Chapter 11: Guaguagua, you are still young and only see the surface.
Summer nights in the countryside are not too hot.
Compared with the coolness brought by air conditioning in later generations, Xiang Yao felt that this natural coolness seemed to help people sleep better.
Moonlight poured in from the window, casting the checkered print of the mosquito net on my body.
There were a lot of mosquitoes, but when Liu Qiaoyun left, she did not take the old mosquito net that she had brought as a dowry, so these blood-sucking monsters could only buzz their wings outside the mosquito net, in vain.
Xiang Yao closed his eyes and seemed to be sleeping soundly, but in fact he was already in the melon field, grunting and digging peanuts.
At her feet was a large, lush green watermelon and a small pile of fresh peanuts, each one moist and plump, looking very pleasing to the eye.
Watermelon is not very filling, and you will always have to go to the toilet if you eat too much, so Xiang Yao only regards it as a thirst-quenching tonic. The most important thing is the peanuts that are closest to the mouth.
She was so desperate for oil and water. When she thought of the eggplants and beans Zhou Aihua fried without a drop of oil in them, which were so inedible that she almost wanted to turn on the fire herself and pour the half can of lard into the pot.
But this half can of oil will last until the New Year.
It would be great if I could squeeze some peanut oil!
Digging while squatting, digging while sitting, digging with legs crossed, digging with legs stretched out, all kinds of digging...
With ten minutes left before the admission time, Xiang Yao finished his last work of the day, put a handful of fresh peanuts in his pocket, and spread the rest on a flat ground, waiting for them to dry.
After coming out of the melon field, Xiang Yao fell into a contented sleep.
The next day.
As soon as the sky was getting light, the noise of things falling and banging in the yard became louder and louder.
The pigs in the pigsty began to root around, clamoring for breakfast, and the chickens also pecked at the dirt with a cluck, trying to find a fresh worm.
Xiang Yao smoothed her messy hair and walked out of the room to wash up with sleepy eyes.
Breakfast was no different from last night's dinner, still dripping beans and eggplants, but there was a large bowl of thin rice soup, which everyone slurped along the edge of the bowl.
Xiang Yao has a special liking for rice soup and drinks a lot of it.
After breakfast, everyone went to work, while Zhang Juhua was busy cooking pig manure.
The Xiang family has only one pot, and both the people and the pigs’ three meals a day are cooked in this pot.
Sometimes after cooking pig manure, if the pot is not cleaned thoroughly, rotten vegetable leaves from the pig manure will appear in the next meal.
Xiang Yao had seen it once when he first came here. After being hungry for a while, he didn't care about it anymore and just ate whatever was available.
She consoled herself by thinking that pig manure was nothing more than a mixture of rice bran, vegetable leaves, and pig grass, and was not much different from what people eat.
In order to fill your stomach, you still have to be casual.
In the threshing ground, the temporary team leader Yuan Dashan first gave some inspiring speeches, and then began to divide the work.
Xiang Yao was assigned to the rice planting group today. The field he was going to was in the valley, not the one he went to yesterday.
She was just regretting that she couldn't work with Yang Xiaohong today when she saw He Yuezhi from the same group walking towards her affectionately.
Maybe it was Yang Xiaohong's big mouth who told her that in addition to the handful of peanuts she got yesterday at noon, she got another handful in the afternoon. He Yuezhi looked at Yao as if she was looking at a gold nugget.
Hey, you know what, Xiang Yao really wishes that the three onlookers would gather around him.
His eyes immediately lit up and filled with eagerness as he looked at He Yuezhi.
The two quickly made eye contact and soon stood side by side.
When outsiders saw this, they joked that the two looked like mother and daughter!
In the past few days, Xiang Yao was assigned to the rice-harvesting group. She has become a skilled worker in rice harvesting, but when it comes to transplanting rice seedlings, she has only seen it on TV and is still a novice in the operation.
But it doesn’t matter, she has a mouth and can ask!
"Aunt Yuezhi, I heard you're a well-known iron girl, and you're really good at farming! I'm not very good at planting rice, so could you teach me a little later?"
He Yuezhi's hand was held, and when she turned around, she saw a smiling face, and then a handful of peanuts appeared in her hand.
She was slightly startled, but her face immediately became more amiable: "No problem, no problem, Auntie will definitely help you!"
Otherwise, Yang Xiaohong would say that this girl is straightforward and generous. Look, it’s just a favor because they watched the fun together yesterday, but now the work hasn’t even started yet, but people have already sent her food!
He Yuezhi thought Xiang Yao wanted her help to complete the rice planting task, but in fact Xiang Yao just wanted to ask her some farming techniques.
Sure enough, Xiang Yao was like a curious baby, wondering about everything from the way he stepped back, to how high the seedlings should be planted, to how to tell if they were barnyard grass or seedlings...
He Yuezhi couldn't help but sigh, wondering if Xiang Liangsheng's family had spoiled their children too much in the past. Her children, no matter how young they were, could already do these chores!
But she just thought about it in her mind, and taught more seriously instead.
There are few people in the countryside who need hands-on instruction on farm work. After doing this for a while, He Yuezhi actually felt an unprecedented sense of satisfaction.
As the morning dew evaporated, the sun rose into the sky.
The person in charge of pulling out the seedlings came over with a basket full of seedlings and threw them one bunch at a time behind the people who were planting the seedlings.
He threw one at a short distance. Whenever Xiang Yao finished the ones in his hand, he could get a new one by turning around without moving.
She couldn't help but sigh that the man throwing the rice seedlings had sharp eyes and accurate hands. He was undoubtedly a rigorous and experienced old master.
Drops of sweat fell as the seedlings were planted in rows.
When he straightened up again, Xiang Yao felt that his waist was stiff as if it had been tied with coffin boards.
But when she saw the seedlings in front of her swaying in the breeze, her heart melted with their cuteness.
After wiping the sweat off his face, he cast his gaze towards a thin young man working in the field next door. After a moment of reflection, Xiang Yao asked He Yuezhi, "Auntie, during the pre-work gathering just now, the captain assigned Brother Xifeng the task of planting rice, didn't he?"
How come she remembered that this person was clearly in the rice-cutting group? How did he suddenly come here?
He Yuezhi followed her gaze and glanced over, a hint of contempt in her tone: "This guy is dishonest!"
Yuan Xifeng was wearing a loose sweatshirt, revealing his dark arms. He was bending over and working hard to plant rice seedlings in the paddy field. He was working very hard and had no idea that two people were teasing him from behind.
Xiang Yao originally just wanted to watch the show, but when she saw that there was indeed an inside story that she didn't know, her eyes instantly lit up.
People like He Yuezhi who love to spread gossip like Xiang Yao are most attracted by listeners who are both supportive and clearly show their interest.
She turned around, took a bunch of seedlings, pulled out the straw that tied them together, and while planting them neatly, she began to share -
"Yuan Xifeng has been lazy and greedy since he was little. Every day when he's working, he has to poop and pee. This lazy guy has a straight intestine and poops and pees a lot!"
"Why do you think he's changed? It's because he's fallen for that educated youth, Sun, and is showing his affection to him right now!"
Lazy, Xiang Yao knew that Yuan Xifeng was a few years older than her, but he started school a few years later and failed a grade. They were in the same class.
This kid is not only lazy, but also a naughty kid since he was young.
There was no little girl in the team who had not been bullied by him. When they were young, he even pulled their braids and threw cockleburs on their heads.
She sighed silently, she didn't expect that this naughty boy would be so diligent in pursuing someone.
Xiang Yao asked, "Does Sun Zhiqing also like him?"
"A lazy idiot like him, no girl in our team would like him. How could Sun Zhiqing, a city boy who went to the countryside, like him?"
He Yuezhi thought to herself that she had lived for most of her life and had seen all kinds of people. When she showed a look of disdain, her slanted eyes looked even more elongated.
"City people are so cunning. They're keeping Yuan Xifeng hanging. They want him to do work for them, but they won't get close to him!"
"I don't think any of these educated youth are interested in the guys in our team. Only the Nie family kid over in Shanzuizi has some talent. I heard that two educated youths are interested in him!"
Xiang Yao cooperated: "Tsk tsk!"
After receiving positive feedback, He Yuezhi became even more excited: "Just wait and see, Yuan Xifeng's mother is not someone you can get along with easily. I think there will be trouble."
Xiang Yao: "What's the fuss? There's nothing wrong with her son wanting to date."
He Yuezhi snorted and laughed: "You are still young and only see the surface."
Xiang Yao: "Ah? What's going on?"
He Yuezhi finished planting another bunch of seedlings and stood up to pick them up. Her eyes shifted, and without further explanation, she pointed towards the nearby ridge and said, "Well, let's not talk about it for now. Hey, here comes the educated youth Sun!"
Xiang Yao also looked over, but found the sun too dazzling. He wiped the mud off his hands, covered his eyebrows with his palms, and then opened his eyes wide.
I saw a thin figure walking towards me gracefully, and sure enough, it stopped on the ridge of the field next to Yuan Xifeng.
Xiang Yao rolled his dark eyes: This is the educated youth Sun Qiao!
"Comrade Xifeng, thank you so much. If you hadn't helped me, I wouldn't know what to do. You've worked hard, too. I'll plant the seedlings in the back myself. I don't want to bother you all the time..."
She has pale skin, a soft and weak voice, and looks weak and frail, like a willow swaying in the wind. She doesn't look like she is going to plant rice seedlings, but rather like she is going to sing an opera with her sleeves waving.
Xiang Yao was a little slow in transplanting the seedlings. He mechanically stuck the seedlings into the water, stretching his little head towards that direction, instinctively knowing that something interesting was going to happen.
As expected, the next moment, Yuan Xifeng's shy and a little excited voice was heard:
"It's okay, it's okay. I'll do it! You're not feeling well, so you should rest well! I'm used to doing this kind of rough work!"
"Uncle Dashan is such a jerk! In this hot weather, he knows you're from the city and have never experienced the hardships of farming, yet he still assigns you this kind of task!"
He and Yuan Dashan are from the same family, and he spared no effort in complaining about his cousin.
Xiang Yao couldn't help but smile. As someone who grew up in a well-off society, she knew how busy and urgent the "double harvest" period was.
This Yuan Xifeng, in order to pursue a girl, even complained to the captain who assigned the task. I really don’t know what to say to him.
The entire production team has been working around the clock these days, competing with both weather and time for crops. Every day's work is urgent.
The ten people at the educated youth point were naturally also among those to be assigned. Under such circumstances, they received no special treatment, just like the people in the team.
However, Yuan Xifeng dared to complain loudly, but Sun Qiao did not.
She quickly glanced around and said softly, "Comrade Xifeng, please stop saying things like that. We educated youth went to the countryside to make great achievements together with everyone else in this vast world, and to receive re-education from the poor and lower-middle peasants. We should have participated in these activities as well."
After she said this, she immediately cleared herself of all charges.
Yuan Xifeng scratched his head and realized that what he had just said was inappropriate. If his uncle Dashan heard this, he would scold him to death!
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