Zhang Hongmei didn't keep Wang Hongxi any longer. She felt quite tired when she got home.
It's already past ten o'clock, and I'm too lazy to cook, so I picked a cucumber and lay on the kang (heated brick bed) chewing on it.
I was quite puzzled when I heard the knocking, but when I opened the door, it turned out to be Song Zigan.
"Hongmei, I came over this morning but you weren't home. I went to the post office and found out you went to sell vegetables. Did you sell everything?"
"We want all the cotton mills."
"Your village is quite far from here, isn't it?"
"That's right, bicycles can be relayed by oxcarts, otherwise the spinach would not be fresh."
"Is that your bicycle?"
"Um."
"How about I lend my bicycle to your village?"
"No need, you still need to ride it to school. Besides, the bicycle is carrying more than 300 pounds of vegetables, I'm afraid I'll damage it."
"It's okay, we can just fix it if it breaks."
"Really, it's not necessary. We don't need that many dishes in a day. Thank you for your kindness."
"How about I take you to school?"
"No need, our school hours are different, it's okay for me."
"Okay, let me know in advance if you need a car. You haven't eaten yet, have you? Why don't you come to my house for a meal?"
"No, I've been busy all morning, I'm tired, and I don't want to go anywhere. Besides, I still have food left, the vegetable buns I made this morning are still available. Would you like one?"
"No, thank you. You should eat and rest. I'm leaving now."
"Wait a minute, we still have some pine nuts at home. Take them back for the elders to eat; they're delicious."
"No need, I feel bad about always taking advantage of others."
"What's there to be embarrassed about? Here you go. These are the shelled pine nuts. Go back now, I need to rest."
Zhang Hongmei was very grateful for Song Zigan's kindness and knew that he genuinely wanted to lend her the bicycle, but bicycles were expensive items these days. She couldn't just lend them out casually.
After seeing Song Zigan off, I felt bored, so I took a half-hour nap and then started studying.
It's gloomy outside, it looks like it's going to rain again. This could lead to a three-year drought, but we really hope there won't be any more flooding.
At three o'clock, the rain poured down. It was as if a curtain of water was hanging in the sky.
It's frustrating when it doesn't rain, and it's frustrating when it does. This year's sweet potatoes definitely won't taste good; they certainly won't be sweet.
The air outside was very humid. When Zhang Hongmei entered the space, the rain affected her mood, making her particularly irritable.
When I came out, I found that the rain had stopped sometime earlier. Thankfully, it didn't keep raining.
I figured they would still deliver the food tomorrow, so I decided to cook a meal and wait for them at the cotton mill gate.
The next day, I steamed a pot of vegetable buns early, filled with a mixture of flour, radish, and chives. I ate one myself; it was pretty good. I imagine it would have been even better with some pork belly.
They didn't even bother to fetch water; they were already waiting at the cotton mill, and someone called Liu Jianguo out.
"Brother Jianguo, you haven't eaten yet, have you? Here are some vegetable buns, eat a few quickly."
"Hongmei, why are you up so early? I heard you brought the spinach yesterday?"
"It's grown in our village. The village chief will deliver it over on his bicycle in a bit. My third uncle will be driving the oxcart behind. Your factory needs quite a lot today; the rest will be sent to the supply station."
"That's great! I haven't been back for almost a year. I don't know when we'll get a holiday, preferably during the autumn harvest." Wang Jianguo said to Zhang Hongmei while eating.
"Hongmei, I haven't had time to go out. This is a fountain pen and a leather notebook that I asked a colleague to buy for you. Here you go."
"Thank you, Brother Jianguo." Zhang Hongmei knew that Liu Jianguo couldn't bear to see her always eating the food she brought, so she didn't refuse.
"I haven't had time to deliver the things I bought for Er Ya. When you go back, could you take them to her?" After saying that, she took out a pen and a notebook from her bag.
"Okay, I won't have time to go back for a while. Let the village chief deliver it to Sister Er Ya."
"Okay, I have to go to work. I'm on the night shift today, and I have an hour left before I get off work. I came over to help out."
"Okay, sure."
Wang Hongxi didn't come over until Liu Jianguo finished get off work and took a shower, her feet covered in mud.
Zhang Hongmei quickly came forward and helped push from behind.
Wang Hongxi's back was soaked with sweat, and his originally dark face was now a dark reddish-black.
Liu Jianguo took the handlebars, and Wang Hongxi shook her arms. They then went to the cafeteria together.
When the canteen manager came out and saw Wang Hongxi's miserable state, he warmly shook hands with him, saying, "Comrade, you really keep your word. I thought that with such heavy rain yesterday and the fact that you live far away, you wouldn't be coming today."
"Of course, as long as I can walk, I won't delay anything. Don't worry, leader."
The canteen staff came out and helped unload the truck. It weighed 350 jin (125 kg) in total. They took the slip given to them by the team leader and went to the finance department to collect 35 yuan.
"Uncle, let me go get the vegetables. You can rest in my room." Liu Jianguo always wanted to do something for the village, but now the cotton mill doesn't give him a single day off, so even if he wanted to, he couldn't.
"Okay, I reckon your dad's almost past the county seat by now, so go and greet him. I won't go into your room; Hongmei and I will go to the supply station to wait for you in a bit. Hurry up and go."
"Brother Jianguo, this is food for my third uncle. Please take it to him."
Liu Jianguo took the two lunch boxes, put them in the basket, and rode away on his bicycle.
The two didn't stay at the cotton mill for long. They found a shady spot, and Wang Hongxi plopped down on the ground, picked up the water bottle hanging on her body, and gulped down water.
Zhang Hongmei handed the vegetable buns to Wang Hongxi. "Uncle Village Chief, these are still vegetable buns, eat them quickly."
Wang Hongxi took the lunchbox, which contained vegetable buns, and began to wolf them down.
After resting for an hour, I went to the supply station.
"Hongmei, the spinach and bok choy in our village are growing very well, as are the chives."
"Uncle, does anyone go up the mountain to pick mushrooms? Those can also be sent to the supply station."
"We've organized people to go and harvest them. We'll check the price today; if it's reasonable, we'll sell them. If it's too cheap, we'll keep them for ourselves."
It took the two twenty minutes to reach the supply station, but Liu Jianguo had not yet returned.
Song Zigan came over. "Hongmei, have all the vegetables from your village been sold?"
"One truckload has been sold, and the second truck will be here soon? Do you want some spinach? I have some in my yard, it's inconvenient to give it to you here."
"No, my grandma grew spinach. Do you need my help?"
"No need, there are three of us. How did you get here?"
"I just came to see you."
Wang Hongxi stared at the young man, thinking to herself that he was really good-looking, but still not good enough for Hongmei.
Zhang Hongmei: My face hurts.
Song Zigan stayed with Zhang Hongmei, chatting about this and that without leaving.
Liu Jianguo finally arrived after waiting outside for another twenty minutes.
This time we didn't enter through the front door, and there were back doors instead.
The supervisor inspected the spinach and, satisfied, instructed the staff to weigh and move it.
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