The three vehicles finally drove out of the village, and most of the villagers breathed a sigh of relief.
By this time, the wild boar had been killed, and everyone smiled happily at the sight of the 800-pound piece of meat on the ground.
Liu Maocai coughed and said, "Tomorrow night, after all the school children have returned, we'll eat meat. We don't plan to sell the rest. We'll take 200 jin of smoked meat and 100 jin of sausage back to Hongmei. We'll keep 200 jin for tomorrow, and there's also pig offal. That'll be enough to satisfy our cravings."
The remaining meat was all made into smoked meat. The Mid-Autumn Festival is almost here, and once the wheat harvest is complete, we can steam a big batch of steamed buns and stew some meat. That will taste so good! Soon, the canteen staff started bustling around.
Liu Aimin watched from the sidelines, and seeing that no one showed any dissatisfaction, he felt relieved. He had been worried that someone might be dissatisfied, but it seemed that everyone was a kind-hearted person.
The canteen staff got busy. They discussed preparing dinner first and then smoking the meat later in the evening. Since it was the off-season for farming, no one was tired, and they could stay up all night without any problem.
Wang Xinyi prepared rice porridge and chopped pickled vegetables. At Zhang Hongmei's request, she mixed a large bowl of shredded kelp and added chili oil. She asked Wang Ying to send half of it to Liu Changhe. Zhang Hongmei originally wanted to go herself, but because she was on her period and her stomach was upset, she asked Wang Xinyi to mix it and send it over.
When Wang Ying returned, she took half of it to Liu Maocai's house. The three of them only had one small bowl left, mainly because they ate it often and didn't really care.
Just after finishing her meal, she heard a knock on the door. Wang Ying went to open it and brought in the old principal and his wife.
The old lady was also holding a basket of eggs. "I know you just got back and there weren't any eggs at home. These are chickens that my husband and I raised ourselves. Your grandfather goes out to catch grasshoppers every day to feed the chickens, and he also digs for earthworms, so the yolks of these eggs are all orange-red. And they're big too. You can have some first. I made twenty salted eggs yesterday. This is my specialty. After ten days, they'll be perfectly salty and the yolks will even be oily."
"Then I won't stand on ceremony. I was thinking of having Wang Ying drive to the township supply and marketing cooperative tomorrow to see if they sell eggs."
"Why are you being so polite with me?" The old lady took the peeled banana that Zhang Hongmei handed her.
Wang Ying also peeled off a piece of skin for the old man.
"I've eaten this banana a few times before, but it's been almost ten years since I've had it."
"Grandma took the rest of the bananas back with her. The weather has been nice these past few days, and my Aunt Wang said we can slice the bananas and dry them so they can be stored for a long time. We can eat them whenever we want."
"You should keep it for yourself."
"No need, I don't really like bananas. Please take it back. It would be awkward if we were too polite."
"Okay, I'll take it back in a bit."
"Principal, what do you think of life in Liujiatun?"
"Hehe, my wife and I both think coming here was the wisest choice."
"But things are calm now. Won't you feel resentful about retiring so early?"
"Hehe, my life is very fulfilling now. Every morning I teach the children in the village to read. Liujiatun has a good atmosphere and has produced two students who went to the Capital University. So whether it is the adults supporting the children to study and go to school, or the children working hard on their own, it is what makes me most gratified."
"Hehe, thank you for such a high evaluation of Liujiatun, but there will absolutely be no problem with the atmosphere in Liujiatun."
"Yes, although we are not wealthy, we are united and work together towards a common goal, so it's hard not to live well."
"To receive such high praise from the principal is a source of pride for Liujiatun. I see that you two are both in better health than before."
"That's right. We go to class in the morning and then my wife and I go to the hillside in the afternoon to catch grasshoppers and pick wild vegetables. Of course we're healthy."
"This is good news."
The three were chatting animatedly when Wang Xinyi brought in a pot of tea with a smile. "Please try this, guests. This is fruit tea that I made myself. It helps with digestion. As we get older, drinking fruit tea regularly can also help strengthen our spleen and stomach." After saying that, she poured a cup for the principal and his wife.
"Hongmei, I'll go get you some soup."
Hongmei took the lukewarm brown tonic soup and drank it down in one gulp.
The old headmaster didn't show much liking for fruit tea, but his wife loved it.
"How is school?" The old principal put down his exquisite teacup.
"It's alright. I'm the class monitor of the honors class and also the vice president of the student council."
"Not bad, but you should try to be more proactive. Your letter only has a few sentences; couldn't you have described your life and studies in more detail?" The old principal rolled his eyes at Zhang Hongmei.
"I can't write letters, this is the limit for me." Zhang Hongmei was also helpless.
"You're the only one who can write essays but not letters."
"Alright, if the child can't write, then she doesn't have to. As long as we know she's okay, that's enough. Hongmei, you all rest, we're going back too."
The three of them escorted the two elderly people back home before resting.
Zhang Hongmei hasn't entered the space for a long time. Now that the dangerous people are gone, she doesn't know if anyone is still watching her secretly, but it's nighttime now, so they can't be detected.
Entering the space, I felt my pores open up; it was so comfortable.
I found Cui Lin's diary again and read it through from beginning to end, but I still couldn't find anything. However, I did feel that the mother in this body was ready to die at any moment.
It must have been incredibly difficult for her to live in such fear. Her identity didn't bring her a life of honor and comfort; instead, she lived in constant anxiety.
Zhang Hongmei felt much better after standing beside the medicinal herb field and looking at the thriving herbs.
I don't want to live Cui Lin's kind of life. And rightly so, the external environment and my own status aren't such a big problem anymore. A life of unrestrained freedom might be unrealistic, but most of the time I can live according to my own desires.
I soaked my feet in the spiritual spring water and drank a glass of milk before leaving the space. I fell asleep in bed after a while.
The next morning, the three of them practiced Tai Chi for a while and then went to the old lady's house.
"Grandma, I'm planning to go abroad at the end of the year or the beginning of the year."
"Why?" The old lady frowned, looking very puzzled.
“We are too backward. I want to go out and see the world, learn from other people’s advanced technologies, so that we won’t always be in a passive position.”
Have you thought it through?
"Yes, I might be back in three to five years. You must take care of yourself and wait for me to come back."
"I'm afraid I won't be able to wait until then."
"How could that be? I definitely can. Don't worry, I will definitely come back, no matter what dangers or obstacles I encounter. This is my home."
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