"Almost all the young men in our village are literate and healthy. Why don't we let them all give it a try?"
The old lady nodded. "Tell them at dinner tonight. Those who meet the requirements and want to go can sign up with Maocai. Hongxi, when you go to deliver vegetables, stay in the city and take them with you."
"Yes, this is great news."
“Uncle Village Chief, there aren’t that many spots available. I suspect there will be an exam. It’s fine if they all give it a try; it’s up to them.”
"Yes, it's up to them. We're about to eat, shall we go together?"
"Hehe, I'm not going. My aunt is making me noodles with poached eggs, so I'll just eat at home."
“Zhong, Maocai, let’s go together.”
The young men in the village were excited when they heard the news. No one wanted to stay in the countryside for the rest of their lives. They could get a good job and find a good partner.
Everyone swarmed around Wang Hongxi.
The elders in the family especially hope that their children can live in the city. They've spent their whole lives toiling in the fields, working from dawn till dusk, yet still barely making ends meet. How can city life compare?
"Don't rush, everyone. Go to Maocai to register. Let me make this clear beforehand: you must be literate. They have to give you a test. If you can't read, you'll have to stay home and farm."
As everyone has seen, even after the disaster, it's our villagers who are able to eat. City dwellers are still going hungry. Anyway, no matter where you are, as long as you have enough to eat and clothes to wear, that's enough.
Ten people from the village signed up with Liu Maocai. Liu Maocai sighed inwardly, thinking that young men are too impulsive and that working in the city is not so simple.
They exchanged a glance with Da Shan's father and then turned away; both of them knew what was going on.
"Everyone, hurry up and eat. Who's supposed to pick the vegetables today? Don't be late."
Wang Hongxi has lost weight from this relationship, but she's still full of energy. People from Dawancun are also going to the city to deliver vegetables, and she can't stop them, so she's competing with them in terms of both effort and the vegetables.
After finishing their meal, Da Shan's father left with Liu Maocai.
"Mao Cai, is Hong Mei back?"
"Yes, a friend of hers works at the post office and told her about this. She can ask someone. You can ask Dashan if he really wants to go. He should be able to get it done."
"Okay, I'll go ask him right away. This kid only graduated from primary school, I don't know if it'll work?"
"I don't know either. Ask Hongmei. If you find her, it shouldn't be a problem."
Da Shan's father pulled Da Shan home with him.
"Dashan, do you want to work in the city?"
"I want to go. I've admired Jianguo for a long time. Now that I have the opportunity, I have to give it a try."
"If you want to go, go find Hongmei. That girl came back today, and she's the one who brought this news back."
"Okay, I'll go find her right now. If Hongmei knows anyone there, there won't be any problem. She'll definitely be able to get to work."
Da Shan excitedly ran to Zhang Hongmei's house. Seeing that the door was locked, he guessed that the girl was either at Liu Maocai's house or her great-grandmother's house, and guessed that she should be at her great-grandmother's house.
Da Shan came to Liu Changhe's house and said, "Grandma, Hongmei, I've come to find you. I want to go to the city to work."
"Brother Dashan, have you thought this through? This is no easy task."
"Can anything be more tiring than harvesting crops? I've made up my mind, do you have any ideas?"
"I don't have any, but I can ask someone to help. You'll come back to the city with me tomorrow. How many people from our village want to go?"
"Ten people signed up: Erlinzi, Xiaosuo, and Shuangcun will all go."
"Brother Dashan, I don't know how many people we need to recruit, but I feel that it's unlikely that all ten people from our village will be accepted."
Too bad, there are too many people. I can only try.
Whether they succeed or not is up to fate.
"Then, Brother Dashan, you should go to the city with the rest of you. But I'll explain some circuits to you in a bit. You can't be completely clueless. Go and call all the people who have registered over. Don't get your hopes up. Even if there are people, they still have to take the exam."
Zhang Hongmei is older now and doesn't want to spend too much time with a bunch of teenagers at night, especially at her own home.
The old lady nodded with satisfaction. This was good. She liked this girl so much that she would regret it for the rest of her life if she couldn't become family with her.
Ten minutes later, all ten people arrived. Zhang Hongmei looked at them helplessly; only Xiao Suo and Shuang Cun had pens and notebooks with them, while the rest came empty-handed.
The remaining eight people were also in an awkward position.
"You don't need to go home to get it. I'll explain the principle briefly in a bit, and then I'll draw a diagram for you tomorrow. I'm afraid you'll forget it later if you just try to remember it by memory without drawing it out."
It was so late at night that they couldn't see anything inside the house, so they all sat in the yard listening to Zhang Hongmei tell them her story.
An hour later, they talked about the most basic principles. Perhaps these ten people are all smart, because they were able to remember them all, which is quite good.
All ten of them went back home, and Zhang Hongmei also said goodbye to the old lady and went home.
It was a busy day, and I felt quite tired. I went into the space to rest before coming out.
The next morning, before dawn, Zhang Hongmei got up and tidied up the vegetable garden at home. Li Cuihua had filled the yard with all kinds of dried vegetables, and also pickled cucumbers and chives.
I'd only ever heard of chive blossoms being used to make sauce before; this is the first time I've ever seen chives pickled.
I picked one up and chewed it; it tasted pretty good. Now I have another dish to add to winter's menu. Stewed tofu would definitely taste better with some of this on it.
There are plenty of tomatoes. Pick them all and put them in a basin. I'll tell Li Cuihua to make some canned tomatoes later. The ones I made in the city were very successful; at least none of them were moldy.
Thinking that the old lady had the most food jars, I closed the door and went there.
"Grandma, do you have any empty food cans at home?"
“Yes, if you need it, I’ll go find some for you. There are more than ten.” Liu Jingze’s mother immediately stood up and went to look for it.
"What do you need the bottle for?" The old lady squinted as she sat on a small stool in the yard.
"Making canned tomatoes? I got some IV bottles from the city hospital and made more than ten bottles, and none of them have spoiled. We'll have tomatoes to eat in the winter."
"You can do that? You must get a lot of candy, right?"
"No sugar needed, it just needs to be steamed. Once it's covered, it'll be like canned food."
"That's not bad. I'll have your aunt learn from you later."
"Alright, I picked a pot of tomatoes from my yard, and with the ones from yours, these dozen or so bottles will be full. Make more tofu in winter; tomato stew with tofu is definitely a good dish for winter."
"Hehe, all you ever think about is food."
"This is my only hobby. My aunt came back with me, and the two of us finished cooking in no time."
"Sure, I'm not busy either. I'll come over and help you out, and I might even learn some tricks from you."
The two carried five bottles back home, and before they even reached their doorstep, they saw Dashan and the others waiting at the entrance.
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