day.
Half a month later, Lu Pingru was the first to collapse and faint.
Tang Fenglin was in the cowshed at the time and was startled. He quickly ran next door to call for help.
Chen Xinying was the only one cooking at home in the neighboring thatched hut. Hearing that someone had fainted, she knew it must have been from hunger. Feeling sorry for him, she made some brown sugar water in a bowl and forced him to drink it.
Although Tang Xinying was avoided when rinsing the water, the color of the brown sugar water still aroused Tang Fenglin's suspicion.
After the water was poured in, she grabbed the bowl and licked it.
"It really is brown sugar water!"
Where did you get your brown sugar?
Chen Xinying's heart skipped a beat. "I hid some on my person when I left home."
Tang Fenglin was overjoyed, "How much do you have left? Give me some, I see, I'm pregnant now and need to supplement my nutrition."
Chen Xinying snatched the bowl away unhappily, "It's all gone, there was only a little left, and I gave it all to your mother-in-law."
Tang Fenglin curled his lip, not believing it at all.
With a quick glance, he already had a plan in mind.
You won't give it to me, huh? I'll let her search for it herself when no one's around.
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