Chapter 5: Cutting pig grass and meeting Jiang Panan

Zhao Jiayun cooked today. I don't know what she used to get more than ten cucumbers. Wu Guangqian was even more generous. He brought a basket of tomatoes and cabbage and also got half a bag of salt.

For lunch, we had boiled cabbage and cucumber without oil, accompanied by steamed steamed buns made by Zhao Jiayun. I felt full.

They arrived at work on time in the afternoon. Jiang Zongzheng was already waiting for them. Now there was work for them.

One is to go to the fields with others and earn seven to ten work points a day, and the other is to collect pig grass, which only requires one person and earns a maximum of five work points a day.

If you slack off, you may not even get five work points the whole day.

Now work points are linked to food grains. The more work points you have, the more food you will get during the New Year.

Wu Guangqian and the others would definitely choose the one with more work points. Zhao Jiayun hesitated for a few seconds. The work in the fields was not easy either. Although it was hard, it earned more work points. Cutting pig grass was easier, but it earned fewer work points.

While she was still thinking, Jiang Zongzheng asked Chu Sangning, who was sitting quietly beside him: "Chu Zhiqing, which one do you want to choose?"

Fearing that Chu Sangning would choose the work in the fields and he would be assigned to cut grass for pigs, Zhao Jiayun hurriedly interrupted, "Captain, I choose to work in the fields."

Chu Sangning glanced at her and said, "Captain, I choose to cut pig grass."

"Okay, those of you who are working on the ground, follow me. Chu Zhiqing, go straight ahead and get the basket at the warehouse door."

Chu Sangning received a basket from the warehouse. He regretted a bit when he learned that he had to collect 40 kilograms of pig grass every day. However, he had already made the choice, so he had to accept his fate and walk towards the back mountain.

The road in Changxing Village was rugged and difficult to walk on. Chu Sangning looked down at his dirty shoes, smiled, and reached into his pocket.

There was nothing in her pocket, but she had space. She could just take out whatever she wanted from her pocket. Chu Sangning grabbed a handful of candy and put it in her pocket.

I peeled one and put it in my mouth, then slowly walked back to the foot of the mountain.

Before I got close, I heard a scream, a very piercing voice, and a loud shout: "Give it to me, or I will beat you."

Chu Sangning looked in the direction of the voice with disdain. Whose naughty kid is in the back mountain? He hits people when he doesn't give it to him?

She walked forward curiously and saw a fat little boy rushing towards another little boy like a cannonball. Then there was a "bang" and the fat boy fell directly on his face and didn't get up for a long time.

"No, my uncle gave it to me, I won't give it to you."

The little boy who was speaking was dressed neatly and spoke politely, which was quite different from the children in the village. After feeling Chu Sangning's gaze, the little boy smiled shyly.

The fat boy looked at the toy gun in the boy's hand, sat on the ground and burst into tears, kicking his legs and feet hard on the ground, "I'm going to tell my grandma to beat you, ahhhh——"

The little boy ignored him and walked towards Chu Sangning in small steps, "Sister, are you the new educated youth?"

Chu Sangning saw his bright eyes, pursed her lips and asked, "How did you know I was an educated youth?"

The little boy raised his head proudly, "My mother told me. She said she also came from far away."

Chu Sangning thought that the boy’s mother should also be an educated youth who went to the countryside, and for some reasons she stayed in Changxing Village, got married and had children.

"Well, you are really smart." Chu Sangning touched his head.

The little boy was even happier. He liked this beautiful sister. Hearing the crying in his ear, the little boy boldly pulled Chu Sangning's finger and whispered, "Sister, you are here to pick pig grass, right? I know a good place. There is a lot of pig grass there. Doubao is really too noisy."

"Okay." Chu Sangning agreed happily.

The two changed direction and just as the little boy said, there were more pigweed here and not many people noticed it.

"Sister, I come here often, but Qiangzi Doubao and the others don't even know about this."

Chu Sangning asked curiously, "Qiangzi Doubao, what's your name?"

The little boy chuckled and said, "My name is Jiang Pan'an. My mother said that when I was born I was like a kitten, without even a cry, so she named me Pan'an to keep me safe."

"It sounds really nice." Chu Sangning nodded, becoming even more convinced that the little boy's mother was an educated youth.

"Sister, let me help you." Jiang Pan'an helped Chu Sangning cut a lot of pig grass like a little adult. In the end, it was so heavy that Chu Sangning could hardly lift it.

"Sister, it's okay. I'll help you." Jiang Pan'an was only seven or eight years old. There was no way Chu Sangning would let a child lift her.

Finally, unable to resist Jiang Panan's kindness, the two of them carried the pig grass down together. Looking at Jiang Panan's tired red face, Chu Sangning grabbed a handful of candy from his pocket and stuffed it into Jiang Panan's hand.

"Sister, I don't want it." No matter what Chu Sangning said, Jiang Pan'an refused to take it. In the end, they both took a step back and Jiang Pan'an took two candies.

After Chu Sangning finished cutting the pig grass, he was going to start feeding the pigs, while Jiang Panan was going to go home. He had been out for several hours, and if he didn't go back, his grandmother would start to get worried again.

Jiang Panan ran home quickly with two candies in his hand. After returning home, he shouted excitedly: "Grandma, I'm back."

Lin Xiuzhi came out of the house and saw her grandson sweating profusely. She took out a handkerchief from her pocket and asked, "Where have you been again? Have you learned what your mother asked you to learn?"

"Grandma..." Jiang Panan frowned, looking like a bitter gourd, and reached out to hug his grandma's legs, "Don't tell my mom."

"Okay, okay, okay, why don't you tell me where you have been?" Lin Xiuzhi asked.

"I just went to help a sister collect pig grass, and she gave me candy." Jiang Pan'an handed the candy in his hand to his grandmother and stood on tiptoe: "Grandma, you eat it."

Jiang Pan'an is the first child of the Jiang family. The whole family dotes on him, but Jiang Pan'an did not develop an arrogant and domineering personality. Instead, he is very obedient and filial.

Lin Xiuzhi knew that this was due to the teachings of her eldest daughter-in-law to the child. The eldest daughter-in-law was an educated youth and had been married to the Jiang family for more than ten years. She was a kind person with a good temper, and the whole family was very satisfied with this daughter-in-law.

But who could give two candies at once? Lin Xiuzhi was worried and asked a few questions. She learned from her grandson that it was the newly arrived educated youth.

"Next time you are not allowed to ask for other people's things, understand?" Lin Xiuzhi warned her grandson. They were educated youth who had come from their hometown and had not adapted to the life here. They must have suffered a lot, and the food was gone after they ate it.

Nowadays, two pieces of milk candy are worth a lot of money. I heard that four pieces of milk can be equivalent to a bag of milk.

Lin Xiuzhi thought: When I have time, I will give the educated youth some vegetables grown by themselves.

"Okay." Jiang Pan'an nodded obediently in agreement to whatever Lin Xiuzhi said. The grandfather and grandson held hands and went back to the house. Chu Sangning, who was still feeding the pigs not far away, sneezed.